Abaric looked at the monster corpse that had been eaten down to the bones, then glanced at the traces around it.
It was pretty easy to guess: the adventurer party had fought right here, then retreated, and the monsters had chased after them.
The official reason he came here might be to rescue the adventurer group that included students from Blue Sky Academy.
But in reality, his true purpose was to see what kind of boss this dungeon actually had.
This dungeon had suddenly jumped in difficulty within just 5 weeks, wiping out nearly three full parties. The few survivors were left with severe PTSD.
That alone was worth checking out. After all, if some ridiculously overpowered, nightmare creature managed to crawl out, the first place to get obliterated would be the city where he worked.
And that would be anything but fun.
"No traces of dark magic… No sign of a Demon King either… Good. Without those two things, the difficulty might drop just a tiny bit."
Just a tiny bit. It didn't mean the survival rate would suddenly become meaningfully higher.
After all, an A-rank dungeon had every right to be this hellish.
Lower than A-rank? You could still deal with them using good tactics and preparation.
But starting from A-rank and above… everything basically came down to your luck.
Meaning you'd have to be insanely lucky just to run into a D-rank monster… inside an A-rank dungeon.
And that "luck" was gambling-tier luck. Because D-rank monsters could barely survive in a place filled with these disgustingly strong creatures anyway.
"The problem is… I'm not seeing any particularly strong monsters…"
Almost every monster he had encountered so far… how should he put it? Quantity compensating for quality?
They weren't strong, but they were extremely annoying. At best, they could be classified as B-rank.
"Either I was lied to and this dungeon isn't actually A-rank… or… it's only A-rank because of one specific thing?"
If it was the latter… then things were about to get messy.
Suddenly, a sound rang out, making him snap to attention.
"?"
A four-legged creature appeared — white skin like an albino, blah blah blah. In short, it was one of those highly adaptable types.
"That's…"
The thing swayed for a moment before charging straight at him. Scales instantly grew over his hand, razor-sharp like a shark's, and he slashed.
Surprisingly, it withstood the blow and tried to attack again.
A bit confused, he pulled out his knife and stabbed it straight through the neck.
It still looked perfectly fine.
"…This thing."
Then he activated his skill.
In an instant, his head transformed into a massive shark maw. He bit the monster clean in half and spat it out.
He watched it twitch violently for a few seconds before finally dying, then returned to normal and scanned the surroundings.
"No others nearby… Hmm."
He crouched down and began carefully examining the corpse, taking mental notes.
"Appearance is really strange. Never seen anything like it. Looks like some lab experiment, but when you look closely… it's not. Ugh, I really hate gathering intel."
Abaric stood up and continued forward, staying cautious of everything around him.
Gradually, he started feeling something was off.
The path had become extremely narrow and stretched endlessly both forward and backward.
"Fuck! I let my guard down!"
The moment he reached for something, a pit suddenly opened right beneath him.
Thud!
"…My ass."
Rubbing his butt, he looked around.
"This is… holy shit, a barrier?!"
All around him were walls continuously oozing black liquid that gave off a nauseating stench. There was no visible exit.
"…No, this isn't just a regular barrier… This is a Domain Barrier?!"
He reached out and touched the black liquid. His hand immediately stung painfully.
"No... This is... Domain Expansion?!"
"No… korega... Reality Marble da?!"
Hey, if you keep doing that I'm gonna get copyright striked!
"Oh, sorry, it's just a Domain Barrier."
A Domain Barrier was the highest level of barrier magic. It allowed the caster to create a pocket space whose rules were based on their own soul and skills. It also massively buffed the caster inside since this was literally "their" domain.
An incredibly, ridiculously useful spell for the strong people of this world. (Yeah, is basicially Domain or Reality Marble)
"And now I've fallen into one. Great. At least… it's not a fully completed barrier. Lucky me."
He took out a piece of parchment, sliced his finger, and let a drop of blood fall onto it.
Instantly, the entire barrier shuddered violently, as if in pain.
"Heh! You can't trap me! I'm the Desert Shark!!"
While he was grinning smugly, the barrier shattered completely.
And he found himself standing… on top of someone wearing full-body armor.
"…Eh?"
"Eh?"
Both of them froze for a second.
Then the other person thrust a spear straight at him. Abaric leaped back.
"You bastard… Alright, you're the one I'm gonna paint the walls with BLOOD with today!!"
"Ayo chill!"
Suddenly the armored figure stopped, narrowed their eyes, and looked closely at him.
"…Is that you, Arabic?"
"You misread my fucking name, tomato-head dumbass."
"I'm chopping your head off right now."
The man removed his helmet, revealing a face as hot-tempered as ever.
Vakoth.
"Who's that? An enemy?"
A girl stepped forward, casually holding several frozen severed heads by the hair before dropping them to the ground. Abaric narrowed his eyes.
"I'm Irelia. Judging from your appearance, I assume you came here to rescue us?"
"Yeah… If you're willing to explain those human heads."
"You don't need to know. I'm doing my own personal business."
Abaric glanced at her, then at Vakoth.
"You're seriously just letting her do whatever she wants? Even killing her own teammates?"
"Hey man, I'm here for the money. She pays, I protect. I don't care about the rest."
"This guy…"
"Fine." Irelia muttered something under her breath, then took out a bizarre statue with hollow, lifeless eyes.
Is that… gear?!
"Ever since she found that thing, she stopped caring about anyone's life around her. It's like her goal has already been achieved."
"Then I'll just kill her—"
The spear blocked him again. Abaric raised an eyebrow.
"Ababic, I suggest you think carefully. She hired me to protect her. Also, she's a student from Blue Sky. You came here to save them, not to kill them."
"…You have a point."
Both of them watched as the statue slowly opened its mouth and began absorbing something from the severed heads.
Once it finished, the mouth closed again.
"Still not enough? Tch." Irelia clicked her tongue in annoyance, stored the statue away, and looked at the two men.
"…What?"
"Would it be too much trouble… if I asked both of you to come with me to kill the boss of this dungeon?"
The two exchanged glances.
"…Sure, I guess?"
"I don't mind either. As long as you pay me."