Chapter 310 (Patreon)

“What a sight. Isn't that right, Jito?”

“...”

The Spirit of Fire School was a prominent organization in the region. They had stood prosperously for over a hundred years. Their presence brought stability and peace to the neighboring towns. Their disciples were known to be virtuous and righteous. Countless good deeds and accomplishments gilded the School’s name.

The grand compound of that School was currently burning to the ground.

When Tanael told him he was aiming for the Spirit of Fire School, Jito, the middle-aged male assassin, thought he was out of his mind. No matter how strong Tanael was, the Spirit of Fire had multiple Level 4s that served as the backbone of the School.

A few days ago Tanael said that he would not lift a finger to bring that illustrious School to the ground. Afterward, he’d only been patiently waiting plus cultivating. He didn't ask Jito and his men anything particularly important either.

Then a coup happened.

An elder, with the help of some other elders, seized power from the Headmaster, throwing the School into a battleground. The disciples were torn between the two sides, sibling pupils fought a bloody battle against one another.

Tanael and Jito were at a vantage point overlooking the whole thing from a nearby hill. Because of the buildings that were on fire, the night burned bright.

“Now’s the time. The big shots are occupied. Signal your men. Remember, the Fire Rubies are mine, anything else is for you and your boys.”

Jito did as he was told, as he had grown used to the younger man’s orders. At first, he was reluctant but now, not so much.

Not with all the dough flowing his way.

“...How do you know the location of the third secret warehouse? Or even the coup? Not even the other elders of the Spirit of Fire School realized until it was too late.”

At some point, unknown even to Jito himself, he no longer dared to stand too close to Tanael’s side. He stood a few steps back, like a retainer.

Tanael didn't even turn around, as if he did not want to miss the show unfurling below.

“I just asked around, politely… then a kind soul told me all that he knew. The trick, Jito, is to ask them politely.”

Did Tanael have a hand in the blood event below or would the coup have happened anyway? Jito couldn't be sure. Still, he knew the sneaky raid on the secret warehouse was only a side objective. Tanael’s true aim was the souls.

The souls of the dead were drawn to Tanael like helpless bugs being swallowed by an antlion pit.

Since he was dealing with a dangerous soul user, Jito spared no small sum to acquire a limited soul-seeing ability, the best he could afford.

How easily he gathered them from this distance was a glimpse at how high Tanael’s soul mastery was. Furthermore, like a Lich with dead bodies, what sort of horrendous marvels could Tanael create using all those souls? He’d heard the most common trait of soul users was to eat other souls.

How great the strength would he gain by consuming such a great amount? Not from only the Spirit of Fire School, but from the previous places too.

Imagining Tanael might have a hunger for his soul made Jito feel a chill traveling up his spine. All the soul protection he had wouldn't be of use. Against this person, his soul might as well be naked.

“Hm? We have company.”

“Eh?”

From above, as if someone jumped from a plane without a parachute, a handsome man wearing white light armor and wielding a white lance, landed nearby.

“This vile soul Arte…” The youth spoke behind the plume of dust created from his landing. “You must be the rogue everyone is talking about, Tanael! In the name of justice, I will deliver your judgment! Haaaaaah!!”

Jito grunted as the newcomer emitted a fierce aura that pricked his skin even when he was standing ten meters away.

No, wait. There are two auras!

Following the first, in the span of a blink of an eye, there was a second burst of energy.

“Gwuaah!?”

Jito was about to be pushed back from the hill but he withstood the pressure by deploying his Unreality Field.

When he opened his eyes, the dust had cleared and he saw Tanael in the middle of sheathing his sword. Near his feet, were the two halves of the youth.

“Ittou Ryoudan,” Tanael whispered.

“P-pardon?” Jito asked.

“It means, one slash, two halves.”

Jita looked at Tanael with an open mouth; his brain got scrambled for a few seconds before he took a gander at one of the two halves, the one with the most of the face.

“Aaaah!? H-he is! He is Khalai the White Spear! Just a few months ago, he decimated a branch of the Blood Church on his own!”

“Really? Trash like him?” Tanael looked unimpressed.

“He’s a Level 3 peak!” Jito stressed. “Rumors are he’s about to advance to Level 4!”

“Well, I can only say he must have a death wish using a power-up transformation in front of me. In battle, cut the crap, I always say.”

Even though he couldn't see it, Jito was sure that he sensed it. Khalai certainly deployed his Unreality Field before the second burst of aura, before Tanael attacked.

But Tanael cut him into two halves anyway. In the blink of an eye, literally.

What frightening attack power…

Jito was convinced that Khalai the White Spear was not weak. It was Tanael that was too strong.

Tanael took the white spear, inventory items and some other things before whisking the corpse of Khalai into his death bag.

There was only a somewhat intact bloody bracer left. It was no ordinary bracer.

“Jito, that is yours. I have another job for you and that is the down payment.”

Tanael was only a Level 3 mid but he instantly killed a Level 3 peak.

Hearing his name called, Jito turned to Tanael. In his eyes, Tanael was like a death reaper. To think such a young Level 3 could become such a terror… He was a Level 3 himself but it was as if Tanael and he belonged in a different dimension.

But, in just a week with this man, he and his boys’ gains surpassed doing months of grunt work for the Assassin’s Guild. The jobs were relatively easy too.

While taking up the bracer, Jito was considering a career change.

“That Alai or whatever left a soul mark, tracking me. I already crushed it but we should move. Who knows, a vengeful Level 4 might be coming here.”

…Or maybe he should cut ties with this dangerous guy as soon as possible. Working for Tanael surely needed more lives than the legendary Nine-lives Cat.

***

Nineteen days had passed since Viers began living at Jessica’s Heaven Is Cruel Tavern plus Inn plus House.

He loved the tranquility.

Not a single person in this city was able to kill him and the monsters were beyond the wall. After Valkut and his dealing with Level 4 and 5 powerhouses, who knew staying in the rugged frontier of Ebon Wall City could be so therapeutic?

While his mood passively improved during his stay here, he actively improved his power level.

Repeated massacres in Monsterland. Thanks to his unique monster transformation ability, he was able to fight like a monster possessed all day long. When he was not, he found other ways to keep himself busy in the safety of the city.

Not an hour wasted. Viers was trying to make up for the lost time that he suffered while recuperating after the Valkut arc.

Before that, he took a more lax approach in cultivation, enhancing his Horizon with fun experiences. Even then his cultivation wasn't really slow. Still, he changed his priorities and life was unpredictable. Whatever the case, he had to be stronger than the next tribulations that life threw at him.

Last time, he wasn't the reason for his survival.

He must correct that mistake when his life is in jeopardy next time.

Viers always knew the end of the world stuff would come up. In Chinese xianxia or xuanhuan stories, the MC, despite getting stronger faster than anyone in the universe, possesses just enough strength to defeat the final boss.

When the crisis of the ages happened and the MC stopped it, can’t the last boss snooze for a few decades longer? Those guys have slept a million years and can't give the MC, who is usually less than 100 years old by the time, a little more time to grow? Of course not! The author can't! They have to make the last fight interesting, baby. The MC has to suffer! The MC has to fight a life-threatening battle with the last boss when the fate of the universe is on the line! Thank god I’m not the MC. I’m just a bad guy that’s aware of the clichés.

Sealed horrors from an ancient era, evil god’s awakening, invaders from upper realms, Demon Kings that emerged from hell, reality collapse, apocalyptic catastrophe, deity’s wrath, so on and so forth… Viers had seen them all.

As a reincarnator/otherworlder, Viers had accepted the certainty that he would be dealing with World’s End. It was only a matter of when. In what manner or form he didn't yet know but in this, he didn't have a shred of doubt.

I won't be standing on the stage as the hero though. That role belongs to Sigma, Aravin, Max, Anne, and the rest of their ilk. Main Characters are a thing. Let them do the heavy lifting of saving the world.

…Only, there’s a tiiiiny bit of a problem.

Those four people were dead. Viers killed them all.

What would that mean for the future of this world?

…Welp, that is the future me’s problem. New heroes will surely pop out from the ground in the future. For now, I just hunt monsters and grow.

Viers stayed villainously positive.

In the first place, he planned to be stronger than the final boss or even the even stronger hidden boss anyway.

And so here Viers was, in another outing in the Carfax Peninsula.

“Now that, people, is a Dungeon entrance.”

“Dungeon?”

“Fuu?”

“Yaa?”

“Oh yeah,” Viers gave himself a nod. “The thick mana, the signs of monster traffic… A good ol’ dungeon. Will there be dragons, I wonder… In this low-level area, unlikely.”

Using his X-ray Euryale Sight, Viers found a complex tunnel system in the area and searched for the entrance. After some time, he found it. This area was pretty remote from the city so it might be possible he was the first one that discovered the place.

Since this world had no System woven into the fabric of existence, there was no true Dungeon. Viers simply called maze or ruin-like Power Spots Dungeons.

“Alright guys, stay close to me.”

After a few careful steps into the cave’s mouth, Viers stopped and took a deep breath.

“Good Morniiiiing!” Viers called loudly. His voice echoing on the walls.

“Mister or Miss Dungeon Core? Or perhaps you are a Dungeon Master? Whichever variety is fine, are you in? Are you perhaps a being from another world? Recently awakened and curious about the surface? Do you have a System that allows you to do a bunch of convenient stuff? Do you have quests that need completing? If so, I may be of help. You see, I’m an expert! What do you say we help each other, eh?”

This was not the first time Viers uttered the pitch.

When he had sufficient privacy, he yelled this at the ‘Dungeons’ that he found.

Why? Because dungeon lord reincarnation story was very, very common!

He’d lost track of how many Dungeon Core stories he’d read on RoyalRoad.

And in the Japanese fiction department, people can reincarnate into anything nowadays. Being a slime or a tree was pretty crazy back in the day but these days, Truck-kun or another kind of Isekai Service Provider could change people into a sword, a smartphone, or even a vending machine.

Compared to those, a Dungeon Core was pretty normal.

At any rate, Viers waited for tens of seconds without moving in silence.

Not that he got high hopes to get a legit answer to begin with. In the past, angry monsters had come out because he disturbed their sleep instead.

“...Well, guess this time is a failure too. Okay you three, let's explore this cave.”

“You… know me?”

A few steps later, a skittish child-like voice, resounded in Viers’ mind.

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Chapter 310 - You Know Me?