As they went to the thirteenth floor, they were approached by a fat seeker.
He felt he had met him before, but he was annoying, and Minoru wanted him to go away.
Once they reached the thirteenth floor, he touched the vestiges and read them.
What he saw were still images, like photos, but they showed that fat seeker.
◇ ◇ ◇
He could not tell if he ran away from that group of monsters, but he knew he used a greatsword and had the Healing Magic skill.
Healing Magic… He was the one who saved Ai. And she recruited him then.
He was frustrated, thinking he should have ignored the risk and attacked at that time.
◇ ◇ ◇
He appeared, and Minoru thought he could take him out easily.
Minoru’s skill was not geared for battle, but surely someone with that body could not move too well.
And since he was exploring the thirteenth floor, he assumed he was not a match for them.
But it was a monster. An even bigger monster than the unique monster that he once fought with his comrades.
In a short amount of time, his comrades went down one after the other.
Minoru tried to stop him with Curse, but he cast Healing Magic on himself, and at the same time, he was flung away.
The impact made Minoru lose consciousness.
His comrades were still fighting, but he could do nothing.
When he woke up, he saw his comrades covered in wounds.
They had no equipment, and all that was left were potions.
He asked them what happened, and they told him that fat seeker took everything, leaving only potions as mercy.
They told him to rest easy knowing they did not say anything about this being Minoru’s plan, or anything about his skill, but Minoru was fine with him knowing.
He was just relieved to see his comrades were all right.
Some had their limbs cut off, but they could be reattached with potions. And the other injuries could be easily healed.
Knowing that the fat seeker had no interest in the Honto corporation made Minoru feel languid as he thought it was all for nothing.
But he was relieved, thinking he could still fix it.
◇ ◇ ◇
“He really got you good.”
“…You…”
“It’s been a while Minoru. Since that other day?”
Someone entered the floor where that battle had taken place, and he was wearing a black suit that seemed inappropriate for a dungeon.
“Why…”
“Eh? Why am I alive? To see your face, of course.”
“Don’t screw with me! You’re supposed to be dead. I killed you!”
“Hm. But was it really me? Did you mistake me for someone else?”
“What are you talking about!? I strangled you inside the car! I strangled…”
Static ran through his head. It was like his perception was wrong.
What?
For some reason, he remembered making a contract with someone else that day.
“Come to think of it, there was a woman who was strangled to death the other day. I’m pretty sure it was something Honda. Oh? Isn’t that your last name, Minoru?”
Who did he meet that day?
When was the last day he met this man?
Was his mother dead?
Yes, his mother contacted him a while back.
And that contract was made the day…
“Aaah!?!?!?”
“Oh my, what happened?”
“You! You…!!”
“Oh my oh my, please stop. I did nothing. I last met you a month ago. See? The others aren’t following you either.”
He struggled to move, and crawled to approach the man even if just a little.
The recoil from Curse did deep damage to his body, so moving felt as though his whole body was being stabbed. Still, the deep grudge he felt for this man meant his hatred surpassed the pain.
But what he said next stopped him.
“Ah, stop it already Minoru. Your life is almost over, so if you keep forcing yourself to move, you’re going to change your cause of death.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Oh? You don’t understand. You have only hours left to live. Although I’m only using my experience as reference so please excuse any minor mistakes.”
Minoru’s comrades could not stay silent.
“Hey! What are you telling our leader? This man won’t die so easily.”
“Don’t look down on him you bastard!”
The man in the black suit looked troubled by this response, and spoke before prefacing that explaining would be a pain.
“No, it is not easy. Your lifespan has been greatly shortened due to your work with me.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I assume you understand the power of Curse, but do you know the price?”
“…Part of me is kept as collateral.”
“No, that is what is necessary if the target does not have the necessary karma value. After all, skills are nothing more than a power given to use against monsters in the dungeon. If you use this power on anything else, you need to pay the appropriate price. Doesn’t that make sense?”
“Are you telling me…”
“Yes. The requests you fulfilled on my behalf scraped away at your lifespan. Ah, but don’t worry. This restriction is only applied to Curse skills. Maybe there are others like it, but that is beyond my knowledge.”
“If you knew… Why?”
“Because that is my job. Thank you for everything.”
The man said with a deep bow.
Minoru could not accept this, and mustered up what strength he had left to activate Curse.
“Stop it already Minoru. You won’t hold.”
“…Shut up. I’m taking you down with me!”
“Ahh, this man does not get it.”
Minoru expelled a black mist towards the man.
The man then took out a small bottle, and threw it at the mist.
It shattered just before it hit the mist, and a monster appeared.
It was a bipedal pig monster called an orc. These only made their debut on the twenty-first floor, so this was not the place for it.
The black mist enveloped the orc’s body and ate away at it, leaving only bones after a few seconds.
“That was scary. You give me no choice. I was going to let you go, but I cannot allow further harm. It can’t be helped it can’t be helped.”
The man took out as many bottles as he had fingers, and released monsters.
They were monsters that appeared on the thirteenth floor, goblins, rock wolves, and rock worms, but their power was amplified, making them several degrees stronger than the others.
“Go.”
The man gave the order, and the monsters moved out.
“Stop! Stop! Stop it!!”
“Dammit! Use skills! What are you doing, mage!?”
“I can’t use skills!”
“If you can move, run away! Go call that guy from before! He can’t be too far!”
Minoru was not the only one being attacked, his comrades were also targets.
“Stop! You’re after me! They don’t have anything to do with it!”
“That was true, but they will hold a grudge after your death, so I might as well.”
“Might as well? Is this a joke to you?”
“No, I am very serious. I don’t want to be stabbed in the back one day. I am simply defending myself.”
“Crazy bastard!”
Minoru tried to activate Curse again, but could not.
He tried, to no avail. And as he panicked, the man approached him.
He kicked him in the face, and sent teeth flying.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I am not insane. It’s just, you know, I choose the best options to defend myself. Avoid risks. I don’t want to end up at the bottom like you. Oh, he can’t hear me anymore.”
He could not understand what the man said. The kick broke Minoru’s neck, and it was twisted in a way it should not be.
He felt the man leaving, and at the same time, felt something repulsive approaching.
It was an ugly-faced goblin. He picked him up by his broken neck, and took him into his mouth with many teeth.
Would his father ever forgive him? Was the last thought on his mind.
ーーー
Minoru Honda (36)
Level: 18
Skills: Curse, Sonata
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Welp that was unnecesarily grimdark, and here I was just mildly annoyed at our fatass MC for being a tub of lard this side story happens