After hearing Hye-Bin's story, many troubling thoughts crossed Chang-Sun's mind. 'This brand… This is too high quality. An amateur would never be able to create something like this.'
On top of that, imitating a symbol of Minerva was far out of an amateur's league. Marks and seals were never simple drawings. They were a kind of relic, infused with faith and divine power. Considering Minerva's divine class, it was impossible for a being of mediocre status to imitate her symbol and edit it as they pleased. It would take at least a star to achieve such a thing.
If this was a demon, however, it would have to be…
'A great devil at the demon king level…!'
However, it seemed unlikely that a powerful being would do such a thing that only low-rank devils ordinarily did. High-rank devils did not pretend to be elegant nobles and try to save face. In fact, most of them were not interested in the Saha World in the first place.
There were only two possible scenarios remaining.
'One is that Jeon Choong-Jae might have such supreme talent that even a great devil has its eyes on him.'
However, in that case, one thing would make no sense. Chang-Sun was in this Dungeon, so it made no sense to show interest in Choong-Jae over him. Of course, Jeon Choong-Jae could be an exceptional genius; still, it was hard to assume he could surpass Chang-Sun, who had once become a star.
'Then it has to be the other scenario…'
Chang-Sun stopped thinking about it. Whether a great devil had appeared because of the first scenario or the second, it would not harm him in any way. Even though he had found out what was going on, he had no intention to go and save the people who were in danger.
In the end, they had chosen Jeon Choong-Jae, who had given them false hope, over Park Hae-Seong the soldier, of their own free will. It was the same whether one was in Arcadia or inside a Dungeon: People had to take responsibility for their decisions. Although it was cruel, that was reality.
Above all, Chang-Sun had to conquer the second sector. He could not spare time to attend to other matters.
'Now, the problem is, what to do with this kid?'
Chang-Sun quietly watched the shocked Woo Hye-Bin, who did not even have the strength to sob any longer. Although he had no intention of saving the people who were with Choong-Jae, Hye-Bin was different. After all, she had informed him of new developments pertaining to the current situation in the Dungeon, and she was right in front of him. No matter how coldhearted he was, he was not so cold as to abandon a child before his eyes without a second thought.
Still, that did not mean he could carry the child around, as she would be a burden to him. He tried to think of the best answer. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.
'Hold on. There's a role that even this child should be able to perform,' Chang-Sun thought silently, his eyes shining.
Just then, Hye-Bin looked up, having felt Chang-Sun's gaze on her. She quickly wiped her eyes. Afterward, the look on her face was completely different, having become one of ferocious tenacity.
'She's changed,' Chang-Sun thought. Such a change normally meant one of two things: The person was either desperate or determined.
It seemed that Hye-Bin had chosen the latter, as she said in a low voice, "Help me."
"Saving you from the Flame-Patterned Bear should have been enough, right?" Chang-Sun replied.
"Yes. I know. So please, ask me to do anything. Cleaning, laundry, cooking… I can do anything. In return, help me get stronger," Woo Hye-Bin desperately continued.
Hye-Bin was asking for Chang-Sun's help to get stronger, not for him to kill Choong-Jae? From the looks of it, she had no intention to ask Chang-Sun to lend his assistance. She wanted revenge for her friends herself.
Chang-Sun chuckled without realizing it. It was not only Hye-Bin's mindset that had changed; she looked like a totally different person now. He replied, "That's not necessary in a Dungeon."
"Then what do you want me to do? If you need…!" Hye-Bin exclaimed. Biting her lower lip, she grabbed the hem of her top.
His expression stiffening, Chang-Sun bent over and batted away her hand, saying, "Don't do anything stupid. But there happens to be a job you can do. Are you sure you're really willing to do anything?"
[The Celestial 'World-Encircling Serpent' has a question about your plan.]
[The Celestial 'World-Encircling Serpent' is amused, saying you look like a sly devil when you persuade someone.]
Without hesitation, Hye-Bin nodded as she answered, "Yes, anything."
Chang-Sun also nodded, then pulled out something small from his inventory.
[Equipped 'Flame Goat Collarbone Dagger'!]
"Let's begin modifying the brand," Chang-Sun said.
Not 'erasing', but 'modifying'? Hye-Bin realized the hidden implication of Chang-Sun's words and nodded heavily, gritting her teeth.
This was going to hurt a lot.
* * *
[The cursed Player 'Shin Jin-Gwang' has died.]
[Due to the 'Stigma Brand', their remaining life force now belongs to you!]
[The cursed Player 'Kim Min-a' has died.]
[Due to the 'Stigma Brand', their remaining life force now belongs to you!]
...
[The Celestial '### ### O##' is greatly pleased with her subordinate's growth.]
'I'm becoming stronger! More, more…!' Choong-Jae laughed silently, watching as a fallen monster sprayed blood all over the place.
The monster's poisonous blood covered Choong-Jae, but he did not care in the slightest. He paid equally little attention to the fact that four of his Players had just died. To him, branded humans were simply assets while they were alive, and nutrients when they were dead. They were nothing more than useful recyclable materials.
At that moment, Kim Hyeong-Won, who had been following behind him, called out to Choong-Jae with a tired expression. "Hey, Choong-Jae…!"
"What?" Choong-Jae asked.
"N-Nothing," Hyeong-Won stuttered, swallowing his words back down and failing to say anything. Seeing Choong-Jae's blazing eyes made him feel as if he would be lying right next to the dead Players if he said what he wanted to say.
Soon after entering the second sector, Choong-Jae had revealed his true colors, stabbing all the people following him in the back. However, they could not say anything in protest. The gap in power between them and Choong-Jae was simply too wide, and they were in the midst of a field filled with monsters. It would be impossible to survive without his help.
Certainly, it had been tiring when they were with Hae-Seong, but they had not needed to worry about dying. They regretted their decision, but that ship had long since sailed. Forced to follow Choong-Jae's orders, they were made to fight monsters again and again in order to level up. Countless casualties occurred, but Choong-Jae did not care one bit.
Now, only about forty people were left alive. Seeing as over a hundred people had joined Choong-Jae's group, more than half of them had already been sacrificed.
However, the biggest problem remained.
'This seal… This is keeping all of us restrained!'
The seal acted like an invisible chain. It kept people within a certain range of the host, Choong-Jae, making them unable to escape. It also made them feel pain in their chests if they showed the slightest bit of resentment toward him. The more they leveled up, the more restraining power it had over them.
'He's trying to work us like slaves! Choong-Jae keeps snatching part of the experience points we gain… This is a prison!'
The Jeon Choong-Jae whom Kim Hyeong-Won had known for over ten years no longer existed. He might have had a strong inferiority complex and had often been very jealous of others, but his nature had not been evil. Seeing how he had become so cruel after only a couple of days, Hyeong-Won wondered if a devil had gotten into Choong-Jae.
To Kim Hyeong-Won's sorrow, it felt as if the friend he once knew would never again return.
"I'm already done. Why on earth is the bastard taking so long?" Choong-Jae muttered, frowning in anger. The scout he had sent out had not returned yet. He checked to see whether the scout was dead, but he was definitely alive.
Just as Choong-Jae considered going after him, the scout who had annoyed him returned. He exclaimed, "What took you so long?!"
Upon hearing his reprimand, the scout hurriedly ran in Choong-Jae's direction. However, his right sleeve fluttered helplessly in the air like a flag, and his shirt was soaked in blood.
"Ha! You stupid fuck. You couldn't even pull off one job without becoming a pathetic cripple, huh?" Choong-Jae scoffed in seeming disbelief. The scout could not look him in the eye as the stump of his shoulder continuously dripped blood.
"So. Did you find the place I asked you to find?" Choong-Jae asked.
"I… did," the scout replied.
"Where is it?" Choong-Jae asked. In response, the scout told him everything he had found while overcoming the tribulations that had almost cost his life.
Soon, Choong-Jae exclaimed with a satisfied smile, "Ha! Who would have thought that it was hidden in that kind of tricky place? Good. Everyone, get off your asses right now! We're going on a boss raid now!"
It had not been long since the start of their break, so the other Players' expressions naturally stiffened upon hearing the news. However, none of them could say anything. In turn, Choong-Jae also paid no attention to their plight. He was simply fixated on the fact that he had to clear the second sector before Chang-Sun did.
'Lee Chang-Sun… Just you wait. I'll shove you into the gutter no matter what, just as you did to me before!'
[The Celestial 'Twil## ### ###' keenly watches her subordinate dwelling upon his anger.]
* * *
However, Choong-Jae's dream was shattered not long after.
"...What the hell?" he exclaimed.
Until Choong-Jae entered the cave, he had been incredibly elated as he followed the scout's guidance. Convinced that even Chang-Sun could not have located the place in all this time, he had clicked his tongue at Chang-Sun's stupidity for not bossing other people around with that much power.
However, he noticed something strange after some time walking through the cave's interior.
The passageway was filled with monster carcasses lying everywhere. They had all been massacred, and there were even signs that they had been butchered.
Thump!
Thump!
Choong-Jae felt his heart sinking.
[The Celestial '#wili# ### ###' loudly clicks her tongue.]
[The Celestial '### ##ing ###' sarcastically says that her subordinate arrived one step late. She urges him to hurry up.]
'No… It can't be. Shit! That bastard knows nothing but fighting. There's no way he found this place already!'
Firmly believing that something other than Chang-Sun had swept through the cave, Jeon Choong-Jae explored the tunnels that were as convoluted as an anthill for a long time. However, when he reached the end of the cave, he saw the carcass of the boss monster, the Flame Tiger. It seemed to have long since died.
"Shiiiiit!" Choong-Jae swore, his face contorting with rage.
'I lost again!' he thought, and he swore and swore without end.Geett the l𝒂test 𝒏𝒐vels on no/v/elbin(.)c/om
However, at that moment…
[The second sector of the Dungeon Quest: 'Pioneer' has been successfully conquered.]
[Compiling a temporary ranking.]
Choong-Jae's eyes widened. The carcass of the boss monster was still lying there. However, why would the message about conquering the sector show up only then? That meant Chang-Sun was still around!
"G...!" Choong-Jae began, but he was unable to finish his sentence.
As if the system had encountered an error, new messages had begun showing up unceasingly.
[The third sector of the Dungeon Quest: 'Pioneer' has been successfully conquered.]
[Compiling a temporary ra...]
[Canceled.]
[The fourth sector of the Dungeon Quest: 'Pioneer' has been successfully conquered.]
[Compiling a temporary ranking.]
...
[A grand achievement has been unlocked!]
[??? deities currently viewing Dungeon Channel KR-9,721 have gotten fired up about the Player 'Lee Chang-Sun', who is passing the Tutorial with overwhelming success.]
[The number of viewers keeps increasing.]
[The current number of viewers is ???.]
...
"W-What the…?"
It had not been long since the second sector was conquered. However, what were the odds of the third and fourth also being conquered in a row? On top of that, Choong-Jae had no idea what the message meant by 'Dungeon Channel' or 'Tutorial', which gave him even more of a reason to be dumbfounded.
However, one thing was for sure. The supreme beings often called gods were showing interest in Chang-Sun, not him! Choong-Jae could not help but glare in the face of the unbelievable situation.
[The Celestial '### Pie## ###' lightly chuckles.]
[The Celestial '### #rcin# ###' slyly shows an enigmatic smile.]
'Twilight-Piercing Owl' reacted as if she had known what would happen, rather than being angry.
[Dungeon Ranking]
First place: Lee Chang-Sun (29,550 Points)
Second place: Jeon Choong-Jae (1,230 Points)
Third place: Park Hae-Seong (550 Points)
[Different rewards will be given out based on performance.]
[Different rewards will be given out based on rank.]
...
[The Celestial '### ##ing ###' murmurs that she can make this more interesting.]
Just then, a warning message appeared in front of Choong-Jae, who was left speechless for a moment.
[The Celestial '### ### O##' admonishes her subordinate, saying that she will never forgive him, the representative of her divine name, if he continues to sully her honor.]
"…!" Choong-Jae's expression stiffened.
[The fifth sector has been opened.]
[The Celestial '### ### #w#' warns her subordinate that this is his last chance.]
[The Celestial '### ### ##l' looks forward to the performance of her subordinate.]