Chapter 152: Prodigy among Prodigy!
"And of course, repeated testing is important to confirm consistency of quality—"
Kaizen’s fingers pumped faster.
Deeper.
Curling hard against their G-spots with every thrust.
Sera’s breathing turned shaky.
Hina’s soft, suppressed moans leaked out despite her best efforts.
Both of them were dripping down his hands now.
Wet.
Messy.
Desperate.
Kaizen leaned in just enough for both to hear.
"You’re both so wet..."
"It’s almost like you’re competing."
Sera’s eyes widened in pure horror and heat.
Hina’s jaw clenched so hard it looked painful.
Neither of them could stop their bodies from squeezing around his fingers.
Greedy.
Hungry.
Embarrassing.
The wet sounds got louder.
Schlick-schlick-schlick—
Then—
Footsteps.
Heavy.
Fast.
Multiple pairs.
Running straight toward them from deeper in the cave.
Everyone froze.
Leo’s voice cut off mid-sentence.
Kaito’s flame flared brighter.
Kaizen’s fingers stayed buried deep inside both girls for one last second.
Then he slowly pulled them out with a wet, filthy sound.
Both Sera and Hina staggered half a step, thighs pressed tightly together, faces burning, bodies still twitching.
Kaizen casually wiped his wet fingers on his pants.
Voice calm.
"Looks like the testing is on hold."
Leo’s eyes went sharp.
"Something’s coming!"
The entire party tensed.
Weapons ready.
Hearts racing for more than one reason.
....
A screech echoed through the cave.
Then another.
Then ten more.
Out of the darkness...
A group of goblins charged toward them.
Small.
Ugly.
Green.
Built like angry potatoes.
Leo’s eyes lit up.
He slapped his thigh.
"Little shits."
"Just warm-ups."
His lips slowly curled upward.
’Aura farming time.’
Without waiting for anyone...
He dashed forward.
"Leo!" Hina shouted.
"Don’t rush in! It’s still an A-Rank dungeon!"
Leo didn’t even slow down.
"This..."
He raised one hand.
Blue mana spiraled around his palm.
"...is what a real man does!"
He couldn’t help throwing a smug grin toward Sera.
’Watch this, Sera-chan.’
’Watch your future husband cook.’
Sera blinked.
"..."
She decided not to comment.
In the next instant—
BOOM!!
Leo’s palm slammed into the first goblin’s chest.
The mana exploded.
The unfortunate creature didn’t even have time to scream.
It became a green missile.
BANG!
It crashed into another goblin.
Then another.
Then another.
A chain reaction followed.
BOOM!
CRASH!
BAM!
Bodies flew everywhere.
One goblin disappeared into the darkness.
Nobody knew where it landed.
Perhaps not even God knew.
Dust settled.
Silence.
Leo remained frozen in his finishing pose.
One arm extended.
Hair fluttering dramatically.
"..."
’Eh?’
He blinked.
’They died?’
’Already?’
Leo frowned.
’I thought A-Rank monsters were supposed to be stronger.’
’I used full power because I didn’t want to embarrass myself...’
He looked at the crater.
’...Maybe I overdid it a little.’
Then...
A smile slowly appeared.
’No...’
’This is perfect.’
’Massive aura gain.’
Leo slowly turned around.
Cape-less...
Yet somehow acting like he had one.
He folded his arms.
Looked forty-five degrees upward.
And spoke in the deepest voice he could manage.
"Is everyone alright?"
"The problem has been dealt with."
"A trivial matter."
"..."
Nobody answered.
Kaizen scratched his cheek.
Then sighed.
"...That guy’s about to get punted across the entire dungeon."
Sera snapped her head toward him.
"Huh?"
"What do you mean?"
Kaizen simply pointed at the dead goblins.
"Look at their status."
Sera and Hina looked.
A translucent screen floated above the nearest corpse.
[Common Goblin]
[Rank: F]
"..."
"...?"
"So?" Sera asked.
"They’re goblins."
"Aren’t they usually F-Rank?"
Kaizen nodded.
"Exactly."
"..."
"..."
Both girls stared at him.
Still confused.
Kaizen sighed again.
"Think about it."
"This is an A-Rank dungeon."
He spread his arms.
"So..."
"Why the hell are the cannon fodder monsters F-Rank?"
Silence.
The question lingered.
Hina’s expression slowly changed.
"..."
"...Oh."
Her pupils shrank.
Sera’s smile disappeared.
"...Wait."
Kaito, who had been quietly observing the corpses, finally spoke.
"He’s right."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Even B-Rank dungeons..."
He poked the goblin with the tip of his boot.
"...usually have D-Rank monsters as the weakest."
Another silence.
The cave suddenly felt colder.
Leo’s heroic smile began to crack.
"..."
"...So..."
"If these are F-Ranks..."
Kaizen slowly looked deeper into the darkness.
Then grinned.
"...What exactly is this dungeon feeding?"
Almost on cue...
Crunch.
A loud chewing sound echoed from somewhere ahead.
Then another.
Crunch.
Crack.
Like someone was casually eating bones.
Leo’s confident smile completely disappeared.
"..."
"...I suddenly miss the goblins."
Leo was just about to strike another heroic pose.
Then—
A pale golden light seeped out of every goblin corpse.
"...?"
The light grew brighter.
Brighter.
Brighter.
The cave trembled.
A deep voice echoed from somewhere in the darkness.
Not loud.
Not fast.
Just...
Slow.
Ancient.
Like a thousand monks chanting beneath the earth.
"Ommmm..."
"Ommmm..."
"Ommmm..."
"..."
"..."
Every hair on Kaizen’s body stood up.
"Back."
He took three quick steps backward.
Hina reacted instantly.
Sera followed.
Even Kaito silently retreated without asking why.
Only Leo remained standing proudly.
"...?"
"Huh?"
"What are you guys doing?"
The corpses suddenly floated into the air.
Arms spread.
Heads lowered.
The chanting grew louder.
"Ommmm..."
"Ommmm..."
Golden light poured from their eyes.
Their mouths.
Even their ears.
"...The hell?"
Leo finally took one cautious step back.
Too late.
The goblins’ tattered leather armour began dissolving into golden particles.
One piece after another.
Until...
Orange robes slowly wrapped around their bodies.
Simple.
Old.
Covering only the lower half.
Like...
"...Monks?"
Hina muttered unconsciously.
Kaizen glanced sideways.
"What was the dungeon called again?"
Hina froze.
Her pupils shrank.
"..."
"..."
"Corrupted..."
She swallowed.
"...Corrupted Monk’s Dungeon."
Silence.
Everyone slowly looked back at the floating goblins.
Their eyes...
Snapped open.
BOOM!
An invisible wave of mana burst outward.
The difference was immediate.
Earlier...
They had screamed.
Growled.
Charged like rabid dogs.
Now...
Nothing.
Absolute silence.
Calm.
Expressionless.
Like statues.
Like disciplined soldiers.
Like something far, far worse.
A blue screen appeared above the nearest goblin.
[Corrupted Goblin]
[Rank: B]
"..."
"..."
"...B?"
Leo looked at the screen.
Then at the other goblins.
Then back again.
"...Hold on."
"They..."
"They ranked up?!"
Kaizen slowly nodded.
"No."
"Worse."
He pointed toward the back of the cave.
"If the weakest monsters in this dungeon..."
"...can become B-Rank monks..."
He didn’t finish the sentence.
He didn’t need to.
Everyone had already reached the same conclusion.
Somewhere...
Deep inside the darkness...
The chanting continued.
"Ommmm..."
"Ommmm..."
Then another pair of golden eyes slowly opened.
Then another.
Then another.
Leo’s throat went dry.
"..."
"...I think..."
"...I may have punched the tutorial."
Kaizen looked at him.
"No."
"You punched the alarm bell."
Almost on cue...
Every Corrupted Goblin slowly turned their heads toward Leo.
Perfectly synchronized.
Not a single one blinked.
Leo forced a smile.
"...Guys?"
"I suddenly support running away."
Nobody disagreed.
But then...
Leo clenched his fist.
"Hah!"
"Still just a bunch of ugly goblins!"
He stepped in.
No hesitation.
No strategy.
Just pure confidence.
BAM!!
His fist buried itself straight into the nearest goblin’s face.
A satisfying impact echoed through the cave.
"..."
The goblin’s head tilted slightly.
Forty-five degrees.
That was it.
"..."
Leo blinked.
"...Eh?"
The goblin slowly straightened its neck.
Then...
It looked at him.
No roar.
No scream.
Just...
A glare.
Leo suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"...Uh oh."
The goblin casually threw a punch.
BOOOOOOM!!
Leo disappeared.
No.
He was launched.
Like a baseball.
His body smashed through three stalagmites before crashing into the dungeon wall.
CRAAASH!!
"Damn!"
Dust exploded everywhere.
"LEO-KUN!!"
Sera screamed.
Before anyone could react—
The remaining Corrupted Goblins calmly walked toward the crater.
No shouting.
No excitement.
Like office workers clocking in.
Then...
They started jumping Leo.
BAM!
THUD!
WHACK!
BOOM!
"..."
"..."
"..."
"It..."
Kaizen scratched his cheek.
"...really is a jumping."
Inside the cloud of dust—
"DON’T HIT MY FACE!"
"OW!"
"WHO THE HELL KICKS SOMEONE THAT’S ALREADY DOWN?!"
"STOP!"
Another punch.
BOOM!
"...MY KIDNEY!!"
Sera couldn’t stand it anymore.
"What the hell?!"
"We have to help him!"
Hina nodded immediately.
"He’ll die!"
Both girls instinctively looked toward Kaizen.
Then both paused.
"..."
"...Why are we looking at him?"
He was F-Rank.
The weakest person here.
Realistically...
He couldn’t do a damn thing.
Yet...
For some reason...
His relaxed expression made it feel like everything was somehow under control.
Like a teacher watching children panic because they thought the maths exam had started when it was only attendance.
Kaizen yawned.
"Nah."
"Don’t worry."
He even stuck a finger into one ear.
As if the screams were getting annoying.
Hina almost exploded.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DON’T WORRY?!"
"THERE ARE OVER TEN B-RANK GOBLINS BEATING A D-RANK HUNTER!"
Sera pointed wildly toward the dust cloud.
"Even if Leo’s a prodigy among prodigies, nobody can survive that many direct hits!"
Kaizen simply nodded.
"Exactly."
"...?"
"...Exactly?"
He looked toward the dust cloud.
Completely calm.
"When a god falls..."
He paused dramatically.
"...he always stands higher than those beneath him."
Silence.
Hina frowned.
"..."
Sera frowned.
"..."
Kaito frowned.
"..."
"What the hell does that even mean?" Sera asked.
"I have no idea," Hina admitted.
"It sounded cool though," Kaito added.
Kaizen smiled.
"You’ll see."
The girls looked at him like he had finally lost the last surviving brain cell in his head.
Then—
OOOOOOOOONNNNNGGGGGGGG——!!
A deafening hum erupted from inside the swarm.
Brilliant blue light burst through the gaps between the goblins.
The entire cave shook.