Chapter 51. Between Appraisal and Emotion (2)

After I made Rena practice with the spray a few times, we headed straight to the dungeon. We passed by dried-up trees before entering the spider's lair.

I noticed something and said, "Hold up."

"What is it?" Rena asked.

"See that corpse over there?"

Rena nodded and replied, "Yes. It's been half-eaten from the torso up."

Three to four half-consumed corpses were propped against the wall with their upper halves jammed into holes.

I instructed Rena to target the black iron sprayer toward one of the holes. "Alright, aim it like this... Fire now."

"Just turn the pump here?"

"Exactly."

Whoosh!

Rena seemed to trust me more now, and she started pumping hard without hesitation.

Fwoosh!

The diluted Grassmere's Fire blasted into the hole as the ignition flag on the nozzle lit up.

Screech! Squeal!

Charred medium-sized spiders spilled out and shrieked at us.

"

Ah!

"

Rena jumped a little as they burst out, but her hands on the pump moved faster, spraying the fire with renewed force.

Whoosh! Fwoosh!

The spiders scurried along the walls, up and sideways, trying to dodge the flames, but they were already severely wounded. With a calm expression, Rena concentrated the fire on them.

Screech!

One spider burned to death. Another crawled across the ceiling, trying to ambush us.

Thud!

I hurled a spear we had taken from the old man's house, pinning the spider in place. The impact knocked it nearly ten meters back.

Fwoosh!

The fire blasted again, and the spider collapsed, its breath cut off instantly.

"Spray the holes once more," I instructed.

Rena swallowed hard but followed my command right away.

Fwoosh!

The spiders' dying screams echoed from within. The cries didn't last long.

Rena muttered as we moved on, "Looks like they'll be short on food for a while."

"Really?"

"For anyone with a weak stomach, anyway," she replied.

I checked her status screen. Her level had risen from 5 to 7.

[Name: Rena

Class: Thief Lv. 7

Health: 13

Strength: 14

Agility: 18

Wisdom: 15]

Impressive.

Her stats had shot up. The number of points she had increased by eight just from taking down two spiders.

I had Rena spray flames at every spot where spiders emerged. Grassmere's Fire was used up quickly thanks to the safe distance and consistent blasts.

Thunk!

Rena let the empty sprayer drop to the ground. By the time we'd cleared out all the spiders in the canyon's ruins, her level had climbed to 15.

Not far from 20.

After that point, the experience required for leveling up increased exponentially. But reaching 20 wouldn't take long. Since I'd focused everything on Rena, my level remained at 1.

When we entered the boss zone, I'd deal with the guards and dungeon boss myself. I could raise my level whenever I wanted.

"Nice work," I said.

Rena, looking a little dazed, stared at me with her cheeks flushed. "I-I didn't expect you'd do this much for me."

I opened her status screen again.

[Name: Rena

Class: Thief Lv. 15

Health: 21

Strength: 22

Agility: 29

Wisdom: 20]

The points had been automatically distributed, with a slight focus on Agility, while the rest were balanced evenly. Her stats were impressive for her level. Her Affection had also climbed steadily to 40, reaching the cap.

"No one's ever done this for you before?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not even close."

"Weren't there men who liked you?"

She smirked. "Their 'liking' was more about keeping me weak. They never wanted me to grow strong."

"I see."

I had no reason to get involved in someone else's worldview. In the end, I did as I pleased.

Thunk!

I lightly tapped the back of Rena's neck, causing her to pass out.

Lucky break.

I thought I might fail this time since her Agility was already 29, but I caught her off guard while she was lost in her thoughts.

I put her in a safe spot and locked the door from outside. Even though her level had risen, the dangers inside still posed a threat. I also wanted to protect her. More importantly, killing the guards was personal. This was between me, Rubia, and them. I didn't want Rena to be involved.

Clink!

I gathered the remaining black iron sprayers. There were three left. Unlike the diluted ones, these were more potent. I didn't have extra containers to dilute them further. This batch was at a one-seventh dilution. I wasn't sure what kind of power it would unleash.

Let's hope they don't die too quickly.

Drip.

I removed the ignition plugs from each sprayer. Rather than igniting flames immediately, I planned to soak them thoroughly first.

With the sprayer aimed, I walked forward. There was no need for a false fire suppressant now. The old man hadn't given me any since he knew what I truly was beneath the armor. He'd realized I was a rattling skeleton, not a human. Even if I were human, the outcome wouldn't have changed either. He didn't possess a fire suppressant anyway.

The notifications started popping up as I approached the inner sanctum.

[Entering the boss monster's detection range.]

[The hunt for the dungeon's leader is in progress...]

The message asked if I wanted to oppose the boss monster. If I assisted that giant spider, I would only have a 0.1% chance of avoiding its attacks. Burning everything at once seemed to be the better option. Friend and foe were clear: my enemies included everyone but me—my only ally was myself.

Spider cocoons hung from every part of the ceiling. A fiery ring surrounded the vast pit within.

Crash! Boom! Fwoosh!

The ring of fire closed in, and a massive spider about four meters long thrashed in agony, its skin already ablaze.

Screeeech!

I scanned each guard carefully. Last time, I was fixated on the bald man. This time, I took my time to look at each one. I found them all, the same faces that had followed the bald man. One of them had been stabbed and burned to death already. The other three were there.

The memory of the men dragging Rubia out that night flashed before my eyes. The one who pulled the cart was present. The bruises on his face, beaten into him by the bald leader, had faded.

To them, that night was just another routine. For me, however, it was deeply personal. It was normal for me to get beaten, crushed, and endure injustice, but Rubia didn't deserve it. She hadn't done anything wrong.

I pointed the sprayer at the boss's pit, where the guards surrounded the massive hole, watching from above.

The bald man who'd beaten his subordinates into bruises laughed as he threw a firebomb. The corpse of a convict, chewed and spat out by the spider, went up in flames.

Time to start.

Splash!

I blasted Grassmere's Fire down onto them from above.

Splash!

The black iron sprayer unleashed a powerful stream of liquid. Without the ignition plug, there was no fire. Instead, the liquid doused everything below.

The guard who had thrown Rubia's cart down the cliff—his face was covered in bruises. He received a full dose, and the liquid seeped into his clothes.

"Huh?"

One of them looked up with a firebomb in hand, about to light it.

Fwoosh!

Flames engulfed him instantly, cooking his flesh, leather, and armor all at once. He screamed, battered by the intense heat, begging for mercy.

"

Aaaaagh!

"

I wanted to prolong the pain, interrogate each of them, and uncover the truth, but my power was still insufficient for that. With my current capability and limits, the best I could do was roast them alive.

Crackle!

The fire spread, consuming everything it touched. From above, I watched these men, who had killed Rubia and discarded her body like trash in the mountains, burn in the blazing fire.

Their screams blended into a disturbing chorus. I couldn't afford to linger as it was best to pull back.

The one-seventh dilution burned bright blue, and the screams of fifteen men echoed, each one unique. The bald man's scream was the loudest because he survived the longest. I didn't know if he'd killed Rubia personally, but he was the leader that night, the one in charge of that vile act.

"

Ahhhh!

"

Engulfed in flames, the bald man stumbled toward me with his sword raised. Despite his burning skin, he held on to his weapon and tried to reach me. I had no intention of letting him escape because he was going to die here.

Clang!

I threw down the empty sprayer, then I grabbed my shield with one hand and my sword in the other. I would ensure that he burned to death—there would be no escape.

But a sharp blade suddenly protruded from the bald man's chest, stained with blood.

"

Guh...

ugh...

"

The bald man stared down in disbelief at the blade. His shocked expression showed he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The blade twisted, writhing like a living thing as it burrowed deeper into his chest.

I looked up.

Behind the blade, glistening with a dark red exoskeleton and radiating intense heat, was the spider boss itself. This was no ordinary metal weapon. The blade was one of its legs, a serrated, monstrous limb that seemed to move on its own will.

So, it broke free?

While my fire and the screams had thrown the guards into chaos, the flames surrounding the spider had weakened, allowing it to burst from its cocoon prison. It had thrust one of its deadly legs straight through the bald man's chest.

The bald man's dying scream echoed as the spider boss lifted its massive head, revealing countless glinting eyes that gleamed with malice. It held him up for a moment, then began chewing on his upper body, ripping through flesh and armor alike with its fangs.

"

Ugh

...

aaaaagh!

"

His screams were muffled as he was swallowed alive, and his blood splattered across the ground in a grisly display.

So much for revenge,

I thought bitterly, watching the spider boss steal the final act from me.

The spider's fangs shredded through the guards as the remaining flames spread around us. A sticky liquid clung to everything in sight, fueling the fire. The boss continued its rampage, squashing the last few guards as it chewed on the remnants of its prey.

Flames licked at me, too. I could feel the intense heat piercing my armor, melting parts of my bones. Notifications appeared before my eyes.

[Health is decreasing by 2.25% every 0.3 seconds due to fire damage.]

[Health has dropped to 66.25%...]

The fire wasn't something I could ignore because parts of my skeleton were already starting to melt. I would hold out for as long as possible, but it was time for me to withdraw.

Flames caught on my midsection as well. Parts of me seemed to melt instantly, but I held on. Unlike last time, I could resist this fire. Holding my ground, I stabbed my blade to prevent the guard captain's escape. His actions were unnaturally erratic, as though he was under the influence of heavy drugs.

"

Screech!

"

The spider's scream echoed as it burned.

Crunch!

The spider lunged forward with flames clinging to its exterior, sinking its massive head down. It bit down, devouring the guard captain's upper body in savage gulps, its eyes gleaming as it consumed him alive. His screams reverberated from inside the spider's belly.

Damn.

The spider had stolen my vengeance. Sticky oil clung to the surroundings, fueling the flames that flared wildly.

[Health has dropped to 41.75%!]

Oddly enough, I felt a strange exhilaration in that searing heat. This was the world I lived in, and I liked it. In moments like this, everything felt refreshingly simple.

Damn it...

Screams, hostility, and killing surrounded me, but all that mattered was separating myself from my enemies. I targeted the spider that stole my vengeance on the captain. I pivoted and swung my greatsword upward, then downward, slicing the spider in half. Green venom splattered in all directions.

[Due to the venom, your health is decreasing by 1.33% per second...]

Ding!

[Warning! Health is below 12.5%!]

I retreated, parts of my armor already melting. It was no longer viable as camouflage. Transparent windows popped up in front of me, one after another. I had defeated the D-rank dungeon boss at level 1, so there was bound to be a reward.

Ding!

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!

[...]

[Level up!]

Ding!

[Warning! Health is below 10%!]

...

The flames clung stubbornly to my skeleton, refusing to die down. I had gotten too close to the spider in the heat of battle.

[Clear!]

[Dungeon Boss defeated!]

[Rank: D+]

[Difficulty Rating: Despair]

[Bonus: 400% points added for difficulty rating]

[Cleared with health below 10%. Additional 50% points added]

[Adventurer on the Edge quest initiated.]

What's this?

I thought as more notifications stacked up.

[D+ Rank clear: 54 points]

[Difficulty bonus: 108 points]

[Health bonus: 27 points]

[Total points earned: 189!]

Ding!

[Access to the store has been unlocked.]

[Authorized level: Low-level Apprentice]

— Progress to next level: 403/1,024 points

[You may select one of three available abilities.]

[Scanning abilities...]

[Scanning player...]