I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 47

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

[047] ■■ Stats
A deep and lightless abyss. A pitch-black void where not a single ray of light penetrated.
From the emptiness filled only with silence, a viscous voice suddenly rippled forth.
“Krkrkr… I smell it. Such a sweet and foolish scent of humanity….”
“Has another ignorant mortal dared to knock upon the forbidden gate? To covet what is forbidden?”
“Who is it this time? Who dares awaken that power?”
A cruel laugh tore through the void, echoing through the abyss, and red eyes began igniting one by one within the darkness.
Eyes swirling with greed, murderous intent, and an insatiable thirst.
“Find him. I shall tear out his heart and quench my throat with his blood.”
The massive form of a wolf emerged, rending the darkness asunder.
“Fool. Relying on strength alone will only ruin our purpose. Allow me. I shall gnaw at his mind until he walks toward us of his own accord.”
The Duke holding a tome laughed with a metallic edge, stepping forward to block the way.
“Move aside! He is mine!”
“Silence! Whoever finds him first claims him!”
The abyss trembled with the snarling clamor of demons arguing over who would go.
Then, from the deepest place, a low and heavy voice resonated.
“Do not rush.”
Silence fell upon them all in an instant.
“Wherever he hides, we shall inevitably meet him. For those who awaken such power necessarily carry light with them.”
“….”
“Now is not yet the time to act.”
That was all.
Unable to refuse the absolute command, the demons clicked their tongues in frustration and scattered into the darkness.
One by one, the red eyes extinguished, and silence reclaimed the abyss.
Yet within that quietude, a single shadow moved.
The Owl-headed Man astride the wolf secretly tore through dimensions, tilting his head toward the Surface.
“I despise tedium….”
He licked his lips with unbridled greed, as though the command meant nothing to him.
By coincidence, his eyes reflected the image of Medaolinum Dungeon 2nd Floor that he had marked through his minion.
‘I sense the aura of a foolish young creature nearby.’
A black shadow slipped through the abyss and vanished.
* * *
A whimper that could not even form into a scream caught in my throat.
Clink! The fallen windproof lantern cracked, and the color drained from my trembling fingertips like aspen leaves shaking in the breeze.
“D-damn… A demon is chasing me…?”
「Skill activation is restricted due to overwhelming fear!」
「Antagon’s Rune has detected the turmoil consuming your inner self! The rune devours your fear, causing your stats to plummet significantly.」
‘…Damn it.’
I pressed down on the eight wounds, using pain to sharpen my mind.
As the throbbing ache transmitted through my nerves, the fear that had consumed my thoughts grew lighter.
‘Stay calm, Doran….’
Why are demons even being mentioned here?
Demons.
Calamities that mortals cannot possibly withstand.
They’re treated as the final bosses of Belheim itself, and there’s a theory that you can only see the game’s ending by subjugating all demons, but no one knows how long it would take to reach that point.
Once you reach high-ranking demons, it takes dozens of rankers cooperating just to barely ‘seal’ a single one.
The reason I became famous in the game was because I was the first and only one to subjugate a demon alone.
But….
Those demons are now pursuing me, someone who’s barely taken their first steps?
“…Damn it.”
This is basically a death sentence.
What in the world is ■■?
[■■: 1]
「An ability whose identity has yet to be revealed!」
「Discover it through your adventure!」
A stat I’d never seen during the game era.
The fact that it’s covered in black, making it unreadable, reeks of something deeply suspicious.
Can I invest points to raise or lower it?
「This is a stat that cannot be arbitrarily changed!」
「This stat cannot be deleted!」
「This stat cannot be deleted!」
「This stat cannot be deleted!」
‘Damn it….’
I bit my lip and wiped my forehead with the back of my hand.
If demons are pursuing me, it’s essentially a death sentence.
‘…No, I need to think as positively as possible.’
My death isn’t confirmed yet.
Since demons’ lifespans are virtually infinite, I don’t know when they’ll invade, but it could be at least several years from now.
To beings with lifespans exceeding that of elves, such time is trivial.
That means I still have enough time to prepare.
‘At least I should have one or two years of leeway, right?’
Before then, I need to become as strong as possible.
I need to raise my level to at least three digits, monopolize all hidden pieces, and strengthen my party members.
Steeling my resolve and clenching my fists, I slowly lifted my head to stare at my status window.
There was still more shocking news I hadn’t confirmed yet.
‘I can’t equip any more runes?’
“What kind of nonsense is this….”
Ding─!
───────────────
【Name: Doran】
【Level: 30】
【Class: Adventurer】
【Titles: Gore-Soaked Novice Undead Commander, Golem Slayer, Giant Serpent Tamer, etc….】
【Stats】
[Strength: 58] [Agility: 63] [Luck: 23] [Intelligence: 19]
[■■:1]
[Distributable Stat Points: 6]
【Equipped Runes】
[Antagon’s Rune] [////]
【Equipped Primary Gear】
[Goddess’s Necklace] [Landless Adventurer’s Greaves] [Secrian’s Ring] [Orksheet 13A Type Longsword]
【Skills】
Passive Skills: [Eloquence] [Deception] [Chaos]
Active Skills: [Disguise] [Dash (Equipment Skill)]
───────────────
‘The rune slot is actually locked now….’
Over a decade spent playing Belheim, I’d raised countless characters, but this was my first time experiencing a locked rune slot.
The rune had always been fundamentally flawed, but now it meant I could never equip the Night Stalker’s rune I’d worked so hard to obtain.
A self-sabotaging move when I needed to grow stronger faster than ever.
‘What in the world is ■■… that it’s worth more than these stats…?’
If even demons were hunting for it, it must possess some extraordinary potential….
‘Now that I think about it, my stats have changed a bit… my base attributes increased.’
Between achievement rewards, equipment bonuses, and quest completion rewards, my supplementary stats had always been high, but the increase felt far greater than when I’d just hit level 30.
A quick investigation revealed the cause immediately.
[Antagon’s Rune]
「A rune imbued with the power of the Jester God Antagon!」
「Permanently increases Agility by 15 and Luck by 15.」
‘What? My stats jumped by 20 all at once?’
The base stat bonus attached to Antagon’s Rune had increased.
Originally it had granted 5 points each to Agility and Luck, but now it added 15 each—a boost equivalent to nearly 7 levels.
This was enough to partially fill the void left by the locked rune slot.
But if the skills remained unchanged, it would be useless….
「In exchange for being unable to equip any other runes, all skills of [Antagon’s Rune] have been enhanced!」
‘The skills were enhanced too?’
As I checked my status window in bewilderment, Radi, who’d been watching me with concern, quietly spoke.
“…Doran, you have something to tell me, don’t you?”
“Ah, well… I think my rune just got stronger?”
“Your rune? You mean Antagon’s Rune became even more powerful? …But how can you tell without hearing from the Temple?”
“W-well, since it’s a mythic-grade rune… sometimes I hear voices in my head!”
It was a hastily improvised excuse, but the log window messages had actually displayed laughter and emotions before.
After hearing the story, Radi rested his chin on his hand and murmured quietly.
“Hmm… is it something special because it’s a Mythic-grade Rune? I’m not entirely unconvinced, but….”
“Wait, let me check right now.”
I rose from my seat and transformed into an Undead, but I couldn’t detect any discernible change from before.
“Do you feel anything different?”
─Not at all.
Just to be sure, I tried transforming into a Secrian Golem, but the result was the same.
If I had to point out something, it felt like my assimilation rate had subtly increased?
The only way to know for certain would be to engage in actual combat─.
｢???: It looks like Doran’s caused some kind of trouble again.｣
｢???: Doran must have definitely gotten into some kind of mess… I just hope things go smoothly this time.｣
｢[Antagon’s Rune] has detected subtle agitation from Malton and Radi!｣
｢Due to the [Chaos] skill, your Intellect temporarily increases by 1.｣
“Huh…? What did you two just say?”
“Us?”
“We didn’t say anything at all….”
‘What was that…?’
I could have sworn I just heard their true thoughts.
｢The [Chaos] skill has been enhanced, allowing you to frequently read others’ psychology!｣
｢By utilizing information obtained this way, you’ll be able to employ the [Chaos] skill far more proactively!｣
‘What? I can read someone’s psychology?’
I stared in astonishment at the text that appeared in my status window.
I wasn’t sure how frequently it would activate, but if it did trigger, it would be an absurdly broken ability.
I could discern an opponent’s intentions and true feelings to steer conversations in my favor, or employ psychological warfare in combat.
If I’d possessed this skill when persuading the Layer Lord Abos, I could have won her favor far more easily.
Moreover, it seemed the activation condition for [Chaos] to raise my stats had also become easier to trigger.
‘At this rate… it’s actually better than some mediocre Rune.’
Since what had already happened couldn’t be undone, all I could do was maximize the abilities I’d been given and prepare for what lay ahead.
And finally….
‘What was that finger I saw beyond the status window earlier…? Did I misperceive it…?’
The moment that finger touched the status window, the Quest updated—as if causality itself were being manipulated.
‘Now that I think about it… there have been strange signs occasionally all this time….’
System Messages that should have been indifferent displaying mockery, or text outputting as if possessed by consciousness.
Issuing new Quests tailored to my actions and thoughts, or sending me into canyons where terrifying golems lurked.
Until now, I’d attributed it to the nature of this world….
‘But someone might have deliberately intervened and manipulated things, just like that finger.’
Now that the possibility that Quests had been fabricated was revealed, it felt deeply unsettling, but there was no option to refuse.
Not complying would certainly mean death.
‘Reach Dungeon 2nd Floor and complete portal creation… at least it aligns with my original objective, so that’s some consolation….’
Why is the deadline displayed as a question mark?
I had no idea.
In that brief moment, a torrent of information crashed down upon me, leaving my mind in complete disarray.
As I exhaled and leaned my back against the stone wall, Malton set down the firewood and spoke.
“Well, at least you seem unharmed—that’s a relief. Your expression turned so serious all of a sudden that I was quite worried. …By the way, have you decided to take off the hood for good now?”
“Ah, well… it just happened that way.”
“…That’s how it turned out.”
“I told you from the beginning when I introduced you two. You’d get along well together.”
Malton smiled and lit the firewood, and a warm heat washed over us.
Watching that sight, I felt an unfounded confidence that even if greater trials awaited us later, we could manage them reasonably well.
Unlike when I was alone, if I combined forces with these companions, I could overcome far more obstacles.
‘Malton will recover on his own… and I should start thinking about ways to strengthen Radi’s combat capabilities….’
If a demon ever truly came looking for us, their help would be absolutely essential.
To survive, I would have to use them.
“…Thank you, Malton. And you too, Radi.”
“What’s with the sudden gratitude?”
“Nothing, I’m just grateful.”
….
Radi stared at me as though I were some bizarre creature.
I covered my embarrassment with a cough and lay down.
If I was to operate in Layer 2 starting tomorrow, I needed to preserve my stamina now.
‘Surely the demon won’t come looking for me starting tomorrow, right?’
* * *
As dawn broke, the rain began to ease.
After gathering our supplies and leaving the cave, I saw countless people emerging from everywhere, heading toward Layer 2.
Once the portal installation mission began in earnest, all these people would become our competitors.
As I hurried forward, the massive silhouette of a colossal cavern came into view in the distance.
“That must be….”
“Yes, the passage leading to Layer 2. Fortunately, we’ve arrived safely.”
“It’s far more magnificent than I expected… How deep does it go?”
“Well… according to the map, we’ll need to walk at least two hours. Everyone prepared their lanterns, right?”
Upon reaching the passage to Layer 2, I lit my lantern and stepped into the damp, humid cave.
Since the Medaolinum Dungeon extends downward like an anthill, we must traverse these descending passages to reach the lower layers.
Fortunately, the passage is wide and gentle enough that walking poses no difficulty.
However, after quietly joining the procession and walking for about thirty minutes, Radi grew restless and grabbed my sleeve.
“What’s wrong? You look like you’re sitting on pins and needles.”
“I don’t know either… Why? Suddenly I feel incredibly anxious….”
“How would I know? …Hey, your tail’s showing.”
Radi’s usual composure and coldness seemed like a lie as she trembled with agitation.
As I looked at her in confusion, a strange sight appeared over her shoulder.
In the corner of the cave, hundreds of rats—perhaps more—were fleeing in unison.
I spun around in panic, shining my lantern in all directions. Bats and countless creatures were frantically stampeding out of the cave.
This was like….
“Doran, something’s wrong…!”
Before Malton could finish speaking, a deafening BOOM!! struck the cave, and the very earth began to convulse.
｢A supreme demon is forcing its way through the dimensional rift and descending into the mortal realm!｣
｢Catastrophic energy has struck the surface!!｣
｢Time until demon arrival ??:??:??｣
｢!!!The cave is collapsing!!!｣
“Everyone away from the walls!!!”
In an instant, the ceiling came crashing down, and my vision plunged into darkness.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————