The Unknown Big Shot

Five minutes later, Lu Qiming slowly rose to his feet and stretched. A thin layer of Magic Stones had collected in the Stainless Steel Basin before him. There were also a few tooth-shaped drops.

"Then let's keep going!"

Carrying the Stainless Steel Basin, Lu Qiming continued deeper into the Dungeon. He was still a long way from today's target of 2,740, so he'd have to keep working hard!

As Lu Qiming ventured deeper, he encountered more and more kinds of monsters. Sometimes he even came across an elite monster or two, each of which gave him 20 experience points.

The first time he spotted an elite monster, Lu Qiming had eagerly gone up and punched it.

But it turned out that it only gave him 10 more experience points than a regular monster, and its Magic Stone was only a little bigger. The quest counter still went up by just one. At first, he'd thought that stronger monsters might count for more toward his quest.

As it turned out, he'd been overthinking it. The system wouldn't let him exploit any loopholes; he had to earn a full million fair and square. Still, at least even the little monsters on the Dungeon's first floor counted.

Besides, the Dungeon was different from other worlds. Its monsters were born from the Dungeon itself, so he didn't have to worry about slaughtering them all.

"Gourd wa, Gourd wa, sneaking over to your house in the dead of night, sleeping in your bed, stealing your mom, la~ lalalalala!"

"Pow! Pow pow pow!"

Lu Qiming casually bashed to death the several monsters that had just hatched from the wall, picked up their Magic Stones, and continued humming as he headed for the next floor.

"Ding dang dang dang dong dong dang dang, Gourd wa, ding dang dang dang dong dong dang dang, stealing your mom, lalalala, Gourd wa, Gourd wa, stealing your mom!"

That day, many adventurers returning from the Dungeon noticed something strange: a black-haired adventurer they'd never seen before was walking through the Dungeon with a silver-white basin on his head, singing a weird song and taking out monsters with one punch.

He strode along with an arrogant swagger, wearing a strange smile as he pressed onward.

Before long, more and more adventurers had heard about it. They gathered at the Adventurer Guild to discuss the strange sight.

"Did any of you run into him today?"

A burly demi-human adventurer drained his mug of beer and stared at the person across from him.

"Billy, you mean that weird guy who was in the upper levels of the Dungeon today?"

"Yeah. I've never seen an adventurer that brazen. He actually sang in the Dungeon and didn't get into any trouble!"

"You ran into him too?"

People at the next table came over to join the conversation.

"We did. That guy was right near us. He just raised a hand, and five monsters' heads exploded. We couldn't even tell how he did it!"

"That's right, that's right! That great sir even saved my life!"

A young Cat Person adventurer, her pair of snow-white cat ears twitching atop her head, looked excitedly at everyone.

"On the fourth floor today, we were surrounded by a group of elite werewolves. Then that great sir appeared, and in the blink of an eye, all the monsters' heads burst like fireworks!"

As she spoke, the young Cat Person bashfully stroked her ears. After saving her party, that great sir had even rubbed her ears. It felt so good—she wished he'd touch them some more!

As the discussion grew louder, everyone nearby was drawn in, all talking about the strange person they'd encountered that day. The party of adventurers Lu Qiming had met on the Dungeon's first floor heard about it too.

Two little Amazon girls hurried over, brimming with excitement, and began telling everyone what they'd seen that day.

In the end, all the adventurers agreed that he had to be some big shot from a major Kin who usually kept a low profile and went on expeditions into the depths of the Dungeon. He must have only recently returned to Orario.

Then, bored, he'd gone to the Dungeon to play with the monsters.

At the counter, Eina listened to everyone's discussion. Her curiosity gradually gave way to an increasingly strange look as a figure took shape in her mind.

Black hair, black eyes, and something basin-like and silver-white on his head. Wasn't that the newbie adventurer she'd just registered today? He hadn't even joined a Kin or received a Blessing.

How had everyone turned him into an unknown big shot from a major Kin—and an adventurer who was at least Lv5?

He was clearly just some guy who couldn't even afford the 1,000 Valis registration fee and still owed her money.

At the thought, Eina shook her head. It probably wasn't Lu Qiming. Maybe some unknown high-level adventurer from a major Kin really had returned to Orario, and just happened to have black hair and black eyes. Perhaps he was even from the same race as Lu Qiming.

Still, she didn't know why, but though she knew it was impossible, a tiny part of her couldn't help hoping. It was because of how confident Lu Qiming had looked when he left that day.

By now, the sun was setting. Adventurers returning from the Dungeon gathered at the Adventurer Guild, exchanging the day's spoils for Valis.

Eina also threw herself into her work, no longer thinking about Lu Qiming.

"Could you take care of this for me?"

An adventurer handed Eina the Magic Stones he'd collected that day.

Eina looked over the Magic Stones, took them, then pulled some Valis from the counter and handed them to the adventurer.

"That comes to 9,000 Valis. Please make sure you have it all."

As Eina handed over the Valis, she noticed something was wrong. The Adventurer Guild had been bustling with noise, but now everyone had fallen silent, staring at the entrance in shock.

What was going on?

Puzzled, Eina followed their gazes. The doors to the Adventurer Guild stood wide open, and there was a young man with short black hair and black eyes, a silver-white basin perched on his head.

His handsome, cool expression was calm as he looked inside, utterly unfazed by everyone's stares. He walked toward the counter one step at a time, his body cloaked in a terrifying aura of killing intent and the stench of blood from all the slaughter.

As he passed, bloody footprints appeared one after another behind him.

Only when the young man reached the counter did his pitch-black eyes fix on the adventurer blocking his way.

"!"

The adventurer turned pale with fright. He didn't even bother taking the Valis he'd just exchanged. He hurriedly forced a smile and stepped aside, making room for the young man.

"Thanks."

The black-haired young man gave a calm word of thanks and walked up to Eina. A faint smile touched his cool face.

"Yo! I'm back, Miss Eina."

Lu Qiming smiled at the stunned Eina before him. He didn't know why she'd frozen up at the sight of him, but she was the second person he'd met in this world, and she'd lent him money and shown concern for him. He already considered her a good friend.

"Y-you... Lu Qiming, was that person in the upper levels of the Dungeon today really you?"

Eina stammered as she stared at Lu Qiming. From everyone's reactions, she'd already realized that the unknown big shot they'd been talking about was this newbie adventurer she'd personally registered—the one who still owed her 1,000 Valis.

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