Chapter 36: Arriving at the dungoen.

Chapter: The Permadeath Reality

“It is done, my Lord. As I thought, humans are quite weak. Please allow me to kill the last one once you are done speaking with it.”

Lyra respectfully requested, her head bowed in the process as she awaited his command.

Kai, with an anxious aura around him, looked at her with a complicated expression.

“Your hatred for humans is really something.”

Lyra seemed surprised by his comments, blinking twice, then she followed it with a warm, innocent smile that did not match the blood on her hands.

“Pardon me. I should do well to control that. Please forget what I said.”

“It is fine. There is no reason for you to apologize.”

Kai looked away from her and straight at the Red Player that was bleeding out in front of him.

The girl he had saved was sitting at the side, clutching her bow, still trying to process exactly what she had just seen. A demon woman ripping out hearts and a man shooting lasers from his fingers was a lot to take in.

But Kai paid her no mind for the moment.

He took a few steps forward, standing over the legless leader.

[The Skill: Instant Regeneration has been activated.]

A small blue magic circle formed as he opened his hand and stretched it toward the injured Red Player.

The very next moment, the Red Player’s jaw dropped when he noticed his severed stump began to wiggle. Bone knitted to bone, muscle wove itself together, and skin wrapped around the raw flesh inches by inches.

In a matter of a few seconds, the entire leg had grown back, fully healed and healthy. If anything, it was almost like he grew a new pair of legs entirely, better than the originals.

After seeing this, the player immediately went to his knees, frantically touching his limbs, checking if the legs were real and not an illusion of some sort.

“Do not try to run away. That would be pointless. There is only so far you can go before my subordinate catches up to you. Be a good boy and do as I say.”

Kai’s voice echoed next.

Using his [Monster Voice] skill, just the sound of his voice was able to send a primal fear through the veins of the Red Player. It sounded like a growl from the depths of a cavern.

The thief had indeed thought of running the moment he got to his knees, but after hearing that voice, and seeing the scary look on Lyra’s face as she sharpened her claws, he began to have second thoughts about the entire thing.

“Who are you?” he asked, his voice trembling.

Kai looked down at him with his red radiating eyes.

“That was a question. And I will answer it eventually. But first, you will answer a question of mine.”

His eyes glowed brighter, demanding obedience.

“What did you mean by virus, and how many Red Players have been formed? Who is the Ascension Cult?”

After hearing the questions Kai asked, a painful look played on the player’s face as he closed his eyes and bit his lower lip so hard it drew blood.

It seemed as though he was fighting the urge to do something, or perhaps fighting a restriction placed upon his mind.

In that moment, Kai assumed he was thinking twice about whether to answer the question or not.

And he was right.

But not in the way he expected.

All it took was for the Red Player to look up at him, a vein bulging on his forehead, and smile a twisted, broken smile.

“Fuck you.”

And after that, his body exploded.

There was no bomb, no external spell. It was an internal detonation of mana that tore him into pieces instantly.

The Red Player had committed suicide.

“He would rather kill himself than answer my Lord’s questions?” Lyra was quite surprised, wiping a speck of blood from her cheek.

Certainly not something she would expect from a selfish human.

’I can understand why she is shocked. I am as well. Then again, he will be back after a week, so I guess it is a win for him to protect his secrets. I should have used my All Master blessing on him to force the truth out.’

Seeing as the players no longer served any use, he looked at the girl he had just saved.

[Name: Emilya]

[HP: 100]

[Level: 16]

[Class: Priestess Mage]

’A Priestess Mage, eh? That is also a rare class. If she chose a character with this class, it must mean she already understands the game mechanics well.’

Not many people knew about the special classes the game offered. After all, many of the people who hopped on the game were mostly never hardcore gamers to begin with.

Choosing the best character design and also their roles in the game was mostly what the casual crowd looked for.

However, certain people understood the game world far more than others. Those were the people who were brave enough to allow the game to choose a class for them randomly. If they were lucky, they would end up with a special class, as it was the only way to attain one.

Kai fully faced her.

“You there, what is your name?” he asked.

It was the best way he could think to start a conversation in that moment without sounding too intimidating.

“E-Emilya.”

“I can understand why you are afraid of the Red Players, Emilya, but you should not be that overwhelmed by them. If they kill you, you can always come back next time and get your revenge. Cowering in fear does nothing but makes you their plaything in the long run.”

Kai had a proud look on his face after what he said.

’I gave good advice. I wish someone was there to give me this wisdom when I first started gaming.’

He expected her to nod or thank him for the encouragement. Instead, she looked at him as if he had just grown two heads.

“If I die here… I die in real life. Everyone knows this.”

Kai paused.

The forest seemed to go silent around them.

Then he looked at her, his brows furrowing.

’What?’

“My Lord, what is she talking about?” Lyra looked at Kai, confused by the human nonsense.

’Die in real life? Wait, could she have the same condition as me? She also knows if she dies here she dies there too? That would explain why she was so scared.’

But then he replayed her words in his head.

“Everyone knows this.”

’Everyone? No. I should not jump to conclusions. Besides, Lyra is here. If she gets suspicious, I will have to start explaining to her about the fact that I am from another world. Hmm…’

Kai sighed, realizing the situation was far more complex than he anticipated. He was missing a massive piece of the puzzle regarding the current state of the world.

“You will come with me. And speak to no one of what you know.”

Emilya seemed shocked at his request, but after seeing how powerful he was, she knew not to reject his offer. Where else would she go? The forest was crawling with monsters and killers.

But even more than fear, she felt relief.

“I can’t believe you are choosing to protect someone as worthless as me. You have my biggest gratitude. Thank you, thank you!”

’Eh?’

Kai too was shocked by her reaction. He was kidnapping her for information, yet she was thanking him.

As for Lyra, she was rather upset that her Lord was choosing to protect a worthless, crying human.

…

Later that night, Kai and the team made it back to the Nameless Dungeon.

Normally, it would take anyone almost an entire day to travel from the Nameless Dungeon to Rambosa City on foot.

Kai had once traveled the same distance, and he knew the trek well.

But it all changed when the dungeon once again decided to grant him another blessing before he set off earlier.

[Instant Travel: This blessing allows you to arrive inside your dungeon whenever you feel like it, regardless of distance.]

Of course, Kai was quick to use this blessing.

He grabbed Lyra and Emilya, and with a thought, the world twisted around them.

He soon figured out that it took a great deal of mental strength for him to pull off. It felt like his brain was being squeezed through a tube, draining his mana reserves significantly.

When the nausea passed, they were standing inside the dungeon.

His jaw dropped.

And it wasn’t just him; Lyra had the same reaction.

The dungeon that he had left in Carlotta’s care looked far different than he had imagined.

’I am inside the dungeon, am I not? Did I teleport to the wrong address?’

The first thing he noticed was the large expanse of land that spread out from where he stood, all the way further to where his eyes could reach.

The cramped cave walls had been pushed back, revealing a massive underground cavern that looked more like a hollow earth.

And from then on, he could see the skeleton monsters.

They were all moving from one place to another with purpose, picking up weapons, carrying stone blocks, and transferring materials to different places. It was an organized construction site.

In fact, it wasn’t just skeletons that Kai saw.

There was another race of monsters now present too.

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