The Final Reckoning

The moment I regained consciousness, the first thing I felt was the sound of hard objects smashing against each other—thud, thump, crack, crunch. The clatter of bone against bone.

..... Ugh... So damn loud... What the hell is that noise—huh? Haaack?!

I had blacked out for a moment, but the sight of undead swarming me in layers, beating me senseless from every direction, snapped me back to reality. These worthless pieces of trash!

I detonated multiple fireballs around my body, blowing the filthy creatures clinging to me into scattered fragments, then quickly broke free from the pile.

Haaack—haah— What the actual hell? What just happened?

I clearly remembered triggering the fifth Flame Explosion, but everything after that remained hazy, like a blurry afterimage. ...... I had a feeling something catastrophic had occurred, but what exactly was that thing?

The one thing I remembered with crystal clarity was a colossal presence covering the dungeon sky before swallowing me whole. A chill ran through me—every spike on my body shot straight upward. The sensation was so repulsive I never wanted to experience it again.

...... Next time, I’ll finish it before the fifth cast.

The instant-death effect had been incredible, but I could clearly sense that whatever had swallowed me was furious. It felt like it was warning me not to bother it again. Haa... I can’t exactly avoid using it when I meet something that strong. What a pain in the ass.

I shook my head several times to clear my thoughts, then checked how much time had passed.

Huh? That’s it?

There were still two hours and twenty minutes left until the survival event ended. That meant I hadn’t been unconscious for long. Considering I’d been surrounded and pummeled by undead, my stamina hadn’t dropped at all. In fact, the health I lost to the giant skeleton had fully recovered, and even my shattered bone armor had restored itself.

......

I floated into the air and gazed at where the giant skeleton had been.

Not a single trace left... It didn’t even leave behind a single bone fragment?

It was astonishing that the enormous entity had descended, swallowed only the giant skeleton, and left the terrain completely untouched. It was clearly a being far beyond human comprehension—something that made even the ‘Lost Titan’ Tania had briefly shown me through her portal feel like dust in comparison.

The world really is vast and deep...

But learning that such beings existed didn’t discourage me. If anything, knowing there was a pathway that could somehow connect me to such incredible entities felt strangely reassuring.

I slowly made my way back toward the main base, casually dismantling any undead that charged at me.

They’re nothing but insects now.

After experiencing that earlier horror, the creaking undead rushing toward me seemed utterly insignificant. The rewards aren’t bad, though.

The rewards from defeating the variant giant skeleton were truly astonishing. An extra-large magic stone was one thing, but two Ancient Crystals? Just how strong had that thing been? Well, it had endured four Flame Explosions of impossible power, so that level of reward made sense.

Hmm... If I imagine the hunters fighting it without me...

When I thought about it that way, two crystals suddenly felt a bit cheap. This is the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠second one since I received the first after taking down the teeth.

The orb I made from the first crystal had become an indispensable item for Yeonhee. It was a crucial core that let her command an enormous number of summons simultaneously. I still had the ‘Corrupted Crystal’ stolen from the Blue Eye organization, but I was reluctant to use it yet, so I’d have to carry it around for now.

I could use these to upgrade it.

I could add the crystals to the orb Yeonhee was currently using to boost its performance even further. Or I could commission the blacksmith to melt them into my greatsword.

If I did that, the greatsword would become something far more than a simple blade. Additional options or attributes would surely appear, though even the blacksmiths couldn’t predict exactly what abilities would emerge. Still, whatever appeared would undoubtedly be helpful.

With pleasant thoughts about how to use the crystals swirling in my mind, I returned to the main base.

While I returned with light steps, the situation at the main base was far from good.

Huh? Why are those people here?

The people who had been holding out on the island in the swamp had fled to our base. From the looks of them, they hadn’t been able to stop the enemies and had run here instead. They’d managed to find this place surprisingly well.

When I revealed myself, the hunters who had been on the island greeted me more warmly than my original ‘White League’ comrades.

"Oooooh! Skeleton Duke! P-please take good care of us. We won’t cause any trouble..."

"We’re truly ashamed. Everyone’s stamina is completely drained..."

"We’re sorry..."

Skeleton Duke my ass.

Even after greeting me, they kept bowing and scraping toward Yeonhee. In truth, forcing their way in like this was extremely dangerous. If we had any malicious intentions, this was the perfect situation to stab them in the back.

There’s only a few hours left, so I’ll let it slide.

If I had more time, I would have squeezed some compensation out of them.

"Khaaaack—! There are over two hundred skeleton archers!"

"Damn it...!"

That’s definitely a lot.

Was this what they called the final flame? The undead were going berserk like rabid dogs, throwing their bodies forward recklessly to cross the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠barrier. The combination was strange too—hundreds of ghosts and skeleton archers. What kind of half-assed pairing was this?

But even with that variable, they couldn’t break through the chokepoint that I and my summons were guarding firmly. At minimum, something on the level of Natalan Jackmon or the variant giant skeleton I had just dealt with would be needed to make it a real fight.

The battle continued frantically, gradually turning into a chaotic melee. As monsters rushed toward our base, the hunters who had been hiding elsewhere were also driven here, causing everyone to converge on our location. This was no longer about food supplies or strategy—it was the time of barbaric destruction where everything visible was smashed apart.

Even in such a battlefield, there were many things I needed to handle. Especially the task of quickly pulling out injured or exhausted hunters and throwing them to the rear. It was something only I could do in this chaotic mess.

"Th-thank—"

I wasn’t doing it to receive gratitude. A much worse hell would descend later, so the day might come when they resented me for saving them. The time that had been flowing excruciatingly slowly finally reached the end of the survival event.

"It’s overrrrr—!"

"We ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠survived! Kha ha ha ha ha!!"

"We did it! Fuck yeah! Now it’s a highway straight to C-rank!"

Over four hundred hunters gathered in the area let out a collective cheer, causing the ground to shake as if an earthquake had struck.

"Good work everyone!"

"Seriously, I feel like I’m about to cry. Sob..."

"Yeonhee, you worked so hard. Ilwol worked hard too, right?"

No Hayun smiled at me and offered a greeting. Since it was the last time, the reluctance I had felt had faded considerably, so I clacked my teeth lightly in response.

...... Whoaaaa... Whoaaaaaa—!

When the reward message for clearing the survival event appeared, the hundreds of hunters erupted in thunderous cheers once again. An increase of 5 to every single stat was an incredible number that would normally require multiple level-ups to achieve. It was impossible not to get excited.

It had been grueling work, but when I thought about the rewards I’d gained, I almost felt like I could do it one more time. The quest, of course, was an exception.

As the exit message appeared, the gathered hunters fell into a state of near frenzy. People hugged each other without distinction, shouting with joy. The sight was genuinely heartwarming.

But within that festival atmosphere, I slipped through the crowd in Stealth, approaching one particular woman.

Grab—

"Ugh—?!"

You will sleep here.

Ju Ye-seul. There was no way I could leave this demon behind.

I first covered her mouth, then stabbed my dagger into her abdomen several times.

"Kuhup—!"

I spread out the Big Boar leather imbued with the power of stealth and sensory disruption, blurring both Ju Ye-seul and myself from everyone else’s perception. Then I pulled the dagger from her abdomen and slit her throat in one clean motion.

Shuk—! Shuuuk—!

"Grrrl... Blub—"

Bubbling foam at the mouth, Ju Ye-seul stared at me with eyes full of disbelief. Her vitality really was tenacious. Anyone else would have already collapsed. What a vicious bitch.

When I materialized Gori in front of her eyes and shook it, Ju Ye-seul’s eyes widened to twice their size as she vomited a huge amount of blood.

"You... it was you—!"

"Clack clack clack!"

Ju Ye-seul, who had endured until now, seemed extremely resentful that she had been done in by me. The blood vessels in her eyes all burst. I pushed the dagger deep between her split skin, twisted it once, and the light in her eyes rapidly faded.

Thud—

Haaack?! What the hell is this woman?

She wasn’t part of the Blue Eye organization, nor was she involved in Evolution Stone manufacturing, nor was she someone who would become the leader of a new organization like Nam Yong-seok. She was simply pure evil?

That was surprising in its own way. A +10 stat increase... She really was an incredible woman.

Considering the small fries only gave random +1 and the high priest level gave +2, she was a human of maximum nutritional value. Thanks for the meal. You should have lived a better life.

I was about to store Ju Ye-seul’s corpse in my subspace when a dark thought suddenly occurred to me. Once it surfaced, the idea instantly filled my entire mind.

...... Can I eat this?

Oh my god... What the hell am I even thinking right now?!

I let out a deep sigh internally and tried to calm myself. Sssip... Haaa—

I scolded myself for having such an absurd thought, but even after my reason returned, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to at least give it a try. Of course, I’d choose a different body part.

Crack—

I broke off several of Ju Ye-seul’s fingernails, closed my eyes tightly, and tossed them into my mouth.

Nothing happened.

...... So fingernails don’t work?

That was what I was thinking when—

It works?! Even fingernails count!

The recovery of 10 mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and stamina through Essence Devour was as expected. Then what about the ability to create servants?

...... Karma is too heavy? Hmm... I see.

It meant her soul was too big for me to handle. At any rate, the conclusion was that it was impossible. The level issue was understandable, but karma? It was too vague a concept. Still, it seemed like it might be possible someday.

Looking at it this way, Nam Yong-seok’s Succubus Domain really is on another level.

That skill could even control living people, so thinking about it again, it truly was incredible. Then I probably can’t eat Nam Yong-seok’s corpse either. Sigh...

Maybe that was for the best. While I was willing to do anything to survive, the act of consuming even a part of a person’s body—something as ambiguous as fingernails—still made me feel drained. The very act of cannibalism left me exhausted.

When my head was swirling with all these complicated thoughts, the space began to distort at perfect timing. I quickly ran to Yeonhee and hugged her from behind.

"Ah, where did you go? I was looking for you for so long!"

"Clack..."

I thought I had handled it quite quickly, but it seemed she had grown anxious when I wasn’t visible at the moment we were leaving the dungeon. I gently stroked her slightly puffed cheeks, and only then did she smile and look up at me.

Yeonhee quietly leaned against me, closed her eyes, and with a familiar sensation, we bid farewell to this place we would never visit again.

And so, the Dungeon of Nargul came to an end.