One by one, the others finally began to speak.
“Wh-What was that?”
“Is it over?”
“My goodness. With just... one attack?”
The demonic beast hunters now looked at Kranol with not only awe, but fear.
What kind of man could instantly kill such a powerful Rot Dragon with a single attack?
They could not even begin to estimate the extent of his strength.
However, something seemed strange about Kranol’s current condition.
“....”
Despite his knowledge of the original story, he had overlooked one variable.
The Rot Dragon Girognal was an incessant chatterbox who loved intimidating others with its roars.
Unfortunately, such deafening noises were perfect for triggering Kranol’s madness.
“Ah!”
Kranol fell to his knees.
He clutched his head with both hands and groaned.
The man who had remained endlessly indifferent until now was shedding tears from the agony.
“M-Mr. Kranol! Are you all right?!”
Birg finally regained his composure and hurried over to support him.
Kranol was losing consciousness, his face drenched in blood and tears.
After assessing his condition, Birg urgently looked toward Aria.
“Health Regeneration Potion!”
“Th-There isn’t much left. We don’t even have half a bottle....”
“Whatever remains, hurry!”
Aria quickly produced a bottle containing the last dregs of a red liquid and held it out.
At the very least, they hoped to reduce the damage from the bleeding.
Birg hurriedly fed the potion to the fallen Kranol.
“...Cough!”
The moment the potion touched his bloodstained lips, Kranol began coughing.
Fortunately, the blood pouring from his nose gradually began to slow.
Birg asked anxiously,
“Are you all right, Mr. Kranol?”
Kranol regained consciousness and lifted his head.
Then he asked with hatred in his eyes,
“...Why did you make me drink seawater?”
Everyone exchanged baffled glances at the unexpected remark.
At first, they all tried to hold it in, but the corners of their mouths inevitably rose.
“Pfft... Hahahahaha!”
Bunet was the first to clutch his stomach and burst into laughter.
“See? I told you! That potion is unbelievably salty!”
That became the spark that set everyone else off.
The others could no longer contain themselves and began laughing as well.
Only Aria looked offended as she glared fiercely at them.
“Stop laughing! It isn’t as salty as seawater!”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Aria. I know this isn’t the time, but it was simply too funny.”
Birg finally calmed himself and looked at Kranol.
“Mr. Kranol, what you just drank was not seawater. It was a Health Regeneration Potion personally made by Aria. We don’t know what illness you have, but you suddenly collapsed while bleeding, so we thought it might help. The bleeding appears to have stopped to some degree. Are you feeling better now?”
“I believe I’ve regained some of my senses. My tongue is unbearably salty.”
“Wait. You didn’t recover because of the potion’s effect, but purely because its taste was so salty? Hahahaha—Urgh!”
Bunet began laughing until tears filled his eyes, only for Aria to smack him across the back.
Meanwhile, Kranol wiped his face and ran his fingers over his temples.
Fortunately, the fit of madness had subsided before reaching its limit.
‘If I hadn’t brought those herbs, I would have killed everyone here.’
Madness was an illness capable of driving its victim truly insane.
That was because it possessed no consistent threshold.
At times, the symptoms became so severe that he had to consume herbs immediately. At other times, they subsided almost at once.
Sometimes, he blacked out or lost consciousness entirely. On other occasions, he managed to endure through sheer willpower.
The symptoms were so irregular that he could lose his mind as soon as tomorrow.
That was why he could not help but become so worn down.
‘Once enough time passes and the madness worsens, even the herbs will eventually stop working.’
That was why Kranol Wizar had ultimately gone insane in the original story.
After living as a psychiatric patient confined to a monastery, his identity was eventually consumed by madness, leading him to commit a massacre.
That was why he was transferred to an underground prison, where he spent most of the story incarcerated.
Of course, he later escaped by one means or another and awakened ‘Catastrophe Affinity’ near the end of the story.
In any case, Kranol looked down at the scattered bones of the fallen Rot Dragon.
‘It’s horrifying even after seeing it again. I never imagined I could kill a Rot Dragon in one attack.’
It was overwhelming magical power capable of instantly killing a medium-to-large demonic beast.
Naturally, that did not make him invincible.
There were plenty of major figures throughout the world who could withstand an attack of this magnitude.
If he became arrogant, he could instead be killed by a counterattack while in his unstable condition.
‘But my magical power can continue growing without limit.’
The stronger Kranol became, the more powerful the rampages caused by his fits of madness would become.
Once he reached a higher stage, the range of his abilities would increase as well, and he would be able to claim numerous calamities for himself.
That was why so few opponents could contend with Kranol near the end of the original story.
He casually unleashed attacks even more powerful than this, each one effectively capable of causing instant death.
‘I have high expectations. Of course, I’ll have to be careful not to lose my mind completely.’
Kranol wanted to become stronger, but he had no intention of following his original path.
His objective was to cure this accursed madness completely.
That was precisely why he had gone to the trouble of traveling all the way to the Vortex Cavern.
“In any case, how should we divide the rewards?”
One particularly inconspicuous demonic beast hunter cautiously spoke while watching the others’ reactions.
The Rot Dragon that had killed the boss demonic beast and occupied this chamber had been eliminated.
All that remained was to claim the sweet rewards.
Birg and the others stared at the speaker incredulously.
“Why would you even ask that?”
“That’s right. What is there to divide?”
“Mr. Kranol should obviously take everything.”
It was only natural.
Had they not agreed before entering the chamber that the boss battle’s loot would be divided fairly according to each person’s contribution?
Kranol had unquestionably made the greatest contribution.
He had eliminated the Rot Dragon with a single attack.
“We would all have died without you, Mr. Kranol. A Rot Dragon is no ordinary demonic beast. It may not have been fully grown, but a party like ours would have been annihilated by one of that size.”
“That’s right. There’s nothing to discuss. Anyone can see that Mr. Kranol made the greatest contribution.”
“Well, I would be lying if I said I didn’t regret giving up a Five-Star item... but it doesn’t seem like something people of our level could ever handle. I trust you to deal with it properly, Mr. Kranol.”
Parties that conquered dungeons often fell apart over disputes concerning rewards.
The concept of contribution could be interpreted differently by each person.
In this case, however, Kranol’s contribution overwhelmingly surpassed everyone else’s.
He had been the only one who actually fought inside the Boss Room, so it was only natural for him to monopolize the rewards.
‘At least this saves me the trouble of fighting over the loot.’
Of course, that was merely the reasonable response.
There were also many cases in which people coveted the rewards and betrayed the greatest contributor.
He was fortunate that these hunters still possessed manners and principles.
Kranol approached the pile of bones left behind by the fallen Rot Dragon.
‘Not a hatchling afflicted with Corpse Disease, but a genuine Rot Dragon.’
The reward he had wanted so desperately was hidden here.
The ground was covered in countless broken and pulverized bone fragments.
Kranol rummaged through the remains with his bloodstained hands.
‘Ah. Found it.’
It was a bizarre, dark-red organ, shriveled and dried beyond recognition.
However, it was not an item anyone could dismiss.
It was the Rot Dragon’s Dragon Heart.
[Name: Rot Dragon Girognal’s Heart]
[Grade: Unique]
[Effect: The heart of a dragon resurrected as an undead creature. Every blood vessel rotted long ago, and the blood pooled within it has decayed. However, the power of a great superior species still remains. Consuming it grants a faint ‘Dragon Soul.’]
[Side Effect: Causes food poisoning unless consumed with fresh blood.]
It was Unique-grade loot.
Items without stars were assigned a separate grading system.
They were generally classified in ascending order as Common, Rare, Unique, Transcendent, and Legendary.
‘They cannot be offered to a Guardian Star, but high-grade items are still extraordinarily rare.’
Such items were effectively even rarer than many Star-Marked Items.
A Dragon Heart was a treasure whose owner could name practically any price.
‘Of course, since this is an undead creature’s organ, I can’t expect the same effect as a genuine Dragon Heart.’
Even so, consuming it would grant a highly valuable beneficial effect.
It would bestow protection capable of suppressing the symptoms of his madness as they grew more severe.
The effect was known as ‘Dragon Soul.’
However, Kranol had no intention of consuming it immediately.
‘I should save it for when the madness worsens beyond my ability to control.’
In other words, it was a form of emergency medicine.
His symptoms had settled after he consumed the herbs, but this would serve as a safeguard in case his madness ever ran completely out of control.
After securing the precious lifeline, Kranol pointed toward the remaining pile of bones.
“You may take the remaining bones and scales. I’ll concede them to you.”
“What? Are you certain?”
“Yes. I can’t carry all of them anyway.”
He could have stored everything inside the hatchling’s Subspace Storage, but that would be difficult while it remained invisible.
He could also secretly collect the materials after the hunters left, but there was no need to go that far.
Depending on the extent of its decay, a dragon’s corpse could be sold for a considerable price.
That was not the case with Girognal.
Its body had rotted severely and been pulverized into fragments, leaving the remains with little value as equipment materials.
‘It would be better to let the demonic beast hunters take them.’
Their headquarters employed many scholars who specialized in researching demonic beasts.
Even damaged and decayed dragon bones and scales would undoubtedly delight them.
In truth, Kranol had already guessed the hunters’ intentions.
‘They were probably being so friendly because they wanted some of the remains.’
It was customary to give those who had worked hard at least a small share of the spoils.
Kranol was not doing so out of kindness, but to avoid an unnecessary conflict.
Of course, since they mistakenly believed him to be overwhelmingly powerful, they were unlikely to attack him recklessly.
‘Still, nothing good comes from openly monopolizing everything.’
There was no harm in conceding loot he did not need.
After all, the hunters required some achievement to bring back to their headquarters.
Kranol shifted his gaze.
‘Next is the dungeon’s reward.’
He took the Gloves of Demonic Energy from the Reward Chest and put them on.
The black leather gloves automatically changed size to fit his hands.
They felt comfortable, and he liked their refined design.
Finally, there was the most important reward of all—the Egg of Calamity.
“Don’t we need to hatch the Egg of Calamity? How can we help?”
“It isn’t particularly difficult. Would everyone gather around and place a hand upon it?”
Although still doubtful, the hunters gathered around the egg and placed their hands on its shell.
Kranol recited the Blessing Invocation on their behalf.
“O Great Lord, protect the new life dwelling within that small shell. When the being breathing quietly inside is ready to behold the light of the world, bless its vigorous first step.”
After finishing the prayer, he placed the egg inside his backpack.
It was so large that it filled nearly the entire bag.
“What? Is that really all?”
“Yes. The egg’s hatching time has been shortened.”
The Egg of Calamity’s incubation period could be reduced through the collective recitation of a Blessing Invocation.
The effect was especially powerful when performed with members of a ruthless profession fiercely devoted to justice, such as demonic beast hunters.
Their disposition closely resembled that of the creature’s parents.
“What will you do once the egg hatches?”
“I have no reason to tell you that.”
The demonic beast hunters looked curious and disappointed, but decided not to pursue the matter.
They had already experienced that Kranol’s words had not been wrong even once.
Moreover, they no longer believed he was merely an ordinary mage.
How could they continue interrogating someone powerful enough to kill a medium-to-large demonic beast with a single gesture?
Birg looked exhausted.
“Then I suppose that settles everything. This truly was a hellish dungeon.”
“I agree. I genuinely miss the sunlight outside. I can’t even remember the last time I saw natural light.”
They left the cavern filled with demonic beast corpses and climbed the stairs.
“Ah, wait. We should be able to cross here by throwing a grappling rope to the other side.”
“Be careful not to fall! One wrong step and we’ll end up in the torture chamber again!”
They safely crossed the collapsed ground near the dungeon’s entrance.
When they emerged outside, the whirlwinds that had raged across the wasteland had subsided.
It was probably because they had killed Girognal, the Rot Dragon responsible for them.
“There’s one thing I don’t understand. Why did it go to the trouble of creating the whirlwind zone?”
“That’s right. It kept calling humans foolish, but if it had eliminated all the ant demonic beasts and emptied the dungeon, it would have been far easier for any random human to enter and destroy the egg.”
Kranol answered,
“It appears it intended to place the wasteland under its control, beginning with this cavern. The whirlwinds were a form of territorial marker.”
“Ah... That certainly sounds like a dragon.”
Dragons were usually extremely possessive of their lairs.
Some even sought to place entire regions under their rule.
That was probably why Girognal had deliberately left the lesser demonic beasts alive instead of clearing the cavern.
If humans died while attempting to enter the dungeon, it would make the wasteland easier to conquer later.
If they defeated every demonic beast and reached the depths, Girognal could simply make them destroy the egg before killing them.
‘It must have killed the Queen Ant because it intended to use this cavern as its own lair.’
In any case, the dungeon raid had finally ended.
Birg asked,
“Where will you go now, Mr. Kranol?”
“I’m returning to the Birsi Territory. I still have a request to complete there.”
“Then we’ll be traveling in opposite directions. We intend to return to the demonic beast hunters’ headquarters.”
It was time to part ways.
“Then we’ll be going!”
“Should we meet again, let’s spend some time together under better circumstances!”
Kranol exchanged farewells with the demonic beast hunters.
As indifferent as ever, his expression barely changed until the end.
He watched their retreating figures for a moment before turning and beginning to walk.
Kranol was alone again.
He had grown accustomed to it.
“SKRREEE!”
“Ah.”
That was right.
He still had this creature.
The hatchling released its Invisibility and finally revealed itself.
“SKREE? SKRREEE!”
The tearful hatchling angrily fussed over Kranol.
It seemed the young creature had once again been deeply worried that he might die.
Kranol leaned closer, presenting his face still mottled with bloodstains.
“Are you not afraid of me?”
If another fit of madness erupted, even this tiny dragon might be placed in danger.
It could end up like the Rot Dragon he had shattered with his own hand that day.
However, the hatchling snorted as though wondering what nonsense he was talking about.
“SKRREEE.”
The little demonic beast willingly approached and embraced him.
Its immature scales were exceedingly soft, and its tiny body was warm.
Kranol silently looked down at it before stroking its head.
“SKRREEE!”
It had once rejected his touch so fiercely, yet now it seemed delighted.
The hatchling rubbed its body against him and nestled in his arms.
Kranol made no effort to push the young creature away.
“Ah.”
At that moment, his backpack moved.
He immediately opened it and saw the Egg of Calamity trembling.
‘Good. At least it isn’t dragging this out.’
It was a Five-Star egg.
Under ordinary circumstances, it would have taken more than half a year to hatch.
Rescuing and employing the demonic beast hunters had certainly been worthwhile.
The hatching time had been shortened far more than he had expected.
Kranol was already filled with anticipation.
‘The Egg of Calamity. In the original story, it was destroyed before it ever had the chance to hatch.’
However, Kranol had changed the egg’s fate.
He had not conquered the dungeon merely to obtain it without good reason.
An utterly extraordinary creature was sleeping inside.
CRACK! CRACKLE!
A farewell was always followed by a new encounter.
The violet shell began to break apart.
From within it, a tiny and adorable creature emerged.