Conall grit his teeth as he felt his heart shatter. However, before he could die, a part of his forehead dimmed and his heart returned to its original state.

The ball of dark energy suddenly transformed. A grim reaper started flying at the black dragon, to which the monster tried to evade the attack. Feeling the dreary consequences if he didn’t dodge the death, the dragon did its best to dodge it.

Nonetheless, the attack was locked onto him. The sharp scythe of the reaper elongated forcefully to reach the dragon.

Fear struck its eyes as the dragon felt the cold blade penetrate its soul. Losing strength through the spirit, it started to fall down, searching with its eyes for the perpetrator. However, no matter where it looked, the human boy had already run away from the place.

The reason for his escape was simple. The dragon wasn’t dead and it could easily kill him if he got greedy for its millions of rune fragments. His attack was only at the level of the Grade B. Although it was effective since it attacked the soul and it was the rune, the dragon would easily make it to its prime within a month.

He could have used the Rune of Death to kill it, however, he only had two lethal strikes he could endure left. He couldn’t waste his Rune of Invincibility, since he needed it back in Hestrea.

After a few more hours of running away, he finally made it towards the last destination. He had enough of this world. Since he had acquired every possible rune and bonus rewards, there was no point wasting any more time here.

Although time here was hundreds of times slower than in Hestrea, he couldn’t even train since all of his contributions would be reverted back to the time before he came here. The only things that he could improve on were certain concepts like battle sense, aura control, or overcoming the curses, because they couldn’t be saved by the dungeon when he entered it.

Despite all of that, he was satisfied with his accomplishments here. Together with the little time he spent, he may have become first, but he would soon find out about that anyway.

Putting the thoughts away, he stood before the altar. There was no bowl here to input any rune fragments, however, there was a floating text above its center.

It clearly stated zero out of one million, Conall knowing very clearly what it meant. Taking off his hood, the clusters of mana came at him as quick as lightning. Before he could notice it, thousands of hobgoblins along with orcs came out of the ground.

Being quite fast himself, he shredded through his opponents with his fang, each slice of their bodies increasing the count one by one.

Wave after wave, the counter increased, and so did the runes in boundless urn. In a single day, he killed more than twenty thousand monsters, but he judged that it wasn’t enough.

Right after the counter started increasing, a timer appeared above it, showing the time frame of a month, a limit of the final trial.

He didn’t need sleep. Although he was awake for five whole days while trying to steal the Rune of Death, his magic and Rune of Healing kept him afloat, even with his dark eyes that wanted nothing else but rest.

He didn’t care. Using more and more mana to speed up his slaughter, he quickly increased the counter, activating more than one wave at once.

His sword glowed green while releasing a potent wind slash, aiming at the swarm of hobgoblins coming at him with their swords. Slashing through hundreds of them at a time, he didn’t stop.

On the second day, he killed more than seventy thousand monsters. His body wanted to resist and take a rest, but his healing kept him energized and healthy. His golden stomach allowed him to sweat without any repercussions for electrolytes and mana.

In less than ten days, the counter stopped increasing, as it was full.

The shrine holding the numbers glowed brightly, soon engulfing the world in a white light. It didn’t come back, the world. Standing in a fully white space, Conall saw a boy with golden blonde hair curled up.

He looked like a peasant, with his torn up, linen clothes as well as the dirt all around his body. Not a speck of mana entered his flesh, yet he was somehow alive.

His head suddenly raised itself, looking at the red-haired boy who wasn’t much different to him, at least in height.

Conall didn’t remember this place, but it must have appeared because he fully finished the dungeon.

Suddenly, the blonde boy stood up, confusion filling his eyes.

“Why do you have my runes?”

Conall recalled the similar face at his question, to which his alltogether appeareance darkened. It was the Rune God himself, although a younger version.

The dark expression on his face scared the boy. Although it was subtle, the boy knew what it meant. Scarier than the death itself, he understood that fact internally.

Shaking and falling down to his butt, he couldn’t muster up any words.

“G-g-g-g-g.”

Conall’s yellow eyes dimmed, looking at him coldly.

“Why are you scared?”

"W-wha?"

The boy stuttered, unable to understand what he was speaking about. Yet, looking at the cold, almost dead eyes of his, he started shivering even more. Words weren't possible to come out of him anymore.

"Is it because of people like me that you became that way, or is it purely out of your selfishness?"

Putting up his finger to touch the top of his forhead, Conall continued.

"Don't tell me you forgot."

A sudden light flash brightly from his finger, to which he started convulsing on the white floor, gasping for while scratching his neck in pain. Only after a minute did the pain both in body and spirit stop.

"..."

But he couldn't speak anymore. Lay on the ground, the blonde-haired boy had his mouth opened, his eyes looking into the abyss.

"In the end, you're still nothing but the cancer of this world."

Unlike himself, he went on a rant, tormenting the boy whose eyes finally teared up.

Suddenly, however, he stopped, only the shallow wailing of the boy permeated the white space.

Crouching near him, he told the boy.

“You aren’t the real him, but it doesn’t matter. I will kill both of you, no matter what it takes.”

With horror in his eyes, the boy looked as the red-haired man spun in his vision.

Watching as the head rolled around in the white space, Conall sighed. It didn’t help whatsoever. He wanted to stomp the body before him, but it had already disappeared into the white void.

[Incredible! You have been the first in the history to solo finish this dungeon, all of it at the same time! You have ranked first in the score ranks of this dungeon’s history.]

[Due to your feats, the reward count has increased by one.]

[On top of the usual reward, you can choose one additional item to bring back thanks to your blessed blood.]

Still unsatisfied from before, he stared at the golden windows in front of him. Every part shocking him.

Soon, a list of items he acquired in the dungeon appeared, including all of the runes and the bonus rewards from them.

[1. Golden Rune of Abundance]

[2. Boundless Urn]

[3. Worldly Veil]

[4. Elementalis Orb]

[5. Vast Rune of Magic]

[6. Concealed Rune of Clairvoyance]

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[7. Meranh Ore (5kg)]

[8. …]

However, there were only three that really stuck with him.

There was no point in choosing runes except for one. They were broken, and the world was fully aware of that. Once they were brought back to the real world, their value would diminish tremendously.

The Immortal Rune of Invincibility, however, was slightly different. Its last stage allowed the user to take five lethal strikes before the broke went on a cooldown.

In Hestrea, the effect changed to one, and the rune would shatter immediately after that, becoming a one time life-saving artifact, and it was what Conall was looking for here originally.

He had spent roughly half a year for the rune. He didn’t expect his blessed blood to boost his rewards so much. With this, there were countless possibilities.

A small smile emerged on his face as he thought of something.

‘I’m sure they will be happy.’

Touching the list in certain places with his finger, he chose the three rewards he wanted. There was no option to choose his elemental pets or the mana source, but it was natural. Unlike items, they were living beings recorded from the past. They couldn’t be brought to Hestrea.

He had already made his goodbyes with them before coming here, so he didn’t feel guilty leaving them.

[Are you sure you want these rewards?]

“Yes.”

With a simple reply, the world around him darkened before light reemerged while he found himself lying in a field of growing wheat.

“Hey! Who the hell are you?!”

His eyes quickly opened as he heard the shouts directed at him.

Looking at the farmer with a sharp pitchfork glistening at its tips, he smiled.

“Don’t mind me, I’m vacating myself right now.”

Immediately, he disappeared from the place, or he thought he did.

Awkwardly looking at the farmer, who was glancing at him with a cold gaze, he suddenly remembered that he could no longer use magic.

‘Damn fool.’

…

The first thing he did after coming back to the real world was take a nap. Feeling his power return to its original place, the sluggishness he experienced was abhorrent. It was a nightmare trying to take a single step, not to mention running away from the angry farmer for ruining his crops.

Also, it couldn’t really be considered a nap. Falling asleep at dawn and waking up a full twenty-four hours later might have been considered a borderline coma, though without any injuries.

Waking up to the sun poking through the horizon, Conall slowly opened his eyes and got up from the bed. Even though he slept for so much, his weariness was at an all time high. The high curse only made the feeling worse.

Nonetheless, he stood up, ready to head to the showers in his dorms. Since it was dawn, there was no one there. Drying his hair that came back to the same length as before the dungeon, he put on the school uniform.

The invisibility cloak was stored in his ring, along with the meranh ore, and the Rune of Invincibility. There was no point flaunting his equipment since there were plenty of greedy fish out in the ocean.

Besides, it wasn’t for him anyways.

Quickly taking care of himself, Conall left the dorms.

Walking around the academy’s shopping district, he soon walked upon a certain, old shop that was almost falling into ruins just standing on the street.

The bells hanging inside chimed, and he woke the old shopkeeper up. Well, it at least looked that way. Heph stared at Conall with welcoming eyes, as though he was never asleep to begin with.

“Are you testing my limits? You come earlier and earlier every time.”

Scratching the side of his nape, Conall couldn’t deny his shamelessness. Seeing that, the man couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“Hahaha, you can come whenever you want, I’m ready for every customer. So, what was it you wanted?”

Asking the question he wanted to hear, Conall put on a slight smile, pointing to the backstage of the shop.

“I need something done with a certain ore. Do you think you could handle it?”

“Hmph! Who do you think I am? Come, show me that ‘certain’ ore of yours.”

Though Heph seemed angry at the slight jab, he knew Conall said it intentionally.

‘Did he bring something good?’

He wondered while letting him into his smithy.

Walking down the scorching, heat-filled, and dark space, it somewhat reminded the boy of the volcano inside the dungeon. Soon, he saw the large anvil made from pure teryn and how the old shopkeeper patted it, gesturing him to bring out the goods.

Without wasting any more of their time, he quickly summoned the stuff from his ring. Although he used aura to access the space, it was like it simply washed over Heph, who had nothing to do with it. Since it wasn’t his, he didn’t care about it.

What he cared about, however, was the fine piece of metal the boy had stuck out.

Whistling, he admired the beautiful, green streaks intertwining with the purplish pink metal. Judging with his eyes, it was at least five kilos of pure meranh.

“Now, where the hell did you find this beautiful gem? Not even royals of the new era have them in their possession. All of it was definitely mined out the last time I saw it.”

Heph’s eyes glistened as he watched the ore before him. It was indeed a very long time since he had seen it, much less bent it with his hammer.

“It came from a dungeon.”

“As if I would believe that. Did you become a Grade Ex all of a sudden?”

“It was a hidden, unique one. This also came from there. I wanted you to coat it with the metal.”

Taking out the worldly veil, he threw it to the unsuspecting old man. Watching through what was inside the cloak, as well as witnessing its effects, the man widened his eyes.

“That explains it very well. Don’t worry about the price, I will take some of the scraps left, but tell me what else to do with it. Surely, you don’t want just that. It would be a waste.”

With a look as though he had been read through, Conall stared at him with still eyes.

“Besides the cloak, I would like you to make a base for a magic staff, but disguised as a rapier.”

Though his request was definitely out of the ordinary, Heph nodded, already envisioning how to make the item.

“Anything else?”

Conall looked down for a second, staring at his longsword, pondering about upgrading it. In the end, he didn’t say anything. What he wanted was the mana density and current from the ore, but there was no point in doing that since he had no mana to use yet. Also, he wouldn’t be asking Heph to strengthen his sword. Fang would become tough on its own.

“Good decision.”

While he approved on the side, Conall asked the important question.

“How long will it take? A rough measure.”

With a few seconds of silence, Heph replied, shocking him.

“No longer than a week, I can promise you that.”

“So quick?”

The old man smiled at his question, and the furnace beside intensified, becoming so hot that the air in the room started to warp and twist.

“Hehe, you should go before your head fries up.”

Holding him from falling over, Heph added cheekily and guided him to the stairs.

“Take this and come when it’s ready.”

Handing him a small piece of black paper, Heph turned back and said to himself as Conall was exiting the place.

“Finally some nice work after so long, don’t you think?”

…

Smooth, almost liquid-like energy coated her body. Despite its flexible fluidity, Juliette’s aura that resembled a clear sky, remained still. Her rapier moved at incredible speeds. The body parts performing the swing moved so fast it looked like she did nothing at all.

Yet, the sharp spirit that surpassed her sword’s natural limits expanded throughout the woods, aiming at the tall, dark green monster that only wore crudely treated leather in order to cover its exposed parts.

The monster twice her size fell down with a single sweep of her sword, being cut in two at the torso and spurting its crimson blood on the tree behind it.

Juliette looked down at the monster with dim, chilling eyes. She hasn't slept a lot lately. Lingering at the back of her mind were the words of her father, resounding with greater racket each time.

With hopes of a good fight in the forest, she wanted to lift up her thoughts. Nonetheless, simple, Grade B monsters weren’t much in the least.

The spirit she hardened for over two decades filled the soles of her feet and beyond. Right before she reappeared tens of meters away from the place, paws with sharp claws appeared on her, grabbing tightly onto the ground, propelling her forward even further than before.

With each next step, her speed only intensified, quickly turning into a winding trail of light blue that moved through the forest in a flash.

In search of an actual threat, she omitted the ones that dared stand in her way. They were weaker than her, anyways.

Soon, the movement skill of her family maximized itself. Her aura formed the image of a winter wolf as she rapidly moved through the forest, further and deeper, where the stronger monsters usually resided.

The trees gradually increased in size as she moved closer to the capital’s boundary, which also dictated the defined border of the danger level. Beyond it, among the sparser, yet taller trees, the danger multiplied manifold as opposed to the previous section.

Without caring for the magical signs and circles, she entered the barrier that protected the capital, locking her gaze at the first victim.

The expression on her eyes changed into solemnity. Right off the bat, a strong enemy was in her sight. A hooded little creature, just head smaller than herself.

Despite the faceless image, the hood’s dark insides had two dim, black lights inside it. Coming out of the green robe’s torn sleeves, wooden limbs extended themselves almost all the way towards the ground.

She met a tree sorcerer, but it was of no concern to her. Moving with utmost limit, she thrust her sword at the small creature. In an instant, tree branches created a circular barrier around the monster.

Protruding from inside, the tip of her rapier barely grazed the monster’s body, having done nothing significant. Beneath her, a cumulative mass of branches gathered together to shape a tightened claw.

Juliette felt as the insides inside her silvery white armor shook up incredibly. Quickly getting herself together, the claws on her feet caught onto a tree she was thrown into.

Though, the tree itself was wide and tall so it only bent a little while landing on it. Using the tough wood as a platform, she lunged her body forward at the enemy, the tree behind her dancing around with the force exerted on it.

Large, colorful birds that were staying on top of the tree’s crown quickly flew away at the commotion below them.