CHAPTER 36: MURPHY’S LAW

"Don’t compare yourself with prodigies. It’ll never end well," Bella said upon seeing his look. "Even before joining the Combat Department, Leon was a monster in the Research Department. The head of that department even had a fight with Professor Amber for snatching him away."

Denver smiled hearing that and said, "I’m not comparing myself to anyone. For me, only my hard work matters. As long as I don’t have any regrets with myself, I will be satisfied with my life."

"That’s a good mentality." Bella was genuinely touched and glad that Denver didn’t develop an inferiority complex.

Aside from the obvious reasons why men never chose the Combat Department, the other reason was that many of them began to develop an inferiority complex even if they did join.

The feelings of being useless always overwhelmed them, and many of them broke mentally. This also became a major reason most men were in safer jobs rather than being an Awakened who explored the Primordial Expanse.

Bella had a good impression of the two men and didn’t want them to have any mental problems after seeing others. She wasn’t worried about Leon, but Denver was different.

After all, he was being left behind not only by women but also by his fellow man, who was supposed to have slow growth. It would break anyone.

"Umm, thanks for worrying about me, but I’m really fine," Denver was really uncomfortable under her worried gaze.

Just then, they heard Leon’s shout from afar.

"Collect all the Soul Shards, Denny. They’re all yours."

Denver smiled and said, "How can I hate or even get jealous of such a man?"

Bella once again shot a few Burning Skeletons and said with a smile, "You’re good. You will go very far. I’m sure of it. But for now, let’s do our job."

"Wait! Is that the AI Bracelet?" Denver asked, staring at the midnight black bracelet on Bella’s wrist.

He had seen it on everyone’s hands except his and Leon’s, which was understandable since these bracelets were mostly used for showing status and the current situation.

Much more than that, they were used to detect the mana that one obtained after killing a monster and measure it so that one had a clue about their leveling.

It was very helpful but also very deadly since it put strain on one’s soul, so before Tier 4, none of the students were given the AI Bracelet permanently.

They weren’t allowed for men outside of Earth. They could only access it while being in a safe environment.

So this was the first time Denver was properly seeing an AI Bracelet. Bella was happy to show him that, but they had limited time, so she promised him to show it once this was over.

After that, everything was a breeze with the addition of Bella and Rani, who were even more deadly than Leon on the battlefield.

They killed many Burning Skeletons and paved a way for their team to reach the fortress. Natasha didn’t participate since they didn’t really need her help.

It didn’t take them long to reach the broken brick walls of the fortress, but this was also when they were forced to stop their momentum.

More than fifty Burning Skeletons at the peak of Tier 1 blocked their way. Their fire was of a deeper color and their movements were also fast.

They were the elites of the Burning Skeletons, and while they weren’t much individually, their combined force was something that even made Hella and Rain stop.

"We can clear them, but it will take too much time. Time that we can’t waste with these bugs," Rani spoke and turned towards Natasha. "You’ll need to step up for this."

"Hmm~ Leave everything to me," Natasha smiled and took a step forward before giving a side look to Bella. "Be ready to fire."

Bella didn’t understand her words, but she still followed them and brought out two assault rifles that had been modified and many enchantments had been added to turn them into artifacts.

Natasha walked casually towards the Burning Skeletons, her hips swaying with each step. Every move of hers seemed to carry a deadly charm that affected even the skeletons who were running towards her.

She flashed a toothy grin and winked at her enemies, "Stay still, please~~"

That "please" sent shivers down Leon’s spine, and he hurriedly looked away to not get affected by her charms. His buddy Denver was already looking away and didn’t seem to hear her.

Then, he only heard the loud shooting sounds from the AR guns and raised his head when the noise stopped. What awaited him was a deathly silent battlefield with not a single skeleton in sight.

’Damn! They are really powerful!’ Leon thought in wonder. ’Natasha is more powerful than I imagined if she was able to charm so many Tier 1 peak monsters so easily.’

His gaze turned to the beautiful seductress as she turned around and flashed a smile at him, "I’m amazing, right, Little Brother?"

Just as Leon was going to respond, the earth below them shook as a terrible wave of dark miasma shot out of the fortress. In the next moment, the fortress’s roof burst open and a pillar of dark miasma connected the crimson sky with the fortress’s core.

"Agh!!"

The three women of his team groaned in pain and fell on the ground. Their faces contorted into an expression of deep pain. Their bodies trembled as if their bones were giving up on them.

While Bella and Rani were just whimpering in pain, there was a major change in Natasha. A fluffy tail grew out of her tailbone and stood in all its glory, and there were even illusory ears on top of her head.

Leon watched everything in horror as a terrible thought appeared in his mind, ’The Core got corrupted completely! This wasn’t supposed to be this early! Shit shit!’

He panicked as this was out of script and everything he had planned. He had imagined every scenario but not the early eruption of corruption from the dungeon core.

Worse of it was the fact that everyone was scattered away, and even if Amber arrived in time, not many would survive.

’No! Wait! This is much higher in intensity than the game’s version!’ Leon’s thoughts ran rampant as he stared at the illusory ears on Natasha’s head. ’In the game, she barely had a tail. The corruption... is worse!’

A much more terrifying thought formed in his mind that shook his whole being, ’What if the potion failed in suppressing her corruption since the intensity is much higher? We are all going to die!’

If Amber arrived on time, then only a few students would die, but if she was late, then no one was going to survive this dungeon.

Not a single student here could defeat a Variant version of the Boss under the heavy effects of the corruption.

The situation had just turned so hopeless.

’I tried to change the plot, but it’s happening nonetheless. Everyone is dying!’