Too Stubborn to Die

Bonus Experience rewarded for killing a beast of a higher level than yourself!

[ Precise Bombardier Pugilist ] has LEVELED UP!

106 → 109

Finally, some level-ups, Aaron thought as he read the notifications. He had killed a decent number of doppelgangers, and so it had been rather annoying not to get any. Then again, he hadn’t really been fighting up against them. And almost all of them were actually lower level than himself.

“There you are!”

Aaron heard Talia’s voice echo across the cavern, and turned to see her pulling a little, weedy man out from his hiding place, with her avatar. It was grabbing hold of him, and squeezed him as it yanked him out.

Arthur Slots [ Level 108 ]

Titles: [ Monster Slayer ] [ Backstabber ]

“Stop, please! Let me go! I swear, I’ll leave you all and never cross your paths again! Just spare my life. Please!”

“Now you want to stop? After everything you put us through? Almost got us killed!” Talia hissed, and made her avatar squeeze tighter.

“Arrrk! You’re gonna crush me!”

Aaron sighed. What a shitty situation to be in. He really wished they had just killed him during the fight. Even if he was an evil bastard planning to kill them, he wasn’t overly keen on the idea of execution. The world had changed, and he had accepted those changes for the most part. But execution? With no ceremony or trial?

No matter how much it might be deserved, he couldn’t deny that it still felt wrong. Like it was one step too far. But he didn’t know what else to do. They couldn’t just carry the man around with them through the dungeon, and leaving a threat behind wasn’t a great idea.

As much as he didn’t want to abandon whatever humanity he had left, he also had to come to terms with the inherent danger of their new reality.

“What do we do now?” He groaned.

“Hmm,” Talia shook her head as she squeezed the man again. She was no doubt coming to the same realization. “Well, we don’t have to decide what to do with him right now, do we? Let’s see where this floor ends first before deciding on anything.”

He felt like she was just prolonging the inevitable. But since he wasn’t too keen on doing it himself, he let it slide.

He turned his attention to the corpses. The royal guards didn’t actually carry or wield any gear, but their corpses were certainly interesting. Either for food, or crafting, he didn’t really care. And Aaron snatched up Hegemony Blanc, while Soohyun took Jigsaw Tyrant.

Soohyun and Talia planned to split the spoils, since they had shared the kill, but agreed to let Soohyun hold onto it for now.

But there was something still bothering him. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the dungeon, but he still hadn’t received a quest notification for completing the settlement quest. If all the ants were dead, surely the quest should be completed? But maybe that was because they were in a dungeon plane, which, from his understanding, existed within its own special dimension.

However, since he had never gotten a chance to survey the hive after their attack, it did make him wonder. Luckily, he knew somebody who had been there.

“Hey. Soohyun,” Aaron waved. “Can I ask you something?”

“Huh?” she said, flinching. “Me? Oh. Uh. Yeah? Sure!”

She looked a bit nervous and was unable to maintain eye contact with him, which Aaron noted as a bit strange, but didn’t comment on it.

“You followed us into the ant hive, right? Did you see there anything alive in there? Any ants?”

“In the ant hive? I think so. But nothing special. I just saw a few workers going about their business, and regular ants? I forget what they were called. They all had drone in their inspection window name, though.”

Hmm, I doubt drones are an issue. Then again, I really don’t know.

The queen herself must have evolved from a normal ant. But it was hard to imagine that any old surviving drone could carry on her legacy. If they could…

Aaron shuddered and hoped that wasn’t the case.

He also didn’t know if the ants would immediately disperse from the hive and lose coordination the moment their queen died. So he didn’t really know if there was any valuable information in Soohyun’s words.

Either way, it didn’t really matter. They couldn’t stamp out the hive until they got back anyway. And he wasn’t about to turn away from the potential rewards of the dungeon because of something that may not be a problem.

“Hey, wasn’t there another one? A small ant. I saw it with them when they first arrived. Do you remember, Soohyun?” Talia said.

“Yeah! You’re right, Talia. There was a little child ant with them, wasn’t there? Where’d he go?” Soohyun said.

“Wait, another one? Should we go look for it?” Aaron’s attention spiked. Maybe it was delaying the quest completion.

Talia nodded. “Take one tunnel each. Let’s find that little guy!”

Unfortunately, after hours of tracing through tunnels, none of them found the small ant, and all returned to the main cavern. It was also a pain in the ass dragging Arthur along and listening to him whine as they looked for the little ant.

“Maybe it got killed?” Soohyun offered. “It was small. Doubt it was strong.”

“Yeah,” Talia nodded. “I don’t really like the idea of leaving without confirming it, though. Those ants have already caused us enough issues. But we saw no trace of it, and honestly, I can’t see how a little ant like that survives this place alone. I didn’t take the chance to inspect it, but I sensed its power. It was E-grade at best. And it looked like it was being babysat by the other two.”

“Well, okay,” Aaron huffed as he considered what was best to do. “For now, let’s defeat the dungeon floor.”

He shook his head. A child shouldn’t be a problem for now, and there are countless tunnels down here. Who knows where it went, or if it was even still alive.

There was also the strange moral dilemma of killing a child that nobody wanted to mention. An ant child wasn’t exactly the same as a human, but it had evolved into a humanoid form, and likely some form of sentience. Aaron didn’t want to let it go because of that, but it did make hunting it down a little uncouth.

“We’ll keep an eye out for it, okay, Aaron? But for now, should we, you know?” Talia smiled, her gaze shifting to the orb.

“Yeah, let’s get this done. I wanna know what this Mr. Fake guy’s deal is.”

He was still suspicious, but he could feel that the powerful energy coming from the orb previously was gone. That was one thing. But not in the way he had expected. Instead of being weakened, as Mr. Fake had described, it was just completely absent, leading his suspicions to grow.

But as long as there wasn’t some powerful C-grade beast in there waiting for them, he was happy to open it up and check.

They made their way over to the orb, but Aaron was sick of playing by the rules of others. Feeling like Mr. Fake had played him, had annoyed him, so instead of marching through the entrance, he planted a [ Bombardier Fist ] powered to its limit straight into the wall.

The moment it exploded, the wall was torn to shreds, trash and metal were bent and shot all over the place, with flaming debris settling around them.

“That’s better.”

It was a little childish, but after being given a run around looking for seeds which he was starting to believe had nothing to do with his quest, it felt rather satisfying.

The moment they stepped through the rubble and into the orb, they saw a giant trash monster turn to them. It almost looked like some kind of giant bug. Hunched over, with crab-like pincers, and a shell that was made of various junk. Even its eyes were made of rubbish, with two old neon signs beaming out from beneath its brow.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Okay, more rubbish, who’d have guessed?” Aaron cracked his knuckles as he stepped forward. “So, who are you meant to be? And where’s old mate? You know, Mr. Fake?”

“Grrrrr,” came the low growl of the monster as it turned to them, and the metal trash scraped against the ground, putrid trash juice pouring out of its joints as it moved.

“This is–!” Talia covered her mouth. “I thought I had gotten over it. Nope. I’m gonna feel sick!”

Soohyun didn’t say anything, but she was pinching her nose and looking at Aaron

Even Zero wasn’t entirely unscathed from the odor permeating from the boss monster. The wolf was shaking his head around as if he was trying to escape the smell.

Luckily, Aaron wasn’t sure if he even needed backup for this as he inspected the monster.

Putrid Trash Lord [ Level 125 ]

Titles: [ Elite Hoarder ] [ Bottom Feeder ]

After everything he had been through, the level was actually a little disappointing. The boss was without a doubt weaker than either of the royal guards. It didn’t even look as strong as the robots.

Aaron frowned. That didn’t quite make sense. Sure, he had gone and taken out the seeds of corruption, but why would the final boss be weaker than the minibosses?

That question sparked his mind on a series of other questions about the Floor. The robots hadn’t been a match for him, and he doubted Talia or Soohyun would have struggled too much with them either, but he was pretty sure they would represent a huge challenge to most everyone else from Earth. And that wasn’t even mentioning the Seeds of Corruption affecting his mind as he fought. It seemed like a huge jump in difficulty from the previous Floor, only for the final boss to be weak.

And what about the C-grade aura? Why was there a C grade on this Floor? It seemed like far too difficult a challenge compared to the previous Floor. The previous Floor was technically easy. He hadn’t actually had to fight the assistants. If he had just taken out the rebels, which wouldn’t have been very hard, he’d have easily gotten through the floor. There were barely any low D-grades among them, and the ones that were there looked weak.

And aside from the corruption and robots, this Floor had only been a small step up. The doppelgangers were a bit tricky, but not all that strong. The mirror maze was interesting, but not too tough.

Well, hopefully Mr. Fake can give us some answers when we find him…

“Alright, let’s do this,” Aaron cracked his shoulders and shot forward without further pause.

A putrid aura was expelled from the monster the moment he neared it, and he could hear Talia and Soohyun gagging as he engaged it.

It seemed even they would struggle at least a little against this thing if they had fought it. But Aaron’s stomach was hardened like that of an ogre’s, and he barely noticed the stench as he threw fists.

Of course, it wasn’t just a putrid aura. The monster boss had other tricks up its sleeves, like shooting rancid sewage and trash at him. But he was far too quick for the monster, and it only took a few [ Bombardier Fists ] to blow the thing apart.

Each hit exploded magnificently, raining their surroundings in flaming rubbish. And strike by strike, he whittled the monster down, its trash body getting smaller and smaller as he blew it apart.

But he neared the end; he held his fist before landing the killing blow. This wasn’t what he had expected. There was a concrete cell at the heart of the beast. And not just ordinary concrete. It didn’t even budge when his fist hit it.

Suddenly, the remaining rubbish that clung to the cell started to fall apart. Moments later, the cell was fully revealed, and he realized that there was a caged man inside.

The man waved at him, and his chains fell away, and the walls of the cell collapsed outward.

Bonus Experience rewarded for killing a monster of a higher level than yourself!

Quest: Discover the Fake: COMPLETED!

Reward: 20 auction points!

Experience rewarded for completing a quest!

[ Empty-Handed Energy Monk ] has LEVELED UP!

109 → 110

Purchasable Skill Available!

Passage to the next floor, opening…

“Hang on, you’re not Mr. Fake, are you?”

The man walked forward with a wide smile. His beard and hair were chronically uncut, and covered almost the entirety of his body. But his gleaming smile shot through it, dotted by many gold teeth.

But it was what Aaron felt a second later that sent him stumbling backward. The most incredible surge of energy he had felt outside of Yendal’s divine realm.

“Thank you,” Mr. Fake said as he approached. “I mean it. I am very thankful. I have been in there for a very long time.”

Nigel S Fake [ Level 284 ]

Titles: [ Wanted ] [ Heist Master ] [ Universal Vagabond ]

Aaron blinked. He had already felt the man’s incredible aura before he inspected him. It was exactly the power he had felt before, when Mr. Fake told him about the beast in the orb.

This man was a true C-grade, and if he wanted to, he could crush them all without breaking a sweat.

Aaron clenched his fists and took a step backward. What had they gotten themselves into?

“Relax,” Nigel Fake waved playfully. “I’m not going to kill you. You saved me, pal! What do you think I am? A monster! BAHAHA!”

Mr. Fake strolled straight up to Aaron, grabbed his head, planted a kiss on either side of his cheeks, and then wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“I was being serious! I owe you one! That damn System tricked me. What a century. I mean, seriously! I thought I was never getting out of there!”

“What is going on?” Aaron said.

“Oh, right. Newbie. Well, let’s cut to the chase. You see, thievery is a kind of grayzone in the multiverse. A path not restricted by the System, but not exactly encouraged either,” he grinned his gold teeth, and took out a coin that he flicked around, doing tricks with.

“But the System’s not so bad. I can work with it, even if it does screw me over occasionally. But it’s those Anderline assholes you got to watch out for! They managed to sneak those robots in. Disguised them as trash, and then activated them once they were in here with me. And with them guarding the corruption seeds, it was basically impossible for the other D grades to free me. But you, you’re the real hero here, Aaron.” he pressed his index into Aaron’s chest. “Thanks to you, I’m free again. And I love the taste of it!”

“Wait, what? So, the Anderline Corporation imprisoned you?”

“Keep up, Aaron. I never said that. That was the System. A little punishment for riding between the lines, so to speak. It put me in that cell. Planted the corruption seeds to keep me stuck. But it was the Anderline Corporation that made sure I never broke out. Those corruption seeds fueled this place. Turned those doppelgangers mad, and it created a seal on my cell that was impossible to break.

“Without Anderline, though, plenty of people would have been able to get rid of them for me. Maybe not the average D grade, but enough mental fortitude and a little spatial storage, and boom! But with those robots guarding them? No way. Not for an ordinary low D grade, at least.”

“Great, I think I get it. So I’ve gone and freed an infamous thief? And made enemies with some multiverse corporation?”

“Hey, it’s not so bad,” said Mr. Fake in a comforting tone. “Anderline is way too big to worry about a small fry like you. At worst, they’ll try to bill you for the robots, but that’s nothing. They’re top of the line, but they’re still only D grade. As strong as you are, paying them back will be nothing. In fact, they might actually forgive you to get in your good books!”

“But–”

“And as for freeing me, you’re fine. You’re a victim here, after all. I tricked you. And even I’m not important enough to worry them too much. It was probably just some angry, low-level manager that I angered anyway. It’s not a big deal. Probably.”

“Probably?”

“Oh, don’t look so down. Here, take this. My business card. If you ever find yourself at the edge of the multiverse in a little shit hole called The Pits, come find me. I’ll help you out. You know, return the favor for helping me out. Now go on and get moving. No point in standing around and talking to me.”

“Ookay,” Aaron said as Mr. Fake released him and conjured a wooden chair out of somewhere and sat down.

“Wait, hold on,” said Aaron suddenly. “So I didn’t have to go deal with those robots and corruption seeds?”

“Nope. You coulda just come in here and fought the trash monster right away. It would have revealed me, finishing the Quest, and opening the exit. And then the corruption would have regenerated the trash monster for the next Party. Happened at least a few thousand times since I was stuck here. But not anymore, thanks to you!”

Aaron scowled. He didn’t like being taken advantage of. But there really wasn’t much he could do here. It wasn’t like he could beat Mr. Fake up or something like that. He would just have to make sure to take extreme advantage of the favor that the con artist owed him when the time came.

“So, you know how to get out of here?” he asked.

“I’ve been here for a long time, pal. I know everything. But I can’t leave just yet. The Dungeon’s hooked up to your universe right now, which is still locked to people like me. So I gotta wait until the Dungeon event ends, and I’ll be able to get out. By the way, who’s the little ugly one? Is he a prisoner of yours?”

“Yeah, he tried to kill us,” Talia said, balling her fists. “Twice.”

“I see. Newbies. Happens all the time,” Nigel Fake shook his head. “You don’t want to get her hands dirty executing a defenseless person, right? Even if he did wrong you.”

Talia, Aaron, and Soohyun all shared a knowing glance.

“Welp, it’s your lucky day. I’ll take him off your hands. I need a little shit kicker slave to do some tasks for me anyway. And you won’t have to worry about him any longer.”

Aaron shrugged. It wasn’t a terrible idea. If Fake was a threat, he could easily end their lives right now. So what problem was there in letting him take the little gremlin man? Besides, they couldn’t stop him if they wanted to.

“Fine, take him,” Aaron said. “But can he leave with you? The Pits aren’t in our universe, are they?”

“Nope. Definitely not. And yes, you guys usually couldn’t travel through the universe barrier. But we’re in a little gray area right now, and he can travel with me if he signs a System-bound contract.”

The contract appeared before Arthur.

“You want me to be your slave?” Arthur hissed.

“Either that or I kill you for Aaron. I still owe him one, remember?”

Arthur slumped, and then reluctantly signed the contract.

“Good. Toodles. Look forward to seeing you in The Pits, Aaron Dober.”

Mr. Fake waved, and Aaron nodded back before turning to where the System indicated the Floor exit had appeared. He wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about everything that had just happened. But at least he avoided dealing with a moral dilemma for now. Although, he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to keep avoiding those.

That was not how I expected things to go.

“Aaron? You okay?” Talia asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. That was just a little weird. That’s all.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

But a smile quickly returned to his face as he remembered what lay beyond.

Everyone from our world who entered the dungeon will be on the next floor, right? And after that, everyone from the sector.

Aaron’s smile widened. This Dungeon was going to get fun soon.