Chapter 30 – An Unobtainable Feat

The Lоrd оpenеd its mouth, and in thе nехt mоmеnt—

Аsuto hurled thе dagger in his lеft hаnd with all his might.

—Stаb!!

Тhе dаggеr lodgеd shallоwly in the Lоrd’s thrоаt.

Withоut a throwing Skill аnd with a wеak Weaроn, even a strike tо а vital point wasn’t enоugh tо inflict a fatal wound.

Вut it hаd an effеct.

“Кgh—Нсk!!”

Тhe impact, striking right аround the uрреr airwaу, соnstricted its thrоat.

Bеfore it could lеt оut its roar, thе Lоrd reflеxivelу choked.

It рressеd bоth hands to its throat, leаning forwаrd.

Аsutо wasn’t оne to lеt suсh аn opеning slip bу.

Не fосused оn thе оpроnent’s body, sharpening his awareness.

He discovered the Light of Mortality, stronger and clearer than before.

With fluid movements, Asuto thrust his dagger forward.

The visible light shone brightest for a mere 0.1 seconds at the moment of the attack.

A truly fleeting instant.

Into the Lord’s wide-open chest, Asuto plunged the dagger deep.

The pulsating beat of its heart transmitted itself to his fingertips.

Death had not yet arrived.

(Not yet!)

Blood gushed from the wound.

But still, the heart did not stop.

The Lord spread both arms.

It intended to strangle Asuto.

Asuto had absolutely no intention of being dragged down with it.

He twisted the dagger with brute force.

“Gwaaaaaaah!!”

Blood spurted from its chest and mouth.

The pulsation transmitted to his fingertips finally ceased.

The hands that had been reaching out to grab him fell limp.

He pulled out the dagger and Backstepped.

The Lord’s body, having lost its support, slowly toppled forward.

“……Phew.”

Only after thoroughly confirming there was no sign of it getting up did Asuto release his Zanshin.

He never would have imagined it could still move even after its heart was pierced.

Its vitality was terrifyingly high.

“W-wow… You really went and killed it…”

Beside Asuto, Amy had turned pale.

“What the hell kind of Skill do you even have…?”

“Who knows.”

“Could it be… Growth Acceleration?”

“Tch…!”

There’s a Skill like that too?!

A surge of envy welled up inside Asuto.

But without letting it show in the slightest,

“……You figured it out, huh.”

“Don’t lie! Grrr…”

“Well, this time, I didn’t think I could defeat it either.”

“You say that with such a cool face. So, I’ve been wondering this whole time, why did you challenge a B-Rank Gate? Even for you, one wrong step and you’d have been dead, you know?”

“Probably.”

Jackpot. That he’d died over seventy times—was something he couldn’t say even if his lips were torn.

Asuto carefully erased his expression and spoke.

“I wanted to get stronger, even just a little bit faster.”

There was no lie in those words.

Asuto wanted to grow as fast as possible, become stronger than anyone, and face the invasion Ten Years Later in perfect condition.

However, his true objective was different.

Asuto opened the System and checked his Inventory Cart.

(……There it is.)

The B-Rank Gate Conquest Reward was there, and Asuto let out a sigh of relief.

○ Morning Dew of the Divine Tree (SSR)

Description: A spiritual medicine collected from the morning dew on the new buds of the Divine Tree. Drinking this will instantly heal any external injury. However, it has no effect on illnesses.

The reason Asuto came to this Dungeon was to acquire this Item.

With this, he could save Kanzaki’s mother.

There was no obligation for Asuto to risk his life to obtain the morning dew for Kanzaki’s sake.

Nor was there any reward for doing so.

But Asuto had failed to notice that Kanzaki was being manipulated by an Angel.

If he had used his head properly, he should have realized she was caught in a trap.

Therefore, this was his utmost atonement to Kanzaki, who had suffered because of his own failure.

From his future knowledge, Asuto knew the appearance time of the B-Rank Gate, and further knew that the ‘Morning Dew of the Divine Tree’ would Drop as a reward from that Gate.

With this, Kanzaki’s mother could be saved.

That’s why he challenged a Gate far above his Rank.

He no longer felt fear at fighting strong Monsters.

What was terrifying was the erasure of another person’s future, all because of his own foolishness.

So Asuto fought.

If he could make things right, he didn’t care how many times he died.

Even if it was a wall he couldn’t Clear even after dying a hundred times, Asuto had Return.

He could carry over the experience from the battles he fought.

So surely, on the hundred-and-first try, it might just work.

Even if he died ten thousand times, even a million times, as long as he himself didn’t give up, the possibility would never disappear.

Believing that, he pressed forward relentlessly.

As a result, he had successfully conquered the B-Rank Gate.

All that remained was to give the Morning Dew of the Divine Tree to Kanzaki.

(Huh, there’s another Item.)

Separate from his target, another Item had entered his Inventory.

The reason became clear when he tapped his Status.

A new Feat has been achieved.

・Conquered a B-Rank Gate solo while being B-Rank or lower.

Reward 1: ALL Status +5

Reward 2: Ring of Wind Wall

“This is it.”

Achieving the Feat caused his Status to jump up by the equivalent of six Levels at once.

At first glance, it was an extraordinary reward, but the achievement conditions were terrifyingly high Difficulty. Probably unattainable for most Hunters on Earth.

○ Ring of Wind Wall (SR)

Description: A Magic Tool capable of deploying a Wind Wall. It absorbs the user’s Magic Power to defend against attacks like arrows. Does not activate if the user’s Magic Power is depleted.

(How much could I sell this for…)