“Hey hey, this kid really doesn’t know his place, daring to bring this up.”
The underlings whispered among themselves.
“It’s because of that sudden earthquake the other day that got Boss bitten by the Withered Tree Demon. He’s been sensitive about it ever since.”
“The bite of the Withered Tree Demon is poisonous, and the scar can’t be fully healed. For Boss, that’s nothing but a mark of shame.”
Cliff turned around with a furious glare, and the other three underlings immediately shut their mouths.
Cliff gave the order:
“Lar, activate it.”
Lar—dressed in a deep blue robe layered with scale armor and holding a staff—bent down, took out a square box with a purple crystal embedded in the center from his chest, placed it by his feet, and tapped the crystal with the bottom of his staff.
A faint purple veil spun out, covering and forming a dome-shaped space with a radius of a hundred meters.
“A Stasis Barrier…”
Siloque whispered.
Using such a concealing tool meant these guys were about to start their “hunt.”
The Stasis Barrier Deployment Tool cost 6000R each.
Its best feature was that no matter how much shouting or noise happened inside, no one outside could hear or see anything.
Its biggest downside was that someone had to constantly channel magic to maintain the barrier—like that Lar fellow…
From Cliff’s sharp and disdainful gaze, it was clear that Siloque was the “prey.”
“Is this necessary? I’m the lowest-ranked Explorer in the entire school, is it worth using this kind of barrier against me? Besides, why are you even after me? I haven’t done anything to you.”
“Siloque, your luck is terrible.”
Cliff pronounced judgment:
“Norius lost to you, I don’t mind. But that guy is under me, and losing to a level 2 like you makes me, the leader, lose face.”
“Your worthless face isn’t worth much either. This barrier doesn’t work on monsters; it’s specifically made for humans. You’ve done so many dirty things using this barrier, want me to list them all for you?”
With a rock-like appearance and a seemingly serious demeanor, Cliff was the kind of brazen but meticulous thug.
In the game, he tricked some rookie female Explorers into leveling up in the Dungeon by farming monsters.
When the monsters were about to be done, he’d open the barrier and exploit their special skills for some shady gameplay.
No matter how much anyone yelled, no one would find out.
“You’re actually quite a nice guy… ugh, spit!”
Siloque’s face darkened at the memory, as disgusting as ever.
Luckily, none of that had happened yet.
“Cliff, you bastard, I won’t let you be comfortable until the day we duel.”
Cliff opened his eyes and for the first time showed a grim and meaningful smile:
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The underworld still had Tuners wandering around, so Cliff and his gang wouldn’t use easily detectable tools like this.
But in the Dungeon, no Tuners cared.
Here, strength was everything. Human decency? That was up to fate.
“I never intended to come after you. We were just here farming monsters. I got a message from Norius before the Tuners took him away, asking me to teach you a lesson, but I didn’t care. You just happened to run into us today. I can only tolerate it and help him vent his anger—this isn’t personal, Siloque.”
In other words, it was just a chance encounter…
Cas, you really are the protagonist!
The villains seem drawn to you, always bumping into you like this!
“I surrender, I can apologize, can we make peace? Don’t hit me, I hate violence, I don’t like pain.”
Siloque showed a timid expression and quietly began brewing magic inside.
***
Such a huge first floor, why do you have to appear here?
A 10-kilometer area and you guys still manage to run into each other?
What are the chances?!
Not far behind Cliff’s team, Bried hid in the crevice between the rocks.
Level 2 Siloque against Level 10 Cliff plus three lackeys.
No one knew what Siloque had done, but judging from Cliff and his group laughing and waving their weapons, it was clear they didn’t take Siloque seriously—and definitely weren’t here for a BBQ.
Siloque, what are you doing? Run!
Bried thought this, but she also knew there was no way a Level 2 could outrun a Level 10.
She tried calling for backup, but the signal mysteriously wouldn’t go through.
“It’s all because of that old woman’s fancy nonsense.”
Bried stroked the Stasis Barrier beside her, its faint purple transparent wall.
It looked fragile, but no matter how hard she pushed, it didn’t move an inch; it felt like hardened jelly.
Gripping her beloved sword tightly, Bried observed Cliff’s group again, searching for a way out of the predicament.
Soon, she found the key point.
The one who had activated the barrier was the [Priest], who kept pressing the device with his staff.
“If we take him out, maybe this barrier will collapse?”
***
“Apologize?”
Cliff shook his head lightly.
“Let’s get back to the topic. Siloque, I’m giving you two options.”
“Can I not choose?”
The other two underlings each took out their phones and turned on the flashlight function.
Cliff didn’t answer Siloque. He slammed his fists together, producing shockwaves that demonstrated his strength:
“Option one: strip off all your gear, not a single piece of underwear left, and I’ll have them shoot a short video of you. Option two: I beat you up, strip you naked, and then record the video.”
“…Are you gay?”
Cliff’s face turned serious again as he stepped closer.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not interested in men. You look like a woman with black hair, big eyes, and smooth skin, but inside you’re a guy. Among certain fanatics, that’s quite popular, and the video would sell for a good amount.”
“You wouldn’t want to make several copies and upload them to Youtube, would you?”
“That’s a good idea, but then I wouldn’t be able to sell them.”
Hahahahaha—
Laughter filled Cliff’s group.
True to a team leader’s style, bullying while thinking about making money—smart move.
I’m not interested in being stripped naked, nor do I like being discussed by a bunch of men about my body.
Siloque used the corner of his eye to confirm Cas’s position, making sure he wasn’t exposed.
Then he pulled up the ring watch window and sent a message to Cas.
“Still thinking about asking for help? No signal here.”
One of the underlings laughed loudly at this.
But inside the barrier, people could still text each other via the ring watch.
Siloque typed casually, glancing at the small eyes on Cliff’s scarred face.
Cliff’s smile faded:
“Option one or two, Siloque?”
Siloque gave a mischievous smile and made the international friendly gesture at Cliff and his group:
“My choice is—go eat shit, all of you.”
“Good answer.”
Cliff dashed forward at a lightning speed that whipped up a fierce wind around him.
Siloque drew his sword to defend—
But he was too slow.
Before he could react, the massive impact slammed heavily into his abdomen.
His leather armor failed to absorb the blow, and the force sent his entire body flying backward.