The next morning.
Killian spoke while eating pineapple preserved in sugar.
“Thank you. Until you made me realize it, I did not know what was important.”
“You know now?”
“Of course I do.”
Thump, thump.
With a confident expression, Killian struck his chest twice.
“What matters to me was not tattoo magic, but the attitude with which I face life as a warrior. Because that is what allowed me to live as myself, and what made me who I am now.”
As Killian said that, Radan’s image seemed to overlap with him.
“As long as you know, that’s enough. If you’re grateful, buy me a meal later.”
“I shall. However, Oscar, your personality seems to have changed a little.”
It seemed the aftermath of 『Absolute Stasis』 had made it obvious that several of his emotions had frozen over.
Veronica had also said he had become even more obnoxious, but to think even the dull Killian would say this.
“Really? Specifically, how?”
“Mm, the way you no longer hesitate to express your feelings or thoughts reminds me of you when you were young. Perhaps the personality that had softened because of your amnesia is slowly returning.”
“That is...... not a good thing to say, is it?”
The young Oscar Killian was talking about was probably the psychopathic Oscar from his academy days, the one everyone unanimously mentioned.
He had heard it so many times that his ears were practically calloused.
“That said, it does not feel negative. If anything, you usually looked as if your thoughts were far too deep. Not fitting for your age, I mean.”
Did that...... mean he looked old?
Oscar flinched and changed the subject appropriately.
“By the way. This dungeon, who on earth made it? It has more depth than I expected.”
Veronica’s theme was one thing, but Killian’s theme was the same.
Over Craft and tattoo magic.
It even knew the points for improvement of magic that generally had not been revealed to the world.
“If it is on this scale...... would it not be an eccentric recluse at Level 9?”
“That’s absolutely not it.”
“Mm? How can you be so certain?”
Why else? Because he knew, having been Level 9 just twenty-one years ago.
Once one reached that point, one could naturally sense all the strong people on the continent.
However, the only beings recognized as Level 9-class at the time were the Great Emperor and the Red Witch.
‘Neither of them has any reason to help humans.’
Of course, if a new Level 9 mage had been born over the past twenty-one years, that would be another matter.......
But apart from the Magic Tower Masters, it was impossible for someone of that level to just drop out of the sky.
“There is a saying, an awl in a pouch will show itself. Once you reach that level, even if you want to hide, you naturally end up being revealed.”
“Hm. Indeed, I think I understand what kind of feeling that is.”
As Killian said that, his gaze fixed on Oscar.
“If we think realistically, wouldn’t it have been made by several Level 8 archmages joining forces?”
Oscar looked around.
For now, there were no traces of spatial magic having been used.
In other words, it meant illusion magic was involved, just like what he had seen at the Night of Mages.
“First of all, someone from among the mages of the Violet Magic Tower must definitely have been involved.......”
Including the person who had designed the dungeon overall, there had to be at least two people.
The Violet Magic Tower was closer to being technicians, so it would be difficult for them to be this well-versed in growth design.
“Now that we are talking about it, I am curious. For what purpose did they create something like this?”
“Well...... maybe because they were worried?”
“Worried?”
“Yeah, this dungeon isn’t something that was made an incredibly long time ago.”
Among the formulas that made up this dungeon, several of the ones Oscar could recognize had a fairly modern structure.
No matter how much the meta of magic circled around, optimization like that had been achieved within the past thirty years.
Taking that part into consideration, there was a high chance it had been made around the time before or after the war against the demons.
“Maybe they prepared this kind of arrangement so that, if humanity ever lost or got pushed back in a war, they would have the strength to counterattack.”
“That is highly possible. If so, they truly are people to be grateful to.”
“Yeah. Or maybe they just made it because they were bored.”
“......There would be no madman who would create a dungeon of this scale for such a reason.”
“That’s true too.”
He did not know who they were, but from the White Tower’s standpoint, they had received great help, so they were benefactors.
It was true that they had dramatically shortened the growth time of those problem children.
“You’re confident today, right?”
“You mean the duel against that shadow fellow?”
Crunch, crunch.
After chewing and swallowing the pineapple, Killian replied in an even voice.
“I will win. Because I am a warrior of the forest who knows no defeat.”
Sssrk.
When noon came, as expected, the shadow appeared beyond the clearing.
Unlike last time, Killian was already standing in the center of the clearing, rolling his neck as he waited for the fellow.
“Come.”
What returned was not an answer, but four glowing tattoos, just like last time.
Shaaaak!
In an instant, the distance narrowed, and at the same time, crunch!
The opponent’s fist struck Killian’s jaw.
It had enough force to shake his skull violently.
But Killian slowly turned his head and looked at the shadow.
“That hurts.”
The spot where the fist had struck throbbed, and he could feel it swelling.
Killian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled.
“Yes, it still hurts.”
But he was not as afraid as yesterday.
He did not want to run away either.
No further self-doubt existed.
Right now, Killian’s heart was blazing more fiercely than ever before.
“But that is all.”
Clench!
Killian’s left hand grabbed the shadow by the collar.
The moment the shadow silently looked down at that hand.
Shaaaak!
A right straight shot toward the fellow’s face.
The shadow avoided it by lightly moving his head.
His indifferent eyes seemed to ask what he had just done.
Crunch!
Then the shadow’s foot trampled down on Killian’s instep.
The will to never let him run away came up through his foot.
“Do not worry.”
Killian grinned and threw another punch.
The shadow likewise avoided it lightly and threw a light jab.
Kwaaaang!
At that light punch, Killian’s head snapped backward, his nasal bone broke, and blood flowed down.
“It is just the right amount of pain.”
But Killian threw his fist again as if it were nothing.
The shadow dodged it and drove in another punch.
Blood scattered through the air like paint, but Killian swung his fist again.
That sight repeated endlessly.
Flinch.
The shadow, who had been about to throw a punch, suddenly stopped moving.
Killian’s face was covered in blood, and various places were swollen, but.
The eyes visible through it all were no different from the beginning.
“I can endure the pain of the flesh as much as needed.”
Killian clenched his fist tightly.
“What truly makes me angry is that my heart almost broke. That I almost forgot what kind of being I am.”
Shaaaak!
The shadow hastily twisted his head, but the fist grazed past the tip of his jaw.
Drip, a line of blood flowed from the jaw where a thin cut had been drawn.
The shadow wiped it with his hand and looked at it, and his eyes trembled faintly for the first time.
He stared at the warrior before him with eyes that simply could not understand.
Why does he not give up?
Why is he not afraid?
How can he not collapse?
Reading that expression, Killian grinned.
“You will not understand even if a lifetime passes. Because you are not a warrior.”
He might be able to imitate the appearance, but he could not imitate the things filling the inside.
“I am coming.”
Kwaaaang!
Killian’s fist turned the shadow’s jaw for the first time.
The shadow staggered greatly from it and, the moment he unconsciously tried to step backward.
Press! Killian’s foot crushed down on the fellow’s instep.
“When I met strong enemies, I got hit. On days I failed to hunt, I starved. There were countless times I was defeated and injured, and my bones were broken. But even so, I never gave up.”
Because a warrior of the forest was that kind of being.
The two of them were the same height, but in this moment, Killian’s eyes were clearly looking down on his opponent.
“That was the kind of person I was. Then, what about you?”
Bang! Kwaang!
The shadow thrashed wildly and struck Killian’s face and abdomen without discrimination.
Killian, who did not blink even in the face of that distant fear, calmly stared at his opponent’s face.
“You have never lived the life of a warrior.”
Crunch!
A fist slammed into Killian’s abdomen.
His ribs screamed, and the taste of blood spread through his mouth.
“You have never watched over comrades either.”
Kwaang!
Once again.
“You have not even experienced failure.”
Kwaang!
The shadow’s fists, swung at random, began striking places that were not vital points.
“You have never endured pain, nor have you ever overcome fear.”
The shadow no longer even threw punches.
Because, upon facing a warrior who would not fall no matter what he did, he had become terrified.
“You are not a warrior.”
The shadow, unable to endure the pain, struggled to pull away backward.
But Killian did not allow it until the very end.
“And I do not lose to those who are not warriors.”
Kwaaaaang!
Killian’s fist struck the shadow’s face squarely.
The fellow’s body was sent flying backward just like that, and at the same time as it crashed into a tree.
[Proof successful]
[Theme Dungeon conquest complete]
The dungeon declared his victory.
Clench!
Raising his tightly clenched right hand above his head, Killian closed both eyes and smiled.
“I won.”
With those words as the last, Killian’s body, having lost consciousness, collapsed just like that.
“......That guy really fights stupidly.”
Oscar muttered as he hurried over and supported the collapsing fellow.
When he saw him at times like this, it almost felt as if Killian fought even more stupidly than his own father.
Srrrk!
Just then, Killian’s body vanished as if it had been a lie.
Realizing that this was the result of the guide’s intervention, Oscar turned his head.
“I laid him down on the bed in the cabin. Once he regains consciousness, I plan to send him out together with his reward.”
The guide, who had appeared at some point, was standing to one side of the clearing and looking at him.
“Congratulations. You have already succeeded in your second intrusion. How does it feel?”
“......Good. Since it seems like such a well-made dungeon, I feel a fair bit of accomplishment too.”
“Thank you for the praise.”
The guide, who smiled contentedly as he turned his body, stared intently at him.
“I am curious about one thing. How exactly are you able to pick out only the parts those people need like that?”
The guide’s eyes narrowed.
“Even though you are not someone who has already walked that path.”
“I was lucky, that’s all.”
“Lucky, is it?”
The guide slowly nodded as if chewing over those words in his mouth.
“Good. I will watch with anticipation to see whether that luck continues to follow you.”
Snap, snap!
When the guide flicked his fingers twice, a door appeared.
“If you go out through that door, you will return to the place you came from.”
With those words as the last, the guide disappeared like a mountain spirit.
Oscar, left in place, stroked his chin.
‘What is this?’
Was it just his imagination that the guide’s attitude had changed from the beginning?
Oscar thought about whether there was something he had done wrong.
‘Is he angry because I conquered two dungeons I intruded into in an instant?’
Well, if he had put effort into making them and they were easily cleared, he might get angry.......
But it did not seem to be simply for that reason.
This was just a feeling.
‘It feels like he’s wary of me, and also like he’s trying to probe something.’
A Level 8 mage who could have joined forces with a mage of the Violet Tower to make this dungeon.
‘Surely it isn’t someone I know, right?’
Personally, he thought he had not had any major problems with interpersonal relationships in his previous life.
But that was subjective to the end, so it was not as if there were no mages who disliked him.
‘Like old men such as Kudel or Pentarion.’
That could not be the case, but having his identity exposed would not be a good thing.
Oscar, thinking that he would have to choose his conduct and words carefully, stepped through the door.
“Mm?”
Beyond the opened door, his gaze met two familiar faces.
‘Tesila Windroar. And.......’
The new Yellow Tower Master, Tony Havertz.
The two of them were walking out from the opposite door.

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