The Trace of Existence

It was hard to believe the traces that proved the thing had been alive, but Dnar had no choice but to accept the reality.

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That man… Even the form he showed me back then wasn’t his limit. How can a being like that even exist? What kind of twisted world unleashes a monster like him?

Long ago Dnar had cried out to the god he served, praying with desperate fervor, yet the god had never once answered him. Like that man, Dnar wanted to protect what mattered. He didn’t want to lose the things he held dear.

…Ha. It’s all pointless anyway.

The Blue Eye devotees standing blankly beside him were linked through their Shared Eye to Geum Jae-hyun, the S-grade barrier master they had spent years carefully recruiting. And through that eye they had witnessed the dragonian man who had stopped a Great Calamity single-handedly. There had been a fleeting moment when their minds glitched, but the image was clear.

The man was famous enough that practically everyone in the country knew his name.

“Jo Giman…!”

Dnar’s hand shook violently as though it were broken. In his trembling grip was a single sheet of parchment covered in several drawings so vivid they seemed alive. A grotesque Great Calamity with dozens of tentacles. A man in half-dragon form. Even the faces of top-ranked hunters so well-known that Dnar could recognize them at a glance.

The artwork had, astonishingly, been created by one of the Blue Eye devotees. The same wretch who had been drooling mindlessly had become perfectly lucid the moment he picked up the brush, even startling Dnar. After staring at the parchment that perfectly reproduced what the devotee had seen through the Shared Eye, Dnar finally understood.

Though Jo Giman no longer wore the sleek face from their first meeting, the dragonified form and the powers he had displayed were identical to the man Dnar had confronted before.

Dnar glanced at the laptop on his desk. A huge photograph dominated the screen: Jo Giman being helped along, barely able to walk. The headline was an embarrassingly lavish hymn of praise.

That bastard…!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

In a sudden fit of rage, Dnar pounded the innocent desk. It refused to break; the surface was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crafted from blacksteel wood, the same material used for sacrificial altars.

“……”

Now that it was confirmed Jo Giman could change even his face at will, a phantom headache bloomed behind Dnar’s eyes. He pressed his palm to his forehead.

Then the silent Blue Eye devotees began muttering incomprehensible words in unison. Only after hearing them repeat the same phrase several times did Dnar’s frown finally ease.

“…You’re certain? Jo Giman’s rank has dropped?”

“……”

They simply repeated the same words. These creatures have no reason to lie. So Jo Giman’s rank really fell because of this incident… but why?

He must have paid some unknown, terrible price while facing the Great Calamity alone. When Dnar considered how the man constantly interfered with his plans, it seemed Jo Giman had resolved to protect this world at great personal cost.

“I see… So you positioned yourself as this world’s guardian as well.”

Just as Dnar’s struggle to claim this world was his definition of good, stopping Dnar was Jo Giman’s. If the fight came down to whose justice was superior, Dnar could not afford to lose.

Still, the transition ritual had yielded more than just Jo Giman’s identity. The crack that had formed was quiet for now, but it had widened further. Thanks to that, opening gates and maintaining dimensional passages would become far easier in the future. And the recent appearance of a Great Calamity after so long a lull was causing the malice spreading across the country to swell day by day.

One only had to look at the internet. Because a monster had appeared in the capital, the response had been swift and flawless. People were comparing it to the disastrous dungeon break on Geoje Island years ago, and criticism was boiling over. Of course ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the response time would differ when the nation’s strongest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunters were concentrated in the capital region, but reason had already left the conversation. People needed someone to blame so they could ease their fear, and there were endless pretexts to split into opposing sides and fight.

That was precisely why crystals tainted with malice were so effective in this world.

The world Dnar came from had not developed science or advanced technology. He had heard the Kingdom of the Dwarves possessed technology of another level entirely, but that was a legend that had vanished centuries before his birth. A world where so many people could instantly obsess over a single event and clash with raw emotion like this would have been impossible there.

Once the dimension opens again, I can bring in as many crystals as I want. In an atmosphere like this, transferring even one monster won’t take long.

Still, the beings of this world were formidable. He would need to restrain himself for the time being. What worried him more was that the dimensional passage that should have opened today had remained closed. A similar thing had happened weeks earlier. It wasn’t caused by instability; rather, the passage had grown too stable—an inexplicable phenomenon even Dnar could not understand.

Might those repulsive things know the reason?

Dnar glanced at the Blue Eye devotees. They looked far worse than usual.

These wretches… their condition has deteriorated drastically. Why has the connection to the Blue Eye grown so faint? Is it because of the dimensional stabilization? There’s no way that monster would be affected by something so minor.

Staring at the disgusting creatures with their scorched eyes and dripping drool, Dnar sank into thought.

Could it be… that even the Blue Eye’s power is not perfect?

He had believed the Blue Eye was a flawless evil god. After submitting to it, how many nights had he dreamed of the day of liberation?

I might actually be able to do it.

Without resorting to the inhuman, extreme methods his master was preparing, he might be able to suppress it. A faint, elusive hope flickered in his chest. He felt the need to investigate today’s events more thoroughly.

But first—

“We’re moving the hideout again.”

“……”

Something felt wrong. Although he had planned to stay longer, Dnar impulsively changed his decision. The Blue Eye devotees vanished the instant he gave the order.

After they disappeared, he leaned against the desk and brooded.

Jo Giman… I will definitely make you pay.

The corners of Dnar’s mouth curved upward ever so slightly.

Yeonhee returned home, unable to utter a single word before she collapsed. I radiated heat across my body to scour away every trace of filth, and the moment she finished washing she fell into a deep sleep. She must have been so exhausted that she couldn’t even think of sending me into the Dark Space.

Although it might have looked like Yeonhee accomplished nothing remarkable over the past two days, the truth was she always carried a heavier burden than I did. In the beginning she felt no strain from summoning me, but as I grew rapidly in recent weeks my size had increased dramatically. Whenever I used large-scale abilities like today, she would inevitably pass out.

It wasn’t that maintaining me consumed mana; rather, it drained other mental energies. Operating every other summon she had might actually be less taxing than keeping me active alone.

Maybe it’s because I possess too many skills…

I entertained that absurd thought while staring at the message that had finally appeared long after Geum Jae-hyun’s barrier had dissipated. The message confirmed that my primary skill had fortunately remained active.

The Great Calamity’s traits and skills… At least [Thievery] works on them too. That’s a relief.

It meant Great Calamities were still classified as monsters. If the opportunity arose, it would be worth hunting them with the intent to kill, just as I had this time.

As usual I read the messages carefully, but the very first line contained information different from anything before.

The part about losing the connection to the slime’s habitat is creepy enough, but what the hell is a ‘Trace’? Don’t tell me… that bastard laid eggs again, just like its mother?

Was giving birth the moment it died some kind of racial trait? The slimes I knew definitely didn’t have that ability. Or perhaps Depsorphia had been the next-generation queen.

I scrolled back up and reread the earlier messages.

The flavor text that sometimes appeared with new traits or skills was always striking. It was a rather sad tale of a slime that had struggled to reach the peak of its kind only to be dragged into this world and die meaninglessly. But the single line describing the trait at the end was far from ordinary.

…A Trace? Wait a second! Does this mean when I die I’ll lay eggs just like they did?

Suddenly I pictured Yeonhee’s face as she stared at the Trace I would leave behind.

No! Why did it have to be this ability of all things?!

I couldn’t help but panic at the completely unexpected power I had obtained.

Ugh… There’s no use complaining now that I have it. But there’s no explanation about storing energy or leaving something behind?

Skills stolen through Thievery tended to start at their most basic level, so it might take time before I could leave behind a Trace as powerful as Depsorphia’s.

Following the trait, the description of the stolen skill appeared as well.

Whoa!! Invincibility! Even if it’s only for a moment, I can become invincible!

Come to think of it, I remembered how the Queen Slime had barely reacted to attacks from Kang Yeonsu and the other hunters.

Man… this is a total jackpot. I can’t predict what kind of effect [Trace of Existence] will have, but this skill is definitely going to be useful.