This is a Perfect Headshot

'Thank goodness! I can just leave!'

I clenched my fist tightly in secret as I stepped out of the dungeon entrance, hiding the gesture from Princess Prisia. In the game, you could die and respawn as many times as you wanted, but reality was different. Death was permanent. This was an extreme hard mode where you had to beat the final boss with just one coin.

Nice!

I checked the notification window floating in front of me and let out a silent cheer in my heart. If I had been alone here, I would have jumped up and down, screaming at the top of my lungs.

In this world, my second life had only been going for a week, and this was the first time I had obtained paid currency, gems.

Moreover, the dungeon conquest settlement didn't end there.

I cleared the daily quest [Normal Dungeon Clear] as an extra, gaining another 30 gems. In total, I had obtained 180 gems.

'Status window.'

Opening the status window, I confirmed that the [Gems Held] slot, which had been at 0, had increased to 150. Just 120 more gems and I could finally summon a fairy.

Shit, no, my heart is racing.

The thought of being able to summon a fairy made my heart pound rapidly.

Just four more dungeon conquests!

If I was lucky enough to find the hidden treasure in the dungeon, I could conquer it three more times over the next three days, collecting the 300 gems needed for a fairy summon. It really wasn't far off.

"W-what is this...?"

"Huh? Why are you... what?"

While I was lost in joy, the sound of Princess Prisia, who had exited the dungeon first, gasping in shock reached my ears. I dismissed the status window and approached her. My eyes widened.

"...Dead?"

Three soldiers left behind by Princess Prisia at the dungeon entrance had been found dead.

Two had arrows piercing through their foreheads, and one had three arrows buried in the back of the head and back.

"This fucking bastard! Come out! I dare you!"

Ivan hurriedly used the broad side of his axe like a shield to protect Princess Prisia. Me too, you cheeky little shit! I told you to protect the princess!

"....."

I gripped the shield in my left hand with both hands and stood beside Princess Prisia. Since there was still plenty left to take from her, I couldn't let her die like this.

"This is... Ryona!"

Princess Prisia, examining the dead soldiers, realized something and showed a furious expression. By the way, Ryona? Who was that?

Clap clap clap-!

"Oh! As expected, it's the princess of Indigo! I knew the culprit was you right away!"

At that moment, someone stepped out from the bushes while clapping. She wore a skirt similar in design to a tennis skirt, with a bow in her hand and a quiver full of arrows at her waist.

Oh? She's pretty.

Her long legs, fully exposed, had an attractive green bob haircut. Her height was around 165 cm, roughly the same as Ivan's. Princess Prisia was also a rare beauty from Earth, but this woman now appearing was also quite the beauty.

And in this world, beauties of that level are usually either masters or fairies.

I checked her status window.

Skills (3/4): 1. Dual Arrows (Lv.5) 2. Mana Arrows (Lv.2) 3. Perfect Accuracy (Lv.1)

Brangis Plegos...

The first thing I checked when opening Ryona's status window was the name listed next to the gender.

If it was a master, the age would be listed next to the gender, but for fairies, it showed who their master was. According to the Fairy Masters settings, fairies don't age, but I wondered if that setting had been faithfully applied in this world.

Anyway, Ryona's master was 'Brangis Plegos', and in Indigo, only one person used that name.

[Dragon King].

The owner of Indigo and the boss of chapter 2, the target of Princess Prisia, was none other than Ryona's master, the Dragon King.

"How did you know about this place... Did the Dragon King send a tail on me? Should I thank you? I didn't think you'd be so threatening as to attach Ryona to my tail!"

"My master thinks of you as a threat? Hahaha! Thanks! This is the funniest joke I've heard this year!"

Ryona burst out into exaggerated laughter and gave Princess Prisia a cold smile.

"... If that's not the case, then why are you here?"

"Why am I here? I went for a night stroll after a long time, and some damn rats were sneaking out of Indigo? So I chased them, and what do you know? These sneaky rats were trying to secretly conquer the dungeon, ignoring my master's orders? I was waiting to see which cheeky rats dared to disobey my master's words!"

"So the Dragon King doesn't know about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this dungeon, and that I was conquering it?"

"Of course~ My master doesn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠see you as anything, right? Wait, more importantly, what? Dragon King? Hey! Is my master your friend? Where do you get the nerve to call him that?!"

Because Ryona was calling the Dragon King without any honorifics, she stomped her feet in anger. Watching her, I whispered to Princess Prisia.

"Well done, Princess."

"... Prepare yourself. When I give the signal, we charge at once. You must kill her before she draws her arrows."

Princess Prisia hadn't simply been conversing with Ryona. She had extracted the information we needed from her. I praised her for it.

If the Dragon King didn't know about this dungeon, there would be no reinforcements. If I killed Ryona here, the Dragon King would be in the dark about this place for a while.

Why 'forever' instead of 'a while'? Because even if a fairy dies, as long as the master is fine, they can be summoned again.

The only question is how long until they can be summoned again.

In Fairy Masters, you could use 500 gems to summon a dead fairy again. I wondered what method would be used in reality to summon fairies and how long the cooldown would be.

If this situation ended well, I should investigate it later.

"Tch! If you keep acting so arrogant, you'll die? I told you not to act like your master likes you!"

"Three, two... one!"

At Princess Prisia's shout, we all rushed toward Ryona at once. I charged from her right, Princess Prisia from the front, and Ivan from the left.

No matter how skilled an archer Ryona was, she couldn't block all three of us charging at her simultaneously.

"Oh ho~ You're going to kill me and shut my mouth?"

Why is she so calm?

Even as we rushed at her, Ryona looked relaxed. Something was off.

"By the way."

... What's that?

Someone emerged from behind Ryona.

"I didn't say I was coming alone, did I?"

Ching-!

"Kuk?!"

"Kyaah!"

"Uwaaaah!"

Something sparkled in front of us, and all three of us received a strong shock and staggered backward. I rolled a full circle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and hurriedly stood up, staring at the woman standing in front of Ryona.

"....."

A woman in leather armor stood arrogantly with a sword in hand. Her long dark blue hair reaching down to her waist swayed with the movement.

Skills (2/4): 1. Swiftness (Lv.7) 2. Danger Sense (Lv.4)

Shit, what kind of monster is this?!

I was shocked after checking her status window.

Assuming no growth stones had been eaten, her initial stat total was a whopping 109 points. Dividing that by seven stats meant she started with at least 15 points in each.

Moreover, her swordsman class was at level 20. Princess Prisia next to me was only level 11.

Her trait was [Master of Close Combat (Normal)], which made her strong in close combat with weapons, and her skills were [Swiftness (Normal)], which increased sword speed by 100% when activated, and [Danger Sense (Normal)], which detected incoming attacks from the side.

Although they were all normal-grade traits and skills, in a situation like this, and in Indigo without any 3-star (★★★) or higher masters or fairies, this combination had terrifying destructive power.

What kind of destructive power?

Yanghak's destructive power!

Swiftness to chop up weaklings! And danger sense to block attacks.

This fairy named Aquaril was a typical stat-based character that pinned down opponents with overwhelming stats.

I can't beat her.

As soon as I saw her status window, I immediately gave up. Even if we died and respawned, the three of us couldn't beat her.

If Kyle, who was left in the mansion, appeared like a miracle... even then, I couldn't beat her. Aquaril was also behind Ryona.

"....."

I rolled my eyes and surveyed the surroundings. No matter where I ran, Ryona's arrows would fly at my back.

Then.

"... Princess. Let's retreat to the dungeon."

"Huh? But..."

"No choice. Do you have the confidence to block or dodge Ryona's arrows?"

"....."

No answer came. She also had no way to return to Indigo safely from Aquaril and Ryona.

So the only choice left for us now was to return to the relay dungeon.

"Sorry, Alan."

"Huh? Why are you apologizing all of a sudden...?"

Did she bring me here and feel sorry?

"It's fine. After all, I was going to..."

Swish-

"....?"

Princess Prisia, who had suddenly apologized to me, stood up from her spot. Then she walked toward Aquaril and Ryona.

"....."

Ivan, who had been guarding the two fairies with his axe, lowered his axe with a resigned look upon seeing his master.

A sinister smile formed on Ryona's lips.

"Surrender?"

"Yes."

"Good, you thought well. You should value your life."

"....."

Ryona mocked her. Princess Prisia, biting her lip in frustration, turned to her fairy.

"Sorry, Ivan."

"... It's fine, Master! We'll see each other again anyway! You'll summon me again, right! Right?"

"Of course. You're my precious fairy. I'll definitely call you again."

"Yeah! See you later, Master!"

Ivan waved with a bright smile.

Thud-!

A fire arrow stuck in the back of his head.

"... What?"

Ivan, with a fire arrow in his head, died instantly. No matter how strong a fairy was, their head exploding meant death.

"W-what...?"

Brain death from Ivan's death. Although I hadn't particularly liked the guy, seeing him die so pointlessly was unbelievable.

I turned my head and looked at Princess Prisia. She was still standing beside Aquaril and Ryona, and the two didn't touch a single hair on the princess. Princess Prisia looked at the dead Ivan with sad eyes.

"K, kuku..."

With that, the situation was clear. And laughter came out.

"Wow, fuck... this is a perfect headshot."

I shook my head and ran toward the relay dungeon, squeezing out every last bit of strength.

*****

At the end of Greed's Uroboros Nest lay a being that could bring immense disaster to this world just by existing.

The disaster had lost to its kin in strength, power, and rank. Having had its considerable strength, power, and rank stolen by its kin, one disaster that couldn't lose everything hid its body here to avoid its kin.

The disaster had determined that there were no threats nearby and fallen into deep slumber to restore its lost power.

This feeling...

And the disaster woke up.

Because someone with an indescribable aura had come to its hiding place.

Was the one who came to take its life a grim reaper?

Or a blue bird that could turn into a reversal of fortune?

[.....]

The disaster looked at the human who had walked into its hiding place deep in the dungeon on its own two feet.