Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 65: Trial (1)

Dojin struck down with his sword. His movements were exceedingly light. The shadow monster blocking his way was cleaved in half.

His sword, which had bisected the monster, was swiftly retrieved and shot towards another monster. Eunha and Raize had no time to react.

Flames entwined with the sword scattered here and there, summoning a fiery demon within the dungeon.

‘…His movements have improved.’

Orion, who was watching Dojin from behind, realized that his movements had become lighter compared to before.

A lighter swordsman meant he was that much faster. Orion approached Dojin, who had finished hunting, and smiled lightly.

“Did something good happen? You seem light on your feet.”

“Hm? Ah, it’s nothing. Just… I thought it was time to face it.”

“Oh, um… that’s good to hear.”

Orion didn’t understand what that meant. However, she pretended to understand. She acted in such a way to win his favor.

Thanks to her elf appearance, earning the man’s favor wasn’t too difficult. Smiling often and initiating conversation was enough.

Sometimes, they would chat; other times, they would hunt monsters.

Thus, they progressed through the dungeon, eventually reaching the threshold of the 30th floor.

Gulping, Orion looked at the stairs leading to the 30th floor. Across all races, few had crossed these stairs.

Among the Great Forest Rangers, only the elite of the elite. Only a very select few had surpassed this floor.

Once past this floor, one could reach the realm of level 3, the rank of a strong individual. The team leaders and squad leaders of a Ranger team had reached this realm.

In other words, it meant that she could now become a squad leader-level expert.

‘It would be nice to advance one more floor.’

Reaching level 4, the realm of a master, was something only a handful of geniuses could achieve. Even in the Great Forest, only a few had crossed that barrier.

“Should I go up, or not…”

Standing at that threshold, Dojin began to ponder. From experience, every time he passed the 5th floor, the level of monsters seemed to increase by one stage.

Moreover, wasn’t the 30th floor speculated to be the one where the dungeon’s master resided?

Having consumed considerable resources to get here, entering might be dangerous.

He looked back at his party and asked.

“What do you want to do?”

“Of course, we should go in!”

Orion shouted, “We’re turning back after coming all this way? Although, I admit it’s dangerous since we don’t know what kind of monster might appear.”

However, adventure is inherently a dangerous act, and moving forward through danger is what an adventurer is.

One can’t grow by just avoiding danger.

“What about the others?”

“I’ll go with what the others think…”

“My mana is almost depleted… If we go up now, we might lack mana for the return.”

“That’s what they’re saying.”

One against, one for, and one abstained.

Orion gritted her teeth. Could she turn back like this? No, she couldn’t. She looked at Dojin with a longing gaze, hoping he would choose to go up.

Did that prayer work? He slowly drew his sword.

“Let’s just see what the 30th floor is like and come back immediately.”

“Yes!”

She rejoiced greatly and took the lead. Although there had never been traps on the stairs so far, it was the scout’s role to prepare for any potential dangers.

After climbing the stairs and stepping onto the 30th floor, she felt a shift in perception. It was as if a previously closed window had suddenly swung open.

Sensing her soul’s vessel expanding, she remained vigilant. A Ranger from the Great Forest never lowers their guard, regardless of the situation.

Her ears constantly perked up, detecting danger. Even the dungeon’s monsters exhibited signs of life.

Breathing, a beating heart, flowing blood.

Her ears did not miss even the slightest sound.

“Ceiling!”

“Gruk!”

A monster, hidden in the darkness and crawling along the ceiling, suddenly plummeted. Before it could hit the ground, she had already fired three arrows.

The arrows that flew struck the monster’s hide and bounced off. Even arrows shot from close range were deflected. Orion sighed as she quickly stepped back.

In exchange, Dojin stepped forward. He smiled as he looked at the monster standing before him.

It was a creature resembling a fully transformed beastman, commonly known as a werewolf.

“A werewolf!”

“And you’re a human!”

It can talk? Dojin was slightly startled and instinctively swung his sword. His familiar swordsmanship naturally targeted the werewolf’s vital spots.

However, with hide capable of deflecting arrows, it made no attempt to dodge and instead met the attack head-on with a swing of its hand.

Claws that seemed sharp enough to cut through stone came rushing in. Dojin’s sword clashed with its claws, sparks flying as it was flung far away.

He lightly smiled as he looked at the werewolf that had deflected his sword. Memories of fighting Sayoung came to mind.

Snake Sword.

Shadow Slash.

The serpent-like visionary swordsmanship was recreated in Dojin’s hands. Whirr. The flying sword curved like a snake, targeting the werewolf’s temple.

“Ugh?!”

Dojin’s sword couldn’t cut through. It was tougher than expected. Perhaps because the skull was the strongest part of its body.

However, enough time had already been bought.

“Raize!”

“Shooting Lightning!”

A powerful lightning bolt shot out from Raize’s staff. Even the werewolf, with its tough hide and claws that could cut through rocks, couldn’t dodge the lightning.

Sizzle. The werewolf, electrocuted by the overcurrent, stopped moving. The fur on its entire body burned black, and the smell of burning flesh began to spread widely.

Yet, the werewolf did not die.

‘This is quite something.’

Gurgling, Dojin swung his sword toward the werewolf’s neck, which tried to move its body somehow. Now weakened by the lightning, its neck couldn’t withstand his sword.

Whoosh!

A fountain of blood erupted. Dojin was startled by this and looked at the werewolf. Generally, when monsters die, they leave nothing behind and turn into mana stones.

However, this werewolf spouted a fountain of blood. This implied two things: either it didn’t die even after its neck was cut, or it wasn’t an ordinary monster.

Fortunately, Dojin’s concern was unfounded, as the werewolf spewing a fountain soon turned into a mana stone and disappeared. However, the sticky blood that had already clung to his body did not vanish.

“Ugh… What is this?”

He grumbled in annoyance, shaking off the thickly smeared blood. However, the blood already stuck to his clothes and skin didn’t come off easily.

‘Next time, I should be careful when cutting the neck.’

As he considered areas for improvement while retrieving the mana stone, Orion perked up her ears and frantically turned her head in all directions.

“Uh… Leader? I think we need to run away…”

“Why?”

“There are monsters all around…”

“What?”

Upon hearing this, Dojin also became vigilant of his surroundings. Beyond the pitch-black curtain, it seemed as if a beast’s eyes were gleaming.

Fortunately, however…

“Run.”

The stairs were right behind them. Dojin’s group quickly turned their bodies and escaped down the stairs.

Dojin did not know.

What it meant for the ruler of one layer to enter the territory of another ruler.

─It’s been a very, very long time.

A beast the size of a house opened its eyes. Just as the ruler of the 10th floor had done, a massive two-legged wolf created in imitation of the monsters of that floor rose.

He rose and first assessed the situation. Why had he awakened? His transcendent perception grasped the surrounding circumstances.

There was no challenger. If so? A ruler, a ruler from another layer had invaded his territory.

The divine beings who created this tower did not wish for one ruler to dominate all layers.

To prepare for such an event, they made the rulers hostile towards each other… This was also the reason why he, who should have eternally awaited challengers in sleep, had awakened.

─I can’t let them escape.

And now, the newly awakened ruler did not want Dojin to leave his domain and fall asleep again.

He wanted to remain awake forever. It was not an easy task. But first, he had to ensure that Dojin could not escape his domain.

That was easy.

Traditionally, from the 11th to the 30th floor. For him, who governed the realm leading to the domain of masters, altering the appearance of the realm was a simple task.

Unlike Dojin and Dajian, who dealt with the ruler and gained control, he was a ruler from the moment he was created.

He extended his hand long. In the distance, the figure of Dojin fleeing was visible. Killing him would be easy. However, he did not do so.

Squeeze. He grasped the space. And lightly twisted it.

In front of a ruler who manipulated the fourth dimension, it was impossible to escape by running through the third dimension.

Boom!

The dungeon trembled. Dojin tilted his head, cautiously observing his surroundings.

“…Why all of a sudden?”

“Well, it’s my first time experiencing this too…”

Orion frowned at the continuous noise. The noise was deafening to the point of nearly paralyzing her hearing.

Reluctantly, she covered her ears and apologized.

“My ears… because of the noise…”

“Alright, I’ll keep watch. Just cover your ears for now.”

“Yes, thank you.”

While she put on earplugs, Dojin proceeded, vigilantly surveying the area.

The vibrations and noise were intensifying. It was an unusual occurrence. Something was definitely happening inside the dungeon.

After walking for quite a while, he sensed something odd.

‘This seems different from the path I took…’

Even if it seemed impossible, his instincts started to buzz. Although he couldn’t see ahead due to the darkness around, his sense of direction and cognitive ability detected a change.

Dojin unfolded his map and walked toward the nearest wall. However, no matter how far he walked, the wall did not appear.

This meant only one thing. He was lost.

‘No way, I followed the exact same path…’

Though it was their first time ascending this floor, they had entered the dungeon countless times before. Such a novice mistake was impossible.

Eventually, Dojin stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his party.

“Leader? Why did you stop all of a sudden?”

“…Lost.”

“What?”

“I said, we’re lost.”

Orion, who had been blocking her ears with earplugs, was shocked upon hearing Dojin’s words. She then closed her eyes and tried to recall the path they had taken.

“…That can’t be.”

It couldn’t be. Dojin handed her the map, telling her to take the lead if she couldn’t trust him.

Comparing their current mental map to the actual map, she quickly dashed forward.

But before she could go a few meters, she faced a wall.

There was no wall on the map.

“What the…?!”

No matter which direction they went, a wall appeared.

Only then could she admit it.

They were lost.

And in the dungeon, no less.