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6. “Humanity’s Greatest Invention” (3)

「I…」

After regaining consciousness from the [Protected Area], I took a look around. Seems like it was just a momentary event in reality. There was no pain in my newly restored head, and the blood around my mouth had already disappeared.

A marble space spread out beyond the stone door. There was almost no light. Only the natural luminous stones buried here and there on the walls illuminated the area in a pale, vague light.

This is where the “King” of the dungeon resides. It was still invisible, its figure blending into the darkness beyond.

「Oh, right. The skills.」

The recollection of skills had been completed. The many skills I’ve acquired over the past six years were returned to me. No, it was not simply returned. By gaining a large amount of points, most of the skills were evolving one after another.

[Slash Enhancement] has evolved into [Subspace Rupture].

[Hawk Eye] has evolved into [God’s Eye Drive].

[High-Speed Chant] has evolved into [Chant Destruction].

[Auto Mana Recovery] has evolved into [Infinite Mana Fountain].

[Strength Enhancement] has evolved into [Peerless Strength].

[Peerless Strength] has evolved into [Asura’s Six Arms].

[Flash Step] has evolved into [Space Jump].

[Range Enhancement] has evolved into [Super Region].

[Super Region] has evolved into [Universal Palm].

[Duration Enhancement] has evolved into [Star Years].

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「The poison resistance skills have also returned. With the poisonous air on this floor, I won’t be able to last more than several minutes without resistance.」

Hemolysis poison resistance, paralysis poison resistance, insanity poison resistance… After confirming the various resistance skills I had regained, I first activated my perception skills to get a grasp of the situation I was in.

「[God’s Eye Drive] [Scout’s Intuition], activate.」

Skills to strengthen vision and see through that which can’t be seen. There’s definitely a synergy there. The entire space around me was depicted in my field of sight.

「Throne…?」

A vast throne room carved out of marble. This is what sat at the deepest part of “The Abyss Where Evil Comes From.” The [God’s Eye Drive] caught the presence of a huge concentrated power in the center of the majestic underground building.

「Serpent Dragon Vritra, huh?」

That information was etched into my memory along with the enemy’s name. It is an evil white dragon that cannot be killed by weapons nor bare hands, magic nor divine power, day nor night. Has it not attacked me because of a King’s dignity?

「I see. In a dungeon full of deadly poison, even the monsters that live in it also excel at poison. If you step into it without knowing anything like Altora and the others, you’ll fall victim to the poison and wish you had made countermeasures. And what awaits you at the very end is one of the Dragon species. This dungeon is quite a malicious creation.」

However, this dungeon capture won’t end unless I defeat it. With the skills I currently have, there is no reason to earn any money, but I would still like to have a large amount of cash. There is no reason to throw away the capture bounty.

[Warning. It is a highly dangerous and hostile creature.]

Koe-san’s warning echoed in my head. Perhaps because we have had a proper conversation, it felt closer than ever.

「Don’t worry.」

As soon as I answered, Vritra’s presence wavered slightly.

「–」

There was no sound. My dynamic vision enhanced by [God’s Eye Drive] detected a huge white body approaching at a speed equal to the speed of sound. Poisonous air constantly spewed out from its tip.

「[Space Jump], activate.」

I shifted my coordinates, resulting in the fangs striking in vain. As I moved through space, Vritra sensed me and swung down its tail while roaring.

「[Asura’s Six Arms], activate.」

Impact was transmitted along with a ferocious deep bass sound. Six invisible arms caught the tail and threw the giant body to the other side of the hall. If it were an average monster, it would definitely not be unharmed…but my opponent was a dragon that couldn’t be killed. It aimed its hostility towards me.

「Normal skills won’t be able to land a telling blow, huh.」

No problem. One process has now been completed.

[Recollection and optimization process of all loaned skills have been completed. Would you like to move on to the next step? ]

「Yes, thanks.」

Just a moment ago, I recollected all the skills I had loaned out.

However, the skill points to pay the debt were far from reaching the maximum interest rate of 116,144,339,796%. If so, the next target to be collected to repay the debt has been decided.

[Unique Skill’s skill points will be seized and allocated to the debt amount.]