THUD
As the body of Fred fell to the ground, I was left alone inside the forest with my gun in my hand.
“…..”
TAP TAP TAP 𝑶𝗏𝐥xt.𝔠𝑶
The sound of rain falling to the ground could be heard, and before me was the body of the dead half-demon.
The metallic feeling of my gun was in my hand.
I just stood there and looked at what I had done without making any sound.
My clothes were slightly getting wet, but at that moment, I didn’t care.
‘So, this is how it feels, huh? Hunting someone down….’
A weird feeling enveloped me as I had finally achieved something after coming here.
The anger in my heart still existed, as the figure before me made me remember the scene where her chest was pierced by the claws of that demon.
“Because of you…..”
And this made the emotions inside me boil more. While I was dealing with Fred, I forced myself to calm down, to think with my logic, and to ignore my emotions.
But there was no need to do that anymore.
“Because of dogs like you…..”
My voice grew colder as I raised my dagger, fixing my gaze upon the wretched creature before me.
STAB STAB.
With each thrust of the blade, I channeled all the rage and sorrow that had festered within me. The world seemed to blur as I repeatedly drove the dagger into his lifeless form.
“BECAUSE OF FUCKING YOU!”
STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB.
This savage act marked the end of my catharsis, leaving me with a haunting sense of emptiness. The anger the grief, all had dissipated, leaving behind a desolate vacuum.
I continued to stab the bastard, letting out everything; however, slowly, the feeling turned into nothingness.
And then, as abruptly as it had begun, I halted.
PAT PAT PAT PAT
The rain soaked through my clothes, chilling me to the bone.
“Haah….Haaah…..”
My own ragged breathing filled the silence, no longer drowned out by the rhythmic stabs.
I lowered the dagger, its blade slick with rain and blood, and took a faltering step back.
My gaze once filled with fury, now carried a haunting vacancy as I stared down at the mangled body of those belonging to my nemesis.
The forest, the rain, and the body before me bore witness to the complicated emotions that had now given way to a profound sense of emptiness.
‘This is not enough.’
In the midst of this surreal scene, I finally began to process the void that had replaced my earlier turmoil, a void that demanded acknowledgment and introspection.
‘This is not the end.’
The rain continued to fall, unrelenting and indifferent, as I stood there, a complex mix of emotions replaced by an unsettling void, searching for meaning amidst the aftermath of my vengeance.
‘I still have yet to finish…..No….I have yet to start properly….’
Looking at the body, I slowly lowered my hand and started searching for it, my hands roaming around.
The first thing I noticed was his bracelet; it was a bracelet that had a bigger space than normal bracelets.
Aside from that, he also had a small watch.
A watch that was slightly different than others.
‘This is a tempered smartwatch, one that could be accessed by only those who contracted with demons.’
It was an item that was untraceable and was used by demons to contact their followers.
‘However, I guess he is still at the starting phase.’
Opening up the watch, I started looking for its contents.
————————–
[Messages(6)] [Calls(1)] [Mails(23)]
—————————
At first, the opening style was the same, but on the side of the watch, a small needle was there.
‘I guess he was too confident that he wouldn’t be caught.’
As I slowly pushed the needle, this time, the interface had changed. The color got more and more darker as a bunch of tabs popped off.
It was the tab of villain society, mainly called the InfernalCovenant.
———————–
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Missions]
[Currency]
————————
The first three tabs were inaccessible. However, I knew what they were for.
‘Announcements, Bounties and Contacts:’
However, they would only appear after one passed a certain threshold of trust and got recruited under a senior villain and when they get enough currency.
Just like any other society, Villains also had a hierarchy, even though their goals were different.
After looking at the watch for a little longer, I saw the amount of money he had in his account.
’50k, huh? Certainly covers my losses.’
This was his money in his normal bank account as the hunter Fred Nilsen. However, he also had another currency as points.
‘DeValer.’
Of course, when talking about a villain society, the first thing that would come into one’s mind would be the idea of anti-government, which could be seen here. From the name alone, it is obvious.
Of course, the one that founded the society is a hateful villain itself, but whatever.
There was a lot to explore, but right now, I didn’t have much time.
‘I need to find the hidden stage before they clear the boss.’
Since Fred was dead, and I didn’t have much else to do, the only thing that was left for me to do was simply leave this place and reach the place where the hidden stage was located.
‘However, I shouldn’t leave any evidence.’
At this point, my head was cooler than before, and I could finally think like any normal person was supposed to.
Rather, how I would be supposed to do.
I stored Fred’s body and any other thing in my spatial storage and then left the place.
‘The rain and the dungeon will already repair itself.’
There was not much time left for me to stay here and erase the traces of fighting, neither did I have any intention to. It is the characteristics of dungeons that any outside influence would be dispersed.
This is the reason why the environment in some dungeons is widely used to train people or work people inside, even erasing murders.
‘It is convenient, at least.’
With that thought, I left and started running to where the hidden stage was located.
********
Hidden Stage.
As the name suggests, this only appears in staged dungeons, and even then, it is a rare occurrence.
‘Right now, most of them are not even known.’
There are quite a lot of dungeons with hidden stages, but none of them are discovered, and even the ones that are discovered are mostly hidden by the discoverers since they are impossible to identify with the technology of the current world.
This is how humans work. If you find something, rather than sharing it first, you should take a look at it and discern if it is something useful to you.
And this is a logical thing, which I am also doing right now.
As I reached the same scene I had seen in the game after walking for a little while, I stopped before the rock.
SCREECH
From time to time, I could hear the loud sounds of monsters screaming. It seemed because of Fred’s skill, even the monsters in not close vicinity went berserk.
After reaching the rock, I looked at the thing belonging to me.
“Everything is ready.”
After confirming that my preparations were complete, I closed my eyes and drew my mana from my trait.
My moon mana shone radiantly in my dark world with my eyes closed. The feeling of using mana is hard to explain. It feels like you have another organ you are moving, but at the same time, it is not.
It’s truly a surreal feeling.
And the moment I drew my mana and started expelling it, suddenly, I felt something pressing on me.
A pressure descended upon me like it was sucking me in. Different from the gates I had used, this one felt like a black hole.
SWOOSH
Relaxing myself, I let the pressure drag me in, not resisting. And, soon, the same feeling of my insides turning out enveloped me.
THUD
Followed by a simple, almost anticlimactic thud, I arrived at my destination.
The sensation of falling was unmistakable, even though I had not physically moved an inch. I opened my eyes to a realm of utter enchantment, a place that defied the laws of time and space.
‘The Chrono Grove.’
Those words would be emblazoned on the screen if I were playing the game now, a cryptic gateway to a future landscape that Ethan was destined to explore.
A place where common sense didn’t exist and time, space, and rules of physics were tempered.
Thanks to the occurring mana phenomena everywhere around.
Before me stretched the Chrono Grove, a pocket dimension hidden within the Raining Forest dungeon extending to a realm that was inaccessible.
Time here flowed at a breathtaking rate, a staggering thirty times faster than in the outside world. I stood at the boundary between the ordinary forest and this surreal realm, feeling a tingling sensation in my skin as I acclimated to the distorted temporal flow.
The grove was an intricate tapestry of climates and landscapes, ever-changing in response to the altered time.
The sun hung high in the sky, casting a searing heat upon the land, only to be abruptly replaced by dark, ominous clouds and torrential rain.
It was a place of constant transformation, a training ground like no other. If one side was raining, it was bound to be replaced by the scorching sun, or freezing cold.
But what truly set the Chrono Grove apart was its mana density and the wavelength of mana here.
Here, mana was thicker and denser at the same time, resonance with more frequency and a lot more energy, challenging my every attempt to harness it.
As I closed my eyes once more, I tried to feel the mana psions around me, and even that proved to be a challenge.
‘As expected, this place is the best to train.
A place that was surreal and incomprehensible.
A true mana phenomenon came from the depths of the beginning of time to the end of it.
“Hmm?”
However, at that precise moment, something extraordinary occurred. The Lunar Energy within me began to surge with unparalleled intensity, radiating like a pillar amidst the chaotic energies of this realm.
“What is this?” I murmured, my senses overwhelmed by the sudden influx of power. It was not the first time my trait [Lunar Enigma] was acting on its own, but this one was more intense.
Then, as if in response to my bewildered reaction, the Lunar mana that coursed through my veins began to manifest of its own accord.
It surged around my body like an ethereal shroud, shimmering with celestial radiance.
This was a phenomenon unlike any I had ever experienced: an uncontrolled display of Lunar Energy.
“Ah-!”
But as the mana surged and pulsed around me, a sharp, stabbing pain suddenly assaulted my senses.
My vision blurred, and I suddenly felt like the surrounding landscape was changing. Everything was vivid and dreamy, but I could feel my body and everything, as it was not a dream at the same time.
In this dreamlike state, I saw a scene of a young, skilled fighter engaged in fierce combat.
I couldn’t quite make out his face, but his combat prowess was undeniable.
He wielded an array of ever-changing weapons—a bow, a strange ethereal rifle, a flamethrower, a crimson dagger, and more—all with astonishing agility.
‘Ah, it is him.’
At that exact moment, I understood who it was. The person in my dreams as I acquired my art related to my trait in the library.
This mysterious warrior was battling a multitude of adversaries, switching weapons seamlessly as he dispatched each opponent.
His moves were more advanced this time, and I could feel and understand everything better.
It was as if the man before me was not moving to teach me but rather fighting for his life.
‘Is this real? A scene of the past?’
I asked myself. The scene still reminded me of Chrono Grove, but at the same time, the small details were different.
The forest was burning, and the chaos surrounded everything.
As I watched this captivating spectacle, I tried to discern the warrior’s identity, but he remained elusive, hidden in a shroud of mystery.
Despite this, the images of his battle were etched in my mind, leaving me in awe of his extraordinary abilities. Despite this, even though his face was shrouded in mystery, I could see one thing. His mana changed its color.
Just like me.
However, before I could even think anything more and analyze the scene, I was forcefully returned to reality as my vision also returned to normal.
‘Just what was this?’
Only more and more questions remained.