ATCP 10

It looked as though someone had added CGI and special effects to reality.

“Whoa…”

The mage stared blankly for a moment, letting out an awed gasp.

If we hadn’t been trapped in a life-or-death situation, I probably would have admired the sight too.

Flowers bloomed in every direction around me.

The ground—and even the ceiling—became covered with radiant blossoms of every imaginable color.

It was as if the cave itself had transformed into a vast flower garden.

“My wounds…”

But creating flowers wasn’t the true power of this skill.

The melee fighter’s deep injuries vanished completely. The tank’s cuts and bruises disappeared without leaving even the faintest trace. Even the leader’s wounds were healed as though they had never existed.

And unexpectedly, there was one more ally affected by the skill.

“The plants are holding down all the Skeletons and the Dullahan! Leader, let’s finish them now!”

Every time the vines were torn apart or sliced through, they regenerated instantly, wrapping themselves around the Skeletons and the Dullahan again and again.

My party members, far quicker than I was at reading the situation, sprang into action.

“Flames, arise!”

The mage gathered the last of his mana and conjured fire.

The leader swung his shattered shield, smashing it into the back of the Dullahan’s knee and throwing off its balance.

At the same time, the tank drove his gauntleted fist into the Dullahan’s torso, knocking the armored undead completely onto the ground.

The final blow belonged to the melee fighter.

He pulled free from my grasp and charged forward.

Drawing the backup sword strapped to his waist, he plunged it into the empty suit of armor, piercing the Dullahan’s core.

Ding.

The same notification echoed in all of our ears.

[The Hidden Boss of the ‘Shadow Dungeon’ has been defeated.]

[Dungeon normalization has begun.]

[Normalization Progress: 2%]

[Calculating dungeon rewards…]

[Your contribution ranked #1.]

System messages flooded my vision.

Fortunately, my eyesight didn’t matter anymore.

The tension finally left my body, and I dropped heavily onto the floor.

“It’s… over, right?”

“Yes. It’s over. All that’s left is to leave through the exit.”

The leader walked over and held out his hand.

Smiling awkwardly, I accepted it.

“By the way… your hair color is really flashy. Silver?”

…Crap.

I almost instinctively slapped his hand away.

* * *

The leader spread the dungeon rewards out before us with a troubled expression.

“For everything we went through… the rewards aren’t very impressive.”

Everyone else simply nodded, as though they had expected as much.

Honestly, I understood why.

The Skeletons and the Wraith probably killed far more monsters than we did.

We had only fought the monsters we happened to encounter.

Meanwhile, the Skeletons, the Wraith, and the Dullahan had slaughtered Shadow Cats and Shadow Bats like an invading army.

With that much of the dungeon cleared by them, there was no way we’d receive many rewards.

I swallowed my disappointment.

At least we were alive.

Judging by everyone’s expressions, they felt the same.

“Let’s sort through what we did get.”

The first reward was mana stones.

“These are mana stones from Shadow Cats and Shadow Bats. Ten D-rank stones and seven C-rank stones.”

“We also got Skeleton bones, Leader. Apparently they’re materials used for curse magic, so they’re probably mage crafting materials. There are thirteen of them.”

The final reward was a single sword.

The very sword the Dullahan had wielded.

“The name’s ridiculously simple,” the leader said with a laugh. “‘Knight’s Dropped Sword.’ B-rank. It doubles attack power against undead.”

I pulled the sword over from where I’d left it.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they heard its effect.

The bonus only applied against undead, but doubling attack power was still an incredible enchantment.

“Now… how should we divide everything?”

The leader pondered for a moment before placing the sword directly into my hands.

“I think the healer should take this.”

“Huh?”

“If it weren’t for you, we’d all be dead.”

…Was it really okay to give a sword to the healer?

I glanced around uncertainly.

No one objected.

“R-Really? But someone’s weapon actually broke…”

The melee fighter laughed and waved dismissively.

“You saved our lives. Who cares about a sword? I can always buy another one.”

The mage and the tank deliberately looked away, making it clear they had no interest in claiming it.

“As for the D-rank mana stones, everyone can take two. Each person gets one C-rank stone, and the remaining two…”

Should I volunteer to give mine up again?

I raised my hand.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for the people whose weapons were damaged to take the extras?”

“Then the tank and the melee fighter can have them.”

The leader immediately handed the remaining mana stones to the two of them.

I couldn’t help wondering if it was really okay for the leader himself to give away so much of the loot after doing all the organizing.

But no one else seemed bothered by it, so I kept quiet.

“As for the Skeleton bones, everyone takes two. The remaining three should go to the mage. They’re magical materials, after all. We could only sell them, but the mage can actually use them.”

“Ah… thank you.”

The mage carefully tucked all five bones into his bag.

They were only D-rank materials, but he looked genuinely delighted to have them.

“That concludes this dungeon raid,” the leader announced. “The saturation level has also dropped.”

All of us looked toward the entrance.

Floating above it was the dungeon’s current saturation rate.

[Dungeon Saturation]

12%

It wasn’t really our accomplishment.

The undead had done most of the monster hunting.

Still, the saturation had dropped.

That was all that mattered.

The leader dusted off his tangled hair and sighed in exhaustion.

“Let’s call it a day.”

I hugged my rewards to my chest and scratched my head.

There was still one thing I wanted to ask.

Carefully, I raised my hand.

The leader noticed immediately.

“Yes, Healer?”

“Well… I think everyone already knows this is my first dungeon.”

I lowered my hand sheepishly.

“So… um… what do people usually do with items like these? I don’t think I’ll actually use them, so… I was wondering if there’s some way to sell them or exchange them?”

The moment the words left my mouth…

Silence filled the party.

At the far right edge of my vision, the synchronization gauge flickered on its own.

[Current Synchronization Rate]

20%

…That had definitely been a stupid question.

I put on the thickest professional smile I could manage.

After all…

People couldn’t exactly spit in the face of someone who was smiling.

…Even if they thought she was an idiot.

* * *

On a sunlit beach…

Someone stared down at a smartphone.

There was no internet connection.

Still, he could read through old chat logs.

Golden eyes, flashing like bolts of lightning, reflected on the screen.

Grab.

A hand suddenly seized his ankle.

He calmly lowered his gaze.

The person impaled upon an iron stake looked up at him, barely managing to speak.

“You… said… you were… a support…”

Without emotion, he brushed the hand away.

“You’re not the only ones who know how to lie.”

He stepped on the contract lying at his feet and slowly twisted his heel.

The item—

Oath of Covenant

—tore apart beneath his shoe.

The slave contract written across it ripped apart as well.

“It’s always the same.”

Human trafficking aimed at people with rare skills never truly disappeared.

No matter how many times he crushed it…

It always came back.

“This time… just like last time…”

He muttered to himself—

Then suddenly froze.

His hand rose to touch his own lips.

For a brief moment, the golden lightning vanished from his eyes, revealing clear black irises beneath.

“What… did I just say?”

He looked back down at his phone.

Ah, I see. I didn’t realize beginners weren’t allowed. Sorry about that. Goodbye.

The reply was dripping with irritation.

And yet…

For some reason…

He couldn’t stop staring at it.

Why did I enter that chat room?

Why did I rescue that person?

Realizing he had shown inexplicable kindness toward someone he’d never even spoken to before sent a sharp pain through his head.

Slowly, he searched through his memories.

I awakened… checked my skill…

Why did I install that app?

Why didn’t I go to the Association first…? Why…?

The memories existed.

But they were hazy.

Separated from the emotions he’d once felt, they no longer made sense.

Gripping his forehead, he let out a quiet groan.

One of the fallen hunters took advantage of his distraction.

Carefully getting to his feet, the hunter suddenly bolted across the beach.

The man reacted instinctively.

His hand stretched forward.

His eyes, once again flashing brilliant gold, overflowed with hostility.

“This time… too…”

“It would be better… if none of you ever met that person.”

He flicked a finger.

The beach itself responded.

The sand rose all at once, swallowing the fleeing hunter into its depths.

“Aaaagh!”

The scream was brief.

One by one, the remaining hunters also sank silently beneath the sea of sand.

Only after the last of them disappeared did the golden glow finally fade from his eyes.

Black returned.

Then…

An error flickered across his skill window.

[Skill]

—■■ Control—

Cracks spread across the skill that had unquestionably been there only moments before.

[Skill]

■■ Control

This skill is currently unavailable.

—Metal Control—

Allows you to manipulate metal.

Proficiency is determined by your understanding of and affinity with the material.