“I-it’s really neutralized!”
“I can move normally now! Wow, how on earth did you do this?”
People say modern humans aren’t mentally healthy, but seeing reporters try to start interviews the moment they were cured, maybe that’s not entirely true. When I stared at them in silence, one reporter who had been about to shove a microphone at me flinched and stepped back.
Then someone asked, “Um… by the way, Mr. Kim Seokmin still can’t move at all. Will he be okay?”
I looked to see who Kim Seok-min was. It was the reporter who had volunteered earlier to be the test subject and drank the antidote. I had neutralized the poison by modifying the healing magic circle, but because the antidote and the poison had reacted synergistically, he’d ended up in a more complicated state of intoxication. Unlike the others, he still hadn’t regained consciousness.
“Why’re you asking her that? Can’t you just carry him yourselves!” the supermarket owner barked before I could answer. She clearly didn’t like the idea of adults leaning on me, a student.
The reporter, who had already grown timid after having the potion taken from him, replied in an even smaller voice, “B-but Hunter Jeong Daon is the only awakened one among us… wouldn’t she have the best stamina?”
“Hey, look at her arms. They’re that skinny; how’s she supposed to carry a guy that big?”
That, at least, was good news for me. I have no interest in hauling around some burly man. I went along with the shop owner’s scolding and raised my slender wrist. “That’s right. I don’t have much stamina.” Hands that hadn’t lifted anything heavier than a pencil in nineteen years. Naturally, there wasn’t a hint of muscle. “My stats are heavily skewed toward mana. My stamina and strength are worse than an average person’s.”
Of course, I could temporarily boost my physical strength by circulating mana, but I decided not to mention that. Thankfully, since they were all ordinary people, they seemed to accept my explanation well enough. If they asked another Hunter later, they’d find out the truth, but by then, what would it matter?
“I-I see… that makes sense. You awakened today, and you can already use magic, so…”
“And it’d probably be better if Hunter Jeong Daon keeps her hands free. Let’s carry him ourselves.”
“Do we really have to carry him? Can’t we just leave him here? It’s his own fault.”
“Then what do we do now? Are we leaving? Shouldn’t we just hold out here until the rescue team arrives?”
“But we don’t know when the ant monsters might swarm back. If they come in a group, we’ll be sitting ducks.”
“Still, staying here isn’t an option. This is the monsters’ base. What if the boss monster shows up? We need to move somewhere safer.”
“Uh… Hunter Jeong Daon, what do you think?”
I listened with my arms crossed, then nodded indifferently. “Well, go ahead.”
It was convenient; they reached a conclusion on their own. Honestly, I didn’t care which way they decided. The old lady boss was safe, and I was planning to kill time waiting for rescue anyway. With my current stats, it’d be hard to resolve this Dungeon Break on my own.
Well, I could force it if I really tried… but why bother?
I didn’t know who the enemy was, but it was obvious this dungeon itself had been created as a trap targeting me. If their goal was my death, or serious injury, I had no intention of playing along. Conserving my strength was the better choice.
The group cautiously moved forward after leaving the food storage area. I’d been dragged deeper into the ant nest, but the others had been left in a relatively outer chamber, probably meant to be eaten soon, so the entrance wasn’t that far. Not that anyone seemed particularly grateful for that.
And whether by luck or something else, we didn’t encounter a single ant on the way out.
“Th-there’s the exit! We got lucky!”
“Seeing sunlight makes me feel alive again. Come to think of it, it wasn’t pitch-black inside.”
“Just imagining waking up deeper in the nest is terrifying.”
But that was as far as their relief went. The moment we emerged from the ant tunnel, a tremendous roar swept over us with a violent gust of wind. People grabbed onto one another so they wouldn’t be knocked over.
“Wh-what is that?!”
“A typhoon?!”
They looked around, but dark clouds had gathered, dimming the sky and obscuring their view. Then someone screamed, “N-no! It’s not clouds!”
“Ants! It’s a swarm of ants!”
“They’re flying! Damn it, this isn’t a typhoon, it’s the wind from their wings!”
…Of course.
I clicked my tongue. It was more or less what I’d expected.
Inside the nest, no new life forms had been detected, and most of the ants guarding the food weren’t soldiers but worker ants, many of them old and sluggish. That was why I’d been able to deal with them so easily.
Which meant there was no queen ant in this nest.
Right now, they were on their nuptial flight, seeking to create a new queen to rule this colony.
Once the flight ended and they returned to this nest, the queen ant would lay new eggs, and the worker ants would diligently raise a new generation. Judging by the number of dead male ants scattered across the ground, the nuptial flight seemed to be nearing its end. It looked like an exceptionally strong queen had been born.
Hmm. Honestly, ants aren’t such bad monsters.
In fact, if you keep an ant monster colony within your territory, they’re quite useful. They multiply quickly and diligently, and by nature they enrich the soil and help crops thrive—
System warning to User “Jeong Daon”.
Ah. Right. I’m human right now.
Come to think of it, that was the very beginning of this whole farce. I’m human, I have family who raised me, and I have plans to have dinner with him.
Click! With the sound of mandibles snapping together, the queen ant flying overhead turned her antennae-tipped head in this direction. She’d found prey.
At that moment, the system displayed a new alert window.
A boss monster has appeared.
Boss Monster: Queen Ant (Rank C)
System Guide: This monster appears to be beyond the user’s current capacity to defeat.
“How very considerate of you. Thanks.”
Well, of course it would say that.
Regardless of the knowledge I possessed, this body’s actual level was still close to that of a beginner. Sure, my stats had gone up a little earlier because rescuing people counted as “socially appropriate behavior,” but that didn’t mean I could solo a C-rank monster.
Potential Ability Rating: S-rank
Stamina: LV. 4 (No cap)
Strength: LV. 7 (No cap)
Mana: LV. 15 (No cap)
Overall Level: LV. 8
Recommended Dungeons: E–F rank
With these stats, an E-rank monster was about right, just as the system guide said. Inside the ant nest, I’d been able to handle them easily by taking advantage of the terrain and my small size… but against a boss monster, tricks like that wouldn’t work. And on top of that, the enemy was airborne. There’s nowhere to hide in the sky.
Going back into the ant nest to hole up wasn’t a good option either. If the ants decided to abandon the nest and collapse it, we’d be buried alive.
Long-range attacks… I don’t have enough mana reserves.
I’d had some leeway with the healing magic circle, enough to optimize efficiency with minimal mana, but combat magic was another matter entirely. Mages aren’t particularly suited to close combat to begin with, and without someone buying time, casting spells inevitably takes time. But now was hardly the moment to switch to melee. My stamina and strength levels were too low, and it wasn’t a field I was confident in anyway.
Running the numbers, the answer came quickly.
Hmm. Should I just run?
As a former Demon Lord, did I have any pride about this? None at all. That sort of thing is for heroes to worry about.
If I just grab the lady boss and run…
No, honestly, even the old lady boss wasn’t my top priority. The biggest reason I wanted to save her was simply that my blood relative would cry if he found out. And no matter how kind-hearted he was, my life would matter more to him than hers. If I came back alive from a dungeon and told him that was all that mattered, he’d just sob and say he was glad I survived. Right now, there was still nothing more precious to him than me.
The system reminds “Jeong Daon” of the quest “Doing Good Deeds Will Bring Blessings¿”.
So what? It was as if the system were scolding me for thinking of breaking our contract the moment it was made, but I had something to say about that.
If you really want me to deal with this properly, then lift my stat restrictions.
Honestly, if the system would acknowledge synchronization between me and the “Destroyer of Worlds,” taking down a mere queen ant would be trivial. No, defeating it isn’t even the point. To a demon, monsters like this are underlings commanded with a toe, not even equals.
System warning to User “Jeong Daon”.
“Destroyer of Worlds” does not meet the appearance conditions.
…But it seemed the system still had no intention of loosening the leash around “Jeong Daon”’s neck.
Well, then. Can’t be helped.
I’ll watch for an opening and run.
Unlike me, calmly weighing my options, the others were already moving in panic.
“Aaaah! Move, get out of the way!”
“Out of my way!”
They shoved and trampled one another, all trying to rush back into the ant nest.
It was absolute chaos, a true pandemonium. Seeing the queen ant, fresh from her nuptial flight, spot her prey and charge straight toward them—no, calling it an “ant” hardly did it justice. It was a massive, aggressive flying object hurtling directly at them, and the pressure was overwhelming.
I should probably take this chance to run too.
The system said I should avoid actions that invite social condemnation, but if I ran now, would anyone really have the right to condemn me? By any reasonable standard, facing that monster was “common-sense impossible.” I was a Hunter who had only just awakened. Even so, I’d done my best to protect people up to this point, and I was a minor. To hold out any longer would mean truly sacrificing myself.
And how many people would really be willing to shave years off their own life to save complete strangers? That’s not something anyone can force. Especially not in modern society, where prioritizing one’s own safety and benefit is considered “smart.” So even if I ran now, I could probably minimize the system penalties.
Having reached that conclusion, I was just about to move when something damp and warm brushed against my hand.
I flinched.
“Daon, run.”
It was the old lady boss I’d been supporting. Her voice was so hoarse it was painful to hear, trembling with fear. It was hard to even catch her meaning, so I asked back, “Huh? What did you say?”
“You have to live, at least you do! I’ve lived long enough. Even if I die now, it’d be a good death. But not you. You’re just starting college, your future’s so bright. Don’t get your feet stuck here trying to save me, you hear?”
“No, Boss—”
“Think about your brother. If you die here, he dies too. You know that, right?”
I knew that all too well, so I stared at her for a moment. Honestly… how should I put this? It wasn’t that my heart was suddenly shaken by words like these. But…
She’s shaking so badly…
She said she’d lived long enough, but there’s no living creature that doesn’t fear death. And not just any elderly person can say something like that. I’ve seen old men on the brink of death bathe in their children’s blood just to live a little longer. Life is, by nature, bound to greed. No human is an exception.
“Go! Hurry!”
Her wrinkled hand was slick with cold sweat. Maybe, I thought, she didn’t truly mean it. In truth, she probably wanted to give in to the terror of death and run away immediately. But her aged legs wouldn’t allow it. Her eyes were filled with despair. With regret. If she had the strength to flee, she’d shove me aside and run herself.
After all, we weren’t that close. Just acquaintances who recognized each other’s faces. Just the girl next door, sometimes treated kindly. Made to work without even being paid minimum wage.
“Hurry up and go!”
And yet, she pushed at my back with all she had. It was a feeble strength, a frail back that couldn’t even shield my weak body.
Completely useless against the death rushing toward us.
So I let out a deep sigh. “If you act like this, Boss…”
I only wore the mask of a human. I’d never truly thought of myself as one, and I wasn’t the type to grow weak over something like affection.
But she saw me as human. As Jeong Daon. Just a young, fragile girl an elderly, powerless woman had to protect.
“I can’t run away like this.”
My last excuse was gone.
A genius mage who abandoned an old woman and ran? Social condemnation would be swift. Public opinion would sentence me to a nationwide execution. In that case… there was no helping it.
“Hide behind me, Boss.” I grabbed her arm and shoved her backward.
The quest "Doing Good Deeds Will Bring Blessings¿" is in progress.
Yeah, yeah. I get it. Damn hive-minded system.
I raised my hand. A magic circle formed at the tip of my outstretched palm. The hastily deployed circle was completed just barely, right before the queen ant charged. A red shield unfolded in front of her massive body.
Crash!
Of course, the shield shattered with a tremendous noise under the queen ant’s headlong collision. A powerful shockwave swept the area.
“Aaaah!”
“Please, save me!”
“It’s over. This is the end!”
Wails of despair rang out from all around, but I didn’t pay them much attention.
It was only natural. I’d cast that crude shield fully expecting it to break.
Fsssss!
I had another aim.
The water-creation spell embedded into the shield’s formula burst into droplets upon contact with the queen ant, surging upward in a great spray. The queen ant, excited after spotting prey, was beating her wings at such speed that as the water shot skyward, it froze.
That was the first move.
Between the already low temperature and the frantic wingbeats, the queen ant’s movement froze for an instant. The fragile joints connecting her wings to her body stiffened under the sudden temperature shift.
Just for a moment is enough.
And that moment became her fatal mistake. You must never give an archmage time.
Rumble! At the ominous sound echoing in my ears, a smile crept onto my lips. This was the second move.
No matter how much you pretend to be detached and enlightened as a mage, it’s always satisfying when things go exactly as planned.
Kiiik?
Click, click, click!
The queen ant, her intelligence low but her instincts as a living being razor-sharp, worked her mandibles as she tried to assess the situation, but it was already too late.
Mana roared like a storm.
If something couldn’t be done with my current mana alone, then I’d use everything available. The terrain. The weather. The climate. All of it.
I don’t like doing this much.
This wasn’t a spell meant to be wasted like this, but living as a lowly creature comes with unavoidable compromises. That’s why life is so cruel. Once you feel compassion for something, you can’t remain indifferent.
Swallowing the bitterness, I raised one hand. Using more mana than permitted sent pain surging through me, enough to feel like my brain was melting, but even so, the words engraved into my soul flowed naturally from my lips.
“All that rests upon my head is a bloodstained crown of arrogance.”
Threads of new mana wove themselves into the ancient language, beginning to stitch together an unholy miracle.
A mage’s words are never meaningless. To defy the laws of the world, one must pay an equal price. Every word spoken by one who seeks to change the world carries weight, and the soul must be strong enough to bear it.
That is why, at the moment a spell is cast, a mage must proclaim their truth. At the very least, the truth one believes in.
“In these hands that have paid the price, no glory remains.”
The gathered mana was pitifully small, yet it struggled desperately to overturn the laws of nature. Tiny particles of mana, finer than air itself, bounced and scattered around. In the past, the mana accumulated within my body would have circulated, aiding the flow. But this body of mine no longer holds that much mana.
There was no raging evil, no howling regret. I am no longer a Demon Lord; just Jeong Daon. Still, lacking mana was fine. The material was already prepared within those dark clouds.
“Even so, I shall faithfully carry out my remaining duty.”
Lightning lashed out from the clouds and fell straight into my hand. Just before my fragile flesh could succumb to the unspeakable pain and die, I hurled the spear of electricity straight at the queen ant.
It pierced clean through the queen’s body.