‘What on earth is happening right now?’
Everyone, except for one person, couldn’t help but think this.
Even Eden, who had spent several days with Shin Jia, felt the same.
In fact, Eden was even more confused because he knew a little about her.
He was aware of her genius talent and that she was destined to carry on the long-lost legacy of witches.
At the same time, he also knew she was a novice who had only just reached the second floor.
But what Shin Jia was displaying now couldn’t simply be described as overflowing talent.
“I…”
“We’ll talk later.”
She cut him off with a slight smile and shook her head just as he finally opened his mouth.
Seeing this, Eden quickly shut it again.
She wasn’t wrong—enemies still stood before them.
“My weapon is broken. I know how to handle a dagger a little, but it won’t be of much help.”
“It doesn’t matter. But let’s hurry.”
At Norha’s hesitant remark, Shin Jia glanced at the ring on her finger.
It was a rare item that barely made her insufficient stats somewhat usable.
The issue was that the magic amplification provided by the Ring of Original Sin had a time limit.
Before that time ran out, Shin Jia planned to kill not only the traitor among them but also all the approaching monsters and escape the dungeon.
‘Can I do it?’
Hearing her plan, Norha swallowed dryly.
No matter how she thought about it, killing skilled opponents and clearing the dungeon in just a few minutes didn’t seem feasible.
“You, how could you…!”
“Barnald!?”
But Norha’s worry was unwarranted.
The Barnald gang, who had prepared in advance and were laughing in the center, were swept away by the undead army Shin Jia had summoned.
When she summoned only one creature to face Barnald earlier, it wasn’t because that was her full power. She simply hadn’t needed to do more.
“Your leader may only be a 30th-floor-level fighter, but he made a pretty decent battery.”
After draining all his remaining strength with her drain magic, Shin Jia turned Barnald’s shriveled corpse into a vengeful spirit and sent it to attack his comrades.
The undead, including Patrol Alpha and Barnald, charged from all directions, overwhelming the enemy.
Despite being skilled fighters above the second floor, they collapsed one by one with screams, unable to resist.
“So this is what a real dark magician looks like…”
Unlike Eden, who tried to help even a little, Norha, lacking a bow, could only stand idly in the back, speechless at the scene before her.
In truth, Norha had only ever heard rumors about dark magicians who had reached such a level and had never witnessed one fight in person.
At the level of the 15th floor she had reached, there was no dark magician of her caliber.
The level Shin Jia was displaying now was a fragment of why the world feared dark magicians, why people continued to turn to such practices despite persecution and prejudice.
Of course, Norha didn’t realize that Shin Jia’s power was different from that of an ordinary dark magician.
“Get ready. The defensive battle is about to begin.”
Eden, sweating coldly, watched as Barnald’s gang, who had collapsed pitifully, had their remaining magic completely drained by Shin Jia, transforming into dried-up mummies in real-time.
‘Just how high is her Drain mastery…?’
Ordinary dark magicians struggled to absorb more magic than they expended.
However, Shin Jia, now cloaked in dark energy, absorbed every last shred of magic left in the corpses without batting an eye.
“If we include these two in the fight, it might just be manageable.”
Eden shifted his gaze to Ella and Ron, who had been beaten and tied up by Barnald’s gang and were now unconscious.
If Shin Jia hadn’t stepped in, Eden and Norha would likely have met the same fate.
“No, don’t wake them up.”
However, Shin Jia stopped Eden as he tried to rouse them to join the battle.
The reason was simple—she didn’t want any more witnesses.
‘I need to keep this controlled. Just enough to be seen as a promising talent.’
The power she had displayed was certainly impressive.
On the second floor, it was overwhelming, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t all that strong.
Certain that the more information about her spread, the more troublesome things would become, she wanted to minimize the number of witnesses.
“I… I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”
Realizing this on her own, Norha hurriedly nodded as if nervous.
But Shin Jia responded with a slight smile.
“As if I’d believe that.”
“That’s…”
“We’ll talk about it later. They’re coming.”
She cut off Norha’s pale-faced attempt to protest and pointed to the southern entrance with her finger.
The dungeon’s final trial had already begun.
Monsters were pouring in from the south, the only side unprotected by defensive stones activated in the east, north, and west.
There were dozens of them, enough to challenge the combined strength of ten people working together.
“This is the end. Rise.”
The remnants of Barnald’s gang, now killed, were summoned as part of her vengeful spirit army.
Sweat trickled down Shin Jia’s temple as she realized her magic reserves were nearing their limit.
With a commanding gesture, she sent her army of spirits, their eyes glowing red, charging toward the incoming monsters.
In the center of the grand garden, a merciless and chaotic melee unfolded.
“They’re thinning out! We’re almost done!”
Norha, now using a bow she had picked up from one of the fallen enemies, fired arrows frantically.
Thanks to the spirits holding off the monsters, she could participate in the fight with much more ease.
The arrow she fired pierced the head of a spiny spider with perfect precision.
Despite their large numbers, several of the vengeful spirits, including Patrol Alpha, were destroyed in concentrated attacks.
However, they were undead, bodies that could be summoned again at any time, unfazed by death or pain.
Thanks to their sacrifices, the last monster fell to Eden’s Dark Flame shot, marking the end of the battle.
「Garden of Revelry cleared」
The system message displayed before them confirmed that everything was finally over.
‘It’s one of the toughest dungeons on the second floor, but the rewards are stingy.’
Bitter yet satisfying.
Receiving the rewards and using them to enhance my magic stats, I felt a strange duality.
From the perspective of my memories of roaming the highest floors, the rewards from the second floor were mere scraps.
However, for a beginner who had just entered this place, even those scraps felt substantial.
I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dissonance between my physical sensations and the memories in my head.
“Are you sure it’s okay to leave them like that?”
“They’re witnesses who can testify about what kind of people Barnald’s gang really were.”
Eden glanced nervously at Ella and Ron, who were left on the ground and muttered with concern.
But truthfully, they were lucky.
If things had gone differently, I might have killed them too and absorbed their magic.
The fact that they were unconscious, combined with the need for other witnesses to testify about Barnald’s gang’s crimes, were the only reasons they were spared.
“Who… are you?”
Now, perhaps the most important task remained—cleaning up the aftermath of what had been done.
Eden, as a fellow dark magician, had likely realized the extent of my abilities.
“Eden, as I’ve already said, my goal is simple: crush anyone who stands in my way, destroy those who obstruct me, and ascend higher.”
I spoke to Eden, whose wavering eyes betrayed his uncertainty.
I couldn’t share too many details, but I wanted to take Eden along with me.
He was the most trustworthy person available, even if only for appearances.
“If you follow me, I promise to reward your trust with guaranteed success.”
I decided to take a small risk and push forward with confidence.
Soon enough, I’ll have enough credibility to not need to hide anything.
After all, in the tower, anything is possible.
“All right, I get it.”
Fortunately, Eden, after some hesitation, nodded in agreement.
My attempt to persuade him by confronting him face-to-face seemed to have worked.
It feels like I’m starting to learn how to wield the power this body possesses.
If my former self had done this, it would have been blatant intimidation, and Eden would have been trembling in fear.
“And you.”
“Eek…”
Of course, there was one more person left.
Norha, who had been standing there nervously, flinched and trembled when I turned my gaze toward her.
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