It was Kranol’s first time entering a dungeon.
He possessed knowledge from the original story, but he had never visited one in person.
Dungeons were dangerous regions with far lower survival rates than the nests of low-rank demonic beasts.
‘They’re often filled with all kinds of traps, and neither the number nor ferocity of their demonic beasts can be compared.’
The ground at the entrance to the Vortex Cavern had collapsed.
Perhaps the repeated natural disasters had caused the terrain to deteriorate.
Kranol asked.
“Hatchling. Can you carry me while flying?”
“SKRREEE.”
As if telling him not to worry, the hatchling wrapped its forelegs around his waist.
It was still young, so it was nowhere near as powerful as a fully grown dragon.
However, it could easily carry an adult for a short distance.
“Well done.”
“SKREE!”
After safely crossing the collapsed ground, Kranol stroked the proud hatchling’s head.
The two began advancing into the darkness beyond the cavern.
The true dungeon raid had finally begun.
‘Hmm. This is rather different from what I expected.’
However, the Vortex Cavern proved astonishingly uneventful once he entered it.
All Kranol had to do was hold his lantern and walk.
The hatchling beside him took care of everything else.
“SKREEEK! KREEEK!”
The moment he reached the first underground level, Giant Soldier Ants surrounded him.
They were troublesome demonic beasts with exoskeletons as hard as metal and razor-sharp mandibles.
However, the pure white flames unleashed by the hatchling incinerated them in an instant.
ROOOAR!
The merciless white flames consumed the demonic beasts in a solemn, ancient radiance.
Despite their sturdy exoskeletons, the Soldier Ants were helplessly annihilated.
It was an absurdly anticlimactic massacre for demonic beasts dwelling inside a dungeon.
‘This is so easy that it’s ridiculous.’
It was dozens of times more efficient than struggling alone.
The hatchling’s growth would eventually become Kranol’s own strength as well.
‘If I continue building our bond, I’ll eventually be able to obtain more skills.’
Until then, he needed to raise the young creature faithfully.
They swept through the first underground level with ease, slaughtering every Soldier Ant they encountered.
Kranol collected whatever materials he could find from the demonic beasts.
Although they had been slightly burned, their durable exoskeletons and legs could still be sold as equipment materials.
“Hatchling. Put these in your Subspace Storage.”
“SKREE!”
The hatchling stored the miscellaneous materials he handed over inside its subspace.
Kranol was constantly suffering from financial difficulties because of the exorbitant cost of his medicinal herbs.
He needed to collect and sell anything that might earn him money.
After thoroughly gathering the loot, they immediately descended to the second underground level.
This time, a larger creature with an armor-like exoskeleton stood among dozens of Soldier Ants.
Its vicious venomous fangs were sharpened like steel swords.
It was a Knight Ant, a superior creature that had evolved from a Soldier Ant.
“SKRREEEEEE—!”
The Knight Ant roared.
The deafening sound boosted the morale of the Soldier Ants around it.
It was a Roar Skill that emboldened subordinate demonic beasts.
Unexpectedly, however, the roar inflicted harm upon Kranol.
“Urgh.”
Kranol’s pupils trembled momentarily.
Pain tore through his head as though his skull were being split in half.
He bit his lip until it bled and extended one finger.
“...Shut up.”
CRUNCH!
The Knight Ant that had been roaring so valiantly was crushed in an instant.
The Soldier Ants, whose morale had risen moments ago, stared in horror before becoming overwhelmed with fear.
Even the hatchling watching from beside him widened its eyes in admiration.
“SKRREEE!”
It gazed up at him in awe, as though acknowledging that not even a dragon could perform such an attack.
Kranol merely took out another herb and chewed it with indifference.
That had nearly been disastrous.
‘This damned madness. A fit always strikes whenever I hear a loud noise.’
He could only wield the magical power capable of crushing his enemies when his madness intensified.
However, that strength was accompanied by agony so terrible that blood could erupt from somewhere in his body.
The pain felt as though his mind were being ground into dust, so Kranol hated using such excessive power.
There was also the danger that another violent episode might cause him to lose his sense of self.
“Hatchling. Burn the rest of them.”
Kranol wiped the blood from his lips as he issued the order.
The hatchling immediately breathed out pure white flames and eliminated the remaining enemies.
Since the demonic beasts were already terrified of Kranol, clearing this level proved even easier than the first.
Once again, he harvested materials from the corpses.
Unlike on the first level, however, one of the pieces of loot possessed its own Status Window.
[Name: Ten-Year-Aged Knight Ant Venom Fang]
[Grade: ★]
[Effect: A body part that can only be harvested from a long-lived Knight Ant. It can be sharpened and used as a weapon material. However, it will corrode unless combined with high-quality metal.]
It was One-Star loot.
Items marked with stars were treated as special objects.
The mark meant that the item was watched over by a great Guardian Star.
‘That makes it highly valuable, and it can also be offered to a Star.’
Star-Marked Items were generally rare.
Kranol had never obtained one even after clearing nests of the lowest-ranking demonic beasts.
Yet inside the dungeon, he had already acquired One-Star loot merely by hunting common monsters.
‘This is quite profitable.’
Of course, starred loot did not always drop merely because one entered a dungeon.
However, the Vortex Cavern was an unusual dungeon that was difficult even to enter.
Perhaps because of that difficulty, it had provided him with a respectable reward from the very beginning.
Kranol stored the One-Star loot inside the hatchling’s Subspace Storage.
He found himself looking forward to what rewards the next level might offer.
“SKRREEEEEE—!”
The third underground level contained even more Soldier Ants and three Knight Ants.
The Knight Ants roared in unison, but Kranol barely managed to retain his sanity.
He had attached the lantern to his waist, covered both ears, and steadied his breathing in preparation.
His eyes became slightly bloodshot, but he endured it.
“Burn all of them.”
“SKRREEEEE!”
Once again, the demonic beasts were no match for White Flame Breath.
Even the Knight Ants merely endured a little longer before they were all burned black.
[Calamity, ‘The Abandoned Hatchling,’ is hunting.]
[White Flame Breath has increased in level! (Lv. 2 → Lv. 3)]
[The sacred destructive power contained within the fiery breath has grown more potent.]
One of the hatchling’s skills had increased in level.
Its growth was astonishingly fast.
The hatchling approached Kranol with an exhausted expression before climbing onto his shoulder.
“SKRREEE....”
“You worked hard. Rest for a while.”
When Kranol offered it some dried meat, the hatchling hurriedly began chewing.
A dragon could not use its breath without limit.
Dragon breath consumed a considerable amount of mana, making periodic rest necessary.
Still, that was an insignificant drawback considering that it had annihilated all the demonic beasts across three entire levels.
‘As expected of the bloodline of Act One’s final boss.’
This was automated hunting at its finest.
All he needed to do was walk forward and collect the loot.
He was benefiting so effortlessly that he almost wondered whether it was acceptable.
Kranol therefore decided to reward the young demonic beast.
“I’ve been thinking. Chubby would be a good name for you, since you’re so plump.”
“SKREEEEE!!”
The hatchling fiercely shook its head in rejection.
One of Kranol’s eyebrows rose.
Was the name really objectionable enough to warrant such an adamant refusal?
Just then—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Kranol and the hatchling simultaneously turned their heads.
A pounding sound was coming from a steel door in the distance.
They had failed to notice the structure while fighting the demonic beasts.
More importantly, human voices were coming from beyond the door.
“P-Please save us!”
“There are people in here!”
The hatchling quietly bit Kranol’s collar.
“SKRREEE.”
“Ah.”
Kranol looked at the hatchling and asked softly,
“You want to help those people?”
The hatchling immediately shook its head from side to side.
“Then you want to ignore them and keep going?”
The hatchling nodded at once.
Despite its young age, it possessed the keen insight befitting a dragon.
Such pleas for help were highly likely to be traps inside a dungeon.
They might come from demonic beasts imitating human voices or bandits waiting to ambush anyone who approached.
‘But wait.’
Kranol rubbed his chin for a moment.
After considering something, he gave the hatchling an order.
“Hatchling. Melt that steel door.”
“SKREEEEE!”
The hatchling glared at him unhappily.
Kranol explained his reasoning.
“I don’t save people who are of no benefit to me.”
“SKREE?”
“But those people will be useful to me. That means we should save them.”
“SKREE!”
Only then did the hatchling comply without further complaint.
It appeared to agree that saving them was acceptable under those circumstances.
Kranol let out a faint laugh.
‘It’s surprisingly shrewd for something so young.’
White flames surged forth and melted the steel door.
A group of filthy, emaciated people poured out from the other side.
Corpses of demonic beasts lay scattered around them, while white flames still burned across the ground.
They stared at Kranol standing beyond the terrifying scene and spoke with trembling voices.
“Wh-Who in the world are you?”
Kranol ignored the question.
He merely said what he wanted to say.
“Hand it over. Payment for your lives.”
“...What?”
“I just saved you, didn’t I? So pay me. Give me the most valuable thing you have.”
***
‘There’s only one group of people who could be trapped inside the Vortex Cavern.’
The demonic beast hunter Birg.
Although his appearance was brief, he had appeared in the original story.
He had appeared as a cold corpse whose life had already ended.
Now, however, despite looking haggard, he was clearly alive.
“Are you alone? I could have sworn I heard you speaking with someone on the other side of the door....”
“I imagine you mistook the cries of a demonic beast for a voice.”
The five hunters stared around them in disbelief.
“My goodness. Look at all these demonic beast corpses.”
“D-Did he really kill all of them by himself?”
“Aren’t we rather deep underground? How did he...?”
The hatchling had concealed itself with Invisibility well before the people emerged.
As a result, all the white flames spread across the ground appeared to be Kranol’s work.
One nervous woman parted her dry lips.
“A-Are you perhaps a mage affiliated with a Magic Tower?”
Mages belonging to Magic Towers were on an entirely different level from those who had merely picked up a few incidental spells.
They were people who had devoted their entire lives to the magical arts.
Kranol answered calmly.
“Scrolls.”
“Um... What?”
“Hand over the scrolls first.”
The hunters looked at one another.
He was suddenly demanding payment for saving their lives.
“...What should we do?”
“What else can we do? What happens if we refuse and a fight breaks out?”
They possessed enough judgment to understand the situation despite their numerical advantage.
The man before them was powerful enough to slaughter most of the dungeon’s demonic beasts alone.
The starving demonic beast hunters, who had been trapped inside the chamber, had no hope of opposing him.
“These are all the scrolls we possess. They’re genuine. You may open our bags and check for yourself.”
Birg handed over four extremely valuable magical scrolls.
They were immensely expensive, but no possession was worth more than their lives.
After extorting them without difficulty, Kranol asked,
“Are you hungry?”
“What? Ah, well... of course.”
They looked utterly miserable.
They had been trapped inside that chamber for two weeks without eating or washing.
Kranol pointed toward the ant demonic beasts that had been burned by the white flames.
“If you remove the broken exoskeletons and venomous fangs, the meat should be enough to fill your stomachs. However, overeating may make you ill, so eat in moderation. Only consume enough to take the edge off your hunger.”
The demonic beast hunters’ eyes immediately lit up.
They hurriedly tore into the meat and began filling their stomachs.
It smelled unpleasant and was extremely tough, but they were in no position to be selective.
When they bit into the less heavily burned portions, juice poured freely from the meat.
“Follow me once you’ve finished.”
That was not the end of it.
Kranol guided them to a place where clean groundwater flowed through the dungeon.
It was a type of resting area that had originally supplied drinking water to the ant demonic beasts.
Thanks to him, they were able to quench their thirst and wash themselves clean.
“Th-Thank you. Truly!”
“That’s right! We would all have died without you, Sir Mage!”
The demonic beast hunters repeatedly expressed their gratitude now that they had escaped their predicament.
Kranol shook his head.
“There’s no need to thank me.”
“What?”
“An ‘Egg of Calamity’ lies dormant in the depths of this dungeon. That is why I want you to accompany me.”
The demonic beast hunters’ eyes immediately widened.
Naturally, delight and relief crossed their faces.
“The Egg of Calamity?! You also learned about that ominous object from the ancient records!”
“We’ll feel far safer with a powerful mage accompanying us!”
“I’m glad you’re a righteous man! Destroying an egg like that as quickly as possible is the only way to protect the world!”
Then came an answer none of them had expected.
“No.”
Kranol calmly declared,
“I intend to hatch the Egg of Calamity. You will help me do it.”
Everyone else sought to destroy the Egg of Calamity.
Unlike them, Kranol intended to make it hatch.
He knew exactly what kind of deranged monster would emerge from it.