Recently, the number of adventurers disappearing from the town of Mimul was on the rise. Most of them were those who had participated in the recent raid.

Daniel suspected that Ryu had killed the missing adventurers, but he had no proof.

After all, adventurers are free to move about. Many go to other towns and never return. The fact that they were missing for a while was not enough to make any conclusions.

The truth was, most of the missing adventurers had been sternly reprimanded by Ryu and sent on a journey of apology to the families of the adventurers they had used as stepping stones in the past.

While some truly repented, naturally, there were those who did not.

Some feigned repentance only to later attack Ryu with their companions or attempt to ambush him.

But in the end, all those who did so were defeated.

Those who had been punished once and still did not repent were beyond redemption. Ryu, having twice been targeted for assassination, could no longer spare them.

Of course, he wouldn't let them die easily. They received a severe punishment to make them regret their actions before ultimately being eliminated.

That day, after finishing his business at the merchant guild, Ryu was on his way to the dungeon as usual. However, as he exited the guild, he was surrounded by several adventurers.

"What is it?" Ryu asked, his brow furrowed in displeasure.

"We need to talk to you," one of the adventurers said.

"I decline. I'm busy," Ryu replied.

"You have no choice but to comply," one adventurer insisted.

"Oh really? What are you going to do about it?"

"We don't want to get rough. Just come with us quietly," another adventurer said.

Ryu started walking. The adventurers followed him.

"This way... Hey, where are you going?!"

One of the adventurers was about to turn down an alleyway, but Ryu, who was walking behind, continued straight ahead.

The adventurers hurriedly moved in front of Ryu.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm busy. And I absolutely hate it when people ignore my time and try to force me to go somewhere," Ryu said.

"Looks like we'll have to drag you there by force," said the first adventurer.

"Hmph. If you think you can, then try," Ryu challenged.

The adventurers and Ryu tensed up.

A crowd of onlookers began to gather.

"Tsk. What should we do?" asked the first adventurer.

"Let's get out of here!" said the second.

The adventurers retreated, but...

Two hours later, after returning from his hunting in the dungeon, Ryu was once again surrounded in a back alley near his dwelling.

More than ten adventurers surrounded him.

"So, what's the plan now that you've got us surrounded?" Ryu asked.

"Scared, are you?"

"Not much you can do with this many of us, huh?"

"Pathetic, eh?"

The adventurers laughed, enjoying his predicament.

"I just wanted to make sure. It would be a shame if you tried to kill me when I wasn't ready to fight," Ryu said.

"Cut the act, you arrogant prick!" yelled the first adventurer.

"With this many of us, even you are helpless, aren't you?" Yolma said, stepping forward from the back of the crowd. Looking closely, Ryu saw Yolma's party members, Arthur, Bill, and Ban, among the surrounding adventurers.

"I see you're all adventurers who participated in that raid," Ryu remarked.

There were only three high-ranking parties left who hadn't yet received Ryu's punishment, and it seemed he had them all right here.

"You're attacking adventurers out of revenge for the raid. We know that."

"You probably planned to ambush them, but now you've got no chance to use that cowardly tactic," said Kol.

"So we're doing it in the middle of town? How about we find somewhere less conspicuous and go all out?" Ryu countered.

The surrounding adventurers felt a momentary dizziness, a sense of disorientation. The surrounding scenery seemed to shift and merge with something else.

...They found themselves in a cave.

"What... Where are we?" asked Kol.

"I teleported us into the dungeon. Now we can go all out, right?" Ryu explained.

The adventurers looked around in panic.

"You're insane! Teleportation magic?!" Yolma exclaimed.

"You know, you can't be held accountable for killing someone in the dungeon. No evidence, right, Yolma?"

"Hmph, you fool! You're intentionally coming to a place where there's no evidence! Draw your blades, everyone!"

At Yolma's command, the adventurers drew their swords.

But Ryu didn't move.

"What's wrong, Ryu? You don't even have a sword?" Yolma jeered.

"No, I do have a sword, but..."

Ryu formed his hand into a grip as if holding a sword, and suddenly, a blade materialized in his hand. It was the "Magic Sword Fragarach," one of the weapons Ryu received from the Goddess upon his reincarnation.

Actually, Ryu, with his ability to manipulate space-time magic, didn't need a sword.

He could have easily killed both the dungeon monsters and the surrounding humans if he wanted.

But Ryu chose to draw his sword and have a little fun.

"This is where you meet your end. Come on, then."

"Kill him!" Yolma commanded.

The adventurers rushed toward Ryu all at once.

But in that instant, their movements appeared to slow down in Ryu's eyes.

Whenever Ryu moved with any speed, his space-time manipulation magic activated automatically, accelerating his movements.

Countless blades came slashing towards him, but Ryu easily dodged their slow movements while swinging his magic sword. He aimed for their legs, immobilizing them with each strike, avoiding fatal blows.

Within seconds, all but Yolma lay bleeding on the ground.

Ryu looked at Yolma, and in the next instant, he had moved behind her, slicing off her left leg.

"This... is impossible..." Yolma gasped in disbelief.

He hadn't reacted at all. Yolma was completely shocked and fell to the ground.

Ryu had unleashed the full potential of his acceleration ability.

The fact that Ryu's movements were faster meant that time itself was actually slowing down for everyone else around him. When he activated it at full power, time for everyone else slowed down to the point of near standstill.

In other words, Ryu could even stop time. Whether or not time actually stopped, he couldn't be certain.

This was the Goddess's gift to him, allowing him to control space-time in order to fulfill his desire for "unparalleled strength, capable of defeating anyone in the entire world." In essence, time truly had stopped.

In the frozen moment, Ryu moved behind Yolma and severed his leg. There was no way for any human to react when time was stopped.

Yolma, quickly regaining consciousness, grabbed his severed leg, aligning it with the wound, and pulled out a high-grade potion from his pouch, pouring it on the wound. A high-quality potion could even reconnect severed limbs. Apparently, Yolma had prepared such potions in advance for his plan to ambush Ryu.

But Ryu said,

"Oh, I forgot to mention. Wounds inflicted by this magic sword can't be healed."

"What?!"

Those skilled in healing magic frantically began casting healing spells. Others hurriedly grabbed potions and used them on themselves and their wounds.

But as Ryu said, the wounds refused to heal. It was the "Heal Inhibitor" ability of the Magic Sword Fragarach.

Upon realizing this, the adventurers turned pale.

"No way! My healing magic and potions aren't working?! That's impossible!" Yolma cried out in disbelief.

"From my perspective, it's more surprising that wounds can heal with magic and potions..." Ryu said.

In truth, the Magic Sword Fragarach was sharp enough to cut through armor like butter with a single blow. But Ryu deliberately avoided fatal strikes and targeted legs, aiming to instill despair in them—the same kind of despair the adventurers left behind for their predecessors.

"It's over. I'm heading home," Ryu said.

"Wait! ...You're leaving us behind?!" Yolma yelled.

"I had my leg cut off and abandoned too, remember? Besides, you were here to kill me. You weren't expecting to be saved when you were about to die, were you?"

"Wait! Please, we're begging you... Don't leave us..." Kol pleaded.

"How many rookie adventurers have you used as stepping stones? Experience the feeling of being abandoned and left to die, just like them."

A teleportation circle appeared at Ryu's feet.

"Wait!"

But Ryu disappeared. Soon, attracted by the scent of blood, monsters began to gather in the area where Yolma and the others were.

Despite his severed leg, Yolma managed to wield his sword, slaying a few monsters. They were high-ranking adventurers after all. But their bleeding wouldn't stop, and they gradually lost strength, eventually succumbing to unconsciousness.

In this world, wounds could be healed with magic, so knowledge of surgical techniques, like those on Earth, was almost nonexistent. They barely knew how to stop bleeding.

Even if they knew how to provide first aid, they couldn't escape the dungeon. It would only delay their inevitable demise.

Eventually, all the adventurers were devoured by the monsters and died...