"Yes, Guild Master. We have arrived. As you instructed, we will take care of it properly."
The D-rank hunters of the villain organization, the Black Knot.
More precisely, the D-rank villains had finished their report.
There were three of them in total.
The leader-type villain, Kim Hyeongjin, put his phone back inside his clothes and smiled maliciously.
"Guys, the Guild Master said to handle it quietly if possible."
If possible.
If it had been an ordinary guild, they would have taken those words at face value.
But the Black Knot was a villain guild.
The Guild Master’s words meant that if necessary, committing crimes was acceptable.
"Okay, looks like we’ll have some fun for the first time in a while. That means if things get even slightly annoying, we can just kill them, right?"
"It probably won’t be that simple. They might not have cleared it yet."
Even while saying that, Kim Hyeongjin did not erase the smile from his lips.
The people gathered here were criminals who had been unable to accept an ordinary hunter’s life and had gathered together to vent their desires.
People who had committed serious crimes such as murder, rape, and robbery before fleeing.
"And even if they are there, we can’t just kill them right away. We need to properly enjoy it slowly."
The villain organization the Black Knot had gathered villains who should have been dragged to prison long ago. Among them, Kim Hyeongjin was a psychopath who felt pleasure from killing.
He discovered those emotions when he killed an ordinary person who had annoyed him.
Because he had spent a long time hiding in the guild’s hideout, those feelings had only grown stronger.
Of course, not every villain thought the same way.
"Wouldn’t it be better not to start an unnecessary fight?"
One of his companions, who had remained silent until now, cautiously spoke up.
Kim Hyeongjin’s eyebrows rose.
"Hm? What did you say?"
"I mean, all we need to do is take the source of demonic energy. We’re already wanted, so causing unnecessary—"
Cough!
Kim Hyeongjin immediately struck his companion in the jaw.
Even after the man collapsed to the ground, he did not care and continued kicking him.
"You’re saying because of that damn wanted status! Because of that! We couldn’t even go outside and had to rot underground doing whatever the hell we wanted, and now that we’re finally here, you’re telling us to keep our heads down?!"
His kicks were so violent that the beaten companion lost consciousness.
The other companion watching from the side looked entertained.
"Haha. This is seriously funny."
"Spit."
Kim Hyeongjin spat on the unconscious man’s face.
"Let’s go. We’re fine even without this cowardly bastard."
"The Guild Master might get angry. I’m still taking him with us."
The companion lifted the unconscious man onto his back.
"Do whatever you want."
The ones they had to deal with were nothing more than hunters who simply hunted monsters.
Kim Hyeongjin had learned killing from the seniors of the Black Knot.
The difference was enormous.
Kim Hyeongjin’s group climbed the mountain and reached the dungeon entrance.
Around the dungeon, there were traces of fallen leaves scattered around.
"Looks like they went in. If that’s the case, avoiding a confrontation is going to be difficult."
Despite saying it would be difficult, an uncontrollable smile bloomed on Kim Hyeongjin’s lips.
It was at that moment, as they were heading toward the dungeon entrance.
A voice came from somewhere.
"Wow, they really came. And one of them is even unconscious."
Looking up toward the direction of the sound, they saw a refined-looking man crouching above the dungeon entrance.
Kim Hyeongjin’s expression twisted.
"What is this arrogant bastard? Are you from Ten Million Guild?"
It was not strange for one person to stay behind and keep watch without participating in the clear.
Kim Hyeongjin pulled a sword from his inventory.
If it was Ten Million Guild, he could deal with them immediately.
Even if it wasn’t, he could just drag him into the dungeon.
"Well, doesn’t matter."
Tap!
Suddenly kicking off the ground, Kim Hyeongjin leapt forward and swung his sword.
It was an attack meant to kill.
However.
"Wow, you came fully prepared right from the start?"
The man avoided Kim Hyeongjin’s attack with an extremely light jump.
"Okay, confirmation complete."
Then he took out a notebook from inside his clothes and showed it.
But Kim Hyeongjin had no interest in it.
"This bastard is acting relaxed?"
"Wait a second... That is..."
The companion recognized the notebook belatedly.
His face hardened.
"Hey, hey, run!"
"What are you talking about? What is that bastard—"
Only then did Kim Hyeongjin look at the notebook.
Written there were the words:
the Hero Association.
"I’m Lee Taehyun, an A-rank Awakened affiliated with the Hero Association. Damn, you sure talk a lot. Just shut your mouth and get ready to take a beating, you bastards."
Lee Taehyun smiled broadly.
At that time, inside the dungeon.
I was moving forward while repeatedly glancing behind me.
'Since nobody has come so far, it looks like things were handled properly.'
The villains Kim Sangwook sent were nowhere to be seen.
There was no way they simply did not come.
It seemed my insurance worked well.
'That aside, it’s cold because it’s nighttime.'
The dungeon sky had already become completely covered in darkness.
The terrible cold of the desert at night swept over us.
"Ah-choo!"
Jin Sea sneezed.
I stared at her for a moment before taking out a tissue from my pocket and handing it to her.
'She’s at least the one normal person among the villains.'
Even putting aside my personal grudge, showing this much kindness was not a bad thing.
The girl narrowed her eyes as she accepted the tissue.
"Don’t tell me this is the one you used earlier when you went to the bathroom?"
"......If you don’t want it, give it back."
"Just kidding, just kidding. Thanks."
Jin Sea tapped my shoulder lightly and took the tissue.
I frowned.
'What is with her...'
Thinking about it, it was not entirely unreasonable.
After all, I had ended up saving her twice.
Once from the centipede.
Once from the antlion pit.
"Hm. Since it’s a Special Dungeon, even the time changes are unpredictable. Let’s rest at that oasis for now."
Park Inseong, who was walking ahead, gestured toward the oasis.
He was right.
A night like this was even more dangerous.
There was no telling when monsters would burrow through the ground and attack.
"If we rest for a while, it might become daytime. Since it looks like you’re cold, I’ll make a campfire."
Unlike his nickname Park Inseong, the Tyrant Hunter, Park Inseong actually prepared the fire himself.
Whoosh.
The heat warmed the surroundings.
Because a small forest had formed around the oasis, it felt like we were having a campfire.
Cutting down one of the nearby trees and using it as a chair made the atmosphere feel even more like camping.
'The members are a little questionable, though.'
Especially Park Inseong and Lee Yejun.
I had no intention of doing anything about these two villains right now.
They were not criminals yet, so if I acted against them for no reason, I would be the one ending up behind bars.
If they dug their own graves, I would not stop them.
"Being like this, it feels like we’re camping. Don’t you think so?"
Park Inseong, immersed in the scenery, looked up at the night sky.
Then he started talking without anyone asking.
"I plan to create a guild with my own hands someday. My dream is to build a free guild where I don’t have to be bound by anyone."
I wondered what nonsense he was suddenly talking about.
It was nonsense.
'Free, sure. Just for you alone.'
After creating that guild, Park Inseong would commit all kinds of abuse and tyranny before eventually beating one of his juniors to death.
"Would you consider joining my guild when that time comes?"
Park Inseong’s gaze turned toward me.
When our eyes met, he gave a creepy grin.
'Do you think I want to get beaten to death by you?'
Instead of answering, I shrugged.
Park Inseong looked at the other party members and continued.
"The same goes for everyone else. You all seem quite skilled."
"......I’m fine. I have something I need to do later."
Lee Yejun shook his head.
Then he quietly giggled.
'......'
As I said before, Lee Yejun would become an executive of a villain organization and kill people.
I could not think of anything except ominous possibilities.
I hoped that, at least, he was not already thinking about killing people.
"I’ll refuse too. I’m not going to join a guild."
Jin Sea, who had been warming herself by the fire, stood up.
With a serious expression, she said:
"I’m going to join the Hero Association. A righteous hero who sacrifices themselves for others. That’s my dream."
I shook my head.
They were all crazy.
After that, useless conversation continued.
I pretended to listen just enough, then stood up.
Jin Sea asked:
"Where are you going?"
"I’m going to check the surroundings."
There was a possibility that daytime would not come.
I could not simply wait.
Above all, recovering the source of demonic energy came first.
I pushed through the bushes around the oasis and headed outside.
Far away, I could see two pyramids.
A small pyramid and a large pyramid.
'The source of demonic energy is inside the smaller one.'
The traitor to humanity, Kim Sangwook, would always talk about the past whenever he drank.
The things I listened to for fun ended up being extremely useful.
Rustle.
'Hm?'
As I was walking, I heard a suspicious sound from behind.
It was almost impossible to hear, but my Skill caught that tiny difference.
『 The effect of Skill "Perception Lv.10" is activated. 』
『 Experience for the Perception Skill increases greatly. 』
I moved forward as if I had not noticed anything, then suddenly turned around and charged.
Bam bam bam!
In situations like this, taking the initiative was important.
I knocked the person down and hit them a few times.
The person screamed.
"Ow, that hurts!"
"What, it was you."
I calmly stood up.
I already knew it was Jin Sea.
She brushed off the grass stuck to her head and complained.
"How did you know when I was sneaking up on you?"
I did not answer and continued walking toward the pyramid.
But Jin Sea followed me all the way.
"What? Why are you following me?"
"The eyes of those two people back there looked suspicious."
Hm.
That was true.
'What should I do?'
I thought for a moment.
Jin Sea had done something wrong to me before my regression, but the current Jin Sea had no crime.
Even if she had, I had already taken it all out on her by hitting her earlier.
'With Jin Sea here, things would become easier.'
This girl had the Steal Skill, which allowed her to steal items.
She probably had a Trait suitable for that as well.
I nodded.
I decided to make use of Jin Sea.
"Follow me."
"Why?"
"......"
Should I just leave her behind?
"Ah, where are you going?!"
I arrived in front of the entrance to the small pyramid.
In the end, Jin Sea, who had followed me, stood beside me.
"This place feels ominous..."
She looked at the entrance with an uneasy expression.
I ignored her and tried to enter, but Jin Sea grabbed me.
"Seriously! I have a Danger Detection Skill, you know? There are probably a lot of traps here."
"......Then why did you do that earlier?"
She had a Danger Detection Skill, yet she got grabbed by the centipede and dragged into the antlion pit?
"Umm, that is... Maybe I wasn’t in good condition today? Anyway."
She did not seem to be making it up.
Suddenly, some information flashed through my mind.
It was probably one of the highest-tier Skills among Danger Detection-type Skills.
Future Sight, Crisis Management, Absolute Sense...
Many Skills came to mind.
Most of them were Skills that allowed someone to glimpse the future slightly.
'They are advanced information at this point in time, but later they become famous Skills.'
The reason Jin Sea’s Skill had not activated was probably because I had saved her.
Skills that used future-viewing abilities worked like that.
The result had become safe.
Meaning that rather than Jin Sea avoiding danger herself, me saving her produced the safer outcome.
'If this place feels ominous, then I should go even more.'
Because of the source of demonic energy, there was a high chance the surroundings had become unstable.
In other words, this was the correct path.
"Huh. It suddenly feels okay again."
Jin Sea tilted her head and followed me.
Inside the pyramid, a long corridor stretched ahead.
If we simply followed the path, it seemed we could reach the center easily.
"I’ll really show you."
Perhaps because she had gotten used to the path, Jin Sea took the lead to demonstrate her Danger Detection.
She went far ahead of me and shouted.
"See? It’s fine!"
『 Experience for the Perception Skill increases greatly. 』
『 Skill "Perception Lv.11" acquired! 』
『 The Skill has reached Level 11 and gained an Additional Effect. 』
『 You can now partially check a companion’s System messages. 』
"Wait, if you go there—"
"What? I told you I have Danger Detection. You don’t need to worry about— Huh?"
Click.
The floor beneath Jin Sea’s foot sank slightly like a button being pressed.
Rumble...
Looking toward the front of the corridor, Jin Sea’s face slowly turned pale.
A massive stone was rolling toward them without hesitation.
She immediately turned around and ran desperately toward me.
"Ah! Today is seriously weird!!"
I took out Soul Devourer.
Rumble...
"Are you not running away?"
Ignoring Jin Sea’s shout, I raised my sword.
The rolling stone had tremendous momentum, but I stood there and waited for the exact timing.
When the rock came right in front of me.
I swung my sword.
— Straight Slash.
With a flash of light, a thunderous sound echoed through the corridor.
Wind swept through the previously quiet passage, clearing away the rising dust.
The massive stone, split in half, lost its rotation and stopped.
'Oh.'
Even with such a short use, this much power.
This was the moment the strength of Level 11 was clearly revealed.
"Whoa. Are you really D-rank?"
Jin Sea, who had been hiding behind me, stared at the split rock with her mouth open.
I am D-rank.
It was just because my Level was 40.
Without the Trait’s effects, I would have already been C-rank.
And on top of that, Skills like Strength and Agility had reached Level 11, so it was only natural that I was strong.
'Come to think of it, Perception also just reached Level 11.'
Was that why?
Subtle traces that I normally would not have noticed stood out.
Behind the rock cut by Straight Slash, a brick in the wall had a tiny crack.
I immediately approached and kicked that spot hard.
Crash!
『 A shortcut has been discovered. 』
The wall supported by the bricks collapsed, revealing a new passage.
I was not sure whether to say this was thanks to Jin Sea.
No, maybe it was just thanks to Luck.
"Whoa, amazing! Hurry, let’s go up!"
The shortcut led to the center of the pyramid.
After passing through the passage, I saw a massive statue in a wide-open space.
It looked somewhat like a sphinx.
I knew immediately.
The source of demonic energy was probably sleeping there.
As we approached the statue, a System message appeared.
『 Challengers who have found the desert, receive the trial of the sandstorm. 』
"Trial?"
At Jin Sea’s question, countless magic circles appeared around the sphinx.
On top of the magic circles drawn with red lines, pillars of fire rose one after another.
'Normally, I would have to endure the trial below.'
But this time, there was no need.
"Ah, hot! This is real fire! What do we do now?"
"Climb onto the sphinx."
"Ah, that works."
I climbed onto the sphinx in one leap.
Jin Sea followed me while panting.
"But what now?"
The Thief of the Phantom World, Jin Sea.
Before my regression, I had my food stolen by her.
It was not something I could simply laugh off as a small incident.
Back then, those things were desperately important to Younghoon and me.
I was angry.
So I gathered information about her relentlessly.
I looked for a way to get revenge against Jin Sea.
I asked various people who knew her about all kinds of things.
Although Jin Sea ended up dying to the demons before I could properly take revenge.
As a result, I came to know her abilities very well.
"Jin Sea, put your hand on the statue and use Steal."
"What?"
Jin Sea’s pupils shook violently.
That was only natural.
She had not revealed her ability, Steal, to us.
"W-what are you talking about..."
Rumble rumble rumble!
The sphinx was trying to raise its body.
It was probably trying to separate Jin Sea and me because we were not properly participating in the trial.
Before we knew it, the floor was filled with an unknown pitch-black liquid.
A harsh vapor rose all the way here.
Its true identity was a poison that flowed out from the source of demonic energy.
Jin Sea’s face turned pale.
"If you don’t want to die, do it quickly."
"I-I can do it!"
Even though she looked confused, Jin Sea placed her hand on the statue and closed her eyes.
"Using it on a statue won’t do anything..."
However, unlike her muttering.
Shuaa—
A pure white light began leaking from Jin Sea’s hand.
The dazzling white radiance flowed out so intensely that it was difficult to keep her eyes open.
『 The effect of Skill "Perception Lv.11" is activated. 』
『 Partially checking the Skills of a target recognized as a companion. 』
But I could be certain.
'It worked.'
The enhanced Perception Skill created a blue message window before me.
『 Companion Jin Sea’s Skill "Absolute Theft Lv.4" is activated. 』
『 Stealing NPC Sphinx’s reward item! 』