Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society - Chapter 46 – Hermes (1)
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Chapter 46 – Hermes (1)

I had only 1 week left in the 3 month time frame that Palludia had forced upon me.

And today, with the Muscle Strengthening Elixir I gained from the first Lizard Knight I hunted, I had reached my limit.

[Your muscles have become strengthened to their limit, greatly increasing your explosive power. Your strength and dexterity have both increased by 3. It seems there will be no further effect if you consume more of the same item.]

The moment the 10th increase appeared for the Muscle Strengthening Elixir, I saw my strength and dexterity increase by 3 for a total of 12. Combined together, they were almost 5 levels worth of stats.

[Name: Kang Shin

Race: Human

Sex: Male

Class: Elementalist (Sub – Skill Collector)

Title: Lizard Knight Master

Rank: Silver 9

Level: 21

HP – 7,650/7,650

MP – 5,460/5,460

Strength – 70(+22)

Dexterity – 63(+15)

Constitution – 60(+15)

Intelligence – 20(+5)

Magic – 77(+5)

Charm – 45(+5)

Luck – 21(+5)

Normal Skill – High-rank Martial Arts (Lv 1), High-rank Spear Technique (Lv 4), Peruta Circuit (Lv 4), Mid-rank Heroic Strike (Lv 3), Low-rank Provoke (Lv 9), Return (Lv 1), Deific Manifestation

Class Skill – Low-rank Spirit Mastery (Lv 9), Low-rank Spirit Aura (Lv 6), Low-rank Elemental Control (Lv 7), Low-rank Elemental Contract (Lv 7), Low-rank Elemental Tempest (Lv 8), Thunder Beast (Lv 1)

Subclass Skill – Endow Skill, Spirit of the Collector]

“Wow, 22 bonus stats just in strength.”

I had gotten 5 from the obtaining titles, 2 from the Power Earring I obtained on the 5th floor, and 10 from the Lizard Knight set effect.

The other 5 came from Black Earthen Spear, which had a cheat effect of increasing my strength by 5 and dexterity by 10. A reward from an A-rank dungeon clearly didn’t disappoint.

There was more. All attacks done with the spear applied poison damage, and poisoned the enemy with a fixed chance!

I didn’t regret picking the Black Earthen Spear at all. Although it had not been long since I got my Silver Spear, it was simply incomparable to the Black Earthen Spear, both in terms of stat bonuses and extra effects.

“Though I’d love to enter another Event Dungeon…”

After Korea’s Gate suddenly disappeared, the other countries went on high alert and increased the security on their Gates. Although many countries had investigated the disappearance of Korea’s Gate, they had no way of knowing unless a dungeon explorer told them. Mastiford had also gone on TV to warn the world about the danger of Gates.

With the excuse that she saw it in her dream, she warned that a disaster might strike if they were cleared hastily. Her words had also increased security around the Gates.

Since there was no guarantee that a raid boss would not appear, I couldn’t just randomly clear an Event Dungeon. Even if I knew a raid boss wouldn’t appear, there was no way for me to enter an Event Dungeon without being found out by other countries, not unless I had Mastiford’s help. Despite the fact that I knew that stat points and other delicious rewards were waiting, I could not do anything about it.

“So there’s only one thing I can do.”

I looked at the scene in front of me and grabbed a handful of popcorn, which I took out from my inventory. Then, I shouted in a mumble, “Keep going, Ren!”

“Crown Prince! I hate you!” Ren shouted as he frantically ‘parried’ the Lizard Knight’s attack with his claymore. That was right. I was currently watching Ren’s one-on-one fight against the Lizard Knight. It was a fight that really had you on the edge of your seat.

“Don’t give up! Put more strength into your legs!” I instructed lazily.

“Ugaaaaaah!”

Ren squeezed out all the strength he could muster as he swung his claymore. His improved form had been honed through three weeks of training. He had started off with an abnormally high strength stat, so if he learned enough technique, there was a good chance he could defeat the Lizard Knight alone.

In truth, the ‘thrashing phase’ was supposed to last a full month. However, there was no need to break my promise with Palludia and stay for one more week.

“The tail’s coming!”

“Haap!”

The moment I yelled out, Ren instantly reacted and slid toward the Lizard Knight. The tail swung through empty air, disrupting the Lizard Knight’s form. Since he had gotten closer to the boss, Ren took advantage of the momentary pause and rushed in. Then, he shouted as he raised his claymore.

“Lion Upper!”

“Kahak!”

“Good!”

I clapped. The whole focus of my training was to train him to not face the enemy directly if it wasn’t necessary. Instead, it was better to take advantage of openings that the enemy had and go for the fatal blow right then and there. At that moment, Ren had just done exactly that.

I felt like crying tears of joy when I saw that I had finally put a restraint on his hot-blooded temper and pounded some sense into him. With this, he could proudly say he had passed the thrashing phase.

“Shiiik! Human, die!” the boss growled.

Ren retorted reflexively, “As if! Lion Strike!”

Even though I was eating popcorn as I cheered him on, I tensed up when the Lizard Knight raised its spear. If Ren failed at this crucial point, I had to jump in and pick up where he left off. It was why I was here in the first place.

However, it seemed I had worried for nothing. Ren used the perfect skill for the occasion, making the Lizard Knight let go of its spear. When the boss became flustered, Ren’s attack poured in.

“Lion Cross Attack!”

Ren really likes lions. Random thoughts crossed my mind as I absentmindedly watched the fight. A cross-shaped wound had appeared on the Lizard Knight’s chest, and it was quite deep. He didn’t consume elixirs by grinding Floor Masters like me, so why was he so strong? Even though I had raised my strength with the Muscle Compressing Elixir and Muscle Strengthening Elixir, I felt like I would lose by a slight margin if I compared my strength with Ren’s directly.

As I tried to wrap my head around this mystery, the Lizard Knight used Dragon Skin. At this point, Ren started using the tactic I had taught him.

That is, he picked up the Lizard Knight’s spear faster than it could, and ran away.

The boss screamed, “Give it back, Human!”

“I won’t, Lizard Knightttt!”

Ren had picked up my way of talking as well. I called it the IED (Intermittent Explosive Disorder[1]) Reflection. It was because monsters who heard it would almost die from IED. I wondered if the dungeon would let that become a status effect in the future. As of today, both Ren’s and my Provoke skill proficiency were diligently increasing.

“Give it to me now, Human!”

“Like I ever would!” Ren taunted.

The Lizard Knight became slower in its Dragon Skin state. As such, it always used its earthquake attack to deal great damage. However, if you made the boss drop its spear, it would always try to pick up its spear first.

If someone took its spear and ran away, the Lizard Knight would always chase after the one who took it. Theoretically, the boss could try to use its hands to attempt the earthquake attack, but it never did. No matter what, it always tried to get its spear back.

With the 50 percent decrease in speed from Dragon Skin, it was hard to catch up to someone who was focused on running away. Even so, the boss doggedly chased after Ren with its reddened skin. The one running away would also be motivated to run faster since it was quite an ugly sight to see. Since the thief would die the moment they were caught, they quite literally ran with their life on the line.

The result was a game of tag that made any spectators watching laugh hysterically.

I howled with laughter. “Ren, I can see your legs!”

“If you couldn't see my legs, I’d be a ghost, not a human! Argh, he’s going to get me!” he huffed back.

“HUMAAAAAN!”

The Lizard Knight roared as it chased after Ren. Oh! Ren was getting faster! Humans truly showed the greatest growth in the most desperate situations. That was the conclusion I came to as I shoved some more popcorn in my mouth.

“H-HUMAAAAN!”

“I’m not deaf, you lizard bastard!”

“Kushaaa!”

Ren and the Lizard Knight were making laps around the wide boss room. The Lizard Knight came after me when it finally noticed me as it was chasing after Ren. When I grabbed it and sent it flying back, it coughed up blood, got back up while shaking its head, and continued chasing Ren. It seemed it instinctively understood that it was no match for me without its spear. When the Lizard Knight began chasing him again, Ren frowned and shouted.

“Unfair, Crown Prince! Why are you so relaxed!?”

I grinned. “I’m not relaxed at all, Ren. In fact, I’m tense. My hands are all sweaty from thinking about whether you’ll be caught or not. Nom.”

“Don’t say that as you eat popcorn!” Ren screamed.

Their running competition ended in less than five minutes. Once Dragon Skin had worn off, the Lizard Knight had caught up to Ren.

“I caught you, Human!”

“I’m the one who caught you!”

At that moment, Ren instantly turned around and threw the spear randomly at the boss’s face. The Lizard Knight instinctively grabbed for the spear, then made a regretful expression.

“Lion Rage Rush!”

Immediately afterwards, Ren’s claymore radiated a golden aura as it pierced its chest. It was a clean and powerful strike.

Although the Lizard Knight had tried to strike down at Ren with its spear, its trembling arms no longer had any strength. In the end, it dropped its head without ever landing an attack on Ren. It was dead.

[You have defeated the Floor Master!]

[10,000 gold has been distributed evenly among party members. You have received 5,000 gold.]

Ren stood still silently as he held his claymore. I clapped as I put the popcorn away.

“Congratulations, Ren.”

“I… I…” he looked around blankly.

“That’s right. You defeated it alone.”

“Hu… Huhuhuhu. Thank you, thank you, Crown Prince! I never thought I would succeed in hunting the Lizard Knight alone!”

Ren raised his claymore into the air with a happy expression. I also smiled and responded, “You did well. Well, you’ll have to do it again by yourself if you want to receive the special reward and title.”

Ren looked at me with a blank expression, then asked.

“I, I see…Then what was this?”

I replied nonchalantly, “The thrashing phase graduation test.”

Ren became silent for a long time. His hands holding the claymore trembled as he opened his mouth.

“A-Are you saying…that I have to do another Floor Master solo raid?”

“Yep. You did it once, who’s to say you can’t do it again?”

“…”

Ren slowly turned to face me. His hands were holding his claymore.

“CROWN PRINCEEE!”

I smacked my lips and cleaned the popcorn crumbs on my mouth. As I got up with my spear in hand, I mumbled regretfully.

“Tsk, it hasn’t been fully fixed yet.”

Although the three weeks I spent with Ren were short in the grand scheme of things, it was enough to form a close bond between us. As we stood in front of the Floor Shop, I shook hands with Ren, who currently looked like a mess.

“I taught you everything I could. If you succeed in the Lizard Knight solo raid, you can go around calling yourself a warrior.”

“Thank you, Crown Prince. But it hurts where you hit me,” he whined.

I shrugged. “You reap what you sow. Alright, then. I wish you luck.”

“…Before you go, there’s something I want to confess.”

“Sorry, but I’m into women.”

“I like women too! That’s not the confession I’m talking about!” Ren shouted angrily.

I laughed at his predictable reaction. “Then what confession are you talking about?”

“I’m…not human.”

Eh? That wasn’t what I expected at all. Not knowing how to respond, the smile on my face congealed. Ren then put strength in his body with a humph.

In the next moment, two triangular tufts of fur appeared. No, rather than tufts, those were ears.

…Ears?

Ren explained sheepishly, “I’m a beastman. You’ve probably heard of them before. A race that possesses the traits of both beast and human.”

I nodded. “Ah, I’ve heard of werewolves before. Ones that turn into wolves under the full moon.”

“Full moon? I’m not sure what you mean, but I am the last surviving member of the lion beastman, called werelions. Although we can’t turn into lions, we do have strength that vastly surpasses that of humans. In exchange, our wild nature often explodes out…”

So that’s why he was so strong! The mystery had been solved completely. A race possessing traits of both human and beast. As I was thinking rather stupid things like how the Panan continent also had lions, I noticed Ren’s lion ears twitch. With Ren’s handsome, but not at all cute, face, it created somewhat of a weird combination. Looking at it, I could feel something boiling inside of me.

I grunted, “Ren, put away your ears.”

“Crown Prince, why are you holding up your spear? Why are you pointing it at me?” Ren was slowly backing away.

I shouted at Ren who was asking such an obvious question. “I don’t need animal ears on a man!”

“Whoaaaaaa! C-Calm down! Gahhhhhh!”

Just like that, it would take a little longer until Ren could go do his solo raid.

“Thanks for everything. I’ll report to you once I succeed.”

I waved. “Goodbye, Ren. Try not to take your ears out.”

“Mm, I have no plans to show them to anyone other than Crown Prince. Then, I’m off.”

After confirming that we had each other on our friend lists, we disbanded the party. Ren then returned to the dungeon he came from. After confirming that he had disappeared, I let out a deep sigh. I felt a little empty now that a comrade I had spent some time with was gone. Unconsciously, I mumbled.

“I’m alone again.”

“What do you mean alone, Shin-nim? I’m disappointed.”

When I turned around, I saw Loretta with her elbows on her shop desk and her chin on her hand, staring at me with her oval eyes.

“I’ve always been by your side.”

I smiled. “Ah, sorry, Loretta. You’re right. It’s us two again. I feel a bit happy since you pointed it out.”

Because I felt like a connection other than that of shopkeeper and customer existed between us, I was happy. Loretta’s face reddened after she heard my somewhat cheesy speech. Then, as if to hide her face, she put her hands over it.

“…”

“Loretta? What’s wrong?”

She said, “Shin-nim. You did that on purpose, right? You did it fully knowing everything, right?”

“Knowing what?” I had no idea what she was referring to.

“Aaaaaah! You’re really frustrating! Go away, don’t come back!” she wailed.

I shrugged. “Even if I do, I’ll see you again on the 21st Floor Shop.”

“I don’t care! Just go for now! Ah before you go, here’s Holy Water! 1,500 gold per bottle!” Loretta shoved a few bottles into my hands.

“You’re still selling!? Your business spirit is astonishing as always!”

A woman’s heart was indeed complicated. I didn’t know which drum beat I should follow! I climbed to the 21st floor grumbling the entire time. In my hand were five bottles of Holy Water, which came out to 7,500 gold.

There was one week left. Even though I wasn’t a knight in shining armor or a goody two-shoes hero, I still had to appease the little crown princess’s anger. It was time for me to run to the 25th floor!

1. behavioral disorder characterized by explosive outbursts of anger and violence, often to the point of rage, that are disproportionate to the situation at hand (e.g., impulsive screaming triggered by relatively inconsequential events). ☜