Half of its body flew away with a single flame explosion.
KBOOM──!
I hit the rapidly recovering thing with another flame explosion.
With successive explosions, only a third of the monster’s body remained, flailing grotesquely in the air.
“Phew… this worm-like bastard is something else.”
KABOOM──!!
In the end, I detonated it three, no, four times.
With two additional flame explosions combined, the colossal pillar of flame soared up like it was asking the divine beings in the sky for help.
FWOOSH──
– BWEHEHEHE…!
“Hey… it’s still alive.”
It was astonishing.
I had to commend its vitality—
Four flame explosions.
Yet, when the awaited defeat message didn’t pop up, I had to finish it off myself.
Squirm—
‘What the hell is this?’
But when I reached the center of the explosion, something small and snake-like was flopping around like a pierced loach out of water.
My disappointment vanished instantly.
My attack had definitely hurt the monster.
‘Was this really its main body?’
It looked like a pathetic, feeble creature, making it hard to believe it was the same beast that had been radiating a sinister aura just moments ago.
I tried to stomp it out, but another thought crossed my mind.
‘…Can I eat this? It might be super powerful if I make it a minion.’
Am I going crazy? Such thoughts popped into my head.
“No way… it would feel like eating a worm fried in sewage.”
But thinking of the future, there was no reason not to use my abilities.
That weak little Gori had grown up and was contributing, right? It’s even cute and loyal.
“Ugh… should I eat it?”
WHEEZE— BOOM—
While I was lost in thought, the little residue was growing bigger again.
A finger-length little baby worm was gaping its mouth and sucking in mana.
This world had astonishing quality and quantity of mana floating in the air.
If I left it like this, it might regain its original strength in a few days.
‘What on earth is keeping you alive so determinedly?’
I raised the squirming creature’s tail, looked at it quietly, then squeezed my eyes shut and tossed it into my mouth.
CRACK—
With a sharp bite, a thick liquid burst out, announcing its demise.
“Ugh… disgusting. That’s the worst food I’ve ever tasted.”
I couldn’t exactly taste it, but I could feel it.
It was mushy and slimy, clinging to my bones with a warm liquid.
In short, it was incredibly gross. I felt like screaming out oaths.
Ignoring my wretched state, the messages popped up diligently.
– [Devour Essence] is activated.
– Analyzing ‘Residue of Chaos.’
“Well… I don’t know how long this will take, but I’m sure it will result in something as impressive as the Gori.”
Though the second minion hasn’t made its appearance, I couldn’t help but feel excited, despite the wait.
I nodded, calming down my excited heart.
“It was easier than I thought. Am I getting stronger?”
Even though the result was made through ambush tactics, I had aggressively pinned down a monster at the A-rank entry level and defeated it.
At this point, maybe I could have a bit of confidence.
– You’ve cleared the job change quest!
With that message, I was back in the dark space.
As soon as I returned, I sat down and gently closed my eyes.
“Ugh, I’m dizzy.”
Thanks to the Residue of Chaos, I think I was exposed to space shifting too much, and the confusion in my mind wouldn’t easily settle.
“Hmph—”
With my eyes closed, I thought calmly.
It was the same world where I first attempted the quest, yet the flow of time was definitely different.
‘If I had defeated it at that time…’
Only then did I understand the identity of the discomfort I felt when starting my second challenge.
Regret… dissatisfaction… helplessness…
I was feeling those emotions.
It was funny. Just keeping Yeon-hee and my companions safe was overwhelming, and here I was regretting not saving people from another world.
“Know your place.”
I shook my head vigorously and read the following messages.
“Um?”
That was quite the out-of-the-blue message.
– With overwhelming combat power, the ‘Flame Knight’ has ignited a small flame of hope amongst the ravaged beings of another world.
“…Huh? What knight? Are they talking about those people calling for me earlier?”
– Your presence has bolstered the small beings devoured by the Evil God!
– The Evil God’s dominance has been slightly reduced.
– The reputation of ‘Flame Knight’ Il-wol rises slightly in the other world!
“…I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ve definitely stirred the pot. The Evil God.”
But then, a chilling sensation washed over me, as if terrible goosebumps had crawled across my entire body, and the thorns from my bones shot out in all directions.
“…Who are you?!”
It was eerie.
As if someone was watching me through a slightly ajar window, I felt this unsettling sensation.
But I couldn’t turn around.
That realization was like confronting the entity watching me, and I felt terror gripping me.
I remained seated, waiting for the sensation to pass.
Then, after a while…
– The Evil God ‘Blue-eyed’ searches for the being named ‘Flame Knight.’
– The Evil God ‘Blue-eyed’ fails to find a single clue about the ‘Flame Knight!’
– The Evil God ‘Blue-eyed’ is greatly amused by the unexpected situation!
“…As I thought, the Evil God ruling that world was Blue-eyed!! What do I do! This is bad.”
Confronting the existence of the Evil God, which I had been trying to avoid, made my head go blank for a moment.
“Phew… Well, at least it hasn’t noticed me, so I should be grateful for that.”
But to get joy from losing a bit of its dominance.
“Is it some kind of weirdo? Or has there never been anyone to resist enough for it to feel pleasure from this?”
No matter how much I thought, I couldn’t grasp what kind of being it was.
“I’m scared. Seriously. If it couldn’t find a clue, what’s with this pressure?!”
I felt like I was gasping for air, as though I had just run a hundred meters straight.
Yet, when I realized that I couldn’t even breathe, my body gradually relaxed.
[Calm]
Calmness instilled cold rationality within me again.
Alright, I am safe.
While I stay in this dark space, no one should be able to find me. As long as I’m here…
“…Huh? Why do I feel that way?”
For a moment, a question arose in my mind, but then my vision naturally shifted back to the messages.
It felt like someone was advising me to think that way.
– You received a reward for completing the job change quest!
“Y-yes! Hand it over!! Give me something!”
– One life is restored!
“Wow, really restoring one life!!”
[95 lives]
My count of lives increased from 94 to 95. My goodness. Is this for real?
I felt as if a heart that didn’t even exist was pounding.
I had filled a life that had always been diminishing with my own strength.
That number written as lives doesn’t only refer to my chances of living.
It referred to the powerful might that had driven the head of the ‘Do’ who had rendered my final card, [Blast of Madness], ineffective.
A force so powerful that even that monster backed off in fear.
This is a precious weapon that carries the weight of existence; I must find a way to fill it further.
Conveniently, I discovered a new channel to another dimension in this dungeon.
If I could conquer that, I might be able to gain another life.
– Job change preparation is complete.
– Job change······
– Job change······
– Job change······
“Hm? Why is it suddenly doing this?”
Something about the system seemed off.
The same message kept popping up, and nothing was getting fixed.
And that dirty gaze I thought I had shaken off started creeping back.
– The Evil God ‘Blue-eyed’ activates [Gaze of the Watcher]!
– The Evil God ‘Blue-eyed’ activates [Gaze of the Watcher]!
– The Evil God ‘Blue-eyed’ activates [Gaze of the Watcher]······
…
…
– The Evil God ‘Blue-eyed’ fails to find a single clue about the ‘Flame Knight!’
– The Evil God ‘Blue-eyed’ shows great interest in the entity that exists but does not exist!
“You crazy bastard…! You haven’t given up, have you? [Gaze of the Watcher]? That looks dangerously familiar!”
I felt a serious sense of danger in this situation, but I had nothing to do.
I couldn’t even activate [Stealth] and was just trembling in fear.
How much time passed like this?
– The Evil God who has lived for eons perceives you as ‘Flame Knight.’
– You cannot escape the perception of the Evil God!
– ‘Flame Sorcerer’ Il-wol has been fixed as ‘Flame Knight’ Il-wol······
“…? W-What?! Just being recognized fixes my existence? What the hell kind of nonsense is this! Is Blue-eyed that superior of an existence?!”
In that moment, my anger boiled over, and I started spewing curses; so much so that flames erupted from my mouth, plunging the dark space into an even darker gloom.
As I unleashed fire, spewing flames in every direction, I devoted quite some time to expelling the pent-up energy within me.
Yet, despite that, my insides felt cramped and unbearably hot.
I tried to expel it, but it was something I couldn’t relieve.
And just when I felt like I was going to die,
– ‘Fragments of a Great Being’ drops its tail once.
“A tail?”
I suddenly wondered what the tail was referring to, but at that moment, something incredible happened.
– The Evil God ‘Blue-eyed’ returns to the moment it fails to recognize the ‘Flame Knight.’
“…Huh?”
Could it be… that simple act of dropping a tail deleted Blue-eyed’s memory?
“No way…”
I had known it was remarkable when it was effortlessly playing with the Seven-headed Dragon like a child, but I never imagined it could do this much.
Realizing that the entity behind me was beyond my imagination made my jaw drop.
Then, another message popped up.
– ‘Fragments of a Great Being’ takes one life.
…
“……Huh? Is it… my life? Ex-excuse me?”
94 lives
The count went from 95 back to 94.
I felt like pinching my cheek to see if this was reality.
But at that instant, the majestic form of ‘Fragments of a Great Being’ I had seen so many times filled my mind.
It had a strange feeling of being both foggy yet distinctly present.
Its massive form was so vast that I couldn’t take it all in with my eyes, overwhelming from every angle.
It felt as if it were a conglomeration of multiple universes, yet also something small enough to fit within my sight.
Yet, that being was showing a smile of utmost satisfaction, nodding vigorously at me before disappearing.
‘……’
Even when I devoured the Great Beast, it hadn’t reacted like that; what could possibly please it so much?
‘And why is it giving me then taking it away… Excuse me?’
I fell back, feeling defeated.
“Damn it, I thought it was helping me. To take away a life? Really thorough calculation, huh?”
The smiling image of ‘Fragments’ vanished like a wisp of cloud, and I lay on the ground, reshaping my thoughts.
“Well, it did help me escape the watch of that great Blue-eyed being, right? If it costs a life, maybe it’s not a bad deal?”
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