Next Bonus, 200 PS!
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
The cavern slled strongly of gunpowder. Thick smoke drifted in the air, the only sign left of the massacre that had just happened.
"Alright! Ti to get to work!"
Lili had watched everything from behind the ballistic shields and was almost shaking with excitent. The basin was covered with Magic Stones, the huge reward from their one-sided fight. She started to scavenge.
But August reached out, grabbing the back of her collar.
"Hold it." His eyes remained locked on the cratered basin below, scanning the shadows between the scattered Magic Stones.
"Go." August summoned another drone from his inventory.
The loud whine of the machine resounded through the cavern again. It was a crude but effective way to flush out any monsters hiding in cover.
And it worked perfectly. Agitated by the noise and unable to resist their feral instincts, a few stragglers burst out from behind the rubble.
'Just as I thought. Except for the Xenos, normal monsters only act on killing intent and basic instincts,' August thought, confirming what he suspected.
He knew intelligent monsters called Xenos lived in the Labyrinth. But they would never show up on these upper floors. There was nowhere to hide here, and they only moved around in the deeper, unexplored areas.
With a few precise bursts of rifle fire, August executed the remaining stragglers.
He released Lili's collar and patted her shoulder. "Alright. Go grab the loot."
Lili nodded excitedly and scrambled down into the basin. Her small fra moved with skilled efficiency as she quickly scooped up the Magic Stones and the deford brass bullet casings.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
anwhile, the Adventurers hiding in the surrounding tunnels were still processing the psychological shock of the massacre.
"Oi... did you see that?"
"Yeah. Clear as day."
"Is that monster really a rookie?"
"He just wiped out a multi-floor horde with absolute suppressive fire. It was a slaughter."
"Think you could survive that?"
"Don't joke. In a confined space like that? Zero chance of survival. Not to ntion..."
"That massive tal tube. One shot and it obliterated the ground."
Seeing how August fought completely changed what they thought they knew about battle. Who fought like that?
"And that ability... spatial magic?" soone whispered.
If their eyes weren't playing tricks on them, he was using a massive, invisible spatial inventory. All those weapons were stored in the void and operated via telekinesis or ntal commands. The guy was a walking anomaly!
"I've never heard of anything like this."
"WAIT... I HAVE!!"
"Rember that massive pillar of light a few days ago?"
"Yeah. My god said it was triggered by Hestia's new recruit. Word is, he signed on as a Supporter and has a spatial storage skill."
"Holy shit. You an that's him?"
Staring at the smoking crater, calling him a "Supporter" seed like a bad joke. He was a real Adventurer, with skills deadly enough to scare anyone. He was a true monster. If they ever faced that wall of fire, they probably wouldn't even realize how they died.
"Looks like the balance of power in Orario is about to shift..."
No one could co out of an attack like that unhard. The Adventurers watching knew better than to ss with August. They exchanged nervous looks and quietly slipped away into the shadows.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
Down in the basin, Lili saw the others leaving. She knew exactly what they were feeling: pure fear.
"August, those people were talking about you," Lili warned, climbing back up to the ledge. Was he not worried about getting targeted by greedy parties?
"Let them talk," August replied.
He knew he couldn't hide his abilities forever. Wielding this kind of firepower, he was bound to attract attention eventually. He might as well establish dominance early and prove he wasn't an easy target.
After today's rumors spread, no sane Adventurer would risk getting vaporized to test him.
If he had started out with only a sword, he would have kept a low profile. But he had real power in his hands, and that power ca from high explosives. When you have that much firepower, pretending to be weak just invites trouble. He had the biggest weapon, and that gave him control.
"Pack it up. We're heading back to the surface." August checked his tactical watch.
Less than an hour had passed since they entered the Dungeon. From the setup, to baiting the horde, to the final annihilation—it only took sixty minutes. It was too fast. The battle ended in the blink of an eye.
"Wait, we're leaving already?" Lili blinked in surprise as she adjusted the heavy backpack on her shoulders. She had not expected him to call it quits so soon. Why not run the trap a few more tis? They could make a fortune.
"We aren't going to rush this," August explained. "My main goal today was just to map and mark the terrain across these floors."
"Herding the monsters into this seventh-floor cavern was just a live-fire test run. We need to analyze the data and prep for the next dive."
"The results were good, but the flaws are obvious."
August wasn't going to let a big win make him overconfident. The plan hadn't been perfect. There were small problems with the drones, so delays in the attacks, and most importantly, his own ntal state.
He glanced at the biotric reading on his smartwatch.
His heart rate was pinned at over 130 beats per minute. Despite his calm exterior, his adrenaline was spiking hard, and his body was in overdrive. If he pushed further while riding this high, he might make a fatal mistake. He needed to step back and cool down.
Watching August stay calm and analytical made Lili feel very secure.
To have a legendary massacre on his first day and then choose to retreat instead of taking more risks for personal gain? This level of caution was unusual. Considering he also stopped her from rushing in to collect loot, in case there were survivors, Lili realized he truly cared about keeping his party mbers safe.
'This rookie is a monster,' Lili thought.
However, she also knew exactly why she had approached him in the first place. She had spotted his custom light armor at the entrance. Recognizing it as a hyper-expensive, premium piece of gear, she gambled that he had the money to pay well.
'But...' Lili smiled softly to herself. 'Underneath all that, he's a really good person.'
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