Chapter 169: Double Crisis (5)

[You became level 56. You obtained 5 bonus stats.]

[You obtained the qualification to challenge Beyond's 5th floor.]

[Amazing! You are the first in First Dungeon's history to succeed in soloing the Twin-headed Ogre on the first try! The dungeon will remember you as a Great Explorer. You obtained 2 skill point as a reward. Remaining skill points: 20]

[You obtained the title, 'Twin-headed Ogre Master.' All stats increase by 2. This effect will apply even if the title is not equipped.]

[You defeated the Twin-headed Ogre alone. You obtained the special reward, 'Twin-headed Ogre's Leather Pants.']

[You obtained 350,000 gold.]

[You received the only reward left hidden by the First Explorer. Congratulations! Your luck stat increases by 1.]

[Secret. Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo]

I was ecstatic that no one had gotten the first achievement for the 55th floor. Not to mention, the reward was a tattoo! I happily chose the reward. Immediately, my arms began to heat up. The Giant Wolf's Tattoo was engraved on my legs, but it seemed the Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo was for my arms. I took off my armor and checked the tattoo. Streaks of red lines were being drawn on my arms.

[You obtained the Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo. Your strength increases by 15%, and once per day, you can add 50% damage to a close-ranged skill.]

"I'm... full of power!"

I tried to look cool and made a pose showing off my muscles. Feeling the strength surging through my body, I nodded in satisfaction. Then, I put my armor back on. What reward did Ren get? Since he didn't get the first reward, could it be a single-headed ogre tattoo?

In any case, I had no longer had any business in the boss room. Peika, who had dematerialized and returned to her small dragon form, coiled around my arm, as I walked out of the room. When Loretta saw me from the Floor Shop, she flapped her ears and welcomed me. Though I'd seen it many times by now, the ways her ears flapped were always amusing. I thought, 'I'm curious about elves' muscle structure! Could it be that Elf Queen's had different muscle structure?'

"Shin-nim!"

"I'm back."

"You were really quick. The Twin-headed Ogre shouldn't have been an easy enemy."

"Compared to the Orc Lords, he wasn't anything."

"Hahaha..."

Loretta smiled wryly, then seemed to remember something as she said, "Shin-nim. Now that I think about it, I forgot to ask you. I'm sorry to make Shin-nim even busier, but I think Shin-nim would like it."

"I don't need the lecture."

"Okay. So, if you could fight Floor Masters more than three times per day, would you?"

"Of course!"

I nodded my head vigorously and pushed my face toward hers. Then, feeling embarrassed, I pulled back, but Loretta looked completely unaffected as she took something out of her pocket. It was a stack of glowing golden paper!

"Fighting a Floor Master three times every day, but never get tired! The Floor Shop has specially prepared an item just for you! Ten times! Ten times per day! This entrance ticket for high-ranking explorers is incomparable to the average entrance ticket. It is called, 'Ten Times a Day, You Monster...!' Now, each ticket is only 100,000 gold! Don't miss this chance!"

"I'll buy it, so change the name immediately! Change it!"

Make it a simple combination of adjective and noun! Who's the one that named it! Bring that person to me now!

The entrance ticket's name was quite disturbing, but since it was exactly what I needed, I bought it anyway. Using all the money I had, I bought 400 tickets. Since I got 350,000 gold per raid, each of them would be a 250,000 net gold profit.

If I used all this money on Earth instead of the dungeon, the market would undoubtedly crash. It still felt unrealistic that the gold from the dungeon could be exchanged for Earth's currency.

"You really bought it. I knew my eyes weren't wrong! So many 'Ten Times a Day, You Monster...!'s."

"Change the name!"

"You don't like it? Eleine said it was her best work..."

"Alright, let me go beat her up now."

"Ah, Eleine should be hard for Shin-nim right now, so wait until Shin-nim's level 90! No, since Shin-nim is in Beyond, level 80 might be enough!"

"Thanks for the advice, Loretta..."

That Eleine woman looked frail. To think she would be that strong... Since Loretta chased her away with a single wave of her hand, just how strong was Loretta? As if to stop my train of thought, Loretta stared at my face fixedly.

"Will you be okay? Fighting the Floor Master ten times a day isn't something to scoff at. I shouldn't say this as the seller, but you'll become exhausted..."

"The more time I save on the First Dungeon, the more time I can invest into Beyond. So, of course, I should do it. Isn't that why you brought them to me, Loretta?"

"That's true... but..."

Loretta's ears drooped slightly. I smiled and patted her head.

"Thanks anyway. You can't sell this to just anyone, right?"

"I, I'm the one who asked Shin-nim to do such a difficult task, so it's only right that I support Shin-nim to the best of my ability... Hehe."

"Then, I'm off."

"Eh? Are you leaving? W-Where? Aren't you fighting the Floor Master again?"

"N-No, there's someone I need to meet..."

"... A girl?"

Loretta's soft and flowery eyes quickly turned into the sharp cold eyes of a solitary assassin. It was seriously scary.

"S-She's technically a girl."

"Oh? Meeting a girl instead of fighting Floor Masters. I'm quite curious as to who it could be, huhu."

"Loretta, can you put the battle axe back in the Floor Shop and calm down? She's only nine years old."

"9!? N-No, I'm almost 300 times... K-Kuhum!"

I erased what I just heard from my head and chanted the sentence, 'Loretta's 17 years old,' when Loretta asked with teary eyes.

"Does Shin-nim like younger girls? That's cheap. I can't do anything about that!"

"I'm like a father to her. It's not what Loretta's thinking about, so don't worry."

"... Father?"

"Yes."

Loretta made a radiant smile and took out two giant battle axes from the back of the Floor Shop. Carrying a weapon on each hand! This woman, she's serious!

"Huhu, to deliver another hook punch right after the first. Shin-nim is really amazing. Now, if you obediently tell me who the mother is, you'll only see a single person's blood."

"You mean you're going to kill her, right!? You're killing that person, right!?"

In the end, I didn't say Hwaya's name. I knew Loretta wouldn't really hurt her, but I was worried that Hwaya would be in trouble when she crossed over to the First Dungeon and met Loretta. Although I wanted to trust Loretta, she was clearly not thinking straight with those two axes of hers. I dodged her charging toward me and hurriedly escaped to Marianne's Garden.

"Daddy!"

"Yeah, ina."

As I had already told Hwaya and Ina that I would be back soon, the moment I arrived, I was greeted by Ina's headbutt. She smiled happily and rubbed her face on my cheek. For the record, Ina could use her mana to move extremely quickly. Though, she couldn't teleport like when she was in Ice Castle. She was similar to Hwaya in many ways.

No matter how outstanding her ability was, if she continued moving like that and hunting monsters, she would run out of mana. Fortunately, HP and MP were completely restored when a floor was cleared. As such, Ina was already on the 22nd floor on just her second day. We may have created an unbelievable monster.

I originally planned to come as soon as I finished Beyond's 4th floor, but I ended up taking three more hours because I didn't want to waste Talaria. I made a wry smile at the slight sense of guilt, as I patted Ina's back.

"How are you so fast, Shin? Didn't you say it could take over a week?"

Hwaya appeared behind Ina and asked. Since she was still wearing her battle dress, it seemed she had just come back from the dungeon.

"There's... a reason that I have to hurry a bit more."

"A reason to hurry?"

"Yeah... This is a good chance. I'll tell you first."

"Just me?"

"The others might not be ready for it. I feel like you won't be shaken that much even if I told you."

Hwaya puffed out her chest, apparently happy with what I said. She really was weak to compliments.

"You can tell me anything! I'll hear you out, huhuhu!"

I patted Ina a few times since she was asking for my attention. Then, I messaged Hwaya.

[The enemies we faced in the last Event Dungeon was from the Luka continent's Demon Army. Ludia told me about it, and I looked more into it, so I'm sure.]

[Luka continent...? Where Ludia used to live?]

[Yeah.]

[Eh... Doesn't that mean Ludia knows about this too?]

Why was she sad about that? As Ina kept poking my face, I tickled her for revenge.

"Kiki, I'm ticklish."

[Ludia is from the Luka continent. It was thanks to her that I noticed it so quickly.]

[Ne... Nevermind. Sorry, I know I've been weird lately. It's unlike my usual calm and collected self. I have to fix it soon.]

Strange. Did the Hwaya I know go through cattle mutilation? The Hwaya I knew was always short-tempered and straightforward... Of course, I didn't say it aloud as I worried that the 'cool and collected' Hwaya would burn in rage.

[Hurry and get to the point.]

[It seems our world is getting attacked by two forces right now.]

[...]

[Because of that, we don't have much time. I was told that one of the forces would completely crossover in 2 years.]

Hwaya became silent. I also didn't say anything else. Ina was the only one making a sound, as she kept playing adorably. Without her, the atmosphere would have been heavier. For someone with an ice ability, she sure knew how to warm someone's heart! Could my daughter be the world's greatest daughter!?

Hwaya's silence soon ended. She sauntered up to me and pushed her face up against mine. I backed off a bit, flustered, and Hwaya frowned. I inadvertently froze. For someone with a fire ability, she sure knew how to freeze someone! Could she also be the world's greatest? I asked her slightly panicked.

"W-What is it?"

"... Are you okay?"

Though she was frowning just a moment ago, she was now looking at me with concerned eyes. I shrugged in response.

"Well, that's why I'm diligently climbing the dungeon. I heard I could do something if I conquered the dungeon within two years. Even so, it should be hard with just my strength alone, so— whoah!"

Hwaya suddenly pulled me into her embrace. Flustered, I froze. Ina, who ended up being squeezed between Hwaya and me, laughed.

"W-What's wrong? I'm not the only one in danger! The entire Earth is in jeopardy!"

"But in the end, they're all aiming for you. You're their target, only because an unknown being gave you an unknown power."

"B-But as you know, I'm quite strong... C-Can you let me go? Sorry, but I have someone I'm—"

"That's none of my business."

This woman just cut me off! Just when I took the courage to say it!

"What's important is that you look strained and that I want to embrace you. "

"... Really."

I responded brusquely, but to be honest, I might have slightly fallen for her. No, I fell for her a lot. This woman's uselessly many charms really troubled me.

"Shin, you won't run away, right?"

"Yeah."

There was no doubt in her tone. It was as if she knew exactly how I would act. I couldn't help but break out into laughter. At the same time, she hugged me even tighter.

"Good... Remember, I'll always be by your side. I won't let you bear everything alone... If... If you die, I'll still be by your side. Do you understand what I mean...?

"Why would you... go so far?"

"If you really don't know the answer to that question, I'm going to burn you now... I'm surprised too, but right now, I'm the most serious I've ever been in my life."

"I can't refuse... right?"

"Of course."

How pressuring.

I didn't know whether she was consoling me or threatening me. But, to be honest, the load weighing down deep inside my heart seemed to have become much lighter. I decided to thank her honestly.

"Thanks, I'll be relying on you."

"Good. I'm happy that you know my worth."

"I'm happy because Mommy and Daddy are happy!"

Ina, who was still between us, shot her arms up in the air and shouted. We were taken aback by her sudden outburst, but soon, we met each other's eyes and laughed. Then...

"I inadvertently ended up seeing a beautiful sight. I need popcorn."

"Here's the popcorn, Walker. *nom nom*."

"Is... Is this the time to eat popcorn!? They're acting like a family! I won't allow this!"

"O Earth...!"

All of Revival's members were there. We fell into a panic.

"H-How!?"

"I broke through the 60th floor and came to the guild house to rest when I saw you two filming a melodrama. I couldn't let the others miss this, so I called them."

"Walker, you...!"

When I turned around to look at Hwaya, I caught her hiding her hand after giving Walker a thumbs up. I already saw you, Hwaya! When I was about to lecture them angrily...

[An Event Raid broke out in the First Dungeon! SS+ rank 500-man, 'Power Basilisk.' The guild, 'Desert Scorpion,' has requested for help from all guilds ranked D or above! You can participate in the Event Raid with members your guild who agrees to participate!]

Author's note:

Hwaya's counterattack was super-effective! Kang Shin becomes charmed!