The Ringmaster was standing a bit away from Sae Jaehyun, a dagger still stuck into its shoulder—but it wasn't affected. Neither by the pain or by the exertion of energy.
"Ladies and gentleman! Please do not be bored! The fight is just getting started."
Sae Jaehyun was a bit injured. Feeling fatigue and blood loss catch up to him—adrenaline had kept him going but it was only a matter of time until his tank would run out.
'I should end this quickly.. Before he could use any skills—because that'll be the death of me.'
The Ringmaster unfolded its weapon—into a full whip. Using it to try and grab Sae Jaehyun, the assassin barely managing to cut through the fleshy weapon. But—it healed. Grew once more.
The Ringmaster groaned, its hand reaching up to rip apart the stone that made up the stands—slinging it like a tennis ball towards Sae Jaehyun, who once again. Cut through it with his daggers.
'I'm running out of blood.. Got around 3 liters left.. Already feeling lightheaded..'
The dungeon boss let out a cry of anger suddenly appearing in front of the assassin in the blink of an eye, grabbing Sae Jaehyun by the throat and slamming him into the ground.
The assassin was shocked, letting out a few coughs as the creature choked him. Making him desperately gasp for air, the vice like grip of the monster crushing his windpipe.
The world slowly blacked out—like a TV screen flickering, life fading away from his hands. But just then.
His system screen appeared in front of him. Sad, depressed music coming out from the red holographic interface. The golden words gleaming with mana and unknown energy.
"I don't want to die... But I'm dying anyway.. Is life this cruel?"
Sae Jaehyun stood in front of the system screen with a deadpanned expression—one that was still processing his own death. but just then. A voice spoke behind him.
"Child. Life is very cruel. But, it doesn't matter. Bad luck struck you. I'll give you a favor—I'll revive you for now, but. When the time comes. You'll be my {REDACTED}."
The voice was deep, yet it held a big sense of grief—but. It held a bit of something else, pure, unfiltered resentment towards the world itself. Like he had been wronged.
Sae Jaehyun didn't turn around—he physically couldn't like an unseen force was holding him in place. After struggling for a moment or two, he stopped. Instead, clearing his throat.
"If you revive me I'll be killed again anyway. What's the point?"
The voice chuckled. Humorlessly, it wasn't even entertained. It sounded like.. It was trying to imitate a human. It suddenly felt like it was just a step away from Sae Jaehyun's body.
"Don't worry. You'll get a small boost. My blessing—you'll forget about this anyway. But you'll grow stronger, and just for fun. I'll throw in protection from curses and diseases as well.. Goodbye."
Sae Jaehyun was touched on the back by a soft, yet firm hand—feeling a surge of mana pass through his body as he started glowing, light pouring out of his mouth and eyes.
And the only response he could give? A smirk.
The Ringmaster was sitting on the ground, having eaten Sae Jaehyun's body immediately, it was motionless—like a doll, waiting for outside influence to control it.
"Hey. Get up. You're the boss right?"
The Ringmaster jumped up—head snapping backwards to see none other than Sae Jaehyun, standing there with a completely new set of clothes and even, a new pair of glowing red eyes.
"Impossible... Didn't I kill you?"
The Ringmaster took a few steps back, until its back hit the wall behind it—it was definitely shocked. Especially since it knew that Sae Jaehyun definitely wasn't the same anymore.
Sae Jaehyun raised an eyebrow in confusion and amusement—not knowing that he had indeed died beforehand due to the blessing he got from the deity in that realm.
"Shut up. Come here so I can kill you."
The Ringmaster grunted like a beast, it curled up its whip back into the chakram, throwing it in a desperate attempt of a straight throw towards Sae Jaehyun.
The assassin smirked, reabsorbing his daggers before dodging the attack with ease—his senses were heightened. He felt like he could see and feel every grain of sand under his boots.
"Phew.. Idiot."
He chuckled a little. Seeing the flabbergasted and shocked look that the monster had on its face.
"Come on, you're boring.. I'll end this quickly."
From the slit on his finger an orb of blood formed as it floated behind him. Instantly forming into hundreds of arrows that hardened at the tips. Gleaming red in the dim lighting.
'I don't remember when i unlocked this skill.. But, it combines both Blood Coagulation and Blood Explosion.. Now any construct I make with my blood can explode on contact so.. Time for some fireworks.'
The arrows launched themselves at the Ringmaster who—thinking they were just hardened blood, tried to swat one of them away, but that was its mistake. It had accidentally set off a chain reaction, a small explosion occurring as the other arrows also exploded.
There was now a crater, the combined force of the arrows having annihilated the stands completely—the dungeon slowly fading away. Like wax melting from a candle, it went away completely. Leaving him in his dorm room.
"Alright now.."
He trailed off, seeing Ji Hye sitting in front of him on the bed with a small grin on his face, almost like he was proud. Since after all, he didn't know Sae Jaehyun had died inside this dungeon.
"No need. I already told Youngjae everything. The clown trapped you in a dungeon as well?"
Sae Jaehyun slowly nodded, he didn't know why—but he was strangely confident. His sense of self worth had been restored.
"As well? Were others trapped too? I mean, technically I went in myself but.."
Ji Hye let out a bark of laughter, standing up as he adjusted his dirty green button up—it looked a bit too expensive to be in his hands but that was for a different time.
"Well, yeah. But Dae-sik being the maniac he is. Forced us to clear them ourselves and save the students. We cleared all of the thousand dungeons in a few days..."
Days.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DAYS!! IT FELT LIKE AN HOUR INSIDE MINE! AND THOUSAND?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING RIGHT NOW!! THESE WERE PROBABLY BC OR BA RANK DUNGEONS!!"
Ji Hye once again laughed—putting a hand over Sae Jaehyun's mouth to prevent him from him from yelling any further since that might disturb any medics healing people.
"Yep. A thousand, I cleared two hundred, Youngjae cleared like one hundred and ninety. I lost count for Dae-sik and Hang Woo. They cleared the rest along with Mal-chin. That coot taught us when we were students after all."
Sae Jaehyun couldn't wrap his mind around that—so many dungeons cleared in just a few days. But then he suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, then another...
Blood loss was kicking in, that last attack probably used a whole two liters.
He stumbled forward, falling onto Ji Hye—the older teacher doing the most responsible thing. Stepping aside as Sae Jaehyun lost consciousness, Ji Hye's eyes widening as he realized his blunder, but he didn't care. Letting Sae Jaehyun fall with a loud thud.
"Oops.. I should have caught him I guess.. Oh well. Its not like this kids gonna die, He's much stronger now. Right?"