As I said, it would be shameful not to face a boss monster after killing all those people.

  I don't see myself as a particularly courageous person, but rather just someone who does what is necessary.

  The characteristic sounds nice, but my idea of necessary probably doesn't make much sense to others.

  I mean, I don't think I'm crazy, rather just abnormal, which is unsurprising given my upbringing.

  Perhaps if I were more patient and considerate, I would have been able to turn this situation in a different way.

  Rather than slaughtering my whole party, I could have gone on with my act, made it out of the dungeon, and tried to report the situation to the association.

  Well, it sounded good, but it probably wouldn't have worked out.

  After all, I was going entirely on my gut feelings, which, although true, could not be proved conclusively in an investigation.

  Then, perhaps I should have taken the help of the Odyssey members?

  It's not like I'm all that close to them, but if I asked them to help me deal with the situation, they'd probably say yes.

  They're good people, after all.

  Even so, I'm the kind of person who absolutely despises relying on others for anything, so from the beginning, there was no chance of me going for that idea.

  So instead of struggling with all of that, I took the easy path, the path of slaughter.

  But even if I consider that path easy, it takes its toll on me.

  That toll could be called a 'weight'.

  A weight that drives me to move forward in whatever way I can.

  In my past life, there were plenty of times I had killed both innocent and guilty people over all sorts of business.

  Every time I did so, I didn't feel guilt; I felt a burning sensation.

  Since I've done something bad, I have to make it worth it somehow.

  That kind of thing.

  But now, at least that idea can be applied properly.

  Now, if I am to kill someone, it means that I will grow stronger.

  This is a world ruled by strength, and only strength.

  So if I become truly strong, I could do something to make my actions worthwhile.

  Maybe that something could be heroic, although that doesn't seem all that interesting to me...

  As for a world ruled by strength, a perfect example of this was my own father.

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  A man who, despite being an archmage who has slain thousands, no, tens of thousands in battle, is considered to be a great hero of the empire.

  And for my master, who had committed atrocities I couldn't begin to imagine, if he were to hypothetically stroll into the capital of the empire and express his desire to become a loyal citizen, the empire would probably welcome him with open arms.

  The conclusion I can draw from these ideas is that my actions can be justified by my growth.

  If I were to trample over tens, hundreds, or even thousands of people only to end my journey as a washed-up bum, I would be the worst of the worst.

  But if I did the same and ended up as an archmage, or something greater, then quite frankly, nobody would care.

  Many would condemn a C Rank Adventurer for wiping out his entire raid party, but what if that C Rank was replaced with an archmage?

  Even a farmer would understand that such beings are not bound by regular logic and morality.

  My way of thinking is definitely not normal, but it works well enough to convince me that my way is right.

  "Has to be soon."

  Accompanied only by the sound of my footsteps and the cries of dying monsters, time seemed to pass slowly.

  This was my first time challenging a dungeon, so I wasn't sure exactly how it was supposed to go.

  I had done some precursory research on dungeons in the tower, but reading and experiencing something is obviously different.

  It was safe to guess that whenever I reached the end of the tunnel, I'd find the boss.

  But still, it was far longer than I had expected.

  When one challenges a dungeon in a video game, usually the process doesn't take longer than an hour.

  That duration could vary, but even then, I had never heard of a dungeon that went on for several hours like the one I was currently in.

  Anyway, now that the tunnel was narrowing in width and height, I guessed that I was approaching the end.

  As the dungeon narrowed, the number of monsters decreased, but the number of traps increased proportionately.

  "Ah, fuck!"

  Even if I was able to avoid most traps, I couldn't avoid them all.

  Occasionaly I would not be able to dodge an arrow in time, being grazed as I had been just now.

  Luckily, I was just grazed.

  In these instances, my upgraded reflex stat truly showed its worth.

  Taking a potion out from my subspace, I poured a small amount of the red healing liquid onto my wound.

  Sssst.

  I grimaced as a burning pain enveloped my forearm, the place in which the wound lay.

  Thankfully, the pain quickly faded, with the wound rapidly healing.

  For the majority of adventurers at my level, what I had done just now would be disgraceful.

  Low rank adventurers weren't exactly rolling around in money, so for them to buy a potion, it would be considered a big investment for a dangerous mission.

  And so, such an investment couldn't be used on a minor wound like this; instead, they would simply use some disinfectant herbs and gauze.

  But considering I had taken whatever the porter and anyone else were carrying, I had enough potions stocked for a whole party.

  ...

  After a while, the dungeon passage had thinned to the point that two men standing side by side would struggle to walk properly.

  There were no monsters, and there were no traps from what I could see.

  In a way, that was concerning.

  It was like I was being told, 'You've done a good job, now fight the boss'.

  Looking forward, a strange darkness seemed to be present.

  Right now, I was walking through pitch blackness, but my enhanced eyes were able to see through relatively fine.

  But now, that night vision failed to pierce through the veil of darkness in front of me.

  'Spooky...'

  Ruffling through my subspace pouch, I brought out all the potions I had at the moment.

  Immediately, I chugged a health potion.

  I was not injured at the moment, so the healing effect instead simply revitalised my whole body and gave me energy, essentially putting me in tip-top shape.

  Next, I looked through some of the other potions.

  I couldn't help but snort when seeing a few vials of a shimmering blue elixir.

  'Couldn't be more useless.'

  Most of the potions were for healing and mana regeneration, but there were two others of a different color.

  Checking my status window, I quickly understood their purpose.

  The electric yellow potion seemed to increase speed and reflexes, and the cool teal potion was supposed to 'calm the mind', providing the clarity to execute techniques more efficiently.

  Without hesitation, I drank both.

  The effect was immediate, as I felt the world around me seem to become more vibrant and colourful.

  "Crazy..."

  The feeling of calmness and clarity, combined with an improved perception of my reflexes, created an exuberant feeling.