Dungeon Clearance Rewards

"Is it time already?" the man inwardly asked as he touched the golden crown from his head.

"I hope there will be no accidents." the man continued.

...…

Clang—, clang—, clang—

Two blades collided with the rapier. However, as if it was created from the strongest metal, the rapier didn't even bend.

Clang—, clang—, clang—

Hans and Light rushed toward each other. Their eyes emitted a spark as if two dragons were fighting an honorable battle. Even with such an intense fight, their faces showed cheerfulness and excitement.

Unfortunately, the one with the strongest strength and endless stamina would always prevail.

Swish—

"The 24th form of my rapier art is a fast moving multiple strikes towards the nervous system. Try not to get hit."

Light hurled his rapier and aimed it towards the intended target.

[Rapier Art: No.24: Drizzle]

Stab—

Hans witnessed how Light only stabbed the rapier forward once. However, in his supernatural perspective, the stab multiplied into a hundred, all aimed at different parts of his body.

Hans tried to take a step backward.

'There's even an attack behind too!?'

He grumbled as he felt a piercing danger at his back. In fact, all of his escape points have been blocked and the only thing he could do was to block them.

Immediately, Hans crossed his sword and blocked every strike he could.

'I'll put my mana in my eyes.'

Without thinking of the aftereffects, Hans used his [Primeval Eyes] at full capacity. The world suddenly slowed down while his range of sight greatly widened.

Not only that, his eyes can now penetrate Light's body and identify how his mana works. Additionally, he can feel that this is not even the maximum power his eyes can manifest.

Thus, Hans increases the mana output even more.

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

Thud—

Hans fell to his knees, his hand quivered in pain. The blood trickled down his eyes as Hans covered it. He gritted his teeth as quick gasps escaped his mouth.

"Pant—, pant—pant—"

Seeing this, Light weaved his rapier, dispersing all of his attacks. He rushed towards Hans and inspected if he was alright.

"Are you alright?"

Hans smiled and nodded, "Yeah, just too tired."

As he covered his eyes, Hans grimaced. He didn't think it would suddenly cause a strain to his eyes that he lost all of his strength at the sudden stinging pain.

Suddenly, a gentle sensation enveloped his body, washing away the pain from his eyes. Hans took out his hand and glanced at Light, who was chanting a healing spell.

After the golden glow vanished, Hans bowed.

"Thanks."

"Haha, no problem."

Embarrassed, Light scratched his head.

In fact, he's the one to blame. If not for his gruesome training, Hans wouldn't resort to this seemingly stupid idea. As an experienced fighter, he could tell Hans mana's movements with just one glance.

"Your eyes, how was it?"

"It's fine now." Hans said as he got back up and continued, "Thanks."

"Hahaha, I told you it's alright." Light patted Hans' shoulder, "What's more, it seemed like you gained so much experience on our training."

"Yeah, the sweats were worth it."

The two looked at each other, smiled, and stared at the sky. The dawn is coming but there's no future for this world.

"Hans, you should leave now."

"I think so too." Hans' voice sounded tired.

Light's eyes shifted towards Hans and couldn't help but remember his past self. Hans was like him, doing everything he could to get stronger.

However, it seemed like Hans was much more clear on his path. He could picture this guy holding two swords on a battlefield as he decimated his enemies.

It would have been good if they were born in the same era and the same world.

"I'm going, Light."

"Un."

Shortly, Hans closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He put one of his swords back into his storage bag and left the one he would use.

Light watched Hans' actions with a curious expression etched on his face.

However, what Hans did next surprised him even further.

With his eyes closed, Hans raised his sword below his neck. His nerves popped out as the adrenaline rushed out of his body.

The feeling of death, looming above his head is truly a different experience.

"Goodbye, Light."

The muscles on his arms tensed up. Then, Hans slit his neck.

...….

Gasp—"

"Haaah—"

Pant—, pant—, pant—

Hans placed his hand to his chest. His heart charged through his ribs that he could even hear its every beat.

'Where am I?'

Hans surveyed his surroundings.

The previous collapsing world has been replaced by a dimly lit cave full of spider webs. On the ceiling, small bugs walked and green vines crawled.

The whirling dust around the air was gone, so it wasn't uncomfortable to open his eyes anymore.

'Looks like I'm back at the cave.'

Suddenly, a familiar electronic voice echoed inside his ears. Hans raised his eyes and opened his interface.

Tri-ring—

[You have completed the main quest, Kill the boss monster and free the light of Justice!

Rewards: Level Unlocking, All stats +15, [King's Fragment] x1]

'What a disappointment.'

Hopefully, the other reward is enough to give him butterflies.

[You have completed the extra quest, Kill the Light of Justice!

Rewards: All stats +15, [Skill: Eye of Truth] x1, [Heaven Mystery Box] x1, [Trial Dungeon Key] x1.]

Hans's eyebrows perked up in surprise seeing the items he received.

'Let's start with this one.'

A small diamond shard appeared in his hand.

[King's Fragment (?)

— A fragment of a fallen king.

Shards collected: 1/100]

It has a simple explanation; however, he didn't understand anything at all.

'Is it like the Heaven King?'

He had no idea. The concept of such a being was still too much for him to comprehend. Hans picked it up and threw it inside his inventory pocket.

Since he has no use for it, he'd just keep it. Maybe it's something valuable.

Shortly after the King's Fragment disappeared, a rune stone appeared in his palm. Unlike the random skills he got from the previous rune stones he got, this one is much different.

[Runestone: Eye of Truth (S)

—Crush the stone to gain the skill, 'Eye of Truth', which grants the user the ability to see through deceptions and mental manipulations.

Duration: Can be kept in the stone for an infinite amount of time.]

"Another S-rank skill!!"

Counting all his skills, he now has 3 S-rank skills on his arsenal. What's even more bizarre is that he's still at level 50!

It's common knowledge that the reason why low-level Awakened is weak even if they were given an S-rank skill is because of their inability to cast it.

That's right, they couldn't cast something that requires large amounts of mana. What's more, one S-rank skill will cost them billions of dollars.

In a large auction, it may even fetch around 100 billion dollars depending on its usefulness.

Now, he got not only one but two.

[Trickster (S)

— Looks can be deceiving while yours was not. Grants the user additional charm.

— grants the user the ability to manipulate lies into truths.

— grants the user the ability to fully control his external emotions.

Note: The more you use this skill, there's a certain chance that the skill may evolve.

Plundered From: Aka.]

This skill doesn't seem to be that much in a certain perspective. However, if it's used intelligently and cunningly, he can basically end the world.

How?

Imagine lying to the whole world that the world is ending tomorrow. Although some strong awakened might not fall for it, the whole civilians and bottom rank Awakened might cause havoc everywhere.

Well, havoc might be an exaggeration but still…

'It's a cheat code.'

This is basically a skill for a master of deception.

Hans kept the stone to his inventory for now and looked at the box that appeared out of nowhere. The box is just as big as a ring but the contents might differ due to the description.

[Heaven Mystery Box (?)

— A mysterious box which contains something that you would need.]

'Hmm…'

He could somewhat get the gist of it. However, as if what he needs at this point, he had no idea what it is. Hence, Hans shrugged his shoulders and threw the mystery box inside the storage bag.

Using it here might be a bad idea. Maybe, he'll use it at a place where the luck is overwhelming.

Finally, Hans stared at the golden key floating in his palms. The appearance wasn't different from the one he used but this one was slightly larger.

[Trial Dungeon Key

— It was said that the trial dungeon contains treasures.

Requirements: Level 100.]

With that, Hans received all of his rewards including the bonus stats and level unlock. Hans closed the quest interface and checked his status window.

[Name: Hans Luther

Age: 23 Level: 50 [LOCKED]

Race: Human (74%), ??? (26%)

Potential: ???

Strength: 304 Stamina: 312

Agility: 232 Mana: 293

Unused stats: 0

Talent: Unlock at Level 100

Innate Skill: [Endless Plunder (C)]

Plundered Skill: [(E)], [Body Enhancement (B)],[Acrobat (D)], [Hide (C)], [Berserk (C)], [Dragon Kick (A)], [Turtle Shell (B)], [Fire Control (B)], [Light of Judgment (B)], [Holy Light (C)], [Hardened Skin (C )], [Constantine Sword Style: First Cut (B)], [Umbral Steps (C)], [War Cry (D)], [Stealth (D)], [Vampiric Steal (A)], [Moon Howl (A)], [Asuran Transformation (A), [Exploding Blood (A)]

Skill: [Mirror Clone (B)], [Emperor Constantine Strides (S)], [Trickster (S)]

Mana Property: Evil.]

'Hmm… too op.'

But it wasn't enough. For Hans, who already had seen what an SSS-Class is capable of, these stats are nothing.

'I just hope there is still time to rest.'

Unknowingly, Hans gave himself up to exhaustion and closed his eyes.

Just like that, he felt a sense of powerlessness and all his senses eventually shut down. When he opened his eyes, Hans fell to the ground.

Thud—

His sudden collapse caught him off guard.

[Hans, don't push yourself! Rest!]

"Gasp—, gasp—"

Hans's face is deathly pale. Cold sweats oozed from his forehead. Hans grabbed the floor only to grab a handful of the damped soil. He controlled his breathing and filled his lungs with fresh oxygen.

It was at this moment, he realized that his fatigue reached its limit.

[Stamina Remaining: 1

Mana Remaining: 2]

Physical exhaustion together with mana drained is far too heavy for him to bear.

But…

"I feel alive."

With his surroundings having no threats, Hans stayed lying on the ground. He looked up at the cold and dark ceiling illuminated by the moonlight between the cave gaps.

'I want to sleep.'

He was about to close his eyes again when suddenly a voice woke him up.

[Hans! Hans!]

"Plundy."

[You should get out of here first. You'll be ejected in 10 minutes!]

Ah, that's right.

Although this place is safe, he'll get ejected here after some time. If he appeared in a crowded zone while asleep, it might cause trouble.

Still, he didn't want to get up. He didn't feel like moving a finger either. His mana was one thing, but it's important to recover his stamina first.

Immediately, Hans took out a potion from his bag. The lid was opened easily and he gulped the liquid in his mouth.

Gulp—, gulp—

The yellow liquid which tastes like orange passed through his throat.

[You have consumed the 'Stamina Potion'.]

[Your stamina recovered by 20.]

This is the only potion he has and it costs quite a lot. The increase was just a mere 20 but this is already the highest quality humans have ever produced.

"It would be good if I have potion-making skills."

Well, hopefully, in the future, he could have one.

'I should leave now.'

Hans raised his legs and sprung up from the ground. His body is as heavy as a boulder. Thanks to the potion, at least, he could move now.

Hans closed his eyes to calm himself. Then, he muttered.

'Leave.'

[You will now exit the Trial Dungeon in 5… 4…3…2…1.]

A bright light swallowed his body. When Hans opened his eyes, he saw a mass of people gathering in front of the collapsing Trial Dungeon.

However, dealing with it was the least of his worries.

Hans' eyes shifted towards the dark alleys but before he could step forward, a hand grabbed his shoulders.

"Hey, you, did you just appear outside the dungeon?"

Hans cocked his head behind and glared at the man. A grin formed on his lips.

"No."

"But I saw yo—"

"No, I'm not the one you're looking for." This time, as if his voice became warm, Hans spoke gently.

"Right! I must have mistaken you for someone else! I'm sorry." The man bowed and apologized. He took one last glance at Hans before finally leaving.

Hans watched the man leave and shifted his eyes side by side; his hands inside his jacket pocket.

Swish—

Without anyone noticing, Hans dashed through the dark alleys and disappeared under the moonlit night.