Chapter 6
Chapter 6
It took three hours for the Blood Peppers to haul the soil.
With that, the foundation of the ground was complete.
‘This level of illumination should be enough.’
Even the fact that this place was an underground cavern couldn’t stop my farming.
The original spell I developed during my human life—Sun Rising at Night.”
Now activated, a blazing mana sphere hovered at the center of the ceiling, radiating blinding white light.
I finely adjusted the intensity down to single-digit percentages so the leaves wouldn’t burn. The damp darkness of the underground vanished, replaced by a warm, greenhouse-like golden glow.
“Lord Igripa?”
While I was evenly leveling the soil, a faint voice called from behind me.
Turning around, I saw the Queen of the Silver Ents gripping her throne’s armrest tightly, her face pale as if she had seen something impossible.
“Yes? You called?”
I hadn’t noticed when I was human, but Silver Ents were extremely polite.
Even Bark, the deputy, and even their queen, Melina, spoke to me with honorifics.
To think they would respect a mere farmer this much—there was no chance I would ever hunt Silver Ents in the future.
“Haha… I heard you are the master of the Green Dungeon, but you seem quite different from the rumors. Are you always this… modest?”
She forced a light laugh, hands tightly clasped.
But the “Green Dungeon” again…
“Where is that, exactly?”
“Pardon?”
The queen leaned forward in confusion. Come to think of it, Bark had also been talking about this Green Dungeon.
Well, I did agree to help eventually after everything.
“….”
Bark had approached the queen and was whispering something into her ear.
What were they talking about?
Her antennae trembled slightly.
“I apologize. It seems I made a mistake. The Lycan sisters kept calling it that.”
She bowed her head.
Even the queen of a race was bowing to a farmer. It was a strange feeling.
“Lycan sisters?”
“You mean Canis and Lupus?”
“Yes, yes! The Lycanthrope merchant sisters called it that.”
The Green Dungeon… if dungeon meant territory, then maybe it was just a green-colored domain?
“Well, if those two call it that, then I guess it’s the Green Dungeon. I didn’t know.”
It probably just came from the vines and moss covering the exterior.
Having a name for my land wasn’t so bad.
This land originally belonged to my father.
He had spent his life on borrowed soil, transforming impossible land into farmland with limping steps.
And with the small savings he gathered, he passed it on to me.
“…Lord Igripa?”
“Yes?”
“May I ask you two questions?”
I nodded lightly.
For some reason, the queen seemed relieved.
“Is the sun you created here… and the soil you prepared… meant to evolve the core?”
“Hmm?”
She pointed toward a massive stone placed at the edge of the field.
That stone again?
“Are you telling me to water it or something?”
Honestly, I wanted to remove it immediately. But Bark had strongly opposed touching it.
I had heard nobles keep pets… but pet rocks?
Strange tastes, even for Silver Ents.
“Lord Bark…”
Bark once again whispered to the queen.
The queen’s antennae shot straight up.
Then she stared at me in silence with wide, shining eyes.
“You said there were two questions. What is the second one?”
“Ah… right. My apologies.”
She looked around, then let out a small sigh.
“…Lord Igripa.”
“Yes?”
“Where did you send the Blood Peppers that came with you?”
I looked around.
They were gone.
‘Ah.’
The spatial rift I had opened had already been closed after transporting the soil.
So where did they go?
“Ah, I trained them not to bite Silver Ents.”
“…Pardon?”
The queen slowly turned toward Bark.
Bark and the queen silently stared at each other for a long moment.
Meanwhile — Mid Layers of the Ant Nest
Adventurers from Blue Crane and other teams advanced through the darkness.
But their steps were heavier than before.
The dungeon’s structure was completely different from what they remembered.
“…This isn’t the same layout as before.”
A-rank scout Ren muttered.
Walls that should have been blocked were now open. Twisting tunnels had been reshaped into unnaturally straight paths, as if cut by a giant blade.
This wasn’t natural.
The dungeon core had already been pushed to the brink after seven brutal raids.
There should have been no remaining strength to alter the terrain.
“What the hell are these soils… what is going on?”
Each step released a rich, overwhelming mana fragrance.
It was the scent of primordial life—impossible in a dying land.
“Hey~ what’s all the noise?”
From behind, Cassian, the S-rank leader, approached lazily with her sword resting on her shoulder.
“You’re pretty tense, aren’t you?”
She wrapped an arm around Ren’s shoulder.
Ren felt like vomiting out of sheer fear.
“Not a single monster in sight? Are you bored or something?”
“Wanna play together then?”
Her smile twisted unnaturally.
The air froze instantly.
“Leader, calm down. We’re only allowed to kill monsters,” Grard said, grabbing her shoulder.
“Right, you don’t want to get sent back to prison, do you?” Beatrice added with a chilling smile.
“Tch… annoying.”
Cassian clicked her tongue and moved forward.
They hadn’t gone far when—
The darkness lit up instantly.
“EVERYONE, MOVE!!”
A massive wave of fire swept through the rear ranks.
“AAAAAAGH!!”
Water magic spells erupted in panic, but the flames did not go out.
They simply evaporated everything they touched.
And then—
From the steam, something burst out.
Crack. Crunch.
Blood Peppers.
Pepper-shaped monsters with legs.
“W-what the hell is that?!”
From their mouths—
A compressed breath.
Then—
A massive blaze erupted.
“DON’T SCREW WITH ME!!!”
“It’s not just Blood Peppers…”
“That’s dragon-level breath!!”
One adventurer tried to run.
He never made it.
Burned to ash mid-step.
Amid the chaos, only one person was laughing.
Cassian.
Her eyes were unfocused, her grin stretched unnaturally wide.
“This is it… this is what I wanted.”
She drew her sword.
“Dragon breath? No… this is something far worse and far more interesting!”
“Grard! Beatrice! If you don’t want to die, hold the line!”
“We’re going to the core room!”
“There’s something even better waiting there!”
And the S-rank adventurers charged into the flames.