episode_0079

The Black Star Slayer.

The mercenary named Cain was the first to spread rumors about him.

He claimed that there was a mercenary who could easily clear the Black Star Dungeon as if eating cold porridge.

At first, everyone thought Cain was crazy.

There was no way such a person existed.

In the dungeon, where even Swordmasters and Archmages risk their lives every moment, there was a human who recklessly cleared the dungeon known for its extreme difficulty.

It was unbelievable.

However, not long after that, news of the Black Star Dungeon being conquered spread throughout the entire southern continent.

This even became a topic of discussion at the Mercenary Conference.

Indeed, the Black Star Dungeon was being cleared one after another all over the southern continent, without any consistency.

Initially, it was thought that the dungeons had weakened as a whole, but that was not the case.

They were all being defeated by anonymous conquerors.

The mysterious figure designated at the Mercenary Conference.

That figure was none other than the Black Star Slayer.

After the existence of the Black Star Slayer was proven,

Cain’s treatment completely changed.

A girl with a pale face who showed no emotion, claiming to be the Black Star Slayer.

Cain vehemently insisted that he had seen it with his own eyes, but through a monster corpse investigation, it was revealed that the Black Star Slayer was an adult male who used a longsword.

After that, Cain was treated not as crazy, but as mentally disabled.

“That’s the person.”

A man who exuded pressure just by standing silently.

The vice captain had a gut feeling.

The mercenary who only conquered the Black Star Dungeon and then disappeared without a trace.

The Black Star Slayer was right in front of them.

“Just to be safe, let’s shoot one more time.”

“Sure.”

Boom.

Without any hesitation, the girl casually reached out her hand and shot another fireball into the tunnel.

Like a dragon’s breath, flames shot out, illuminating the tunnel for a moment before plunging it back into darkness.

Inside, there was nothing left but shattered and melted pieces of the metal doll.

There was no movement at all.

The mercenaries were left speechless.

No matter how much mercenaries treated magic like a child’s plaything, this time, they couldn’t help but shiver.

“Affiliation. Name.”

“Yes, yes! Ophelia Knights! Vice Captain, Tess!”

The man muttered as he turned around.

In the cold gaze of the man, the vice captain quickly replied, lowering her eyes.

There was no obligation or reason to answer, but her mouth moved on its own.

“Ophelia Knights?”

“It’s the name given by Princess Ophelia of the Galia Kingdom, who bought the mercenary group and established a new one…”

“No wonder I haven’t heard of it. That’s enough. Leave this dungeon. You’re a hindrance.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Bowing without hesitation, the vice captain quickly saluted.

There was no shame felt by the members, as they all followed suit.

“Oh.”

The man, who was about to turn and enter the tunnel, stopped in his tracks.

Then, he turned his head slightly, parted his lips, and spoke.

The vice captain and the members all tensed up, listening carefully to the man’s voice as they swallowed nervously.

“I am not the Black Star Slayer.”

‘He’s the Black Star Slayer.’

Anyone could see that he was the Black Star Slayer.

The girl with the pale skin and silver hair that Cain mentioned seemed to be the Black Star Slayer’s companion.

This somewhat alleviated Cain’s injustice.

“And the way you fought. Impressive. You fought well.”

‘Did we fight poorly?!’

The vice captain’s face turned pale.

It seemed like it wouldn’t be wise to speak out directly.

The Black Star Slayer’s solemn voice sounded like a mocking warning.

“Continue to strive to conquer the Black Star Dungeon in the future.”

‘So he’s telling us never to set foot in the Black Star Dungeon again!’

They understood.

It was a warning from the Black Star Slayer that the Black Star Dungeon belonged to him, and they should not interfere.

The vice captain and the members had no choice but to interpret it that way.

“We will keep that in mind!!!”

It was a warning and a notification from the Black Star Slayer.

The Black Star Dungeon belonged to him, and it was a warning not to meddle in it.

As the mercenaries weakly left the dungeon, they had failed in conquering it and even suffered humiliation.

Strangely, they didn’t feel bad about it.

“They were better than I thought.”

To be honest, I used to look down on those guys a bit.

But after seeing how calmly they handled unexpected situations, my opinion changed.

They are indeed worthy of being called elite.

They are not the kind of people who should die here.

So, I pulled them out and saved them.

In the process, I unavoidably exposed my face, but…

It seemed like no one thought of me as the Black Star Massacre.

The Black Star Massacre seems to be known as a skilled swordsman.

But I didn’t even draw my sword.

And I didn’t forget to ask them to put effort into clearing the Black Star Dungeon in the future.

I need those capable guys to help me clear the Black Star Dungeon.

That way, I won’t have to struggle as much.

I will keep that in mind!!! Seeing their resolute response, it seems they understood well.

It seems that the attempts to conquer the Black Star Dungeon will become even more active in the future.

Satisfactory.

“Hey, bug! Are you alive?”

“I’m dead!!!”

The moment I shouted into the tunnel.

A gnome nun appeared from behind a rock.

Tears glistened in her eyes.

A while ago.

To assess the situation inside the tunnel where the mercenaries went in, I split the gnome nun to send her doppelganger inside.

Thanks to that, I could realize that the inside was in an emergency situation.

And after pulling out all the mercenaries, I had Mijung shoot a fireball…

Seems like she stayed inside and died.

Should have dodged better.

“I’m still inside, what if you shoot me!”

“It’s just a doppelganger anyway.”

“Even if it’s a doppelganger, it hurts! It hurts! And if the doppelganger dies, I become even weaker! My body becomes more difficult!”

“Oh.”

The gnome nun whimpered and made a squeaking sound.

Come to think of it, she seems to have gotten a bit smaller.

Now she seems even smaller than Mijung.

“Do doppelgangers become infinitely weaker if they die? Until they become newborns?”

Such a question came to mind, but I decided to leave it as just a question.

“Now that the tunnel is cleared, let’s move forward.”

“Are you in your right mind? Those unidentified machines keep popping out, and you want to keep moving forward?”

The gnome nun panicked.

Being a monster herself, there’s no reason for the gnome nun to fear monsters.

In other words, those leaf dolls are not monsters.

‘Are these leaf dolls that were abandoned long ago?’

Leaf dolls that briefly became popular before disappearing like ghosts.

They should have been disposed of and incinerated…

But for some reason, those waste materials are moving in this dungeon.

“It’s unsettling.”

“Are you willing to risk your life just because it’s unsettling?!”

“Come on. You won’t die, will you?”

“Don’t say ominous things!”

I thought there were no boss monsters in this dungeon for the entire 12th round.

I haven’t seen these leaf dolls either.

There must be some hidden secrets that I don’t know about in this dungeon.

When it’s unsettling, digging deeper is always the answer.

That’s how I found Kali in Elvengard.

Regretting not digging deeper and later hearing the news that there were Four Heavenly Kings in this dungeon is disgusting.

“Let’s go now.”

“Yes. I said that earlier.”

“Okay. Shall we go then?”

“Why do you keep saying the same thing?”

“Do you have to take the lead?”

“What?! Do I have extra lives?”

“You do have extra lives in reality. You create doppelgangers. It’s right for you to create a doppelganger and take the lead.”

“What did you hear earlier?! My doppelganger hurts when it dies! My ability is not about creating illusions, it’s about splitting a part of my body!”

Perhaps the pain from Mijung’s fireball earlier was quite painful, as the gnome nun wiped away tears and mucus while resisting.

But even as she bravely shouted…

Her momentum gradually waned.

She probably knows it herself.

No matter how much she resists, she’s ultimately destined to do it.

“You whined enough? Now take the lead.”

“You villain! Abuser! Violator of human rights!”

“What human rights do monsters have, human rights are.”

“…If you give up. It’s easier, you lose.”

“What do you know?!”

In the end, while grumbling, her body became limp, and she split into two gnome nuns.

After sniffing and swallowing her mucus, the main body hid behind me.

The doppelganger trembled and moved forward.

In the end, if you’re going to do it anyway.

Her excessive theatrics are the problem.

“Hey, um. What’s that over there?”

Just as we entered the tunnel and took a few steps.

The doppelganger who was leading stopped.

And pointing ahead, the trembling doppelganger.

“It’s a mechanical arm.”

“Oh, it’s not moving?”

“It’s not moving. It’s not moving.”

“Oh, ho, ho. It’s too scary…”

“Why are you like that? Did you eat something bad?”

“No······. This is how I’ve always been······.”

But the state of the doppelganger seems off.

Continuously sniffling with a distressed expression.

Looking like a delicate nun with such a demeanor.

“It’s because of my nature. When the doppelganger splits, one of my emotions becomes stronger. In this case, it’s fear.”

“Ha, of all people······. Scary······. It’s scary······.”

Standing side by side with the doppelganger, glaring disapprovingly.

The contrast is stark.

The main body, rough and tough, like a ruthless and wicked thief who has faced the trials and tribulations of the world.

The doppelganger, on the other hand, is like a tender-hearted girl who craves affection even when fed, put to sleep, and petted.

That’s why each doppelganger has such different personalities.

I wonder what other personalities are like.

“Oh······.”

“Your gaze is strange. Like you’re looking at a lowly creature.”

“What about me?”

But if the doppelganger continues in this state, our progress will slow down.

At that moment, I consider absorbing it again or creating a new split.

“Hey, doppelganger! Just transform into a giant and move forward!”

“Ugh······ I’ll do that······.”

“Will you be less scary in giant form?”

“In giant form, my eyes look really bad. If there’s nothing to see, there’s nothing to be scared of, right?”

“······.”

So that’s an option.

The doppelganger quickly transforms into a giant and strides through the tunnel.

Our speed has significantly increased.

“What is the boss monster doing? I can’t figure it out.”

It’s a dungeon where undead monsters appear.

Initially, I suspected the actions of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Necromancer.

But seeing these leaf puppets popping out, it’s clear that it’s not the Necromancer.

He doesn’t have the power to control machines.

But nothing else comes to mind.

“That voice from earlier. It sounds familiar.”

The sound of machinery coming from inside the tunnel.

It feels like I’ve heard it somewhere before.

There aren’t many female voices I know.

Jill, Yulia, Yerina, Cornelia, Alicia, Mia······.

Huh? Why does it feel like there are so many now?

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, something catches my foot.

When I pick it up with the universal torch, it’s a metal plaque.

– Completion plaque for the Clock Tower of Taeyeop City

– Construction Supervisor: Kern

Finding this means we’ve reached the end of the tunnel.

It serves as a guidepost.

“We’re almost at the last room. Be prepared as the tunnel is about to end. We don’t know what might come out.”

“······Okay.”

This place is where the (former) Clock Tower of Taeyeop City was located.

Under Kern’s leadership, the clock tower was successfully completed.

The completion ceremony attended by the mayor was grand.

But an accident occurred on the day of the completion ceremony.

The clock tower’s mechanism malfunctioned, causing an unexplained explosion.

The tower collapsed to the ground and disappeared over the cliff.

Many people, including the mayor, were injured.

And that incident was the reason Kern retired completely.

“Hmm······?”

The narrow tunnel comes to an end, leading to a spacious room flooded with bright light.

I was a bit nervous when I heard the boss had awakened······.

“It’s empty?”

The interior is desolate.

There’s just a large, beautiful dungeon core in the center.

It matches exactly what I saw in the previous episodes.

“It can’t end like this.”

“Why are you so anxious! It’s good if it ends quietly! Hey, doppelganger! Bring that dungeon core here! Let’s finish this quickly and leave!”

“Ugh······.”

This is the last room.

If there’s no boss here, where could it be?

Feeling uneasy and on the verge of going crazy.

The doppelganger transforms back into the nun’s form and rushes forward, touching the dungeon core.

“Huh? Huh?!”

And at that moment.

The entire dungeon shakes violently, a deafening noise echoing.

It feels like the dungeon is collapsing.

“Whoaahhh!!!”

“What······.”

The ground beneath the doppelganger trembles.

Rising endlessly upwards, stirring up dust.

After a while, I realize.

“The Clock Tower······?”

What emerged from underground was none other than the Clock Tower.

But where the clock should be, there’s a giant eyeball.

“Whoaahhh! Please let me down!!!”

[Hate······ Hate······ Hate······]

When I meet eyes with that eyeball.

A shiver runs down my spine.

And then, I recognize the owner of this mechanical sound.

“Linda. It’s you.”

It seems I’ve discovered the boss’s true identity.