Everyone’s heart sank, but no one dared to say they couldn’t.

Because that only meant death.

Lucien, who was "leisurely" watching without doing anything, was racking his brain rapidly.

That thing must be injured.

There’s no way those hunters’ various skills didn’t injure it in the slightest.

If...if the hunters wore out the dungeon boss once more...

Maybe he could step in?

Lucien already felt the hunters’ eyes subtly lingering on him.

This time it wasn’t filled with fear.

It was a desperate plea, a sliver of hope.

There’s a much, much stronger existence there.

Lucien, who didn’t know that he was seen as a dungeon boss instead of a hunter, felt that he had to step in.

But wait.

Wait patiently.

The air was heavy. The surroundings fell silent.

The worm under the ground moved extremely carefully, its head wriggling here and there—

As if trying to find the weakest point.

Everyone kept moving away from each other, not clustered.

Their hearts pounded.

Please, not me. Please, not me.

Even Lucien prayed— but he had an ominous feeling.

Shrkkk.

The black shadow underground suddenly moved rapidly, closing in everyone’s sight.

That familiar move—

It’s about to burst again!

But the direction—

Everyone’s eyes suddenly landed on Lucien.

Lucien, the only one who couldn’t see the thing underground...

Suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

Fuck. Don’t tell him—

The passive skill [Land Affinity] shone at the back.

Burst!

The ground exploded.

Soil splattered, flying in the air.

Lucien felt his feet sinking— no, plummeting.

They touched nothing but air.

Swish!

A strong wind whipped at Lucien and then—

A four-petal mouth opened right under his feet.

Ah.

Fck.

In everyone’s eyes, Lucien still had one hand in his pocket, another hugging his "pet", his body relaxed, casual.

But his aura suddenly exploded.

Boom!

A great pressure descended on the hunters and they all subconsciously clutched their chests.

A D-rank aura swept over their bodies and pressed down onto the monster down there.

Freeze.

The monster froze for a split second.

But in that split second—

Lucien’s feet landed on the white teeth.

The monster flinched. It trembled slightly, but its instinct screamed back,

Kill!!

The worm resisted the pressure hammering its body and moved its teeth, trying to clamp down on that overwhelming aura.

Before the teeth could move—

Tap.

With a "light" tap, Lucien propelled his body to the left.

+10% agility.

Chomp.

The thing’s teeth grazed Lucien’s shoes before it sank down.

The hunters snapped out of their shocks and shouted,

"Attack! Attack! Don’t let it escape!"

Various skills landed on the worm’s head right before it dived down into the ground.

Boom!

"Hisss!"

The shell on its head cracked, revealing the soft flesh under.

But before the hunters could continue attacking—

Shrrkkk.

The thing dived down in an instant, disappearing without a trace.

Thud.

Lucien’s feet landed on the sinking ground, as light as a feather.

As the sinking ground swallowed him, Lucien kicked the ground and jumped out in one go.

Tap.

He landed perfectly on solid ground.

Dust stuck to his clothes, dry blood covered half of his body.

But Lucien just patted away the dust on his arms.

Completely unbothered.

The hunters, who were staring at the disappearing worm, suddenly paused.

They looked at the sinkhole—

And then at Lucien.

The pet in Lucien’s arms didn’t even wake up, just rolling its belly, seemingly in a deep sleep.

The hunters froze for a few seconds before they collectively sucked in the cold air, making a sound like the digger.

"Hisss— "

Lucien glanced at the hunter casually and smiled, his smile relaxed, polite.

But Lucien’s inner soul was screaming, kicking the air, rolling on the ground with snot all over his face.

Oh fuck fuck fuck fuck!!!

THAT! WAS! CLOSE!!

I-if his body wasn’t an E-rank already and that +10% agility—

He wouldn’t have been able to dodge that!

Oh, shit!!

Lucien’s back was drenched in sweat but the dry blood covered it well.

Mumu in his arms kept his belly up, his eyes rolling.

"M-muuu..."

M-mumu is scared.

Mumu is going to die!

Mumu deployed that "pretending to be dead" pose and peacefully passed out.

Ah! Mumu!! Don’t leave him behind!

H-he also wanted to faint!!

Lucien’s fingers switched, wanting to wipe his sweat but he endured.

The wind blew, dramatically blowing Lucien’s hair, revealing a pair of his amethyst eyes.

The hunters’ hearts thumped against their chests, even harder than the thumpers slamming the ground.

Only then did their chaotic mind settle and one word flashed in their minds.

Strong.

T-this humanoid monster...

Is so strong!

For the first time ever, the hunters felt other feelings towards Lucien other than fear.

It felt like a holy light shining upon their dark life.

A wave of admiration, awe, fear and other mixed feelings poured into Lucien’s body, blending in with his invisible purple aura.

The system suddenly chimed, a new panel popped up.

DING! [Prestige +50]

[Prestige: 80/100]

[Landlord’s aura: 80%]

Lucien almost choked and ruined his image.

What is this "prestige" thing??

He never had that before!

Is it because he’s temporarily an E-rank...so that the system upgraded or something?

But back then at the Death Zone, he made all sorts of stun and the system didn’t pop out...

Lucien didn’t know that back then, all the hunters felt towards him was immense fear.

His aura was still getting stronger, yes, but prestige?

It couldn’t compare to the pure awe he got just now.

Lucien felt his aura becoming more...mysterious.

When he glanced at the hunters— they flinched.

But their eyes were shining— as if looking at a saviour.

Ah.

In their eyes, he must look like an elite awakener.

This...

Is seriously not bad?

The hunters collectively thought:

To think that one day, they would feel awe towards a humanoid monster.

Are they screwed??

But that sliver of hope in their hearts bloomed and everyone looked at Lucien with pleading eyes mixed with fear.

If their eyes could speak, they would have said:

Please. Please.

Help them kill the boss monster!

Lucien caught that plea and he peeked at his system panel.

[Landlord’s aura 80%]

A small line of words underneath caught Lucien’s eyes.

[People feel a strong fear and awe towards you, just like seeing a historical future.]

[The landlord’s aura will multiply by ten times during Territory Descent]

The system practically shoved down the words "Territory Descent" down his throat and Lucien, who was planning to wait even more—

Changed his mind.

It’s his time to shine.