Chapter 41 - Monsters

 

Jae opened his eyes to see the ceiling of the room just before the Minotaur’s boss chamber.

“...Wow.”

Blinking a few times as if to register what had happened, he quietly raised himself up and looked around.

I’m back here... I’ve still got all my stuff. What happened?

All he could remember was reaching for the coins within the chest, and then...

“I just... died?”

What was it...? I feel like there was something else, right...?

After contemplating for a moment, something seemed to suddenly occur to him.

“Oh! The chest... Was it a Mimic?”

Mimic―a monster commonly found in dungeon-crawler RPGs. They were tricky creatures that usually imitated the appearance of a treasure chest, but once the player opened them, they would be attacked, or in some cases, die immediately. Realising that he had quite literally died before he could even realise what was going on despite having attained max-level status, Jae felt overcome with an abrupt sensation of powerlessness.

“How unfair is that... And how long is this kind of thing gonna keep happening to me...?”

It was the first time Jae had died since meeting Aphy, and the feeling was certainly strange, but was it because he had already gotten desensitised to it that it didn’t feel like such a big deal at the end of the day?

Maybe it’s to do with Death Resistance... Anyway, that thing sure is terrifying, huh...

If Jae didn’t have the ability of resurrection, he would have simply died here without a chance to resist. Meeting Aphy and learning how to use magic wouldn’t have changed a thing, nor would his being Level 100 matter.

“Ah. Fuck...”

It was a deeply chilling thought, but on the contrary, it gave Jae some confidence.

If all the Dungeons are this level of bullshit, then at least I won’t have to worry about other people finding them and clearing them before I can get to them. Plus, death being this easy probably means that only I’ll be able to clear them anyway.

Or at the very least, it would drastically cut down on the number of people who would attempt to clear them, if there were any to begin with.

“Although, I don’t know if that sort of thing is something I need to be worrying about...”

After muttering so to himself, Jae returned to the post-boss treasure room, where the presumed Mimic sat proudly in the same, unopened position as when he first entered the room.

“...It’s still there, the bastard.”

This time, instead of approaching it haphazardly, Jae decided to use a different, more cautious approach.

Envy.

“Ahah.”

It was successful, but one thing seemed off.

“Wait, 350!? What the--...”

His jaw dropped; Jae didn’t know what to even say.

Well... Is there much to even comment on in the first place? It managed to kill me in a single instant without me being able to react, so it had to have been far stronger than me just based on that... Is it really that strange for it to be this strong?

Maybe Jae was just forcing himself to quickly adapt to the nature of the Dungeons now, but he truly felt like every aspect of them was designed to be purely unfair. Something like this should be expected, really.

"Anyway, I guess it doesn’t matter how strong the guy is if he can’t move, right?”

If he thought about it like that, then it wasn’t nearly as scary. Still, the fact he can get one-shotted if he isn’t careful is frightening. Thinking about how to go about killing it for a moment, Jae eventually decided to go the simple route and use magic from a distance.

Crackle...!

Freezing the Mimic with ice should do the trick, at least on paper. Once the monster’s entire body was encased in ice and frozen stiff, Jae covered it with an additional layer before feeling good enough about it to step forward.

“Hm... Is it safe?”

Considering its exorbitant level of raw Power that surpassed even the enraged Minotaur, the Mimic should naturally be able to break free. But, since this was a motionless, defensive-type monster, Jae thought it wouldn't dare try to break its own cover until he was close enough to attack.

It should work, right? I mean, if it was going to attack me after using magic on it, then it would’ve already done so by now.

Thus, Jae took a step towards the monster, keeping a watchful eye as he roused his Fighting Spirit and enhanced his body with many layers of mana. Although something like this likely wouldn’t be enough to successfully block or defend against an attack, now that he had his guard up, that wouldn’t be necessary.

I can always kill it from outside its attack range if I need to, but I don’t want to risk losing out on any loot it might drop, just in case. I know Aphy kept reminding me that I should never abuse this power, but it’s not like I’m planning on it. This should be enough.

Stopping his feet directly in front of the chest as he did the last time, Jae raised his concentration and senses to full-blast and reached to open the lid.

“...Come on, little fella. Do the thing...”

Nothing happened even when Jae opened the chest lid, so he thought it had to activate only when he reached for the coins within.

“Oh... But, why wait so long to attack? You just make yourself that much more vulnerable, you know...?”

Thinking about what the reason could be for the Mimic to act the way it does, Jae soon realised the crippling weakness it was attempting to cover.

“Is that how it is... I see.”

On full guard, he reached for a coin, when―

“!!”

―Like last time, a red blur shot out from beneath the coins. Barely managing to react in time and catch it, Jae gripped the Mimic’s ‘tongue’ and jumped back.

“Gotcha!”

At that moment, dozens of white glass shards sprouted from the chest lid’s lining.

Teeth?

Suddenly, the Mimic jumped towards him.

“Woah...!?”

Putting all the strength he could into the action, Jae swung his arms to send the Mimic off-course and crashing into the side of the room.

Woosh-!

Slam-!

The moment it made an impact, he then pulled its red tongue taut and stomped on it, ripping and tearing it off until the monster let out a shriek.

“Keeeeeeeeiiiiihhhh...!!!”

The Mimic died instantly. As it did, its open lid fell limp and it tumbled over onto its side, spilling its golden contents all across the treasure room floor.

“...Fuuh. Wow.”

Approaching the Mimic’s corpse which was now no more than an ordinary chest, Jae picked it up and turned it upside-down to empty everything inside.

“Only gold coins...”

It didn’t seem to drop any additional loot when the monster was slain, which was unfortunate, but it wasn’t like he gained nothing from this encounter. And there still another reward he had left to claim.

Tap tap.

“Hmm... It’s quite hard. Can I even eat it like this?”

There was nothing to lose by giving it a try, right? Even if it tasted bad, Gluttony would do the rest of the work.

Actually, I could probably eat the tongue... But that seems even more disgusting.

Popping the small chunk of gold he tore from the Mimic into his mouth, Jae simply swallowed it without bothering to chew.

“Oh...!”

Some of the skills acquired from eating the earlier monsters in the Dungeon were interesting, but this was something else entirely.

“This is incredibly useful, isn’t it? If I level this up, I shouldn’t have to worry about hiding my Status from everyone...”

Although, considering that Envy worked on the Mimic despite possessing this skill, it indicates that skills relating to the ‘soul’ will still have an effect.

I mean, even if that’s true, it’s fine. Aside from a few, rare exceptions, Spirits are the only ones who can interact with the soul anyway, and since I don’t even know where Rena’s father is, I don’t think I plan on meeting any one of them any time soon.

Glad that he had stumbled across something worthwhile after the disappointing Minotaur boss, Jae turned his head to the end of the treasure room, where a hidden staircase leading downwards revealed itself.

“......”

Being invited further in by the Dungeon, there was nothing for Jae to do but accept.

Just watch. From now on, there will be no more deaths here.

 

---

 

“Oh, I see now. I was wondering why this floor was feeling just as easy as the last one.”

Standing in a room of monster corpses, Jae stared at an old, wooden chest that sat at one end. It had the outward appearance of any one of the 31 ordinary chests that filled the first floor, but its essence was something more.

Compared to the first Mimic, it was nothing.

“Level 0? How does that work?”

Needless to say, Jae was Level 1 even when he first arrived in this other world; he had no clue how something could possibly be Level 0, but summed it up to being a monster or Mimic thing.

Anyway, I’m glad I chose Envy. He’s been a hell of a lot better to me than that other guy.

Summoning a cone of rock in the air, Jae did the same to it as he did against the Minotaur and added a lot of spin and rotational power with wind magic. Then, firing it off at the Mimic, the result was rather predictable.

The bullet penetrated the chest completely with a simple crack, leaving but a single hole in the centre.

“Huh...”

I didn’t try it against the other one because its Defence was so high, but maybe that would’ve been the better decision.

Walking over to the deceased Mimic, he tore a chunk of wood off and threw it in his mouth like he had done a million times before.

“Eugh. Tastes like ass...”

Swallowing as fast as possible, Jae only looked forward to what kind of skill he might acquire.

Come on, please activate, please activate...

“Yes!”

“What??”

Parry? What the hell?

For a moment, Jae had no idea what to make of it. Of course, a skill like Parry could only be something good, at least in Jae’s eyes, but what business did a Mimic have possessing such a seemingly unrelated skill?

“...Is it the tongue attack? No way, right?”

The only way he could make sense of it was if the Mimic’s move of defending itself at the very last second by lashing out. Although it didn’t seem to make much sense on the surface, if he continued to convince himself that it made sense, then it would begin to make sense...?

“Strange... I mean, I’m not gonna complain, but it is bizarre.”

Quickly moving on, Jae wanted to clear this floor as fast as possible. He had no idea how many floors the Dungeon consisted of, and since he didn’t know what the degree of time distortion here was like compared to the Pride Dungeon, he couldn’t afford to dawdle around and waste time.

Still feeling the responsibility of finding a Demon princess’ parents on his shoulders, Jae unwittingly hastened his steps.

 

---

 

The second floor of the Sloth Dungeon naturally contained monsters of a higher level than the first floor, but that didn’t mean they were a threat in the slightest.

Great Dungeon Spiders which he burnt to a crisp the moment he laid eyes on them and refused to eat no matter what; higher tier kobold monsters like warrior and archer types; and more deadly traps. Nothing needed to be said about the monsters, and the traps were also something insignificant when over 90% of them were magic-activated.

After looting a couple of magic items he found and realising they were pretty much the same as the ones on the first floor, Jae decided to forget about looting every single chest and just clear the Dungeon as soon as he could. Seeing all the enchanted items made him want to give it a try since it was a subset of magic that Aphy had never taught him, but he was also heavily conscious of the time he was spending by being here, and thus stuck on what to do.

Let's stop for a moment. I should get my priorities straight beforehand, just so it's clear. What is the most important thing to me right now?

At this very moment, the answer to that would be clearing the Sloth Dungeon.

And after that?

After Jae clears the Sloth Dungeon, he imagines choosing between staying in the Sloth Dungeon for a while to train some new skills such as his Greatsword Mastery, magic, and perhaps enchanting, or leaving the Dungeon to find Rena’s mother among the Demons.

I trained for three years alongside Aphy, but I think I was only able to do that because she was there. If I was by myself, I don’t know if I would’ve done it or stuck through it all. The same can be said now. I don’t know how long I would be here if I chose to stay and train, but I can’t see myself sticking around for too long either way. I don’t even have those guys to annoy me and keep me entertained.

Most importantly, the efficacy of Jae’s training would drastically reduce so long as he bears the responsibility of Rena’s situation constantly weighing on his mind.

“Hah... I guess I’ll just leave the Dungeon whenever I clear it, then... Even if I’m an outsider, I’ve become involved with the situation; part of the responsibility lies with me, and if I disregard it just like that, I don’t think I could live with myself. Besides, I can always take the time to train whenever I want after that's all finished.”

The reason Jae thought about staying in the Dungeon to train in the first place was to take advantage of the time distortion effect, just like he had done in the Pride Dungeon, but when he considered it more deeply, that was something he could do whenever he found the next Dungeon to clear; it wasn’t something he could only do right now.

In that sense, as well as morally, the situation with Rena was of far greater urgency.

“Fuah... Alright.”

Now that he had finalised his decision and made a choice of what was more important to him, Jae suddenly felt better about himself even if he didn’t do anything.

His lightened heart immediately stiffened once more upon reaching the “pre-boss lore chamber”, however.

It was the same layout as on the first floor, except this time, the murals were a little different. What was previously an ordinary chest sitting atop a pile of gold coins and human corpses was now a sable black chest, demonic in appearance and lined with gold plates encrusted with mystical, opalescent gemstones.

This striking chest, even presenting white spikes in certain places, was wrapped in thick, navy blue chains and sealed tight with a lock.

What caught Jae’s attention the most, though, was not the absurdly detailed engraving of a chest on the wall, nor was it the practical confirmation that this Dungeon’s theme was heavily centred around ‘Mimics’.

Rather, it was a single word engraved into the wall, just like the depiction.

“......”

[SLOTH]

Seeing that, even if it was just a single word―and a word he already knew was related to everything here at that―Jae couldn’t help but understand.

Even if it was purely instinctual, he knew immediately.

Placing a finger on the engraving of the chest that was clearly forbidden from being opened.

“This is Sloth.”

Sloth was a Mimic; that much was obvious now. Jae thought he would have to check later if his thoughts were correct, but upon understanding this, he came to another belated realisation.

Are they all monsters?

“......”

Envy, who strangely seems to care for him these days.

Wrath, who constantly picks fights, curses and argues.

Gluttony, who just wants to eat and eat with an obsession.

It only made sense for a personification of sin to be a monster when he thought about it, even if the term seemed to originate from humans to begin with, and honestly, he couldn’t believe it took this long to realise that.

Like Sloth, all of the sins were likely monsters of some kind, and he held no doubt that he would find out which ones when the time came.

Still, they were monsters, and yet Jae had been talking to them, arguing and fighting with them as if they were family.

“...I mean. Does it really change anything?”

“I’m just as much a monster as any of them at this point.”

“I’m called an Undead by my own Status, I eat the corpses of monsters... I’ve even killed people.”

Even though Aphy continuously reminded him that his core was still human, Jae himself knew more than anyone else that he was already too far gone to go back.

Hell, Aphy herself was a dragon, and weren’t dragons a monster unlike any other?

Nevertheless, at the end of the day, did it even matter?

He was still him. The voices inside his head were also still who they were before. Nothing has changed, and so nothing should change.

Monsters were monsters, they were monsters, he was a monster, and some would even argue that humans are monsters. Jae acquired experience when he killed them just like anything else, so was it in agreement too?

“...You better treat me with some respect when I get back. Monster bastard.”

Thinking of a very specific one of them who never treated him right, Jae could only sigh at himself.

It really is rent-free... Tsk.

He dismissed the unnecessary thoughts and prepared himself for the boss.

Pressing the button on the wall, it rose to reveal the boss chamber. Recalling the incident with the High Minotaur Champion from the first floor, Jae already had his guard up all the way, but as soon as he entered the boss room, he found it wasn’t necessary.

Seeing nothing but a single treasure chest sitting in the centre of the room, Jae’s eyes widened.

“What...”

It was the very same chest he had just examined on the mural.

It wasn’t the real Sloth, but a copy―not a mimic, a copy. A Mimic’s copy, or rather, the Mimic’s copy.

But, since it was such an identical copy that even the stats were imitated one-to-one, it was more than enough to be considered a final boss.

“Five hundred thousand...”

Its―Sloth's?―Power and Defence were the only things Jae needed to be aware of, and if he planned on attacking from a distance, then the only real concern remaining was Defence.

Assuming it doesn’t retaliate the second I attack, that is.

But, well, if its pattern of attack was going to be anything at all like the Mimics Jae had encountered up until this point, then he didn’t have to worry about that. After all, even if he failed to destroy the monster in a single hit, there was not one Mimic that moved an inch even after being pierced through with a rock bullet.

Their commitment to remaining hidden is commendable. In the end, though, that stubbornness will be their downfall.

And so, resolving himself to continuously attack for what might be a long time, Jae started by summoning a single bullet of stone in the air. Giving it a spin, it quickly shot in the direction of the Sloth imitation.

Tink-!

Of course, it hit...! And left nought a scratch.

“Well, it’s a hell of a tank. At this rate, I don’t think even a thousand would leave a dent... What else is there...”

Coming up with various kinds of magic combinations that might be able to inflict damage, Jae thought he would only need something to pierce even slightly through Sloth’s defences.

It only has 1 point of Health. I still don’t know what exactly the difference is between Health and HP, but I think the most likely explanation is that it’s related to vitality. Then, could it be that the Sloth imitation only has 1 Health because it’s a copy, and copies don’t have vitality?

If he thought about it that way, it would also explain why his own Health was so high―perhaps, due to being an Undead, his Health value should have ordinarily been set to 0 or 1, but because Jae continued to only resurrect whenever he died, the System instead bugged out and duplicated it instead... Or something along those lines.

Of course, this was nothing more than pure speculation, but it was the best he could come up with right now.

The only problem with that theory is that it would mean the System bugged out... Well, I guess it’s already been bugging out a few times, especially with my own Soul State, but I still feel like I’m missing something.

Regardless, now wasn’t the time for that, and he didn't think it really mattered anyway. Sloth’s imitation still stood there as if nothing had ever happened, and Jae had to find a way to defeat it.

“If I treat Health as vitality, then even if it’s not exactly the same as HP, isn’t it pretty similar? I should only need to damage it a little bit for it to die... But that's the problem. How can I damage it when its Defence and Resistance are so high?”

All of a sudden, Jae felt troubled. Thanks to reaching the maximum level and receiving magic training from Aphy, he never thought he would encounter the problem of ‘lack of lethality’, but here he was.

“Haa, seriously... Oh, wait, can’t I just use Wrath?”

In the Pride Dungeon, the Outer Layer was a place where only those whose bodies could handle the extreme density of the environmental magic energy as well as properly intake and process it could survive.

Conversely, all beings required mana to live, and mana was acquired through the process of absorbing magic energy. Therefore, those who lived in an environment where the magic energy was too sparse, or so poor in quality that their body couldn’t properly sustain itself by processing it, would also either adapt and evolve or go extinct; usually the latter.

Recalling what Aphy taught him a long time ago, he came up with an idea.

When he ‘fought’ the Goblin Lord, Jae found out that Wrath’s Malignant Flame had the unique property of Mana Burn.

With that special attribute, along with the proper knowledge of how to utilise it to defeat an opponent, it was as if a lightbulb lit up in Jae’s head.

It’s simple; I’ll just deplete its magic energy until it dies.

Sloth's imitation only had 1 Health, but it also only had 100,000 Magic Energy. Although that would be an incredible amount for an ordinary opponent, to Jae it might as well have been 0.

Fwoooaarr...!

The roaring Malignant Flames enveloped Sloth’s imitation from a distance, and just like before, it sat and didn’t even try to resist.

As the imitation’s Magic Energy reserves continued to only diminish and burn away, Jae’s MP also drained at a significant rate despite possessing Level 10 MP Consumption Down. But, that was no issue, and there was not a single moment in which he held concern. Even with the tick rate of Mana Burn being slower than the rate of mana consumption, Jae’s total mana pool was so high that it would make no difference if it decreased at twice or even thrice the rate.

Thinking it might take a while, Jae took a seat. After all, all he had to do now was wait.

Like this, the Sloth Dungeon was as good as cleared.