Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society Chapter 197-198

Chapter 197. Absolute Soul (9)

[You defeated the world's enemy of Panan continent! A truly great achievement! You received 50 bonus stat points and 10 skill points! Current skill points: 18]

[You obtained the t.i.tle, 'Savior Hero'! The Lord begins to focus his support for you. You can now decrease the influence of those who ignore the dungeon's system! Whenever you fight world's enemies, your abilities increase by 10%!]

[All G.o.ds feel great interest towards you. G.o.ds related to battles, strategies, and courage favors you greatly.]

[You obtained the entrance ticket to the SSS rank Event Dungeon, 'Wonderland.' You can go in with your guild members!]

[All skill levels increase by 1!]

[By destroying a powerful enemy, Absolute Soul became level 3! The league of your soul becomes higher, further increasing your resistance to all physical, magical, and mental attacks! The amount of mana you absorb with physical attacks and defense increases!]

[You completed the request successfully. You obtained 10 bonus stats as the reward! It is highly recommended to return immediately. This place is currently extremely dangerous!]

After happily listening to the messages flowing in, I let out a long sigh. I was able to make the best case scenario come true. Even as I readied Caduceus, I was worried that the El Patiz would avoid it somehow, but my worry was unfounded. Everything worked out perfectly.

Of course, even if things didn't work out as I intended, I was at least confident that I wouldn't have my brain eaten by the El Patiz. It was because of Absolute Soul.

When I came to the Panan continent, I thought about how to defend myself against the El Patiz. A bug that eats one's brain and takes over one's body. How cruel was that?

I wanted a skill that would protect my brain from an unexpected sneak attack. Since even the Panan continent's Hero was taken over by the El Patiz, I knew that my ident.i.ty as a Hero wouldn't protect me from them. Saving my friend was important, but my life was even more important. Absolute Soul. That was the skill I tried to create that day in the forest.

But as I was synthesizing the skill, I felt something was lacking. Heavy Armor Mastery, Soul Guard, and Death Counter. They were all excellent defensive skills, and I knew the resulting skill would protect my mind and body perfectly. However, I felt that I needed something else. After all, these d.a.m.ned bugs had even consumed a Hero. In the end, I synthesized the skill only after I obtained Mana Absorption.

Mana Absorption's effect was simple. Whenever I attacked with a melee weapon, or whenever an enemy attacked me with a melee or magical attack, I would absorb the enemy's mana. That is, whenever I came in contact with mana, I would absorb a portion of it. As the skill level increased, the amount that I absorbed would increase. As I was always lacking in mana, it was a truly wonderful skill to have.

I focused on the fact that this skill could steal the enemy's mana. Humans generally did not have mana at birth, and even if they did, it would be an extremely low amount. Other races, however, were different. The more dissimilar they were to humans, the more mana they would possess. It wasn't wrong to say that the El Patiz were giant lumps of mana. They were afraid of the Mana Eater for the same reason. The Mana Eater's existence itself ate away at the El Patiz's life.

For that reason, I added Mana Absorption to the skill I wanted to create. The resulting skill was Absolute Soul. It raised the soul's league, allowing me to resist those of higher level. It perfectly protected my body and soul.

[Your soul is complete and pure. Such a lofty soul affects you both internally and externally. Positive effects are added to all of your actions. Your attacks become stronger, and your defense against all types of physical, magical, and mental attacks increases greatly.]

[Nothing can invade your body and mind. You become immune to all mental status effects, and you are unaffected by all corrosion, parasite, possession, and control. As curses cannot affect you, you cannot be reborn as an undead when you die.]

[Your soul absorbs mana that nears you and prevents it from functioning properly. It is the same even when you approach the enemy. Physical attacks, and physical and magical defense absorb a fixed amount of mana.]

[Whenever the skill level increases, the skill's effect increases.]

When I first read the skill description, I almost fainted because of how good it was. Soon, I began to see the skill's potential, a potential to destroy the world's enemy of Panan continent.

I immediately began to scheme. I first had to ensure my safety, then Ren, Lebuik, and the children's safety. I had to come up with a way to make the El Patiz with the Hero's power to come into my brain.

At first, I wanted to make use of the bug acting as Uruto. I intentionally put him on Lotte's back and acted as if I was exhausted. Then, at the critical moment, I used Sky G.o.d's Play and escaped. I was surprised that there were two bugs that could take the Hero's power, but it didn't matter since I was able to destroy one of them. Once there was only one bug that could do so, the bug inside Panan continent's Hero had to face me.

My plan's chance of success had risen greatly.

After that, I freely used Sky G.o.d's Play and decimated the monsters. It was a simple psychological trick. From the beginning, I used a powerful skill to protect myself from the bug. By showing that I couldn't use that skill anymore, I let the El Patiz lower their guard. In other words, I hid the potential existence of a skill like Absolute Soul with Sky G.o.d's Play.

Even if I didn't use Sky G.o.d's Play and used something like my physical ability to defense against the first bug, the El Patiz might have been more cautious. However, I left a strong impact with Sky G.o.d's Play and showed that the ability was no longer usable. With that, they would think that I didn't have any other methods. Presumably, that was why they acted without hesitation.

Although it was rather simple, in the heat of battle, it was hard to consider something like it. Feints easily tricked people, especially a double-layered feint. As I acted proud when I used Sky G.o.d's Play and acted like I was troubled when it ended, the enemy had fallen for it even more.

Although the El Patiz didn't try to eat my brain on the spot, that was still within my expectation. It didn't matter if it did or didn't try to eat my brain. As long as it entered the range of Caduceus, that was enough.

After I obtained Absolute Soul, I thought of using the backlash from Caduceus to my benefit.

Caduceus was the scepter representing Hermes. There were two snakes coiling around it - one that represented death or plague, and one representing healing and regeneration. Although there were other theories, the Caduceus snakes I had at least represented those meanings.

Caduceus had two abilities. First came from the black snake. As one could see from how it was used in the Luka continent, its use was offensive. When someone with a lower level or league damaged me, I could return the damage completely. If our levels were the same, the damage done would simply disappear as if it never happened. However, it had an equally great flaw. When used against an enemy stronger than me, the damage done to the enemy would be transferred to me.

As enemies stronger than me generally had higher leagues, using the black snake against them was not a good idea. On the other hand, there really wasn't a reason to use them against those weaker than me. After all, I had numerous ways of dealing with weak enemies. As such, it really only came into use that one time against s.h.i.+na in the Luka continent.

This time, however, I used Caduceus' flaw to my advantage. The damage received by the enemy included the mind's corrosion by the El Patiz. Although I wasn't 100% certain, message noona confirmed it when I asked her. Even though she didn't answer me most of the time, she was quick to do so whenever I was in a Dimensional Mercenary mission.

In any case, Caduceus' power forcefully overwrote the damage done to Panan continent's Hero to myself. As I had become completely immune to corrosions, I could destroy the El Patiz the moment it entered my brain. I was worried that it would escape, so I was perfectly prepared to use Sky G.o.d's Rage. However, everything turned out perfectly.

"Huu, kuk!"

First, I pulled out the claymore in my stomach. Then, along with the Hero's corpse, I put it inside my inventory. Blood spurted out of my stomach, and I could feel the strength leaving my body. With no other choice, I took out the Elixir Ludia gave me and drank it. I immediately recovered completely, and the gaping wound on my stomach sealed up as if it never existed. Plus, the Elixir was extremely tasty. It was sweet and refres.h.i.+ng, but hard to describe more in detail. I had never had something like it.

I then realized that the Elixir bottle had a very fancy design. When I was observing it with interest, someone finally spoke out.

"What… What happened!?"

"He died!"

"The Hero's power… The Hero's power was taken! I can tell! Our blessing was taken back!"

"Is there another that can hold the Hero's power?"

"No, they're all gone. We have to wait for another's birth!"

"First, kill him! Seize what belongs to us!"

It seemed they had finally come to a conclusion. The monsters, humans, and beastmen being controlled by the El Patiz all glared at me. However, I leisurely stuffed the Hero's power in the crystal bottle in my hand and sealed it. Then, I turned around and shouted.

"Ren, Lebuik! We're done here. Let's go back!"

"Ren-nim fainted!"

"Slap him awake! Return to the dungeon before they come!"

"What about you!?"

"Me?"

For destroying the world's enemy, all skill levels had increased by 1. Return was now level 9. While I put 16 skill points into it, I answered.

"I'll go back to Earth with the children."

[You mastered Return! Up to ten times a day, you can teleport to set locations with nine other people. You can set up to ten teleport locations, but they cannot be in other dimensions.]

Perfect. The skill effect practically doubled! I smiled and shot up to the sky. After seeing Lebuik wake Ren up and return to the dungeon, I flew to the ocean while cutting down the monsters in my path.

"Stop him! Retrieve the Hero's power!"

"Reclaim the prosperity of El Patiz!"

"Hail El Patiz!"

How noisy. While many monsters fell to the ground as stones, many of them also only became slightly weakened as they continued to charge toward me. They really were desperate.

"You've stolen our hope!"

"You evil Hero!"

"I'm surprised you say that considering what you did to this world."

"Will you be able to say that after your world lost its power!?"

"Of course. Do I look like a fool? Eat Crimson Roar, you bugs!"

At the very moment, I was undoubtedly at the center of the world! The world became dyed in crimson flames. In it, only I could breathe freely.

[Kuaaaaaang!]

[Capture him!]

[Get him before he enters the dungeon!]

[The ocean! He's going in the ocean!]

Crimson Roar bought more time than I expected. By the time the El Patiz found a way to see through the flames, I had the ocean surface right in front of me. Now that I was here, there was no need to hesitate.

[No!]

[Nooooooo!]

"Yes!"

I dove in. With Talaria allowing me to maneuver myself freely, I went in deeper and deeper. When I looked back, the monsters, humans, and beastmen that had thrown their bodies to stop me were spurting out blood and disintegrating. Although I was somewhat skeptical, they really were incompatible with ocean water.

I left the screams of despair behind and found the Crystal Lair deep inside the ocean. It wasn't hard to find with Aikan sitting on the ocean floor. The Crystal Lair was sitting on Aikan's back.

Daisy caught sight of me, and realizing what was inside the crystal bottle on me, she messaged me with a dumbfounded face.

[You really… did it.]

[Sorry, but don't fall for me.]

[Stupid.]

I landed on Aikan's back and entered the Crystal Lair. The children all jumped in my embrace with frowns. The rabbit-eared girl Elfa was crying as if she washed up face with tears.

"Hiing, I thought oppa was going to die."

"Oppa, where's Ren oppa?"

"Where's the knight noona?"

"Did they die? Ren oppa died? Uwaaaaah!"

"Calm down, guys."

I held them and calmed them down.

"They're both alive and kicking. Though… Ren is probably a bit depressed."

Before Ren entered the dungeon, I saw his drooped lion ears. Deific Manifestation and Ogre Power was most likely his trump card, but it had been defeated easily. Although he was powerful, his enemy wasn't one that he could defeat with raw physical power.

That said, I was still surprised by his strength and felt great potential in him.

Although his overzealous personality would need some fixing, Ren had the talent and will to become much stronger. He also had a clear goal - to protect the children and to defeat the El Patiz controlling the Panan continent.

His will was deserving of respect, and I conveniently had an ownerless Hero's power, which I didn't mind giving to someone who would help me when needed. This power belonged to the Panan continent. What I was thinking of doing with it was undoubtedly the correct choice.

"And I'll get myself a new guild member, too!"

"Expression, wicked."

I responded to Daisy's murmur with a smile. The crying children looked at Daisy and me curiously. I waved my hand to tell them it was nothing.

"Alright, let's go to oppa's home. We can meet up with Ren and Lebuik there."

"Oppa's home? We don't have to be underwater?"

"Of course. We'll be away from here for a while."

The day you return to this continent, I hope you will be excellent warriors.

I whispered in an inaudible voice and used Return. The destination was my home on Earth. Panan continent's Dimensional Mercenary mission had ended.

Chapter 198. Second Season (1)

Rabbit ears, dog ears, wolf ears, cat ears, bears ears. With five beastman children and two cute girls in the house, mother screamed in joy.

"Where did so many children come from!? Are they yours?"

"I'm only 21, Mom!"

"Animals ears, how cute! They feel so realistic!"

"Let me go!"

"They're real, Mom. Don't try to pull them out!"

After I returned, I first reported to the guild and Loretta. As I also brought Ren and Lebuik from the dungeon, the house was full. Mother happily went off to cook for the guests, while Yua went to help her.

Ren, on the other hand, sat in my room depressed. I had to stay and talk to him without being able to eat.

"Sorry, Crown Prince… When I saw the enemy that took Father's body, I felt like my blood was flowing backwards. I should have trusted Crown Prince's plan. I have no excuses."

"Right, you don't."

"Rookie!"

"I told you before, right? A warrior has to be cool-headed. I didn't think you'd charge at the world's enemy with no plan."

"That, Kang s.h.i.+n has, no right. Kang s.h.i.+n is far from, being cool-headed. It's just, Kang s.h.i.+n's ability is overwhelming, so no problem."

When I was admonis.h.i.+ng Ren, Daisy appeared out of nowhere and refuted me. I wanted to say something, but seeing what was in Daisy's hands, I became lost for words.

On one hand, she had a beer can, and on the other, she had a thick sausage. I remembered seeing the sausage before. After seeing that Ren and Lebuik were safe, the children sat around the living room table and ate with Mother, Yua, and Father. Before I came in my room, I remembered being surprised how adaptable they were. If I remembered correctly, the sausage was on the table. The sausage in Daisy's hand had undoubtedly come from there.

"Kang s.h.i.+n's mother, gave me sausage. Kang s.h.i.+n's father, gave me beer."

"Well, I'm happy you've gotten close to my fa… Why are you here!?"

I shouted in shock. Why was Daisy on Earth!? She then answered as if I was being dumb.

"Kang s.h.i.+n used Return, with me too. Barely put Aikan, in my inventory."

"S-Sorry…"

"I like this place. I stay still, and I get food."

"I, I see… That's good…"

She looked like a middle-school student, so it was somewhat strange seeing her drink beer. Though I wanted to say something to her, I held it in. I looked at Ren again and spoke.

"Ren, it's time. The second season of thras.h.i.+ng phase!"

"N-No!"

"Even if you say no, your body is shaking from excitement!"

"I'm shaking because I'm terrified! Stop saying weird things!"

"What's thras.h.i.+ng phase, Rookie?"

"It's a special training I make Ren do."

"T-Training? No, if it's training, I'll do it! Ren-nim is my disciple!"

"Lebuik is too soft. Plus, I feel like Lebuik will end up doing some other training, so no."

"Kuk!"

With a face saying, 'how did you know?', Ren took a step back. I was just joking, but this woman… how scary. On the other hand, Ren tilted his head. With a virgin-like innocence, he asked.

"Some other training? What's that? Lebuik is an excellent warrior. If there's something I can learn from her, I'd like to learn it. Please, teach this foolish one."

"R-R-R-Ren-nim. If that's what you wish, this Lebuik will…."

Seeing Lebuik drooling and fiddling with her clothes, I flicked her forehead and shot her down. Then, I took out the crystal bottle containing the world's power. All eyes became focused on the ball of light floating in the bottle.

"Crown Prince, could this be…?"

"Yep, it's your world's power."

"H-How?"

"I'm Earth's Hero. I can do at least this much."

"Why didn't you take it for yourself?"

"Don't be absurd. This power belongs to Panan continent."

"Crown Prince…!"

Ren sounded touched. Annoyingly, he was tearing up. I knocked on the table catch his attention and continued.

"Let me explain. I trapped the world's power in an Elixir bottle. The bottle's special material is preventing it from leaking out, but it won't be last forever. The moment it's taken out, it will probably start to a.s.similate itself as Earth's power. Do you want the Panan continent's power to be absorbed by Earth?"

"No… of course not."

I grinned. I of course brought up the topic to prevent that from happening.

"As Earth's Hero, I can vest this ownerless power to someone. It's much easier and less time-consuming to transfer an ownerless power than transferring it from one human to another. But as more times pa.s.ses, this power will start to weaken and it'll get harder for me transfer it to someone. Now, what should I do with it?"

"You'll need to transfer it to an explorer as quickly as possible."

"Correct. And it just so happens that there's an excellent candidate in front of me."

"Lebuik is here too."

I stared at Lebuik, who sleeping on the ground with a happy expression. It made me shake my head. That said, I had to acknowledge her courage of risking her life to help Ren, and charging in in the midst of battle to stop Ren who had lost his sanity.

Although Ren still seemed oblivious, Lebuik's actions came from her love for Ren. At some point, loyalty seemed to have become love. Regardless, to Lebuik, Ren was more important than Panan continent. On the other hand, even when all hope seemed to be lost, Ren stayed in Panan continent.

"Between Ren and Lebuik, I'm going to have to choose Ren."

"But I'm foolish. Because of me, both Lebuik and Crown Prince suffered. When I'm watching Crown Prince, I can't help but think why I can't be like Crown Prince. Kuhuk!"

I flicked his forehead strongly. His head was so hard that it made my finger hurt slightly. I held the pain in and told Ren.

"I already said what you did was foolish. But… it was understandable. Mm, well, he was your father… Kuhum. In any case, Ren is different than before, and I know Ren can get stronger. As for your rash personality, it can be fixed through another thras.h.i.+ng phase."

"But I—"

"I hold Ren in high regard because Ren managed to save eight children from that h.e.l.l without losing hope. Ren's full of spirit and hungry for battle. That's exactly what I want. That's not something that can be taught. You have to be born with it."

"Crown Prince…"

"I won't take no for an answer. I won't change my mind anyways."

"… Can I really not avoid another thras.h.i.+ng phase?"

"Is that what you were worried about!?"

I gave Ren the world's power. It was simple. I opened the bottle and shoved it in Ren's mouth. Then, using my power as the Hero, I just had to settle and energize it. Compared to the time and effort it took for a Hero to transfer his own power to someone else, it was extremely simple.

After obtaining the Hero's power, Ren rubbed his belly and spoke.

"Uu, I feel dizzy. I can feel that this power hasn't settled in. It's nauseating almost."

"It'll be better once you get used to it. Congratulations on becoming a Hero. Quite the pressure, huh?"

"I'll be sure to fulfill my duties."

"Well, the kids are here now. Don't go back for a while."

"Eh?"

Everything Ren wanted to protect was on Earth. Although I couldn't say it was safe to be on Earth, I was at least sure that it was more safe than the Panan continent, which was dominated by the El Patiz.

"There's nothing Ren can do alone anyways. If you die and have the world's power stolen again, that would be disastrous. They said so themselves. That they needed time before an El Patiz that can contain the Hero's power was born. In other words, one would eventually come to being. I'm not sure how they can reproduce without the world's power, but that's what they said. Maybe they'll fuse or evolve or something."

"R-Right…"

"Going back alone is simply stupid. Or what, did you plan on hiding in the ocean? Who knows if they can still reproduce?"

"That's… true."

"So Ren, help me."

I said bluntly.

"I'll deal with the danger Earth is facing in 2 years. After that, I want to save other worlds. Ludia's Luka continent, Daisy's Sylon continent, and yours, the Panan continent. All of them."

"Do you know what you're saying, Crown Prince?"

"Of course. You weren't thinking of hiding for the rest of your life, were you? Then there would be no meaning to having the Hero's power."

Ren's face was dyed red. He shot up and shouted.

"Impossible! Do you know how many worlds were ruined and how many worlds are being ruined!? If you did, you wouldn't say something like that!"

"If strong explorers come together, I'm sure it's possible. People like you, Daisy, and me. So help me, Ren. Help protect Earth. I'll help you too."

I spoke calmly as I stared into his eyes. There was no room for joking. I wanted Ren to reply with seriousness.

At that moment, Ren's expression became strange.

"Crown Prince. Your… Your guild…"

"Didn't I tell you? Revival. It means rebirth."

"Rebirth…"

Ren fell. Seeing the hint of flames that began to burn in his eyes, I smiled.

"I'll… try. After all, I owe Crown Prince a debt."

"Good. Welcome to Revival, Ren."

Ren joined my guild. I was somewhat curious how Lebuik would react, but I decided not to pursue the thought. When Ren and I shook our hands, Daisy, who was watching from the side, slammed her emptied beer can down.

"Long, arduous journey. But, I'm looking forward to it."

"I'll be sure to save Sylon continent too. Then, you'll become its Hero. Get ready to feel the pressure."

"Hmph, I welcome it anytime."

With that, she left the room. Perhaps she just wanted to hear Ren and my conversation. Or perhaps, she wanted to confirm my resolve. I got up. Ren also followed me up and asked.

"U-Um… Is the thras.h.i.+ng phase starting now?"

"No."

I said bluntly.

"Let me climb the dungeon first!"

Author's note:
The arc t.i.tle isn't really that meaningful. I represents the beginning of a new story with business in other dimensions being over with for now, and it also represents s.h.i.+n being able to climb the dungeon again… oh, and also Ren's thras.h.i.+ng phase being resumed. Oops, the last one ended up being emphasized!