Since coal didn't interest me in the slightest, I collected three of the most intact chainmail pieces and wrapped two dozen swords in them before leaving the dungeon - everything that remained after the goblin warriors. These items were hardly suitable for protection and weaponry, as the size of the chainmail was clearly smaller than human, and the blades made of poor bronze were quite a disappointment. But as material for smelting, they could interest a blacksmith. And the thirty silver that this loot was roughly worth would not be superfluous for me.

As I approached the Exit, I paused for a moment to tidy myself up. I felt the urge to, as they say, put on a show and leave the dungeon squeaky clean. There was a peculiar chic in this among the tunnellers.

As I was cleaning up, I pondered what color my achievements would be for this Reset. If I had gone through the dungeon in a group, the record would have been in color corresponding to the dungeon rank. But going solo, as young aristocrats do, raises this reward by three steps. Precisely because of this higher-level divine calligraphy, the Core fills up faster. Unlike those aristocrats, I cleared the dungeon without artifacts, external buffs, or alchemy. In the last Cycle, I didn't go through dungeons in such a "format." At the very least, during such solo Resets, I had low-level artifacts and used enhancing and healing alchemy.

Having finished cleaning my chainmail, I picked up what I had gathered from the goblins and, approaching the Door, placed my palm on it. Before I left the dungeon, all the achievements I had gained in it were recorded on the shell of my Core. The color of these records was Sapphire! That is, five ranks higher than the dungeon level.

Excellent!

If I keep up such a pace, Elevation to Bronze in the remaining time doesn't seem like something unrealistic. The catch is that pulling off a similar trick somewhere else would be quite difficult. With mixed feelings, I put on the friendliest smile and took a step forward.

The entire trip to the Coal Dungeon took me no more than two hours, so when I appeared on the rocky platform in front of the Gate, people had not yet dispersed to their homes. Some were vigorously arguing, trying to prove something to others, some were lying silently and resting, and children were simply running and playing.

No one noticed my appearance at first. Even the few who had bet on me, even they did not expect me to clear the dungeon so quickly. The local tunnellers were sitting with their backs to the Gate, drinking beer. Carefully, so as not to make noise, I placed the loot on the rocks, took a step forward, and squatted next to the tunnellers engrossed in an argument, taking a position to the side and slightly behind.

"What can that weakling do?" The guy who tried to provoke me into a fight yesterday loudly exclaimed after taking a sip of beer. "Alone, without buffs, without alchemy? The first pair of caveling warriors will chop him into a salad!"

"Don't be so sure. He seemed skilled to me," the head of the tunnellers replied more neutrally. "I think he can handle two or three patrols. But he will get wounds, and he can't use potions because they are considered alchemy. He'll weaken. And with each new battle, the wounds will take a greater toll. That's when he will meet his end."

This statement was met with understanding and agreement by all present.

Giving him a nudge on the shoulder, I reached out my hand. Carried away by his speech, the leader automatically passed me a beer flask. Taking a big swig, I demonstratively and loudly burped. Six heads immediately turned toward me. Six pairs of eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

What can I say...

It was worth it!

"Not bad beer," I said with a smile as I threw the flask back into the hands of the leader of the tunnellers and stood up.

"Yo-o-o-ou…" Lamir Shat pointed a finger in my direction as if I were a ghost, falling on his back and trying to crawl away from me.

The other tunnellers, except for their leader and young Sun, tried to replicate his strange actions.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha!!!" The elder's shrill voice immediately rang out over the platform. "Look! Mr. Raven has returned! Our guest conquered the Coal Dungeon alone! I didn't seat him at the head of the table for nothing!" Puffing up with pride, the obnoxious old man began jumping around me, clapping his hands. "Certainly, our village is about to receive the blessing of Kamo! Yanu, Kimu, Ina!" He pointed his finger at the named women. "Take the young ones and run to the village! Bring the drinks! In honor of this event, we will have a feast! Right here, right now."

"A feast in honor of your winnings from the bets?" A burly fisherman with arms crossed over his chest clarified.

Most of the villagers immediately supported him. Almost nobody shared the elder's joy about my successful exit from the dungeon. And that's understandable. People are mercantile creatures. They were already counting their "easy" winnings, and now there's suddenly such a disappointment. Anyone would be upset. So, I don't blame them for the lack of joy on their faces regarding my success.

Sensing the mood of his neighbors, the village elder immediately fell silent and hid behind my back. He calculated this move correctly; none of the locals would touch me right now, but he could have been beaten badly despite the position he held. Such is people's irritation from losing money, yep.

I look at this crowd, waiting, and when the cries of discontent start to grow, I raise my hand high. Instantly, complete silence falls over the platform. No one wants to argue with someone who single-handedly cleared the dungeon and who is backed by the "Defector," which still stood in the island's roadstead.

"If I understood you correctly, esteemed villagers, most of you are craving for a rematch?" I asked.

"A rematch?" The same fisherman who yelled at the elder asked back.

"I'm saying you want to get even."

"Get even?" The head of the irritated public pondered, then confidently added, "Of course we do!"

His words were supported by a rumbling murmur that rolled over the rocky platform. Clapping my hands loudly, I greet his words with a dazzling smile.

"So what's the problem?!" I look around at everyone with a haughty aristocratic gaze.

Usually, when you are looked at like that, you want to punch the person and at least break their nose. That's what I'm counting on - to provoke negativity towards myself so that, besides my guilt for their loss, they would dislike me even more, and no one on the platform would object to sending me to certain death.

"I am magnanimous." My words clearly implied the unsaid "to such commoners and rabble as you are." "Kind and just." The patronizing tone in which I spoke played perfectly. More and more people on the platform were looking at me with deep inner irritation. At this moment, I find myself somewhat repulsive because I hate those aristocrats who behave like this. But the prospective benefit is too great, so I continue to play my role.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Unbelievably just and magnanimous." My condescending words echo in complete silence. "I am ready to repeat the bet! I am willing to go through the Slime Dungeon of the third circle under the same conditions!" According to my plan, the crowd should have erupted in agreement, but everyone is silent. Damn! I have to go all-in. "And! In addition to clearing the dungeon, I will kill the Slime King!"

Now, this broke the dam. Almost all of them lost their bets and saw how I solo-cleared the goblin dungeon, so they were doubtful initially. But hearing the last condition, the locals were convinced that they were dealing with a madman who had completely lost his sense of self-preservation.

"Kill the Slime boss? Alone?!!" The head tunneller of Quad asked me.

"Exactly!" Keeping an expression of superiority on my face, I confirm.

"I bet forty silver against!!!" The head declared without the slightest doubt the very next second.

His swift agreement shows the others that betting on my defeat is a surefire win, and the crowd starts yelling.

"I have one condition!!" I shout, and the people fall silent. "This will be tomorrow. In the morning! I am tired today. And I need one night to prepare. A night during which no one will disturb my meditation! And I would like to spend this night meditating at the Gate of the Slime Dungeon. To spend the night alone, in silence."

"Yes, we agree!" The same fisherman dismissed my words. "Meditate as much as you can; just accept my bet!!"

Shoving all the betting fuss onto the blacksmith and the elder, as well as arranging with the former to sell the scrap from the goblins, I asked where I could wash and freshen up. The locals pointed me toward a hot spring. It was about five kilometers away, but since none other than widow Tuli offered to accompany me, I gladly let her lead the way.

The hot spring turned out to be quite small, about the size of an average jacuzzi. However, it was more than enough for us. And I washed up at the same time. When Tuli and I returned to the village five hours later, many of the settlement's women looked enviously at the widow's satisfied face - she looked like the cat that got the cream.

Apparently, Ilona is right, and I definitely have some kind of special aura. The "past me" certainly wasn't this popular among the female population. Or, in the past Cycle, I was simply too busy surviving and didn't notice the interested glances or the hints sent my way. On Earth, while I was still engaged in sports and hadn't let myself go, I also didn't lack female attention, but back then, I attributed that to the halo of a professional gymnast athlete.

My musings on such a pleasant occasion were interrupted by the elder Sun, Kwan's father, who invited me into his home. After I accepted the invitation, they fed me well, without any frills but hearty in a rustic way, and allowed me to sleep on their veranda until sunset, promising a quiet rest. And they kept their word. I indeed managed to get a good sleep in complete silence.

When Seguna rose, I put on my armor, and the younger Sun led me to the platform in front of the Gate to the Sulphur Dungeon. After that, the lad wished me luck and left me alone.

Sitting in the lotus position, I focused on the "Perception" aura, sharpening my senses to the limit. But apart from the receding steps of the blacksmith's son and the usual natural noise, I couldn't make out any other sounds. Apparently, the locals decided to abide by our agreements and did not plan to disturb my meditation.

There was nothing challenging for me in clearing the Sulphur Dungeon. My spear, with its incredibly sharp tip, would pierce through the thick skin of the slimes, and the "Discharge" would inflict the damage necessary for their demise. But all this is true for ordinary monsters. When it comes to the boss, at the moment, it's too tough a target for me. My whole arsenal and all my skills wouldn't be enough to kill that creature.

The Slime King has a much denser body, for one. He is not only immune to fire but also to water, for two. He also has immunity to many poisons, three. And the poisonous substances that can harm him are too expensive and rare, plus they are a product of alchemy, which I am forbidden to use. Even the strikes of my spear won't inflict much damage. More precisely, in theory, I could keep stabbing the monster if it weren't for one "but." His body is ravaged by winds of Spirit so powerful that they heal his wounds very quickly, four. Moreover, as if to spite me, he is immune to the lower spells of the School of Lightning, five. That is, my "Discharge" is useless against him. As would be the Des rune, which would only "shake" the insides of the slime but not harm him, six.

The locals deal with him primitively and reliably. They surround him with a full dozen of tunnellers, pin him down with shields, and hit him with everything they have, hoping to pierce the skin and inflict more damage than he can regenerate. But mostly, as on Un in the case of the Monkey's Den, the locals just bypass the Slime King's hall, resetting the dungeon without killing its boss. True, the reward for defeating the Slime King is more valuable than mountain crystal. In the central hall of the Sulfur Dungeon, one can collect a mineral called sulf, which is a stable solid crystalline form of sulfites, or in earthling terms, it is a naturally occurring salt of sulfurous acid. Quite an expensive alchemical reagent.

But, as I understood from the story of the younger Sun, there were not enough tunnellers on Quad to make a full dozen, and they rarely killed the boss, despite all the benefits. Unlike Un, the locals couldn't establish a long-term alliance with their neighbors. For this reason, they only went after the Slime King when a ship stopped at the island with Iron-ranked warriors or mages on board who were willing to go into the similarly ranked dungeon for the boss in exchange for a reward. For example, the last time this coincidence happened was over a year ago.

In general, the locals were right in their confidence that it is impossible to kill the Slime King alone without a legendary-level artifact. They probably assumed I didn't know all the specifics about the slimes and their boss, and that's why I offered to do something impossible. This fits their worldview. But they overlooked one possibility. However, it wasn't fair to blame them. To consider this possibility, one must possess much greater knowledge than is available to the local population. I don't think even Maestro Larindel has any idea how I'll accomplish what I've announced. And I have no doubt that he knows all the details of my bet with the locals.

As for the possibility I was banking on, it was on the edge of morally acceptable, on the very brink of that gray area – step over it, and you'll be lynched on the spot.

Waiting for Seguna to be almost at its zenith, I got up and walked around the Stela of the Sulfur Dungeon Gate. According to Ender's story, the Shadow Altar should have been somewhere around here. But even knowing this, finding it was not that easy. If not for the "Shadow Leader" achievement that I earned and, consequently, my affinity with Shadows, I would have missed it.

Almost at ground level, half overgrown with moss, the Altar of the Night Sister looked like a human palm print left on a rock. I looked closer - no, not a human one, the fingers that formed this print were too long and thin. It was the hand of a Sidhe that left a mark on this rock.

Clearing away the moss, I waited for Seguna to emerge from the clouds and positioned my hand so that the shadow of my palm fell precisely on the print in the stone. As soon as the outlines matched, my vision became hazy. My body felt weightless. I felt like I was being pulled, like an elastic band, away from the land, straight towards the Night Sister.

"Reveal your presence to me, the great goddess of twilight and shades," I prayed. "Bless me with your kiss, peerless Seguna. Acknowledge me as your younger brother, Divine Night Sister!"

And I was heard. The moon struck me. It crushed me to the ground. It shattered me into pieces. And then it reassembled me. Of course, all of this was happening not in reality but only in my consciousness, yet the impressions and sensations from this Reply were indescribable. I even briefly lost consciousness, and when I came to, I cursed loudly and grabbed my spear.

Just a couple of meters away from me, sitting right on the bare rocks, was a quester.

My throat went dry immediately. The hair on my head stood on end. Cold sweat ran down my spine.

"Raven," said the powerful visitor. "That is what you call yourself, and so I address you. You are the first of the sortudo to offer a true prayer to Seguna, the goddess of Shadow and Twilight. In honor of this event, we are willing to bless you with an individual task or, as you recently called it, a quest. Do you accept this, Raven?"

Is he mocking me? You can't tell from his tone. And what does 'sortudo' mean? They've never addressed me like this before. But wait, that's not important right now. Is he offering me an individual quest? Right now? In the last Cycle, I got a similar offer only after a year on Ain! I don't know what kind of task I'll get. Essentially, this is a real "pig in a poke." But I can't refuse. If I don't want to fall behind Katashi, Nate, Arien, and Dice, I need to accept it because the rewards for such tasks are incomparable to the common quests.

"I am ready. I agree."

"Good! There are many abandoned and forgotten altars of the Night Sister on Ain. Be the first to find ten of them and offer a prayer to Seguna at each. You have one year to complete this task. The reward is..." A Shadow Star appeared above his hand. "A Talent. The penalty is the nullification of all Shadow stars and abilities. The task has been stated, the quest - accepted!" The quester cheerfully, almost mockingly, declared before disappearing.

He vanished without a sound or trace.

My sigh of relief was probably heard even on the shore.