Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society-Chapter 278: Third Season (3)

As Paul might need to spend a long time on Earth, I first brought him to our guild house in Seoul’s Jongno district. Ludia and Shuna immediately recognized Paul, but other than them, no one knew him. As most of Revival’s members happened to be present, Paul introduced himself before he entered the thrashing phase.

“I’m Paul Von Cravis. It’s nice to meet you all.”

Paul bowed politely without a single shred of a crown prince’s dignity. Afterwards, he raised his head, scanned Revival’s members, and let out a startled shout.

“They’re amazing, Kang Shin!”

“Oh, you can see through their power? You’re not bad, Paul.”

Paul seemed excited, as he breathed out with his nose.

“They’re all amazing beauties!”

I increased the thrashing phase duration by two months in my heart and introduced Paul to Revival’s members.

“Paul is Edias continent’s successor Hero. His continent’s Hero died without officially transferring his power. I happened to retrieve that power, and he’ll be here until I transfer the Hero’s power to him. As you might expect, he won’t be an official member of Revival.”

“I was wondering if we were finally going to get another male member.”

“It’s not easy to transfer a Hero’s power. It’ll take few months at the very least. Since I have to run around clearing Event Dungeons and monsters, it might even take a year or more.”

“So we’ll be seeing each other for a long time. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, ooh! Nice to meet you!”

Hwaya, who was the most social one out of all of us, greeted Paul first. Paul then immediately greeted her back. Hwaya snickered. It was obvious what she was thinking about, but I had to give her credit for not saying it out loud.

“Successor Hero… Hmm, it’s nice to meet you. It hasn’t been long since I heard about Heroes from my son, but it’s interesting how so many Heroes are gathering here.”

“Well, isn’t it simple? If Earth falls to ruin, it’ll take a few more worlds with it. So get stronger, Hero’s father.”

“Hohoho. Walker, have you heard of thrashing phase?”

Everyone in Revival knew what a Hero was and what happened if he died. I had already told them about it. Since I was the strongest person on Earth, they were surprised but they weren’t scared. Regardless of who the Hero was, many of them already thought it would be hopeless without me. Nothing had changed for them. The fact that I couldn’t deny this way of thinking saddened me.

However, I didn’t tell them about Ellos. I didn’t want to upset them either. Not to mention, a few of them were sure to stick to me, worried about whether I was hurt.

I was thankful for their concern, but rather than spoiling myself, I wanted to overcome it with my own strength.

“What about Kasi… No, nevermind. Nice to meet you, Paul.”

Ludia was most likely misunderstanding what happened, but she seemed to have figured out what happened to Ellos since Paul was here instead of him. She swallowed her words and bowed politely. She could be considerate to others. I was quite proud of her growth.

Paul also seemed to have realized what Ludia wanted to ask, as he pretended to be calm and greeted her back.

“Yeah, Palludia. You got even prettier. You’re a stunning beauty, really.”

“But I didn’t get pretty for you. It was for Shin.”

“Mm, yeah…”

No, I was wrong. She was still savage. I made a bitter smile and turned away. I had to tell Ren something before he left for the dungeon.

“Ren, I have a good news for you. I’m sure you’ll be happy.”

I smiled at Ren sweetly. Ren let out dry coughs and took a couple of steps back.

“I don’t really want to hear it, I think.”

“It’s fine even if you don’t. You’ll experience it with your body soon.”

“So it really was about thrashing phase!?”

“Be happy, it’s the third season of thrashing phase!”

Looking at Ren’s somber expression, Paul seemed to be frightened too. Interestingly, Father was nodding his head in satisfaction.

“I’m glad you’re back safely.”

Hwaya spoke to me as she gave the rowdy men a look of ridicule. I nodded at her and asked her through the messaging system.

[What happened with Ciara?]

[She’s fine. She’s controlling mana by herself right now. She’ll be fine on her own in about two days.]

What Hwaya had done was truly praiseworthy. I gave Hwaya a thumbs up, and she responded with a victory sign. Ye-Eun noticed us and pouted.

“You guys talked secretly again.”

“It was about Ciara. I explained last time, right?”

When I said Ciara’s name, everyone became quiet. They were divided into two groups – one that hated Ciara because they were present when we first met Ciara and the ones that stayed quiet because they hadn’t met Ciara or didn’t know much about her. Thinking about it now, because I left for the Dimensional Mercenary mission immediately after I brought her, I hadn’t given them a proper explanation.

In that case, this was a good chance. Since it wasn’t common for Revival’s members to all be present, it was probably best to use this opportunity to explain myself. With a bitter smile, I told them about what situation Ciara was in and why I accepted her into Revival. Most of them were shocked to find out that Ciara had Evil Eyes, and some showed slight dislike at the idea of making her our ally.

However, the general response was…

“I don’t like her as a person, but we certainly need her ability…”

That.

“Won’t she do something stupid?”

“I decided to put a succubus on her as a lookout. As you might know, she has absolutely no war potential. Even if something happens, we’ll be able to restrain her, so don’t worry.”

“Son, did you cure that girl?”

“It was partly thanks to an Elixir, but yes, it wouldn’t have been possible without my power.”

Father seemed to be thinking about something and soon nodded.

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about her that much. I’m sure you know this, but she’s still young. I think it was wrong of her to hide the information about the raid at the Antelope Canyon, but the environment she grew up in was too isolated. We have to think about that.”

“Yes, father.”

“Plus, children are quick to change, especially when they’re in love. As she grows up, Shin will influence her a lot, so we won’t need to worry about her too much.”

“Father, that’s what I’m worried about the most…”

Father snickered.

“I wonder. You gave back that child’s eyes and voice, which even with her amazing power, she couldn’t do anything about. I’m sure it was more than enough to blow away every value she held. I think she’ll have at least one of love or worship for you. What do you think? Which one do you prefer?”

“… I’d rather take love.”

When I imagined Ciara creating something like Cult of Kang Shin and acting like its saintess, my face paled. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who imagined this, as some of the others also wore the same face. At that moment, Daisy suddenly asked.

“… Then, are you reproducing, with her?”

“What!?”

“Daisy, you’re banned from using that word from now.”

“… Then, copulating?”

“That’s banned too!”

I smacked her hand before she could say anything worse.

“Alright, that’s it! Everyone disperse! Ren and Paul, you two follow me to the underground training room!”

Thrashing phase. It helped to make a new person.

Thrashing phase. It thrashed a person’s old self away.

Thrashing phase. It transformed someone into something inhumane.

“Save me…!”

“You won’t die.”

I ignored Paul’s plea and smacked his back. Then, I kicked Ren, who was pretending to be dead.

“Ren, you won’t get stronger by lying dead on the ground!”

“Kuhuk! Crown Prince…! Just what happened? How can you return as an even bigger monster!?”

“You can do it too, Ren!”

“Don’t lie!”

Along with a hearty shout, Ren charged at me once more. It seemed he was mad about being kicked. Perfect, that was the response I wanted!

“But even if you’re angry, you can’t make such an easy-to-read attack!”

“Aaagggh!”

When I heard Ren’s cry, it felt like ten-years worth of annoyance within me disappeared. Of course, I didn’t say this out loud.

“And you, Paul! You kept being beaten up! Aren’t you mad!? Be more aggressive!”

“How am I supposed to be aggressive when I can’t hit you anyways!? Let me go, I don’t want to be a Hero!”

“You don’t want to be a Hero? Even if Edias continent loses its hope!?”

“Ku… Kuuuuu!”

At my words of encouragement, Paul finally picked himself up.

Good, I didn’t make the wrong choice. Paul was an idiot, but he was more responsible than an average person. Although Heroes had to be strong, it was just as important to have a sense of responsibility. To prevent what happened with Ellos from ever happening again, Edias continent’s new Hero had to be someone like Paul.

Of course, responsibility alone didn’t solve anything. That was why Paul was going through a thrashing phase.

“This is hard. I think you don’t have the talent for battle.”

“You’re so blunt!”

After beating Paul up for three hours, I realized that he had no talent for battle. His talent was only about one-nineteenth of Ren’s.

“You know, the most important thing for a Hero is to not die.”

As such, I decided to narrow my focus.

“Not dying… Right.”

Paul nodded.

“Plus, you’re a crown prince. You won’t need to stand on the front line, right?”

“But our Hero always stood on the front line.”

“That’s because he was a capable warrior that could utilize the world’s power in battle. That’s not you.”

“Why do you keep scratching my pride!?”

“Thankfully, you have a bit of talent at defending.”

For several years, he climbed the dungeon as a tank. No matter how talentless he was, if he held the shield while climbing 50 floors of the First Dungeon, defensive maneuvers should at least be somewhat ingrained in his body. I personally thought he was more suited to defending than attacking too.

“But I couldn’t properly grab monsters’ attention and always put Ellos in danger.”

“You have to live. Why would you need to grab aggro? Don’t. Just stay quiet like you’re dead.”

“I’m so pitiful, I’m crying.”

“Paul.”

I pulled back the wooden spear I was hitting him with. Paul groaned and raised his head.

“What?”

“You really don’t want to be a Hero?”

“…”

“To be honest, it’s more convenient for me to transfer the Hero’s power to a random person. This might sound harsh, but I really have nothing to do with Edias continent. In fact, someone I considered to be a friend betrayed me and I had to go through unnecessary hardship. You should be thankful that I’m even handing over the world’s power. Now, with that said, let me ask again. Do you really not want to be a Hero?”

“… No.”

He shook his head.

“The Hero we believed would continue to live and lead us died. The friend I trusted the most abandoned our continent when his fiancée died. … Now, there isn’t anyone for me to trust but myself.”

“Do you want to protect your continent?”

I asked, and he replied as he gritted his teeth.

“I do. I’ve been hearing it nonstop ever since I became the crown prince, and I really do want to protect my empire and humanity.”

“Let me ask you then. Don’t you think having to hide is pitiful when it’s to protect your continent?”

He raised his head. He stared into my eyes, then smacked his own face. He really struck hard. He groaned and spat out a tooth with blood leaking from his mouth.

“… Sorry for acting spoiled. Help me. Help me so that I can survive no matter who or what I’m facing.”

“First, let’s put your tooth back in.”

With holy power, putting a tooth back in was a piece of cake. However, Paul shook his head.

“It’s fine even if I’m missing a tooth… But let me hold on to it. Whenever I’m thinking like I am today, I’ll take it out and fix my attitude.”

“Good, now you have the face of a warrior.”

I grinned and held the wooden spear up again.

“Ren, rest for 30 minutes. I’m going to teach Paul basics of defense.”

“If you don’t want to kill him, tone it down a bit!”

I ignored Ren and charged at Paul. Paul gritted his teeth and held up his shield, but it was impossible for him to block my attack. At least, not yet.

“After we’re done, you won’t even sweat when you’re blocking an attack of this level! Prepare yourself!”

“Kuaaaa!”

Paul howled. Then, he held up his shield again and fixed his stance. He was determined and motivated. He now had the mindset of a warrior. Inspired by his determination, I spoke as I pointed my wooden spear at him.

“I’m also training in something right now, so be careful not to get hit by it and die.”

“… What?!”

Two voices simultaneously rang out. Ren, who was resting on his butt, moved away slowly.

“Crown Prince, I forgot to tell you something. I promised the kids that I’d make dinner…”

“Elfa has been learning how to cook lately. I already messaged her, so you won’t have to worry about making them dinner. Happy, right?”

“Ha, haha… I’m very… happy…”

Ren dropped his head. Paul’s face told me that he was seriously contemplating dropping his shield and running away. Of course, there was no way I would let that happen.

Third season. It seemed like it would be an enjoyable thrashing phase.