Dyren opened his skill menu. What he saw was far beyond what he had expected.
He had... 35 different skills.
He couldn't even remember them all. That wasn't a small number. Back when he was still level 75, he only had 18 skills, including bonus skills he gained after defeating the Headless King.
Even with just 18 skills, it had already been difficult for him to memorize them. Let alone now, with 35.
"This is amazing, but it'll be hard for me to use them all."
Dyren was happy, but he also knew he would have to train hard to utilize every skill he possessed.
It would be such a waste if he only ended up using half of them. Though, some of them were passive skills. They would activate automatically without needing to be triggered.
Dyren began to read through the skills slowly. He nodded a few times, but then his eyes fell upon a few skills that looked... strange.
[World Manipulation] (Locked)
[All Instant Death] (Locked)
[Immortality] (Locked)
[Concept Erasure] (Locked)
[All for Me] (Locked)
Dyren kept staring at the five locked skills. When he tried tapping on any of them, no description appeared.
He had no idea what these skills did, but just from the names alone, he could already imagine how overpowered they were. They didn't make any sense.
"All Instant Death… does that mean I can kill everyone with just one use of the skill?"
The thought alone sent chills down his spine. If what he imagined was correct, then it would be an absolutely broken skill.
Dyren couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of sacrifice had to be made to unlock a skill that insane. Just using [Sword Master] and [Berserk] had nearly killed him. What more a skill that could wipe everyone out in one second?
"Forget it for now."
Dyren looked at his other skills. This time, something caught his eye. An intriguing one.
"Is this the skill that Bunny Girl mentioned earlier?"
[Summoning Skeleton Monarch] (Mythic)
Description: Summons the Skeleton Monarch — a massive undead ruler of a long-forgotten bone legion that once lived millions of years ago.
HP: 120,000 | Height: 8.4m
Skills
Passive: Revives up to 1,000 skeletons.
Active:
• [Endless Legion] – Respawns skeletons every 10 seconds
• [Death Spiral Halberd] – High damage AoE
• [Bone Domain] – Boosts undead ATK by +300%
• [Royal Bone Rebirth] – Revives once upon death (1x)
Duration: 5 minutes
Cooldown: 24 hours
Note: If the user's soul is weak, the Monarch may rebel and kill the summoner.
As he read the description, Dyren nearly fell to the ground. It was an absolutely terrifying skill. There weren't many downsides, aside from the 'note' at the end — which was indeed concerning, but as long as his soul remained strong, it shouldn't be a problem.
Dyren realized that he was becoming far too powerful. And yet, there was one lingering question in his head.
"When and how did I get these broken skills? I didn't defeat any monsters."
Suddenly, he remembered Alzahkar.
"Was it because of him?"
But that shouldn't be possible — not to this extent. It was true that Alzahkar was strong, but even he wasn't that much stronger than the Headless King.
Defeating Alzahkar shouldn't have been enough to boost his level all the way to 99. The whole thing remained a mystery in Dyren's mind. He turned to glance at the Bunny Girl, who was still watching him with a puzzled look.
"No. It's impossible. I didn't even kill him."
He still didn't understand, but regardless of what had happened — it had saved his life. He should be grateful. He still had a long way to go. He didn't know how to return to Earth. He still had to defeat the Demon King, become the strongest, help the hero Ereon... or maybe destroy this world.
There were still too many things left unknown. He had to make the most of what he did know, because he understood where the storyline of this world was headed.
"As long as I don't die, everything should be fine." Dyren was confident.
"I have to stay alive, no matter what it takes."
In front of him, the Bunny Girl tilted her head, watching him quietly. She had been waiting for Dyren to say something.
"I have to leave this place." He prepared to continue his journey.
"Thank you... for not killing me. I owe you."
He began walking, but the Bunny Girl followed behind him. At first, Dyren thought it would be temporary. He entered a few buildings that were still intact, gathering anything that could be useful. After that, he truly began his departure from the village.
He had reached the city's outer gate. He was heading south — specifically toward Velderath City. He remembered that there was an adventurer's guild there called Elian Fang. That was where Ereon and his party had fought and defeated a powerful monster — the Wyvren.
That event marked the beginning of Ereon's fame. He was hailed as a hero by the people of Velderath and later by the entire Tharven Kingdom.
Dyren's reason for going there was to become an adventurer and to check on Ereon's condition. Right now, Ereon wasn't in good shape. If he fought the Wyvren as he was now, he might die.
"This isn't even my problem," Dyren grumbled.
But deep down, he was worried. If Ereon died, it might also mean his own death. There was no mission involving that yet, but that didn't mean one wouldn't appear later. Dyren shook his head in frustration. It was a hassle.
He began walking, leaving the ruined village. But behind him, he heard soft footsteps. Dyren turned around. The Bunny Girl was still following him.
"Why are you still following me?" Dyren asked.
"My destination is in that direction too," she said, glancing away.
Dyren knew she was lying. She was a terrible liar — easy to read.
"If you're with me, I'm the one who'll end up in trouble," Dyren complained.
"I'll suppress my power," she replied.
The Bunny Girl stabbed her own chest. Blood dripped from the wound. Then she gripped her own heart and pulled it out, offering it to Dyren.
"You can take this as collateral."
Dyren frowned. The heart was still beating. It was a bit disgusting, but he took it. His hands were stained with blood. He stored the heart in his item box. At that moment, the Bunny Girl's power dropped drastically. She was now only as strong as the Headless King.
Still terrifying, honestly — but Dyren just shrugged.
"Do whatever you want. Just don't cause any trouble."
The Bunny Girl nodded.
"Alright."
They continued heading south. The Bunny Girl followed Dyren silently. Their destination was now the same — Velderath City. She would follow him wherever he went.
"What's your name?" Dyren asked.
The Bunny Girl shook her head.
"I don't have a name. People usually just call me 'Demon King.'"
Dyren rolled his eyes. There was no way he was going to call her that. He had to come up with something else. He sighed and looked up at the sky for a moment, as if searching for inspiration. Then he nodded.
"In that case… from now on, I'll call you Miraqua."
The Bunny Girl furrowed her brows.
"Mi... ra... qua?"
"Yeah. The name comes from mirage and lagomorpha. 'Mirage' because you're like a sweet nightmare, and 'lagomorpha' is the order of animals that includes rabbits." Dyren gave a slight smile.
"You're the most dangerous bunny I've ever seen."
Miraqua looked confused for a few seconds. Then she smiled. Her first smile since they met. It was a cute one.
"I like that name."