Humans?

Hans immediately unsheathed the sword, turned around, and stabbed the unknown creature in a timely manner. The sword passed through the opening until it penetrated the monster's stomach. 

Stab—

As the monster was skewered into the sword, its features were revealed to his eyes. It has blue scales covering its body and a massive snake-like physique. Well, technically, it's a snake. However, its head resembled that of a shark. 

Hans kicked the monster, pulling him away from being skewered as he scanned the dimly lit surroundings. 

'...' 

After a brief pause, he murmured. 

'Seems like it's the only one.'

Hans walked towards the shrieking monster and swung his sword to its head.

Slash—

[You have killed a Snark.]

'What a terrible naming skill.'

Who the hell named these monsters? Is that the best they can give? 

After contemplating for a moment, Hans opened his quest message once again. 

[The forces of evil have invaded the 6th Floor.]

[Quest: Kill the boss monster and free the light of justice.]

[.... Another entity detected…] 

[Extra Quest: Kill the Light of Justice.]

Hans' pupils shrank after reading the contents of the quest. Aside from the main quest he read earlier, there was one more. 

'Another entity?' 

Hans immediately thought of Plundy. 

'So Plundy is an entity?' 

Does that mean Plundy's something like a creature rather than a conceptual being? 

"Plundy do you have anything to say?" 

[...] 

'Well, either way, this would be favorable for me.'

More quests equal more rewards. Since Plundy doesn't want to answer, he'd kept it at the back of his mind for now. Hans closed the screen and began galloping around the cave. 

Unlike other dungeon caves, this one seems larger in size. The ceiling rocks are too high and the cave's walls were decorated with a gem torch across the path, which lit up every time he passed by. 

However, the light was too weak. Even if there are tons of them, it wasn't enough to completely illuminate the dark cave. Along the way, he hadn't encountered strong monsters aside from those Snarks that only knew how to sneak behind the target. 

Either way, they all died with one slash. At most, their strength was only B-class. Some lucky ones survived the first strike; however, Hans finished them off with another slash after. 

Getting frustrated by these sneaky bastards, Hans blended in the shadows which were produced by the gem torches' flickering lights. As soon as Hans vanished, the gem torches began dimming until its lights completely turned off. 

As such, the air became cold, and the silence created produced an eerily atmosphere. 

'This is better.'

Although his [Umbral Steps] is just a skill of C-rank, its effects were boosted depending on the light. The darker the place the better. This was even better than some B-rank skills. As such, its effectiveness in cave-type dungeons weighs more than his other stealth-type skills. 

Hans smiled in satisfaction. With this, he wouldn't have to waste so much effort venturing inside the dungeon. 

...… 

After a long arduous walk, Hans finally came across one giant statue. However, it seemed to be destroyed as its upper body was missing. Below the statue, unknown words were scribbled towards the golden plated canvas attached to the ground. 

Hans exited his Umbral State and inspected the statue. Although he didn't know what its upper body looked like, the remaining lower body resembled a human's. 

After a round of inspection, he felt several presences gradually approaching his location. 

'Finally.' 

Hans straightened his back and rested his hand to the hilt of his sword. His senses simultaneously work in max power. As the marching presences approached, the sounds of footsteps slowly became quiet. 

Hans maintained steady breathing as he waited for these creatures to attack. He considered using his stealth skills to gain an advantage but after many considerations, he decided not to. It seems like these presences were stronger than the previous monsters he killed. 

'They seemed smarter too.' 

Step—, step—

They are getting closer. 

Step—, step—

'Still not attacking?' 

He was about to start but decided to wait a bit more. Hans closed his eyes and focused his senses around the vicinity, trying to memorize all walls and possible escape routes. 

The sword in his hand trembled as his grip clenched tightly. 

'They are here.'

Finally, their large shadows appeared in his line of sight. As the first monster bared its fangs, Hans unsheathed his blade. 

[Constantine Sword Style…] 

He kicked the ground and arrived in front of the monster with an explosive speed. Hans positioned his sword in a stabbing stance. 

Swish—

[First Cut…] 

His blade aimed towards its neck. The wind gathered at one point as he pierced his blade forward. 

[Piercing Gale.] 

Stab—

Baam—

The wind was ripped in shreds as his sword connected to its neck. However, instead of a stab injury, the head of the monster exploded. 

Splash—

'One down.'

Hans shifted his direction and dashed towards the other monsters. Based on their features, they look like an upgraded version of a Snark monster. 

Hans immediately went for the kill after he closed the gap between another beast, however, after seeing its face, his blade stopped midway and he completely backed away. 

"Human?" 

No, rather it seemed like these humans were in a process of transformation. Their face was emotionless and doesn't seem to carry murderous intent. Their heads started growing fins just like the fins of a shark. 

Just in case, Hans raised his arms and called it. 

"Hey. Are you guys still humans?" 

The human or monster whatsoever responded by pouncing towards him. 

Crunch—, crunch—

The humanoid monster violently swung its razor-sharp nails without care for possible enemy counterattacks. However, when he swung his blade forward, the monster quickly stopped and retreated. 

'They look like experimental humans.'

It's not like he had seen one, but after watching many zombie genre movies, Hans could more or less guess what happened to these humans.

'The evil forces invaded the Trial Dungeon and then experimented with these humans.' 

The question is, what do they want to achieve? 

Create more monsters? No, that can't be right. There are many ways to do it. Rather than creating monsters through experiments, it would be easier to find a mate and get laid. 

'Free the Light of Justice… but I also need to kill the Light of Justice.'

It seemed like this quest had a deeper story than he thought. For now, he needs to take care of what's present first. Even though they are humans, Hans need not show mercy. Killing them would free their souls from this misery. 

'So…' 

Swish—

Without hesitation, Hans leaped into the air and unleashed multiple rotating slashes. 

Shing—, shing—

There are 9 monsters left and Hans decides to fight them all at the same time. Each monster crossed their hands above their head, trying to block the upcoming attack. 

Anticipating their next move, Hans followed his slashes with another skill. 

He took a deep breath. Mana aggressively gathered towards his mouth. This was a skill he plundered from a werewolf. 

[Moon Howl!!!] 

The air violently vibrated. Deafening explosive sound waves roared towards the monsters. 

Shrringgg—

The monsters who's ready to block the attacks suddenly covered their ears as they felt their eardrums crack in the roaring sound. However, before they realized it, the slashes already chased their necks.

It was too late to block anymore. 

Slash—, slash—, slash—, slash—

The ground was cut in half after the sword energy cut through it like butter. Hans landed on the ground unscathed. To his dismay, those monsters weren't even enough to make him sweat. 

[You have killed an Elite Snark!]

[You have killed an Elite Snark!]

[You have killed an Elite Snark!]

… 

[You have killed an Elite Snark!]

[You have successfully cleared the 4th Layer.]

[Rewards would be distributed after passing the 6th Layer.]

Hans closed the screen and turned towards the crashing sound. The statue began to tremble until a path was revealed under it. 

The staircase seemed endless after initial inspection but even then since this is the only way towards the 5th Layer, Hans shrugged his shoulders and stepped inside. 

He didn't know what the time was in the outside world. Hopefully, it wouldn't take 6 days. 

... 

Meanwhile, a day has passed after Urs public memorial service. The impact it left still bothered not only the civilians but also the remaining 15 SS-Class Awakened. 

If this tension continued, they would have no choice but to constantly send strong Awakened towards the borders of weaker countries. Just one death and the balance was completely broken. 

Therefore, almost all Awakened in smaller countries were in chaos. The monster's attacks became frequent while some other countries completely abandoned some unprotected lands. 

[New York State Report.

August 30, 2030.]

The Association's attention was directed towards this state. Director Thomas grew anxious as he received the report of Jay, his secretary. 

"Are you suggesting we abandon it like we did to New Jersey!?" He slammed his fist on the table. 

"The situation is far from our control, Director. I was merely trying to minimize our Awakened casualties."

"Didn't we ask Kai to take care of it?" 

Jay fidgeted her fingers as she murmured, "I-Uhm… sir Kai said he does not want to continue defending the state anymore."

As if it was his last straw, Thomas got up from the chair with his mana leaking in distress. Jay stood anxiously on the side; her head lowered. 

"Felix… contact Felix."

"S-sir Felix went to Hawaii yesterday, Director."

Thomas frowned at the sudden ominous premonition. He stared at the window before asking in a hoarse and authoritative voice, "Why did he go there?"

Could it be a monster attack? Shouldn't he be informed first? 

Jay's chest throbbed as her heart madly beat in fear. With her eyes closed, Jay responded in a stuttering voice, "S-sir Felix said he's going on vacation, D-Director."

"Say it again!?" 

"V-vacation, Director."

"..." 

At that moment, the association building was destroyed by a massive explosion. 

"FELIX, YOU BASTARD!!!!" 

.... 

Hawaii, USA. 

On a famous crowded beach, Felix gently basked under the sun as his eyes darted around the women. His eyes seemingly have stars around them, admiring the beauty of the seas and the two mountains. 

"Ah, what a wonderful life." 

Felix smiled in satisfaction, without a care in the world. 

... 

Trial Dungeon, 5th Layer. 

Unlike the cave-type dungeons, the 5th layer was totally different. 

'A field type.'

Hans arrived in completely unfamiliar terrain. However, he has a hunch that he's inside a massive castle based on the intricate and elegant stone designs. 

Hans roamed around the silent castle which didn't even have a trace of monster prints along the way. 

'This won't do.'

With this method, he wouldn't know how long it would take just to find a single spec of monster around. Even with his enhanced senses and perception, he could barely find the way, let alone those beasts. 

'I could try that.'

At that moment, a dark red aura crept into his arms, chest, neck, all the way to his head. His eyes glowed red while his whole body had streaks of black tattoos brought by the change. 

[Asuran Transformation.]

Hans grinned in delight. This was the skill he plundered from one of the asuras he fought back then. 

Sniff—, sniff—

He inhaled the air which now contained a faint scent of blood. As the Asuran race has a sensitive sense of blood, he thought that it might be useful in this situation. 

Well, this skill not only enhanced his senses, but it also gave him bonus stats depending on the number of enemies he's fighting. For this situation, he only needed the sense boost. 

Hans followed the blood scent until it led him to a wooden secret door. Opening it, Hans saw a stairway leading to the castle's basement. However, as he stepped forward, the scent of blood began to intensify making his face grimace in disgust. 

'What is this!?' 

It wasn't the usual smell similar to rust but rather a strange scent. Hans immediately exited from his asuran transformation and cooled off his head first. 

After a brief pause, he continued making his way down the basement. Along the stairs, he saw mutilated bodies and fleshes of humans inside a large cylinder tube. 

'This looks like a lab.'

Tut—, tut—

The water bubbled inside the tube while the human inside was connected in large syringes. The human's skin also began to have a tinge of blue while sharp teeth protrude in its mouth. 

As he stretched out his hand, Hans suddenly felt a searing pain in his chest. 

Hans lowered his head and saw something he never expected. 

'H-how!?' 

Blood was oozing out of his chest as a sharp-pointed object pierced his heart.