(Verc’s POV)
"..."
I stood there in the absolute silence of the throne room, my chest heaving as the last of the dark magic dissipated into the air.
I’m hurt.
There was no point in lying to myself or trying to act tough when there was nobody around to see it but Onyx. Though the battle itself had been technically easier than my desperate struggle against the Golden Knight, this Dungeon Master was a completely different monster. He had far more range and a terrifying amount of firepower.
It was just that my skills are coincidentally a counter to his magics.
’Though, even after blocking and stopping his attacks with my sword, the damn things still explode right on top of me, damaging my body bit by bit.’
I looked down at my own body to check my current condition, and I couldn’t help but let out a dry, tired huff of air.
I was completely naked. Every single thread of the clothes I had been wearing had been scorched and burned into nothing but gray ashes because of the Dungeon Master’s relentless fire magic. The only things left on me were a few smoldering scraps and the heavy weight of the metal gear I had.
’Magic, huh... They’re cool, I guess. In a very deadly and annoying way.’
I thought that as I stared at the scorched marks on the floor, remembering the sheer volume of magic projectiles that had been launched at me. Each of those black fireballs and lances had been incredibly strong. If I didn’t have my [Black Scales] active and my other defensive skills supporting, I would have been turned into a pile of charcoal minutes ago.
Anyway, back to my current condition— I was burnt all over. My skin felt tight, like I had spent a week under a desert sun without any protection. The [Black Scales] did a great job of blocking the direct impact of the explosions, but they didn’t tank the heat and the shockwaves completely.
Now that my adrenaline had finally started to wear down, the "pinch" I had been feeling earlier had completely disappeared. It was replaced by something much worse. Now, I felt like I was being prickled with thousands of tiny, heated knives everywhere my skin had been burnt.
I’m even a bit surprised that I can keep my calm and think so clearly while feeling this much pain.
’[Knight’s Discipline] is really something else. It is probably the only thing keeping me from screaming right now.’
This skill was a lifesaver. It blended perfectly with my [Sovereign Swordsmanship], allowing me to keep a calm, analytical mind even when my body was literally on fire. Well, it made sense that they worked so well together, considering I had ripped both of them out of the Golden Knight.
Speaking of that Golden Guy, the only thing still left on my body were the heavy pauldrons I had taken from his corpse.
My armor was gone, and as I looked down at the blade in my hand, I realized my sword was in a sorry state too. The edges were starting to warp and melt because of all the high-intensity fire magic that had exploded against the steel. It was basically a hunk of junk now.
I looked down at the floor near the black throne. The Dungeon Master was lying there— dead as a doornail.
’He already looked like a dried-up corpse before I even killed him, so it’s hard to tell the difference now that he’s actually gone.’
I thought. Then I kneeled down, my knees cracking as I gripped his almost rotten and dried-up body. His skin felt like old, dusty parchment under my fingers.
"I wonder if I will get a skill connected to magic from this guy."
I muttered that under my breath, feeling a little spark of excitement despite the stinging pain of my burns.
If I could use even a fraction of this guy’s firepower, I wouldn’t have to worry about getting close to every single enemy I faced. And so, without any more hesitation— CHOMP.
I bit down on the Dungeon Master’s neck. It was like biting into leather, but I still managed to find a vein.
ANd after that, I started sucking up every last drop of blood I could get out of his withered frame. There wasn’t much of it left, but the flavor was intense.
*****
"Pwahhhh~"
I pulled away, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. It didn’t take long for me to drink all the blood from the Dungeon Master’s corpse. Now that I was done with him, he looked even more like a dried-up husk than he did before.
I tossed his body aside and sat back on my heels. I looked down at my hands, closing my eyes and focusing inward on my own body to see if anything had changed.
But just as I was about to study the new skills or information I had gained from him—
"Hmm...?"
[Scavenger’s Instinct] flared up violently in the back of my mind.
This was the skill I had picked up from the goblins.
Usually, it just gave me a faint nudge toward something shiny or useful, but right now, it was screaming at me.
It was telling me that there was something incredibly valuable nearby, something I absolutely could not leave behind.
I scanned the room, sensing the source of where the feeling was coming from.
"Huh...?"
Then my eyes landed on the floor directly below where the throne was positioned.
"What the hell? Is there something buried under the stone?"
I muttered, feeling confused. The instinct was pointing straight down into the solid rock.
With a genuine sense of curiosity, I decided to follow the feeling.
SWISH~
I covered my hands with [Black Scales] and concentrated my strength, turning my fingers into sharp, jagged claws that were harder than the floor itself. And without beating around the bush— PSSHHHK—!
I stabbed my claws straight into the stone ground and started digging like a madman.
I was getting covered in dust and grit, so I just decided to cover my entire body with scales to protect my skin. Dirt and shards of stone were flying everywhere as I tore through the foundation of the throne room.
Then, after a few minutes of intense labor— PAK!
I hit something hard with my right hand. It didn’t feel like stone. It felt organic, yet strangely solid. I immediately slowed down and cleared all the loose dirt and debris away from the object, and there...
"..."
I saw something that looked like a seed at first glance, but it was massive. It was about the size of a rugby football, with a dark, leathery exterior that seemed to pulse very slowly.
And not only that— it was bleeding!
Thick, dark RED BLOOD was seeping out of the cracks in the surrounding earth as if I had just nicked a major artery.
"...?"
I didn’t need a medical degree to know that it was blood. The heavy, metallic scent of it filled my nose immediately, drowning out the smell of dust and smoke. I’ve already seen, smelled, and drank enough blood in this world to recognize it instantly.
A lot of questions started popping up in my head, making my thoughts a complete mess. Why was there a giant bleeding seed under the throne in the first place?
But then, I noticed that the seed was quickly starting to wither now that I had unearthed it. Its color was changing from a deep, healthy dark tone into something much paler and more gray. It looked like it was being dried up right before my eyes, and the blood leaking from it was starting to thin out.
I had no idea what I was actually staring at... But feeling my [Scavenger’s Instinct] act up the strongest it had ever been since the moment I got it—
"Fuck it."
I just let out a curse. Then swiftly— CHOMP!
I grabbed the giant seed with both hands, ignored the dirt, and bit right into the center of it.
I started drinking its blood dry.
... ... ...
"..."
It only took a single moment to drain the remaining blood from that mysterious seed.
As soon as I finished the last drop, it shriveled up completely and crumbled into fine dust, disappearing as if it had never existed in the first place.
I sat there in the hole I had dug, looking at my hands and focusing on the new sensations rushing through my veins. It was like a tidal wave of information and power was crashing into my mind.
And in an instant—
"[Dungeon Genesis]?"
I whispered the name of the skill I had just acquired. It was an active skill.
As always, I instinctively knew exactly how to use it and what it was capable of doing. The knowledge was just there, etched into my brain like a set of instructions I had known my entire life.
And basically—
"I can create my own dungeon?"
That was what my new skill does.
A look of pure disbelief crossed my face.
I didn’t even know how to react at first. The implications were huge. But then, a slow, wide smile started to spread across my lips.
I mean, if I could create a dungeon— like this one I was currently standing in— wouldn’t that just be sick?
I didn’t know the specifics of how it would work yet, and I really wanted to try activating it right this second just to see what would happen...
But based on the "rules" I had just learned from the skill, there was a major catch. Once I activated [Dungeon Genesis] and started the foundation of a dungeon— I wouldn’t be able to change its location ever again. It would be rooted to that spot forever.
That’s why I couldn’t do it now... I’m literally in the middle of a massive city right now, just underground.
’But still... a dungeon of my own. That is definitely something to look forward to.’
I thought as I stood up.