Chapter 70

After a straight two and a half days of flying, Jae and Bailey had finally made it to Onyxia, the capital city of Asphal.

It was a far longer distance than Jae initially expected. Still, thanks to no further distractions ever since they managed to shake off that one Seraphim, they maintained a consistent pace and reached the city in a satisfactory amount of time.

After waiting for the Wyvern transformation to end just outside the city, the two immediately headed towards the castle, not stopping for anything on the way.

“Aren’t you relieved to have finally returned?”, Jae asked as they walked through the bustling city.

“Yes! ...How long were we away for, Master?”

“Oh, only a few months... It feels longer than that, though, doesn’t it? Well, our return wasn’t expected to be for more than a year anyway, so in reality, I think we were quite fast.”

Right. We managed to clear not one but two Dungeons in the span of what? Four months? Additionally, we discovered the location of the Lust Dungeon. And that’s not all, either―we also acquired our own, official identities in the form of Adventurer Cards, and we found allies in the Evil Eye tribe and Samael.

Overall, Jae couldn’t describe the ‘expedition’ as anything other than a massive success. Unfortunately, before they could get to clearing the Dungeon located in Theosse, they had to return to Asphal because of the recent incident.

The time difference between the real world and the Pride Dungeon is twenty times. If that fucker was telling the truth, then Rena would have already been in there for over two months...

He clicked his tongue with bated breath. There was no way he could take Reius’ words at face value, but because of the contents of what he said, Jae couldn’t simply ignore it either.

So what if he was lying? It only meant that Jae’s plans would be delayed by, at most, a couple of weeks. But, what if he was telling the truth? If Jae ignored it then, it would mean he was abandoning Rena in the Pride Dungeon.

Even if he couldn’t trust the Sinful God’s words, Jae was forced to act in the way that he wanted. Just like a chess piece.

...Just... Please, be safe...

Praying in his heart for Rena’s safety, Jae was focused only on this. It didn’t even matter to him if Reius was lying or telling the truth or whatever―all he wanted right now was the assurance of knowing his daughter was safe.

Boldly rocking up to the castle’s front doors, Jae patted Bailey’s shoulder and spoke at the two Demons standing guard.

“Let me in, I have a message for Leila. It’s an emergency.”

The Demons looked at him confusedly, before looking at each other and shaking their heads. Then, one of them replied to him.

“Who the hell are you to call the Queen with such flat disrespect?”

“...”

Jae stared at the two blankly, then frowned.

Do they not recognise me, or are they playing dumb? ...Ah, no, is it because I wanted no public attention? Still, the people in the castle should know who I am... Are these guys new recruits or something?

He tried again.

“Do you know who you’re talking to? I said, call Leila.”

One of the guards clenched his fist wielding a staff, seemingly trembling with anger.

“The arrogance...! Hey, call the captain immediately. A suspicious individual has appeared, started disrespecting the Queen and needs to be removed from the premises.”

“...What?”

Jae couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Since when were the castle guards like this? He muttered as he sighed.

“Hahh, I don’t have time for this...”

Before either of the guards could react, Jae lightly punched each of them in the stomach, knocking them to the ground without resistance.

“Since you appear to be new here, I’ll let you off, but if this happens again, don’t blame me for whatever misfortune you might face.”, he spat.

Stepping over their hunched bodies that lay in a fetus position, Jae grumbled to himself as he entered the castle, with Bailey following not far behind him, being careful not to tread on the bodies.

“I’m already in a bad mood, then this happens. Seriously, I don’t have time to be messing around here. Fucking guards should’ve just let me in when I said it was an emergency...”

Logically, he knew why the guards acted as they did―they weren’t in the wrong here at all. It was only unfortunate they didn’t know who Jae was, just like most of the citizens in the city, and so assumed he was just a random person trying to get into the castle.

He was stressing out while thinking about Rena being in the Pride Dungeon. All he could do to calm down was tell himself that she was in what he called the ‘safe area’, or in other words, the Dungeon’s Merged Inner Zone.

As the Inner Zone was the only place Jae expected someone could realistically live, he hoped with all his might that Rena was staying there. He even had his own logic to convince himself that it was the case.

It’s alright. The only reason I started in the Outer Layer was because of the ‘leak’. If they entered the Dungeon through the real entrance, surely they would start in the Inner Zone, right? It only makes sense that you would start in the beginner zone and gradually move deeper into the Middle and Outer Layers as you grew stronger and adapted to the Dungeon over time. That must be it. And it makes even more sense if you say that the reason for the huge time difference is because of the long time it takes to adapt to the Dungeon and get stronger.

Like this, Jae barely managed to keep himself calm. It would only be a hindrance if he were to have another panic attack, so he would have to focus purely on the part of getting to the Dungeon first.

“Huh...? Oh, hello!”

As they walked through the castle halls, the two were suddenly called out to by a familiar face. Jae nodded upon seeing the friendly Demon with an intimidating, three-headed dog by his side.

“...Jiyeru. It’s been a while.”

Rena’s half-brother, and the Ruler of Beasts, Jiyeru. The last time Jae had spoken to him was back in the Cursed Zone, so it really had felt like a long time.

“You remember my name.”, he smiled, “Speaking of which, I never actually found out your name before.”

“It’s Jae. When did you return to the castle?”

“Oh, I’ve been here and there for a while. I actually came back a few times and left since I’m usually rather busy. In fact, I was just called back recently by my mother because of an ‘incident’... Ah, don’t tell me, are you here for the same...?”

“Yes. It’s about Rena, right?”

“Indeed.”

Jiyeru’s face darkened. It appears he hasn’t yet heard the details of what happened, or maybe it’s that nobody truly knows. In any case, seeing him here probably meant there was going to be a meeting about it.

Still, meeting him again isn’t bad. His beasts could be useful too.

Jae thought as he looked at the concerned brother and his dog. Jiyeru still looked like a fourteen-year-old externally, despite being almost ten years older than Bailey in reality. His Status hasn’t changed much either.

At the very least, their relationship was much better than how it was with his sister, Jiera.

“Where are you going now?”, Jae asked to hurry things up, “Also, is Leila free for a quick meeting? I just got back, so I don’t know what the situation here is like.”

“Oh, right! There’s a meeting with all the nearby Rulers taking place soon, so I was on my way there. My mother should already be there waiting. You should come too.”

“I plan to.”

They began to walk together to the room where the meeting would commence. Behind the two of them, Bailey walked alongside the black-coated Cerberus that had sharp horns and all sorts of fiery patterns across its body, glancing constantly at the ‘cute dog’ with a fascinated expression.

Jae asked Jiyeru as they walked.

“Did she summon all the Rulers because of what happened?”

“Haa, that’s the thing―nobody knows exactly what happened yet, so Mother’s very stressed worrying about it. She’s paranoid; always thinking of the worst is a state of mind built from the many years of ruling the country, see.”

“Right. And, incidentally, ‘the worst’ would be...”

““Rena’s death.””

They spoke simultaneously, but it was clear to both of them that neither thought that was what happened.

“That’s right. But, even with the little information we have, I don’t think that’s what happened.”

Jiyeru said it in such a way that made Jae curious as to where his confidence came from. And so, he asked.

“What makes you so sure?”

Jiyeru replied succinctly, “Because of their party.”

Huh?

Jae was confused, but before he had the chance to ask anything more, Jiyeru changed the subject by gesturing in front of them.

“Here is the meeting room. You’ll see what I mean during the meeting.”

*Creaaaak~*

The impressive wooden double doors opened to reveal the meeting room. In the centre sat a round table seemingly carved from the same rich wood and lined with chairs along its sturdy and reflective brim.

Hm?

What first caught Jae’s eyes were the pair of seats taken, though the majority were vacant―the two people already sitting down were people he was well-acquainted with.

The most immediate person to enter his sight was the noble lady at the opposite end of the table from where he stood, the Demon Queen, Layla Illujhin. Sitting quietly in the seat beside her, staring with mixed feelings at Jae, was her daughter, Jiera Illujhin.

Shortly after entering the room, Jiyeru grabbed Jae’s attention and went to sit on the other side of his mother’s seat, prompting Jae to sit beside him. Still curious about who else would be attending this meeting as well as the meaning behind his words from before, Jae accepted the invitation and sat down next to Jiyeru.

As he sat down in the dead silent room, the atmosphere felt heavy, even gloomy. Disliking this particular air, he opened his mouth upon taking a seat.

“It’s been a while.”

The two women glanced briefly at him and nodded. Leila opened her mouth after a hesitant pause, perhaps because her mind was occupied full of worried thoughts about her daughter.

“...Your return is unexpectedly quick. Does this mean Nazar is also here?”

“We ended up travelling to his hometown and he decided to stay there. I think he was getting nostalgic.”

“I see... At least you have returned quicker than expected. Re... Our daughter will be happy.”

Raising an eyebrow at the strange wording, Jae changed the subject to what he was most curious about.

“By the way, how many people are attending this meeting?”

It was half because he was curious and half waning patience. After all, he wanted to hurry things up and go to the Dungeon as soon as he had the chance.

“There will only be 6 people―7, now that you are here. Everyone should arrive soon, so it will start before long. Please, don’t worry.”

The last of her words appeared to be more meant for herself than for him, so he didn’t mention it, but for some reason, it indeed had the effect of calming his mind slightly. Instead, he leant back in his seat and replied simply.

“Alright.”

Not even two minutes of silence later, someone arrived at the meeting room. Everyone looked as the person entered―a full head of lustrous, golden hair and a set of feathery white wings on her back. It was Ariel.

Pulling a mean face, she looked ready to attack Jae at any time, but he wasn’t worried in the slightest. Her being here meant that she was on good terms with Leila, and therefore wouldn’t do anything to compromise their relationship.

Jae was confident he could take her down anyway, with「Mark of Death」. Though her Soul State was blocked, he was confident she didn’t have the ability to counter it.

Ariel took a seat far away from Jae on the other side of the table. After looking reproachfully at him, she pinched her nose with two fingers and turned her face.

One minute after that and the final two entered the room. And, as they did―

Murky green skin. Aquiline nose. Reptilian, black slit eyes on unsettling yellow sclera. Compact muscle donning ancient black armour. Knife-like, unclean nails.

―Jae’s face stiffened like a statue as a familiar person met his eyes.

Soul State - Goblin Eclipse Lord

Name : Zeel Soul Level : 128 / 250

Title : Ruler of Goblins

Age : 97 Years Health : 399

Magic Energy : 34,217 Power : 5,954

Magical Ability : 1,225

Defence : 5,080

Magical Defence : 1,066

Resistances : 9,387

Speed : 13,987 Condition : [Anxious], [Surprised], [Slightly Bored]

The Goblin Lord.

What the hell’s this guy doing here?!

Utterly taken aback by the sudden appearance of an old enemy, Jae’s expression visibly changed to one of great caution and hostility. He knew that there shouldn’t be a fight here because of Leila, but he couldn’t just sit still now.

Terrible memories resurfaced of Jae being toyed with back in that pitch-black cave. It was his last death before entering the Pride Dungeon, and that meant this guy knew what happened in between those moments.

...Calm down. He’s weak and shouldn’t want to fight me anyway.

Jae took a deep breath. Despite it being over a year since they last met, or well, multiple years for Jae, he never thought he would have such an intense reaction just by seeing Zeel in almost the same state as before.

I can’t lose to him anymore. It’s fine. Seriously, he’s barely gained some Levels since the last time.

Jae, on the other hand...

〔Status〕

Jae Kang

Level 300 [MAX]

Class : Dragon’s Beloved

Health Points (HP) : 52,195 / 52,195

Mana Points (MP) : 799,644 / 799,644

Title :「Apostle of Sin」

Strength : 2,031

Endurance : 1,979

Race : Undead

Dexterity : 2,124

Agility : 2,094

Age : 23

Magic : 2,804

Wisdom : 2,667

Trait :「Steadfast Mind」

Luck : —

Distributable Points : 50

...Well, it’s clear that there now exists a large gap between what used to be a dream-like goal and his current ability.

Hm. I’ll boost Endurance up to 2,000 and put the rest in Agility.

This is what his Status looks like after levelling up on the way to Onyxia, and Jae was proud of it. Although, everything was only possible because of his class, Dragon’s Beloved. And, when it was converted through the Soul State.

Soul State - Undead

Name : Jae Kang

Soul Level : 300 / 300 (MAX)

Title : Apostle of Sin

Age : 23 Years

Health : 52,195

Magic Energy : 799,644

Power : 59,451

Magical Ability : 32,421

Defence : 58,095

Magical Defence : 20,833

Resistances : 28,357

Speed : 62,238

Condition : [Anxious], [Confidence], [Concerned]

This is how Jae currently compares to Zeel. Thus, there was no need to worry in the slightest.

“Phew...”

A faint exhale was heard somewhere in the room. Did the atmosphere turn strange? All three members of the Illujhin family beside him seemed to have turned nervous at some point.

What’s up with them...? Well, anyway, who the hell is that?

Jae shifted his gaze from the Goblin Lord to the unfamiliar face that entered alongside him.

Soul State - Gnoll Champion

Name : Rut

Soul Level : 261 / 300

Title : Ruler of Gnolls

Age : 201 Years

Health : 299

Magic Energy : 14,863

Power : 29,770

Magical Ability : 613

Defence : 13,462

Magical Defence : 3,198

Resistances : 6,503

Speed : 34,968

Condition : [Curious], [Intrigued], [Interested], [Disgusted]

The person whose name was ‘Rut’ seemed to be something called a ‘Gnoll Champion’, which Jae had never seen before. It was a race he hadn’t encountered until now. However, it didn’t mean that he didn’t know what it was.

Gnoll? ...He looks just like how I’d imagine it.

A dog-like person standing on two backwards-facing legs to a tall height of 7 and a half feet, or 229 centimetres, his face closely resembling a hyena. His dark brown, furry body had nothing but a few old pieces of studded armour covering exceptionally vulnerable places, presenting the countless scars that riddled him, completely visible marks through the fur.

With but a glance at his Soul State, one could tell that he was clearly a step above Zeel, and Jae immediately realised what the purpose of this meeting was.

A ‘meeting between Rulers’. We’re here to discuss what happened to Rena, right?

As the two monster Rulers took their seats―away from Jae, yet in a position which allowed them to stare at him the entire time―Leila commenced the beginning of the meeting.

“Now that everyone has arrived, I shall waste no time in starting. Firstly, please hold all questions until the end so that we can finish this cleanly and efficiently.”

She picked up the stack of documents that sat on the table in front of her and handed one folder to each person at the table. Upon receiving the folder, Jae didn’t wait to open it and take a look at the papers within.

“...”

Ah, I see what happened now.

The first paper contained a simple brief of what information they had gathered so far.

In summary, Rena was acting alongside a party of human adventurers to both train and clear territory as a part of the Land of Beast’s conquest. ‘This was because the adventurers were waiting for the return of Rena’s father’... Huh? What do they want with me?

He thought for a moment that it might have been some adventurers he met back in the Empire who somehow found out his identity, but quickly realised that couldn’t have been the case as the Empire is way too far away from here.

Anyway. ‘Because the last place they are known to have been was the top of the mountain, where the communications crystal’s signal was cut off, that is the most likely place where clues will be as to their current location. However, because the place is too dangerous for scouts to investigate, it is judged that only a Ruler can accomplish it’. Huh. It’ll be best if I go by myself, to be honest.

He read it, bored, thinking he was going to be the only one to go. They didn’t even know that they were in the Pride Dungeon. Fortunately, Jae knew that the entrance would be on the top of that mountain.

Now that he knew his destination, he went back to wondering who Rena’s party was.

But, who could it be...? They must be good people for her to take a liking to them as humans, but something about it gives me a weird feeling...

Jae wondered until Leila’s voice stole his attention.

“--Now, if you flip the papers over, you’ll find our records of each of the members of Rena’s party.”

What? Oh, so we do know who they are.

Flipping the papers, Jae went through each of the members of the party. As he did, he quickly began to notice something strange.

Starting with the names, he thought there was a pattern. First of all, they were all names that he had yet to hear in this world yet were all fairly common on Earth. Secondly, they were names that all belonged to some of the classmates brought along with him to this world.

...Are you fucking kidding me?

A deep frown formed on his face and he gripped the paper tightly with his fist.

Those bastards... Did they take her hostage to take revenge on me?

His nostrils flaring, Jae was about to get pissed. Fortunately, however, he realised that the names listed here did not belong to the people he reunited with back in Seronia.

In other words, they were people he hadn’t met since before he ran away on the second day.

Ryan, Nicolas, Kaitlyn. An interesting combination? I never saw those three together on Earth, but I guess things would naturally be different here. I see. So, Ryan’s a Battlemage, Nicolas is an Assassin, and Kaitlyn’s a Duellist. Hah. Somehow, it fits them well.

He couldn’t explain why, but a smile was beginning to creep up onto his face before he even noticed it. It stopped, though, when Jae noticed another paper at the back of the bundle, behind Kaitlyn’s profile.

Hm? Oh, they had another member? Who’s this...

Flipping to the last paper, Jae saw a name that shouldn’t have been there.

“......Eh?”

[Amelia - Large-Scale Water Mage]

...N-No, what am I thinking, of course it’s not her. It must be the Amelia in my class.

Incidentally, Jae’s class didn’t have someone called Amelia in it, but he managed to convince himself through poorly-formed memories from many years ago that he did.

In any case, Jae had gathered all the information he required from these documents. He also understood why Jiyeru was so confident after reading about their accomplishments. Because of this, he felt a tremendous sense of relief.

If it’s true that they killed an Elder Wyvern with ease, then they shouldn’t have too much trouble in the Pride Dungeon for now. In fact, the perpetual daytime and incessant heat are probably more of an issue for them for the monsters, up to the Middle Layer at least. They still wouldn’t last a day in the Outer Layer, so I should go quickly.

Before long, the meeting ended. At the end of it, Jae informed them that he would be the one to go inside the Dungeon. After a short while of him convincing everyone, he managed to persuade them to let him be the one to go.

Good. Others would only slow me down anyway.

He made one last stop before taking his leave, and it was Bailey’s room. However, once he arrived, the boy had a difficult request to ask of him.

“Master. Take me too.”

Jae wasn’t sure how to respond.

“...”

His eyes were steady, staring him in the eyes. The boy appeared to have resolved himself more so than ever before, but nonetheless, it was hard for Jae to make a decision.

After all, they weren’t just going anywhere―it was the Pride Dungeon, the most lethal place Jae knew. It was more lethal than the Cursed Zone, more lethal than the Southern Continent, and possibly even more lethal than even the capital city of the Holy Country.

“...It’s dangerous, you know--”

“--I know!”, he shouted back. Jae stared at the kid with a straight face.

You’re not gonna back down, are you?

“Why? If this is just whining, then--”

“--I’m not whining. Master, please take me along. This isn’t me whining because of something like ‘but Rena’s there so take me too’.”

Jae’s eyes glimmered listening to him.

“So, why is it then? Do you just want to get stronger?”

“...Master, do you remember? Back at the village, when you let me live and took me in.”

“Hm? Yes, what about it?”

This was unexpected. Why did Bailey start bringing back these old memories all of a sudden?

“I swore that I would get stronger not for my benefit, but to protect Rena. I was the one who caused all that bad stuff to happen to her, so I was going to pay it back by protecting her from then on. Do you remember?”

...This kid......

“―Take me with you, Master. Rena is wherever you’re going, right? You said it yourself, that it’s a dangerous place. If so, then it’s all the more reason why I should go. Because it’s my role to be there for her.”

...Has he grown up?

Jae felt a grin beginning to form.