It didn't take Rey very long to reach the doorstep of the Royal Dungeon's compound.

He could see the tall buildings of the refineries and processing centers.

He imagined that most of these buildings had been rendered useless due to an absence of enough raw materials to process, but he didn't allow that to distract him.

'The Nation's impoverished state will soon improve once we start exploring the Dungeon.'

Right now, he just had to make sure he got a slice of the wealth before it was taken from him.

'It's been about two hours since Brutus and Lucielle left the Royal Estate to come here. I better hurry…'

Rey already knew that it was impossible for them to clear such a large supply of Monster Core within such a limited time, so there was no need to panic too much.

However, he couldn't help the bad feeling he was getting.

It felt like if he didn't hurry, he would lose everything he had worked for.

'Alright, then…'

As he slowly descended from his elevated height, he decided to go with the classic [Projection] trick with the guards.

They were all stationary and observant, but compared to his current state, they could pretty much have been sitting ducks.

The only ones he had to be worried about were Lucielle and Brutus, and those two were probably still in the Dungeon at this point.

'I'll make this quick!' Rey licked his lips and concentrated his energy.

'[Projec—]'

Before he could complete the activation of his Skill, the doors began to open from within, and two figures abruptly came out.

'W-what?!'

The duo was none other than Lucielle and Brutus, and they had disturbed expressions on their faces.

'They're done already?!' He was genuinely surprised, and for good reason.

'Once they noticed the Sixth Level had been subjugated, they would have gone to the seventh and met the Hobgoblins.'

He doubted they wouldn't be surprised about the Hobgoblin civilization. They were sure to explore more, and it was inevitable that they would find the stash of Monster Cores.

That was how Rey had expected the whole thing to turn out.

'I can't believe they're done with all that already. I knew they'd be fast, but not this fast.'

Rey wondered if he had underestimated the capabilities of the Head Warrior and Grand Mage.

However, almost as soon as he thought that, a question flashed in his mind.

'Something is off, though. Why do they look so disturbed?!'

The looks on both their faces were awful—almost as if they were too distraught for words.

'I mean, shouldn't it be the opposite? They should be rejoicing that they found so much treasure.'

The Sixth Floor had been cleared by him, but the minerals there were still going to be incredibly useful to the Nation.

… Especially the Magic Crystals.

'Then there's the Orichalcum on the Sixth Floor, and the Monster Cores.'

Rey didn't know if they had made it to the Seventh Floor, but if they did, they would have seen even more goodies.

… All for free!

'I mean, sure, they'd be disappointed that we won't be able to train with the fodder of those Floors, but I'm sure they'd be more overjoyed about what they found.'

Besides, since Lucielle and Brutus were so capable, Rey didn't have any doubts that they could lead him and his classmates to the lower Floors without much trouble.

Yet… what was with this look?!

'Something is definitely wrong.'

As Brutus and Lucielle slowly departed from the gates, Rey decided to abandon his initial plan and instead follow the two.

That was when he heard it…

"This is serious. I can't believe all those Floors were conquered…"

Rey realized they probably figured out someone did it. However, since evidence didn't point towards him, he knew he was safe.

"It looks like the makings of a powerful Monster. Nothing else explains it…"

Rey smiled to himself as Lucielle sang his praises.

Of course, not the monster part. He was by no means a monster of any kind.

Rey was simply happy that he was recognized as someone powerful by the Nation's Strongest.

"Hobgoblins and Darkwolves are certainly not the strongest, but the way they were brutally slaughtered can only be the work of a very merciless beast."

'… Eh?'

It was at this point that Rey realized that something was amiss in their discussion.

'What Hobgoblins? What NightWolves?'

Rey was currently a bird, and his senses were all heightened thanks to a Skill, so he was sure they hadn't detected him and he heard them clearly.

'What did they just say?'

"And even the strange ape-like creatures. Their mutilated corpses were just. The burn scars and claw marks…"

"Their Monster Cores and teeth were removed too. It's clearly an intelligent monster…"

Rey knew he was responsible for sending the Hobs to harvest the Monster Cores of the Monkey Monsters, but he didn't resort to burns or claws when defeating them, and he certainly knew the Hobgoblins wouldn't do that either.

'And the teeth? I didn't take those as well.'

Now that Rey thought about it, the teeth of those monsters had to be valuable due to how tough they were, but he hadn't recognized that when he subjugated them.

'The Hobgoblins won't do anything I didn't instruct them to…'

And even on the off chance that they were the ones responsible for that, who was the one that killed them then?

The more Rey thought about what he was hearing, the more absurd it sounded.

"… And to think the Floors were barren. We couldn't even find a single resource for use."

Rey's eyes bulged the moment he heard Lucielle say the unthinkable.

'No… no way…!'

Not only did they not find the Magic Crystals on the Sixth and Eighth Floor, but they also didn't see any Orichalcum in the Seventh Floor.

These were the resources that Rey intentionally didn't plunder so as to enrich the United Human Alliance… and now they were gone?!

That wasn't the worst part, though.

'If they were able to explore up to the Eighth Floor, that means they had to have seen the place where all those Monster Cores were kept…'

The fact that he had mentioned finding nothing meant only one thing to Rey.

'Everything… it's all gone…?!'

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Thanks for reading!

Looks like things aren't just going the way of our MC.

Who… or what do you think is responsible?