Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Undead Dungeon (1)
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For several days, I coordinated with the two of them to tackle the dungeon, and spent the remaining time handling various tasks.
Mine wasn't troubled by the Dreamcloud Herb at all; she had always been the type to easily get hooked on new things.
She fell head over heels for the first play she saw, nagging me to go watch theater performances whenever she had time.
With Alicia, we mostly wandered around cafes and fine dining spots.
To avoid drawing attention, she often went out in Alley's form.
There, listening all day to her rant about the imperial family or the council had become routine.
Sometimes, I walked along the promenade, lost in blank thought.
On those occasions, I'd organize my future plans or simply empty my mind and feel the breeze.
I holed up in the library preparing for subject exams or writing reports, or chatted with other students for a brief rest.
I didn't forget to visit Aren and Cecilia in the hospital either; every time I went with her, Cecilia glared at me.
"What's with that?"
"Never mind."
And before long, as the special training drew to a close, we were taking our final rest at the mansion where we had battled Eliber.
To conquer the Undead Dungeon.
The base camp construction was complete.
The mansion, once a church outpost, had become a bridgehead for the empire's Undead Dungeon assault, bustling with soldiers transporting supplies.
Some soldiers were paving a new road all the way to the now-empty village.
In the original story, the outpost could only be purged after conquering the Undead Dungeon, so the base camp was at the mountaintop.
In reality, just climbing up would have been exhausting, but luckily, we had a perfect foothold in place.
At that moment, Alicia pushed through the soldiers and approached.
"Are preparations complete?"
Aren followed behind her.
Not in her female form, but male.
As promised, she was joining this conquest.
But not fighting alongside us.
I turned my gaze to Mine, who was briefing the soldiers amid them.
"Once we enter the dungeon, the interior transforms into a massive fortress. Even with torches, it's so dark you can't see an inch ahead."
The Undead Dungeon had formed on the ruins of a mountain fortress built long ago to repel monster invasions.
Thus, its original name was 'Lonwood Fortress Ruins.' That was why the dungeon interior resembled a fortress.
The dungeon was divided into three zones.
The outer fortress, inner fortress, and the temple at the fortress's deepest point.
The mid-boss 'Negalroan' guarded the path between them.
Negalroan, once the general who defended the fortress, had lost his life to a monster raid, turned into a skeleton, and been corrupted by demonic energy into the monster he was now.
True to its fortress base, the Undead Dungeon took a long time just to reach the mid-boss room.
Conquering it in a single day was impossible.
So our plan was this.
Today, defeat Negalroan and seize the outer fortress.
Tomorrow, the inner fortress.
And on the final day, take down the final boss.
This conquest would span a total of three days.
"If we push straight through the undead monsters, we'll encounter a three-way fork."
As Mine said, the dungeon interior was shrouded in darkness.
Countless players had died pointlessly to ambushes in that gloom.
Charging into the boss without preparation meant fighting blind, with a self-imposed hardcore penalty.
But there was a way to dispel the darkness.
"If we light the special torches atop the walls at the ends of the side paths, the fortress darkness lifts, securing our vision."
"Ooh…!"
"Soldiers, please hold the right wall."
In the past, this had been the mission for her and the soldiers.
Confirming the changes upon lighting the torches.
The darkness had lifted, and right after returning to the three-way fork, Mine had touched a door, summoning Negalroan from within.
Mine's voice was calm.
The plan she laid out for the soldiers was originally her trauma.
How much courage and resolve it must have taken to speak of it so casually to others.
"If the torches aren't kept lit continuously, the conquest could become difficult."
The torches weren't permanent.
They could be extinguished by monsters, demonic energy, Negalroan, or even the wind.
In the original, a party member was urgently dispatched each time to relight them.
That was Aren’s role in this conquest.
Relight the torches whenever they went out to secure our vision.
But handling both torches extinguishing simultaneously would be tough for her alone.
Of course, that wasn't a concern either.
Behind her stood Kaiser and about twenty other soldiers.
Alicia had no intention of entering the dungeon with minimal personnel.
She would use every card available.
That was her way.
From the start, the plan was to assign one wall to Aren and the other to Kaiser and the soldiers.
Having Mine explain the gimmick to the soldiers was part of the plan too.
Alicia asked Mine.
"How many people went in with you last time?"
"……Twenty… three."
"So we can bring up to twenty-three. Then let's do this."
Alicia made an immediate decision.
Add nineteen soldiers to our group of four.
More numbers might hinder the boss fight, but using soldiers for trash mobs and gimmicks would be far more efficient.
"Seventeen of you stay here."
"That leaves two spots."
"Ah, those have their own owners."
"Ah!"
Right as Alicia finished speaking, Mine let out an exclamation.
Pasha and Mar, in combat gear with their weapons, were approaching us through the soldiers.
"This place is too dangerous! You two still…!"
"Finding my father's traces is my task. I can't leave it all to you."
Pasha turned her head away, as if refusing further argument.
Mar alone, seeing her flushed cheeks, shrugged and looked to Alicia.
"We are grateful for Your Highness's consideration."
"No need. Glad you came. We had exactly two spots open."
"……"
"Assign those two to Aren Bright's squad! Their skills will be more than sufficient."
I approached Alicia and asked.
"Did Senior contact you by any chance?"
"What? They reached out first upon hearing we were starting the conquest today."
"But you accepted them."
"Isn't it best to squeeze every drop when you can?"
With that, Alicia vanished again to issue orders to the soldiers.
I looked at Pasha.
In the original, she was an extra on par with Halibal.
An NPC whose name popped up only if you passed by.
No, less prominent than Halibal, who at least appeared as a gimmick boss.
Yet she had influenced Mine, and Mine's courage had moved her in turn.
And now, her resolve was giving Mine strength.
'Variables don't always bring disadvantages… right.'
New traces of life were etched here too.
With final preparations complete, we soon began ascending the mountain.
At the summit, what came into view was a massive stone gate.
The entrance to the Undead Dungeon.
"Everyone, attention."
All eyes turned to Alicia at once.
"The ground we stand on was, until recently, a den where the Evil God's minions roamed. And our comrades fell to their hands."
The soldiers' faces hardened at her voice.
"We've recovered the bodies. But the source that birthed their grudging spirits—the root of evil devouring the empire—still breathes in there!"
Alicia aimed her fan at the dungeon.
"Today, we come to drive the empire's sword into the heart of that darkness, so no more innocent blood flows!"
She scanned Mine and Aren, Kaiser and the soldiers in turn.
"We've gathered here for different reasons. But from this moment, our goal is one! Quell all the wraiths beyond that gate and grant rest to the departed!"
Finally, she looked to me.
"My sword, Halibal Belder! You stand at the vanguard of all our wills! Victory awaits where your blade points!"
"I pledge victory to Your Highness!"
Answering her speech with a knight's oath after so long, Alicia raised her fan high with a satisfied smile.
"Open the gate!"
Just as I, Aren, and Mine moved toward the gate amid the soldiers' cheers.
For some reason, Alicia herself crossed the ranks and approached the gate.
She was supposed to enter last.
Did she have another plan?
I whispered to her.
"Senior. Doesn't it ruin the image if you give such a rousing speech and then take the front?"
"Kufu. It's my first time entering an Evil God's dungeon too. I wanted to open the gate myself—mind if I do?"
"Ah, sure."
'What a trivial reason.'
But I understood.
This moment held special meaning for her.
This time, I looked to Mine.
"You okay?"
Truth be told, most of what I said to her lately was this.
You okay? Think you can handle it? Can you do it?
Even if she could wield Raphael and enter the dungeon of her own will, her fragility hadn't changed.
Heading into the Undead Dungeon in that state.
It would bring fresh emotions, different from Alicia's.
But there was one difference from before.
"Not okay at all. You, Halibal?"
Now, she didn't hide her fear or fragility.
So I didn't hide mine either.
"Me neither."
"We're the same, then."
"But skipping garden care for three days of conquest?"
"Three days should be fine. Anything more would be impossible."
"Then we end it in exactly three days."
Mine fell silent.
She nodded in response.
Finally, Aren.
"Want to solo it or something?"
"I know soloing's impossible."
She answered softly, without turning.
"My role today is guarding the torches."
'Liar.'
People don't change easily.
Abandoning a lifelong goal overnight is even harder.
She must be full of resentment inside. Assigning her menial tasks while they went for the boss.
Deep down, the burning desire to open the gate alone and end it all remained.
She was probably suppressing it desperately.
"Maybe you won't even need it…"
"I do."
At her firm words, Aren looked at me.
"I need you. Without you, we're blind. No matter how strong the sword…"
"…it's useless in the dark."
Her eyes trembled faintly.
She could complete my sentence because those were words her master and parents had drilled into her lifetime.
'No matter how strong the sword, it's useless in the dark. So become the single sun that illuminates it.'
She didn't ask how I knew.
It was a common idiom anyway.
I simply said this.
"If you need me… that's enough for now."
She turned back to the stone gate.
"So… I'll light the way until you take down the boss."
No more prophetic impatience or jealousy from one bound by fate.
Just pure resolve as a swordsman, to do her utmost in her place.
The same purity I'd always sensed from the original Aren.
That alone filled her words.
"I'll count on you."
As I placed my hand on the stone gate, the other three overlaid theirs in turn.
Creak.
The moment the abyss opened its maw, Aren leaped in without hesitation.
I followed right behind.
The instant we landed, Aren and I each assumed the Godslayer Sword stance.
Woooom!
The first thing upon entering the dungeon.
Clear the entrance for smooth wall occupation.
Godslayer Sword and its variant.
Our forms mirrored each other perfectly, like reflections.
Blades once aimed at each other now united against the darkness.
Golden cracks spread across Aren's skin.
Holy light leaked from the fissures, as if the sun slumbered within her.
Soon, golden fragments formed, orbiting her head like satellites.
[Abyss Core - Sun Shine] effect: Halo.
An overwhelming physical enhancement awakening the power of the Heavenly Apex God dormant in user Aren Bright's body, pushing her abilities to the limit.
"Death Sentence."
"Death Sentence. Reverse."
Screeeeech!!
Golden and ashen.
Two sword trails crossed, charging into the dark.
Kwarrrrk!
Monsters lurking at the entrance vanished without trace in the torrent of light.
No darkness remained where the slashes passed.
As the golden fragments above Aren's head flickered, Alicia, now landed, unfurled her fan.
"A splendid opening!"
Mine followed behind her.
"Pasha, Mar! And Kaiser! Now! Lead your squads to the torches and advance!"
"We obey!"
With Alicia's bold cry, Pasha and Mar threw themselves into the dungeon.
The moment Kaiser tried to enter next.
Boom!
The dungeon gate slammed shut, covered in demonic energy.
Kaiser and the soldiers couldn't enter.
"……"
Alicia stared blankly at the firmly shut gate, unable to look away.
"……Huh?"
With her bewildered utterance, the dungeon fell silent.