Chapter 390 It’s The Monsters Wearing Human Skins That We Should Worry About
In one of the most popular inns in Otto City, a young man with red hair and blue eyes sipped his tea on a balcony as he listened to the words of one of the Elders of the Asta Family.
“She arrived in the city just an hour ago, and went to the Red Deer Inn,” the middle-aged man with gray hair said. “While I’m not a hundred percent sure, I think she will challenge the Dungeon tomorrow.”
“Fair enough,” the young man replied. “How about my cousin? Is he already inside the Dungeon?”
“Yes,” the middle-aged man replied. “He seems to want to get this over with and challenged the Dungeon two days ago.”
The young man smiled and nodded his head.
“Well, if I were in his shoes, I would have done the same.”
“Then why didn’t you enter the Dungeon as well? Why wait until Nicole’s arrival?”
The young man shook his head before glancing at the city in front of him.
“I’m not interested in Nicole,” the young man replied. “The one I’m interested in is one of the people whom she chose to bring on this challenge. As someone who was born from a concubine, she sure clawed her way to the top.
“I don’t know why Grandmother and Grandfather think highly of her, even including her as a participant in the Heir Wars. But at most, she is merely one of the stepping stones that will pave the way for the one, true heir of the Asta Family.”
The middle-aged man smirked after hearing the young man’s words.
“And are you going to be that one, true heir?” the middle-aged man inquired.
“No.” The young man shook his head. “I’m also one of the stepping stones in this game. How can I possibly win, when there are two monsters who'd be participating in the Heir Wars? I might be aware of my talent, but I’m not delusional.”
“It’s good that you know your place.” The middle-aged man nodded. “You won’t be disappointed if you didn’t have any expectations in the first place.”
“I know, right?”
“So what is your plan?”
The young man took another sip of his tea before giving his answer.
“Since I’m bound to lose in the future, I might as well look into the companions that my step-sibling has brought with her. Who knows? I might be able to make use of this information to rub shoulders with those two monsters.”
The young man placed the empty cup of tea back on the table before closing his eyes.
The Asta Family was very ambitious in starting the Super Soldier Project.
How could they not be?
They even had the support of the King from the shadows, all for the sole purpose of creating a strong person who would protect the Kingdom in its time of need.
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“We will rest today and challenge the Dungeon tomorrow,” Nicole stated. “But before that, let me tell you the identity of the two people who are also challenging the Weeping Dungeon.”
Ethan and Samantha perked up because Nicole still hadn’t told them whom she was competing with.
They only knew that two other people from the Asta Family were also in Otto City.
“The first one is my cousin, Preston Asta. Twenty-two years old,” Nicole said. “I don’t know much about him except my father’s comment that he was quite a ruthless individual.
“The second is the third and youngest son of my father, Luca Asta. He is one of the smartest people that I know, but not one of the bravest. The only battles he fights are the ones he thinks he can win.
“Frankly, both of my competitors are troublesome. One is ruthless, the other sly. If possible, I don’t want to encounter them inside the Dungeon.”
Nicole said these things with a smile on her face, which didn't match the words that left her mouth.
Although she said that she didn’t want to encounter them inside the Dungeon, her facial expression said otherwise.
If Ethan didn’t know better, he was certain that Nicole might just make sure that her two competitors wouldn’t be leaving the Weeping Dungeon alive.
“I will contact the Elder who will supervise me on this mission tonight,” Nicole said. “It’s someone from the Branch Family whom I’ve only met once at a family gathering. His role is to simply observe us and make sure that we abide by the rules of the Heir Wars.”
Nicole then stared at her two companions, who were looking back at him with solemn looks on their faces.
“Any questions?” Nicole asked.
“Is your brother as good-looking as you?” Samantha asked.
“Good looks run in our family,” Nicole replied.
“What’s your relationship with him?” Ethan asked. “Are the two of you close?”
This time, the smile on Nicole’s face changed to a sneer.
“The only time I’ll get close to my brothers and sisters is when they are dead,” Nicole answered.
“Wow, this is some next-level family feud.” Samantha covered her lips and giggled. “I heard rumors about the Asta Family, but hearing it from you makes those rumors feel so fake.”
Due to Nicole’s answer, it was very easy to infer that she didn’t get along with her family.
In fact, if they were to treat her words literally, she meant that she didn’t mind them dying as well.
Samantha then glanced at Ethan and smirked.
“It’s too bad the one you are going to compete with are both guys,” Samantha smiled. “If either or both were girls, all we’d need to do is ask Ethan to take off his Wizard Robe, and this competition would become a walk in the park.”
“Hello? We’re also fighting dungeon monsters.” Ethan flicked Samantha’s forehead with his finger. “Get your mind out of the gutter, will you?”
“That hurts, dammit!” Samantha rubbed her forehead. “Is this how you seduce girls into your harem? First, you show them your body, then you use skinship to butter them up. Are you planning to add me to your harem, too?”
“Maybe in your next life,” Ethan replied in a casual manner. “Right now, you’re not good enough.”
“I take offense to that. Are you saying that I’m not beautiful enough?”
“It’s not about beauty, okay? It’s about personality. You are like an Auntie trapped in a teenage girl’s body.”
Ethan and Samantha had become close enough to trade this playful banter.
This was not the young man’s fault but Samantha’s uncanny ability to befriend anyone, even if she had just met that person.
Even Ethan found Samantha’s company quite refreshing. Truth be told, he had many girlfriends. But, he didn’t have many girl friends.
“You two behave while I’m gone,” Nicole said before walking towards the door of the room. “I’ll go and inform that Elder of our arrival.”
Nicole didn’t even wait to hear her two companions’ replies and left the room without a second glance.
“What do you think?” Samantha asked with a serious expression on her face. Her earlier playful remarks had long vanished. “Can we reach the 20th Floor with just the three of us?
“I’ve read through the records that Nicole had given me. At a positive estimate, we can only reach the 15th Floor. Anywhere above that is far too dangerous for the three of us. Even the Ancient Minotaur Boss on the 15th Floor is not going to be an easy opponent.”
“We’ll know once we give it a try,” Ethan replied. “Honestly, I’m not really worried about the Monsters. It’s the Monsters wearing Human skins that we should worry about.”
“True.” Samantha nodded.
Facing Monsters, at least they knew what they were dealing with.
But Humans? There was no telling when they were going to stab someone in the back or do things that were way worse than what Monsters could do.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺