104. Inner World 1
As Irin spotted Bin and Endaran Teia clinging to the rock wall, her pupils trembled.
“……!”
And well they might. Bin’s black, scale-covered arm was wrapped tightly around Endaran’s throat.
It was an utterly unfamiliar sight. Endaran wasn’t just anyone—he was a 1st-class knight and the head of the Teia family. Yet Bin had managed to choke him.
That meant even Endaran had been too slow to react to Bin’s movements just moments ago.
“…….”
Endaran, his back pressed against the rock wall, furrowed his brow. He began scrutinizing Bin.
Reptilian monster eyes. A black arm covered in scales. The very picture of a monster.
And the sheer volume of magi pouring off him was tremendous.
This level of magi. No doubt about it—a bona fide 1st-grade monster.
Drip.
Blood trickled down Endaran’s neck.
Bin—no, the thing possessing him—opened its mouth at the sight of Endaran’s blood.
[You think this paltry power is enough to stop me?]
An alien voice. Clearly, this was no longer Bin, but another being entirely.
Endaran let out a low growl at the monster’s arrogant attitude, manifested in Bin’s body.
“Of course. This much wouldn’t be nearly enough.”
[……?]
The monster masquerading as Bin tilted its head in confusion at Endaran’s words—right then.
One of Endaran’s eyes began to change. A brown sclera with a needle-sharp pupil. None other than the eye of the Yellow Dragon.
And immediately after.
A yellowish breath erupted from Endaran’s palm, blasting toward Bin’s black hand.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, Bin’s right hand flew into the void.
Splat. Swish.
The breath’s immense power forced back the monster controlling Bin’s consciousness. It had lost one arm.
Yet its expression barely changed. It simply wore a sinister smile.
[Heh, that tingles nicely.]
It seemed to relish the pain.
And soon.
Ssssh.
From the severed stump at its wrist, tentacles emerged, and the hand began regenerating.
Endaran frowned at the sight.
Ultra-rapid regeneration…….
A body part regrowing in an instant. This surpassed a 2nd-grade monster’s “rapid regeneration”—it was the “ultra-rapid regeneration” of a true 1st-grade monster.
Endaran scowled at the creature before him.
This won’t last long. I hope he hurries up.
Meanwhile, in Bin’s inner world.
Darkness surrounded him on all sides.
Bin scanned his surroundings, thinking of Bellatan.
Thud. Thud.
That was when it happened.
Shhh.
A door materialized before his eyes. A massive black door.
Bin stared at it.
Am I supposed to go in?
Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
Bin passed through the door and surveyed his surroundings. His eyes went wide.
“……!”
Before him teemed every monster he’d ever faced.
The Erymanthian boar. The yeti. The minotaur. The starfish. Gust. Cerberian. Behemoth. Yabateo. The 20 cavalry riders. Magoil.
And more…….
All of them were familiar faces, glaring at Bin with bloodshot eyes full of grudge.
Floating in the air was a stone slab inscribed with letters, beside an hourglass.
Bin looked up at the slab.
Discard the illusions and find the true form.
A cryptic phrase. Bin recalled Endaran’s words before entering his inner world.
After drinking from the spring, when you enter your inner world, a trial awaits. Pass it, and you’ll meet the one you seek.
Remembering Endaran’s advice, Bin pondered the enigmatic slab.
Find the true form, huh…….
His mind raced amid the bizarre situation—but only briefly.
The monsters’ roars echoed.
“Groooar!”
“Who’ll be my meal?”
“Human, I’ll kill you.”
“Filthy inferior race.”
…….
The cries battered his ears as the horde surged toward him.
A legion of monsters. Ones he’d defeated only by facing them one by one.
Now united, the odds were stacked against him.
Yet even in this disadvantageous setup, confidence shone on Bin’s face.
The hell with it. Think I can’t handle round two?
Clang.
Bin drew Luminare and scanned the area. Facing the swarm, he boldly raised his sword.
Shadows erupted from his body as he plunged into their midst.
Swish. Swish.
Luminare’s slashes rang out as it carved through the monsters.
Splat. Splat.
The boar, yeti, and minotaur’s heads and arms flew into the air, blood fountaining up.
Thud! Thud!
First, the lower-grade ones.
At the sight of red blood, the enraged starfish charged, blades protruding from its body.
Thud-thud-thud.
“Groooar!”
But Bin smiled, raising his right arm to casually block the assault.
Ting. Ting.
This isn’t like before.
No matter how tough the starfish’s body, it could no longer scratch Bin’s transformed right arm.
As it passed him by.
Splat. Thunk.
A swift sword stroke severed its neck, sending it tumbling to the ground.
A far cry from when he couldn’t even scratch it in Shobe Cave.
The monsters faltered momentarily at Bin’s momentum, stunned by Luminare’s power.
But the real challenge lay ahead. Higher-grade monsters still waited.
Bin eyed them and spoke.
“Alright then. Let’s get serious.”
Moments later.
Thunk. Thunk.
The cavalry tumbled from their mounts, bleeding out.
“Hah, hah.”
Sweat beading on his forehead, Bin panted heavily. Facing so many had winded him.
But one crucial thing remained: the hourglass overhead.
The sand in the upper bulb was nearly gone.
Bin gauged the falling speed, estimating the time left.
About a minute?
He scanned the remaining monsters: Cerberian, Yabateo, Magoil. And 10 cavalry.
The ground was littered with the others’ corpses.
Bin’s brow furrowed.
Still this many left?
He’d felt it while fighting: even in this inner world, they wielded the exact same power and abilities as before.
The reflections of his memories in his mind made it inevitable.
The surefire way is to take them all down in one minute…….
Impossible, time-wise. And his stamina wasn’t full either.
As Bin racked his brain in the desperate pinch.
Wait—this isn’t about beating every last one…….
He realized: he had to identify the true form among the illusions.
Choice was key.
As Bin pondered the horde, he recalled the slab’s inscription. The answer had to lie there.
Discard the illusions and find the true form.
Bin etched the words into his mind once more.
The true form…….
His eyes flashed.
This was Bellatan’s trial. The true form had to be the monster most deeply linked to it, even subconsciously.
“In that case……”
With conviction, Bin poured mana into Luminare.
Opening.
At that instant.
Black aura surged from his body.
The fierce energy made the monsters react.
Ssssh. Whoosh.
Yabateo’s countless tendrils lashed from the right.
From the left, Cerberian’s flames stretched long.
But that wasn’t all. Magoil’s fist barreled from straight ahead.
Swish.
Bin dodged their attacks in a flash with agility mana, appearing before Cerberian.
His face set with certainty.
The monster most tied to Bellatan…… has to be you, Cerberian.
He recalled how Bellatan had seized control during their past clash with Cerberian.
Bin swung repeatedly at it.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
Blade-like black auras irregularly grazed Cerberian’s body, like a swirling black whirlwind.
And finally.
Shhhh.
Its three long necks sliced into chunks and fell—as countless monsters vanished, a black flame revealed itself before Bin.
[Not bad, brat…….]
A grating voice like needles in his ears. An instinctive chill.
The bizarre flame shaped like a dragon’s head.
Bin met its gaze and smirked.
Creak.
Unlike before, brimming with confidence.
Soon, black smoke billowed from the grotesque flame.
Shhhh.
[Cheeky brat.]
The smoke spread everywhere. Immense magi. Overwhelming pressure.
The old Bin, facing Cerberian back then, might not have withstood it.
But now was different. He’d grown through trials and mighty foes.
Unfazed by the magi, Bin stared blankly at Bellatan.
As if asking, What’re you gonna do?
[…….]
Bellatan faltered for a moment.
Then it regarded Bin with a pleased smile.
[Finally. You’ve piqued my interest, you little shit.]
Bin eyed the flame and spoke.
“Either way, you’ll pay the price for squatting here without permission.”
At his words, it threw its head back.
[Price? Hahaha!]
Laughter as if it found the idea absurd.
Bellatan sensed it instinctively. What that “price” meant.
Its own power.
Ceasing its laughter, Bellatan spoke.
[Damn brat. You’re misunderstanding something. We’re already contracted.]
“……!”
Bin’s face twisted in confusion at the cryptic words.
Bellatan continued.
[No backing out now. You haven’t forgotten screaming desperately with a sword through your gut, have you?]
Bin’s eyes sharpened.
“I’d never forget that moment.”
One scene flashed in his mind from the monster’s words.
Offering his sword to Helden Grander, his abdomen pierced, body drenched in blood.
His final moments in his previous life.
As the monster said—desperate. Pleading, yearning.
For this not to be the end. For one more chance at life.
And he’d thought it a stroke of luck that sent him back.
But these words suggested it wasn’t mere chance.
“…….”
As Bin sank into thought, Bellatan spoke again.
[The contract formed the moment you died. And returned to the past.]
“……!”
Bin’s eyes widened.
Bellatan pressed on.
[Grow more. Get stronger. Far beyond any other human. Only then can you face those bastards.]
“Those bastards?”
Bin repeated the baffling words.