The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 152 - Dungeon Sweethearts

—

“Finally.”

After confirming that Liber and his team had completely left and were out of sight, Will pulled his hand back.

“What’s wrong? Not letting me lick it clean? Though, honestly, a wound like this would heal quickly even without magic.”

“Just… just forget it. Actually, licking wounds reminds me of some… less pleasant memories.”

Truth be told, Will couldn’t help but think of Eir tending to his burns in the past.

The process had been oddly satisfying, but Eir always seemed to overdo it, causing him some unnecessary pain in the process.

“But Shuna, why were you so hostile toward Liber just now? What’s going on?”

“Liber is one of the current S-rank archers.”

“Using a gun and still being considered an archer… makes sense, I guess—wait, S-rank?!”

Although Will wasn’t entirely surprised, had he just witnessed an S-rank versus S-rank encounter?

This was something even the original story had never shown.

“He’s from Entark’s Second Academy. He’s quite famous there, though this is my first time meeting him in person.”

“Hmm… you seemed to really dislike him. Did something happen between you two before?”

“No, this is my first time meeting him.” Shuna scratched her head. “It’s just a gut feeling. Something about him feels… off. Especially how conveniently he showed up.”

Shuna glanced at the loot behind them.

The iron chunks were secondary; the most important item was the box and the location written on it—

“I just hope it’s all a coincidence.”

—

Meanwhile, at the dungeon entrance.

The Radiant Knights had just “returned victorious,” stepping out of the dungeon.

“Captain, you said our top priority was retrieving the box. Why did we leave without it?”

“What? Hmm… did I say that? I don’t remember.”

Liber feigned a troubled expression.

“……”

“Retrieving it was meant to prevent others from gaining information, but judging by their expressions, they already know. If we acted too blatantly, we’d only give them more clues.”

Liber adjusted his white gloves.

“Besides, killing that boss will make them think the information he didn’t get to reveal was what I wanted to hide. A little misdirection.”

The dumb, sunny smile he had been wearing earlier vanished, replaced by a sly smirk.

“After all, what that foolish boss was about to reveal wasn’t a ‘secret.’”

“Excuse me, Captain Liber, what happened in the dungeon? Was it really that difficult?”

After taking only a few steps, Liber was stopped by a swarm of reporters outside the dungeon.

Nowadays, dungeons were the hottest topic. Even the slightest commotion could make headlines.

And now, with a “B-rank dungeon” requiring three rounds of rescue teams to clear, it was front-page news material.

Liber’s sunny smile returned, bright as ever.

“How was it resolved in the end?”

“Why were three teams sent in?”

“As the captain of the Radiant Knights, do you think this points to a management flaw in the Adventurer’s Guild?”

Facing the flood of questions, Liber maintained his smile.

“Good questions, but… unfortunately, this dungeon wasn’t cleared by me.”

Liber spread his hands, showing they were empty.

“It was a rather sweet-looking couple, actually. They were so dazzlingly perfect together, it was almost enviable.”

“What?!”

“A couple in the dungeon?”

“Did they come here to play heroes?!”

Liber knew how to stir up interest.

Reporters loved nothing more than juicy gossip, second only to crisis news. A “dungeon couple” was the kind of story they wouldn’t let go of.

And honestly, the two of them did look like a perfect match.

“Yes, whether it was the three-headed dog or the final boss, they took care of it together.”

“They should be coming out soon. You can ask them yourselves.”

“And while you’re at it, find out how they’re so sweet together.”

—

“By the way, Will, you didn’t leave a single iron chunk behind.”

“And you even grabbed that ruby from the Cerberus!”

Will carried a backpack full of loot.

As for the backpack, it had been left near the chair—probably abandoned by another adventurer team. He’d have to buy a new one once they got out.

“Still, it’s strange. Why would the dungeon boss drop scrap metal, while the elite monster dropped a ruby? Is the dog stronger than its owner?”

As soon as he said it, Will realized the unintended metaphor about himself and quickly shut his mouth.

“What, are you planning to use this for something? You’re not even a fire-element mage.”

“These are incredibly useful!”

Will pulled out a chunk of iron and toyed with it in his hand.

“The fire element in these is highly active.”

“Well, it is from a fire-element dungeon.”

“But we saw earlier—the boss used it as external armor, and it wasn’t weak at all. The only issue was that his molten core made the pieces fall off easily.”

“True.”

“So, these iron chunks are perfect for making high-durability, high-resistance staves. Using the Cerberus ruby as the core, the energy output should be stable. These iron chunks could serve as the staff body, absorbing excess fire energy. I tested it earlier—it heats up much slower than regular iron.”

Will grew more excited as he spoke.

The Cerberus ruby, being from a new monster, seemed incredibly durable. Even if a better core came along later, it could still serve as a protective casing.

The iron chunks were an even bigger surprise. While metals generally had the best conductivity, these were extremely heat-resistant and tough.

Though combining the two was still far from his vision of the “Ancient Flame Staff.”

But…

It was a step closer.

After all, building a weapon from scratch was no simple task.

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re making a staff for that little witch?”

“Hehe, you guessed it. Honestly, we wouldn’t normally be able to handle a dungeon of this level. Getting these materials was pure luck.”

“…Oh.”

Shuna, who usually got excited about anything dungeon-related, responded coldly this time.

Meanwhile, Will was already imagining…

How much stronger Leah would become with this staff!

At least her (imaginary) stats would gain a 60-70 point boost in attack power, right? What used to take two shots could now be done in one.

Too bad he couldn’t see damage numbers—what a shame.

“Wait, Will, watch out—”

Lost in thoughts of upgrades, Will accidentally bumped into a reporter.

“What’s a reporter doing here?”

“No, it’s not just one…”

When had the dungeon entrance become surrounded by reporters?!

Wasn’t this dungeon about to disappear?

What was going on?!

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

“Quick—the couple is coming out! What are you waiting for? Go interview them!”

“This story has to make tomorrow’s front page, headline news!”