Chapter 553

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 553: The Aesthetics of the Circle (4)

A sacrifice of limbs for the sake of exceeding the dungeon’s completion goal.

And since it had to be “exceeded,” the sacrifice had to be substantial.

According to Madam Kanaph’s reasoning, in order for Yeongwoo to obtain the hidden reward, he would have to send out every single participant in the dungeon.

“That’s absurd… The required number of participants in this dungeon is eight. Even if we exclude everyone here, there are at least four more out there.”

–Then you’ll just have to send them all out.

“With my arms and legs?”

–If you don’t like that, you can go out first, can’t you? I’d be happy to leave early.

Madam Kanaph shrugged beside Yeongwoo’s nape.

Well, she hardly knew who Yeongwoo was, and she was practically ignorant about the dungeon, so naturally she couldn’t care less.

Hidden rewards were of no interest to her.

But for Yeongwoo, who was at that very moment steering a ship toward the black zone, the situation was quite different.

“There might be a catalog in this dungeon too. I can’t just leave it behind. A dungeon like this comes around once in a day—no, once in a hundred million years.”

–Your greed is spilling right out of your eyes.

“This is a matter of survival, Madam. And that includes your survival too.”

At that, Madam Kanaph, who had been slouching lazily, suddenly trembled.

–W-what? How does that make sense?

“You’ll be on my ship until we reach that duke or whatever he is, right? Then my survival is your survival.”

–…That’s…

Kanaph fell silent, unable to refute him.

He wasn’t wrong.

Until she reunited with Duke Dalqui, this scoundrel was her only protection.

“In fact, this dungeon isn’t even the real problem. What comes after this is a mountain of trouble waiting to kill us.”

–Th-then just live peacefully…?

“That’s not so easy. I’ve already done too much.”

Ironically, that conversation put Yeongwoo a little more at ease.

Thinking about all the things he’d have to do once he left this place made cutting off a few limbs to send others home seem almost trivial.

‘Right. Why not? I’ve cleared advancement trials with cultivators of merit—am I going to flinch at a measly dungeon like this?’

Swish.

When Yeongwoo’s gaze swept around, the machine and the lizardman flinched nervously.

–……!

–W-what now…?

“You two—go on and live. Keep surviving out there.”

–What?

“In exchange, each of you gives up an arm. Don’t worry, you’ll get prosthetics or replacements.”

As Yeongwoo spoke and cast the Bastard’s shadow menacingly, the lizardman recoiled.

–What are you saying? Give up an arm?

Yeongwoo pointed the sword toward the lizardman’s mechanical limb.

“You remember—the escape point requires four limbs total to activate, right?”

–…Yeah?

“Then you two cover two of them. I’ll take care of the other two.”

In other words, Yeongwoo would provide one arm and one leg, while the machine and the lizardman would each contribute one remaining limb.

“So now you just have to decide—who loses an arm and who loses a leg.”

He waved the blade between them casually, and the lizardman protested in panic.

–W-wait a minute! I chased that bastard here because I didn’t want to see something like this!

“Unfortunately for you, you ran into me. Since I’m here, everyone gets to leave alive.”

The lizardman quickly pointed at the machine.

–Look! That thing isn’t even alive. Losing its limbs won’t kill it!

But the machine immediately flailed its arms in alarm.

–S-sir? You’re not seriously agreeing with him, are you? Without limbs, I might as well be dead!

“Relax. I don’t plan on taking all your parts. Don’t panic.”

Yeongwoo crouched down.

“Anyway, what matters is that you both get out of here. So, be fair—pick one each. Who’s giving up what?”

Meanwhile, the timer in the air announced that the escape point’s appearance was imminent.

[05:02:41]

–After all this, you expect me to leave empty-handed—no, one-armed?

The lizardman grumbled again.

So Yeongwoo raised his sword and pointed it at the creature’s head.

“Better than losing your life, isn’t it? You were supposed to die today, remember?”

His eyes gleamed gold as he uttered the words, and the lizardman shuddered under the oppressive aura.

–Y-you… what are you? Someone like you doesn’t belong in a place like this.

He clearly had some knowledge; just sensing that presence turned his face pale.

After all, Yeongwoo’s usual opponents were cosmic beings and planetary-scale villains.

For someone of that caliber, dominating small fry with a glance was only natural.

“Me? I’m the one who’ll donate arms and legs to get everyone out—and claim the extra rewards.”

Then Yeongwoo stood, pointing at the lizardman’s leg.

“That one. If it’s cut off, will it grow back?”

–…What?

“I asked, does it regenerate like mine?”

–With enough nutrition, it’ll grow back… slowly.

“Slowly? How slow?”

–……

The lizardman, catching on, realized this lunatic was after his limb.

–Very slow. At least two or three days.

“Really? Then cutting them all off right now won’t work.”

–O-of course not.

“Then you’ll cut off one leg.”

–What!?

“You said it’ll grow back in two or three days if you rest.”

–But why the leg!?

“The machine here has to go to work tomorrow to earn money. He needs both legs.”

Swish.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Yeongwoo gestured toward the machine.

The lizardman’s expression turned incredulous.

“Don’t like it? Too bad. You’re not about to fight me over one leg, are you?”

By then, the timer had begun glowing red.

Piaaat!

Finally, an hour had passed—the escape point was about to appear.

『Partial dungeon shutdown commencing.』

Then a massive triangular pattern appeared in the air.

Pop!

“…What’s that?”

As Yeongwoo’s brow twitched, thin beams of light shot diagonally downward from each corner of the triangle.

“Oh! Don’t tell me—!”

Realizing they marked the escape points, Yeongwoo hastily scooped up the gear he’d confiscated from the machine and the lizardman.

Then, swinging Bastard threateningly, he shouted,

“Run!”

–Huh?

–Wha—where!?

“Toward the nearest beam! That’s where your lifeline is!”

–What are you talking about? You mean that’s the escape point?

“Obviously. And if you wait, it’ll vanish when the dungeon collapses!”

While speaking, Yeongwoo had already sprinted ahead of them.

Even if they didn’t escape, he needed to understand how the mechanism worked.

Tatat!

Yeongwoo dashed at terrifying speed toward the light, and soon the area where the beam touched down came into view.

“Good, it’s close.”

–Just like you said, it’s on the perimeter.

Madam Kanaph pointed with her tiny finger.

As Yeongwoo predicted, the escape point had appeared on the dungeon’s outer edge—just minutes away from being swallowed by the barrier field closing in.

‘Are we the first to find it?’

Before long, the structure came fully into view: a massive cylindrical machine.

Behind it, the blue barrier was already devouring space as it advanced.

“We’ve got maybe two or three minutes.”

Yeongwoo placed his hand on the surface of the device.

Tap.

A holographic panel flickered to life, revealing its instructions.

『Welcome to the Escape Point.』

『Insert two arms and two legs into the lower intake slots.』

“…Intake slots?”

As he murmured, the lower part of the cylinder silently opened.

“Ah.”

So that was it—throw the limbs in, and the machine activates.

『Up to four users may use this escape point simultaneously. Limbs used for activation will be incinerated.』

“Insane.”

He’d expected as much, but seeing it written out still hit differently.

It meant that four participants had to each sacrifice one limb for everyone to escape.

‘Of course. No one would willingly give up their own limbs—so they’d fight instead.’

Only now did Yeongwoo truly grasp how difficult “exceeding the goal” would be.

‘Simply offering my own limbs won’t be enough.’

His eyes turned toward the other two beams across the dungeon.

‘I’ll have to stop the others from killing each other too.’

Only then could he create a scenario where everyone survives by sharing the loss.

Taaat!

The machine and the lizardman arrived, panting.

–I-is this the escape point?

The machine asked first.

The lizardman glared at the device with clear disgust.

–Looks creepy as hell.

Understandable, since he’d soon lose a leg to it.

Yeongwoo pointed his sword between the two.

“No time. Cut it off—now. You’ve done well to make it this far.”

The barrier was closing fast, so Yeongwoo stopped talking and raised his blade.

Fwoosh.

“Forget it. I’ll do it myself.”

–W-what!? No! I can do it!

Panicking, the lizardman fumbled behind his back and drew a thin, long blade—apparently he’d had another hidden weapon.

Yeongwoo smiled faintly and gestured with a finger.

“Knew it. Hand that over too.”

Then, with one clean swing of Bastard, he sliced off the lizardman’s leg.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]