Jim searched more than forty rooms, and he didn’t find anything valuable. It was as if nothing valuable was left behind for anybody to use.“These people managing the dungeon didn’t leave anything useful in these rooms with open doors,” Jim wasn’t frustrated by it because he was now able to better understand how these people running the dungeon operated. “If I want to get my hands on something useful, then I have to probably fight for it.”[I can’t tell you which room will help you, though.] Joe said.“Did I ask you for help?”[You didn’t, but I’m just saying.]“Say what you want, but I’m going to make you my servant by getting out of this dungeon,” Jim said. As he kept walking down the torch-lit corridor, a door opened. It was of room number AA1.The tall, muscular guy, Pyron, stepped out and slowly turned his head and looked at Jim. “To be roaming outside so casually… you think the dungeon staff is going to like it?” He pumped his gauntlet-worn fists, releasing sparks of electricity
A few minutes later.In room number AA11.Jim opened his eyes and found himself inside a room that was locked. There was no one in the room but himself. The martial art book was right next to him.“What the hell happened?” he wondered. “Why am I in a room?”[You strike managed to knock him out.] Joe said. [But then you also collapsed right afterward. Since it was a draw, the robots took you both to different rooms. The nanobots healed your abdominal injury, and you woke up exactly eleven minutes after.]Jim looked at his belly and touched it. He could still feel some pain, but it was very minimal and bearable. “That punch hurt like hell, but I somehow managed to hit him back. It didn’t connect as well as I wanted, but I’m glad that was enough to knock him out. Otherwise, things would have ended there for me.”[You’re damn right. Your punch struck his chin, and he passed out.] Joe blurted. [Don’t expect such a thing to happen again.]Jim clenched his fist. “Now I have a better idea as
After using the Bone-Breaking fist on Pyron, Jim realized something. He didn’t need to directly touch the person to land a blow on them. This was because he was sure that his fist didn’t properly connect to Pyron’s jaw. Yet, Pyron was sent flying back.Jim had to read the martial art book for clues again, and now, he understood some things he didn’t previously understand.“So, my body releases ‘vivre’ energy around my fist, like it’s a gauntlet of sorts,” Jim wondered. “I can’t see it, but the book says I’ll be able to feel it as I keep practicing it. What’s more the size of this energy gauntlet can be increased or decreased as per my wish? This is pretty handy as it will help conserve my energy and use it as per demand. If I can learn to reshape the energy, I can use it as different weapons, too. That will be pretty cool.“But what’s perplexing is that the book says that the energy can be accelerated in the presence of both the sun and the moon, which will help me gain new forms of e
Jim’s expression didn’t change. It stayed stiff even though minutes passed, and he walked hundreds of meters, far away from Pyron’s room.He wasn’t just walking but was thinking back on all that had happened since coming here.“They didn’t tell me that the meat they gave me was human meat,” he frowned. “They may be lying with a lot of other things, too. I cannot trust the people that put me here against my will. No matter how good they may seem…” he briefly remembered the Demon Dwarf, “I should not let my guard down. Never.” His resolve strengthened more as he pondered about all the things that happened recently.There was no guarantee that he would be allowed to go home if he were to clear the dungeon. There was no guarantee that they would even let him go to the next floor with the key they had given.What’s more, Jim couldn’t put his trust in Joe, either, not after how Joe let Jim and his wife suffer in the hands of Stanley.Surely, Jim felt like he had no one but himself to trust
The woman in pigtails quickly picked up the martial art book. “Ancient martial art?” her eyes lit up. “You have such a cool book? No wonder you were reluctant.” She quickly opened it. “Mm?” The first page was blank. She turned the page, only to see another blank age. She flipped a few more pages, but the result didn’t change. She randomly opened middle pages in the book, and they were blank pages, too. “What the hell?” she barked in frustration. “This book is empty!”“You asked for it,” Jim said. “Now, why don’t you keep your word, too?”She squinted her eyes. “Since this book is empty, you won’t mind if I tear it into pieces, right?”Jim’s expression turned cold. “Don’t cross the line, woman. I’ve already given you enough respect as a fellow human being. Don’t make me lose that little respect I still have for you.”For some reason, Jim’s words made her change her mind. She tossed the book back to him, making him feel a little relieved. “You can go now,” she said.“What? What about th
“I’m Noel,” she said, smiling. “Let’s get inside and have some real fun, shall we? I’ll let you do anything you want to me.”Jim got up to his feet and began to walk in the opposite direction inside.Noel’s jaw dropped. “Huh? W-Wait.” She took a few steps forward.“Don’t,” Jim said without looking back. “I’m not interested.”Noel looked a bit ashamed of herself now. She put her blouse back on, took the cylinder and went back into her room with a disappointed look. “I don’t know whether he will get out of this place alive or not, but if he does, then whoever marries him will be the luckiest woman in the world.” She paused for a moment. “Do I still have a chance? He said he’s not interested, but if I manage to escape this place, then maybe…” She didn’t have a family as her parents died when she was young. She grew up in her aunt’s house, and they made her do all the chores. She didn’t have the time to date any man yet, so she really felt like going after Jim now because she never felt t
None of the watchers thought Jim would actually pay a visit to Pyron’s room. The surveillance staff immediately informed all the watchers as Jim neared the Pyron’s room.Many watchers stopped what they were doing and quickly logged into stream with channel number J7.“He barely managed to draw the match last time,” Nightmare_lily rebuked him. “Why is he in Pyron's room now? Does he have a death wish?”“Stop acting like you love him, bitch,” Lovelace said. “You just want him to grow so you can devour him later on. Everybody knows that.”“Shut your trap,” Nightmare_lily howled. “You’re worse than me because you enslave men in the name of love.”Fancy Fatty, on the other hand, was eating live baby rat soup, with his obese maid standing right behind him. “Fuck these bitches. They are always yelling on the channel recently because the moderator is on a break.” He muted the speakers and then observed Jim through the screen. “This bastard suffered a nasty shoulder injury not long ago. Even t
“Are you out of your damn mind?” Nighmare_lily was quick to rebuke Lovelace. “While J7 might have used a powerful technique, that’s all he has. And he’s probably already tired because of that. There’s no way he can take on all the pawns and survive. Besides, he’s chosen the path of a hero. We can’t have him fight everyone.”“Then what do you suggest?” Lovelace asked, her voice laced with annoyance.“Let’s create a hero’s storyline. If he meets our expectations, then we’ll send him upstairs,” Nightmare_lily suggested. “Otherwise, we can just destroy him.”“Sounds reasonable,” Lovelace agreed with her. “Do others also agree with this method?”“We can only decide his opponents while he’s still on that lowest level,” Fancy Fatty said. “So, yes, let’s test him. I’ll be the first one to test him. What do you say?”Nobody disagreed because they knew that Fancy Fatty was a very rich guy. They wouldn’t unnecessarily mess with him during serious situations, even though they would constantly sco