Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 80: Betrayal (4)

He thought he had misheard. Hanyoung asked again.

“…What did you say?”

“This time, I discovered the ruler on the 30th floor. I’m thinking of doing a raid. I was hoping you could help me…”

After that, Dojin mumbled something, but it didn’t reach Hanyoung’s ears. A ringing noise, like a piercing beep, deafened him.

The headache from the ringing was unbearable, but his mind was too occupied to care about such things.

‘He’s already made it to the 30th floor?’

He cautiously looked at Dojin. During school days, he was someone he didn’t pay much attention to.

He was a loner who didn’t talk much with others, but at the same time, he was like a ticking bomb exuding a dangerous aura.

Being a delinquent wasn’t about physical strength, but about sensing that aura. It’s not the strong who survive, but those who survive are strong. In that sense, Hanyoung was a very strong delinquent skilled at identifying those weaker than him.

However, that belief crumbled when conflicts arose with kids from other schools. When clashes occurred with kids from other schools, what was needed most was brute strength.

Hanyoung’s lack of physical strength was always a complex for him, which was why he obtained the cheat ability of super strength in another world.

Of course, other kids also obtained powerful abilities, so he couldn’t act recklessly…

But the sure thing was that Dojin was below him.

‘That guy who didn’t even know how to level up and was struggling on the 1st and 2nd floors, how on earth…?’

Inferiority complex. That emotion began to creep up on him slowly. The reason he had given advice to Dojin with an air of superiority and accepted his request on the 10th floor was because he believed he was superior to him.

What if it turned out that wasn’t true? He didn’t even want to imagine.

He cautiously glared at Dojin. His eyes hadn’t changed much since he first fell into this other world.

Confidence that he could do anything. He knew well that it came from overwhelming power. He had been like that too.

Until he crumbled at the wall of the 25th floor.

“…Hey, how many floors have you reached now?”

“Me? I’m still at the 30th floor. Long way to go. What about you? Considering you went ahead of us… by now, the 40th floor?”

“…5th floor.”

“5th floor? 45th floor?”

“…No.”

“Then the 35th floor?”

“…Yeah.”

In the end, Hanyoung lied. That preserved his fragile pride.

Dojin was genuinely impressed and saw him in a new light. As far as he knew, Hanyoung didn’t form a party or particularly train in martial arts.

Yet, to have reached the 35th floor… if he got that far with just the ability to be stronger, it meant there was something special about him.

Whether it was talent or hidden effort.

“That’s great. So, can you help this time?”

“…Yeah, I’ll help later, so just go back for today.”

“Oh… I must’ve come at a bad time. Okay, sorry about that.”

Dojin said that as he left. As soon as he stepped out, the delinquents upstairs, watching Hanyoung’s reaction, came down.

“Oh? Hanyoung, you’re back?”

“…Who opened the door?”

“Huh? The door? Well, we…”

“Are you crazy?”

A murderous intent filled Hanyoung’s eyes. He wanted to unleash this feeling right away, no matter who it was towards…

‘Impressive… the 35th floor, huh.’

Leaving Hanyoung’s mansion, Dojin recalled what he said. He hadn’t even reached such uncharted territory.

The monsters on the 35th floor were beings on par with the ogres or salamanders he saw during the festival.

Monsters that could shatter logic and boasted a majesty worthy of mythological tales. By that level, they were not merely formidable due to brute strength.

Brute strength was a basic ability for monsters of that level.

No matter how much brute strength the human Hanyoung could exert, he couldn’t be stronger than monsters weighing over a hundred times his own weight.

‘To handle that with just brute strength… impressive.’

Dojin was starting to feel the burden of advancing with just swordsmanship. This was why he ordered a sword from Rustina.

Wielding a magic sword, forming relationships with women to enhance his abilities, leveling up to surpass physical limits…

Even after all that, monsters still remained creatures that could take his life at any moment.

“Wouldn’t I lose if I fought Hanyoung?”

That thought vaguely crossed his mind.

Though he excelled in combat, it wouldn’t work against opponents with a significant skill gap.

‘This won’t do.’

His heart pounded. Knowing Hanyoung was stronger than him ignited a competitive spirit he couldn’t ignore.

In the end, his steps, which were heading home, turned towards the dungeon. Despite it being the weekend, the front of the dungeon was still bustling.

Adventurers too numerous to take in at a glance, and merchants carrying equipment, meals, and supplies to sell to those adventurers.

It wasn’t like this before. The dungeon underwent changes, and those changes breathed life into this city.

Feeling slightly moved by the fact that it was all thanks to him, he entered the dungeon. Without needing to queue, he went straight to the 11th floor.

Darkness swiftly enveloped him. Without resisting, he accepted it as it was.

Now, he was so familiar with it that it felt almost welcoming, a blackout curtain swallowing all light and noise, beyond which he could almost hear the cries of an orc.

‘It must be an illusion.’

However, he drew his sword. The sword naturally blocked the orc’s blade. When Dojin paused in surprise at this fact, the orc swung its sword again.

Clang, this time sparks flew, momentarily lifting the blackout. Thus, the sound of swords clashing could be heard. Only then did Dojin realize why he could hear sounds within the blackout.

‘Demon-Slaying Sword…’

A sword that cuts demons. It cuts through anything made of magic power. It was said to be a famous sword that could cut monsters and even magic if done right.

The blackout curtain was a supernatural phenomenon—something physically impossible by normal means. Naturally, magic was involved. That meant it could be cut with the Demon-Slaying Sword.

‘Did it push back the blackout even while sheathed?’

The details were unclear. What was certain was that there was now a way to use sound and some degree of vision within the blackout.

And, for an excellent swordsman, that tiny difference could lead to a significant outcome.

Swish!

There was no way that Dojin, who had already reached level 3, would struggle against the monsters on this floor. He swiftly cut down the orc and moved up to the next floor.

Upwards, upwards, ever upwards. As he ascended, monsters that dealt deadly strikes from the darkness began to appear one by one.

However, his intuition captured all those dangers. The black curtain that blocked his intuition vanished, and his sharp instinct detected every approach of the enemies.

He felt that the power of his sword grew stronger the more he cut down. The black curtain started to lift more and more. By the time Dojin set foot on the 25th floor, no black curtain existed around him.

Step, step, monsters that had been approaching unaware of his presence due to the vanishing black curtain were startled to discover Dojin. The orc warrior quickly swung its sword at the suddenly appearing Dojin.

However, here, there was no black curtain to act as the eyes and ears for the monsters. Both Dojin and the monsters lost their sight and had to rely solely on their senses and experience to fight in this extreme situation.

‘I think I get it.’

In such an extreme situation, Dojin instead closed his eyes. He blocked his ears. Then he immersed himself. Unlike the world filled with darkness, his inner self was filled with pure white light.

In the pure white space, his own image was drawn first. Height 185, weight 73, arm and leg length, head size, and torso size.

Dojin could see himself in third person. Then he drew the image of his opponent. He drew the image of the dungeon. Lines in black and white were drawn, and the figure of the orc emerged.

Even in a space without a single ray of light, he knew exactly what the orc’s face looked like, the shape of its genitals, and the swordsmanship it used.

‘I’ve got a feel for it.’

A mind in a state of perfect clarity and stillness, like a bright mirror and calm water, transcended observing the world to create a new one.

“Shrieek!”

The orc charged, snorting heavily. He anticipated its movements even before it began. Approaching the orc, which followed a predetermined path, the sword was swung in a perfect arc.

The orc perished without realizing what hit it. As dungeon monsters turn into mana stones upon death, Dojin picked up the mana stone before it hit the ground and opened his eyes.

It was still dark.

However, his imagination painted this place more vividly than anything else.

Enlightenment is sweet and bitter, sweet when tasted, bitter in hindsight.

What this means is…

“Ouch!”

Dojin was struck down by Eunha’s kick, which hit his head. Her kick, with a 1800° spin and all her rotational force and weight focused on a single point, was brief but strong enough to knock Dojin unconscious.

“D-Dojin!”

Eunha, not expecting him to fail to dodge, rushed over in shock, placing his head on her lap, clearly anxious.

Moments later, Dojin opened his eyes, feeling the soft flesh and pain on his head, oscillating between heaven and hell.

“…Where is this?”

“You’re awake, Dojin? How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Eunha…?”

Dojin blinked and looked around. His eyes widened as he asked.

“Where am I…? And why are you here…?”

“You don’t remember?”

“…No.”

“Wh-what should we do?!”

It was a big problem. Eunha started to fidget restlessly. Since he was lying with his head on her lap, she couldn’t go to call Aram…

Dojin watched her squirm with a grin. Then he covered his forehead with one hand to hide his expression.

However, even if he hid his expression, he couldn’t conceal the shaking of his body from chuckling. Eunha realized that he was playing a prank when she saw him twitching.

“…Dojin?”

“Pfffffhaha, sorry, sorry, your reaction was just too good, Eunha…”

“Don’t do that again.”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.”

Eunha puffed her cheeks and turned her head like a child. Was it an instinctive action? It was so much like a hamster that he couldn’t help but laugh.