Shun POV:
‘Good.’
I balled my hands into tight fists. My ability was now complete, and the results were better than I expected them to be.
Koli sat at the end of the arena. She muttered to herself until short bursts of laughter pierced the atmosphere. An irritating giggle followed; her shoulders heaved up and down despite the only company being herself.
“Weirdo.”
I turned around, only to see Koli standing there. We locked eyes, but the information I had gathered on her continued to be sorted into dozens of different categories. It would be used to form thousands of iterations; the basis for a bulletproof plan to end her life.
“Move.”
Something soft pressed against my cheek in response. I quadrupled the distance between us. However, Koli’s speed seemed even faster than before; it was at a level that I couldn’t react to let alone see.
“I told you not to touch me.”
I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand, wishing I could rip the skin off instead. Koli’s dark blonde hair was tied into a bun and contained traces of green. A few loose strands fell to the side of her face, but there weren’t enough to frame her soft contours.
“I... guess you did, haha...”
Her lips could form as gentle of a smile as she wanted. The sadness and pain hidden in her eyes could be written in bold all over her face, and I still wouldn’t give a damn.
“Don’t die, Shun. Take care of yourself.”
I felt nothing toward her genuine smile. A bright white light covered my vision seconds later, signalling the end of my time in Providence.
***
[Congratulations on reaching Shin!]
A sigh escaped my lips at the window that greeted me.
[The Mission Log has been updated.]
[Mission: Revival of Old
Difficulty: SSS+
This is proof of the deal you made with the ‘Last Will of Enigma.’ Reach Jikki? within the time limit, and meet with the mysterious boy once more.
Time Limit: 3 years.
Reward: ???
Failure: ???]
I dispelled the system window and wiped the sweat from my forehead. A minute later, I got to my feet. There were noticeable changes to my body in the usual areas, but with my new ability, those gains no longer mattered as much.
I didn’t smell either; my body was fresh and brimming with energy. It made it difficult for me to assess just how much time had truly passed. I threw on my Troll clothes and flicked the hood up before heading downstairs.
“You’re alive!”
The worry in Phoebe’s vibrant, amber eyes remained until she scanned over my body several times. Only then did she let out a relieved sigh.
“I thought you got lost in the Void. T-thank goodness... It’s already been one month.”
‘One month?’
That meant I had spent one week crawling through the Void. Despite recalling that experience, it didn’t impact my psyche. I knew how painful it was, but the burden of that pain hardly had any weight behind it.
‘Interesting.’
I examined the faint shade of red spread across Phoebe’s cheeks from our direct eye contact.
“...What is everyone’s Ki Stage in your party?”
Her eyebrow rose, somewhat taken aback by the question.
“Upper Monzen.”
Monzen was the 5th Ki Stage, but they were more than a whole Ki Stage higher than me if we went by sublevel classification.
“Why are you interested in me?”
“I-I think you’re cool...”
Phoebe’s eyes shifted to the side by a slight margin. The blush on her cheeks went a few shades darker before she opened her mouth again.
“I know it’s a lame reason, but there’s just something about you that I find attractive. Sorry. You probably thought it was something else, right?”
I clenched my teeth in annoyance and turned around.
‘So my strength is that insignificant to a receptionist? Tch.’
I ignored whatever else she had to say, dropped a small pouch of gold on the counter, and left the inn. On my way to the guild, I rationalised my thoughts on Phoebe’s reaction to my growth.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
She was an Adventurer first, and a Receptionist second. Her lack of recognition of my improvement made no difference to me, but it made sense once the situation was put into the proper perspective.
I pushed open the doors to the guild, stood at the front desk and peered down at Juri, who I still... couldn’t SENSE!
My fists shook as Juri’s lips spread into her usual mocking smile.
“Shun, I thought you died? I’m glad I was wrong.”
“...”
Something wasn’t right here.
“Juri... How strong are you?”
Her violet eyes curved into thin slits, showcasing the length of her long eyelashes.
“I hope I can find that out myself one day, Adventurer Shun.”
The darkness within her smile faded, and her somewhat warm expression returned. I remained silent, observing Juri’s mannerisms and demeanour for some time.
“I’m single.”
My eyes narrowed at the blankness present on her face. There seemed to be no particular reason as to why she had just said that; all I could tell was that she wasn’t interested in me that way.
“Give me all the C Rank Dungeons in this area.”
Juri’s smile returned, but I had nothing else to say to her.
“One moment, please.”
The issue wasn’t Juri, but myself. By subconsciously defaulting people who worked specific jobs into an almost NPC-like category, I had made the same mistake again.
Who said receptionists had to be weak? Who said waiters/waitresses had to be weak? It was a bias that prevailed in most novels that I read. A bias that was embedded so deep inside the subconscious mind that it led to such a simple oversight.
It was the same thing I said before entering Shin: this wasn’t a damn game.
The moment Juri turned around, several nearby Adventurers whistled at the sight of her body on full display.
“Juri, give us a shak—“
A loud bang shook the entire guild. I glanced back at the man’s head embedded into the wall while everyone else began to sweat bullets.
“Could you see it?”
Juri placed a stack of papers on the counter and leaned forward. I narrowed my eyes at her question, but her smile only widened in return.
“Please take care, Adventurer Shun. I’m open to teaching you in my free time. Maybe.”
My bloodlust began to leak out as I peered down at Juri’s lips reaching the corners of her eyes.
“Wonderful.”
She sat back down behind the front desk, and the slight tension between us evaporated.
“Is there anythi—“
I grabbed the papers off the desk, knowing full well that Juri hates being interrupted that way. Her eyebrows twitched, but I didn’t care. I had wasted enough time on her already.
I left the guild and focused on the dungeons I was about to crush.
[The Mission Log has been updated.]
[All Dungeons acquired have been transferred to the Mission Log.]
***
[Mission: Poison Forest of Darkness (39/65)
Difficulty: C
Boss Monster: Bloodborne Orc.
Floor Bosses: 50.
Floor Number: 25.
Party Requirement: 1~200.
GRAAAGHHH!!!!!
Rewards: 350 gold + Random Loot Drops.
Failure: Death.
Additional Information:
• Not all Ki Artifacts have been acquired.
• Ki Artifacts randomly shift location after every entry.
• Hidden Rooms randomly appear.]
‘Good.’
My crude flame sword crashed against numerous weapons of the undead. I slid back and splayed my hand, causing a gust of wind to smash the Skeleton Soldiers to the side of the forest room.
An axe floated in its centre, surrounded by the usual faint light that acted as a barrier. I dashed to my left, dodging an arrow rain when a Death Knight’s longsword sliced through the air toward my head.
I flipped backwards; the heel of my foot cracking its helmet into another Death Knight charging in. Blue eyes glowed beneath their shadowed faces.
“Goblin Warlock Style: Death’s Power!”
Their dark purple armour shone a light hue of green as another wave of empowerment swept over the area once more.
‘...’
Death Goblins, Skeleton Soldiers, Skeleton Knights, Death Knights, and even Death Orcs. They didn’t rush in like idiots; their movements were refined and organised. Proper positioning led to entrapments that imposed a new level of difficulty: a dangerous one.
Beyond all of those monsters stood a Goblin Warlock atop a small hill. A hood draped over its face, hiding everything apart from glowing red eyes. It held a staff tight in its hand, giving out detailed instructions that changed the entire formation of the undead army based on the adjustments I made on the fly.
‘Very good.’
My lips curved upwards, and the Death Knights feinted a joint sword attack before flickering to each side. The Death Orcs shattered the air with their axes, shooting forth powerful waves of Ki in an effort to box me in. The Death Goblins released arrows from the edge of my peripheral vision; their movements confined me to a smaller area of the hidden room.
‘That monster is more than good enough.’
My ability activated, and an hour later, my fingers coiled around the Goblin Warlock’s neck. I wiped the blood from my nose and smashed its head against the wall.
Unlike the other goblins, this Goblin Warlock’s face wasn’t a monstrosity. Its features were much softer, feminine, and youthful; it even had a head full of grey hair, slicked back into an intricate bun, with an elaborate emerald pin holding it in place.
“I’ve got a few questions for you to answer.”
The female Goblin Warlock raised its head but didn’t reply straight. Its eyes darted around the room, trying to figure a way out of its impending fate.
“...I can give you all the answers you seek in exchange for my life. This Hidden Room is different to wha—“
I tightened my grip around its neck. One thing I had noticed throughout the battle was that this Goblin Warlock didn’t know how to keep its damn mouth shut.
“Grr...”
The fierceness in its eyes vanished once it met my gaze again. It lowered its head and looked to the side.
“C-can I... refuse, please?”
“No.”
I raised my fist inside the hazy space while the corners of my mouth curved upwards. My ability spread out around me, making the Goblin Warlock’s body quake.
“First question: How much do you know about abilities?”
***
[Boss: Bloodborne Orc]
Tribal markings wrapped around the bulging muscles of its arms. The Bloodborne Orc wiped the blood from the side of its mouth and snarled.
“Human... You killed every... SINGLE ONE OF MY SUBJECTS!!”
Its roar shook the forest trees in the area before a deep breath left the Orc’s mouth. Once again, it struggled to calm itself down.
‘...’
There were four types of Orcs: Regular Orcs, Frostborne Orcs, Bloodborne Orcs, and Highborne Orcs. I had never encountered the latter, but this was the first time I had met a Bloodborne Orc capable of speech, and it was obvious why.
“Goblin Warlock... Her. You killed her too?!”
“Yeah.”
It grabbed a large gourd from its waist and popped the cork off. The Orc coated the massive axe with a poisonous substance that clung to it.
“She... phenomenal. She... would have made me a greater RULER!!”
It was as I expected.
That Goblin Warlock taught this Bloodborne Orc how to speak and how to have greater control over its rage. The Bloodborne Orc pointed the gourd toward me, causing a rush of poison fog to sweep over the forest area.
[The Bloodborne Orc is enraged.]
Its green flesh turned red; a sign the monster had entered the Berserker State. Deep red eyes glowed when the Orc took out a well-structured gas mask and slipped it over the lower half of its face.
“HUMAN, I’M A SMART RULER!!”
The smile on my face widened. Compared to that Goblin Warlock, this Bloodborne Orc was only passable at best. I shifted into a stance and beckoned the angry Orc forward.
“Come on then. Your subjects are waiting for you.”