You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

Fear comes from the incomprehensible.

And the fear that Choi Mi-yeon was experiencing now was undoubtedly born from that very confusion.

She could sense something threatening right in front of her, but its true nature was beyond her understanding.

She had the feeling that the enemy could devour her in an instant, and although she wanted to run away, she was overwhelmed by the sensation and couldn’t move.

"Ugh, uuuuugh…!"

She was breathing, but it felt as if she wasn’t.

Even though she was looking, she couldn’t understand what she was seeing. She couldn’t make sense of the sounds she was hearing, and she couldn’t even tell what she was saying.

For a brief moment, it seemed like someone’s agonized screams reached her ears, but she wasn’t sure.

All she heard was an indistinct mumbling.

"■■…■ ■■ is…"

How long had it been?

Just as she couldn’t comprehend how she had ended up in such a state, waking up felt like a fleeting moment.

"Choi Mi-yeon."

A clear voice snapped Choi Mi-yeon out of her stupor.

"Y-Yes?"

In that instant, as she replied absentmindedly, Choi Mi-yeon realized her body was drenched in cold sweat.

‘W-What exactly just happened?’

It felt as though she had woken from a terrible nightmare.

The face of the girl standing in front of her seemed so unfamiliar and strange.

Who was she?

Choi Mi-yeon muttered the name aloud.

"Ah… Jeong Da-on, Hunter."

And strangely enough, as soon as she spoke the name, all the tension in her body eased.

"Mrr!"

And then, without knowing when it had appeared, a small black cat bumped its face into her leg.

The warmth of the cat instantly calmed her.

Jeong Da-on lifted the corners of her lips in a small, wicked smile.

"You don’t need to be afraid. Fear is just an illusion that can be dismantled through human understanding."

"An illusion…?"

"Yes. First, you must identify the nature of fear. Then, understand it. Only then can a human take control of the phenomenon through understanding. This is the standard theory for dispelling illusionary magic. It’s good to know."

"Ah…"

"Of course, that person will never escape from their own nightmare again."

It was then that Choi Mi-yeon noticed an old man lying unconscious at Jeong Da-on’s feet.

It was Imanbok.

But could it really be called simply ‘lying unconscious’?

"Hah, haaah! No, I can’t go back to that time!"

His eyes were rolled back, frothing at the mouth, and he was convulsing violently.

He had clearly lost consciousness, but it seemed like he was unconsciously writhing in pain.

Jeong Da-on spoke in a quiet voice.

"That person will live in eternal nightmares. Trapped in a time he never wants to return to, his body will age until he dies. And he will be forgotten by everyone, buried forever in this dungeon."

"So…"

"I think this is enough as it is."

As she spoke, Jeong Da-on handed Choi Mi-yeon a dagger.

"You’ll also have a choice to make."

Choi Mi-yeon, trembling, took the dagger with shaking hands.

"This dagger is from Lee Ah-rin."

Lee Ah-rin.

It was a name she had known for a long time, but now it seemed incredibly unfamiliar.

"If you want, it’s the end for him."

It was clear that Jeong Da-on had handed her the dagger, intending for her to make a decision.

"I… I…"

Choi Mi-yeon stared hard at the sharp dagger in her hand.

"It’s okay."

A cold hand rested on her shoulder.

Slowly, Choi Mi-yeon lifted her head and looked at Jeong Da-on.

"The things that happened in this dungeon won’t be known by anyone."@@novelbin@@

The voice, unlike the cold hand, seemed oddly kind, even comforting.

What exactly was this suggestion urging her to do?

Choi Mi-yeon swallowed once and then asked Jeong Da-on.

"Um… Can I ask just one thing?"

Suddenly, she saw a flicker of curiosity in Jeong Da-on’s otherwise mechanical gaze, shining faintly.

Of course, Choi Mi-yeon had no idea why.

"Go ahead."

There were so many things she wanted to ask.

Why was the dungeon escape delayed?

Where had the others gone, aside from Imanbok?

And most of all, who was this Jeong Da-on girl?

But right now, there was only one question that mattered most.

"What did Lee Ah-rin say before she died?"

In fact, instead of going to kill Imanbok with the desert whale, Choi Mi-yeon could have stayed by Lee Ah-rin’s side. She knew that no matter how much first aid she could provide, Lee Ah-rin didn’t have much time left.

But she hadn’t done that.

Perhaps she was afraid that if she stayed by Lee Ah-rin’s side, she might say something blaming her.

Or perhaps, she feared she might say something blaming Lee Ah-rin.

Yet, strangely, she was now curious about Lee Ah-rin’s last words… maybe it was because she needed a clearer reason before crossing the line into murder.

Jeong Da-on opened her mouth.

"She said she was happy to die after seeing the revenge succeed."

"...Is that so."

Yes.

It seemed like something Lee Ah-rin would say.

Those words solidified Choi Mi-yeon’s decision.

She was still indecisive, cowardly, and fearful.

But at least, she still had the power to make real the belief that someone held before their death.

Choi Mi-yeon raised the dagger.

Thud!

Blood spread across the sand.

• The system warns the user, ‘Jeong Da-on.’

• The system warns the user, ‘Jeong Da-on,’ not to do such things again.

The cluster intelligence from those bastards is really whiny.

"Meh."

• Should I attack?

Noticing that I was in a bad mood, Leo, who had been constantly brushing off sand from his paws, unsheathed his claws.

I guess after returning to his original size, he thought he had regained his previous strength.

"Not even close."

Even though he temporarily had his ability stats unlocked thanks to absorbing the desert whale's magic, Leo still had a long way to go before regaining his full power.

• Error corrected.

• Time until dungeon escape: 00:03:29

The few surviving members of the cult, including Choi Mi-yeon, had already escaped the dungeon.

Now, I was the only human left alive in this dungeon.

All that stretched out before me was an endless desert, as far as the eye could see.

The dead humans had already been buried in this desert, disappearing without a trace.

"Well, it wasn’t a bad experience."

"Mrr?"

• Nonsense?

"Nonsense, you say?"

I tried to slap Leo, but failed.

It had been a bit of a nuisance, but if I looked at the results, I had gained more than I lost.

First, my stats had gone up.

Perhaps because society’s members thought only private revenge was the answer when dealing with a cult leader who wielded public power arbitrarily, they had judged my actions as ‘refreshing.’

• Jeong Da-on (Normal)

• Potential Ability Rating: S-rank

• Health: LV. 20 (Max: None)

• Strength: LV. 16 (Max: None)

• Mana: LV. 35 (Max: None)

• Overall Level: LV. 21 → 23

• Recommended Dungeon Level: C~D-level dungeons

The boost was pretty significant.

It was encouraging that, less than a month after seeing the mystical sword, my stats were already higher than many low-tier hunters.

Of course, my abilities allowed me to use incantation magic to create explosive power in an instant, but I couldn’t always rely on that.

I needed to keep improving my base specs just in case.

Another thing was that I had found yet another flaw in that ridiculous ‘Good deeds will bring blessings’ system.

• System Guide: Murder is an unethical act that contradicts the perception of most of society’s members.

Though the system showed that guide, what I had done was simply help those trying to kill Imanbok. I didn’t face any penalties.

In other words, I proved that if I didn’t dirty my hands directly, I could largely avoid system penalties.

• The system warns the user, ‘Jeong Da-on.’

• The system warns the user, ‘Jeong Da-on.’

"…"

Of course, I couldn’t do anything about the fact that the system had gotten quite stubborn.

Honestly, I didn’t care about that.

‘It’s not really a good idea to completely break off from the system.’

Anyway, my current goal was to live as Jeong Da-on for as long as possible, peacefully with Jeong Da-jeong.

So, in the end, I decided to speak up to calm the system down.

"Looking at the results, there’s really nothing bad for you… or rather, for humanity. A cult leader like that is a social evil…"

• The system is searching for the source of the intentional error.

• The system has detected the existence of ‘Destroyer of Worlds.’

Ah, so that’s the problem.

Originally, when we defeated the desert whale, all humans, including Imanbok, should have escaped the dungeon.

But if that happened, Lee Ah-rin’s revenge wouldn’t have been completed, and I would have gained nothing.

I needed to ask Imanbok who had passed on the Soul Core to him, but if he escaped the dungeon, I wouldn’t be able to do that.

So, I deliberately revealed my power as the ‘Destroyer of Worlds’ to cause a system error.

Just like I did in the previous dungeon.

The difference this time was that, unlike last time, all the other humans failed to escape the dungeon.

That’s because by showing hostility toward the humans, the system recognized me as the new dungeon boss.

• The system has detected the user, ‘Jeong Da-on,’ showing hostility.

To be precise, I made the system misunderstand.

"Ah, it was all an act."

And this is the point where the system gets furious.

I intentionally caused a system error for my personal benefit. Well, whatever.

I had my ways of persuading the system.

"So in the end, I found a solid lead."

I had found clues about ‘humanity’s enemy,’ who had passed on the method for making Soul Cores, even though the system couldn’t trace the evidence.

"If I hadn’t been here, Imanbok wouldn’t have even been able to speak before dying."

I looked at the bracelet I had taken from Imanbok’s arm.

It was a delicately crafted snake-shaped bracelet with an embedded green gemstone.

I had deliberately put Imanbok into a state of complete fear to learn when and from whom he received this item.

I planned to infiltrate his unconscious mind and inspect his memories one by one.

But when I tried to access Imanbok’s memories, something unexpected happened.

Even though he was dying, Imanbok resisted this access violently, bleeding from his seven orifices.

It wasn’t his own strength—someone had placed a curse on his unconscious.

‘What a damn curse.’

If that person had made direct contact with Imanbok, they would have sealed his lips, but I never expected the unconscious to have such a strong curse on it.

A curse so powerful that even if Imanbok spoke about it, his mind would collapse.

"Of course, it makes sense since that person is hiding from the system."

It didn’t matter to me whether Imanbok’s mind broke or not, but at least I had obtained a small clue.

"Central Administration."

And the moment I spoke that word, Imanbok’s mind completely shattered.

It was as if a bomb exploded from entering the wrong password.

He must have been implanted with some huge trauma in his unconscious, as his mind was destroyed without a trace.

What exactly was that person doing in this world?

Sigh...

"Anyway, searching the Central Administration will give me something."

• The system is requesting help for the ‘SAVE THE WORLD’ quest…

The system sent another annoying request, but I quickly dismissed it.

Saving the world? Just reading it gave me chills.

"This clue is enough. Let the heroes handle saving the world."

I would figure out a way to catch and kill that person.

• Time to dungeon escape: 00:00:00

Anyway, it was time for me to return to the real world.