Chapter 113: Return (2)

Chapter 109

A powerful force erupted from within the small treasure, seizing the dark red aura before it could disperse. The energy was dragged toward the box with irresistible force and absorbed in an instant.

The red engravings on its surface lit up brilliantly.

For a few seconds, the markings shone with a vivid crimson radiance, making the little box appear as though it had suddenly awakened. Then, just as quickly as the light had appeared, it began to fade.

The engravings dimmed.

Silence returned.

Orion examined the Soul Box for a moment, waiting to see whether it would produce a reward.

Nothing happened.

It seemed that consuming the soul of the Webfiend Lord alone was insufficient to generate a treasure.

Orion wasn’t particularly surprised.

The Soul Box’s reward mechanism was notoriously unpredictable. Even a powerful soul was no guarantee of a worthwhile result, and the Webfiend Lord was only one of the many monsters that had been killed during this dungeon break.

If one soul wasn’t enough, then he simply had more souls to feed it.

There were still thousands of dead monsters scattered throughout the city.

With that many available, he refused to believe he would walk away with nothing of value.

Besides, the Soul Box was only one part of what made the dungeon-break spoils so valuable.

The dead monsters themselves were a treasure trove.

Their monster cores and bodies were worth a considerable amount of money, and with thousands of them available, the total value was bound to be enormous.

Orion had no intention of wasting such an opportunity.

After all, obtaining monster hides, intact bodies, and monster cores was not something one could easily accomplish inside an ordinary dungeon.

Monsters generally faded away after being killed in a dungeon. Their bodies disappeared, leaving behind only whatever rewards the dungeon happened to provide. Even then, obtaining a valuable drop was far from guaranteed.

The situation was different during a dungeon break.

A dungeon break carried a devastating disadvantage. Monsters flooded into the human world, threatening entire cities and placing countless lives in danger. The destruction they caused could be catastrophic, and the consequences of failing to contain one could extend far beyond the initial outbreak.

Yet, as terrible as such an event was, it also presented an unusual advantage.

The monsters’ bodies remained behind after they were killed.

Their monster cores, which contained corrupted mana, could be extracted, refined, and processed for various uses. Although the energy within them was corrupted, that did not make it worthless. With the proper treatment, the cores could become valuable resources.

In fact, monster cores could cost more than many ordinary mana cores and mana stones.

Of course, pure mana crystals were still in a league of their own. Their purity and usefulness made them exceptionally valuable, and ordinary monster cores could not easily compete with them.

Even so, the value of the monster cores scattered throughout Daylight City was not something Orion could afford to ignore.

And the cores weren’t the only valuable materials available.

The bodies themselves were useful.

Their hides could be processed into durable materials, while other parts could be harvested for various purposes. Depending on the monster’s species, grade, and physical characteristics, its remains could fetch a considerable price.

There were thousands of monsters here.

The amount of wealth represented by their remains was almost absurd.

Orion’s failed attempt to obtain his first Origin Summon was disappointing, but it had done little to dampen his overall mood. He still had plenty to gain from the dungeon break, and the more he considered the possibilities, the more worthwhile the entire situation seemed.

At the very least, he wouldn’t be leaving empty-handed.

"Time to get to work."

With those words, Orion vanished.

The Webfiend Lord’s corpse disappeared alongside him, stored away before he moved on to deal with the remaining spoils.

He needed to work quickly.

There were still plenty of things to collect, and he wanted to return home as soon as possible.

More importantly, he needed to return to his original state.

The Origin State had granted him extraordinary power, but there was something about it that he couldn’t quite explain. He couldn’t identify the exact reason, nor could he point to a particular danger, yet he possessed an almost absolute feeling that he needed to return to himself soon.

It was an instinct he couldn’t comfortably dismiss.

Perhaps it was related to the Origin State itself. Perhaps it was connected to the mysterious power that had transformed him. Whatever the reason, Orion was unwilling to ignore that persistent feeling.

He needed to deactivate the state and return to normal.

However, there was another problem.

He wasn’t willing to let everyone discover his identity.

The Scourge Guild was already on his tail. If he revealed too much about himself, he would only invite more trouble, and the last thing he needed was to attract even greater attention before he understood the full extent of his situation.

He had already displayed enough power to raise questions.

There was no reason to make matters worse by carelessly revealing everything he could do.

Therefore, he decided to keep his true identity hidden for as long as possible.

And to accomplish everything he needed to do within the limited time available, he had a simple solution.

His mirror clones.

With their assistance, he could accomplish several tasks simultaneously without having to be physically present everywhere himself.

It was one of the greatest advantages of possessing the Golden Mirror.

Rather than wasting time moving from one place to another, he could let his clones handle the remaining matters while he focused on what was most important.

For now, that was enough.

---

Back inside the City Lord’s bunker, the atmosphere had settled considerably.

The chaos that had gripped the place only a few hours earlier had largely subsided. The terrified shouting, frantic movements, and overwhelming sense of impending doom had gradually given way to an unusual calm.

The dungeon break had brought Daylight City to the brink of disaster.

Everyone present had understood how easily things could have ended differently. The monsters had been powerful, their numbers overwhelming, and even the city’s strongest defenders had struggled to hold them back.

Yet the situation had changed.

Two white-haired heroes were now standing among them.

And with those two figures present, the people inside the bunker felt safer than they had at any other point during the crisis.

Most couldn’t take their eyes off the pair.

The two figures looked almost perfectly identical, their appearances so alike that it was difficult to distinguish one from the other at a glance. Both possessed snowy white hair, rainbow-colored eyes, and an extraordinary presence that seemed entirely out of place among ordinary humans.

Their expressions were calm, their postures relaxed, and their movements carried a natural elegance that made even the simplest actions appear deliberate.

Yet it wasn’t merely their appearance that held everyone’s attention.

It was their aura.

There was something majestic and domineering about the two figures, an overwhelming sense of composure that made the people around them instinctively lower their voices.

They didn’t need to shout or demonstrate their strength to command attention.

Their very presence was enough.

It was as though two kings had suddenly appeared in the middle of the bunker.

No... even that comparison seemed inadequate.

The people couldn’t help feeling that the two white-haired figures possessed a majesty that surpassed that of ordinary kings. There was an indescribable quality to them, something that made it difficult to look away even when they wanted to.