The Insurrection of the Inept Hero
Chapter 126: The Diverging Dungeon Part II

I started running back to save the other adventurers that Kiyomi was accompanying. 20 adventurers including the girls had entered this dungeon. They were all separated into three groups. Ravyn was with another group, Akane and Katrina with the party lead by the "leader," and Kiyomi in this one.

She was with 6 others, all in Pink-rank. I'll try and save all of them but if one dies, then so be it.

Upon arriving at the spot, I looked up at the monster. It was a massive serpent with multiple death worm-like appendages coming out of its body. Those appendages slobbered green acid. I spotted one of the adventurers missing one of his arms. It was all melted from the result of the acid.

At least he's not dead. Though, he's gonna have to be treated quickly. All the other adventurers looked roughed up. Seems they were having a hard time.

Now then…

I launched myself towards the serpent and sliced off one of its appendages. The dismembered worm fell to the ground, splattering acid everywhere.

"Wh-who are you?" One of the other adventurers asked.

I ignored him as one of the death worms flew towards me. I evaded, slashing it into pieces the second after.

I was expecting to replace some weak points but this entire snake is completely defenseless. Guess I'll just execute it here.

It threw another death worm at me but I didn't bother to pay attention to it. I turned to the serpent and flew towards it, decapitating it with my sword. The head slid off from its limping body and it was dead.

That was easy. Is this really the monsters Orange-rank adventurers and higher have to deal with?

"A-are you an Orange-rank adventurer?" Someone behind me asked and I turned, shaking my head.

"No, I'm only a Pink-rank."

"A Pink-rank? Really?"

Everyone looked at me in shock and I rolled my eyes before walking over to the adventurer missing an arm and performing Instant Heal.

"What the-? My arm! It's back!" He gasped and looked at me.

"Why don't you guys sit back? I can finish this dungeon on my own," I declared, gathering mana in my hands.

I might as well just do all the work if this is how they are going to fight. Along with Kiyomi, we can easily take this dungeon's boss down.

"Kiyomi, let's go."

Kiyomi nodded and followed. I heard the adventurers say that they want to help but I ignored them as I entered the door the serpent was guarding.

We easily took down waves of monsters guarding more doors. As I dealt with some of them, I realized Kiyomi was starting to struggle. I was getting suspicious as to why she was acting like that but I decided to dismiss it.

Meanwhile, as I was killing them, I've been getting these messages from Yukie, saying what skill I wanted from the monsters I've killed. After looking through what I could choose, none of them were useful to me as I already had all of them.

After a while, we arrived at the last gate. I could tell because the energy coming from beyond the doors was different. It also had different patterns on the door than the previous ones.

"The boss will be beyond those doors," I said, turning to Kiyomi.

"R-right," she said nervously and I started to get worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"N-nothing really."

She looked down and she displayed an anxious face. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her towards me.

"Spit it out. There's no need to keep secrets from me." I whispered into her ear softly. I heard her gulp and suddenly, she started to weep.

"I… I just want to be useful to you. I've done quests with the others and they've grown faster than me. I just don't think I have any use to you anymore."

Her legs trembled and she almost fell but I held her in my arms.

So that's why she's been down. I had a feeling it was about this.

"Don't say that to yourself. If it wasn't for you, we would not be here right now. Remember the time you saved me? There is no reason for you to say you have no worth to me after you did that for me."

I stroked the top of her head and kissed her on the cheek.

"Let's focus on the task at hand. We can't afford to drop our guard yet. We still need to group up with the others. Is that alright?"

"Y-yes," Kiyomi responded, her face blushing red.

"Good, now then-"

I looked behind me and a spear was heading towards us. I held Kiyomi along with me and dodged the spear.

Clang~!

A chained humanoid figure appeared from the shadows. It wore a metal helmet over its head with bolts hammered into it. Its stomach was exposed but it had no organs and only the spine was revealed. In its hand, it held chains and a broken spear, the end of the broken spear attached to the chains.

[Level 125,000]

Well, looks like this is the first monster I am meeting with a 6 digit level.

I slowly turned to Kiyomi who was getting into a fighting stance.

She's only around level 30,000. If she fought alone, she has a low chance of succeeding. Considering her abilities, she could do some damage, but her abilities are the ones I gave her.

I've been searching for ways to unlock her hidden potential but I could not replace any information on Kitsunes or any other Phantom kind related info. To think that out of every book Celestia has in her library, she is missing the ones I need for Kiyomi.

I'm gonna have to look somewhere else. Now then...

The monster threw its spear at me and I deflected it with my sword. The spear flew into the air, but mysteriously, it vanished. Suddenly, I had a spear piercing my chest.

What the-?

The monster pulled on its chain and I was being dragged forward towards it.

"Nero!"

Kiyomi darted towards me and tried to drag me back. She attempted to get the spear out of my chest but to no avail. Worrying about her safety, I told her to stand down.

Tch.

Where the hell did it come from? I swear I deflected it with my sword. Could it be a skill I'm not familiar with?

No, I did deflect it but it somehow managed to hit me despite that. Could it be some kind of unmissable skill?

I planted my feet into the ground and started to pull on the chains. The monster stumbled and fell forward as I began pulling him towards me.

Carrying all those chains must be heavy, so I assumed this thing would be strong. Maybe it's just the buffs I have that are giving me more strength than it. I bet if I used Osiris, I'd defeat this thing easily.

But first, I want to figure out what that skill was.

Soon enough, I was given my answer.

The moment I blinked, I was the one on the ground and the monster was where I was.

So that's it! It's not some kind of ability that doesn't miss, it's a transportation skill!

Is it because I struck the spear with my sword? Or was it because I made contact with the chains?

I didn't have time to think as I felt my strength drain away. I quickly started to resist and gripped onto the chains.

This annoying-!

I tried to force the spear out of my chest but it was jammed in there. With no choice, I equipped Osiris and forcefully pulled the chain, sending the monster flying towards me.

With a swift strike, I broke the monster's helmet. I also performed Twisted Chaos Dance, hitting the monster from all sides.

It rolled across the ground and eventually let go of the chains. With the time I bought, I tried to pull the spear out of my chest but it wouldn't budge. I eventually had no choice but to force the spear out of my chest, even if I had to rip out my flesh.

I gripped the spear and began to force it out of my chest. With all my strength, I managed to rip the stupid thing out of me. Surprisingly, I only lost some flesh.

I didn't feel any pain but my wound wasn't closing. Guess I'll just have to deal with it for now.

Turning back to the monster, it was back on its feet again. With its helmet now broken, I could now see its weak spot.

Its head was nothing but a simple energy core. I had a feeling that its helmet was going to be of some importance.

Now, I stated that I would not use Cursed Arts or any Principles in the dungeon, but I'm getting tired of seeing this thing walk around.

BANG!!

With a clear shot, I pierced the monster's core and it cried in agony. The chains on its body crumbled into dust before they faded into ashes, along with its body.

Now then, what was that skill?

[Skill: Thwart]

Is that so? Well then, I'll gladly take it.

[Skills Obtained: Thwart]

The giant doors started to open. I guess that the monster I just killed was the guard. Though, I wouldn't say it was the guard. It was a little too weak to be one. Despite it being higher level than me. Guess I overestimated it a little.

Behind the doors was a giant room filled with only chains. Seeing all the chains, I started to have a bad premonition.

First, I went over to Kiyomi. She had been watching the whole time so she wasn't affected. Normally, I wouldn't mind having any one of the girls accompany me but this time I'm really thinking it's not going to be a good idea for her to enter with me.

As I was attempting to reason with her, I noticed two more tunnels appearing.

Wait a minute, those weren't there before.

I started to hear chatter and from one of the tunnels came out Ravyn and two others. They looked exhausted and the looks on their faces looked like they had seen a ghost, in figurative terms. Ravyn would not be scared of a ghost unless it's truly terrifying.

From the other one came out Akane and Katrina, both of them were covered in blood. Akane had an expressionless look on her face while Katrina had a face of guilt. I started to wonder what had happened to them but noticing that the other group members were missing, I figured it out.

Akane is accustomed to killing others if necessary. I've seen her do it before. Katrina has killed monsters because of quests, but she has never killed human beings before.

The two walked up to me and Katrina fell into my arms.

"I... I'm sorry... I killed..."

She wept in my arms and I stroked her hair to comfort her. My eyes motioned to Akane. Noticing my gaze, she closed her eyes.

"We'll talk about it later," I said as I got up.

For now, I should just focus on how we are going to get out of here.

"All of you will stay here. I will defeat the dungeon boss so we can all get out of here."

"I will accompany you," Akane said.

"No, you will stay. At your current level, you won't be able to beat what is past that door."

Akane opened her mouth, but no words came out. She stayed silent and nodded.

"Good. I'd like you to get the others back in that tunnel. I want everyone to be here by the time I defeat the boss."

Akane nodded and entered the tunnel while I entered the boss' room, the giant doors slamming shut behind me.

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