Reverse Dungeon

Ding!

[Great Achievement!]

[You have killed the Western Demon Archduke. You have accomplished an incredible feat.]

Ding!

[Achievement: A Needle in a Pouch]

Your reputation is spreading in secret.

Ding!

[People think of you as a great strategist.]

[People admire your spirit of sacrifice.]

Ding!

[Sema respects you.]

[Respect: 86%]

Ding!

[Contacca respects you.]

[Respect: 78%]

...

...

...

Ian brushed the status windows away before he could even read them all.

His neck, where the Demon Archduke had bitten him, and his left arm had gone completely numb. Tears streamed down his face from the terrible pain, as if something inside him had been torn apart.

He was dizzy.

He had no idea how much blood he had lost.

‘Someone... a healer...’

At that moment, Keith came running toward Ian.

Ian could not make out his expression. His vision was already blurring.

‘Oh, right... He’s a healer too.’

Strictly speaking, Keith was a Holy Knight.

But right now, anyone who could heal him was good enough.

Ian was about to ask him to save him.

Then Keith hugged him.

“Ugh...!”

Ian felt as if he had been hit by a carriage.

The armored Holy Knight was horribly heavy.

And then, just like that, Keith dropped his sword.

“What is this...?!”

Ian blinked and saw Keith’s closed eyes.

His body had gone limp.

Ian’s legs seemed to sink beneath him, as if anchors had been tied to them.

Keith had fainted while hugging him.

“No! Hey...!”

Ian’s legs slid backward.

Not because he was trying to retreat.

His body was collapsing under the weight pressing down from above, and his legs were moving on instinct, trying to keep his balance.

But that did not last ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) long.

Ian fell with a thud.

‘Dude, I’m out of HP too...’ ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Ian wanted to tell Keith that.

Unfortunately, Keith was unconscious.

The cries of “Lord Ian!” sounded very far away.

And then Ian’s consciousness went dark.

...

...come here.

Help me.

Help me. Help me. Help me...

A loud noise came from somewhere.

Strangely, it seemed to be coming from inside Ian.

‘Ian?’

No.

That was not right.

His name was Jeong Yiwon.

Help me. Help me...

Where are you?

Yiwon asked the unfamiliar voice.

I need to know where you are if I’m going to help you.

You’ll help me?

I get it, so stop crying so loudly. You’re giving me a headache.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you...

I said quiet down!

Thank you. Thank you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry...

The voice vanished with an eerie echo.

The sobbing cut off all at once, and for some reason, Ian felt his heart go cold.

What was it apologizing for?

But he had no time to think about it.

His consciousness, sunk deep below, began to rise.

Ian woke in the light.

“...Huff!”

“Lord Ian!”

“He’s awake. Lord Ian has awakened!”

“Priest, please examine Lord Ian!”

Ian opened his eyes amid the bustle of voices.

His whole body ached as if he had been sick for days.

There was a strange exhaustion in him, like he had sweated through a high fever, but at the same time, his body felt cool and refreshed.

Ian noticed a basin and a wet cloth beside him.

Someone had been sitting at his bedside, wiping away his sweat.

Sema, with tearful eyes.

Louise, pale-faced.

Contacca’s massive figure.

And Momisia, dozing in Contacca’s arms.

One of them must have wiped his sweat and cooled his body.

Well, probably not Momisia.

An unfamiliar feeling stirred in Ian.

Had anyone ever worried over him like this when he was sick?

It was one of the strange things he experienced in this world.

Ian was used to suffering alone.

Absentmindedly, Ian touched his neck.

The place where the Demon Archduke had bitten him and drawn blood.

Sema quickly stopped him.

“Ah! Don’t touch it. There’s a curse mixed into the wound, so it’s healing slowly.”

“Tell me that sooner next time...”

Ian swallowed back a groan.

The wound beneath the bandages throbbed with vicious pain, as if reminding him not to forget it after being touched even once.

Because of the bandage wrapped around his neck, Ian looked much worse than he actually was.

Louise, who had been staring at him in a daze, lowered his head and began to cry.

“I’m sorry, Lord Ian. If I had only been a little smarter... If I had been more of a threat to the Demon Archduke...”

“No. Even then, catching him would have been impossible.”

“...I should have died in your place.”

“...”

Ian had not died, though.

“No. If I had been stronger, I could have caught the Demon Archduke.”

Contacca looked downcast.

“It is my fault. I must have been overconfident. I need more training.”

In his werewolf form, strengthened by Momisia’s enhancement enchantment, Contacca might be able to catch the Demon Archduke someday.

But not now.

In any case, Ian comforted him.

“Yeah. Keep working hard.”

“I-I... Even if I work hard, I don’t think I’ll ever be confident I can catch the Demon Archduke...”

“Yeah. You don’t have to catch him.”

After praising Sema as well, Ian looked around with only his eyes.

He did not dare move his neck.

If he did, it would hurt badly enough to make him cry.

‘Where is he?’

“What are you looking for, Lord Ian?” Sema asked.

“Keith.”

“He’s in another room...”

The last thing Ian had seen was Keith rushing toward him.

What had that been about?

Ian still could not figure it out.

‘No way.’

He wasn’t going to kill Ian now that the demon was dead, just as he had promised, was he?

A chill ran down Ian’s spine.

He wanted to believe the thought was absurd.

But Keith was absolutely the kind of character who might do something like that.

Once Keith gave his word, he kept it.

Had a fanatic ever once witnessed something that contradicted his faith?

As long as his god was watching, a fanatic could only speak and act according to the truth.

‘But still...’

Would he really repay the favor of saving his life with enmity?

Ian tried to think positively.

Maybe Keith had been so thrilled after killing the Demon Archduke that he felt a sudden sense of camaraderie with Ian and wanted to hug him.

‘That gives me goosebumps.’

Ian immediately threw away the ridiculous thought.

Unfortunately, the former possibility was far more likely.

Ian held back a sigh.

‘Status Window.’

Ding!

[Character]

‘Tyrant’ Ian (★★★★☆)

Reputation

Tyrant, Frail, Strategist, Mentally Unstable, Bastard, Savior, Womanizer, Aesthete, Wise Ruler

Skills

Purification: LV.7

Horsemanship: LV.1 freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Archery: LV.3

Ian checked what had changed first.

The debuff ‘Lavish’ had finally disappeared.

‘Nice.’

There was a reward for living frugally.

Not that Ian had chosen to live frugally on purpose.

‘It’s just because I didn’t have a single coin to spare.’

It was also good that ‘Savior’ now had a higher reputation score than ‘Womanizer.’

Still, Ian felt a little uneasy.

The title itself was not exactly a good thing.

It was true that it helped his reputation, but the moment it came to the forefront, a confrontation with the Demon King would become all but inevitable.

Well, until now, Keith, with his title of ‘Agent of God,’ had been the one closest to becoming the Demon King’s rival.

Next was Archery.

After all that effort, it had gone up by one level.

Naturally raised levels were precious, so Ian decided to be grateful.

‘After all that struggle, it only went up by one?’

Maybe this guy had no talent for physical activity.

Ian really did not like the character called Ian.

Anyway, the status check was done.

His HP was about half full.

That should be manageable.

He poured all his experience points into <Archery>.

Ding!

[The level of the skill <Archery> has increased.]

[Archery LV.3 → LV.6]

At this level, he would be known as a “God Archer” among hunters.

‘At close range, I won’t miss, right?’

Ian got up.

“Where are you going? You’re still a patient!”

“I need to meet someone. Has Keith woken up?”

“Not yet. There’s only one priest, and, uh... you’re more important to us...”

Sema fidgeted with his hands, looking as though he expected to be scolded.

“You did well.”

“...”

Ian needed to get a promise from the injured Keith.

It was something he could only do now.

When else would Ian be strong and Keith be weak?

Keith opened his eyes.

Even as waves of pain rolled through him, he did not let out a single groan.

He only checked whether the black-haired man was still in his arms.

He had seen the man bleeding and had tried to protect him.

Was he safe?

Keith had never felt such helplessness before.

The fact that he had killed the Demon Archduke did not feel important at all.

The demonic energy coursing through his blood.

The wounds inflicted by his comrades.

The person he might have failed to protect.

The Agent of God who had saved him.

Only the sorrow of those things ruled him.

Because pain had sharpened his senses, Keith noticed the threat from outside a moment too late.

Someone was aiming an arrow at his neck.

And that someone was the very person Keith had been desperately searching for.

The innocent-looking black-haired man had drawn his bowstring taut.

“You woke up at the right time,” he said. “I had something to tell you.”

Keith stared blankly.

Was this man really talking to him with an arrow pointed at his throat?

“Keith Moore. Swear it.”

Ian’s eyes were cold.

“You will not lay a finger on my subordinate.”