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Chapter 551: The Aesthetics of the Circle (2)

-Wh… what did you just say? A leg?

Lady Kanaph, who had lived her entire life as the daughter of a prestigious house.

For someone like her, a dungeon that required cutting off limbs to escape was nothing short of a nightmare.

And to make things worse, wasn’t her dungeon partner a lunatic who chopped off his own arm without hesitation?

-Why do I even have to be here? This is a dream… no, a nightmare!

As Lady Kanaph clenched her eyes shut and thrashed around, Yeongwoo, who was holding the back of her neck, warned her.

“Hey, careful. My blood is poisonous. If it touches you, you’ll be in big trouble.”

-What?

Sure enough, blood was pouring out of Yeongwoo’s severed left arm, and the stone dungeon floor was quickly corroding where it landed.

-Y-you bastard… what on earth are you?

“I told you already, the head of a small-time household. Also, your only option here.”

-…

At those words, Lady Kanaph finally went limp in his grasp.

A nameless clan leader with bizarre equipment, whose very blood was toxic—how could she possibly escape from this madman’s grip?

Lady Kanaph’s expression turned sorrowful.

-Can we really survive this? I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life.

“Cheer up. I deal with stuff like this every day. Once you get used to it, it’s even kind of fun.”

-But you…

Before she could finish, her eyes fell on Yeongwoo’s arm lying on the ground.

She clamped her mouth shut.

Yeongwoo, meanwhile, put her down, picked up his severed arm with his prosthetic right hand, and said.

“It’ll take maybe an hour or two for it to grow back.”

-…What are you talking about?

“My arm.”

-…What?

Her jaw dropped again.

“In about an hour or two it should regrow. It won’t be in perfect condition, but still.”

Fortunately, he had recently acquired an ability that would help in this situation: the legendary tooth “Venomfang.”

「Venomfang」 – Legendary Tooth

【Sturdy Jaw】

【Venom Affinity】

【Sturdy Jaw】

| The durability of the lower portion of the body part classified as Head increases by 30%.

【Venom Affinity】

| Grants immunity to most toxic substances; inhaling poison increases bodily regeneration.

Absorbing toxins accelerated regeneration.

Yeongwoo was already catching the blood dripping from his left shoulder with his right hand.

-Ugh?! W-what now…?

“I need to drink this if I want to heal faster.”

As Yeongwoo gulped down his own blood, Lady Kanaph fell on her rear in shock.

-Y-you… you’re doing this on purpose, right? Are you mocking me?!

“Stop whining and get up. We need to head for the outer perimeter.”

-T-the outer perimeter…?

“Didn’t you hear before? A new escape point appears every time the dungeon closes in.”

-Right, that was said…

“Then where do you think those points will appear? Definitely not in the center.”

-Why not?

Lady Kanaph looked genuinely confused.

Yeongwoo pointed at the faint blue barrier in the distance.

“This dungeon shrinks inward from the outside over time. If the escape points appeared in the center, then everyone would just gather there, sacrifice a few limbs, and wait six hours. Too easy. The shrinking mechanic would mean nothing.”

-But… wouldn’t that be better? Easier?

“That’s wishful thinking, milady. Reality won’t be that kind.”

With that, Yeongwoo chose a direction and began walking.

“Escape points appear once an hour. Each time the dungeon shrinks, the previous point disappears. That’s how I think this place works.”

-Disappear?

“See that blue ‘sky’? Each hour it’ll advance and consume the area—including any escape point within it.”

That was why he believed escape points would only appear at the dungeon’s edges.

Escape would only be possible during brief windows.

“And we don’t even know how many people can use a single escape point at once, or whether the limbs used to activate it can be retrieved afterward.”

That meant they had to race to the edge within the hour to predict where the next escape point would spawn.

-Y-you… you’re not completely ignorant, I’ll give you that.

“Still, I think the limbs used to activate the point are consumed permanently. Which means…”

His gaze drifted toward Lady Kanaph’s silver prosthetic leg.

“...if your prosthetic is too valuable, you’ll need to use someone else’s limb. Or cut off another of your own.”

-So that’s why you cut off your arm right away…

“Exactly. I’m not about to throw away this prosthetic hand.”

Lady Kanaph instinctively hugged her silver leg with both hands.

-This was a gift from my brother. I won’t part with it!

“…I suspect everyone feels the same way. Which means they’ll start stealing from others.”

Two arms and two legs were required to activate a point. Killing just one person would yield enough limbs to use it.

Of course, this being an alien dungeon, some might even have three arms or extra legs.

‘So that’s what they meant by a little concession, and everyone can survive.’

Yeongwoo suddenly stopped.

-Wh-what is it now?

“How about lending me that prosthetic leg for a while?”

-What? I told you, it was a gift from my brother—

“I’ll give it back if we survive. Just hand it over for now.”

Lady Kanaph recoiled, fear on her face.

-Wouldn’t your own leg be better?

“If you give me that leg, I can afford to cut off another one of mine.”

-A-and what about me?

“You can ride on my back. I’ll move faster that way.”

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-But you’ll still have to fight, won’t you…?

In answer, Yeongwoo set down his severed arm and the Aratubank shield.

“While you’re on my back, hold this. It’s a mythical shield—no harm will come to you.”

With only one working hand, Yeongwoo couldn’t make full use of it anyway.

Lady Kanaph, however, didn’t share his optimism.

-N-no! I refuse!

“To survive, you sometimes have to do things like this. That’s what life is like for commoners.”

He seized the back of her neck again.

-Kyaah! L-let go, you brute!

She struggled, swinging her prosthetic, but it was useless.

In a flash, Yeongwoo yanked it free.

-Pop!

-Aaah!

The prosthetic leg came off, revealing only a stub at her thigh.

She had been born one-legged.

“A noble would never have faced something like this before. Where I’m from, we say: If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. So, try to enjoy this too, milady.”

Ignoring her, Yeongwoo checked the prosthetic’s tooltip.

「Little Bird」 – Legendary Left Leg

【+10% Perception】

【Vigilant Movement】

【Fleeing Step】

【Vigilant Movement】

| Movement speed increases by 15% outside combat.

【Fleeing Step】

| Movement speed increases by 15% when someone is positioned behind you.

“…Huh.”

They were all effects designed for running away.

The Duke of Dalkqui had gifted this leg to his younger sister so she could run as fast as possible despite being born with only one.

‘Didn’t really need to steal it, after all.’

Relief and disappointment came together.

His plan had been to find an excuse to keep it permanently.

“Now then, milady. Time to hold that shield.”

He pointed to the Aratubank with his chin.

As Kanaph reached shakily toward it, Yeongwoo suddenly sliced off his own left leg.

Blood gushed like a fountain.

He quickly pressed the Little Bird prosthetic to the wound.

Light flared.

The prosthetic adjusted itself to his height and frame.

‘Perfect.’

As expected, a legendary prosthetic had its own auto-fitting system.

Even better, the loss of a natural limb activated his “missing limb” bonus, raising his overall power by 80%.

‘Having a prosthetic leg isn’t bad at all. I should collect one or two more.’

This dungeon was full of one-armed and one-legged people anyway—he might just find another worthy prosthetic.

“All set?”

He asked Lady Kanaph, who was now pitifully clutching the massive shield.

-H-help me up…

He grabbed her by the scruff and slung her onto his back.

The moment she settled in place, the Little Bird’s effects activated.

【Vigilant Movement】 +15% speed.

【Fleeing Step】 +15% speed with someone behind.

“Whoa… this is amazing.”

He was practically optimized for this dungeon now.

Scooping up his severed limbs from the floor, Yeongwoo turned—

-Kyaah!

Lady Kanaph shrieked.

“What now?”

She pointed.

In the distance, a machine was sprinting frantically.

Behind it, a lizardman was firing a laser rifle in pursuit.

“…What the hell is that?”

Another dungeon duo, it seemed.

But clearly, their partnership wasn’t going smoothly.

-S-shouldn’t we run too?

“…What are you talking about?”

-Can’t you see? He has a gun!

“If you’re strong, you don’t usually bother with guns.”

-Then what…?

“You use a sword.”

With a flick of his hand, Yeongwoo unleashed the One Hundred and Forty-Five Sword Mountain between the machine and the lizardman.

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