Chapter 308

It was already two days when Mikael came into the Hidden Dungeon. He took his first step in conquering the Dungeon… Or so he thought. Well, he was still recuperating because of his battle against Kim Soo-Woon.

Before he set foot in the Room 1, Hamlet told him the rules or perhaps the principle of this Hidden Dungeon. The Hidden Dungeon was created to hone the talented Hunters who would enter the place and adapt to the time difference and kill monsters, in short, this place was like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber of the Dragon Balls but with monsters extermination. 

"Eh? Time Chamber, so you mean the time inside this Dungeon is faster than the Earth?"

He almost choked on his coke. He was listening to Hamlet while resting because he received massive internal damage from the battle against Kim Soo-Woon. Heck, he didn't even remember what happened. He felt like he was sent to outer space and died, then got revived. It was a shitty experience that he did not want to experience, ever again. 

And now, Hamlet told him that the Hidden Dungeon has a different time period than the Earth. Mikael realized that he had to live his life faster than the others. 

"A day in the Earth is a week here."

"Wow… So when I returned to Earth, I will be an old man."

"Yes and at the same time no."

"Eh?"

"Kim Soo-Woon stayed here for almost three years, but he did not look old," Hamlet explained. 

"Now that you think about…" Mikael nodded and recalled the person who made him face this situation where he had to rest to replenish his mana. 

"It has two reasons, first is because the Dungeon keeps the Hunters young. The second is, Hunters have a longer life and their aging are slower than an ordinary person."

"I see, that explains a lot. I thought I will return with a beard on my face."

"Another thing, potions don't work inside the rooms. It means that you can't heal yourself unless you have a Skill that can heal you. Items don't work too, except for weapons and living creatures."

"… Wow, so if I'm in a position where I'm injured, I will die because I can't use potions. You know what, that's pretty exciting." He touched his chin and thought about it. "You say that weapons and living creatures are allowed. Does it mean that my Spirit, Star Platinum Raijin, I can summon him?"

He already treated the tiger as a Stand, what a poor tiger. 

"Yes, you can."

"How about Raven?"

"Yes, even your jelly can be summoned because he has intelligence and life."

"Hey, don't speak like that. He has a name." Mikael hissed and hide the glub of slime inside his hands, making sure that Raven would not hear the conversation.

"Unfortunately, you can't use the armor and the ring that you're wearing. You can use the armor as protection but you can't use its effects inside."

"I see… I'm good at improvising so maybe I can fix that myself. Besides, I have natural regeneration so I can go with that." His regeneration was actually slow so he couldn't use it. Anyway, Mikael won't die easily. It was proven earlier. 

"Ack! God, it hurts!" He growled because the pain inside him lingered. This was the consequence if he drained his mana. His insides were burning, figuratively. As if he was being consumed inside. Every part of his body was aching and his head was heavy. After losing the adrenaline rush of his Fourth Skill, the pain started kicking in. 

Anyway, while being in pain, Mikael was still listening to Hamlet. It was important to hear what he was saying. 

"The potions can be a lifesaver but they hinder the Hunter from evolving. They became dependent on the potions and lost their fear. Fear is the main factor why people became stronger. By overcoming fear, their feet are set on the new stage. The Hidden Dungeon is created to prune them and make them better. Just like what I said, the Dungeon's mission is to make the Hunters stronger."

"…"

The more he listened, the more he realized the truth. Mikael slowly learned the truth about the Dungeons. Perhaps after he finished this Hidden Dungeon, he would come to find the real answer. That the Dungeons is not created to destroy the Earth, it was created to protect the Earth. It was fucked up reasoning, especially when the Dungeons killed hundreds of millions of people. 

However, now that he was here, he thought that all he believed was wrong all along. His hatred towards the monsters could be justified but… 

'But it's just frustrating that what you believe is wrong all along, it makes you question your decision … Maybe Kyle already knows about this. In the first place, he didn't hate the monsters, he used these monsters to elevate his standing. The Hydra, Basilisk, Minotaur, and the Gryphin, he killed them not because he hated them. He killed them because he had something he needed to get to them. Either Items, fame, or money."

He slowly get the gist of everything that even made him afraid to ask himself if what he was doing was right or wrong. 

'So who's the real enemy?'

……..
….
..

Kim Soo-Woon came out of the Room 99, he was slightly sweating but it was better compared to when he fought Mikael. 

"Phew, I failed again this time, huh. That woman is not easy. Fuck, I even got raped... Not that bad to be honest. 

He wiped his forehead and found that Hamlet came out of the Room 0. Hamlet bowed and greeted him. His clown face was slightly smiling this time.

"How's Mikael?"

"He just fall asleep. He has to replenish his mana for him to start the Room 1."

"I see."

"Perhaps did you lose again, sir?"

Kim Soo-Woon rubbed his neck and nodded.

"Yeah, I thought I can defeat her this time but I was wrong. She is still dangerous as always."

"Sir, we both know that you are intentionally losing... Anyway, you can still return here if you want to, sir."

"I know. I'm just frustrated that I have to use another infinite mana to open the Portal, Kyle that is. Let's add the fact that I have to find this Portal too. It's a hassle."

He clicked his tongue, the idea of asking Kyle for another favor did not fit well in his mind. 

"Welp, I guess I have to find another way. Besides, I can ask Cedy. Hamlet, how long did it take for me to reach the Room 98?"

"It's 843 days, it's equivalent to four months in the Earth, sir."

"Look for Mikael while I'm gone, that man will finish this bullshit in a month or two."

"Do you strongly believe that, sir?"

"Yeah, I'm not joking."

Kim Soo-Woon smirked and lit up another cigarette.