Free Web NovelChapter 83: Plans 2
Once outside the house and a safe distance down the quiet neighborhood street, Amon’s demeanor shifted completely.
The gentle husband and father vanished like morning mist.
In his place stood the cold, calculating Butcher of the Night.
His eyes were sharp and his presence was chilling to the bone.
He reached into his system space and withdrew a peculiar artifact: a Dungeon Compass.
The device was a palm-sized crystal orb set in an ornate silver frame, its needle glowing with ethereal light.
As he infused it with a thread of his mana, the needle spun rapidly before locking onto a direction.
It pointed southwest, far beyond the city limits, toward a distant metropolis known for its high concentration of powerful dungeons.
The compass didn’t glow with its brightest intensity, indicating this was not the absolute strongest dungeon in range, but it pulsed strongly enough for Amon to know that the monsters there were far from ordinary.
Amon studied the light patterns on the compass carefully.
Several intense beacons appeared across the map projected in his mind, but one particularly fierce glow stood out in the far distance.
’When I reach SSS-rank,’ he thought, ’I will head over there and know what truly lies there... for now, this will suffice.’
Satisfied, he activated Close Yet So Far and vanished from the neighborhood in an instant, reappearing dozens of kilometers away.
He repeated the process multiple times, crossing vast distances in the blink of an eye until he stood on the outskirts of a faraway city.
Towering buildings gleamed under the morning sun, but Amon paid them no mind.
He flicked his wrist and the Sevenfold Mirror Talisman materialized between his fingers, shimmering with silver light.
Mana poured into it like a river and cracks spread across its surface before it shattered into countless radiant motes.
One by one, seven identical figures emerged from the swirling light.
Each mirror body possessed Amon’s exact face, his aura, his piercing eyes, and even a perfect replica of the Winter Frost Blade resting in their hands.
A strange, expansive sensation washed over the original Amon as seven additional streams of consciousness flooded his mind.
He could see through seven extra pairs of eyes, hear through seven extra pairs of ears, and feel seven additional presences moving in perfect harmony with his will.
"Each of you will head to a different SS-rank dungeon," Amon commanded calmly through the shared mental link. "Use the Dungeon Compass guidance I’m sharing and Close Yet So Far to reach them instantly. Clear them completely. Gather every resource, every herb, every treasure. Leave nothing alive. Report back through our link before proceeding to clear another dungeon so two of you wont end up at the same dungeon coincidentally."
The seven clones nodded in unison, each receiving coordinates and directional guidance from Amon.
Without hesitation, they activated Close Yet So Far and disappeared in seven separate blurs, teleporting across hundreds of kilometers to seven distinct SS-rank dungeons scattered across the region.
Amon himself remained in the faraway city and selected one of the stronger SS-rank dungeons nearby, the Abyssal Spire, for his personal clearing.
With the mirror bodies operating in parallel across distant locations, the experience gain would be multiplied tremendously.
The Winter Frost Blade appeared in his hand. With his Mystical Divine Physique fully active and his upgraded abilities surging, the dungeon began to collapse before him like a house of cards.
Conceptual ice spread like a living plague.
Groups of monsters froze mid-charge, their bodies shattering into harmless crystalline fragments.
Bosses that would have required coordinated teams of elite S-rank hunters fell in mere seconds beneath the Elegant Netherblade Sword Technique.
Ding!
[Level increased to 44!]
Through the shared senses, Amon witnessed seven simultaneous massacres unfolding in completely separate SS-rank dungeons.
One clone carved through hordes of shadow beasts in a volcanic dungeon, another harvested rare herbs and alchemical ingredients from a sprawling forest labyrinth, a third located concealed treasure chambers in an underwater ruin.
The remaining four swept through their assigned dungeons with ruthless efficiency, each using Close Yet So Far to traverse floors instantly and eradicate every living creature.
His Soul Sense, amplified by the mirror link, allowed him to monitor all seven locations in exquisite detail.
Valuable mineral veins, ancient relics, and rare materials were collected without mercy and stored in the system space shared across the connection.
Hours blurred together in a symphony of violence and exponential growth.
The combined experience from seven parallel SS-rank dungeon clears was nothing short of monstrous.
Levels climbed at an alarming rate. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Ding!
[Level increased to 45!]
SS-rank.
Amon felt his strength surge dramatically.
His body thrummed with power that could now rival lower gods.
The very air around him distorted under the pressure of his aura.
Yet he did not stop.
This wasn’t the limit he was aiming for!
This wasn’t sufficient enough to survive the calamity!
The mirror bodies continued their relentless campaigns while the original Amon continually located SS-rank dungeons and cleared them at an alarming rate.
The visions replayed endlessly in his mind as he recalled what prospects the future held... cities burning, continents collapsing, incomprehensible creatures stepping through the rifts.
Each repetition steeled his resolve even more.
In this situation, fear was useless. Only preparation mattered.
By the time the clones finished their sweeps of the SS-rank dungeons in majority of the continents all over the world, most of them had been completely emptied.
Floors lay barren, bosses reduced to frozen shards, and every valuable resource claimed.
The whole world were in an uproar.
Hidden organisations and families that could rival the miraclad family, were shocked to realise that the dungeons wehre they’d been excavating resources for a long time had suddenly vanished.
Instantly, dozens of terrifying SSS-rank auras spread out from all over the world, divine senses clashing against each other as they struggled to find who had caused such a drastic loss to them.
Although they could clear the dungeons, being SSS-rank hunters and having strength rivalling that of the boss monsters, they hadnt done so because there were still resources in the dungeons.
Due to this, they entered an agreement with the boss of the dungoens. They would be in a semi-truce, where they could harvest resources if they have sufficient strength and the boss would never make a move to harm them.
This stalemate had garnered countless resources over the years, and now it was gone?
Countless forces found it hard to accept.
Communications rang up and down as the big organisations began making calls to one another.
Meanwhile, unaware of the turmoil caused...
If he knew, he wouldnt even care in the slightest, after all, he was going this far to find a means to protect his family. Nothing else mattered. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
The shared experience had propelled Amon’s growth to astonishing heights.
Ding!
[Level increased to 49!]
He had only used roughly twelve hours of the talisman’s duration.
The mirror bodies were still active and strong, but Amon chose to deactivate the remaining time.
He recalled all seven clones, absorbing their final reports and accumulated gains before letting them dissolve.
There would be another day tomorrow to push into true SSS-rank using the remaining time more strategically, and targeting even stronger dungeons.
Satisfied, he exited the dungeon he was in after clearing it and used Close Yet So Far repeatedly to return home under the cover of late afternoon.
He stopped along the way to buy bags of groceries, fresh bread, vegetables, and meats, as a mundane alibi.
...
The moment Amon arrived, Kayla greeted him at the door with a relieved, radiant smile. "You’re back. Everything okay?"
"Everything’s fine," Amon said warmly, setting the bags down and pulling her into a deep hug. He kissed her softly. "Just some loose ends from the mana excavation business. Nothing for you to worry about."
Mira watched from the couch, her expression complicated and filled with shock and terror.
She sensed the immense power radiating faintly from him, and perhaps even echoes of distant slaughter, but the calm, loving look in Amon’s eyes kept her silent.
If her guess wasnt wrong, the butcher had gotten even stronger again.
’What level is he at now? Will he be able to save sister? Should I discuss it with him?’ many questions popped into the little girl’s mind as she was unable to come to a conclusion on the matter.
As evening fell, the family settled into their comforting routine.
Kayla played with Ciara on the living room rug, her laughter filling the house like sunlight.
Amon sat nearby, outwardly relaxed, occasionally joining in the play.
But inside, the clock never stopped ticking.
One month...
He would hunt again tomorrow. And the day after. Every single day until the rifts opened. He would transform this narrow window into an ascent no one else could imagine.
The Ataroth Mask would conceal his growing power. His system would fuel his meteoric rise.
The world outside remained blissfully unaware, hunters raiding routine dungeons, governments bickering over regulations, ordinary people living their lives.
No one knew the end was only thirty days away.
Amon glanced at Kayla’s laughing face as she lifted Ciara high into the air. His expression softened with genuine affection.
But beneath it, his resolve hardened like never before.
He would protect this peace.
Even if he had to become the monster the world feared most.
