Good Fortune Arrives In A Cloud

"I really got sent back."

At the center of the starting hall, a young man stared calmly at the god of creation's statue. Though, if one looked closer, they would notice that his fists were clenched and there was a hidden madness in his eyes which could barely be concealed.

"Were you the one who sent me back?" Despite knowing he wouldn't get an answer, the man still asked.

At this time, most of the people who had been loitering around the hall had already disappeared into the four archways and the only ones left were the man and a few stragglers.

"... Whoever it was that sent me back... Thank you. I'll repay this debt."

Then, he walked away, picking up a heavy bag along the way.

...

Bang! Bang! Crash!!!

Gunfire rang loudly through the dim corridors.

"Damn! There's way more than expected!" Hansel growled between gritted teeth. If this carries on, all the ammo they brought with them would run out sooner or later.

'If it weren't for those three, we wouldn't be in this situation!'

Hansel clicked his tongue in anger.

"Brother! Let's leave them and run!" He turned towards his brother and shouted through the gunfire.

"What about those two?" The older man motioned towards the two girls hiding at the back as he reloaded his gun.

"Just abandon them!" Hansel said coldly.

At this moment, the three who were the cause of Hansel's plight, finally reached the corner, skidding right past Hansel and his brother before they could react.

"Fountain!" A white haired boy shouted urgently, his golden eyes glistening with anxiety as he was carried on the back of a disheveled beastman.

"Got it!" The beastman who was sporting quite a number of small wounds shouted back as he dashed straight to the fountain with determination.

"Oya~ Leo-san, be careful not to drop our precious prince now, alright?" Following close behind the two was a smiling man who strangely looked like a mischievous fox.

"I know!" The man called Leo grinned in amusement.

With the way they acted, one wouldn't think that they were being chased by a hoard of monsters until they saw the creatures behind them.

'Just who are these people?!'

Hansel thought to himself in shock.

"Hansel!" Suddenly a sharp shout woke him from his thoughts but, by the time Hansel could get his bearings, the monsters had already come too close.

"Brother!"

Boom! Crash!

...

Splash!

As Leo jumped straight into the fountain, causing the crystalline water to splash in every direction, Haneul immediately got off his back.

"Ha-ack! Hiss!" Unfortunately, he forgot that he still had an injured leg, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the water.

"Oh! Hey! You alright?" Leo instinctively asked in concern as he tried to help Haneul up, only to be shooed away with a flailing arm.

At this time, Haneul's eyes were sparkling with surprise.

[You have discovered a pool of spiritual water.]

[Your skill: Absorption (Low), is reacting to the spiritual water.]

[Commencing Automatic Absorption: 1.2%... 2.7%... 5.6%...]

Suddenly, the fountain began to tremble, as if something beneath it was beginning to wake up.

In the blink of an eye, the water in the fountain began to evaporate in an extremely fast pace, forming a cloud of white mist which surrounded a white haired boy at the center.

The mist, as if a young maiden who finally found her long lost lover, behaved in an intimate manner, caressing the boy's face, slipping through his fingers, tugging at the corner of his clothes, and finally disappearing into his skin.

Haneul began to sigh in contentment as a comfortable warmth coursed through his entire body.

[Conditions have been met. Mana Stat has been unlocked.]

[Mana +10]

[Mana +10]

[Mana +10]

"Hoh~" Red, who had gotten in the fountain shortly after the other two did, smiled to himself mysteriously. "It's getting more interesting now."

...

"Brother! In front!" Hansel shouted in fear. Before his eyes, a humongous monster which was at least thrice the size of the others, sporting a carapace filled with human faces, towered above his brother.

With its sickled claw raised above his brother's head, it was obvious that the man wouldn't be able to escape.

For the first time in his life, Hansel's mind blanked as he desperately tried to run towards his brother. "Brother!"

"Hansel..." The older man, as if realizing his imminent doom, turned his gaze towards Hansel as he softly whispered. "You have to live."

"Brother!!!"

Boom!!!

Suddenly, the ground began to wildly shake, causing parts of the walls to crack and crumble.

"SHIII??!!"

"GRAAAHH??!!"

With the commotion and falling debris, even the monsters were thrown into confusion.

Fssss...

As if a smoke bomb had been thrown into the corridor, a blanket of mist began to envelope the entire maze.

And it wasn't only in the northern maze, even the mazes to the east, west, and south, including the starting hall, were affected.

A sea of mist began to rush through numerous corridors, passing through the legs of confused people and monsters, and finally arriving to their destination.

Around the white-haired boy, thick clouds of mist covered the entirety of his body, forming a white cocoon that separated him from the outside world.

As if preordained, all the monsters in the whole dungeon stood as still as frozen sculptures, and looked towards a single direction.

"W-what... is this..?" With the tension suddenly vanishing from his body, Hansel slumped to the ground, his legs suddenly giving out.

Taking the chance while the monsters were immobile, the older man raised his gun once again and began to quickly finish off the vicious-looking creatures which had surrounded them.

One by one, the monsters fell to ground without a sound, not even trying to resist a single bit.

And, as the silence finally returned, amidst the corpses of hundreds of monsters, only the giant white cocoon stood pristinely at the center.

"What exactly are you?" Beside the cocoon, a strange man in traditional japanese attire looked at the apparition in front of him as he muttered thoughtfully.