Chapter 174 Aftermath [Pt 1]
'Ahhh…'
Rey felt a sudden power rush through him.
It felt like a vast amount of energy was seeping into his body at the same time, and he took his time to breathe everything in.
He wanted to experience everything without interruptions.
Even though he was currently being watched by the denizens of the Royal Estate.
Rey could already notice the shocked faces of a few students who were in the compound when he slew the beast.
They were all staring at him with disbelief.
He ignored them, though, focusing only on the Systen Window that flashed before him.
[Congratulations! Your Class 'Elite Enigma' has been advanced to 'Anomaly' due to the impossible feat you have accomplished, and its incompatibility with the other image this world has of you]
'Ahh! Looks like I was right!' Rey beamed with a bright smile.
All that energy that he felt earlier were most likely the EXP entering his body.
Now, more than ever, he desired to know his current Status Information.
'Status Win—'
"S-Sir! Sir Ralyks!"
A loud voice interrupted Rey, causing him to look down to see the tired and equally relieved face of the Grandmaster of the Royal Council.
"Ahh… Grandmaster. You're here already."
Rey brushed his Status Window aside, saving the whole surprise for later.
He returned his blade to [Inventory], utilizing [Flighf] to descend from his heights.
In no time at all, he was right on the Estate's grassy fields, a few meters from Conrad and the few guards who accompanied him.
He was wheezing, practically out of breath, but he still approached Rey.
"S-sir Ralyks… is that really a—?"
"A Dragon? Yes. A Dragon Commander." As Rey said those words, he stumbled backwards a little.
A wave of dizziness suddenly assailed him, and he could feel pain springing all over his body.
He didn't need anyone to tell him what was going on.
'Recoil, huh? Looks like I've reached my limits.'
Rey had been wondering when the whole thing would come, but it was finally affecting him.
All his Buff Skills were vanishing, and he probably wouldn't be able to use them again for a whole day.
After all, the longer the duration time, the longer the cooldown period—at least, that was the case when it came to these Skills.
"A-are you alright, Sir Ralyks?" Conrad asked, practically wheezing.
'You should be more concerned about yourself, dude. Why are you in such bad shape?'
Rey didn't know why all the members of the Royal Council weren't very strong.
This clearly seemed like the kind of world where the strong ruled and crushed the weak.
Yet, people like Conrad employed the assistance of more powerful men so that he could survive and rule everyone.
It seemed antithetical, but Rey simply accepted things the way they were.
'It'll take some time, but I'm sure people will soon think through all this and do away with their monarchy.'
Though, right now, none of those were Rey's concerns.
He looked around him and saw scattered debris all around him, but thankfully the damage was kept to a minimum.
No one had been affected by the accidental teleportation.
'A-ah, except…!' Rey turned to the devastated mansion that must have once stood majestic.
"Who occupied that house?"
As he looked at the conflicted expression of Conrad, Rey could already guess it was someone very important.
"It's Councilor Knox' home. You know… the man that I came to visit you with."
"Ahh… that man."
Rey remembered the wiry old man. He had a very uncomfortable air around him, but he hadn't bothered back then due to other important issues.
"I-In any case, this is truly amazing! The fact that you took down a Dragon Commander… it's simply amazing!"
Rey shrugged, trying to look for an excuse to ditch the place as soon as possible.
"It was nothing. Did you see the people I sent here earlier, by the way?"
As Rey asked this, Conrad's body twitched as his face brightened even more.
"YES! We saw them! They're currently undergoing treatment and recovering splendidly."
"I see. That's a relief."
Rey smiled a little, remembering the faces of his brave classmates that had chosen to venture so deep into the Dungeon.
The fact that they were fine brought relief to him. Though…
'… I wonder how many will remain once all of this comes crashing down.'
The implications of the Royal Dungeon Incident had many facets, and merely looking at Conrad's disturbed face, it was clear that the man must have thought of some of them.
'For one, we now understand just how terrifying the Dragons can be. Those who will break will do so now.'
Even Rey couldn't estimate how many people would leave, but this was definitely bound to cause a great imbalance in the order of things.
"By the way, I ended up sealing the entrance of the Labyrinth due to the holes the Dragon made when it was trying to escape. It's possible many monsters would be creeping out of their Floors, creating a whole mess."
Not knowing if an upper Floor had a Lower Floor Monster made the Royal Dungeons too dangerous to even draw closer to.
But, like always, I could see a benefit in this entire situation for myself.
"There are a lot of treasures that could greatly benefit the Alliance within the Dungeon, so I'd advise you to take only the most elite of your forces and subjugate the Monsters as soon as you can."
By saying that, Rey meant one thing—the Otherworlders.
At least, the ones who would remain behind after the thinning out.
'Right now they need to grind for Levels more than anything.'
If they didn't, the next Dragon that they encountered could be their last.
'Mine too.'
"U-understood! Can I count on you when that time comes, then? Maybe hire you to protect them while they Level Up?"
"As long as I can also do the same, then I don't mind."
The moment Rey—or rather, Ralyks—said this, Conrad shot him a slightly puzzled look.
"Y-you've not… reached your Level Cap?"
His eyes trailed to the dead Dragon that hung on the devastated mansion, and he looked back at the Dark Adventurer.
It was impossible for a normal person to defeat a Dragon Commander—especially alone—so Conrad had assumed he had a special Class and was at his max Level.
However, Rey could only shrug and tell the truth.
"No. Not even close."
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
Do you have any guesses on how the story will proceed from here? Let's hear your thoughts.