He approached the place where he felt that the research lab was, and he pressed his hand against the wall.
"...this... it’s really here... the one that must be controlling monsters..."
He was still thinking what to do when he suddenly felt a presence that felt like a knife against his throat.
Something is coming.
A very dangerous monster.
He pressed himself tightly against the wall.
Before long, he began to hear the sound of heavy footsteps and the loud crank of traps setting off, but still, the footsteps continued.
And then the monster came into view. It was wolf-like and walked with two legs, but something about it was odd. The monster’s head was a ripple of different heads, as if there were numerous heads trying to come out of the main one.
Severin stopped breathing entirely, and for all intent and purpose, he was part of the stones. If he didn’t make any movement, then the monster would just pass him by.
The monster was now close to Severin, so close that he could smell the dirty fur and rot that clung to it.
"...this is one of the monsters that the Scar member must have made, but what’s it doing here? In the book, he only created two monsters like this and sent them together with the other members... if there are more monsters like this now... does that mean...?"
But he didn’t have the time to worry about others because the monster is passing through now.
Its paw stepped on a stone that clinked, setting off a trap.
"...fuck! I’ve forgotten about the traps..."
He heard the grating sound of gears turning, and then a spear flew from the small hole beside him.
The monster didn’t even flinch as the spear hit it.
But the problem was the trap at the other side of the wall. A giant dangling stone swung past where the monster was and headed directly at Severin.
He didn’t think twice. He ducked to the side, shifting towards where the monster’s side eyes should have caught him.
But even then, the monster didn’t react. Severin would have let out a sigh of relief, but that might have made things worse.
"...this technique is really good. I must have seemed like part of the falling stone..."
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly stiffened together with the monster.
What the fuck?
Severin’s eyes widened.
Something.
Something even more powerful was coming.
The first thing Severin felt was heat. It was the type of heat one feels standing close to an oven—a contained heat that could be unleashed like a tide at any time.
Despite himself, Severin’s heart began to beat fast.
The dungeon was supposed to be dangerous.
It was supposed to be deadly.
But hadn’t he planned well? He’d used all the knowledge he knew about the novel to make the perfect plan, right? Right?
He might be weak physically, but he was good at planning and taking advantage.
But somehow things went wrong...?
Then Severin saw the monster, and at first he breathed a sigh.
It’s only Lucas Dawn, the main protagonist.
But then he felt even more fear than before. His heart stopped beating in sheer fright.
This is the White Fire?
What’s it doing here? In the book, Lucas borrowed its power, and he was in a half-unconscious mode as he rampaged through the dungeon.
But the silver eyes that met his were too ancient and canny to be anything else.
In the book, the White Fire rarely listened to Lucas once it made its appearance. Even his friends were always wary about it making an appearance.
"...and, one of the reasons it would appear was if Lucas’s life was truly in danger... seems the past is changing faster than I expected..."
"Who set all this trap?" Lucas said. He didn’t bother to avoid any of the traps. They simply burned out of existence. "Another pest? Just how many of you are there?"
The wolf monster turned and ran at Lucas, its head enlarged, exploding into a mass of fang-filled flesh.
But it burned out as well.
So... easy. No, the thing inside Lucas, the thing it later made as his power, was just that powerful. This is the power of a main protagonist.
Lots of things made up main characters, but the top of it all was the absolute, overwhelming powers they have.
Severin watched the White Fire pass him, feeling like his blood was boiling from the heat.
Suddenly, Lucas stopped, and then he turned. Without apparently taking a single step, he was suddenly in front of Severin.
Severin shouted. He couldn’t help it, and his sword thrust forward, his muscle memory acting before he could fully register what was happening.
"Eh? I said it, you don’t look like a pest, so why are you hiding as one?" Lucas said. He stared at him for a while and then pointed to the wall beside him. "You want to deal with that? Alright."
"I still have to take care of more pests. This brat won’t let me rest."
Then he turned and walked down the tunnel.
Severin fell to his hands and gasped out loud. He could finally breathe again. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to breathe when the monster was near. It was simply that there was no air to breathe.
When Lucas was that close to him, all the air was burned away.
"This is the power of the main protagonist, and it’s not even the tip of the cone yet. And this will not be enough to save the world? To survive, I must surpass this power and save myself from the ending... will that...?"
He didn’t want to finish it. What happens after the ending? Would he get the chance to return? And if he didn’t survive?
The weakest student reaching so high to save the world.
Severin almost laughed out loud at how depressing it sounded.
"...this damned author..."
Not even the main protagonist was enough to save it.
"...ah well... I just have to survive, right? It should be easy. I just have to be more powerful than the Singularity... right? Right?..."
But somehow, seeing the tip of the power that he was trying to surpass left him feeling sad and excited at the same time.
"...if I can’t do it alone... I’ll just make more subordinates... even the main character won’t be bad..."
Severin shook it all away. There was no point in thinking all of that right then.
He made his mind blank, and then he focused on his next task.