—How much time has passed since then?
Drip, drip.
The sound of water dripping gently shook my eardrums.
(Sound…? But I should be dead…)
While confused and unable to understand the situation, I slowly opened my eyes.
“Grrrrr!”
“…………Eh?”
Right after that, a Black Fang letting out a fierce growl while dripping saliva jumped into my full field of vision.
“W-Waaaahhhhh!”
I stood up in a panic and desperately crawled out of the boss room while almost falling over.
Dungeon bosses basically never follow you outside of the boss room.
Having safely reached the hallway, I let out a sigh of relief and stroked my chest with my right hand.
“…………Huh?”
That was when I finally noticed.
My right hand, which should have been lost, was back to normal.
“Why!? I am sure I lost it in the attack by the Necro Demon back then…!”
Could I have been dreaming?
No, there is no way.
I still remember clearly the pain I felt at that time.
“But if so, what in the world is happening…?”
I spun my head desperately and traced back my memories.
Why am I still alive, and why is my right hand back to normal?
There must have been some event that gave a hint to that…
Then I remembered.
That just before perishing, I heard a certain system sound.
Yes, it certainly—
[Confirmed target’s death.]
[All conditions have been met.]
[The unique skill [Infinite Regeneration] will evolve.]
[Soul regeneration will be performed.]
—The system sound should have said things like this.
Because of the situation, I didn’t have the room to think about its meaning, but thinking back on it now, it kept repeating quite worrying words.
“The unique skill [Infinite Regeneration] will evolve… It said that, right?”
I had heard that some unique skills show their true effects when specific conditions are met.
There might be a hint in that.
Thinking so, I checked my status once again.
And what was written there was a shocking content.
[Infinite Regeneration]
Unique skill
Automatically regenerates when the target takes damage.
Revives after death by performing soul regeneration.
After revival, you cannot act for 60 minutes, and you cannot re-activate this skill.
“Wha…!”
Seeing that explanation, I opened my eyes wide.
“Revival by performing soul regeneration after death… In other words, r-e-g-e-n-e-r-a-t-i-o-n f-r-o-m d-e-a-t-h—was that the true ability of [Infinite Regeneration]!?”
It was an out-of-spec ability that made me feel embarrassed for thinking of it as just a useless skill until now.
However, it was also natural to think that way.
“Judging from the situation, the condition for awakening was my death… No wonder I couldn’t notice it until now.”
Besides, when I read the last explanation carefully, it wasn’t as great as one might imagine from the word “infinite.”
If I were to be killed again during the defenseless time after revival, I would truly perish for good that time.
“In this case, when I received the finishing blow from the Necro Demon, thanks to being blown outside of the trap room by chance, I was saved because there was no follow-up attack… I guess?”
Analyzing that much, my body trembled.
My rescue was by a hair’s breadth, and without that miracle, I would definitely have died.
“That’s right! Where is the Necro Demon now…?”
Lifting my face suddenly, I turned my gaze to the trap room ahead in the hallway.
However, the figure of the Necro Demon was no longer left there.
However, the entrance and exit that blocked our escape are still closed with a heavy door.
I could make a certain prediction from that.
“As Alto guessed, this must be a trap room to trap challengers and finish them off. The Necro Demon, which lost its purpose at the timing when Alto and the others disappeared via transfer and I died, vanished… But because I revived right after that, the entrance and exit closed again—I am guessing a bit, but the main outline should not be wrong.”
However, if this prediction is correct… it only serves as desperate material for me.
Because just knowing the mechanism does not mean I can escape from here.
“As long as the trap remains, if I try to go outside from here, the Necro Demon should appear again. But I don’t have the power to fight it…”
While the Necro Demon’s level is 1000, my level is only 31.
The difference is clear and not something that can be overturned by a miracle or coincidence.
Moreover, a miracle like being blown outside of the trap room won’t happen again, and if I fight again, I will surely perish this time.
All hope is lost.
It was truly a situation that fit that description.
“Is there no other way…?”
Even though I managed to come back to life, giving up here is definitely out of the question.
And—
“If I cannot get out of here, I cannot take revenge on those guys either.”
—The feeling of revenge, which still wells up limitlessly, strips away all resignation from me.
I must think of a way to break through the current situation no matter what.
However, no matter how many times I rethink it, I don’t think the current me can win against the Necro Demon.
If there is anything I can do, it is to level up in this place, but…
I turned back and looked at the Black Fang, which was still glaring at me from the boss room.
[Black Fang]
Level: 30
Dungeon Boss: [Black Abyss]
“…As expected, this is unreasonable.”
What flashed into my mind was the method of leveling up by repeatedly defeating the respawning boss.
However, the level of the Black Fang in question is 30.
With this, no matter how many times I repeat the subjugation, the experience points I can get are limited.
Even if I reach it, it will probably be around level 40 to 50 at most.
Even so, I had no other choices left.
Knowing it was reckless—and more than that, to look away from this miserable reality, I gripped my dagger and returned to the boss room.
On the way, I allocated the remaining 15 SP (Status Points) entirely to attack power.
“Groaaaaaar!”
“––Haah!”
Dodging the first strike of the Black Fang, I launched a counterattack as is.
To clear away the pent-up frustration, I poured continuous combo attacks.
As a result, just one minute after the battle started.
I succeeded in subjugating the Black Fang.
—And then, I encountered an unbelievable phenomenon.
[You have defeated the dungeon boss.]
[Conquest Reward: Acquired 10 SP (Status Points).]
“…………Eh?”
For a moment, I couldn’t understand what it was saying.
“Wait, wait a minute… Did it just say dungeon conquest reward?”
Doubting my mishearing, I checked my status.
Then,
Shin 15 years old Level: 31
Title: None
HP: 301/310 MP: 89/89
Attack Power: 96
Defense Power: 71
Intelligence: 46
Agility: 61
Luck: 46
SP (Status Points): 10
Unique Skill: [Infinite Regeneration]
Normal Skill: None
In the SP column, the number 10 was certainly carved.
“—What does this mean!?”
The reward one person can get per dungeon is only once.
This is an absolute rule in dungeons, and no exception has ever been confirmed.
Despite that, I was now able to get a s-e-c-o-n-d conquest reward.
This is an event on a level that overturns the history of this world.
“But why can something like that…”
I didn’t understand.
Because it was true.
Renowned scholars who have studied dungeons for many years also said:
Since the challenger’s soul is recorded as information in the dungeon, you cannot get the reward again—
“R-e-c-o-r-d-i-n-g t-h-e s-o-u-l a-s i-n-f-o-r-m-a-t-i-o-n…?”
I hurriedly checked the description of [Infinite Regeneration].
Then it certainly wrote, ‘Perform soul regeneration.’
“Could it be, is that what it is?”
[Infinite Regeneration].
It is not just an ability to revive from death and regenerate the body.
B-y r-e-g-e-n-e-r-a-t-i-n-g t-h-e s-o-u-l i-t-s-e-l-f, r-e-v-i-v-i-n-g a-s a n-e-w b-e-i-n-g—that was the true essence of this skill.
If this prediction is correct, hope wells up all at once.
“There is a limit to leveling up by experience points, but… if I can get conquest rewards infinitely, there is no limit to that.”
The more bosses I defeat, the more infinitely I can grow.
—Of course, there is one major disadvantage to this method.
“…Whew”
Imagining the pain that would visit me ahead, I let out a deep breath just once.
In a sense, choosing to die cleanly here might be many times easier.
Even so, I cannot give up this feeling of revenge that wells up endlessly.
That’s why it didn’t even take a minute to solidify my determination.
“To get the reward again, I need to perform soul regeneration. The only way to make that possible is for me to die myself.”
Gripping the dagger tightly with both hands, I suppressed the trembling with a feeling of revenge greater than fear.
And,
“—Haah!”
Finally, I deeply, deeply s-t-a-b-b-e-d t-h-a-t d-a-g-g-e-r i-n-t-o m-y o-w-n h-e-a-r-t.
[Soul regeneration will be performed.]
—Thus, the hell-like days of growth began.