[You have defeated the world’s enemy of the Panan continent! A truly great achievement! You have received 50 bonus stat points and 10 skill points! Current skill points: 18]

[You have obtained the title, ‘Savior Hero’! The Lord begins to focus his support for you. You can now decrease the influence of those who ignore the dungeon’s system! Whenever you fight the world's enemies, your abilities will increase by 10%!]

[All gods feel great interest towards you. Gods related to battles, strategies, and courage favor you greatly.]

[You have obtained the entrance ticket to the SSS rank Event Dungeon, ‘Wonderland.’ You can go in with your guild members!]

[All skill levels have increased by 1!]

[By destroying a powerful enemy, Absolute Soul has reached level 3! The league of your soul has become higher, further increasing your resistance to all physical, magical, and mental attacks! The amount of mana you absorb with physical attacks and defense has increased!]

[You have completed the request successfully. You have obtained 10 bonus stats as the reward! It is highly recommended that you return immediately. This place is currently extremely dangerous!]

After happily listening to the notification messages flowing in, I let out a long sigh. I was able to make the best case scenario come true. Even as I readied Caduceus, I was worried that the El Patiz would avoid it somehow. As it turned out, that worry was unfounded. Everything worked out perfectly.

Of course, even if things didn’t work out as I intended, I was at least confident that I wouldn’t have my brain eaten by the El Patiz because of Absolute Soul.

When I came to the Panan continent, I thought about how to defend myself against the El Patiz. They were bugs that ate other people’s brains, taking them over. How cruel was that?

I wanted a skill that would protect my brain from an unexpected sneak attack. Since even the Panan continent’s Hero was taken over by the El Patiz, I knew that my identity as a Hero wouldn’t protect me from them. Saving my friend was important, but my life was even more important. Absolute Soul was the skill I tried to create that day in the forest, and it was my solution to this problem.

During my first attempt to synthesize the skill, I felt something was lacking, so I stopped. I was combining Heavy Armor Mastery, Soul Guard, and Death Counter together. They were all excellent defensive skills, and I knew the resulting skill would protect my mind and body perfectly. However, I felt that I needed something else. After all, these damned bugs had even consumed a Hero. In the end, I synthesized the skill only after I obtained Mana Absorption from the Mana Eater.

Mana Absorption’s effect was simple. Whenever I attacked with a melee weapon, or whenever an enemy attacked me with a melee or magical attack, I would absorb the enemy’s mana. Basically, whenever I came in contact with mana, I would suck away a portion of it. As the skill level increased, the amount that I absorbed would also increase. Since I was always mana hungry, it was a truly wonderful skill to have.

I focused on the fact that this skill could steal the enemy’s mana. Humans generally did not have any mana at birth, and, even if they did, it would be an extremely low amount. Other races were drastically different. The more they differed from humans, the more mana they possessed naturally. It wasn’t wrong to say that the El Patiz were giant lumps of mana. They were afraid of the Mana Eater for the same reason. The Mana Eater’s existence itself ate away at the El Patizs’ life force.

For that reason, I added Mana Absorption to the skill I wanted to create, resulting in Absolute Soul. It raised my soul’s league, allowing me to resist those of higher level. It completely protected my body and soul.

[Your soul is complete and pure. Such a lofty soul affects you both internally and externally. Positive effects are added to all of your actions. Your attacks have become stronger, and your defense against all types of physical, magical, and mental attacks have increased greatly.]

[Nothing can invade your body and mind. You have become immune to all mental status effects, and you are unaffected by all corrosion, parasites, possessions, controls, and mutations. As curses cannot affect you, you cannot be reborn as an undead when you die.]

[Your soul absorbs mana that nears you and prevents it from functioning properly. The effect applies even when you approach the enemy. Physical attacks, and physical and magical defense will absorb a fixed amount of mana.]

[Whenever the skill level increases, the skill’s effect increases.]

When I first read the skill description, I almost fainted because of how good it was. Soon, I began to see the skill’s potential: a potential to destroy the world’s enemy of the Panan continent.

I immediately began to scheme. I first had to ensure my safety, then Ren’s, Lebuik’s, and the children’s safety. I had to come up with a way to make the El Patiz with the Hero’s power come into my brain.

At first, I wanted to make use of the bug acting as Uruto. I intentionally put him on Lotte’s back and acted as if I was exhausted. Then, at the critical moment, I used Sky God’s Play and escaped. I was surprised to learn that there were two bugs that could take the Hero’s power, but it didn’t matter since I was able to destroy one of them. Once there was only one bug with the power left, the bug inside the Panan continent’s Hero had to face me.

My plan’s chance of success had risen greatly.

After that, I freely used Sky God’s Play and decimated the monsters. It was a simple psychological trick. From the beginning, I used a powerful skill to protect myself from the bug. By showing that I couldn’t use that skill anymore, I let the El Patiz lower their guard. In other words, I hid the potential existence of a skill like Absolute Soul by using the flashy Sky God’s Play.

If I didn’t use Sky God’s Play and instead relied on something like my physical ability to defend against the first bug, the El Patiz might have been more cautious. However, I left a strong impact with Sky God’s Play and deliberately showed that the ability was no longer usable. With that, they would think that I didn’t have any other methods. Presumably, that was why they acted without hesitation.

Although it was rather simple, in the heat of battle, it was hard to consider all aspects. Feints easily tricked people, especially a double-layered feint. Since I acted proud when I used Sky God’s Play and became troubled when it ended, the enemy had fallen for the trap more easily.

The El Patiz didn’t try to eat my brain on the spot, but that was still within my expectation. In fact, it didn’t matter if it tried at all. It was enough as long as it entered the range of Caduceus.

After I obtained Absolute Soul, I thought of using the backlash from Caduceus to my benefit.

Caduceus was the scepter representing Hermes. There were two snakes coiling around it – one that represented death or plague, and one representing healing and regeneration. There were other theories regarding the two snakes, but the ones I had represented those meanings.

Caduceus had two abilities. I had used the black snake before. In the Luka continent, its use was offensive. When someone at a lower level or league damaged me, I could return the damage completely. If our levels were the same, the damage done would simply disappear as if it never happened. However, it had an equally great flaw. When used against an enemy stronger than me, the damage done to the enemy would be transferred to me.

As enemies stronger than me generally had higher leagues, using the black snake against them was not a good idea. On the other hand, there really wasn’t a reason to use the snake against those weaker than me. After all, I had numerous ways of dealing with weak enemies. As such, it really only came into use that one time when I was facing against Shina in the Luka continent.

This time, however, I used Caduceus’ flaw to my advantage. The damage received by the enemy included the mind’s corrosion by the El Patiz. I wasn’t 100% certain it would completely transfer, but the message noona confirmed that my theory was correct when I asked her. Even though she didn’t answer my questions most of the time, she was quick to do so whenever I was on a Dimensional Mercenary mission.

In any case, Caduceus’ power forcefully overwrote the damage done to Panan continent’s Hero and rebounded it to me. Since I was now completely immune to corrosions after obtaining Absolute Soul, I could destroy the El Patiz the moment it entered my brain. I was worried that it would escape, so I was perfectly prepared to use Sky God’s Rage. However, everything turned out flawlessly.

“Huu, arghhhh!”

First, I pulled out the claymore in my stomach. Then, I put both the claymore and the Hero’s corpse inside my inventory. Blood spurted out of my stomach, and I could feel the strength leaving my body. With no other choice, I took out the Elixir Ludia gave me and drank it. I immediately recovered completely, and the gaping wound on my stomach sealed up as if it never existed. The Elixir was extremely tasty. It was sweet and refreshing, but the taste was hard to describe in more detail. I had never had something like it.

I then realized that the Elixir bottle had a very fancy design engraved on it. When I was observing it with interest, someone finally asked out of bewilderment, “What… What happened!?”

“He died!”

“The Hero’s power…The Hero’s power was taken! I can tell! Our blessing was taken back!”

“Is there another that can hold the Hero’s power?”

“No, they’re all gone. We have to wait for another’s birth!”

“First, kill him! Seize what belongs to us!”

They had finally come to a conclusion. The monsters, humans, and beastmen being controlled by the El Patiz all glared at me. However, I leisurely stuffed the Hero’s power in the crystal bottle in my hand and sealed it. Then, I turned around and shouted, “Ren, Lebuik! We’re done here. Let’s go back!”

“Ren-nim fainted!” Lebuik reported, somewhat panicked.

I callously ordered, “Slap him awake! Return to the dungeon before they get here!”

“What about you!?” she asked, clearly still frazzled.

I grinned. “Me?”

After destroying the world’s enemy, all of my skill levels had increased by 1. Return was now level 9. While I put an additional 16 skill points into it, I answered casually, “I’ll go back to Earth with the children.”

[You have mastered Return! Up to ten times a day, you can teleport to set locations with nine other people. You can set up to ten teleport locations, but they cannot be in other dimensions.]

Perfect. The skill effect practically doubled! I smiled and shot up to the sky. After seeing Lebuik wake Ren up and return to the dungeon, I flew to the ocean while cutting down the monsters in my path.

“Stop him! Retrieve the Hero’s power!”

“Reclaim the prosperity of El Patiz!”

“Hail El Patiz!”

How noisy. While many of the monsters fell to the ground after being turned into stone, a considerable number of them only became slightly weakened as they continued to charge toward me. They really were desperate.

“You’ve stolen our hope!”

“You evil Hero!”

I smiled fiercely as I replied, “I’m surprised you say that considering what you did to this world.”

“Will you be able to say that after your world loses its power!?” one screeched.

I nodded. “Of course. Do I look like a fool? Eat Crimson Roar, you bugs!”

At that very moment, I was undoubtedly at the center of the world! The world became dyed in crimson flames. In it, only I could breathe freely.

[Kuaaaaaang!]

[Capture him!]

[Get him before he enters the dungeon!]

[The ocean! He’s going in the ocean!]

Crimson Roar bought more time than I expected. By the time the El Patiz found a way to see through the flames, I had the ocean surface right in front of me. Now that I was here, there was no need to hesitate.

[No!]

[Nooooooo!]

I shouted triumphantly, “Yes!”

I dove in. With Talaria allowing me to maneuver myself freely, I went in deeper and deeper. When I looked back, the monsters, humans, and beastmen that had thrown their bodies forward to stop me were spurting out blood and disintegrating. I was somewhat skeptical when I learned about their weakness, but they really were incompatible with ocean water.

I left the screams of despair behind and found the Crystal Lair deep inside the ocean. It wasn’t hard to find with Aikan sitting on the ocean floor. The Crystal Lair was also sitting on Aikan’s back.

Daisy caught sight of me. When she realized what was inside the crystal bottle on me, she messaged me with a dumbfounded face.

[You really…did it.]

I grinned. [Sorry, but don’t fall for me.]

She huffed. [Stupid.]

I landed on Aikan’s back and entered the Crystal Lair. The children all jumped in my embrace with frowns. The rabbit-eared girl Elfa was crying as if she was washing her face with tears.

“Wahhhh, I thought oppa was going to die.”

“Oppa, where’s Ren oppa?” another asked urgently.

“Where’s the knight noona?”

“Did they die? Ren oppa died? Uwaaaaah!”

“Calm down, guys.”

I held them and calmed them down.

I patiently explained, “They’re both alive and kicking. Though…Ren is probably a bit depressed.”

Before Ren entered the dungeon, I noticed that his lion ears were drooping. Deific Manifestation and Ogre Power were most likely his trump cards, but they had been defeated easily. He was powerful, but his enemy wasn’t one that he could defeat with raw physical power alone.

That said, I was still surprised by his strength and felt great potential in him.

His overzealous personality would need some fixing, but Ren had the talent and will to become much stronger. He also had a clear goal – to protect the children and to defeat the El Patiz controlling the Panan continent.

His will was deserving of respect, and I conveniently had an ownerless Hero’s power, which I didn’t mind giving to someone who would help me when needed. This power belonged to the Panan continent. I was sure that this was undoubtedly the correct choice.

“And I’ll get myself a new guild member, too!” I cackled to myself.

“Expression, wicked.”

I responded to Daisy’s murmur with an innocent smile. The crying children looked at Daisy and me curiously. I waved my hand to tell them it was nothing.

“Alright, let’s go visit my home. We can meet up with Ren and Lebuik there.”

Elfa asked, “Oppa’s home? We don’t have to be underwater?”

I tapped her nose. “Of course. We’re leaving here for a while.”

“The day you return to this continent, I hope you will be excellent warriors,” I whispered in an inaudible voice and used Return to go to my home on Earth. The Panan continent’s Dimensional Mercenary mission had finally ended.