My Tamed Beast Returned with a Dragon Chapter 53 - The Rule Is to Take and Be Taken

[Congratulations! You have become the King in the King’s Game!]

Trumpets blared around Eun-sae. She and her teammates looked dazed.

“Oh, so this is how you become the King.”

“I thought we’d have to draw lots or something.”

“A key card? Sounds like Marble.”

It really felt like the system was just piecing together ideas from different games. As Eun-sae and her team stared curiously, a system window popped up before them.

[Which team’s member would you like to steal points from?]

“What’s our team’s score right now?”

[Team C’s score is 125,100 points!]

That was more than expected. It was probably thanks to Belkior wiping out everything at the end.

‘Team A had around 130,000 points. That means in the whack-a-mole stage, the rule wasn’t about clearing the monster wave—it was about enduring it.’

That was true. The final stage of whack-a-mole was to survive twenty minutes against Slavos, a monster with extremely high defense.

But since Belkior—a being far beyond human—was part of Team C, he simply slaughtered everything. The system couldn’t help but be confused.

‘The Gold Star Guild doesn’t know we’re here yet. Our presence will be exposed after this round, so we need to choose carefully.’

Eun-sae rubbed her chin, deep in thought. First things first—they needed to steal from the Gold Star Guild.

“By the way, who’s in the Gold Star Guild?”

“Guildmaster Baek Chan-min and Vice Guildmaster Yuk Jae-hee are definitely there. The rest are probably Gold Star’s top aces.”

“I received data from the support team before leaving the guild.”

Park Do-yoon pulled a file out of his subspace and handed it to her. Eun-sae quickly scanned through it.

“What’s this lineup? It’s like they already knew the dungeon would be a maze and came prepared.”

“I thought that was odd too.”

Even when Do Cheon-man’s team entered the dungeon in a rush, they had four S-ranks without caring about balance.

But Gold Star had adventurer-type and support-type Hunters, even those with special skills. There were thirty members in total.

They were the first to arrive after the dungeon break, yet they came this well-prepared—it was suspicious.

“In that case, they might’ve split the contributions, so each member’s score could be lower.”

“Still, shouldn’t we target Baek Chan-min? He’s not the type to share credit.”

“Wouldn’t that be risky? What if Team B made the same choice and got countered?”

“Then Vice Guildmaster Yuk Jae-hee? Or maybe one of their ranged attackers—they should be decent picks.”

“Wait a second, what if they chose Stage A? If there’s something other than the whack-a-mole game there?”

The longer they discussed, the more confused they became. Eun-sae quietly stared at the new system window.

It listed the names of people whose points the “King” could steal. Only surnames were shown for fairness, with the rest hidden by dashes, but it wasn’t hard to guess who was who.

As Eun-sae hesitated, Belquior pointed to one corner of the screen.

“Choose this one.”

“Huh? Hunter Baek Yeon-ah…?”

Eun-sae’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected that choice.

Baek Yeon-ah was a support-type Hunter with a special skill, but not someone who stood out. No matter which stage Gold Star chose, it was hard to imagine she’d earned many points.

Eun-sae looked into Belquior’s golden eyes. The two shared a silent gaze.

As a dragon who governed nature, Belquiorhad lived long enough to see what others could not.

Even without explanation, Eun-sae trusted that he had a reason. She made her decision.

“Alright. System! I’ll take the points from Team A’s Hunter, ‘Baek Yeon-ah.’”

The system screen changed immediately.

[Loading…….]

Park Do-yoon and the others swallowed nervously. Soon, a bright chime rang out.

Ding!

[Complete! You have taken the points of Team A’s Hunter, ‘Baek Yeon-ah.’ Team C’s score is now 182,000 points.]

“Whoa!! We did it!”

“Hunter Yoo Eun-sae, you’re amazing!”

“We’ve surpassed the Gold Star Guild!”

“Wait, how could Hunter Baek Yeon-ah have 50,000 points on her own?”

Park Do-yoon and the team erupted into celebration. Defeating the Gold Star Guild—no matter how—was always exhilarating.

Eun-sae smiled at Belquior.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Belquior turned his head away as if it were no big deal.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

[Team C’s King has stolen the points of team member ‘Baek Yeon-ah’!]

In the middle of battle, Baek Chan-min saw the notification that their points had been stolen — and exploded in rage. He slashed his greatsword through a beast, and blood sprayed everywhere.

“What the hell is this?! How…! Team C? Who are they?”

Right now, they were clearing the Hansel and Gretel stage. The Gold Star Guild’s Hunters were desperately defending the candy house from waves of giant ants.

Cheon Chang-hyun stood blankly, staring at the system window. Baek Chan-min’s fury flared.

“Hunter Cheon Chang-hyun! What’s going on? You said no one would notice if we funneled the points to Baek Yeon-ah!”

“……”

“Who’s the newcomer? Weren’t all the Do-cheon S-ranks already here? Is it another guild?”

Yuk Jae-hee and the team members watched Baek Chan-min cautiously. Cheon Chang-hyun, staring at the system screen with a stony expression, slowly opened his mouth.

“I believe… it’s Hunter Yoo Eun-sae.”

“What? Didn’t she leave for England?”

“Seems she returned. If it isn’t Hunter Yoo Eun-sae, these numbers make no sense.”

Cheon Chang-hyun was checking the team scores.

Team A: 124,900 points.
Team B: 11,570 points.
Team C: 182,000 points.

He didn’t know how far they had progressed, but by score alone, Team C had already surpassed them. The “King’s Game” played a huge part, of course, but even without it, reaching such a total would have been nearly impossible.

The rule was simple: Steal or be stolen from.
That was the very foundation of this dungeon — Aquila’s Maze.

That was why Cheon Chang-hyun had pressured Vice Guildmaster Choi Mirinae’s team so relentlessly. Using his skills and his knowledge of the maze, he broke through traps and stages efficiently, racking up points with ease.

Do-cheon’s team couldn’t withstand the onslaught. Every time they gained points, Cheon Chang-hyun snatched them away like a ghost.

He already knew every move Choi Mirinae would make.

But now they were the ones losing points — something he hadn’t anticipated. His mood hit rock bottom.

‘Yoo Eun-sae… Ever since she came back from the dead, she’s been nothing but trouble.’

Nothing had gone smoothly since her return. He clicked his tongue in irritation.

Baek Chan-min, having just finished off a charging beast, frowned as he spoke.

“Judging from the score, it looks like Yoo Eun-sae’s not the only strong one on their team.”

No matter how skilled Yoo Eun-sae was, there was no way she had built up a score rivaling thirty of them in such a short time.

“Hmm. Any guesses who might be on Team C?”

“Most likely Park Do-yoon’s team. I heard they accompanied her to England as an escort.”

Yuk Jae-hee replied. Park Do-yoon’s team — one of Do-cheon’s top squads. Each member was strong, and their abilities balanced well together. It made sense they’d be on equal footing.

‘Still… they caught up this fast?’

Even if Team C had balanced members by chance, their own team had been carefully assembled under Cheon Chang-hyun’s guidance — every ability and headcount perfectly matched. To be overtaken so easily after such preparation was infuriating.

Kyaaaak!

“Tch. These bugs just don’t stop coming.”

Baek Chan-min jumped lightly as another swarm charged, channeling lightning into his greatsword and swinging.

The beasts struck by the lightning convulsed and collapsed. His gaze shifted to Cheon Chang-hyun, who was swiftly cutting through monsters with precise, efficient movements.

Slash!

He decapitated a beast that had been gnawing on the candy house’s door, then flicked the blood from his sword without emotion.

Another beast approached from behind. Baek Chan-min landed beside him and cleaved it cleanly in half.

As Cheon Chang-hyun silently watched the monster’s upper body thud to the ground, Baek Chan-min spoke.

“Hunter Cheon Chang-hyun, what’s our next move?”

“We have to take down the King. There’s no other way.”

Their eyes met — and Cheon Chang-hyun’s gaze gleamed coldly.