Ophelia fell silent, turning pensive at Ryan’s bold question, keeping her red eyes locked onto him as if she were trying to decipher his personality.

The demon queen seemed to realize at that exact moment that Ryan was no ordinary leader who would let himself be dazzled by promises of land and crowns. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

She noticed that he simply didn’t let himself be carried away by immediate benefits, at least not without first knowing the real motive of the other party when negotiating an alliance of such magnitude.

Ryan remained seated with a calmness that bordered on the analytical, waiting for the white-haired woman to spit out the true reason for her interest in a human whom the world considered a pariah.

Then, Ophelia leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and intertwining her fingers in an elegant manner.

"If I were to tell you that other worlds exist beyond this continent and the seas you know, would you believe me, Ryan?"

The question was launched like a dart straight into the center of the conversation, drastically changing the course of the talk.

The question took the rest of his party completely by surprise, causing the tension in the room to spike several levels all at once.

Mirian let out a small gasp and tensed her bowstring out of pure instinct, while Irina froze dead in her tracks.

Beatrice and Karol immediately chimed in on the matter, their voices heavy with a mix of doubt and reproach at what they considered madness or a distraction tactic.

"That is impossible, why would something like that even make sense?" Karol shot back with a tone that denoted her annoyance at being treated like someone who was ignorant.

For this once, Helen said nothing and stayed out of it, crossing her arms against the wall.

She usually got lost quickly in these kinds of philosophical or abstract conversations that didn’t involve clashing metal or measuring physical strength.

Her silence was a clear sign that the topic surpassed her immediate understanding of reality.

But Ryan stood thinking for a moment, ignoring the noise of his companions’ complaints to focus on the woman in front of him.

’Could it be that she is a reincarnator in this world? Or did she transmigrate the same way I did when I collapsed in the office?’ Ryan thought as he felt a chill run down his spine.

He decided not to rush into interpretations that might expose his own cards ahead of time, opting to respond in an honest and technical manner.

"I think it’s a very real possibility, it’s not something I would rule out," Ryan replied in a dry voice that surprised even his allies.

’After all, I myself come from another world where neither dungeons nor level systems exist, but rather code and databases,’ Ryan reflected internally.

He knew better than anyone that reality was much more malleable than the native inhabitants of this world thought, especially when it came to bugs and imposed systems.

Then Ophelia glanced at her companion, the green-haired dragon woman named Iris, giving her a silent signal to take the floor.

Iris finally stepped in to speak, maintaining that expression of serenity that Ryan found so unsettling in an SS-rank entity who had just knocked Helen down a short while ago.

"That is correct, Ryan. We have a well-founded theory that the deity humans worship interferes in this world using knowledge from other worlds," Iris explained in a monotonous but firm voice.

"The creation of the dungeons, the inner workings of the system that governs your lives, and even the dimensional pocket where they hide themselves away, are proof of it."

Iris paused briefly to observe whether Ryan was following the thread of her explanation, noticing that he was nodding with an interest that surpassed mere astonishment.

"We do not have an exact idea of how they achieve it, but it is an undeniable fact that they possess a knowledge that this world is not capable of handling naturally."

"And as long as they keep strengthening humans through that system of levels and skills, they will succeed in closing in on their true objective," the dragon woman continued.

Ryan looked at her with a furrowed brow, feeling that the conversation was entering a territory that the adventurers’ guild would have never dared to explore.

"And what exactly is that objective?" Ryan asked with an irony that concealed his growing unease.

He knew that in any software system, if the user receives free resources, it is because they themselves are the product being sold.

The demon king’s companion looked back at Ophelia, asking for silent permission to reveal the darkest part of their investigation.

Ophelia nodded with a seriousness that dissipated any trace of the mockery she had shown minutes before outside.

Iris took a breath and dropped the bombshell that made the air in the living room seem to freeze over.

"The real objective of those deities is to possess the physical bodies of humans who manage to reach the legendary SSS-rank," Iris declared.

"What?! That is completely absurd!" Karol exclaimed, interrupting with a shout of pure indignation. The mage could not believe that the pinnacle of power was actually a death sentence for every adventurer.

"The system helped humans gain power and defend themselves against the threats of the world—the demons. In fact..." Karol argued, agitated in front of the table.

"If they are such powerful entities capable of creating that system and these infinite dungeons, why would they be interested in possessing a human body that is intrinsically weak?"

Then Ophelia stepped in to calm the little mage down, though her words only served to heighten the latent panic.

"I understand perfectly well why you think that way. The system is programmed to make you believe you are the chosen ones worthy of reaching greater power, but the truth is far more cruel."

"That deity can no longer interfere in this world with a physical body of its own," the demon queen explained.

"For humans, it is very difficult to reach such a high rank of power organically. As you well know, before having a system, you couldn’t even manipulate mana."

Ophelia grew much more serious, and the intensity of her red eyes seemed to illuminate Ryan’s face in the living room.

"That is why they gave you the system—to force your evolution. It is an artificial cultivation of vessels compatible with the disgusting energy they represent."

"So, once you manage to obtain enough power to break past the limit of the SSS-rank, they plan to possess those bodies definitively," Ophelia continued.

"Their goal is to use those human vessels to completely wipe out the demons and all the races they consider to be the impurity of this world."

Ryan processed the information as if he were reading the terms of service of a contract that no one had bothered to read until it was far too late.

"Do you want to know now what the true hidden purpose of these dungeons is, the ones the heroes love entering so much?"