Chapter 31 - Shit! (Patreon)

When the men realized Rui could no longer fight, they stepped forward. The leader took the lead, with his four subordinates close behind. As soon as the leader noticed Rui looking at him, he smiled and drew his sword.

"He’s scared; I can see it in his eyes. I know the look of someone who’s terrified," the man thought.

The other members of the group noticed it too and began to laugh.

"Looks like you’ve run out of steam," the leader said as they closed in.

Rui sighed and smiled. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Tired? No, not at all. I could keep this up for another two full days. What about you guys? Your legs are shaking... Don't tell me you're scared."

Rui was mocking them, and it was starting to make their leader very angry.

Rui noticed this and thought, "They’re getting angrier by the second... I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad one."

Usually, the people who lose their heads are the first to die because they don't consider the consequences of their actions. Rui remained remarkably calm despite the dire situation he was in.

If there was one thing he had learned, it was the importance of staying calm in a situation like this.

Especially after the way he had died in his previous world.

"You talk too much, you know that?" the leader said.

Rui retorted, "And you think too highly of yourself. You think you can hurt me with that?" Rui pointed his sword at the leader's blade and smiled. "What's your name?" he asked.

"You're asking now?"

"I like knowing the names of the people I'm going to kill. That way, I can write them in my diary before I go to sleep." Rui mocked the situation further.

The man gritted his teeth and said, "My name doesn't matter. You're going to die anyway."

"That's a shame; I was curious." Rui glanced both ways. There were only two paths he could take: straight ahead, where the men were, or to the left. He had mapped out the floor well in his mind, so he knew he could escape.

But Rui didn't want to do that.

He would feel like an idiot if he ran away.

Even though he was tired, he was confident he could kill those five men.

Rui noticed that the men were also tired.

'I don't know if they know the dungeon's layout as well as I do, but if they don't, this will be easy,' Rui thought.

The leader, noticing Rui glancing to the left, spoke up.

"After him before he gets away!"

"Right!" the four men shouted and started running.

Rui, realizing the leader would sacrifice his subordinates before engaging in combat himself, was inwardly grateful.

After all, the leader was the only strong adventurer there besides Rui.

Rui smiled and began to run.

"One by one. I'll kill them one by one."

####

While Rui was “having fun” inside the dungeon, night was already beginning to fall outside. At the Loki Familia’s residence, Tiona approached Rui’s room and knocked a few times.

‘He isn’t here?’

She opened the door and peeked inside. He really wasn't anywhere to be found.

‘He hasn’t come home since then?’ Tiona sighed. ‘He must be having fun with that girl somewhere.’

Tiona closed the door, and as time ticked by, she grew increasingly worried.

It was likely because her feelings for Rui had begun to deepen, and it had been a long time since he had disappeared for this long.

‘I’ll just go take a look…’

Tiona left the Loki Familia mansion without saying where she was going and headed toward the Hestia Familia’s home. Although she had never been there before, she had the information and knew the location. Upon arriving in front of the dilapidated church, Tiona called out Rui’s name.

She called out a few times until someone finally came out.

“Who is it? Why are you shouting!?” The person who emerged was the Goddess Hestia.

As soon as she saw Tiona, her eyes widened. “Oh, it’s you.”

“I’m glad you know who I am, Goddess.”

“Why are you shouting that idiot’s name here?”

“Isn’t Rui here?”

“Of course not.”

“Is that girl home?”

“Bella? Yes, she’s asleep. Rui left here a long time ago.”

“I see, thank you. Did he say where he was going?”

“No, I didn’t ask.”

“Alright, thanks.”

Before Hestia could say another word, Tiona ran off.

She had a bad feeling.

####

“Huff... huff... huff...” Breathing heavily, Rui was hiding in a "hole" in the dungeon wall—a hard-to-reach spot where no one would spot him. “Two down, but there are still two more left, plus the leader.”

Rui needed to catch his breath.

After the chase began, he had activated his “Boost” skill once more and gone into hiding. When one of the men drew near, he used his sword to pierce the man’s head in a single, swift motion.

A quick, painless death.

The other three saw it and were terrified, frozen in place.

Rui glanced back and smiled. Then, he took off running.

That was when the leader appeared. “What do you think you’re doing?! Keep running!” He completely ignored his dead subordinate; to him, the man was worthless, and his death meant nothing.

The remaining subordinates didn't want to go on, but they did so anyway.

However, things changed the moment the second man was killed.

The two remaining subordinates chased Rui for a while, but after he went into hiding, they kept running aimlessly. They put as much distance as possible between themselves and their leader.

“Let’s get out of here—we can’t kill that guy!”

“I don’t want to die!”

By the time the leader realized what was happening, he was all alone in the silence.

“Damn it!” He punched the wall in frustration.