I Made a Contract with a Devil, but the Price is Strange

“Withdraw.”

When the attacker’s screams stopped, I recalled the flame. It wasn’t to conserve magic power. The situation had been so urgent that I couldn’t see his face properly, so I wanted to confirm it.

I crouched down on the floor. I frowned at the pungent smell of urine. Grabbing his hair, I checked his face.

A somehow familiar face. I frowned momentarily at the strange sense of déjà vu.

“Ah.”

It was a face that remained faintly in my mind. It was probably the mercenary who had picked a fight with me on the carriage to Falcion. Probably.

There were so many people trying to take my life that it was a chore just to remember them all. Quite a few sought revenge like this.

I let go of his hair and searched the mercenary’s possessions.

A few cigarettes and white powder that looked like drugs. And 2 silver in his pocket. Another corpse had 3 silver. One had completely turned to ash, so I couldn’t check.

The battle was much easier than with the hobgoblin, but the profit was similar.

‘Should I just turn to robbery?’

Considering my current abilities, destroying evidence would be simple. Besides, nothing was more common in the labyrinth than death. It meant that for the most part, no one would care.

I contemplated for a moment but then shook my head. Even if I had contracted with a devil, I had no intention of abandoning my humanity.

Suddenly, my body shuddered.

‘Was my personality originally like this?’

Since entering the game, I had suffered countless humiliations and persecutions. In the process of adapting to the world, I had killed people and done many dirty things.

There were reasons for all those actions. Like the mercenary who had turned to ashes in front of me, they had threatened my life first.

It meant they were justified actions. At least, that’s what I thought. There was a standard.

But the thought I just had? There was no reason for it. I had casually had such an idea simply because it would be beneficial.

‘The contract with the devil…’

The immediate suspect in my mind was Egun.

Wasn’t it a common cliché in fiction? Those who contract with devils tend to become evil. Plus, the power I received from Egun was flame. It might be making me more ferocious.

I took out one of the cigarettes I had just collected and put it in my mouth. After lighting it with a small flame, I took a long drag.

“Cough, cough…”

The harsh smoke made me choke. After coughing a few times, I spat on the ground. I continued smoking for a while and then stood up.

“Ptui.”

Even if my disposition changed due to the contract with the devil, I didn’t want to break the contract right now. This was a golden opportunity for me.

I don’t know what will happen to me in the future. I couldn’t even guess. But I had already made up my mind. Whatever lies ahead, I would accept it all.

It had been a year and several months since I came to this damn world. I was already broken. So there was nothing more to fear.

Now, I just want to go back. To my home.

“Keruluk–!”

The goblin warrior made a disgusting cry. I didn’t know what command it gave, but I could guess. The goblins were scattering to both sides.

“Burn.”

I ignored the other creatures. I shouted while looking only at the warrior.

Fwoosh–!

The leather armor the creature wore began to burn. It probably never dreamed that the armor protecting it would become a tool to harm it.

“Keruuugh–!”

The warrior screamed and reached for its armor. But the intense heat melted flesh and bone at a rapid rate.

Eventually, in no time, it turned to ashes. The ashes scattered in the faint breeze that blew.

“Kerwik–?”

The goblins were bewildered by the sudden disappearance of their commander. Their stupid faces were still disgusting.

Thud-

I immediately drew my sword and charged at the enemies. After summoning a flame and commanding it to pursue, I rampaged wildly.

The goblins hurriedly raised their weapons, but there was already a difference in physique.

Slash—

I cut their necks, shoulders, chests, or arms. Sometimes I cut off their legs and then left the flame to finish them off.

And so, the battle with the group of six goblins ended rather insipidly.

Really, thinking about it again, this flame ability was too overpowered. Give this up just because my personality might become more ferocious? That was truly nonsensical.

I didn’t understand characters in novels or comics who sacrificed people around them for power or authority, but now I understood a little.

‘I understand Egun’s words too.’

She said she would strengthen my ability a bit because she liked the payment. Indeed, the size, firepower, and speed of the flame had all increased slightly.

It had been just 4 days since I arrived in the Labyrinth City Falcion.

I already felt like I could graduate from goblins. Having such abilities and still hunting goblins was wasteful in many ways.

‘Alright. Let’s graduate today.’

Once I made the decision, my actions were swift. I walked around the fourth floor, looking for stairs leading to the fifth floor.

“Keruk!”

Incidentally, I turned all the goblins that came at me into ashes. I put the magic stones in my pocket and continued walking.

Before long, stairs appeared. They were clearly different in form from what I had seen so far. They were a bit more ornate and a bit more gloomy.

There were rules in the labyrinth. One was that the environment changes every 5 floors. Another was that to move to the next level, you had to face a guardian.

To conserve magic power, I extinguished the flame and made a torch. In that state, I slowly descended the stairs.

『5F』

At the end of the stairs, a large door appeared. Alongside it, I could see a party sitting. They seemed to have noticed me, looking with sharp eyes.

It was good that I had brought a torch in advance. I had almost revealed my ability.

“Alone… seems like it?”

“Surely… suicide… No. Alone… not possible. Miner…”

Faintly heard voices.

The party on the 5th floor exchanged conversation while alternately looking at me and the stairs. I didn’t know what they were saying, but I could guess. They couldn’t believe I was alone.

“Ah…”

Since it was uncomfortable with them continuing to look, I took off my robe. They seemed to understand and dropped their suspicious gaze. Of course, they were still vigilant, but this was unavoidable.

Once, I had tried to dye my hair, but it was all in vain. Even if I changed the color, it returned to black within a day.

‘That was really shitty.’

That was when I first acknowledged that I had entered a game. No, I had no choice but to acknowledge it. It was scientifically impossible.

I took a spot exactly opposite to the party on the fifth floor. I spread a cloth on the floor and took out jerky and water to eat a little.

Munch munch-

The door leading to the guardian being closed meant there was already a challenger. That’s probably why they were waiting too.

Since it would be a while before my turn, I relaxed and rested.

“Hey.”

A voice came from in front of me while I was quietly eating jerky. When I looked up, a man with blonde hair was looking down at me.

“What.”

“Move more to the corner. Just being on the same floor as a bastard like you makes me nauseous.”

He pointed to one side with his finger as he spoke. Judging by his smirk, he seemed to be deliberately picking a fight.

‘What’s this?’

I didn’t feel bad. No, I was rather perplexed.

Logically, coming down to the fifth floor with the guardian alone meant having the ability to do so. Unless one was suicidal, that is.

But to pick a fight with such a person? It was a behavior I simply couldn’t understand.

“Are your ears clogged? I said move to the corner quickly.”

“Hmm.”

Instead of answering, I looked at the party behind him. Adventurers sitting quietly, watching as if interested. Their eyes even showed a glimpse of anticipation.

The guy in front of me had a sword. The guys behind also had swords or spears. There were no bows, crossbows, or magic users.

‘It’s hard to use and hard to coordinate.’

How should I handle this?

Since they picked the fight first, justification was already established. It meant I could burn them to death without guilt.

Just as I was contemplating, footsteps were heard from the stairs. Another party descended to the fifth floor.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue and stood up. I immediately drew my sword, causing him to startle and back away.

The carelessness of not even bringing a weapon. I couldn’t help but admire his great intelligence. Did he think I would naturally yield because they had more numbers?

“W-what?”

“Leave if you don’t want to die.”

He seemed taken aback, not expecting me to respond this way. As I took a stance to swing my sword, he immediately turned and fled.

There was no retaliation. He seemed to be cursing, but he was mindful of the other party’s presence. It meant they were like me in that regard.

They wouldn’t know. That the party that came after saved them.

Rumble-

As I waited for a while, the door slowly opened. The party that had picked a fight with me got up. They sneered at me before entering.

Thud-

The door closed again. Since the party that came after didn’t pick a fight with me, I waited comfortably.

Rumble-

Before long, the door opened again. I stood up. I felt gazes from behind but walked without caring.

Thud!

The door closed as soon as I entered the guardian’s room. The room was so dark that nothing could be seen.

I walked slowly forward. Gradually, the surroundings began to brighten. Light was emitting from the walls.

‘This is just like the game too.’

As the visibility increased, the surrounding scenery came into view.

A floor stained with blood. Heads, arms, legs, and what looked like internal organs were faintly visible, and on the visible walls beside me, something that looked like a person was smashed.

Crunch- Crunch-

A sound like something being chewed came from ahead. I threw the torch in my hand toward the front.

Thud-

A strange space untouched by light. There, a red-skinned monster was tearing at meat. I guessed it might be the party members who had just entered.

‘Goblin King.’

The guardian of the fifth floor, literally the king of goblins. It had one peculiar habit: when eating, it was completely absorbed in it.

“Flame.”

I smirked and summoned a flame. This unintentionally meant I was receiving help from the party that had picked a fight with me.

I approached the flame until its heat almost touched the Goblin King. Then I closed my eyes and expanded the size of the flame.

Fwoosh-

The flame began to grow larger, adding heat to heat. The moment it took the form of a wave, I said:

“Spread out.”

The torrent of flames advanced fiercely toward the Goblin King.