To be honest, Steven had no idea where this place was.
Nor did he know why this guy was targeting Gladiia.
Hell, he didn't even know who this cloaked bastard was.
After all, he was only here to see some bloodshed.
But there was one thing he did understand—
The guy in front of him was a red dot on the minimap.
And that was all that mattered.
Without giving the man a chance to explain himself, Steven vanished from his spot, leaving only a fading afterimage behind.
In an instant, he was standing right beside the cloaked figure.
Honestly, Steven was the type to skip boss intro cutscenes.
Did you really think he'd let this clown monologue?
Come on, time was precious.
Who the hell cares if the villain had some tragic backstory?
If you did something terrible, you should be prepared to face the consequences.
Steven had zero patience for sob stories.
Without a sound, his Netherite Sword pressed against the man's throat.
After a brief moment of thought, he decided to be generous—
He'd give the guy a single sentence. A final parting word, so to speak.
After all, even if he skipped the opening, it wouldn't hurt to at least watch the ending, right?
"You've got one sentence. Make it count."
Ignoring the shock flashing in the cloaked man's eyes, Steven lazily yawned.
His entire demeanor screamed bored office worker waiting for his shift to end.
"…I think there might be a misunderstanding between us. Why don't we sit down and talk this out, sir?"
The cloaked man truly hadn't expected this.
How the hell had this kid bypassed all of his monstrous guards?
But then, remembering how effortlessly Steven had stopped the Sea Terror, it suddenly didn't seem that impossible.
Abyssal Hunters already possessed unheard-of physical capabilities.
But this boy—
This boy had completely shattered his understanding of human limits.
Was he really human? Or something… else?
The cloaked man didn't have time to ponder.
He opened his mouth, ready to keep negotiating, but before he could get another word out, his world spun upside down.
His entire field of vision flipped violently.
And then—
THUD
He landed on the ground.
Only now, as he lay there, did he see it—
A headless corpse, dressed in familiar black robes.
—Wait.
Wasn't that… him?
But where was his head—?
"Too much talking. That counts as a sentence, by the way."
Steven's voice rang from above.
But the cloaked man could no longer answer.
Steven glanced at the faintly glowing, greenish goo staining his sword.
His face scrunched in disgust.
"Ugh. So it only looked like a human on the outside, but on the inside is still up for debate."
He had zero intention of checking under the hood to admire the bastard's final expression.
Instead, he simply lifted his gaze.
The now masterless fish-like monsters were beginning to stir—
Unrestrained.
Uncontrolled.
Well, time to clean up the mess.
Still, how the hell did his adopted daughter end up attracting this level of eldritch garbage?
Shaking his head in confusion, Steven quickly counted the remaining creatures.
Less than ten.
Though, to be fair, they did look a bit more intimidating than the other monsters he'd come across in this world.
Mostly because of those eerie, crystallized growths covering their bodies.
—But honestly?
That was just good aesthetics.
The out-of-control fish-like monsters stirred restlessly, their bloodthirsty eyes naturally locking onto Steven and Gladiia—the two beings that clearly did not belong among them.
"ROAR!"
A furious bellow finally shattered their restraint, and the crazed creatures lunged at Steven and Gladiia as if possessed.
"Well, that works. Saves me the trouble of going after you myself."
Gripping the hilt of his longsword, Steven effortlessly sidestepped the first monster's lunging bite. In the same fluid motion, his blade swept across its neck.
The Sharpness V Nether Netherite Sword sliced through its flesh as effortlessly as cutting tofu, severing skin, muscle, and bone alike.
The creature's head flew cleanly off before it even realized what had happened.
[Ding! You have slain a plot monster, World Acknowledgement Point +20]
A notification flashed in the lower right of his vision, instantly lifting his mood.
No matter what, gaining WAP was always a win.
Sure, it was a small amount—like scraping meat off a mosquito's leg—but hey, meat was meat.
He slashed again, effortlessly cleaving through another monster that lunged at him. A slight grin tugged at his lips.
These things were fast. Stronger too—definitely more powerful than the monsters he had encountered on the shores earlier.
But that was only relative.
Against Steven's overwhelming power?
Even if they doubled in strength, 1 x 2 was still just 2.
In the blink of an eye, two monsters had already fallen.
Even though they had lost their master's control, their instincts screamed at them—
This prey was dangerous.
Originally, some of them had been preparing to pounce on Gladiia.
But now, all their bloodthirsty, savage gazes turned toward Steven instead.
"Oh? Didn't expect you guys to have teamwork."
His grin widened.
"So you realized you can't take me one-on-one, so you're ganging up instead?"
That actually made things easier for him.
Now, he wouldn't even have to worry about protecting Gladiia.
In a way, these monsters were being very considerate.
Feeling grateful, Steven decided to return the favor—
He would grant them a quick and painless death.
It was the least he could do for these creatures, who were clearly victims of artificial modification.
But then, something unexpected happened.
As the monsters grouped together, the amber-colored crystalline growths on their bodies began to glow ominously.
Steven instinctively halted his sword.
Because—
That pulsing glow…
It gave him serious Creeper detonation vibes.
Oh shit.
Were they gonna blow up?!
Jumping straight to self-destruction?
Damn, these guys don't mess around.
Due to feeling curious about this pulsing glow thing, Steven didn't interrupt them.
Instead, he decided to wait and see what kind of surprise they had in store for him.
Ever since entering this world, most of the monsters he had encountered were feral beasts, brainless things that only knew how to bite and tear.
But if he remembered correctly, this world had magic, right?
He distinctly recalled Irene mentioning something called Originium Arts.
Steven was intrigued.
He had dabbled in arcane enchantments, blood magic, and even plant-based sorcery before.
But this Originium Art stuff?
Now that was new.
And the monsters did not disappoint.
As their amber crystals finished charging, they turned blood red, and in unison, the creatures raised their claws toward him.
The earth beneath him trembled.
And then countless razor-sharp spikes erupted from the ground, shooting straight toward him.