I, Who Was Criticized as the World's Weakest S-Rank Explorer, Am Actually the World's Strongest Explorer - Episode 62

Episode 62

(Note: Special for this chapter, dialogues from the internet and TV are in 『….』.)

Rin walked through the dungeon. Her breathing was heavy and ragged. 

Inside the dungeon, a cold wind blew through. It was like the depths of winter, making the air feel even colder. 

She slowly advanced through the dim, cave-like interior of the dungeon. 

She hadn’t taken a break since yesterday, continuously diving into the dungeon. 

The damp air brushed against her cheeks and chilled her spine. 

Suppressing the tremble threatening to overtake her, Rin used the light from her phone. It was levitated by telekinesis, to illuminate the path ahead. 

As someone who had hardly ever done dungeon exploration at night, the dungeon’s darkness was almost a new experience for Rin. 

The darkness only served to increase her anxiety. 

Why was she in such a place? To banish the thoughts that bubbled up, Rin shook her head. 

She had to keep going. She had to push herself, over and over, or she’d cause trouble for everyone else. That’s what Rin told herself as she forced her heavy, lead-like feet forward. 

Her breath was shallow. The anxiety and guilt weighing down on her chest bound her. 

(Because of me, others are being talked about… I didn’t want that to happen.) 

Suddenly, the words she had seen online came to her mind. 

『Did Amakusa teach her how to slack off? lol』 

『As expected, he knows the easy way out for explorers.』 

Her fists trembled. 

That’s not it. That’s not right. 

(Haruto has nothing to do with this. It’s not his fault. It’s all my fault. Everything… everything… everything is my fault.) 

Rin clenched her lips. She always hurt someone. Because she wasn’t good enough, she dragged others into it. 

At that moment, her phone vibrated. It was a message from her mother. 

Reluctantly opening it, the simple text appeared: 

『I’ve used up all the money, send more.』 

The moment she read those words, something inside Rin quietly snapped. 

(…Why?) 

Rin stared blankly at the phone in her hand. 

What was left after entering such a dangerous place full of monsters, fighting over and over, risking her life? 

(…Haruto and Yuna… they’re probably… angry… They must be saying something because of me… I don’t want to know.) 

Rin again used telekinesis to move the phone away from her. She kept it as a tool to light the path instead of looking at it. 

(Why am I even trying so hard, entering the dungeon…) 

She couldn’t find an answer. 

(For my family? For Haruto? …Or to help someone I don’t even know?) 

Among the many thoughts, Rin briefly remembered the time Haruto had helped her. 

Her heart warmed a little. But immediately, the words written online flooded her mind. And tears ran down her cheeks. 

(Surely, Haruto… he doesn’t care about me…) 

『She’s only good looking.』 

『Slut.』 

『Useless.』 

『Gloomy girl.』 

Those online comments. Not a single one of them was true. But they spread as though they were. 

She told herself that she wasn’t allowed to think about Haruto, who had everything, because she had nothing. 

(Maybe… I should just…) 

As her heart sank further, a thought she wasn’t supposed to have appeared. 

The next moment, a low growl echoed through the cave. It snapped Rin back to reality. 

When she looked up, a monster emerged from the darkness. It was a General Wolf, covered in strange black fur — a creature that possessed two magic stones. 

Rin created an ice blade with trembling hands. 

But she hesitated when she saw how fragile the ability she’d activated was. Whether it was because of her emotional state or sheer exhaustion, she couldn’t tell.

“Grrr!” 

Seizing that moment of weakness, the General Wolf kicked off the ground and lunged at her. 

It closed the distance in an instant. Rin tried to jump to the side to avoid it, but she was too slow. 

“Ugh…!?” 

Pain shot through her body as the wolf struck, and she screamed as she was thrown to the ground. The hard rock scraped her skin. A dull ache spread throughout her body. 

But even so, she quickly rose. She drew her blade and slashed the General Wolf into pieces. 

Immediately, another one appeared. 

Rin readied her blade once more and continued the fight… but an emptiness started to grow inside her. 

With each consecutive battle, her weariness caused her reactions to slow. And her wounds piled up. 

Every attack she took deepened the dark shadow in her heart. 

(What… am I even doing?)

Her eyes grew heavy, and her vision blurred as tears she couldn’t stop fell down her cheeks. 

No one knew anything about her. They just threw words at her, not knowing anything. 

(Even though I’m trying so hard, it’s pointless. Eventually, I’ll be… rejected again.) 

Rin bit her lip tightly, recalling the comments online. 

(…If only I hadn’t been born.) 

That thought suddenly crossed Rin’s mind, and she was startled by it. But at the same time, it felt strangely right. 

(No one needs me. No one expects anything from me… no one…) 

Her thoughts sank deeper into a dark abyss. 

The General Wolf growled and charged at Rin once again. 

Thrown off balance, Rin lost her grip on her sword….. but turned her gaze toward the approaching General Wolf. 

(I can fight… I still have the strength to fight. But—) 

Rin’s abilities were overwhelming. No matter how strong the opponent, she had always confronted them head-on, again and again. 

But—now was different. 

She couldn’t find a reason to summon her strength. Her heart wouldn’t move to shape her abilities into form. 

In Rin’s mind, the malicious words she had seen online repeatedly resurfaced. 

(What’s the point of fighting? Even if I try hard, no one will see it. No one will acknowledge me. It’s just pain.) 

When she first became an explorer, it was for her family. 

She believed that everyone would smile because of it. 

That belief wasn’t wrong. Money came in, and her family was happy. 

But money ended up tearing her family apart. 

She had tried to push herself for the sake of some unknown people. 

But now, those same people directed hostility toward her. 

There was no gratitude or appreciation, just the senseless draining of her time, heart, and life. 

(……..What am I even fighting for?) 

Every time she tried to move her body, the feeling of emptiness rose within her. 

She didn’t want to fight anymore. She hated draining her life for a battle that wouldn’t benefit anyone. 

(I just want to live… live normally.) 

She wanted to laugh with friends, have regular conversations with her family, go shopping for clothes she liked, eat what she wanted, fall in love with someone, and experience romance—just the ordinary, everyday life. 

But Rin was not allowed that normalcy. 

(…….Haruto, Yuna, and…….. Kirishima-san and Saotome-san…….. I’m glad I was able to make at least a few friends at the end.) 

She hated the thought of being rejected by them. 

—Everyone was so sure of themselves, strong, kind, different from her. The shy, useless person she was, they probably wouldn’t even spare a glance at her. 

(…Maybe… if this ends now… I could finally be at peace.) 

Tears ran down her cheeks, soaking into the cold rock surface beneath her. 

The presence of death closing in made Rin feel as though her heart was slowly freezing. 

The General Wolf’s body loomed closer. She saw its glowing fangs aimed at her throat. 

Rin slowly closed her eyes. 

(It’s fine…) 

And then, at that moment…. 

A voice different from the monster’s growl echoed through the dungeon.