After killing the boss, Kanzaki Rei did not immediately go over to collect the loot.
Instead, he hurried to Ross and Maizel and forced several potions down their throats.
A Recovery Potion worth 2 gold coins.
It could heal extremely severe injuries. For Level 3 adventurers, it was practically a miracle medicine.
After that, he administered curse-removal, purification, and awakening potions.
In roughly half a minute—
the two of them slowly opened their eyes one after the other.
The moment they woke, they looked around in confusion.
At first, their expressions were filled with fear.
But on the second glance—
they saw Kanzaki Rei standing beside them.
That familiar, bright smile.
"You're awake."
Maizel still looked a little dazed.
"Captain?"
"What are you doing here?"
Ross pressed a hand against her head.
"I remember… we ran into a Monarch-Class…"
Her memories suddenly snapped together.
Fragments from before she lost consciousness surged back.
They had encountered a Monarch-Class monster.
It had captured them.
And then—
everything went dark.
Being captured by a Monarch-Class monster was no different from death.
Yet now…
she was still alive?
Ross looked down at her hands.
…No.
Her body was still covered with wounds.
Ross raised her hand, releasing a soft healing light that enveloped the two of them. The fine cuts and injuries across their bodies began to heal rapidly.
In truth, even if she hadn't cast healing magic—
under the effect of Kanzaki Rei's 2-gold Recovery Potion, their injuries would soon recover completely anyway.
"Rei… was it you who saved us?"
"Yeah. It was me."
Kanzaki Rei had no reason to deny it.
Ross looked around the surroundings.
"We… should probably run, right?"
"No need to run. I killed it."
Pfft—
Hearing Kanzaki Rei's straightforward reply, Ross burst out laughing.
Just moments ago she had been thinking the same thing—
they were clearly still inside the dungeon, so if the Monarch-Class monster was nearby, they should escape immediately.
And yet—
the Blood-Origin Monarch had actually been killed by him.
Ross asked,
"What about the others?"
"The others? There weren't any. Just me."
…
"Wait."
"Just you?"
Maizel blinked.
"Huh?"
"I passed by the Adventurers' Guild and saw your names on the missing persons list, so I came straight here."
"There wasn't time to gather anyone else."
That answer made both of them freeze for a moment.
They could believe that Kanzaki Rei had the strength to kill a Monarch-Class monster.
But they had never imagined he would come here alone.
After all—
Kanzaki Rei was extremely cautious.
During the ten days they had traveled together, they had witnessed just how careful he was.
Even when his strength exceeded his enemies by a hundred times, he would still face them with careful preparation and humility.
Entering a dungeon alone was something that absolutely didn't seem like Kanzaki Rei's style.
For someone like him…
he would at least bring along a Defender and a healer.
"You killed the Blood-Origin Monarch… by yourself?"
"If you were alone, who cut off its blood pool connection?"
Kanzaki Rei blinked.
"Cut off the blood pool connection… what does that mean?"
…
Silence fell again.
"The Blood-Origin Monarch is connected to the massive blood pool outside."
"To kill it, you must sever its blood supply. Otherwise it can continuously regenerate through the blood pool."
With the blood pool feeding it—
the Blood-Origin Monarch was practically invincible.
"You… really didn't sever the blood pool connection?"
Kanzaki Rei gave a helpless smile.
"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."
Wait…
You really brute-forced it to death?
Brother Rei…
are you even human?
Killing a Monarch-Class monster was already impressive enough.
But ignoring the boss mechanics and forcing it down through raw damage?
That was completely outside their understanding.
Kanzaki Rei spoke again.
"Maizel, could you help collect the loot?"
"Oh! Sure!"
"No problem at all—leave it to me!"
Having just had his life saved, Maizel obviously wasn't about to mention something mundane like charging money.
He headed toward the Blood Sacrifice Hall.
After looking down for a moment, he scratched his head.
"Uh… there doesn't seem to be much for me to collect…"
There was only a set of armor lying on the ground.
And five perfectly round blood beads.
These beads didn't disperse like ordinary blood.
Instead, they permanently maintained the form of crystal-clear spheres.
"I'll check over there."
Maizel possessed the skill 「Resource Detection」, allowing him to sense valuable items nearby.
This was one of the advantages of being a Gatherer.
As he spoke, he walked toward the throne.
Passing the altar, he climbed up onto the throne platform…
And the moment he climbed up—
his teeth began to chatter.
"Th-This!"
"Th-this…!"
Maizel's voice trembled so badly he could barely speak.
"Find something?"
Kanzaki Rei stored the armor and blood beads into his storage space, then gently used a burst of wind to propel himself forward, arriving beside Maizel in an instant.
Maizel lifted a crimson scroll.
"A secret scroll."
Kanzaki Rei frowned.
"A secret scroll?"
"Yeah… a Class Change Secret Scroll."
Maizel explained,
"Ancient classes. Forbidden classes. Classes that no longer circulate in the world. Lost professions that have disappeared for centuries…"
"Sometimes they appear in the form of secret scrolls."
"Some classes are strictly forbidden to change into."
"For example, Death Priest—they sacrifice life, summon evil entities, and spread curses. Every promotion requirement involves killing more people."
"Then there's the Skin-Stealer. They kill enemies and take their skin, gaining their appearance, skills, even talents. They possess multiple identities. Their advancement criteria usually revolve around mass murder and harvesting skins."
"And the Doom Prophet, a class with only three levels. They predict the coming apocalypse and must actively bring it about while leveling. By Level 3, they must cause the end of the world."
"All of them are extremely evil and dangerous professions that threaten the world itself."
Yeah…
That did sound pretty terrifying.
Kanzaki Rei could understand why such classes were banned.
Maizel continued.
"Some of them are ancient classes."
"In ancient times, the class system was different from what we have today. For example, there were no Engineers back then, but there were classes like Berserkers and Dragon Knights."
"Those professions have already been lost to history, but they can sometimes appear through secret scrolls."
"Then there are classes like Thief, Assassin, and Trickster…"
"They're not allowed to circulate because their advancement paths inherently damage order and peace."
Kanzaki Rei frowned.
"Isn't an assassin the same thing as a killer?"
Maizel shook his head seriously.
"No. Assassins are legally recognized."
Heh.
Kanzaki Rei immediately understood.
So there were political power struggles involved too.
Maizel continued,
"The last category is unique lost professions."
"These classes can only exist with one single holder in the entire world."
"For example: Sword Saint, Seer, Rebirth Ascendant…"
"But I've heard that those classes require special conditions to unlock. Even if you have the corresponding secret scroll, you might still be unable to complete the class change."
"I've been working as a Gatherer for so many years."
"This is the first time I've ever seen a secret scroll."
"So what class does this scroll contain?" Kanzaki Rei asked.
Maizel shook his head.
"It needs to be appraised first."
"But if you sold it…"
Maizel swallowed hard.
"It would probably sell for at least 300,000 gold coins."
"And if it contains an even rarer profession… the price would only go higher."
"It could easily reach tens of millions… even hundreds of millions."
Hearing that number—
even Kanzaki Rei froze for a moment.
That was way too much money.
A trace of envy and greed flickered in Maizel's eyes.
But it disappeared almost immediately.
He knew this wasn't something that belonged to him.
"Captain… this secret scroll is yours."
As he spoke, he shoved the scroll into Kanzaki Rei's hands—
then turned his head away, refusing to look at it again.
Otherwise…
he was afraid he might not be able to resist the temptation.