Chapter 11

A few minutes later.

Il and I finally made it to the exit of the dungeon.

When we stepped outside, the shining sunlight greeted us.

Then, Il muttered with a look of deep emotion.

"It feels like I'm finally alive again..."

Indeed, if I hadn't been there to back him up, Il would have lost his life.

He seemed to be reeling from this fact.

Just then,

"Huh? No way! Il actually came out alive!"

"Seriously!? Did you take down the boss with that shield!?"

"Wait, who's that next to him?"

"Who knows? But I guess I won the bet! Long shot, baby!"

Several rough voices echoed throughout the area.

When I looked over, I saw the same few adventurers who were there when we entered.

They looked at us with surprised expressions.

(No, it's more like... me.)

At that moment, Il, who had been standing behind me, shuddered.

"Il?"

"Ah, those guys. They told me to take down the dungeon boss."

"......I see."

Understanding the situation, I nodded as the four adventurers approached.

From their equipment, it seemed they were all over level 20.

From the weapons and emblems I could see, they likely had the Sword Emblem, Spear Emblem, Martial Arts Emblem, and Magic Emblem.

All of them were excellent gifts that could deal significant damage from the early stages.

As I analyzed this, the one with the Martial Arts Emblem stepped forward.

"Hey, what the hell, Il! I bet on you failing to take down the boss and running out of strength...!"

"What do you mean, you bet on it?"

"What? Just what it sounds like! Did you really think you'd be allowed into our party just because you're a shield user? Of course not! We let you challenge this dungeon solo to bet on whether you'd die miserably or not!"

"......!"

Il's expression stiffened.

He must have already suspected as much, but being told so bluntly was too much for him to handle.

(...I can't just stand by and watch this.)

I usually don't get involved in other people's disputes, but this was an exception.

"Damn it, you! Because of you, I lost a lot of valuable money!"

"――!"

The man raised his voice and reached out toward Il.

But his hand never reached Il.

"Stop right there."

Snap.

I grabbed the man's hand with my left hand.

"......What?"

The man glared at me with a look of irritation.

He shook off my left hand and spoke quickly.

"What, you? You've been a nuisance from the start... I remember you came out with Il, what's your relationship?"

"Relationship...? I just met him on the way back after taking down the boss."

"What? You're standing up to me just because of that? ...Wait, you said you took down the boss!? Alone!?"

"Yep."

Nodding, the man turned back with a surprisingly happy expression.

"Hey, did you hear that!? Il didn't take down the boss, this guy did! I won the bet!"

The man loudly claimed this.

The one with the Sword Emblem, among the remaining three, responded with a shrug and a look of exasperation.

"Ha, don't be so easily fooled. Look at his emblem closely."

"Emblem...?"

The man with the Martial Arts Emblem glanced at my left hand.

After a few seconds of silence, he raised his eyebrows sharply.

"It's the Null Emblem! There's no way you could take down this dungeon's boss with such a trash emblem! You're kidding...!"

A vein popped on the man's forehead.

I already knew, but it seemed the Null Emblem was highly undervalued among them.

(From the looks of it, no matter what I say, they won't understand.)

But that's fine.

The issue is what they did to Il.

"Right now, the emblem doesn't matter. Do you understand? What you did to Il is a serious crime."

To be honest, similar things happened in Creon as well.

People would spread false information about newly implemented dungeons and enjoy watching many players suffer.

In some cases, they would even kill players themselves—PKs were also common.

I was always disgusted by people who did such things just to see others suffer, even in my previous life.

But since it was a game, I had to accept it to some extent.

But now, it's different.

This isn't a game, it's reality.

A world where even a small lie or mistake can easily lead to death.

To try to cause such a thing with your own hands... it should never be allowed.

"You're disqualified as adventurers... no, as human beings."

"Hah... hahaha!"

The man in front of me, along with the other three, burst into laughter at my words.

"What are you suddenly talking about...? Do you think we're weak!? This world is a place of the strong eating the weak! Whatever the strong do is allowed! My level is 22! I'm not like you weaklings who barely survived this dungeon!"

After laughing, the man raised his fist.

"Can't help it. I'll teach you what happens when you defy us!"

His fist glowed faintly.

It was likely the Martial Arts skill, Killing Fist, which increases the speed and power of a punch.

Considering the level difference, it would be a powerful attack that I couldn't withstand.

But—

"You're just a one-hit wonder! Take this—"

"Too slow."

"―Huh? Gah!"

Taking advantage of the moment he raised his fist, my full-force punch hit his stomach.

A critical hit occurred, and the man was sent flying backward.

"What!?"

"No way!"

"What happened!?"

The men were confused and anxious.

I sighed softly in front of them.

(...As expected, just this level.)

Killing Fist is indeed a powerful skill, but it requires a slight delay before activation.

It works against low-level monsters, but against a higher-level opponent, it's easy to counterattack if the timing isn't right.

He didn't understand this and tried to activate it straightforwardly.

Naturally, he received a counterattack from me.

While he might be higher in level and skills, he lacks the most important qualities in combat: skill and experience.

There's no way someone like that could stand against someone who was once the world's top-ranked player.

"You... what did you do..."

"......"

I shifted my gaze from the crouching man with the Martial Arts Emblem to the remaining three.

Facing the men who were looking at me tensely, I declared confidently.

"Who's next?"

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