“Ugh—!”
I pounded Victor’s face recklessly, knocking him unconscious once more.
“Let’s drink another vial. There’s no time for me.”
Gush—
“Glurgh— cough cough!”
Eventually, Victor’s body, having consumed two vials of Evolved Creature potion, showed explosive reactions at some point.
Bloat— Bloat—
Sizzle— flutter!
His body started to spring up uncontrollably, and at one moment, two huge pairs of wings burst out from the lower part of his neck.
The funny thing is, the material of the wings resembled the machine devices he had been using.
“Uh-hah… This is amazing…!!”
He seemed quite satisfied with the transformation into a mutant.
“This overflowing power…! Each and every cell is being reconstructed anew! Is this what it feels like to be reborn?”
He was so engrossed in the mutation process that he didn’t even notice me staring at him right in front of him.
‘This also serves as a good lesson. Consuming Evolved Creature potions really makes one lose their sanity, unable to watch their surroundings.’
It shouldn’t happen, and I hope it doesn’t, but I had to keep an eye out in case I end up consuming an Evolved Creature potion myself.
‘You never know what might happen in a person’s future.’
On the other hand, I was a bit curious as well.
If I die and come back as a mutant, will I still be the original me?
‘Ugh, pointless thoughts.’
I shifted my gaze back to him.
Swoosh— Swoosh—
‘What’s with that recovery…? Is he an ogre?’
Watching the wound in my abdomen, which had been completely hollowed out, quickly healing made me think that I was reaching a danger level.
Swish—
To wrap things up, I pulled out my Great Sword again.
‘Rescuing him by giving him an Evolved Creature potion only to kill him again—what a ridiculous joke.’
It’s quite surprising that this is the route proposed by the system as well.
“Cough?!”
As I readied my Great Sword, he, still not fully recovered, flailed and pleaded with me.
“Cough…! W-wait a moment…! Just wait! Please!!”
He finally seemed to recognize me, his expression close to tears as he shouted.
“L-let’s make a deal! I have an amazing artifact hidden in my secret vault—”
Swish—
With a swing, Victor’s head cleanly turned six and a half times before it plopped into the water.
His head, briefly submerged, bobbed back up, gazing at me in shock.
At that moment, his mouth started flapping like a freshly caught fish.
“······ Why am I… still alive…?”
Surprisingly, he wasn’t dead; it seemed to be a result of his transformation. However, seeing his life force rapidly waning, it was clear he’d pass away soon.
“Hey, show me everything you’ve got, then I’ll let you live.”
“I… I have… items…”
He struggled to gather his strength and called forth his Space.
As the items began to drop from there, I casually sat on a rock, leaned my arm on Victor’s shoulder, and watched what he was doing.
“Save me… I have a family…”
Even decapitated, he was still speaking so fluently. If that’s a talent, then it’s quite a talent.
“Oh dear. You got married and even had kids? That doesn’t mean I’ll save you, right? How foolish. I’ll make good use of those items you brought out. That artifact you mentioned is probably a lie, so no need to mention it.”
“Y-you… bastard… Victor won’t go out like this… I still… have much to show…”
Burble—
That was his last words before sinking below the pond.
– You have obtained ‘Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion.’ (79/100)
“Oh, ten of them? I wasn’t expecting much since he just turned into a mutant.”
– [Obsession] is thoroughly searching Victor Cruel’s body.
– You have obtained 1,000 High-grade Mana Stones, 500 Supreme-grade Mana Stones, and a Steel Rune (Rare), along with Gemini’s Knee Guards!
His hidden pockets were packed with Mana Stones.
Additionally, the Mana Stones were neatly arranged, giving me a good feeling.
“What the hell? Why is he carrying so many Mana Stones? Was he planning to trade them?”
From the continually dropping pockets in space, there were high-quality Mana Stones.
Selling just the Mana Stones would easily rack up hundreds of millions, and he just left with those runes and artifacts as gifts.
Steel Rune (Rare)
– Grants 75 durability to one designated armor.
– The rune deactivates automatically once the designated armor is removed.
Gemini’s Knee Guards
– Defense +100
– Movement Speed +5
– Inflicts great pain when striking with the knee guard.
“That explains the sturdiness; he had a Steel Rune. Despite being an A-rank Hunter, he has artifacts. Not bad.”
The expression of inflicting pain might seem trivial, but it surprisingly has useful effects in battle.
It’s akin to how a man’s combat power significantly weakens when hit in the groin.
“Sigh— a bit disappointing.”
Considering his overconfident demeanor, shouldn’t he have at least two or three more artifacts?
But having even one is something to be grateful for, right?
Given Victor’s insane personality, he might have sold off his artifacts just to come here.
I decided to wear the artifact right away and keep the Steel Rune for now.
There’s no need to swap Runes that would decrease my abilities since I’m not likely to be attacked much.
“Well, the equipment vanished just like that. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Now, System, tell me the next target!”
– ······.
“Are you telling me to go out and find it myself…”
With the system quiet, I figured I had to make my way to the hunting grounds.
After stowing away the corpse of the villain Victor Cruel, I moved to the spot with the highest concentration of monsters. What I needed the most urgently now was indeed to find another villain.
Wherever there are many monsters, hunters naturally follow.
‘Damn… I caught Victor, yet I’m not leveling up. Looks like I’m really stuck for a while.’
I could feel the experience points accumulating, so I’m sure it will rise eventually.
‘Ten more… I have to deal with twelve more hunters of Victor’s caliber. Time’s running tight. Even if Rainy has been cleaning up faster these days, I think it’ll somehow work out if I support her mana. For now, gathering is the priority.’
Maybe out of impatience, I found myself flying at high speed.
Splash— splat—
‘This is the first hunting ground. The environment feels familiar.’
The first hunting ground reached from the hidden dungeon’s route was an endless marshland.
Swish—
‘This sticky terrain is perfect for isolation.’
If I didn’t surround my legs with mana, I’d be stuck in the marsh up to my thighs and couldn’t even move properly.
Just standing still consumes a lot of mana, requiring the use of one floating rune after another.
However, the floating rune only allows me to rise a certain height above the ground, which means I’d have to fight with reduced stats due to the rune being in effect.
Of course, it would be much easier with a sorcerer who knows how to use [Fly].
Fly magic is said to be easy to manifest and use, but despite being the same magic, its effectiveness varies across levels of mastery and talent.
There are varying degrees of floating spells, some merely lifting one off the ground, while others allow for walking speeds, high-speed flight, or nearly replicating natural movement on the ground.
Of course, recruiting a sorcerer who can use Fly skillfully is a tough job, leading many to explore without a magician.
Boom— ka-boom— ka-boom—
‘It’s like a waterfall around here.’
In this damn dungeon, large water bombs rain down unexpectedly from the sky, and the humidity is so high that just standing still makes one feel frustrated.
‘Of course, I am unaffected.’
Having passed the transformation time, I’m now in the form of a skeleton, and the humidity doesn’t bother me at all.
In fact, that’s the most satisfying part about being a skeleton.
‘So many of them.’
Already, countless parties were active in the hunting ground, but the area was so vast that each team kept a minimum distance of over two hundred meters apart.
‘The main monster here is the ‘Corrupted Sea Nymph’.’
A siren-type monster that sings to confuse its enemies, like the Nixie Siren, but they specialize more in ambushing targets caught in traps for close combat.
‘Those invisible mines they set up are a real headache.’
These powerful water-type bombs are hidden in the muddy ground, exploding when a certain pressure is applied, causing significant damage.
The beasts lurking nearby would charge the moment the explosion occurs, attacking with their sharp thorns and claws attached to their fins.
They eat people alive, typically starting from the legs, making it feel like the first threshold that breaks one’s will to challenge the dungeon.
‘Wow— look at that number of mines. There’s so many!’
According to the wave of my sense, the number of mines reached over hundreds of thousands. It engulfed a third of the swamp, making it practically a minefield.
And just as many ‘Sea Nymphs’ would be hiding in the mud, too.
‘These guys are really a pain. Is the difficulty really this high from the start?’
That’s why guides like me, who are adept at sensing, are essential personnel.
Additionally, since each monster is incredibly strong, battles tend to drag on longer. Hence, to achieve satisfactory results, explorations can last over a week, making hunters with larger spatial storage relatively well-treated.
Ultimately, trying to ensure a smooth dungeon conquest leads to gathering more necessary personnel, making the total number of people in a party exceed ten.
– A villain with the potential to become a Great Evil One has been discovered at a nearby location!
Upon arriving at the hunting ground and following the message, I spotted a guy who had just finished fighting a group of Sea Nymphs and was resting with his party.
He had the solid look characteristic of a dwarf.
‘So, I need to fixate on that dude out of their party and snatch him. But that’s not an easy task.’
The badge attached to their chests showed an anvil and a massive hammer.
Just seeing their guild mark invoked some serious thoughts.
‘Dwarf Guild… not easy. They survive by benefiting from equipment…’
Plus, there are two sensing-type hunters as well, making it tough to approach while being stealthy.
As I stared at him, a message popped up kindly.
Jang Sun-cheol
– A-rank Hunter.
– Has killed 46 Awakened Ones.
– Stops at nothing to create high-quality equipment.
‘……Did he really kill 46 people just to make good equipment? Are they grinding up bones or something?’
It’s easy to imagine he made extreme choices when rare materials or monsters were discovered in the dungeon, perhaps in situations where the ownership wasn’t clearly defined or he sadly lost ownership.
‘That guy is the strongest among the thirteen. It won’t be easy to just capture him alive while letting the others go. Just killing him would have been much simpler. Hmmm… This feels a bit ambiguous. Should I watch for a bit?’
– Ah! Just let’s escape the swamp already. We’ve been wandering here for nearly a whole day. What are we doing, seriously? This is driving me insane.
The party members, all of whom had dwarf characteristics, were complaining with faces full of annoyance.
– Even using breathable materials, it’s still miserable here! I should’ve just spent some more money and bought something from Vulcanus Castle!
– Come on, even if you wore something made there. It would only be slightly better. Just endure it.
– We anticipated this, but the hunting speed is too slow. Finding our way takes ages too. At this rate, I wonder if we can catch even a Lesser Hellacne. I want to finish the necessary achievements and start hammering away!
– Aah… Why am I stuck in a place like this when I should be in a forge…
Their conversation, seemingly full of hopelessness, continued for quite a while.
But they all fell silent at once when they noticed another party about 40 meters away, waving their hands as they passed by.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
