Chapter 23: Shadows of Conspiracy

“How did you manage to survive that?! Truly manly! I take it back! Very manly!” Candreva’s voice boomed through the small apartment, disbelief plastered across his rugged face. His thick, bushy brows shot up in surprise as he stared at the one-armed Ivanic. For once, Candreva’s usual bravado seemed to falter, momentarily humbled by the older man’s tale.

Ivanic stood by the window, his posture tense, as if reliving the horrors of his past. The soft light filtering through the wooden shutters barely softened the shadows that clung to him. His eyes, cold and distant, shimmered with a mixture of anger and regret. "Survive?" he spat, his voice dripping with bitterness. "I didn’t survive because I was strong, or manly, or any of that nonsense. I survived because of them." The word "them" came out like venom, his lips curling as if the very thought disgusted him. "The Protectors showed up just in time, but they weren’t heroes. They were scavengers."

The air in the room seemed to chill with Ivanic’s words. The warmth from Candreva’s booming voice faded, replaced by a cold, suffocating silence. Niko, sitting on the edge of his bunk, felt the weight of Ivanic’s story settle over him like a fog. This wasn’t just about monsters and dungeons—this was a tale of betrayal, of survival in a world where the real enemies wore human faces.

Ivanic’s voice grew darker, more somber, as he continued. "I was with a good team. We leveled up fast—faster than most. In just three weeks, I hit level three. We thought we were unstoppable. We found a dungeon, a cave leading underground. Rank F-. Seemed manageable, right?" His laughter was hollow, filled with bitterness. "We were so stupid."

Niko felt his pulse quicken. This wasn’t just a cautionary tale. Ivanic’s story was a warning—a glimpse into the brutal reality that awaited anyone foolish enough to trust the wrong people. He leaned forward, unable to tear his gaze away from the one-armed man.

"The monsters were easy at first," Ivanic said, his voice dropping as if the memory itself weighed him down. "Weaklings, nothing more than bait to lure us in. But then we reached the end of the dungeon. There was a centipede… massive, armored, faster than anything we had ever seen. It was ranked F, but what we didn’t know was that dungeons hide a creature one rank higher at the end. That thing ripped through us like we were paper." His jaw clenched, his eyes hardening as he lifted his stump of an arm slightly. "It tore my arm off before I even realized what was happening."

A tense silence followed, thick and oppressive. Niko’s stomach twisted as he imagined the scene—his mind painting gruesome images of Ivanic’s team being torn apart, their screams lost in the darkness of the cave. He shuddered, feeling the weight of Ivanic’s loss as if it were his own.

Zheng, curious as ever, broke the silence. “What happened to the dungeon rewards? What did you get?”

Ivanic’s face twisted with renewed anger, his teeth grinding together. “Rewards? We got nothing,” he growled. “The Protectors took everything.”

Niko frowned, confusion crossing his features. “But you said they saved you, right?”

Ivanic slammed his remaining fist into the wooden bedframe, the sharp crack of his knuckles striking the wood echoing through the room. "Saved me?" His voice was shaking with barely contained rage. “Those bastards didn’t save us—they scavenged what was left! They looted everything. All the loot, the dungeon rewards, even the gear off my dead teammates’ bodies! Then they had the gall to tell me I could stay in these noob dorms for another month as ‘compensation’! Like they were doing me some kind of favor!”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Niko’s heart sank. His image of the Protectors—the heroes of the settlement, the supposed guardians of the weak—shattered in an instant. They weren’t protectors at all. They were vultures, preying on the dead and dying.

Candreva, ever the loudmouth, couldn’t hold back his disbelief. “They’re supposed to help people, right? To keep us safe, to ensure humanity survives!”

Ivanic let out a cold, humorless laugh. “Help people? They help themselves. They control everything—the loot, the resources, the power. The contribution system? It’s all a lie, a way to keep us under control while they take whatever they want. They’ve turned the settlement into their own kingdom.”

A heavy chill settled over the room, and Niko could feel it wrapping around him like a suffocating blanket. The settlement, which had once seemed like a safe haven, was nothing more than a prison. A prison controlled by those who could crush anyone who dared to challenge them.

“They’d really kill people for loot?” Niko asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. The enormity of what Ivanic was saying pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe.

Ivanic’s eyes burned with cold fury. “They already have. Plenty of times. You think the monsters are the only things killing people out there? No. The Protectors take out anyone who threatens their control. Look around—why do you think so few survivors make it? Half die to monsters. The other half get killed when they find something valuable or become too strong.”

The bitterness in Ivanic’s voice was palpable, and Niko felt it settle in his chest like a rock. How many people had died because they had trusted the wrong side? Because they had thought the Protectors were there to protect them?

“Take the Godly Warriors,” Ivanic continued, his voice darkening further. “They were strong—strong enough to threaten the Protectors. They conquered a dungeon, came back with the rewards. And the next day, they were wiped out. Every last one of them. The Protectors made sure of it. But they didn’t stop there—they made it look like an accident. There’s only one person the protectors couldn't touch: the Old Monster on the first mountain.”

Zheng’s eyes widened, curiosity piqued. “The Old Monster?”

Ivanic nodded grimly. “One of the first summoned. He has some kind of cheat skill—no one knows exactly what it is. But people who go up that mountain never come back. The Protectors are scared of him, but they can’t do anything about it. So instead, they focus on controlling the rest of us.”

Niko’s pulse raced. This world wasn’t just about monsters or dungeons—it was a battleground for power. And the Protectors weren’t saviors; they were tyrants.

“What can we even do?” Niko’s voice was barely audible, the hopelessness creeping into his tone. “We’re weak. We can’t fight them.”

Ivanic’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. “We get stronger,” he said simply. “I’ve been planning this for a long time. I know dungeons—places where we can level up fast, safely, without the Protectors knowing. We bide our time, grow, and recruit others who’ve been wronged. And when the time is right, we take control of our own fate.”

His words hung in the air, thick with promise and danger. Niko felt a flicker of hope stir within him, though it was tainted with fear. Ivanic wasn’t just offering strength—he was offering revenge. But was it worth the risk?

“How do you plan to fight them after that?” Niko pressed. “Even if we get to level 10, we’re still no match for them.”

Ivanic’s smile widened, a predatory glint in his eyes. “We don’t fight them at level 10. We wait, gather more people. Behind the third mountain, there’s a spawn point. The monsters there are tough, but if we can take control of the area, we’ll have access to fresh summons. We build our own force, an army. Then, and only then, do we strike.”

This world wasn’t what he had imagined. The Protectors weren’t heroes. They were tyrants. But with Ivanic’s guidance, Niko would get stronger, and one day, maybe, he would be the one holding the power. At least that's what he went with for now, in truth he trusted no one and would do what benefited him most.