Chapter 18: Chapter 18
[Hobgoblin Fortress]
Within the dungeon, Aldrich casually strolled about as his undead cleared the area.
Upon reaching the open space where arrows rained down, he raised his hands.
Bones flew from his palm and merged with others to form a massive shield, deflecting the arrows.
From the side, two colossal bone giants emerged.
These giants, each 20 meters in size, boasted thick bones. It took 1,000 undead to create one giant.
From behind, an Undead Orc Wizard buffed the giants, enhancing their sturdiness and strength.
The arrows struck their bones but caused no harm. The attacking Hobgoblins, taken aback, retreated, but the giants charged forward.
Regardless of size and strength, the Hobgoblins were stomped and crushed to death by the bone giants. Undead emerged from the fallen foes, mingling with the giants.
Approaching the tower where the Hobgoblins launched arrows, the giants demolished the structures and slew the archers.
The mansion and the bone giants were of similar size. Without entering, the giants razed the mansion to the ground.
Aldrich lounged atop a beast-like bone giant, equipped with a saddle for comfort. He occasionally cast Necromancy to summon undead from the fallen foes.
Even the mansion's boss monster fell swiftly, unable to retaliate.
After ten turns, Aldrich declared, "This is enough." He had amassed countless undead and cores, along with some skills and items, all below C rank and deemed useless to him.
The sun began to set, casting a red hue across the once-blue sky as a cold wind swept through the surroundings.
While the atmosphere outside remained quiet and peaceful, the same couldn't be said for the Super Association.
William's gaze bore into the messenger who brought the news.
"We've confirmed that Super Arthur has fallen in the dungeon."
"Fallen in the dungeon?" William scoffed. "Are you certain?"
"We... aren't sure," the man replied, lowering his head. "There was no body found outside the dungeon. So we can only confirm that he fell inside. Even Super Roland and Artha appear to have fallen. We've only located Artha and Aldrich."
"Where are they?" William inquired.
"Super Artha is in shock and currently recovering in the hospital. As for Aldrich, he's still in the dungeon, alone. CCTV cameras captured him entering and exiting repeatedly."
William was speechless for a moment. "When he exits the dungeon, tell him to meet me," he ordered.
"Yes!" the man nodded, hurrying out before returning. "Sir! Aldrich has arrived at the association. Should I summon him?"
"No. I will go meet him," William said, rising from his seat and leaving the room.
______
"Too little," the receptionist remarked, eyeing the bag of cores presented by the super with a sigh. She displayed no emotion as she placed them into the machine.
Thanks to Aldrich, she had nearly forgotten that normal supers typically only brought in a couple of hundred to a few thousand cores per day. Aldrich was the exception, capable of single-handedly bringing in thousands of cores daily.
The super nodded as he received the money and departed.
"Please place the core on the table, sir," she requested as she cleaned the machine.
"Here." To her surprise, instead of bags, the super handed her a storage ring. Nodding, she accepted the ring and placed it into the machine.
The cores from the ring were all transferred into the machine. However, shortly after, a beeping sound emitted from the machine.
"Huh?" The receptionist looked at the machine in surprise.
[Maxed]
"What?!" Her eyes widened as she looked at the super, confirming it was indeed Aldrich.
"Sir... You brought too many cores again."
This wasn't the first time this had happened. The maximum capacity of the machine was 10,000 cores. Until now, no super had brought in more than 10,000 cores. Only Aldrich had broken that record.
"Please process them quickly," Aldrich said with a smile. He was accustomed to this situation and didn't see it as his problem.
"Please wait." With a smile, she removed the ring and processed 10,000 cores at a time using the machine.
She meticulously noted the numbers and scanned another batch.
There were 25,000 cores. After calculating, she inputted the money into Aldrich's card.
A single C-rank core cost 150 coins, so Aldrich received 3,750,000 coins. It was a tremendous amount for a normal super.
However, the receptionist handled the transaction calmly. 'This man earns millions per day. Maybe I should marry him and lead a happy life,' she thought to herself as she glanced at Aldrich.
"Sir, my shift ends at 8 am. If you don't mind, would you accompany me for breakfast?" she asked in a flirtatious tone.
But Aldrich ignored her and headed to the equipment shop. There, he purchased the only C-rank ring in the shop, costing him 2,000,000 coins!
[Mysterious Ring: Increases all stats by 5.]
It boosted all stats by 5!
Afterward, Aldrich planned to return home and conquer a B-rank dungeon next time. However, as he was leaving, a burly figure appeared before him.
"Good evening, Super Aldrich," William greeted him with a smile. "If you're free, could you accompany me to my study room?"
Aldrich glanced at him, thinking, 'He must be here to inquire about Arthur and the others.' Without hesitation, he nodded.
As he followed William, the other supers in the association whispered amongst themselves, shocked to see a super being personally invited by William!
In the study room, William took his seat behind the desk and gestured for Aldrich to sit on the couch.
Aldrich wasn't overly polite and sat down. He was no longer intimidated by William, having gained enough confidence to confront him.
"So, may I ask what happened to Arthur and the others?" William inquired with a smile.
"I killed them," Aldrich replied casually, a smile playing on his lips.
"I see," William nodded, unsurprised by the revelation. "Why?" he asked.
"Because he tried to kill me."
"He did that? Seriously. Maybe power has indeed gone to his head," William sighed deeply.
"So, is that all?" he continued.
"No," William shook his head. "Have you thought about what you'll do next?"
"I'll be sleeping soundly in my bed."
"Don't joke around!" William's voice rose, the atmosphere turning cold. "You killed a C-rank super. Do you think it's that simple? What's your plan? Will you stay in this city for the rest of your life?"
"No," Aldrich replied simply.
"Then who will protect the people here? Do you think I could clear all the dungeons in a week? Without clearing the dungeons, an outbreak will occur. Just imagine the casualties that will follow."
Aldrich stared at him. "Whom do you care about?"
"What?" William was taken aback by the question.
"Do you care about ordinary people or supers? Or do you care about the buildings in this city?"
"I care about everything," William asserted.
Aldrich stood up. "Don't lie," he shook his head, heading towards the door. "The only person you care about is yourself, just like everyone else."
"Then are you any better?" William frowned.
"No," Aldrich shook his head again. "I am countless times worse than you guys."
"Huh?"
Aldrich left the room.
William sank into his chair, leaned back, and looked up. "What the hell is going on in that lad's head?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone