Transmigrator. Tower. Villains. (3)

Ativan.

Despite being a talentless hack. He was the villain who had managed to rise in the dark side of the tower. As such, even his dog-like personality didn't hide the level of competence he held when it came to being vile.

And that vile man knew. He knew it as well as the transmigrator did.

'Lutein is planning to kill me in here.'

With that knowledge resounding in his head, Ativan followed behind his blue-eyed companion.

Lights of green and blue glimmered inside the cave as bioluminescent moss and algae covered the walls of the dungeon. Every other turn, a few small monsters would pop up.

In the vanguard, Lutein swiftly struck away an approaching hound before blocking the claws of another.

He wasn't particularly troubled, but calling him relaxed would be wrong.

'He's still weak,' Ativan thought. He stood comfortably in the rear, away from all danger, as he busied himself with his thoughts.

Acting like the original Ativan didn't would have only brought him trouble.

"[Open Skill Window]" he muttered in a low voice, lifting the collars of his cloak to hide further.

As Ativan followed Lutein, a window popped up in front of his eyes.

[Ativan von Carley

Skills:

>Shadow Manipulation (D) (Growth)

>Blind Spot Attack (C)

>Sweet talk (D) (Growth)

]

Three.

Only three skills.

'No fireball?'

Ativan gulped inaudibly. The turns in the cave grew narrower as they neared the end of the dungeon. The boss room, and the room of judgment.

'Calm down, he worked with this too... He must have made a plan...'

Slowly, Ativan tapped his clothes. There was a plan, a trump card that the previous Ativan would have prepared.

After all, he had defeated the main character in the story as well. Unfortunately, the only thing mentioned in the novel was that Lutein had fallen.

'Why the hell can't those authors write more?'

Ativan was confused. But even more than that, his survival instincts were ringing. He remembered well the rage in Lutein's heart, and he knew that whether all this was a dream or whether it was just his imagination, he would die if he didn't move first. In front of his survival, his acceptance of the situation didn't hold a single thought.

A sheet of paper touched the back of his hands. Ativan's eyes widened as he realized that he held a scroll on him.

'So that's how... perfect.'

In no time at all, they were in front of a large iron gate inside the dungeon.

"Should we go in?" Lutein posed as he placed his hands on top of the door. Without waiting for an answer, he pushed the door open while Ativan scoffed at his behavior.

A dark room greeted them. Unlike the rest of the dungeon, no blue or green glows emerged from within the boss room of the dungeon. With bated breaths, Lutein and Ativan stepped inside.

Lutein reached into his bag and brought out a torch with practiced movements. Light fell on the damp stony ground of the room and the wide space stretched in all directions.

"There's not a sign of life..." Lutein muttered.

"How strange..." Ativan said, his hands peering at the scroll in his pockets.

Lutein stepped ahead and the light of the torch fell on a steep fall on the ground.

"This?" he spoke, his steps urgent as he walked closer to the edge of the ground.

Slow and deep growls rang out in the air. The sounds of many beasts, their hungry screams.

"Fuck..." Lutein said, gazing down the steep fall. Over twenty meters below the surface, as far as the eye could see, the cave continued. Filled with monsters of a level that the previous couldn't compare to, from white-furred wolves to green-skinned orcs. "This is crazy..."

"A dungeon inside a dungeon?" Lutein spoke, excitement barely contained in his voice. "God, how many people would have died without a trace in such a place?"

It was now.

This exact moment.

Everything had played out the same way as in the novel. Acting the part of Ativan the best he could had helped.

Ativan pulled out the magic scroll from his pockets, making as little noise as possible.

The magic circle engraved on it glimmered as Ativan pointed it toward Lutein's back.

Slowly, steadily, his fingers clasped the top of the scroll.

Before a rip could sound out, Lutein turned.

"HAH!" The blue-eyed man screamed and launched his sword ahead.

Ativan's eyes widened. He moved to his side on his own as the sword grazed his cheek, leaving behind a shallow cut.

"Fucker—"

Before Lutein could charge at him, Ativan's shadow surged ahead. The torch pointed at him gave him a pronounced shadow that merged with the darkness and covered the grounds. Like a tidal wave hitting the shore, the dimness crashed into Lutein's silhouette and wrapped itself around his limbs.

"Gah..." Lutein was left unmoving. Ativan's shadow had captured him perfectly and held him tight in a spot. Unable to move, a chuckle left Lutein as he saw Ativan gasping for breath while touching his wound, even during such actions his face managed to remain cold.

"Bastard... so you knew..." Lutein muttered.

'I should be the one saying that!?' Ativan's head was a mess, but he didn't let it show. Working in a black company, one of the most important skills was to keep your emotions hidden.

"You were acting strange the whole day, it was to kill me, huh?"