<h4>Chapter 20: The end of first Quest</h4>


    ''Huh! Fuck..''


    Dhruv didn''t even believe for a second that he had managed to kill the warden, even when he was lying on the floor looking exactly like a corpse... His doubt didn''tst longer, as the cosmos itself announced victory in his battle, which he is so shocked to realize.


    [You have killed an awakened human]


    [You have gained exp]


    [Please upgrade your ss to umte more exp]


    [You have earned 1500 CC.]


    The result sure brought a big smile on his face—if you ignore the part where all the exp got wasted— but the smile didn''tst longer and quickly turned into a frown when he remembered how close he had been to death just a minute ago. if it weren''t for the [Phantom voices]—the new illusion spell he had learned— this time he would have died for sure.


    But, one question is still in his mind about what kind of sound the spell produced, as he didn''t hear anything himself... but one thing is sure it was anything but pleasant. He still got shivers after remembering the type of face the warden had made after bing the victim of the spell.


    For a second, he wanted to use the spell on himself to check the performance but decided against it.


    ''Who knows what kind of horror it can produce..?''


    I mean, there is one who knows it, or more like, there was one.


    He thanked his past self for training the illusion spell without much result, as this exact thing prevented him from getting killed.


    After thinking about all the positive aspects of the fight, he started to ponder why he got this close to getting killed in the first ce. After thinking for a while, he didn''t find a reason—because there were four reasons behind his fall.


    The first and most important one would be his pride... the pride of not leaving the battle when he was tired and decided to continue fighting. If only he had left after killing two hundred men and returned even an hourter, the result would have been far better than now.


    Even worse than this was to underestimate his opponents without knowing full well about their strengths and weaknesses.


    Even after underestimating the warden, he would have gotten away from there if only he had paid attention to his surroundings. And that''s where his second weakness lies—his inability to read the battlefield. If he had been aware of his surroundings in advance. When it was time to escape, he would not have been trapped in the room... where his only escape route was blocked by corpses, preventing him from retreating.


    And the third reason is that... Doing things without creating a fool-proof n—we all know there is no such thing as a fool-proof n, as even minor things can create a big variable. But what was Dhruv''s approach towards this fight—I go, I fight, I kill, or I die—even a monkey can create a better n than this bullshit? If only, even for a second, he had considered the warden being one of the chosen ones, the fight result would have progressed in a totally different direction. In the direction of his smooth victory.


    Andst but not least, not being strong enough.


    Everything can be neglected if he is strong enough to crush everything. He knows if he had some more time, learned some more spells, practiced some more... then things would have been different.


    But deep down, he also knew that no matter how much he trained.. At the end of the day, he only had himself to fight, whereas his enemy could bring hundreds, even thousands, ofpanions with them. Like how the warden had used his men to tire him out.


    It''s not that he wanted to run from fighting, that he greed for allies instead; instead, it''s theplete opposite of that... He wants allies so he can go to war with an enemy he can''t handle alone.


    ''But where can I find worthy, loyal, and powerful allies in this world?''


    The main concern is that, as he cannot just let any random human join his team... If he has to build a team. That team was going to be the most powerful anyone had ever seen.


    Yet again, the question is how he will find worthy members for his team...


    As he contemted this, a sudden idea popped into his head.


    Like how the warden had used his necromancer ss to create undead to fight for him.. In that sense, if in the next ss upgraded, If he gets any ss rted to necromancy, beast taming, summoning, or anything like that. Then he can advance in his n. But, then again, this alles down to luck—the luck of getting one of these sses as an option.


    ''I should ask Coby, how the ss option works, next time we meet''


    ~~~


    In the chilling moonlight, a ghastly figure emerges from the shadows—a man in his


    twenties, standing an imposing 1.8 meters tall. His long, matted hair dances wildly in the cold breeze, casting an eerie silhouette against the night. But something is horribly wrong with his clothes, which are stained and soaked with blood.


    With each step, a murderous aura surrounds him, and a haunting whisper seems to echo from the darkness. The young man carries a lifeless body draped over his shoulder, its limbs dangling limply as if mere shells to his past self.


    The path he follows leads to a dreadful site—an area where the pale moonlight illuminates a small mountain of corpses, some of which were fresh, while others were decaying beyond recognition. A stench of decaying smell Each lifeless form lies tangled and contorted, a haunting testament to an unknown horror that has befallen them.


    As the man nears the grotesque mound, he seems unfazed, almost numb to the horrific sight. His eyes gleam with an unnatural intensity, reflecting a resolve that sends shivers down the spine of anyone who dares look upon him.


    He was none other than Dhruv, who had decided to burn all the corpses of the prison. Not for any sentimental value or anything, but purely from a logical perspective. He has decided that this prison will be his stronghold... where everything has started or ended.


    He puts thest corpse on that pile and sprinkles some oil, which he had found in the kitchen so that the fire would be able to spread quickly. As he was about to light it when he heard a sound... the sound he became so familiar with after a week–


    The sound of the cosmos..


    [Main Quest #01- The path of Expertise has ended]