I will be the Strongest

Chapter 2

"The portal...!" shouted the young man in extravagant armor from group 3. "The portal has disappeared!"

Cries began to echo through the forest. "What the hell! Wasn't the portal supposed to take us to a cave!?" The confused voices of the people were annoying to those nearby but alarming to those far away. "This doesn't look like a cave to me at all."

The shouting continued. People who seemed to have forgotten their situation acted like they were lost in their own world. Idiots! They had no clue.

"Silence!" With the crash of a tree trunk, the voice of the test supervisor echoed in the ears of the desperate people. "Do you want to die?" he asked, speaking a bit quieter.

'This is not good,' he thought. 'These trees...'

Sheathing his sword and trying to control the tremor in his hand, the man spoke, "You are not in your garden at home. This is still a dungeon!"

'This is at least a rank C dungeon.'

"Gather your things," he ordered, turning and walking among the large trees. "We have to get out of here now!"

"What!?" exclaimed one of the test participants. "And what do you expect us to do here? Die?"

Most people agreed with that man, refusing to follow the supervisor. Idiots. The few who decided to follow him, including Hye, didn't even look back, leaving those seventeen obstacles behind.

"Do what you want," said the supervisor.

A supervisor's duty is to ensure the fewest fatalities possible during the test. But not in this situation. Those people would be literal dead weight. They wouldn't help; on the contrary, they would cause everyone to die even faster.

After some time, when those who left had already started walking and stopped running, thinking they might be at a safe distance, screams began to echo through the forest. The death of those who stayed was signaled. Not that it was a surprise. Their fate was sealed the moment they decided to stay, especially after making so much noise.

"What do we do now?" asked the woman in red armor. "Soon it will be our turn."

In a few moments, the screams gave way to a deafening silence. No one said anything. No one moved. Despite having decided to enter the forest, it was clear to everyone that there was no chance of completing that raid.

"For now, let's at least try to survive," said the supervisor. "First, we need to find a place to shelter. Then we'll think more about this."

They wandered through the forest in search of shelter. During the walk, one of them died, not even at the hands of a cataloged dungeon monster. It was a new species. A plant. As he walked through the forest, his torso was abruptly swallowed by a grotesque, repugnant-looking plant. They killed the plant, cutting it in half. But the man was already dead. The green slime inside that creature was an acid so strong it corroded the man's bones in seconds.

During the search, they also discovered that the dungeon monsters were lamias. Monsters that are half-human and half-serpent, freezing anyone who looked directly into their eyes. They were unaware of this information, and the way they found out was quite tragic.

The plan was to attack the monster stealthily, and that's what they did. But the creature was fast, strong, and very resilient. Its claws easily cut through armor, but the hunters' swords couldn't even scratch its greenish scales.

The surprise attack went exactly as planned, except that the monster didn't die. With the supervisor's strike, a deep cut was made on its back. Meanwhile, with his dagger, Hye severed one of the creature's arms. But the other attacks had no effect. They were simply too weak.

After the charge, not everyone managed to distance themselves from the creature. Most were not quick enough. Two certainly weren't. Not just a scar, a battle mark, the woman in red armor lost one of her arms. As for the man who made the last attack, poor guy, after looking directly into the creature's eyes and becoming paralyzed, he was split in half with a single swing of its tail.

"Damn it!" shouted the group's only shield-bearer, throwing his shield against the cave wall—after that, he sat down against the wall and lowered his head. Everyone pretended not to hear his sobbing. No. They were too busy crying for themselves.

The end of that fight came through Hye and the supervisor, the only ones able to wound the lamia effectively. The others had wanted to help, but upon realizing the power gap... The terror only grew. Fear took hold of all of them.

Fighting for his life, the supervisor gave it his all. Blood, sweat, and even more blood. But he knew it wouldn't be enough.

While fighting, he noticed that sometimes Hye disappeared moments before the monster attacked him. 'An ability?' he thought. 'How?'

Hye's speed, strength, and resilience seemed much greater than his own. Even in that situation, he didn't seem to feel any fear. He wasn't level 1. He couldn't be.

'With the power to cut off this monster's arm... if the cut had been at the neck, then...'

It was a gamble. What if he couldn't cut off the creature's head? What if he didn't want to? What if he didn't make it in time? What if... Many 'what ifs' crossed the supervisor's mind, but he did it anyway.

After attacking one last time and stepping back from the lamia, he stopped. Standing still, the man stared into the monster's eyes as it ferociously charged at him.

One step. Only one more step was needed for his head to be taken off with a single attack. However, before his head could roll, the creature's head fell to the ground right in front of him.

[You have killed a monster]

[55 points acquired]

Relieved, the man collapsed.

His eyes met Hye's. That was not the look of a novice, no... many experienced hunters wouldn't be able to remain so indifferent after such a "difficult fight." Even fewer novices could maintain that expression after decapitating something so human-like.

"Excuse me," said the supervisor, approaching Hye with a serious expression, "may I speak with you?"

They moved away from the group and left the cave. The tension between them was palpable. 'Is this really the right choice?' the leader asked himself repeatedly. 'No... but is there any other option?'

Hesitation consumed him as the two remained near the cave where the others were. They couldn't stray too far.

"...Can I ask you something..?" the leader said, battling his own uncertainty.

"Sure, no problem."

Hye briefly looked into his eyes as he replied but seemed uninterested. The next glance away indicated that the surrounding trees were more captivating than the conversation.

Time was short. Before Hye could decide to return to the cave and leave him behind, the leader directly asked, "...What is your current level?"

"Huh?" Hye seemed surprised by the question and looked away momentarily.

Hye's apparent hesitation made the question seem delicate, further troubling the leader's mind; 'Maybe he doesn't want to reveal it... Could he be one of...'

"131."

Hye's sudden response broke through the leader's confusion, leaving him genuinely doubting; "Pardon?" he asked, staring at Hye's expressionless face with a frightened look.

But Hye's reaffirmation opened his eyes, giving him hope once again; "131, that's my level. Why?"

The man smiled. He laughed so much that he fell to his knees, not from laughter but from sheer relief. A tiny light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Maybe not everyone could see it or reach it, but it was still there.

"Those idiots! So they didn't even ask your level before sending you here?" the man asked, grateful for the oversight.

"No. They just had me do some exercises." Hye was confused. The man who had seemed so somber before was now smiling beside him. "But is it that important? Isn't this common? I thought all hunters had a system."

Hye lacked a sense of what was "normal." He never had it. Whether intelligence, strength, or endurance, he could never be compared to any other human, even before his awakening.

After all, what common sense does someone have who has been unable to be cut by knives since childhood?

"Are you kidding? At your level, you're practically mid-rank C. No beginner hunter should have a level like that."

Hye knew that rankings were divided by levels. But what was their true purpose? It was said that some hunters naturally had higher attributes than others, and this disparity only became evident after awakening. Did this division truly work? Should it be used? He couldn't say.

"And is that strong?"

"Right now, for us, yes. You might be the only one who can get us out of here."

Get them out... This meant they planned to use him as an escape route. Hye knew this. But did he have any other option?

Time in some dungeons differed from the outside world. In some, an hour inside could mean over ten hours outside. But he didn't have ten hours to waste there.

The clock didn't work. No matter how much he tried, all he saw when he turned on his smartphone were meaningless colorful lines. However, considering the time it seemed to take to reach the cave, one... no, at most three hours must have passed since then.

If the time differential between dimensions was at least twice, six hours would have passed outside... But if it was more... Hye didn't even want to consider that possibility.

"Yes..." the leader's eyes seemed to assess Hye and his equipment, particularly his ordinary-looking clothes. "But first, you need to level up... Maybe ten times will be enough."

The man raised his arm and placed a hand on Hye's shoulder. "Get ready, we have some snakes to hunt," he said, smiling despite the clear tremor in his fingers on Hye's shoulder.

From that moment on, the primary goal had changed. Survival was now secondary. Getting out of that dungeon was the most important thing.

After two more battles, Hye finally reached level 132, which left the leader amazed. Could Hye have been lying about his level? No. His physical capabilities spoke for themselves; even level 132 didn't seem consistent with all the power he seemed to be hiding.

And he did everything without even using mana...

"How do you level up so fast? This doesn't make sense," the leader asked.

"I don't know. I didn't expect killing a monster to give me so many points at once."

His body felt lighter. Hye didn't know why, but for some reason, it made him feel good. Feel... Yes, amidst the hunt, he was finally feeling something! Coming to this place definitely didn't seem like a complete waste of time.

"Normally, I gain only 4 points per day."

"4 points a day...?" the man was confused.

'What kind of monster do you have to kill to gain just 4 points? Does something like that even exist?'

The lowest-level monsters are goblins. But even they give more than 15 points when killed. There are differences between each person's system, of course. But 4 points? The lowest recorded amount for goblins was 10 points.

"Wait! Is this really your first time in a dungeon?"

"Yes."

Hye responded so nonchalantly. He had no idea how ridiculous what he was saying sounded.

"Then how did you reach level 131...?"

"By completing daily missions. It took a while since it's only 4 points a day. Why? Is it less for you?"

"What...? Missions...?"

What a ridiculous idea! If it were possible to get stronger just by completing daily missions, why would beginner hunters risk their lives entering low-rank dungeons to kill monsters and get a bit stronger? Everyone acting like they're each after their small share of crumbs.

As the time those two spent together increased, the leader's doubts about Hye only intensified, creating a sense of discovery for that poor hunter who seemed to realize, with each exchanged sentence, that he truly knew nothing about the world he lived in.

After resting a bit, every hour the two would leave the cave and hunt another monster. With each monster killed, more and more questions arose in the leader's mind.

Returning to the cave was marked by the numerous questions the supposedly most experienced person in the dungeon asked.

Initially, it was expected to take at least twenty days for Hye to reach the desired level. Far from it, it didn't even take a single day.

After reaching level 132, Hye no longer needed help. In fact, the level was never the problem. From the first lamia he encountered, he knew – he was stronger than those creatures. Much stronger. But that paralysis ability was interesting, and the venom from their fangs even more so. And when he reached level 133, after various tests, he didn't just gain a level.

[A passive skill has been acquired]

[Poison resistance]

[Any harmful substance will be neutralized immediately after ingestion]

The paralysis ability was interesting, but Hye couldn't do anything about it. No matter how many times he allowed himself to be caught by that ability, nothing changed. In the end, even after reaching level 146, five levels above what was suggested, he didn't gain any other skill.

Now, all that was left was to find the dungeon boss. Hye searched for a long time, killing some lamias along the way and reaching level 150, but he found nothing.

"A dungeon without a boss?" asked the shield-bearer. "Are you sure you've searched everywhere?"

"You seem to like talking a lot," said the woman in red armor with a sickly expression. Her face seemed to be peeling, and the pain... it was as if her body was being corroded from the inside out. "So why don't you..."

The sudden blood from her mouth interrupted her.

The venom Hye used to acquire the resistance skill was potent. If it were him, that woman would have certainly succumbed. But the lamias' claw venom wasn't as strong, so maybe she still had a few hours to live. Long and painful hours.

Hye looked around. The situation was desolate. Aside from the leader, the rest were just dead weights with no usefulness. He continued to look and realized, after finally having time to analyze it, that the cave was more extensive than they had imagined.

"In the past few hours, have you seen any monsters appearing near this place?"

It was strange. Even before, while talking with the leader about how they could escape that place, Hye hadn't seen a single monster around the cave.

"..No..." the woman replied, wiping the blood from her mouth.

"But have you heard or seen anything? Anything at all."

How could there not be a single living creature within a radius of more than a hundred meters? Aren't dungeons deadly places where even the smallest mistake could lead to imminent death?

"What are you talking about!?" the shield-bearer exclaimed. "There's nothing in this damn cave! Nothing but stone!"

"No, wait..." the leader said, slowly standing up and walking toward the cave entrance. "He's right. We're deep in the forest, yet there's not a single monster around here. In fact, they don't come near this place. There are no signs of monsters unless you walk at least a hundred meters away."

As the most experienced, he should have been the first to notice the problem. How could he have been so stupid? A place to rest? A safe place? In a dungeon? Clenching the cave wall, the leader blamed his own incompetence.

Carefully, the man walked towards the back of the cave and examined the wall. A bit further back on the ground, there was a small hole. He picked up a stone. "Step back." And threw it inside.

There was no response. Not even a single sound could be heard. That small hole seemed bottomless.

"See? There's no way the boss is..."

Boom!

A tremor shook the entire forest, causing the cave to c***k from the inside out.

"I think level 141 won't be enough..." the leader whispered. "Let's go, get up. We need to get out of here now!"

The quakes didn't stop, and with each subsequent shake, the source seemed to be getting closer.

"This is ridiculous! Lamias are rank C monsters, but to cause all this, this monster must be at least rank A," the shield-bearer said.

"True," the leader replied. "But do you want to stay here and find out?"

They ran as fast as they could while the tremors intensified. Monsters fled, and trees fell one after another. Everything was collapsing. Until... silence. Nothing remained but an eerie and ominous silence.

"Is it over..?"

BOOM!!

The sudden quake that destroyed everything answered the poor woman's question. The ground was hurled into the air. Most of the trees fell. And the cause, oh, the cause... A being of such absurd proportions that those present could barely believe their own eyes.

Its white scales glistened in the sunlight. Its green eyes loathed the sunlight. Where did it come from? How did it get there? No one knew. All anyone could be sure of, and even the monsters of the forest seemed to believe, was that this was the end. There was no more hope in the face of that unparalleled creature.