Chapter 62

The Game Difficulty
Is Crazy

After shaking off Norman and the Canary Knight Order at the midway point,

Glenn advanced alone toward the deepest part of the restricted zone.

Fortunately, it seemed the Canary Knight Order knew their own limits well, as they did not force themselves to follow Glenn any farther.

If they followed him beyond that point, casualties would definitely occur.

“Still, not even one stubborn bastard tries to follow me.”

Sending Glenn alone and then worrying about what they would do if something happened to him might have crossed their minds, but—

To Pebien and the people of the Rotmeier family, Glenn Wordsworth was nothing more than a fanatical mad executioner of the family.

A child rumored to have been cast out even by the head of the family was not someone they would protect at the risk of their own precious lives.

‘Of course, if you ask whether I’m disappointed… I actually like it.’

Thanks to that, Glenn was able to monopolize all the experience points gained from hunting monsters.

Glenn brought up the system message.

《Stamina increases by 1.》
《Agility increases by 1.》
《Strength increases by 1.》

These were the rewards he had just earned after taking down dozens of giant coal rats.

His growth had already begun to slow as his overall level rose, making it harder for his stats to increase.

The Growth Elixir, which had been responsible for his rapid early growth, was also gradually losing its effect.

But by monopolizing the experience from dozens of monsters at once, he was able to achieve visible growth once again.

His growth curve, which should have started to slow down, had not stopped.

‘And my monster hunting isn’t over yet.’

He had just passed the midway point.

Which meant there was still a whole pile of monsters ahead, waiting to become Glenn’s experience points.

“Kiieeek!”

A screech rang out right on cue.

With frantic wing flaps, a massive swarm of bats poured out of the darkness.

Mine Bats.

Along with giant coal rats, they were 3-star monsters that could be found in any mining area.

There were quite a lot of them, but—

“They’re just my experience points, right?”

Curling one corner of his mouth upward, Glenn rotated his four holy rings.

Then he kicked off the ground toward the surging black wave.

Deep within the restricted zone of the Haven Mine, killing intent swept through the area again and again.

Wherever that killing intent passed, the ground was filled with monster corpses, leaving no space to step.

It was nothing short of a disaster for the monsters.

Glenn, the source of that killing intent, continued to advance while performing a relentless sword dance.

The pit props supporting the tunnel had long since disappeared, and the once-uniform ceiling now varied wildly in height.

At some point, the place where Glenn was fighting was no longer a mine tunnel, but closer to an undeveloped natural cave.

Even so, Glenn pressed forward, using his sword imbued with holy power as a torch, slaughtering the monsters before him.

By the time his nose had completely adapted to the stench pouring from the corpses,

Glenn squeezed his body through a narrow passage and emerged into a massive cavern.

A huge hollow with not a single monster in sight.

He had finally reached the deepest part of the restricted zone.

“Okay. I’m here.”

Only then did Glenn let out a rough breath and store the sword he had been holding into his inventory.

He sat down on the ground and took out water and food.

While chewing on bread that was warm as if freshly baked, Glenn brought up the system messages to review his gains so far.

A clear starlight shimmered in Glenn’s ash-gray eyes, which had been growing tired.

《Stamina increases by 2.》
《Strength increases by 1.》
《Agility increases by 1.》
《Holy Power increases by 1.》
《Skill ‘Piercing Madness’ proficiency increases by 1. Current proficiency: 9/10》

“Nice.”

He had gained a considerable amount of stats and even skill proficiency.

Fighting every monster in the restricted zone for dozens of minutes had been worth it.

With a satisfied expression, Glenn drank deeply from his water pouch.

The cool water flowed down his throat, bringing overwhelming refreshment.

‘This is why RPGs are all about hunting.’

Of course, the work was not finished yet. If he turned back now, it would mean nothing.

Clearing all the monsters in the restricted zone was something the head family’s expedition, or even the Canary Knight Order with their elite forces, could accomplish.

But Glenn knew one crucial fact they did not.

‘No matter how many times you wipe them out, I know exactly how those monsters keep crawling back out.’

Putting the half-eaten bread and water pouch back into his inventory, Glenn stood up and stretched.

Then he took out a pickaxe from his inventory and rested it on his shoulder.

It was something he had stolen from the storage of Baron Pebien’s mansion before coming here.

“Alright. I’ve filled my stomach a bit, so let’s start the finishing work.”

With light steps, Glenn pressed himself against the cave wall and began tapping it here and there with the back of his hand.

Tap, tap—

What he felt was the solid sensation of hard rock.

Glenn moved sideways, continuing to tap along the wall.

After moving about ten meters from the first wall he tested—

Thud, thud—

An unfamiliar sound, different from rock, rang out from the wall he struck.

Glenn’s lips curled upward.

“Found it.”

Gripping the pickaxe, he infused it with dense holy power and swung it forcefully at the wall.

Kraaaash—!

Instead of rock, the sound of crude wood breaking echoed out.

Glenn raised the pickaxe again and struck the same spot with vigor.

Kwaaang—!

The fake wall that looked like solid rock collapsed after just two strikes.

Beyond the place he thought was the deepest point, another passage was revealed.

“Trying to hide it from my eyes?”

Grinning slyly, Glenn rested the pickaxe on his shoulder and stepped proudly into the passage.

Soon, pitch-black darkness filled his vision.

Even so, Glenn advanced calmly.

Step, step—

Why was it that even after the head family’s expedition and the Canary Knight Order had reduced the monster numbers so much, the tunnels quickly filled up again with that many monsters?

“Why else? Because you kill all the small fry but never kill that thing.”

Staring straight ahead, Glenn filled his gaze with killing intent.

The pickaxe on his shoulder had already changed into a sharp sword.

“Kirrrr…….”

A wary cry echoed out.

What greeted Glenn was a massive red magic circle covering the cave floor, and atop it lay a gigantic rat monster bound in chains.

A 6-star boss monster that gave birth to over a hundred rat monsters of various species in a single day.

The Queen of Proliferation.

“Bingo.”

Seeing the exact same scene as in the original story, Glenn cheered and adjusted his grip on the sword.

“Kirrrk, kirrrr!”

Reacting to the intruder, the Queen of Proliferation’s massive body trembled.

Soon, dozens of rat monsters appeared behind her.

Mine rats, giant coal rats,

and even mine bats.

Though they were clearly different species, they were all monsters born from the same mother.

“Bats are really crossing the line, aren’t they?”

Glenn sneered mockingly.

“Kirrrk! Kiiiaaaak!”

Still bound by chains, the Queen of Proliferation thrashed her body and let out a shrill scream.

At her command, dozens of monsters charged at Glenn all at once.

“Kieeek!”

“Chiiik!”

As he watched the black wave of monsters rush toward him, Glenn threw off the shackles on his wrist as if he had been waiting for this.

At the same time, he activated the gray ring.

Woooooong—

The four holy rings and one demonic ring were dyed gray,

and then Glenn dyed all five gray rings… black.

‘What I need right now is the Demonic Veil.’

For an instant, a black sinister aura flickered through Glenn’s ash-gray eyes.

Sssrrrk—

The demonic energy surrounding Glenn quietly concealed its power and presence.

At the same time, the situation inside the cave, which had been pitch-black, became clearly visible to him.

The Demonic Veil had been activated.

“Kieeeeeek!”

As the presence of the intruder disappeared, the charging monsters began sniffing the air.

The cave was pitch dark, and with the enemy’s presence gone, they intended to rely on their highly developed sense of smell.

But—

“If you were going to find me that easily, I wouldn’t have used the Demonic Veil in the first place, you idiots.”

Curling his lips, Glenn opened the Lunatic Inventory and pulled something out.

He immediately threw the item toward the swarm of rats rushing in while sniffing.

Splat, splat—

Black objects scattered throughout the cave as they left Glenn’s hand.

They were none other than the corpses of the monsters Glenn had killed on his way here.

Soon, the distinctive stench of rotting flesh and thick blood spread from the corpses stuck to the floor and walls.

Glenn covered himself in it as well.

“Kieeek!”

“Kiiiaaak!”

The rat swarm screamed and frantically turned their heads, trying to find the intruder.

But to creatures that relied more on smell and hearing than sight, there was no way to find Glenn, who had erased both his presence and scent.

In the end, the panicked monsters began attacking anything they touched at random.

Dozens of monsters tore into one another, unable to distinguish friend from foe.

‘Perfect.’

Taking advantage of the monsters’ infighting, Glenn quietly and swiftly approached the Queen of Proliferation.

“Kirrrk! Kirrk! Kieeeek!”

As if scolding her offspring fighting among themselves, the Queen of Proliferation cried out loudly.

In desperation, she gave birth to new monsters and issued commands, but it was useless.

“Kieeek!”

The newborn monsters also wandered about in confusion, unable to find Glenn.

“Done struggling?”

At the voice sounding from above, the Queen of Proliferation’s red eyes snapped wide.

Reflected in her crimson retinas was Glenn, who had already closed in to point-blank range with his sword drawn back.

His shoulder was pulled tight, and a dark red aura coiled around the blade in his grip.

Glenn thrust the sword he had drawn back toward the Queen of Proliferation’s head.

Kwa-ga-ga-gak—!

Piercing Madness.

A thrust repeated hundreds of times, now carrying demonic energy, pierced straight through her face.

The sword tore through bone and flesh as it drove forward.

“Kiiiaaaaaaak!”

The Queen of Proliferation screamed.

She thrashed her body in agony, but with her entire body bound by chains, she could not put up much resistance.

“Kirrrk, kirrk…….”

In the end, without even a proper struggle, the 6-star monster, the Queen of Proliferation, met a futile death.

Using the dead Queen of Proliferation as a safe zone, Glenn sheathed his sword and calmly waited for the monsters’ infighting in the darkness to end.

Afterward, he personally finished off the few surviving monsters, bringing the battle to a close.

The monsters of the mine that had threatened Haven were completely uprooted.

Blue particles formed in his vision and turned into system messages.

It seemed the main stats used to defeat the Queen of Proliferation had increased.

《Agility increases by 1.》
《Demonic Energy increases by 1.》

“Nice.”

But gaining stats was not the only reason he had gone through all this trouble.

Holding his sword in a reverse grip, Glenn began cutting open the chest area of the cooling corpse of the Queen of Proliferation.

“Ugh! Fuck…….”

He thought he had adapted after being covered in flesh and blood on the way here, but this was a whole new level of disgust.

Still, since items did not drop automatically like in the original story, this kind of dissection work was unavoidable.

“They could at least automate this stuff.”

Grumbling, Glenn soon extracted the Queen of Proliferation’s heart.

《Queen of Proliferation’s Heart》
《Grade》 : Heroic
《Type》 : Material

:A heart containing the essence of the Queen of Proliferation, the mother of rat swarms. Filthy and vile demonic energy dwells within.

《Story》

:The Queen of Proliferation hides deep within caves or dungeons and gives birth to over a hundred offspring in a single day. The more offspring she commands, the more she is acknowledged as a powerful swarm mother.

“Farming’s done.”

Now, if he simply returned, he would receive the expensive reward promised by Pebien.

But Glenn looked beyond the Queen of Proliferation’s corpse, toward the deep darkness stretching farther inside.

“Shall we go finish the real ending?”

It wasn’t over yet.

The true culprit behind hiding the Queen of Proliferation here—the mastermind—still remained at the end of that deep darkness.

Lowering his gaze to the massive red magic circle carved into the floor, Glenn twisted his lips into a grin.