Is it wrong to try to build a criminal Empire?

chapter 5

"Your existence is nothing but a tool to me."

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One week since joining hestia familia.

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A white blur streaked through a group of Frog Shooters—large, grotesque, frog-like creatures with a single glaring eye.

These monsters were infamous for their precise tongue attacks, capable of snatching unwary adventurers and swallowing them whole in a single, gruesome motion.

One of the Frog Shooters lashed its thick, slimy tongue at the white blur, aiming to ensnare its prey.

All For One ducked under the appendage with ease, the motion fluid and practiced. His sword flashed in a sharp arc, severing the tongue cleanly with a wet, sickening sound. The creature let out a guttural croak of pain, its single eye bulging grotesquely.

Gripping both his sword and dagger, he felt a growing appreciation for the dual-wielding style he had adopted. There was a certain elegance to it.

Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the wounded Frog Shooter, sidestepping another tongue attack from the one on his right. The injured one, still reeling from the loss of its tongue, tried to crush him with its massive body in a desperate move.

He leaped onto its slimy head, balancing effortlessly. Both blades poised, he drove them into its central, pulsating eye. The explosion of viscous, foul-smelling blood splattered across him, a confirmation of its demise.

Disgusting.

Jumping backward, All For One narrowly avoided two tongues snapping toward him. His expression twisted into one of irritation as he wiped the slime off his face with his arm.

With a sharp motion, he raised his hand, aiming at one of the remaining frogs still recovering from their failed attack.

"Fireball," he muttered, his tone calm but laced with a hint of annoyance. A large orb of fire erupted from his hand, hurtling toward the creatures and engulfing them in flames. Their agonized croaks echoed throughout the dungeon before silence claimed them.

Since his recent status update, his capacity for magic had grown significantly. The size and intensity of his fireballs had increased, and his expanded mind pool made such feats feel almost trivial.

He raised his hand again, his patience wearing thin as the last of the Frog Shooters lumbered toward him.

"Fireball," he repeated, his voice colder this time. The orb of flames incinerated the creature before it could take another step.

With the conflict over, he knelt by the grotesque remains, extracting the magic stones from the slimy corpses. As he worked, his thoughts wandered toward his recent, steady growth.

Currently, he was on the sixth floor of the dungeon—a feat that was nothing short of extraordinary for someone who had only been an adventurer for a week.

His fireball spell had made his progress significantly smoother. Against larger groups of monsters, it proved invaluable, allowing him to dispatch them quickly and efficiently. Still, the thought of the spell brought back a flicker of irritation.

Hestia.

Her reaction to him "rightfully acquiring" the fireball spell had been as annoying as it was predictable. Her anger was an obvious confirmation that she found his actions unacceptable. She had forgiven him once, but he doubted her tolerance would stretch much further.

Not that it mattered to him. He had no intention of stopping—not for her or anyone else. A brat like her wouldn’t dictate his actions.

Suddenly, his instincts screamed at him. Without hesitation, he rolled, narrowly avoiding a set of sharp black claws swiping at where his head had been. Rolling smoothly to the side, All For One stood, blades at the ready, his eyes scanning the new threat.