Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

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Chapter 297: S-Rank Dungeon (3)

[Uoooo!]

[Kieeee!]

The low-level monsters appeared—goblins, orcs, skeletons.

Hundreds of them charged at Ketal all at once.

Ketal lightly landed on the ground.

Boom!

The earth trembled, and the monsters were swept away.

"I've seen enough of you guys to last a lifetime."

There wasn’t much thrill anymore.

He just wanted to ignore them.

But the guild leader had said that all the monsters must be cleared for the dungeon's mechanics to activate.

Ketal clenched his fist, channeling his power into it.

He punched hard, creating a wind blast that enveloped the monsters.

Boom!

With a single blow, over a hundred monsters were obliterated.

Though they were low-level monsters, there were so many of them.

It would take a considerable amount of time for a normal warrior to deal with them all.

But Ketal wasn’t an ordinary warrior.

With every punch, dozens of monsters were wiped out, and in no time, the dungeon was cleared.

Crack!

Ketal finished off the last remaining monster.

Then, the ground opened up beneath him.

Rumble!

The earth gave way, revealing a staircase leading down.

Ketal descended the steps and soon came to a large chamber similar to the previous one.

The difference?

This chamber was filled with much stronger monsters.

Ogres, griffins, and werewolves—creatures of First rate strength—charged at Ketal with shrieks.

‘Just like they said.’

This was an S-Rank dungeon: The Monster Nest.

True to its name, it was teeming with monsters.

However, they weren’t all grouped together.

The Monster Nest was divided into layers.

On the first floor were the low-level monsters like skeletons, orcs, and goblins.

Third-rate fighters could barely manage there.

But on the second floor, mid-level monsters such as ogres and griffins appeared.

First rate fighters could withstand their attacks.

As you descended, the monsters became progressively stronger.

The first floor, home to weaker monsters, made this S-Rank dungeon relatively accessible.

Many mercenaries attempted it to prove their strength, but most never returned.

[Uoooo!]

[Kaaaa!]

Monsters—literally thousands of them—charged at once.

The chamber offered no cover, just an expansive, empty field, leaving no time to prepare.

Even though the monsters were weak individually, their sheer numbers couldn’t be ignored.

Even a strong warrior could die from carelessness.

In fact, all the spellcasters under Spellweaver perished on the first floor.

They were all First rate warriors, yet none survived.

But for Ketal, it wasn’t much of an issue.

The monsters were crushed and scattered.

It took less than 30 minutes to wipe out a thousand of them.

Rumble!

Once the monsters were cleared, the ground opened again.

Ketal descended to the next floor, the third floor.

There, he was greeted by twin-headed ogres, wraiths, death knights, and dullahans—monsters of First rate-level strength.

A thousand of them.

‘This is the floor the Mercenary King failed to conquer.’

A thousand First rate-level monsters.

Even the strongest of superhumans had to retreat in the face of such overwhelming numbers.

Of course, to Ketal, this wasn’t particularly impressive.

‘I see some new ones.’

That was his only thought.

In no time, the monsters were swept away.

It wasn’t long before the third floor was cleared, and the stairs to the next level appeared.

“Well then.”

Ketal’s eyes gleamed.

He was heading to the fourth floor.

From here, nothing was known.

Ketal smiled.

‘This is exciting.’

He felt like a child about to embark on an adventure.

With an eager look, Ketal descended the stairs.

There, he was welcomed by monsters.

[Kyaaaaa!]

A seven-headed snake—Hydra.

And that wasn’t all.

There was a humanoid creature with the head of a bull—Minotaur.

Giants worms, basilisks, even a Medusa.

Countless mythical creatures Ketal had never seen before.

And he knew instantly:

Every single one of these monsters was of superhuman level.

There were about a hundred of them.

[H-Hiiiik.]

Even the Holy Sword, without realizing it, let out a sound.

It was a nightmarish sight.

If this place were to open, half the land could be wiped out if heroes didn’t respond swiftly.

[Kaaaa!]

[Kuooor!]

The monsters charged at Ketal with terrifying roars.

Ketal smiled as he moved.

The first to reach him was the Minotaur, wielding an axe.

Ketal threw a punch.

The Minotaur raised its axe to block.

Crack!

But there was no way it could block.

The axe shattered, and Ketal’s fist slammed into the Minotaur’s chest.

The Minotaur was sent flying, rolling across the ground.

However, it didn’t die.

Though its insides seemed to have ruptured, it squirmed on the ground, unable to get up, but it had survived Ketal’s blow.

“Oh?”

Ketal let out a small exclamation.

It was a light punch, but it had withstood it.

Impressive.

Buuoooo!

A giant worm charged.

Ketal casually dodged to the side.

Taking advantage of the opening, Medusa slithered in.

[Kyaaaat!]

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Her snake-like hair spread wide, attempting to turn everything to stone.

Countless mercenaries had turned to stone and died upon meeting Medusa.

“Oh, Medusa.”

[Kieeek!]

Ketal, intrigued, grabbed her head and snapped her neck.

[Kaaaaah!]

The hydra, a snake with seven heads, rushed at Ketal, its teeth sharp enough to grind steel to dust.

But they couldn't pierce Ketal's flesh, and its fangs shattered.

"One snake down, and another comes right away!"

Ketal raised his axe.

With a single swing, he severed three of the hydra's heads.

The hydra shrieked and pulled back.

Ketal, who had been laughing heartily, widened his eyes.

"Ooooh."

The three severed heads began to bubble and regenerate.

According to legend, the hydra could only be killed if all seven heads were severed simultaneously.

Due to this peculiarity, it took many mighty heroes to finally bring down the beast.

"Ha, hahaha!"

And at that sight, Ketal could no longer hold back his laughter.

"How magnificent!"

A hydra, Medusa, a Minotaur, and even a Basilisk.

These were literal monsters straight out of myth.

His heart raced like that of a boy embarking on his first adventure.

Each one of them was a monster capable of turning the world upside down, yet to the current Ketal, they were no more than a lavishly prepared feast.

"This is fun! So much fun!"

Ketal let out a maniacal laugh and lunged forward.

His movements started to change.

* * *

"Mmm..."

Next to the hole, the guild master waited with an anxious look on his face.

Behind him, someone approached.

"Hey. Guild Master."

It was the guild master's secretary.

A fairy.

She flew over, flapping her tiny wings.

The guild master looked puzzled.

"What's going on? Didn't I give you orders?"

"It's mostly taken care of. Are you just waiting here?"

"Yeah. He's down there right now. I'm waiting so I can respond immediately when he calls."

"......"

The fairy grimaced at his words, unable to understand the guild master's decision.

"...Are you really that eager to win its favor? Why?"

"Because it's necessary."

The guild master answered calmly.

"I'm the one who doesn't get it. Why are you so afraid? He's a very reasonable person."

"...You... you don't know. That thing is alien. It's broken, just stacked on top of itself. I don't want to see it."

The fairy shuddered.

She hadn't been there when Ketal met and spoke with the guild master.

She had begged to be excused.

The guild master stroked his chin.

"I get it. You're afraid of a certain kind of monster, the kind that's beyond your comprehension. Sure, there's no way he'd be completely sane with that much power. But that's not the point."

In this chaotic world, all that mattered was that he was on humanity's side.

It didn't matter if he was a monster or whatever else.

"And what if he's a monster? As long as we can communicate with him, there's no reason to reject him."

"Ugh... Uuuuh..."

The fairy groaned.

Logically, the guild master was right, but she just couldn't accept it.

Because what she had seen in Ketal, stacked upon itself, was something that defied such concepts entirely.

'But he's actually helping us, after all...'

She sighed, finally giving up and asking the guild master.

"So you're just waiting now?"

"Yeah. He's strong, sure, but... we don't know what's down there. I don't know when he'll come back. So I'll wait."

"Fine. Do what you want. I'm going to finish cleaning up."

"Alright."

Just as the fairy was about to turn and head back to headquarters—

Thud.

The ground trembled.

"...Huh?"

The tremor didn't happen just once.

It kept rumbling irregularly.

The guild master, momentarily confused, quickly realized.

The tremors were coming from below his feet.

"Wait, this can't be... the dungeon is shaking?"

"...That's impossible."

The dungeon was a separate space.

Nothing that happened inside should affect the outside.

That was how it was supposed to be.

Thud!

But the tremors continued, growing stronger.

The guild master and the fairy's faces both twisted with shock.

"...What kind of person is he?"

"I told you, he's not a person!"

* * *

"Hahahaha!"

Ketal charged forward, crushing and smashing the monsters.

The Holy Sword, witnessing this, was horrified.

[Wait a minute! You!]

The power Ketal was displaying now was strange.

It was qualitatively different from his usual strength.

Far more powerful, far more violent.

The Holy Sword was stunned.

[Have you... have you been holding back this whole time?]

"No. Not at all."

Ketal casually answered as he crushed the Minotaur's chest.

"I’ve always fought seriously, with everything I had. Those enemies were tough enough that I had no choice."

[But... but your movements right now...]

"Fighting seriously doesn't mean I wasn't holding back."

When Ketal fought outside, he instinctively suppressed his power.

It was to avoid destroying the fantasy he cherished so much.

It was a simple matter.

Could anyone swing a baseball bat with all their might inside an art gallery full of priceless works of art?

It wasn’t impossible, but it was difficult.

Even the best batter would instinctively hold back.

That's what it was like for Ketal when he used his strength in the outside world.

To him, fantasy was a treasure beyond value.

But not here.

Here, there were only monsters.

Nothing else.

There was no fear of ruining the fantasy by using his full power.

So he had no choice but to go all out.

‘It's refreshing to finally move without worrying about anything.’

Ketal laughed with joy.

The Holy Sword, watching, shuddered in genuine fear at that laughter.

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