Stepping deep into the dungeon cave, he could feel the energy radiating from monsters in every direction.
"Are they still young monsters?"
However, they were not all that strong.
At this level, it was worth a shot.
Even if he gave up now and returned here later after growing stronger, this dungeon would have grown much further by then; if anything, right now was a golden opportunity.
Because in his past life, this place had been overflowing with Demonic Beast-grade monsters, making it difficult for even decent Rankers to challenge.
Even so, Gyeom-shin had conquered this place.
"...It seems there are some fairly strong monsters, too."
There was no reason he could not pull off a second time what he had already accomplished once.
However, in his past life, clearing the dungeon had been traded for the lives of countless guild members.
As a result, although it had lasted only a brief moment, he had become the strongest Hunter in the world in both name and reality.
Had he not immediately met his death due to the betrayal of his subordinates, this place would have been the dungeon of a lifetime for Gyeom-shin.
Therefore, this time he had come alone.
"However, compared to the Demon Realm I knew, the clearing difficulty is still very easy. This is my chance."
It was a dungeon he had already cleared once.
Because it was a dungeon where he had reached the boss zone after a hard-fought struggle, the map was vivid in his mind.
Thanks to that, he was able to skillfully evade the monsters one by one.
"......"
SWISH.
SWOOSH.
Right now, Gyeom-shin was an F-Grade Hunter, close to the weakest in the world among Hunters.
Since he was in a state where his talent as a Hunter had only just Awakened, even a single graze from those bastards would spell the end for him.
Even so, there was no problem.
"......"
Trudge, trudge.
Following the dungeon map already imprinted in his mind, he slipped through like a serpent along the route with the least possible danger.
Normally, he would have already encountered dozens of monsters in this situation, yet so far there had not been a single battle.
With nerves of steel, he boldly bypassed the high-level monsters without running into them.
It was a dangerous method where merely being spotted could mean instant death, yet he pushed ahead with it.
After all, if he were to properly build a guild and prepare before entering, it would take more than another ten years.
"If I'd only known the trick to evading them like this, so many of my guild members wouldn't have had to be sacrificed."
The faces of his comrades who had died in droves while clearing the dungeon rose in his mind, one by one.
So he clenched his fists with all his might.
Because the betrayal Gyeom-shin had suffered was not his alone; it was no different from every single one of his guild members having been betrayed.
Therefore, he had to take revenge on those traitor bastards without fail.
And to do that, he needed power.
"Still, let's be careful. Dropping dead right after regressing would be the most pathetic sight of all."
SLIDE.
SLIDE, SLIDE.
Fortunately for Gyeom-shin, as far as he himself was concerned, entering this dungeon had happened just yesterday.
Not only was the map of the dungeon clearly drawn in his mind, but he also remembered which monsters were in which areas.
In other words, it meant he had completely memorized which way to go to meet weak monsters and which way to go to avoid strong monsters.
<Awooo-!>
And this informational advantage worked exceedingly well in his favor, especially inside a dungeon.
<Kiek-!>
"Nice...! They took the bait."
Normally, the situation would have been no different from a human walking into a den of monsters, but for Gyeom-shin, the tables had completely turned.
In particular, the monsters had fallen squarely into the trap Gyeom-shin had dug this time.
Not only did he weave around strong monsters, but he was even able to cunningly pit monsters of two different species against each other.
'...No, I can't let my guard down yet.'
<Awooo-!>
Monsters were the exact same as humans.
When he prepared plenty of prey and placed it right in the middle between the bastards' territories, a brawl broke out over trivial gain.
As a wolf monster mercilessly bit off the head of a dwarf-like monster, the creature's head came off and flew up into the air.
SWISH—!
<Kieeek!>
The sight of Goblins and Dire Wolves fighting each other in packs was not a common scene to behold.
It had been possible because he possessed the background knowledge that turf wars between monsters occasionally broke out even within dungeons.
'For me right now, if even a single one of those bastards comes at me, it's over.'
In this way, he had penetrated deep into this dungeon in just a single day—a dungeon that had taken him two full months and seven attempts to barely clear in his past life.
He was pushing through with something an ordinary Hunter could never accomplish.
"Huuu... Calm. Composed. Focused."
Just like that, he slipped out of another sector.
Even so, he could not let his guard down.
He still could not forget the sight of his guild members having their limbs severed with anticlimactic ease while breaking through this dungeon.
The sight of his guild members dying in agony to clear the Demon Realm.
Obtaining the Demonic Sword Ades—and furthermore, Gyeom-shin being able to live a new life through it—was all thanks to their sacrifice.
"...Good, this time it's a trap."
In particular, Gyeom-shin knew the locations of all the major danger zones where countless guild members had met their ends inside and out.
Therefore, before coming here, he had stopped by a shop in advance and even packed special items.
Gyeom-shin quietly set up the traps he had brought around the monsters' radius of activity.
<Kieeek-!>
At that, a single monster was caught in the trap.
It was a Kobold, with a body similar to a human's, but a head resembling a dog or a wolf.
The bastard was a mid-grade monster with a fairly large build and strong power, meaning he had hit the jackpot.
Electrocuted by the electric trap spread wide beneath its feet, the Kobold was shrieking bizarrely and thrashing about.
'......! Good, now's the time.'
Tap-tap-tap.
Tap-tap.
Gyeom-shin swiftly ran up to the monster and plunged his sword into the bastard's belly.
SWOOSH—!
STAB—!
<Kieeeeek-!>
With that final death throe, the bastard's windpipe was severed.
Black intestines spilled out, and the bastard collapsed right where it stood.
THUD—!
Gyeom-shin nimbly scooped up only the high-grade Magic Stones that had dropped around the Kobold.
Then, as if nothing had happened at all, he swiftly passed through the area.
Because if he delayed any longer, there was no telling when the bastard's kin would swarm in.
***
Risking his life several times over like that, Gyeom-shin was multiplying his money to several times his original assets in an instant.
"Haa... Haaa..."
In his head, he felt like he could do even better than this, but because his body was that of a newbie Hunter who had only just Awakened, it would not move as well as he wanted.
Even so, the seasoned experience of the strongest Hunter had not gone anywhere; as his body gradually adapted, he was achieving terrifying growth.
However, there was just one section where even Gyeom-shin was inevitably blocked.
This place alone was somewhere he could not easily slip through no matter what method he used.
"......"
DRIFT.
It was an area where ghost-type monsters in the form of reapers were floating in massive numbers.
'Right, this was the place where even the skilled Rankers in my guild were completely ground to dust.'
Looking at those gaunt, skeletal bastards, Gyeom-shin recalled the gruesome past.
Extremely dangerous monsters commonly called 'Grim Reapers.'
So many of his guild members had died at the hands of those bastards that resembled reapers.
Moreover, under normal circumstances, those bastards were completely invisible.
However, Gyeom-shin already knew the bastards were there, and he was observing their movements with a special mirror he had prepared in advance.
SHAAAH—!
'Above all, I have to avoid the instant-death skill those reaper bastards possess no matter what happens.'
However, countless guild members had been sacrificed just to obtain this simple piece of information.
Especially for Gyeom-shin, who had only just become a Hunter, they were opponents he could never let his guard down against.
GLINT.
When he shone the mirror toward them, the figures of the bastards floating transparently in pitch-black cloaks and holding huge scythes were clearly visible.
"......"
GULP.
He swallowed his dry saliva several times.
No matter how high-flying and formidable the strongest Hunter might be, one was powerless before an instant-death skill.
If he took even a single misstep and made a loud noise, that would be the end of it.
"...Let's get moving first."
Even so, since he could not give up after coming this far, Gyeom-shin stealthily and carefully crept past the bastards.
"...Did I get past them?"
It was that fleeting moment when he was just about to make it out of this sector.
SHRRK—!
"......!"
SHRRRRK—!
Right as he was breathing a sigh of relief, the Grim Reapers noticed the intruder's presence.
The bastards flew rapidly toward Gyeom-shin in a swarm.
If he were even grazed by the huge scythes those bastards were holding, it would mean instant death on the spot.
After going through all the trouble of regressing, he was about to die all over again right away.
However, since he had come this far, it was do or die.
"Fine! Come at me...!"
Since he had been caught anyway, Gyeom-shin intended to bravely cast aside his life and fight the bastards to the bitter end.
And it was right at that moment, as he radiated a killing intent even thicker than that of a reaper.
SHAAAH—!
"Huh...?"
Gyeom-shin's eyes, which had been glaring fiercely at the reaper bastards with venom, widened in surprise before he knew it.
SHAAAAH—!
"This is...?"
The Demonic Sword Ades floating in midair was shining in its translucent form.
Before long, it spewed forth tremendous mana and protected its contractor.
FLASH—!
<Kieeek...!>
Thick darkness enveloped the Grim Reapers and swallowed up everything about the bastards.
Starting from their gaunt, bony fingers all the way up to their heads, their very existence was being ground away as if melting into the darkness.
'How... is this happening...?'
<Kieeeeek...!>
Gyeom-shin was a man who had been through every imaginable battle on land, on water, and in the air.
However, this was the first time he had ever witnessed incorporeal spirit-type monsters being pulverized and ground away.
In the end, the reapers that had flown at him carrying huge scythes vanished anticlimactically right before Gyeom-shin's eyes as if turning into dust.
'Yes, this is the exact power...!'
At that moment, Gyeom-shin was certain.
That the power dwelling within the Demonic Sword Ades was far beyond what the Hunter industry had merely estimated.
Moreover, this ability that had annihilated the Grim Reapers was merely the most basic of basics.
Because he had not even reclaimed the Demonic Sword Ades in his own hands yet.
Thus, Gyeom-shin coveted the real thing even more.
SMIRK.
"...Wait for me, you pretty thing."
Once he got his hands on the Demonic Sword again, conquering the Hunter industry would be a matter of time, and he would even be able to dominate the world.
Therefore, something like revenge would be as easy as eating rice cake while lying down.
Right now he was still as weak as a newborn, but the Demonic Sword would make everything about him grow.
"I'll be right there to get you."
Trudge, trudge.
However, the moment Gyeom-shin easily overcame the crisis with the help of the Demonic Sword, a familiar bastard appeared before his eyes.
<Pwooooh-!>
A gigantic ghost-type elephant monster guarding the Demonic Sword.
Before he knew it, he had arrived at the boss zone.
Reaching a full several meters in size, the gigantic elephant bared unmistakable hostility toward the intruder, Gyeom-shin.
"A boss battle right after regressing..."
A mere F-Grade rookie Hunter had jumped into a max-level dungeon.
Even for Gyeom-shin, it was quite a huge gamble.
SWISH—!
"Not bad at all...?"
However, it was worth a shot.
Gyeom-shin immediately aimed his sword at the bastard and assumed a combat stance.
"How amusing. So we meet again like this."
Even if it was reckless, he had to get past this gateway by any means necessary.
Because right behind this monster...
"You elephant bastard that killed my subordinates...!"
He could see the Demonic Sword, Ades, embedded deep in the ground.
<Pwooooooh-!>
"......"
SMIRK.
Upon spotting the Demonic Sword, a smile rather than fear flowed across his face.
One of the reasons Gyeom-shin had achieved ultra-fast growth in his past life was that he had always loved reckless battles like this.
"...Listen up, you monster elephant bastard."
Wearing a smile brimming with confidence, Gyeom-shin slowly approached the bastard.
The Demonic Sword was powerful enough to bring a dead man back to life.
Conversely, with that level of power, it would be more than enough to kill thousands of living people.
"Until I slaughter every last one of those jerks who are worse than dogs, I won't hand over my life even if a reaper comes for me."
Therefore, if he obtained the Demonic Sword here, he would gain the power to kill the traitors in a single stroke.
"So you'd better be the one to give up, you bastard."