Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Dungeon Creation (6)
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Jet-black crimson sky.
An eerie atmosphere.
Amid the long, sprawling trees, ominous moonlight filtered down pale and ghostly.
This was a forest of unknown origin. Standing right in its heart, I took in the surrounding scenery.
Even when I fully extended my Detection Tentacle and unleashed Magic Detection, all I could sense were skeletal trees exuding a chilling aura and patches of withered, "dead" grass.
The forest stretched out vast and endless.
- Is this the dungeon?
- Yes... this is my, my dungeon... no. Ah, it's the "Labyrinth Forest"... that will become the boss's dungeon from now on...
Labyrinth Forest.
Clearly, we'd come through a portal from the deepest part of the cave, yet we'd arrived in a forest. An eerie one at that, under a jet-black crimson moon.
It was scenery perfectly suited to the word "dungeon." The kind of vibe you'd see in a horror game or movie.
Dungeons were always like this. Unknown mysteries, with no telling what environment lay within.
Pass through a portal in a forest and end up in a desert. Emerge from a swamp into a sheer cliff.
Even the seasons could differ. Spring, summer, autumn, winter. Utterly arbitrary.
The weather in the "Labyrinth Forest" was impossible to predict. But the temperature itself felt quite low, permeated by that chilling aura.
- The forest seems pretty big.
- Well, I worked hard on it... Ugh, to have a dungeon I poured my heart into stolen away like this...
- You made this place?
I asked in surprise, and Hina pouted her lips.
- Of course...! Guardian spirits originally build their own dungeons to live in.
- Oh, I see. First time hearing that.
- Tch, you act like you know a ton, but you're clueless about the important stuff. Not trustworthy at all.
- What was that?
- Ah, n-nothing! I didn't say a word, Lo... Eek, sorry!
I pulled out my all-purpose cure-all Blunt Tentacle, and Hina instantly turned meek again.
Seems like backtalk is her passive skill. Well, she'll improve with time living together.
Dungeon guardian spirits were a fascinating race. Able to create places like this.
Makes sense, though. No need to guard someone else's dungeon. One they designed and built themselves would inspire real attachment.
- Where's the living quarters?
I asked Hina.
Dungeons divide into "assault zones" and "living quarters."
The boss resides in the living quarters, while the assault zones crawl with monsters and traps.
Those assaulting the dungeon aim to push through the zones and slay the boss in its quarters.
Naturally, the boss's goal is to repel them before they reach there.
This chilling forest I stood in was obviously an assault zone.
- The living quarters are over there...
I followed the tip of Hina's pointing finger. The peak of a distant mountain. That's what she indicated.
- There's nothing there?
- You can't see it?
- I can see the mountain...
You'll understand when you go. Here, wait just a sec.
With that, Hina chanted some spell.
Woooong—
The spell enveloped both me and Hina, and in the blink of an eye, I was teleported somewhere.
Whoosh—
- Oh.
Sure enough, it was the mountaintop she'd pointed to earlier. Looked like a long hike on foot, but we'd crossed it in an instant.
- You're the boss and new owner now... but I'm still the dungeon operator, so I can teleport like this.
Teleportation within the dungeon.
In the previous game, there were times when a dungeon boss ambushed the party from behind. So that's how.
- Guess that means I can do it too?
- Yes, Boss can too. Since you're the boss now, and my... my... my owner... Ugh, you can do whatever.
Hina began chanting again. Different from the teleport spell. She drew a circular magic circle in the air, then looked at me.
- Don't dodge...
She fired the spell at me.
She told me not to dodge, and it didn't feel threatening, so I stayed put. The spell seeped right into me.
At the same moment, several spells popped into my head, along with a map of the entire dungeon. Calling it a map was an understatement—it felt like every single detail of the internal layout was etched in my mind.
- Did it transmit properly?
Convenient spell. I nodded yes to her question.
The dungeon map in my head was incredibly complex, but I could summarize it simply.
The entrance was all forest, then two rivers to cross, followed by a mountain range.
Scale the treacherous peaks, and you'd finally reach the living quarters.
A very, very, extremely, and enormously approximate map
I'd started at the dungeon entrance; now I was at the mountain summit.
Standing atop the peak, I gazed down at the living quarters below. There sat a grand mansion, like some lofty castle.
- You made that castle too?
- Yep.
- Hmm, you did a damn good job.
- W-well... I've got quite the talent for that sort of thing...
Hina seemed pleased by the castle compliment and suddenly launched into a rundown of how she'd designed it, her inspirations, the whole backstory.
I nodded along appropriately while surveying the castle.
Considering how Hina had talked to me at first, it fit her image perfectly.
A castle fit for a haughty witch.
- Let's check out the inside now.
- Aw... I wasn't done talking yet.
- Later.
Hina looked disappointed, but she followed me into the mansion.
Basement included, seven floors above ground. Bedrooms, bathrooms, dining hall—everything for upscale living. No matter what kind of monster body I took, she'd planned for luxury.
Lucky me.
The women will love it.
As I toured the mansion, I set Hina down inside.
- Huh? Boss?
I'd carried her the whole time, so suddenly putting her down made her eye me with faint unease.
- You can't leave the premises?
- Yeah... Um, so?
Dungeon cores—guardian spirits, that is—once they create a dungeon, can never leave it again.
I turned my back on her, leaving her in the mansion.
- W-wait, Boss! D-don't tell me... you're just gonna leave me here?
Huge anxiety laced Hina's voice.
If I left her alone and ditched the dungeon, she'd be rooted in place, enduring endless loneliness.
And if I abandoned her outright, she'd be trapped forever until some core-hunter found her—and died for sure.
The dungeon was huge, but empty—no monsters to guard it yet.
I chuckled.
- Don't worry. Not ditching you.
- Ah. Th-then?
- Just bringing my women from outside.
Relief washed over Hina's face.
- The women... you mean those subordinates from before?
- They don't have genders. Different women.
Subordinates go in the assault zones. My women stay with me in the living quarters.
I said I'd be right back, chanted the spell, and teleported to the entrance.
Then I returned inside with my tentacles and women, save a few slimes for EXP farming.
I introduced them to Hina.
- Say hi. My women—and your new family here in the dungeon.
- Hmph, so you're the boss's followers?
Yeah.
- Hm, all the same type, huh...
Hina sized them up, nodding like a judge. When I told everyone to greet each other, Hina crossed her arms and declared,
- I am Hina, guardian spirit of this dungeon. From today, I serve the boss by necessity, but I am effectively co-owner—so you mere boarders shall address me with utmost respect, deference, admiration, and awe. Here's hoping we get along in the fu... Eek!? W-wait, Boss, what are you... Ahhn!
In the end, after another round of "education" and "discipline" from me, Hina made a pitiful whimper, hung her head, and mumbled,
- O-okay... Just... get along casually...
I wasn't gonna make her grovel with formal speech to my women. Better as friends. Hina talked big, but she'd be lonely. They'd keep each other company.
They were shocked a spirit had emerged from the dungeon core, but soon exchanged friendly greetings with Hina.
Yuri eyed her warily at first—new woman in the harem—but softened upon seeing Hina's flat chest, her face turning to pity.
And so, I safely acquired my dungeon.
Neutral zone, Nevis Forest.
In the heart of the notoriously treacherous dense woods, a woman with flowing orange hair stared ahead.
"Grrrrowl..."
Thud—! Thud—!
A giant eyeball monster, the Giant Eye, stomped forward with terrifying momentum.
No less than five of them.
Monsters that could pulverize an E-Class adventurer, their third eyes on their foreheads gleaming as they targeted their prey.
Normal humans would feel mortal dread with Giant Eyes closing in from all sides. But the woman at the epicenter didn't blink.
Sip—
One breath.
She inhaled and exhaled, mana flowing from within her on that breath.
Crackle—!
The mana turned to lightning, fierce bolts surging around her body. They morphed into arrows, piercing the monsters' hearts in an instant.
Spluuurt—!
"Grk...!?"
"Guhk!"
Ruuuumble...!
Thud...!
Four Giant Eyes met their end. Hearts burst before they could act. Their massive bodies crashed to the ground.
- Monsters are popping up a lot, huh.
Elena muttered irritably, stepping over the corpses.
She pressed on toward her sole goal.
Elrine.
Her little sister.
When she'd stormed out of the guild, she'd thought death far more likely. But not anymore.
'I heard it clear. People from the Sanctuary of the Saintess... saw Elrine...'
The day before, Elena had visited the Sanctuary of the Saintess.
Following traces from Luis Forest had led her there.
Luis Forest itself had no promising leads.
First, two C-Class adventurers vanished searching for her sister. Then, one B-Class and four C-Class went after them—and vanished too.
Those were the only clues.
Elena tracked the adventurers' traces: from Luis Forest to Gaidun Mountains, Gaidun to Tyrren Forest, Tyrren to Nevis Forest.
In Luis Forest, the initial two C-Class traces vanished abruptly, but later search parties had moved along a valley into adjacent woods. She followed those.
There, she found not just the C-Class pair's traces, but ones presumed to be Elrine's as well.
She hadn't given up hope, doggedly pursuing.
Nevis Forest housed the Sanctuary of the Saintess, and the traces led right there.
Confusing bits—like monster-like movements in between—but those were the tracks available, so she questioned the sanctuary folk.
Had anyone visited lately?
The soldiers were wary at first, but flashing her S-Class adventurer ID and explaining the investigation loosened their tongues.
So convenient, being S-Class.
Elena listened stoically, but when "Elrine" came up directly, even she wavered.
- Elrine! She really came to this sanctuary?
- Y-yes. Th-that's right. Guhk! Wh-why grab my collar...!
- Ah, sorry. Got carried away.
She'd shaken him lightly, but if he weren't a knight named Jerpha, he might've been hurt.
Elena felt awkward, then elated beyond belief.
The sanctuary soldiers, Jerpha included, confirmed seeing Elrine from the photo.
Vastly different relief from mere "presumed" traces.
It felt like a dream.
Her sister was alive!
A few days ago, hearing she'd vanished from her inn without a word had worried her plenty—but not like before.
'Traces still here.'
Elena found tracks of Elrine and the adventurers. They cut straight through Nevis Forest, and finally...
"Ferros Canyon."
S-Class adventurer Elena had arrived at Ferros Canyon.
'Coming soon, Elrine... Just wait a bit longer.'
She vowed, gazing over the vast canyon. Never again would she let her sister out of sight.