Jeong Daon (Normal)
Potential Ability Rating: S-rank
Stamina: LV. 18 (No cap)
Strength: LV. 14 (No cap)
Mana: LV. 28 (No cap)
Overall Level: LV. 12 → 20
Recommended Dungeons: E–F rank
By breaking through Overall Level 20, physical abilities increase dramatically.
Aside from the psychological blow, it wasn’t a bad result.
“Judged as just, huh.”
I can’t believe there’s a word that suits me this poorly.
Inappropriate, appropriate, just.
Judging by how my stats increased more when I was deemed just than when I was merely appropriate, it clearly seemed proportional to how much approval I received from society. Jumping straight to Overall Level 20, considering how leveling normally gets harder the higher you go, was astonishing. An Overall Level of around 20 is considered the bare minimum needed to realistically make a living as a Hunter, roughly the lower tier of C-rank Hunters. It’s also a level that usually takes at least one to two years of dedicated dungeon raids to reach. And yet I reached Overall Level 20 just three days after awakening…
If ordinary Hunters heard about it, it would be an achievement so encouraging it would practically turn their stomachs.
“It’s still a leash, but it’s not bad.”
If the rewards are this substantial, it might not be such a bad idea to actively engage in “just” behavior, even if it means setting aside my pride as a former Demon Lord, especially since there’s a chance my level could drop again if I’m judged to have acted inappropriately.
Of course, regardless of what was going through my head, the children seemed to think they were completely safe now and were chattering noisily.
“But the Hunter Big Sis is really hurt!”
“Are you okay, Big Sis? Should we call 119?”
“Isn’t she 119 herself?”
“Big Sis, should I blow on it for you?”
"..."
Heroes in movies are impressive, but standing in front of these kids, I wasn’t impressive at all. My head started to ache as I dodged children running over to cling to my legs. All I could manage was pulling away so their tiny, outstretched hands wouldn’t get blood on them. The protagonists in movies always deal kindly with children in situations like this, how on earth do they manage that?
As I kept dodging, the children stared up at me blankly, like dogs that had just lost sight of the chicken they were chasing. That pure, innocent gaze hurt some part of me I didn’t even know I had. Is this what they call a conscience?
“There’s blood on me. Get them awa— Please hold them back.”
“Ah, yes, yes!”
“Sunflower Class, what are we supposed to do for a hurt big sis?”
“Blow on it!”
“Take her to the hospital!”
…Professionals really are better at this. After briefly glancing at the camera that was likely monitoring the daycare from the upstairs office, I looked back at the teacher holding the children. “Do you have some water? And maybe something simple like a chocolate bar.”
“Ah, yes. We have some candy we give the kids as rewards…”
“Everyone, take one and drink some water too. It’d be bad if anyone collapsed from exhaustion in a situation like this.”
“Ah, yes…?”
“But Big Sis, I need to go to the bathroom!”
“Can we go to the bathroom now?”
“I want a snack.”
Had they decided it was completely safe now?
As the children continued clamoring, the two teachers exchanged glances, and one of them carefully asked me, “Um… has the dungeon been cleared?”
"No."
At my curt reply, resignation flickered in the teacher’s eyes. When I first arrived at the daycare, she must have thought I was part of the rescue team, but after calmly assessing the situation, she seemed to realize that wasn’t the case.
Still, I couldn’t lie. In truth, aside from the fact that I’d dealt with the nearby monsters, nothing had changed much. I had taken down the monsters in the emergency stairwell, but that was all. It was certainly good that there was now a reasonably capable Hunter near the children, but the fog blanketing this entire area hadn’t lifted.
“To end a Dungeon Break, you have to find and destroy the core that created the rift.”
A single world is protected by a solid dimensional barrier. For invaders to encroach upon this world, they must break through that protective wall. When they succeed, the shattered rift connects with the gap between dimensions, creating a passage through which outsiders can enter. That passage is what we call a dungeon.
Humans prevent monster incursions by conquering these dungeons, but sometimes, through sheer bad luck, a passage forms in a particularly thin section of the dimensional wall, allowing monsters to breach directly into the interior. This is what Yu Hanul explained to rookie Hunters as a Type 2 dungeon.
When a Dungeon Break like this occurs, monsters hide an external substance that keeps the rift in the dimensional wall open, so they don’t lose this opportunity. That substance is called a core.
There can be many different types. Materials originating from the same world tend to attract each other, so in that sense, it could be almost anything. In simple terms, unless the core maintaining the dimensional rift is found and destroyed, the rift won’t close, and the Dungeon Break will not end.
“Then…”
Still, the outlook wasn’t entirely bleak.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be resolved within 30 minutes.”
This building was crawling with Hunters, including Han Jaeyeong. Once the effects of the fog wore off, Han Jaeyeong would be able to handle something like this on their own.
I had already done everything I could in this Dungeon Break. All that remained for me was to protect the children from any unexpected threats until the core was destroyed, and that would be the end of it. I’d gained a reasonable amount already, so I could just sit back and enjoy it while waiting for the real rescue team, the real heroes, to return.
…Who was it that had such a complacent thought?
“Um, 30 minutes seem to have passed a long time ago…”
“…Yes, it’s been an hour now.”
According to Han Jaeyeong’s earlier explanation, even after his mana circuits recovered, there should have been more than enough time left. So why was there still no change at all?
Watching the teachers try to hide their anxiety, I sensed what was happening outside.
Did something go wrong on Han Jaeyeong’s side?
If that were the case, my plan would suffer a major setback. If this Dungeon Break didn’t end, then no matter how thoroughly I had wiped out the monsters earlier, they would just keep pouring out endlessly.
I waited a little longer, just in case, but there was still no visible change.
“Could something have happened to the other Hunters?”
“Now that you mention it, ever since you arrived, there hasn’t been any sign of activity in the building. Before that, there was at least some movement.”
“What should we do? The children are almost at their limit…”
The teachers asked in anxious voices, but this was something I couldn’t answer either. The children, who had liked me at first, were now aware that they still had to stay quietly inside the daycare. After some whining, they were now close to complete exhaustion.
In truth, the only fundamental solution to this situation was for the Dungeon Break to end.
…Do I have to go look for the core myself?
I couldn’t just wait indefinitely for the Dungeon Break to end. Even the sunlight that had shone so brightly earlier was beginning to fade. If darkness fully set in and the shadow wraiths attacked again, there would be no answer.
Still, the real problem was this daycare. After going through all that trouble to save it, I couldn’t just abandon the place and leave. At the very least, it needed one Hunter to guard it, and right now, that Hunter was me.
What do I do?
In the past, I would have left behind a clone to stand guard, but with my current level, around 20, barely that of a low-tier mage, that simply wasn’t possible…
No, wait. A clone?
“Ah.” I clapped my hands. “Right, there was that method.”
I had completely forgotten. Not clones, but something close to them—the three retainers I had created in my previous life.
Most familiars controlled by mages are mindless, doll-like beings that only move when infused with mana, but the ones I created were different. They were a kind of familiar forged by directly imbuing them with fragments of my own soul.
The reason I had forgotten about them was simple: summoning them into this world was completely beyond my current abilities. To summon a being from another dimension into this world requires enormous amounts of mana, from identifying the target to opening a pathway between dimensions. It was on a completely different scale from slaughtering a few dozen shadow ghosts.
But now, the situation was different.
With a Dungeon Break already in progress, I can just use that rift.
After all, invaders from other dimensions had already created a rift to enter this place. There was no need for me to spend my own mana to punch another hole into this dimension.
All that’s left is identifying the target to summon, and since they contain fragments of my soul, that part isn’t a problem.
Just like a famous line from a popular manga: even if the body has changed, the soul remains the same. In the same way that the core maintaining a Dungeon Break draws in the world it originally belonged to, the retainers bound to my soul could be drawn through the dimensional rift into Korea without expending mana, simply by using the soul’s pull!
In theory, it should be entirely possible.
They say old habits die hard, and perhaps because I had been a mage for so long in my previous life, my heart raced at the thought of trying out a new theory again.
System warning to User “Jeong Daon”.
Expanding a dimensional rift is not a positive action.
User “Jeong Daon” cannot perform actions that threaten humanity.
The quest "Doing Good Deeds Will Bring Blessings¿" is in progress.
Talk about throwing cold water on things, I grumbled inwardly, but I had expected this response. From the system’s perspective, it was only natural that it wouldn’t like the idea of not blocking the rift, but instead making use of it as is.
“I’m not trying to widen the dimensional rift beyond what it already is. I’m just using the one that’s already there. Wouldn’t that be more beneficial than harmful? And the purpose is to protect the children. Didn’t you just judge my actions as righteous in the last quest? Besides, letting this Dungeon Break drag on isn’t good for you either—”
“Big Sis, who are you talking to?”
“This big sis is weird!”
"…"
Talking to the system in front of children was really difficult. It made me think the system should at least provide some kind of private message window.
“Alright, alright. Hunters usually communicate using items. Yuri talks on Bluetooth earphones too, right?”
"But that big sis isn’t even wearing earphones.”
That’s because I’m talking to a system that scans souls, not using earphones.
The system remains silent.
The system considers “Jeong Daon”’s proposal…
The system reluctantly acknowledges that “Jeong Daon”’s proposal has merit.
Thank goodness. I had endured the children’s stares and argued with the system, if it had rejected me at this point, I might honestly have given up on being human altogether.
Since the owner of this world had effectively given permission, shall I try putting the theory into practice?
I focused my mind and began carefully probing the dimensional rift.
In theory, it’s more than possible. There’s no way I can’t do it.
No matter how vast and numerous dimensions might be, the power of the human soul was nothing to scoff at. That was especially true for the soul of a stubborn archmage like myself. Even insignificant creatures are drawn to one another if they were born and raised in the same place, how could I fail to find fragments of my own soul?
How much time had passed since I began concentrating?
Pop! There was a thrilling sensation, like a spark snapping.
My hand, drifting through a formless cosmos, grasped onto something.
“Jeong Daon” has summoned a being from another world.
At the same moment the system message appeared, something dropped to the floor with a dull thud.
Thump!
A small, ball-of-fur–like creature landed on all fours on the ground.