Becoming a God Starts with Acting

"Bang!"

Mason had barely stepped into the room when the deafening noise made him flinch so hard that he immediately shrank back, hiding behind John.

"He's losing it! We're all going to die!" Mason muttered desperately.

On the other side of the room, after slicing a table in half, Drake sheathed his sword and sat down, though his expression remained far from relaxed.

Leaning back, he sighed, "This is so damn annoying. Thinking is a pain. Why don't we go up there and cut down all those monsters instead?"

He suddenly laughed, and his eyes gleamed with madness for a fleeting moment.

Unable to hold back, Ron interjected, "Captain, quit joking around. You don't want us to be stuck here, do you?"

Drake kicked over a nearby chair, his voice filled with frustration. "If I'd known these monsters wouldn't fight, I should've sent Silas in here instead. He loves overthinking and rambling—this place would suit him just fine."

Just as Drake finished speaking, Mason's voice suddenly rang out, full of despair.

"What the hell are you saying?! You're the Captain and talking like you're completely useless! We'll die here, and it's all because of you!"

He sounded like he'd lost his mind from fear.

"I want out! I want out! Why the hell am I in this godforsaken place?!" Mason grabbed John's shoulders, shaking him violently. "John, this is all your fault! We should have left the danger zone—why didn't you take me out of here?!"

John had been on edge the entire time. Hearing Mason suddenly blame him, his brows furrowed as he shoved Mason away. "Are you insane?! You were the one who wanted to stay! And now you're blaming me?!"

Mason fell to the ground, clutching his head as he cursed, "Damn it, this cursed continent should've been wiped off the map ages ago! I want out! It's just a fat, ugly freak—nothing to be scared of! I have to get out! I have to go home!"

"He's not in his right mind. It looks like his mental state has been affected, making him emotionally unstable," Stall suddenly said to Jessica. He glanced at the clock on the wall—it was already nighttime. It was hard to imagine what would happen to Mason if he went outside at this hour.

Jessica looked at Drake, her eyes questioning. At this point, everyone had reluctantly accepted him as the leader.

Drake watched Mason's staggering figure rush toward the door and click his tongue before suddenly stepping toward him.

Sensing danger, Mason turned to face Drake and stammered, trying to sound harsh, "W-What do you want? If a government officer dares to attack a civilian, I'll sue—"

Bang!

Before Mason could finish his sentence, Drake raised a hand and slammed his head against the wall. The loud impact made John jump, and even Silvanus, who had been quietly observing, swallowed hard.

No doubt, violence was terrible, but in this case… it was undeniably compelling.

Mason's mouth fell open, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious. The entire room fell into silence.

"You. Tie him up. And gag him while you're at it," Drake ordered, then muttered under his breath, "Should've just cut his tongue out…"

Hearing his name, John wasted no time obeying—he had no intention of ending up like Mason.

At that moment, Ron suddenly said, "Based on the information we've gathered so far, the monsters in this Dungeon are different from the ones we've encountered before. They have intelligence and can disguise themselves as humans, meaning they're more substantial and cunning.

"However, they seem to be bound by rules. They can't harm players unless they break the rules or show signs of being unable to complete their mission. We've found our first clue—going outside at night might be against the rules.

"But the troublemakers only appear at night, which means we must go out to complete the mission. This is a trap. There might not be any real troublemakers—just a setup by the monsters to wipe us out."

Ron deliberately spoke in such detail for the people in the room and to relay information to those outside.

Observing the Dungeon from the outside, Frank couldn't help but secretly wipe away a tear. "At least Ron made it inside. If Drake and Fiona were together, I can't imagine how we'd get any information."

Cocona smirked mockingly. "Lucky for him, at least one of his teammates knows how to think."

[Oh, not lousy speculation, but this Dungeon is truly a nightmare for the strong—especially those arrogant ones like Drake.]

[That's right. They've figured out the surface-level rules, but whether they can avoid them is another question. The moment they get injured, it's over for them. Hahaha.]

Another helpful piece of information. Silvanus quietly jotted it down in his notes.

Outside, Drake yawned and spoke nonchalantly, "Alright, everyone gets some rest. No matter what happens tonight, we have to go out."

Though the Count had told them they could split into different rooms, he hadn't assigned them any. Staying together in one room was the safest option, especially for newcomers.

As soon as he finished speaking, Drake flopped onto the bed. The others exchanged glances before reluctantly settling down to rest as well.

"I have a bad feeling about this, even though Captain Drake is powerful," Stall whispered near Jessica's ear.

Stall's instincts were usually right. Jessica frowned slightly and said, "Let's focus on doing our part. If there's a danger Drake can't handle, do you think we could?"

Tick-tock, tick-tock. The wall clock struck midnight.

The air suddenly turned unnaturally cold.

At that very moment, Drake's eyes snapped open.

Shhhh… shhhh…

A wet, sticky sound echoed through the darkness, like a giant slug patrolling the halls. In the silence of the night, the sound was unnervingly clear to Espers like them.

Drake grinned exaggeratedly. His massive blade whooshed into his hand with a flick of his wrist. The others were already on their feet, their expressions tense as they stared toward the door.

Fwoosh!

Fiona waved her hand, snuffing out all the candles at once. The room plunged into absolute darkness.

Only now did they realize just how dark it was—so pitch-black that an ordinary person wouldn't even be able to see their fingers.

John, seemingly waking up instinctively, hesitated. "W-What the hell is going on…?"

Even so, he quickly grabbed a wooden stick nearby, hoping it might offer him protection.

The sh sound grew louder and louder—until it all at once stopped.

A thick, putrid scent of fresh blood seeped into the room.

John's face twisted in disgust, and he couldn't help but gag.

The second he made a noise—

Creak.

The door to their room was suddenly pressed in from the outside.

Ron instantly lunged forward, clamping a hand over John's mouth, signaling him to stay quiet.

John, trembling with fear, nodded frantically, tears pooling in his eyes.

The presence outside hadn't left.

Even through the door, they could feel the countless eyes watching them.

There was no doubt this was the creature that had devoured the previous batch of humans.

Silence engulfed the room, save for the heavy pounding of their hearts.

And then—

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

A sudden, ear-piercing scream shattered the silence.

Everyone's heads snapped toward Mason.

Even though he had been tightly bound like a cocoon, he had somehow woken up—and was now thrashing and screaming wildly.

Fiona lunged forward, smacking the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, unconscious once more.

But it was too late.

The creature outside had noticed them.

Drake clicked his tongue. "I knew it—I should've just cut out his tongue from the start."

Under the door's crack, a thick, inky-black substance began to ooze inside.

It looked like oil—but the overpowering stench of blood was suffocating, pressing down on them as if the entire room was being crushed under its weight.

Then, all of a sudden—

A massive eye snapped open within the pool of darkness.

Its sclera was unnervingly large, while its pupil was a tiny black dot in the center.

It rolled around wildly, scanning every inch of the room.