Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society Chapter 98-99

Chapter 98. Granting Freedom (5)

Walker carried out his mission swiftly and precisely. Although he looked pathetic when I was beating him up, his stealth ability was truly good enough to trick an SS ranker. In just two days, he brought us all of the data Brightman had on Hwaya.

"I destroyed or burned everything that I couldn't bring. There isn't even a single word or photo left of you."

Walker a.s.sured us. Since neither the contract nor his personality made it likely that he'd lie, Hwaya quickly burned everything in front of her and nodded.

"Alright, good."

"But he will definitely find out I was the one who did it. Simply put, I just burned the bridge connecting us."

"Good, Walker. You can now stay in the dungeon until I'm done with my business here. You can come with me when I go back to Korea."

"… Even if I use my stealth ability, Brightman will find out if I leave the country with you. He's watching you closely. You already know, right?"

"There won't be any problem… Don't worry. I don't want him to discover my ident.i.ty either. He doesn't know how I came here, right?"

"No one here knew you were coming until you arrived at Windermere. Mastiford was thorough in hiding her tracks."

"Huhu, it wasn't much."

Hwaya was wearing a proud smile. Of course, as Hwaya was an SS ranker, it wasn't weird that she had allies that could hide from Brightman.

"It's fine then. When I go back, I'll be using my own method. You can come with me then, Walker."

"Your method, huh…? You must have a special skill."

"Yep, exactly. So you can just focus on the dungeon before then… Ah."

I almost forgot.

"Walker, here."

"What's… This is Serina's Guardian Bracelet!"

Walker grabbed the bracelet I held out and his eyes opened wide.

"Ah, it's a bit different. Lin said he added something to it."

"But how…? Didn't you shatter and burn it!?"

"Mm, yeah, but it seems the important parts were fine. It's a reward for doing your job well and for all the work you'll do in the future."

In truth, I took the remains of the broken bracelet to Lin at Fairy Garden, thinking maybe he could make a new item. As the important parts of it were still okay, a new bracelet was made using First Dungeon's monster drop items. The resulting guardian bracelet was even better than the old one, but unfortunately, it was still bound to Walker. Although I thought about breaking it again, since he would be in charge of protecting my sister, I decided to give it back to him.

"Ku… I thought I'd never see it again…"

Walker looked touched as he rubbed the guardian bracelet on his cheek. I tried my best to ignore the rather disgusting scene.

"Since you're the one who broke it in the first place, I won't thank you. But I can promise I will do my utmost to fulfill the contents of the contract."

"Of course."

Although we wouldn't ever come to like each other, Walker's hostility toward Hwaya and me seemed to have lessened now that he got his bracelet back. After equipping the guardian bracelet, he went back to the dungeon. According to him, he was on the 44th floor.

"By the way, s.h.i.+n, what dungeon are you from? You said you weren't Gold ranked yet, right? But since you overwhelmed Walker like that, are you perhaps also in the Second Dungeon?"

Hwaya asked casually. I also responded casually.

"I'm in the First Dungeon."

"What, why are you in the First!? Even I'm in the Second!"

Yep, I knew she'd get angry.

"My father is a First Dungeon explorer. Since he appointed me as an explorer, I'd naturally be in the First Dungeon."

"Uuuk, t-that means your friend is also in the First Dungeon…"

"Right."

"Uuuguu! But I'm stronger! I want to be in the First Dungeon too!"

"No… You should give up."

"I won't! I'll become Platinum ranked and go to the First Dungeon!"

"What?"

I raised my head.

"What do you mean? You'll become Platinum ranked and go to the First Dungeon?"

"You didn't know? The way to go to a higher ranked Dungeon."

"This is the first time I've heard about it."

As I wore a dumbfounded look, Hwaya began to explain.

"I only found out after I broke through the 65th floor. In the Second Dungeon, you'll become a Platinum ranked explorer after the 80th floor, and if you complete a certain achievement on top of that, you can become a First Dungeon explorer with your level adjusted!"

"What's the achievement?"

"I don't know!"

I looked at her like she was an idiot. She seemed to have noticed what I was thinking, as she pinched my arm, then writhed in pain with her hurt fingers. However, she soon continued triumphantly.

"But you know, if it's an achievement, it's probably something like that. I already have one. Huhu, burning over half the monster in the dungeon floor at the same time! I even got a t.i.tle, 'Incarnation of Agni.' Amazing, right?"

"Agni. The G.o.d of fire from Hindu mythology. T-That's amazing…"

I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I had a G.o.d's true name.

"Did you get an achievement yet? Ah, it's fine even if you haven't. It's just that I'm too amazing. I think you're skilled too. Plus, you'll continue to get stronger, so you'll have lots of chances to obtain an achievement."

I completely ignored her consoling words and continued.

"Hwaya, I don't know what achievement you have to make to become a First Dungeon explorer, but I'll tell you the achievements I've made so far, so you can refer to them."

"Achievements, plural!?"

"First, breaking through four floors in 7 hours."

"… Are you human?"

"Second, challenging a Floor Master alone on your first try and defeating him. The achievement is better if you're the first one in the Second Dungeon's history to do it."

"You… really?"

"Really."

"Even if you aren't the first, defeating a Floor Master alone still counts as an achievement, and beating an Event Raid with few partic.i.p.ants also counts as an achievement. But they aren't anything big, so I doubt those will be it."

"Obtaining a G.o.d's true name can be a great achievement. Since you already have Incarnation of Agni, you might be able to obtain Agni's true name if you try harder. Like if you could burn all the monsters in a dungeon floor at the same time."

"… Huu."

Hwaya, who was listening to me silently, became dispirited. Then, she blurted out.

"I'm jealous."

"You really are honest…"

"Uuu, I hate it. I hate myself and I hate you. Why am I jealous of you…? Our dungeons are different and our battle styles are different… but still… I'm jealous!"

Seeing Hwaya play with her hair, not knowing what to do, I asked.

"So, are you just going to stay jealous?"

"Of course not! G.o.d's true name, right? Defeating a Floor Master alone? Uuu, just you watch! I'll achieve them and become a First Dungeon explorer. Prepare yourself. Now will be the only time you can talk so arrogantly! Got it, Kang s.h.i.+n?"

Ooh, she's fired up! I answered her enthusiastic words with a smile. I really liked people that weren't overconfident. I liked hard-working people even more.

"Good luck, I'll be cheering for you."

"Don't cheer me on with such a kind face! My hostility is disappearing!"

"You shouldn't be hostile towards your friend…"

As I answered Hwaya with amus.e.m.e.nt, a question suddenly popped up in my head.

If there was a way to go from the Second Dungeon to the First Dungeon… Where could I go from the First Dungeon?

After I joined Hwaya's team, our hunting speed more than tripled. As I easily took care of the fishmen that were causing the most problems for them, it was only natural. Furthermore, every time I screamed on the s.h.i.+p, monsters flocked toward us, allowing us to take care of them in one go.

"Amazing. How can T.K.'s voice provoke other monsters?"

"I don't know, maybe they know I'm strong, so they're coming to fight together?"

I gave a half-hearted reply and punched a nearby fishman. Hwaya, who could surmise the reason, grinned and sent her fireb.a.l.l.s flying without saying anything.

Just like that, four days pa.s.sed. By the time I stored over ten melting tunas in my inventory, the lake had begun to change. Simply put, the monsters became stronger. The number of fishmen decreased, and the number of melting tunas and toothsaws increased. Although it was a very good thing for me, it was undoubtedly an unusually change.

Then, on the seventh day after I arrived at Windermere, while we were fighting melting tunas and toothsaws wildly, our s.h.i.+p came face to face with Brightman's s.h.i.+p. Although there were only five people on our s.h.i.+p, Brightman had seven people on his. Besides Tommy, who was on the s.h.i.+p even though he still hadn't fully recovered, Brightman was the only British ranker. I knew they had an A+ rank healer, so four other S rankers had come to aid Brightman.

"Miss Mastiford, you've been doing extremely well lately."

"We only have elites. You and I aren't close enough to be chatting like this, so why don't you turn your s.h.i.+p around and leave?"

"Huu, how cold, even though I'm always thinking about you."

"You're always thinking about me, you say…? That's really, really creepy."

Brightman flinched, seeming having sensed something from Hwaya's sizzling voice. Then, he continued.

"By the way, Miss Mastiford, I forgot to put a collar on my pet dog, and he ran away. I'm looking for him, but I can't seem to find him. He's a brown-haired dachshund. Have you seen him?"

"I don't know why you're asking me about your lost dog, Brightman. Ah, I don't know about a dog, but I did see a black c.o.c.kroach in my house… I instantly burned it to cinders."

"… Ah, I see. My bad."

Then, Brightman glared at me for some reason. What, why are you looking at me? Hwaya seemed to have noticed who Brightman was looking at as she snorted. Then, she lowered the tone of her voice and growled at Brightman.

"Brightman, I'm warning you. If you overstep your boundaries, I'm prepared to do the same. I'm proud that you are British, but I'm disillusioned the more I interact with you. You're one of the superhumans representing our country. You should know what that means. Understood?"

"Hahaha, you're funny, Miss Mastiford. Of course I understand what that means. Miss Mastiford is also a superhuman representing our country. Don't you think we're perfect for each other?"

"I'm telling you to shut up before the number of superhumans representing our country is reduced to one."

Brightman was the one who ordered Walker to observe Hwaya and even take pictures of her secretly.

Just like I thought when I first obtained the evidence of Brightman's wrongdoing, the British government would most likely refuse to do anything that would harm Brightman. It didn't matter what crimes he committed. Although I didn't know it at first, Brightman supposedly had an overwhelming influence over the British government and Guardian. Since he had political power, monetary power, and military power, it was understandable.

In other words, although they were both SS rankers, Brightman had a higher standing in Britain. There were undoubtedly many supporters of Hwaya, but it was probably only to the extent that they didn't get in the way of Brightman.

No matter how much Hwaya loved her country, if Britain continued to ignore Brightman's overbearing actions, Hwaya might lose her patience. That was what Hwaya was warning him about.

"Miss Mastiford… How can you say that? As fellow British n.o.bles, aren't you embarra.s.sed?"

"Embarra.s.sed? Would someone who knows what embarra.s.sment is do what you've been doing?"

"Tsk… Miss Mastiford, you weren't like this before. As I thought, you shouldn't hang out with people outside of your cla.s.s."

Hwaya made a huge flame and threw it. It hit the water between our s.h.i.+p and Brightman's s.h.i.+p, exploding with a thundering roar and making an enormous amount of steam rise up.

"Don't. Insult. My. Friend."

Although her voice wasn't loud, her voice reached my ears clearly.

"At the very least, they're better than a piece of trash like you. Brightman, if you really are a n.o.ble, if you really think about Britain and its future, you should screw the h.e.l.l off and not involve yourself with me. Dig open those filthy earholes and let my words stick in your mind! I won't ever like a sc.u.mbag like you! I never did and I never will! So turn your s.h.i.+p around and screw off, you oldie!"

"What a beautiful speech… If I do say so myself, her speech from just now should be placed above Churchill's commencement speech. She managed to pack her spirit and intentions into such a short speech."

"No, Mike, that's too much. I'd say it's about on the same level as Steve Jobs' commencement speech."

"You guys shouldn't make fun of commencement speeches like that. You'll get arrested."

As I clapped, I warned Mike and Paul who were saying some nonsense drivel. When they both gave me a thumbs up, I got the strong urge to break them, but I restrained myself.

However, rather than making Brightman turn his s.h.i.+p and leave, her shouting and flame seemed to have first called something.

Oooooong. For a moment, something created a strong vibration in the water.

"Whoa."

"Mike!"

The moment something popped out of the water, Paul quickly pushed Mike away and blocked that something with his s.h.i.+eld. Thanks to Paul's timely defense, we were able to see the thing that was vibrating so strongly.

"It's a saw!"

"A really big one too!"

As the words left my mouth, I created a specially large Thunder Arrow in my hand and threw it forward. When it hit the eye of the giant toothsaw, which was about to break through Paul's s.h.i.+eld with its sharp saw-snout, the giant toothsaw screamed and fell back.

"So you could use lightning outside of just your fists!"

"Before that, take care of him! He has to be the Field Dungeon's boss!"

Although normal toothsaws were large too, just this guy's body was over 20 meters long. Naturally, his saw-snout was several meters long too. With that huge saw and its unnaturally strong vibration, it was possible that the s.h.i.+p would be cut in half. Hwaya gritted her teeth and created flames in both her hands.

"Looks like you'll need my help!"

"Just don't bother us, Brighman!"

Although Hwaya shot down Brightman's offer immediately, as the boss of an A+ rank Field Dungeon could easily kill a ranker, refusing his offer wasn't necessarily the best idea. Hwaya naturally became quieter, and knowing that, Brightman moved his s.h.i.+p forward towards us.

[Master, careful.]

"About what?"

[I can hear a singing voice. Other people will hear it soon too.]

"Singing voice…?"

[Protect your mind!]

Hearing Peika's warning, I circulated Peruta Circuit, when a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

That giant toothsaw charging at us to cut our s.h.i.+p probably wasn't the one singing. In that case…

"There are… two bosses?"

The moment I murmured…

[Lala~ Lalala~]

I began to hear a beautiful female singing voice. It was the kind of heavenly singing voice that charmed whoever heard it and made even the most tearless person cry.

It was the singing voice that gave this Field Dungeon the name, 'Graveyard Over the Lake.'

Author's Note:
Upping Walker's goodwill with a carrot and a stick method! And a slight foreshadowing to go with it!

Chapter 99. Granting Freedom (6)

[Lalala~ Lala~]

"Uh, woah!"

Brightman's s.h.i.+p was the first to have problems. Its helmsman fainted, and the s.h.i.+p, which was heading toward us slowly, suddenly sped up greatly. Our s.h.i.+p's helmsman was the next to faint, giving us no chance to move our s.h.i.+p. There was no doubt that the singing was attacking our minds, just like the voices of the sirens that attacked Odysseus on his way back to Ithaca!

"Mike, do something!"

"s.h.i.+t. There's not enough time…!"

"O wind!"

Thankfully, someone on Brightman's s.h.i.+p seemed to be able to wield wind, as a strong wind suppressed the motor that had gone out of control, diverting Brightman's s.h.i.+p away from us. However, after changing directions, they were charging towards the giant toothsaw.

"Hey, ramming it with your s.h.i.+p isn't going to do much damage!"

"Stop saying stupid things and start chanting, Mike!"

Paul yelled at Mike and ran next to me. Then, the singing voice once again rang out.

[Lalala~ Lala~]

"Eh… Eh?"

Paul made a stupefied voice. Come on, S rankers, you should be able to endure some mental attacks! I urgently shouted in a loud voice.

"Everyone snap out of it!"

[You used Orc Lord's Warcry! All party members are cleansed of negative status effects. All party members' attack power increases by 50 percent for the duration. All party members become super-armored, unfazed by enemy attacks.]

The next moment, Paul, who was staggering, stood back up. His eyes were clear and unconfused.

"Wow, your shouting voice is amazing, T.K.! My mind feels clear, and I can feel strength surging through my body! I feel like I can even smack that guy to death with my s.h.i.+eld!"

"You exaggerate too much! Just focus on blocking that thing's attack! Hwaya, do you know where the voice is coming from?"

"I'll find out!"

Since I had already revealed Thunder Arrow, I decided to use Peika's abilities freely.

"Peika, please."

[Leave it to me, Master! Thunder Spear!]

A large spear of lightning formed in mid-air, drawing everyone's attention. I ignored their gazes and threw the lightning spear at the toothsaw. At the same time, I realized something important. Brightman's s.h.i.+p was still charging straight at the toothsaw!

"What, why haven't they recovered they consciousness!?"

"Oh, so your shout really did have a special power…!"

The moment Paul let out an exclamation of surprise, I realized. They weren't my party members!

"Madam Brown!"

"I'm already on it! 'Mind Recovery!'"

Madam Brown spread her arms out and used mind recovery magic. A few of the people on Brightman's s.h.i.+p raised their heads. Brightman was, of course, one of them.

"Kuk, what is this voice…!?"

"Brightman, turn the s.h.i.+p around!"

Paul shouted. Brightman and the other rankers realized the situation they were in and ran to the steering wheel. At the same time, the toothsaw began to move. Towards us.

"Eh?"

"Huk, it must be because you attacked it, T.K.!"

"Kuk… Fine, I'll take care of it."

Because of the sheer size of the thing, I wasn't exactly sure what to do, so I decided to take care of it in an orderly way. First, its eyes. Then, its frightening saw. With that, I threw a second Thunder Spear at its eye.

[Kiaaaaa!]
[Lalala~]

The singing voice once again rang out. At the same time, hit by the Thunder Spear, the toothsaw screamed and swung its sawblade randomly. Then, it saw Brightman's s.h.i.+p, as Brightman and the others had once again fallen in a daze to the singing voice. Not only did they fail to turn the s.h.i.+p around, this time their wind magician also lost his consciousness. Come on, don't you guys have a healer too!?

"Oh no, they're too far from us! We'll have to go there ourselves…!"

"Agh, so annoying…!"

[Lalala~ Listen to my singing~]

"If it's singing, you should do it at a concert!"

I retorted angrily and once again threw a Thunder Spear at the toothsaw. Hwaya also shot a huge fireball at it.

"Come over here, you shark b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

"Done! Ocean Guidance!"

Mike finished his magic at the perfect moment. Surprisingly, the rough lake waters began to roll artificially, and Brightman's s.h.i.+p began to move toward us.

"Oooh, Mike!"

"Hahaha, this is the power of my magic!"

"The magic's name is Ocean's 'Guidance,' but…"

[Lala~ Why aren't you listening to me? Lalala~]

The girl's voice was changing slightly. Throwing a Thunder Spear at the toothsaw, I asked Hwaya without facing her.

"Hwaya, did you find it yet?"

"Ah, sorry. I missed it because I was attacking the toothsaw."

"Alright, then let's just finish the toothsaw before it appears. Madam Brown, when that s.h.i.+p gets closer, use that recovery magic attack."

"Leave it to me."

When my attack stopped for just a moment, the toothsaw vibrated its sawblade strongly. Just when I was wondering what it would do, it stuck it beneath the water. Then, waves began to rise up violently. Come on, this was a lake, not the ocean! The waves rolled strongly, and Hwaya fell in the middle of shooting out her flames. Before she dropped her flames on the floor and caused a disaster, I jerked her arm and held her in my embrace.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not okay! How are you okay!?"

"Because I trained."

Paul seemed to be hanging on, while Mike was floating in the air. Levitation! I heard about that magic before!

"Hwaya, didn't you say you were originally a magician!? Can't you use levitation?"

"I can… Hold me like this for a bit."

"Got it."

Supporting her with my chest and one arm, I used the other arm to continue throwing Thunder Spears. The problem wasn't our s.h.i.+p, but Brightman's. We managed to get it to approach our s.h.i.+p with Ocean Guidance, but because of the violent waves, the s.h.i.+p had stopped in the middle and was now trying to spit out its pa.s.sengers! When I told the others about it, Mike responded.

"It's probably easier to get them to come to our s.h.i.+p! The s.h.i.+p's too heavy, it's hard to drag it from so far!"

"Hey, say that earlier!"

Hwaya shouted in annoyance and threw a fireball. Immediately afterwards, the bottom of Brightman's s.h.i.+p exploded and the s.h.i.+p cleanly flipped over. However, there was a problem. The toothsaw was charging at us. In its path were the people that fell overboard from Brightman's s.h.i.+p.

"Mike, hurry!"

"That guy's timing is impeccable!"

[Lalalala~ You don't like my singing?]

"I don't want to hear it!"

[How rude!]

The owner the voice responded to me for the first time. Hwaya also made her move. Using levitation, she floated up into the air. Then, she stretched her arms towards the toothsaw and shouted.

"Die!"

Two rays of white flames shot out from each of her hand, spiraling together and forming a thick white line. The next moment, the toothsaw's eye exploded. As my Thunder Arrow had already destroyed its other eye, the toothsaw lost its vision. As a result, it was now acting more violently.

[Kuaaaaaang!]
[Agh, shut up! Because of you, I can't sing!]

Weren't you guys friends!? Kuk, no, I can't listen to her! She might charm me again! I tried to ignore her to the best of my ability and shouted at Mike.

"Mike, hurry up! They're in danger!'

"I know, I'm hurrying!"

"Eit!"

Paul jumped into the lake. It seemed he was going to go save them in person. It was a good idea. I threw another Thunder Spear at the toothsaw, then jumped in after Paul.

"Die, die, die!"

Hwaya shot out white flames repeatedly. As an SS ranker, each of her attacks dealt critical blows to the toothsaw. Although some of them missed their mark, every time the attack hit the toothsaw, it writhed in pain and swung its saw violently. Seeing its blood spread through the lake water, I felt a sense of foreboding. Immediately afterward, Paul, who was on his way back with people in his embrace, looked in the water and shouted.

"d.a.m.n it, T.K.! Toothsaws are flocking toward us!"

"I was just thinking that might happen. Hurry, Paul! Go up first and protect the others!"

With two foreign S rankers in his embrace, Paul jumped onto the s.h.i.+p. I also saved the two S rankers that came to help Britain and threw them onto the s.h.i.+p. Although Paul signaled me to come up, I shook my head.

"T.K., come up!"

"What about the others? If we leave them, they'll die. If they're going to be killed, I'll be the one to do it, not some monsters like them."

"But it's dangerous down there!"

I ignored Paul and asked Peika.

"Peika, can you see the weakest person among the people floating there?"

[Yeah!]

"Can you make your lightning not work on that person only?"

[If it's just one person, I can do it!]

"Good, then we're going with max output now."

[Okay!]

I took in a deep breath, and gave all my mana to Peika. I deactivated Spirit Aura without anyone noticing. Although it wasn't as strong as when Peika was materialized, Peika could still make full use of her power. Floating up in the air, Peika opened her folding fan. Her golden eyes flashed.

[Thunder Wave!]

In an instant, the surface of the lake was dyed golden.

[Kiaaaaaaak!]]

The large toothsaw screamed, then became paralyzed. At the same time, the violent waves stopped. Using this opportunity, Hwaya raised her hands and shot out an especially large fireball, and the toothsaw exploded without leaving behind a trace. Although it had lost its two eyes, it still should have had ample health. Even so, Hwaya's fireball had obliterated it so cleanly. It was slightly terrifying. Her firepower was indeed excellent, but her flaw was that it took a while for her to gather it…

Then, two of the three people left floating on the lake, Brightman and Tommy, trembled. I believe you guys can endure it! Though, I'd be fine even if they didn't!

Finally, the toothsaws that were flocking from the smell of blood fainted from Peika's strengthened Thunder Wave and floated up to the surface. Just from a glance, there seemed to be more than two hundred of them. The people on the boat made awestruck exclamations.

"No way…"
"Thunder Knight, amazing…!"

I quickly swam. Although it would have been good if all the toothsaws were dead, my elemental magic wasn't that strong yet. If I couldn't save Brightman and the others while the toothsaws were unconscious, things would become more gory than what happened in the movie Jaws. I didn't want to see such a horror film, nor did I want to experience it. Most importantly, if they died, Britain would be troubled.

I first grabbed Tommy and the A+ rank healer, and threw them onto the s.h.i.+p. Then, I heard the voice again.

[Kyaaaaak! It hurts, you're so mean! All I did was sing, and you bully me like this!]

She was hurt by Thunder Wave, too! So she was hiding inside the lake. She was the reason I was in this mess, so what was she going on about? When I looked around the lake in the middle of rescuing Brightman, her voice rang out again.

[I'm going back. Hero is a meanie! Other kids are going to come kill you. Beh!]

"Other kids… will come kill me…?"

I instinctively retorted, as a word I couldn't ignore was mixed in her statement.

[That's right! Because we've been told to kill the Hero!]

I didn't know where or how she was talking to me, but her voice reached my ears clearly. In any case, she was told to kill me? By whom? Why? Plus, how did she know I was the Hero? Just what is a Hero anyways? Hearing the word I hadn't expected to hear, I froze for a moment.

[I felt bad because you were getting bullied, so I was going to play with you, but you electrocuted me! Beh, beh! I don't care if you die now!]

"W-Wait, talk to me! Where are you!?"

[I'm not coming out! If you're going to apologize, you better bring me some apple pie!]

With that, I no longer heard her voice. d.a.m.n it, don't just disappear after saying that!

"Where am I even going to get an apple pie…?"

I was dumbfounded. She didn't even reveal herself, and disappeared after saying what she had to say. However, my party members on the s.h.i.+p were staring at me like I was acting strange.

"T.K., what are you talking about? Apple pie?"
"Are you okay?"

"… You guys, did you not hear what the owner of the singing voice said?"

"Hm? We didn't hear anything other than the 'lala's."

Then she only transmitted her voice to me? There was just too much to wrap my head around. Before my brain overloaded, I hit my head. Right now, I had to use my body, not my head. I had to save Brightman, even though I didn't want to even touch or see him. Before he became a corpse in Graveyard Over the Lake.

"I'm sorry that you have to do this."

"You should be."

Couldn't those magicians levitate other people with their magic? Even as I bluntly answered Hwaya, I swam toward Brightman. Then, I held him in my hands.

It was then that he opened his eyes.

Then, he punched my face.

"Kuk!"

As I did not expect him to open his eyes, much less punch me in the face, I did not resist his punch in the slightest. Plus, it hurt. Although I was used to pain from all those years I spent as a dungeon explorer, the pain I felt now ranked among the highest. Just from a single punch, my body rose up from the water and flew dozens of maters back.

"Kyaaaak! Brightman, what are you doing!?"

"No, d.a.m.n it! T.K.!"

Hwaya was shocked and Mike cursed. Hm? Why Mike? In the middle of flying, I turned my head. As it had been a while since I experienced being unable to control my body, I actually enjoyed the refres.h.i.+ng feeling. Brightman, I won't kill you gracefully, you son of a b.i.t.c.h.

When I turned my head thinking such idle thoughts, I surprisingly saw a melting tuna. It was an extremely large melting tuna. It was even bigger than the giant toothsaw from before. Not to mention, this one's body was entirely red. It seemed at least three times as strong and fast as the giant toothsaw. Continuing to hide my strength seemed dangerous. The moment I tried to summon Ruyue…

The melting tuna opened its mouth.

Without a chance to do anything, the melting tuna swallowed me whole.

Translator's note:
X-ranker has been changed to X ranker, as my editor and I decided it would be clearer for when "+" or "-" are used. No author’s note for this chapter btw!