Ch.90S-Rank Dungeons Are Dangerous (3)

“Brother, are you okay?”

“Ugh…”

Thanks to the consideration of the American side, the flight itself was comfortable, but not wearing the ring made even moving through the airport exhausting.

But there was no choice. If I accumulated side effect time from the beginning, it would be difficult to move around once we reached America.

‘…Besides, the condition has been fluctuating lately.’

I recently discovered that the ring’s condition isn’t very good.

Sometimes temporary phobia attacks occur even when the effect is activated, and my mood inexplicably improves then worsens.

Timing-wise, was it after the fight with Lee Jichul? It seemed like the ring had been overloaded, unable to withstand the enormous power after I directly stimulated the seal.

‘It’s not like I can fight without it either.’

In the end, I needed to conserve the ring’s use and only activate its effect when absolutely necessary.

“I heard about it, but this is something else. Are you saying someone as strong as you can’t handle a single curse?”

“It’s not exactly a curse. Anyway, stop hovering and go stand over there.”

I waved my hand to shoo away Lee Jichul, then leaned on Seoha’s shoulder to calm my churning insides as much as possible.

However, when we arrived in America and had to leave the airport again, I seriously had to consider using the ring.

“…Urgh. T-too many people.”

“That’s severe. So this is what happens when you can’t use the ring.”

After relying on the ring’s power for comfortable days, my tolerance had weakened, making me feel even more uncomfortable than usual.

“Welcome. We’ve been waiting for you.”

After barely escaping the airport, we boarded the prepared car and arrived at the hotel reserved by the American side.

I almost reached my limit during the journey, but thanks to the spacious car interior, I somehow managed to endure.

“…My stomach hurts. I feel sick.”

“Lie down on the bed for a while. We don’t have anything to do for now anyway.”

While I was groaning in bed under Seoha’s care, Lee Jichul went out to briefly speak with the Association representatives.

“We’ll enter the dungeon five days from now. Before that, they’re holding a welcome party and giving us time to rest, then they’ll provide detailed plans two days prior.”

“W-welcome party? Do they have the luxury for such things?”

“It’s a kind of bluff. It’s meant to impress other countries and fundamentally to reassure their citizens.”

That certainly made sense. Somewhat intrigued, I peeked my face out from the bed and asked Lee Jichul.

“W-will there be good food?”

“…I heard they’re preparing top-quality cuisine.”

If the raid was starting in 5 days anyway, using the ring’s power for one day of pleasure wouldn’t be a problem.

‘I’m also curious about who else is here.’

As I lay in bed lost in thought, Seoha approached me with a disgruntled expression.

“Brother, do you have clothes? You’re not planning to walk around among the world’s top hunters dressed like that, are you?”

“…Why does it matter? Hunters just need to be good at fighting.”

“I’d be too embarrassed. I won’t let you go out looking like that.”

I threw a small defiant glance, but Seoha’s attitude was firm.

In the end, Lee Jichul sighed and called someone to quickly bring various clothes.

“Yes, brother. This and that both look good on you.”

“…He picked all these?”

Honestly, his sense was better than I expected, which annoyed me. I looked at Lee Jichul with a disgruntled gaze.

“Don’t look at me like that. I told you I have a younger sister.”

“D-do normal siblings have brothers picking out clothes?”

At least I don’t remember doing that. Watching me, Seoha seemed to understand something and nodded.

“Well, brother has always had bad fashion sense.”

“…I could dress well if I wanted to.”

Anyway, since there were also some less flashy options, I picked something that looked reasonably comfortable and finished preparing.

And so, we headed to the hotel’s banquet hall where the welcome dinner party was being held.

#

“…Brother, will you be okay?”

“I-I’ll use the ring.”

The banquet hall was more crowded than I expected. It seemed that not only hunters participating in the raid but also related officials were present.

And, as expected, most of them emanated quite powerful auras.

‘Almost all are A-rank or above. And those over there must be S-rank.’

There were occasionally people whose power rivaled Lee Jichul standing right beside me.

And among them, there were those who stood out even compared to other S-ranks.

‘So this is the level of top-tier hunters.’

It was more impressive than I expected. In my current state, I probably couldn’t win against most of them.

Of course, if I released even 40% of my original power through necromancy, they would all be beneath me, but still, for someone who was ordinary until recently, they had achieved remarkable strength.

As I finished my brief observation, my eyes met with a platinum-blonde beauty sipping wine in a corner of the hall.

She smiled at me, but the fact that she noticed my gaze in that instant meant she wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.

I deliberately ignored it and stuck close to Seoha, moving to find a seat for my original purpose—dinner.

“Brother, try this too.”

“…I don’t like it, it tastes bad.”

“If you’re picky like that, you won’t grow taller.”

My current body isn’t in a situation where eating anything would make it grow anyway.

After putting some food in my stomach, I left Seoha with her colorful salad and headed to the corner with drinks.

Just as I was about to pick something I liked, someone interfered for no reason.

“Hahaha, hey, kid. No matter what, alcohol is off-limits for you.”

Who does he think he’s talking to?

“How old are you anyway?”

“Thirty-three. Do they teach you to glare at adults so rudely in Asia?”

“Pathetic. I’m over a hundred years old, so mind your own business and step aside.”

Though I spoke nothing but the absolute truth, this stupid debuff totem failed to understand my words.

“Well, what a nasty little kid. You shouldn’t tell such half-hearted lies.”

Thud.

Grabbed by the collar, I ended up half-dangling in the air.

Suppressing my rising irritation, I gave the man a final warning.

“Let go. Before you die.”

“Tsk. Such manners. Do you know who this elder is before speaking like that?”

“…I’ll count to three. If you don’t let go and leave, I’ll beat you to a pulp.”

I’ll say it again—even as a half-version, I’ve been reborn as the true Lord of Death.

There was absolutely no reason to yield to such an ill-mannered fool.

“Hah! I don’t know who you are, but you’re a spirited kid. Are you also participating in the raid?”

“…Three.”

Just as my patience reached its limit, Seoha, who had approached without notice, knocked away the man’s hand. At the same time, Lee Jichul confronted him face to face.

“…That’s enough meddling. He may not be a hundred, but he is an adult.”

“Huh, is that so? My apologies then. So you’re with Korea’s infamous tyrant.”

Despite Lee Jichul’s visibly displeased tone, the man casually smirked.

Then he suddenly began introducing himself.

“I am Ivan. I’ve joined this raid at America’s request.”

“The Blue Lion of Russia?”

“Oh, you know me. You should warn your companions. I don’t particularly mind, but there are some fierce individuals among the S-ranks. If they fail to recognize who they’re dealing with and act impudently like just now, they might get seriously hurt.”

That comment made my irritation flare again, and I tried to kick Ivan in the shin, but Seoha stopped me.

As Ivan turned to leave after finishing the conversation, Lee Jichul let out a dry laugh and responded.

“Well. I wonder about that.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re the one who should be careful. This kid is one of those extremely fierce individuals. He’s the type to smash heads first and ask questions later, no matter who the opponent is.”

At Lee Jichul’s words, Seoha, who was hugging me tightly, nodded.

Come on, I was actually being extremely mild right now.

In my prime, this Ivan would have been prepared for his funeral the moment he grabbed my collar.

“Hooh. I’ll remember that.”

Ivan, looking at me with interest, downed his vodka and quietly left.

Finally, I was able to pick up the wine I was aiming for and pour it into a glass.

Glug.

Splash.

“…But brother, you haven’t had alcohol since getting that body, right?”

“Hm? That’s true.”

Actually, after reaching a certain level in the other world, I couldn’t get drunk at will, so I hadn’t been particularly interested in alcohol.

But since this was supposedly expensive, shouldn’t I at least taste it?

“That label says it’s over 20% alcohol. Will you be okay?”

“What do you take me for? I wouldn’t get drunk even if I downed 60% alcohol.”

In fact, I was an incredible drinker back when I was on Earth.

It was clear that something this mild wouldn’t cause any problems.

“Still, since your body has changed, maybe you should be a little careful…”

“I’ve activated the ring too. It nullifies all status effects, remember?”

Gulp.

Gulp gulp gulp.

Ignoring Seoha’s words, I chugged the wine filled in the glass.

And exactly 10 seconds later.

“See? I told you there’s no problem…”

With the sensation of the ornate ceiling that should have been above me suddenly appearing before my eyes, my consciousness abruptly cut off.