Chapter 68: Destiny Part 2

The boss’s figure shattered like glass.

To be precise, the boss disintegrated in the world as Amon saw it.

The shards of the boss, scattered like glass, floated back up and reassembled, only to shatter again.

This was not the first time Amon had experienced this phenomenon.

Since entering this dungeon, he had noticed this happening with every monster in his sight.

When Amon first witnessed this phenomenon, he wasn’t flustered.

Just as one instinctively knows how to breathe from birth, he naturally accepted this phenomenon as a part of himself.

When the phenomenon began with his first encounter with a monster, Amon started to analyze it.

By the time he reached the boss room, he had drawn conclusions about it.

To test these conclusions, he charged into the boss alone.

Amon closed his eyes and reopened them.

The boss, in reality, was still intact, unscathed.

Amon had entered the boss room.

As he stepped in, the boss immediately took up a combat stance.

With a swing of the boss’s arm, a pillar of light descended from the heavens without warning.

A marking pattern.

It was a technique once used by the false saintess, though the dialogue accompanying it was different.

[Accept the evolution!]

Oddly, the line that should have been shouted by the scientist was now being exclaimed by the chairman.

Amon knew what he needed to do.

This time, however, things were slightly different.

Back then, he had to roll on the ground to evade it.

Now, a simple sidestep was more than enough.

The boss, clearly not expecting Amon to evade the first attack so effortlessly, was visibly flustered.

Amon immediately went for the boss’s wings.

[Aaaah!!!]

As Amon’s blade slashed through, smoke rose from the wound as if the flesh had been seared by fire, and the boss writhed in pain.

Amon blinked.

Once again, his vision shifted to the alternate world, where the boss was crumbling.

But this time, it was slightly different.

‘As expected.’

After Amon’s attack, the collapse was accelerating.

Amon targeted the area of the boss’s body that had sustained the most damage.

When he returned to reality, the wound around the shoulder he had attacked had begun to grow.

Upon seeing this, Amon became certain of what his eyes were showing him.

‘The Celestial Mandate.’

His eyes could perceive the destined fate of his enemies—not a prediction of the future like Cassie’s abilities, but a sense of when a target would die.

The reason the monsters here shattered and reassembled repeatedly was because they existed in a state neither alive nor dead.

They were beings perpetually close to death, bound within this dungeon.

Thus, their essence, as seen by Amon, cycled through collapse and restoration.

While this ability might seem useless in combat at first glance, its potential applications were vast.

For instance, take the shoulder Amon had attacked.

The wound inflicted there was now spreading through the boss’s physical body in reality.

Additionally, in the alternate world, the boss’s collapse was accelerating at an unprecedented pace.

The boss was dying faster than its predestined time.

In other words, Amon could deliberately shorten the lifespan of his targets.

‘The testing is complete.’

Now, it was time to fulfill Cassie’s request.

Even though Amon could have killed the boss, he chose not to.

Instead, he observed its patterns carefully.

Outside the boss room, Sonia was diligently recording the patterns.

After some time, Amon judged that the boss had shown everything it had.

He retrieved a slightly longer dagger from the subspace pouch in his coat.

With precision, he threw the dagger, piercing the boss’s thigh.

The boss struggled, attempting to escape Amon.

However, with its wings severed and a blade embedded in its leg, escape was impossible.

Amon closed the distance between them.

As Amon raised his sword to strike, the chairman twisted his face into a grotesque smile.

Sensing something was amiss, Amon instinctively swung his blade.

Just as his sword was about to connect, a voice emanated from the scientist’s head attached to the back of the chairman’s neck.

[That’s a fine sword. Would you sell it?]

With those words, Amon’s sword vanished without warning.

In its place, a heavy weight settled into his pocket.

Glancing down, he saw a bundle of cash stuffed into his pocket.

‘Well, now.’

This was a pattern he had never encountered before.

As Amon processed what had just happened, the boss seized the moment, swinging its staff at him.

While the staff itself wasn’t an exceptional weapon, the boss’s sheer strength was enough to crush the skulls of most humans.

‘Most humans.’

The problem was, Amon wasn’t “most humans.”

Thwack!

[Ugh!]

[Guhh!]

Amon blocked the staff with his left arm, while his right elbow struck the boss squarely in the solar plexus.

The boss had overlooked one crucial fact: close combat with a swordsman often ends in hand-to-hand techniques.

Wrestling, karate, boxing, and more—swordsmen trained in such disciplines to prepare for situations where their blades were entangled.

While they might not rival specialists in those fields, they were still proficient.

To assume that a swordsman was weak in hand-to-hand combat was a grave misconception.

Thwack!

Amon struck the boss’s side and retreated.

The boss, clutching its side, tried using the technique the false saintess had once used, but it was, of course, futile.

With light steps, Amon easily dodged, leaping over the boss’s head to its back.

He kicked the boss’s side again.

And again.

Each successive strike caused the boss’s body to collapse further.

The lifespan visible to Amon was rapidly dwindling.

Snapping the staff over his knee, striking the boss’s abdomen repeatedly until it was disoriented, and kicking its hamstrings until it knelt—all led to one conclusion.

Thud!

The boss was so massive that even on its knees, its gaze still reached Amon’s shoulder level.

Amon stared down at the kneeling boss.

[That fist… has value…]

[I see where evolution must lead…]

The boss muttered incoherently, its spirit broken.

Compared to the false saintess, it had no semblance of authority or dignity.

Amon retrieved a dagger from his coat pocket and ended the boss’s life with a single strike.

The massive figure collapsed onto the ground.

As the boss’s body disintegrated into particles and was gradually absorbed by the dungeon, Amon turned to Sonia.

“Did you record everything?”

“All of it. Except for the part where the weapon suddenly disappeared. Other than that, it was just a downgraded version of the false saintess.”

“I thought the same.”

“But where did the weapon go?”

Amon showed his pocket.

Inside was a bundle of cash.

“They paid the full price.”

“Wasn’t that the custom-made gear Cassie got for you?”

“Seems like it…”

Amon sighed.

The boss itself wasn’t too difficult, but the pattern where gear was suddenly erased was a bit of a blow.

While the money could buy replacements, limited-edition items couldn’t simply be substituted.

Sonia added to her notes about the boss.

“‘Never bring expensive equipment.’”

Amon chimed in.

“‘At least know how to fight with your fists…’”

***

At that moment, a strange sound came from the direction of the boss.

Clink.

Both turned their eyes toward the boss’s remains.

The boss had already vanished, but in its place lay a familiar orb.

“An essence?”

Amon picked up the orb immediately.

Yellow. Another legendary.

Sonia’s eyes lit up.

“I’ll appraise it!”

Now that she had learned the skill, Sonia was able to appraise items herself.

While she appraised the essence, Amon reflected on the situation.

‘Another legendary?’

It was strange.

While it wouldn’t have been odd for a legendary essence to drop from the false saintess, this boss wasn’t objectively strong enough to justify such a reward.

Yet, it had dropped a legendary essence.

Of course, it could be luck, but this made two consecutive legendary drops for Amon recently.

It was too unusual to chalk up to luck alone.

As Amon pondered, Sonia finished the appraisal and approached.

“Appraisal is done.”

“What’s the result?”

“‘Stitching.’ It lets you sew without any gaps in the threads.”

“Not bad.”

Sonia nodded.

At first glance, it didn’t seem particularly useful, but stitching was an incredibly broad concept.

While sewing with threads might come to mind, anyone using whips or harpoons could utilize this essence to devastating effect.

It meant that any weapon connected by a string could be freely manipulated as if stitching fabric.

Essences were always like this—powers that manipulated concepts themselves.

Amon’s unusual combat tactics with Sky Step were an extension of this principle.

Thus, while the concept of stitching wasn’t useless, neither Amon nor Sonia had much use for it.

“Let’s sell it at auction or to the company later.”

Sonia nodded and tucked the essence into her pocket.

“Are we leaving now?”

Amon considered for a moment before shaking his head.

“Let’s stay another two weeks.”

“Why?”

“We’ve had two legendary essences drop in a row. There might be a pattern. Are you okay with that?”

Sonia eagerly nodded.

She had no reason to object.

School was on break, and as long as Amon was with her, it didn’t matter where they were.

In fact, it meant they could spend time together, even if it was in their hometown, like a date.

Sonia teased Amon.

“So, what will we do for the next three days?”

“Not sure. Want to go on a date?”

“Where?”

“Let’s start with the amusement park tomorrow.”

Sonia nodded happily.

***

Two weeks later, Amon and Sonia returned and headed straight to Cassie’s office.

“You look rough.”

That was Amon’s immediate impression as he walked in and saw Cassie slumped over her desk in a suit, looking completely drained.

Cassie groaned in a voice that sounded near-death.

“I’m fine…”

“Doesn’t look that way.”

“It’s not exhaustion, I feel like I’m dying…”

“Well, you certainly look like it.”

Amon placed a bottle of alcohol on Cassie’s desk.

“It was a bottle of Colorado craft beer, brewed with genuine barley instead of GMO ingredients, made by Johnson, an old goat beastman who retired from the office.”

“I got this for you.”

“Thanks.”

Cassie placed the beer in the fridge and seemed to regain some composure.

“So, what’s the result?”

“Sonia will explain.”

Amon stepped back, and Sonia stepped forward with a detailed report compiled over the past two weeks.

Cassie skimmed through the report indifferently until she reached the latter sections, where her eyes widened.

“Is this… true?”

“We’re not fully certain since we only have a sample size of ten, but it seems accurate.”

“Even so, this is incredibly valuable.”

Cassie pointed to a section in the report.

It detailed a unique pattern of the bosses.

<Bosses can purchase equipment without warning. They prioritize the most valuable item present, and if values are similar, they opt for the most threatening weapon.>

At first glance, it seemed like there was no real reason to tackle such a boss, nor any reason for Cassie to react so strongly.

The real significance lay in the next part.

<The value of the purchased equipment affects the rarity of the essence dropped upon defeating the boss.>

The report included a chart.

Equipment worth over 100 million consistently yielded legendary essences, while items in the 10-million range resulted in unique-tier drops.

Though Amon and Sonia lacked high-end gear and time for thorough testing, the results were credible.

Cassie immediately contacted external relations.

“Yes, this is Cassie Reketio, Director. It’s urgent—please prepare the procedures for dungeon acquisition. I’ll send related documents later. Thank you.”

Dungeons were usually public spaces, too cumbersome to maintain or destroy.

They were left as communal zones for mercenaries and adventurers.

However, anyone confident enough to manage or dispose of a dungeon could claim ownership.

After all, in this world, it was easier to list things that couldn’t be bought with money than the opposite.

Cassie finished her call and nodded with satisfaction.

“You two did an excellent job. I’ll reward you properly later.”

“Speaking of rewards…”

Amon hesitated, stepping back awkwardly.

Then, he bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry! I used up all the gear you bought me!”

The report listed all the equipment Cassie had bought for Amon, using her personal funds.

It amounted to a small company’s worth of value, leaving Amon with no excuses.

He knew the cost didn’t trouble Cassie much, but a gift still carried meaning, and an apology was necessary for wasting it.

“I’m really sorry!”

Next to him, Sonia also bowed in apology.

Though she hadn’t done anything wrong, it felt right to follow Amon’s lead.

Both stood with their heads bowed toward Cassie.

After a brief silence, Cassie spoke.

“It’s fine.”

“Really?”

“Equipment is expendable. Use it as much as you need. It’s not hard to replace.”

Besides, this level of support was standard…

Cassie almost said it out loud but stopped herself.

It wasn’t the right time yet.

Instead, she praised their achievements.

“Take a break until the dungeon acquisition is finalized. The bonus will exceed your expectations.”

With that, Cassie stamped the task as complete.

After chatting briefly, the three parted ways.

***

Later, as Amon and Sonia returned to their home, Cassie picked up her phone again.

“Monitor everyone on the list I’m sending you for the next three months. No overtime restrictions for the names in red.”

“Put me through to the Head of External Intelligence. …Make sure the reporters don’t catch a whiff of this for at least two weeks.”

“Torso? Is Vance with you? Great. I’ll need you two to cover shifts with me for now. I can’t entrust this to anyone else.”

Cassie made calls one after another.

Her nights were always longer than anyone else’s.