Chapter 255. Return

Peering from behind the barrier encapsulating the Nightmare Dungeon, X'Fall remained quiet even if the Minions under him were almost going berserk.

Turning his head slightly, he evaluated the expressions of his 'peers' and saw deep frowns.

He was slightly reassured and nodded inwardly. At least they didn't lose themselves in anger and realized in the process how valuable this experience was.

Returning his gaze to the field where the door of the Nightmare Dungeon was open, he curiously took in the bloodied Wanderer, who unceremoniously laid on his back in the grass.

The deep cuts on his pitiful body were enough to be counted on both fingers, but luckily for the Necromancer, none were deep enough to sever bones.

His armor was a total mess, and if it would've been one of his generals, he would've had the demon scrap it rather than try to have it fixed.

But the most interesting part was the man's... no! The boy's face. He was too young to be called a man since, based on human social norms, he would be around 20 or so.

[Such a young pup, yet he somehow killed a bit over 500 demons in these past nine days.](X'Fall)

[[[...]]]

The other devils remained silent, as they had already offered to 'pitch in' and help X'Fall relieve the losses he had incurred with this Nightmare Dungeon.

But as the newly promoted noble pointed out, this wasn't a loss at all. On the contrary, the information they gained during these days was invaluable.

In fact, it was only during the first seven days that they continuously harassed the Necromancer with Nightmare Portals. 

After realizing that it was foolish to do so further, in the last 53 hours, they didn't bother sending anyone in, and the 'fearsome' function turned into a pretty 'sculpture' for the Wanderer to demolish.

That's not to say that the Wanderer had it easy. Leaving the first two deaths aside, where the fool fought for three days against the troops they kept sending in the Trap Room, the Necromancer died twice more.

One time, he fell into a rather odious trap - even by demon standards - and the fourth was against the Dungeon's 'mission.'

After being mentally and physically drained for nine days, the Wanderer had to survive five hours in the Amphitheater versus countless Elites summoned by the Dungeon. 

Even if X'Fall and the other devils had no play in this, the difficulty was incredibly high as the Elites were a combination of Naga and randomly selected demon Elites from across the Burning Hells.

[I think I saw some familiar faces during the survival mission. Tsk, tsk, tsk! Those guys won't be happy to see their toys lost.](?)

[It matters not. Remember how I said that this wasn't a loss for me? Tell me, how much do you think they'd pay for this information?](X'Fall)

[[[...]]]

After a brief silence, disgusting grins that would put human merchants to shame appeared on the faces of the devils present, all realizing how much the information would sell for.

Even if it was a single person, after watching the situation unfold and inspecting the 'corridor' created between X'Fall's domain and the Dungeon counterpart in Sanctuary, it was easy to figure out just how much things changed.

To begin with, the Dungeon in Sanctuary relaxed its restrictions tremendously, allowing X'Fall more control over it.

The number of demons it could send into it also increased at least once over.

So, what did this mean for them?

[It's an opportunity. We have nothing, if not a ridiculous number of useless Minions. The pitiful ones would die during Nightmare Dungeons, but the strong ones would survive and become Elites. At the same time, with the increased number of Minions and Elites, we can send into Sanctuary, we can obtain more souls, and if the humans are caught off guard, we can even produce a Dungeon Break. The number of souls we'd get would only increase further.](?)

[Mhm. Though, it wouldn't be as simple as that. The Sanctuary isn't stupid enough to make such a losing deal. It's playing a dangerous game, but its pitiful attempt at earning more time is moot.](X'Fall)

[Hahaha! After all, the actual danger isn't here in our realm, but it has already invaded theirs.](?)

Hearing the laughter of his 'peers,' X'Fall shook his head inwardly at the morons who just gave away an essential piece of information.

However, it was confirmed that the Sanctuary couldn't do much about it, even if they spelled it out for it.

The events to follow were already set in stone. At best, the Sanctuary could alleviate the damage it would take, though it's hard to see how that would be possible.

After all, soon, it won't be only the demons that the humans have to worry about.

Watching the corpse-like Wanderer get up to his feet unsteadily, X'Fall roared with laughter as he saw the 'corridor' activating.

Moments later, except for some patches of red liquid left where the Necromancer rested, only the Nightmare Dungeon remained with its gates open.

Moving with incredible speed that left even the other devils dumbfounded, X'Fall approached the corridor only to snort angrily a moment later.

It seems that the Sanctuary wasn't foolish enough to leave behind breadcrumbs. Still, this was good enough.

[The show is over! Send demons to rearm the traps inside the Dungeon and prepare for future attempts. Rimley!](X'Fall)

[I am here, my lord.](Rimley)

A goat-headed demon with a slim build appeared on X'Fall's right side, bowing politely. 

The devil smiled and handed over a parchment showing a map of their domain.

[Four more Nightmare Dungeons have been confirmed at the marked locations. I trust you to increase their difficulty. While this Wanderer here might be a lower-level one, therefore, was able to survive somehow, those over Level 70 mustn't be able to leave our domain.](X'Fall)

[I will personally see to it, my lord. Anything else?](Rimley)

[Mhm. I need to report to that great personage. Take these and hand them over to the remaining devils. It's their reward for showing up today.](X'Fall)

Watching his master teleport, the demon butler stored the map showing the other four Nightmare Dungeons in their territory and quickly reviewed the other nine papers he was handed.

Realizing what they were, he approached the other nine nobles and politely handed one each.

Seeing the grins on their faces, Rimley couldn't help but wonder what the Sanctuary was thinking. Leaving their domain aside, at least 27 more Nightmare Dungeons would be spread across the demon realm.

But that was of no concern to him, as the lord clearly stated his job. He had to prepare the five Nightmare Dungeons in their domain for the future 'visitors.' 

After all, as hosts, they couldn't lack in terms of manners.

--------------------------

Back in Sanctuary, the Pink Palace was buzzing with excitement since Michael had finally returned.

Kyovashad's portal constantly shone with blue light, allowing impressive 'celebrities' to cross over.

As for the goals of these visitors, they were obvious.

Five beauties of different statures were walking side by side toward the Pink Palace, complaining about the same topic with a smile on their faces.

[*Sigh* To think Michael succeeded. Hawezar was so noisy that the World Tree began complaining to me.](Natalia)

[I'm glad I listened to Mira's advice. Even if I still feel bad about using Donan's name, I managed to calm the Wanderers somewhat.](Celeste)

[Did you put all of this on Donan!?](Mira)

[Nope. I told them that the Wanderer who saved them from suffering under the demonic flames once more was responsible for this boon and that Donan had already researched this Region Progress.](Celeste)

[That's not bad. This way, Donan's reputation would recover slightly, and the chaos would be alleviated. Fortunately, all I had to do was have Túr Dúlra's Druids spread the word. It's impressive how even in Dry Steppes, their words command such respect.](Beatrice)

[Huh!? Crap! I should've done the same thing! Ugh!](Celeste)

[[[[...]]]]

All four Wanderer Representatives turned to look at the fifth woman accompanying them.

Mira had already introduced her, but seeing how silent she was, the air quickly turned awkward. 

The beauty had similar dark skin, showing that she was a daughter of the desert, coming from Mira's Kehjistan.

The girls got a quick rundown about the newcomer's 'interaction' with Michael, but they couldn't help but be slightly jealous of her looks.

Mira was already the type of exotic beauty that would make any man go wild, but this woman was even more so.

Leaving aside the exquisite body curves, which contrasted with her sharp facial features, the tattoo covering everything from her hands to her feet made the girls consider getting one themselves.

Furthermore, unlike the warrior-like Mira, this woman was much slimmer, with a thin waist exposed by the clothes she was wearing. 

Add the tattoo decorating such a delicious canvas...

[Is something the matter?](Taissa)

Taissa saw the other four immediately shake their heads and look away from her, prompting a deep sigh on her part.

How could she not understand what they were thinking? It was a woman's prerogative to pursue beauty, and she had to agree that while the process and the residual effects of the ritual she underwent were rather discomforting, she had spent more time in front of a mirror lately.

While the tattoos she gained complemented her beauty, Andariel's whispers constantly ringing in her ears weren't very pleasant. 

If not for Lorath's assiduous attempts over the past days, she wouldn't have been able to sleep even a wink.

Sleep aside, losing that would've been the least of her concerns, with a Lesser Evil continuously eating away at her consciousness.

So, now that she had somewhat recovered, once Lorath got word earlier today about the Sanctuary implementing a new system that allowed Wanderers to get even stronger, she was immediately sent over as a messenger.

After all, the one responsible for her plight was still alive and causing harm somewhere in the desert. It was their responsibility to find him and put a stop to his madness. 

That and revenge!

Stopping in front of the entrance to a large mansion, Taissa was slightly taken aback by the building's childish pink color.

After Sophia, the head maid, granted the five girls entrance, they were guided to the pavilion, where a considerable commotion was underway.

Celeste was the first to react since her vision as a Sniper was the best among them. Seeing her run toward the pavilion, the other four confusedly followed.

[Michael!?](Natalia)

Hearing the usually calm Natalia raise her voice, Mira and Beatrice rushed to the front and stopped a moment later as if they hit a wall.

The usually happy and exuberant sisters were now panicky and running around like chickens with their heads cut off. 

It was understandable why, as only Mina and Helen were in the pavilion, and the other girls kept their distance.

As for the main culprit of this chaotic scene, he was covered in blood and deep cuts to the bone.

Seeing the guests arrive, Michael smiled as gently as he could, but the cut on his left cheekbone produced more of a grimace.

[Looks like you had fun.](Mira)

"A bit too much."

Helen immediately gestured for him to be quiet, to which he shrugged, prompting a deep gasp to follow.

Seeing the tigress's glare, he did not doubt that a slap would've followed if not for his shitty condition.

Natalia approached Mina, and after observing the state of his body for a while, she shook her head.

[You overexerted your body's natural regeneration. You're in an extended cooldown.](Natalia)

[*Sigh* That's right. I've been trying to heal him, but his body doesn't react to it. He probably overused Healing Potions to keep himself alive while in the Nightmare Dungeon.](Mina)

"Oh! I didn't know that was possible. I guess you learn... *Cough*"

Seeing Helen's glare intensify, the almost naked Necromancer wisely decided to shut up.

[A Healing Cooldown, huh? Nasty...](Mira)

[Looks like you'll have to suffer for a while.](Beatrice)

[*Sigh* I'll talk to the Druids and get some pain relievers. How long do you think it'll last, Mina?](Celeste)

[At least a week...](Mina)

A collective round of gasps followed.

The Healing Cooldown was something that even the veterans among the Wanderers feared. It wasn't something fatal or life-threatening, but it was a major pain in the ass to deal with.

Simply put, if one abuses 'artificial' healing through potions or a healing skill, the body will reject any form of healing for a period of time.

What did that mean? It meant that the Wanderer had to suffer through the pain caused by whatever wounds he had for that cooldown period until the body's rejection faded.

Looking at the pitiful Necromancer, Celeste immediately used her Ring of Communication to send some orders to her subordinates. 

She was shuddering at the thought of living for a whole week with such wounds.