<p>Led by Barie's hand into the cave after I'd caught the knight as the <em>tutorial boss</em>, I stepped inside. At that moment, <strong>boom!!!</strong> The cave entrance rumbled.</p>
"Uuuung. Uuuuung!"
The ogre pounded the boulder sealing the entrance a few times before apparently losing interest and going quiet. Barie stared at the rock blocking the way, confirming the ogre's presence had completely vanished, then finally sheathed her sword.
"Hoo..."
She regulated her ragged breathing. Having slashed through countless monsters nonstop to reach this point, the knight's stamina had hit its limit. With no spare energy to maintain her dignity, she plopped down right there. She removed her helmet. Sweat-soaked silver hair clung to her forehead and cheeks. Her eyes fixed on the depths of the cave. The Red Moon ignored terrain and obstacles, illuminating even this pitch-black cavern.
"Is that what you were talking about?"
"Yes. My target is inside there."
"...A dungeon."
There was a dungeon inside the cave. Its entrance was outlined by a vivid band of red magic seeping into the frame—like the embers of a fire consuming parched paper. Influenced by the Red Moon, the boss monster's power was gnawing away at the sealed entrance, waiting for someone to discover it.
"Before we go in, let's rest a bit while I explain about the dungeon."
It was a single-room dungeon. Designed solely for sealing, entering led straight to the boss room—you could start the boss fight immediately. The boss specialized in mental disruption, so the challenger's mental fortitude was key.
"So steel your mind."
"Simple enough."
As if. I finished my explanation. Up to this point, it was all guesswork from ancient texts or orally transmitted legends. Any more detail might raise questions about my sources—and unfortunately, I couldn't reveal them. That was all I could share.
While Barie caught her breath, I approached the dungeon entrance and peered inside. Visibility was poor due to the red mist, but I could make out a hazy shadow rising in the center. At its peak, something gleamed.
It was a sword. A single blade plunged into the ground. The sword body, infused with red magic, burned with a dark crimson edge. Even under the red magic's influence, it maintained the boss monster's seal.
Vitalia.
The magic sword Vitalia. One of the legendary weapons in the game, acquirable only on Red Moon nights. A mana-eating blade that stole mana from whatever it struck, transferring it to the user. For mana-starved Eck, it was a desperately needed weapon.
But you couldn't just yank it out. There was a specific procedure—a gimmick.
It's the seal's wedge, after all.
Pulling the sword broke the seal. The boss monster would possess the puller's body, using them as a host. Elena had once mindlessly drawn it and fallen under the magic sword's control. It slapped conditional debuffs on every action: had to wear gothic lolita outfits, no panties. Attack power rose and aggro pulled easily, but durability tanked. A mess of buffs and debuffs forcing hard mode.
I can't wear gothic lolita.
So the procedure was essential. To avoid the magic sword's bewitchment.
Clank.
Barie stood beside me then. She looked up at the magic sword in the dungeon depths, stepped inside, and casually dropped her helmet from her hand.
"I just need to pull that out, right?"
"Lady Barie, stop."
"What legendary weapon could that be?"
"Lady."
"I'm looking forward to seeing what legend it holds. For such a fine sword to be abandoned here—what a national loss."
"Barie!"
I grabbed her arm to stop her from going farther.
"You can't go in."
"If I show it to milady, she'll surely be proud of me. All the knights will envy me. Her status will rise. The day my honor becomes hers... I... I..."
"Are you listening to me?"
Barie shook off my hand. Her knightly strength sent my arm flying. My fingertips stung.
"Tch. Can't hold out even a little, huh."
The magic sword was the wedge sealing the boss monster, but after ages, it had merged with the boss and devolved into an antenna broadcasting its power. The boss's ability: desire domination. It tempted Barie's desires. Magic resistance couldn't block it. It interfered directly with the mind, requiring specialized spells to counter.
I'd enchanted my armor as precaution, but Barie hadn't. Even with her noble-born high magic resistance, mental interference was game over if it got through even slightly. Now that she was like this, I couldn't stop her.
"Knew this might happen, so I added conditions..."
Should I be glad or not? Barie, free of my grip, climbed the hill and grasped the magic sword's hilt.
"Hahaha! Milady's watching me! The dungeon conqueror! The master of this fine magic sword! She'll be so proud! Then she'll personally reward me!"
She gripped tighter.
"I am Barie, knight of Lady Lijet! Bringing her the glory of etching a page in history!"
Barie drew the magic sword. The moment she pulled it, the dungeon's magic pulsed. The reddish interior grew even more crimson, then ebbed, repeating. A vibration resonated directly with my mana. Cold sweat beaded down my spine.
This is the boss monster...
A specter from ages past, sealed because no one could handle it, now awakening.
The hill erupted. The boss monster's power, held back by the sword, burst forth like a discharge, filling the space suffocatingly. Barie, at the summit, was engulfed by the power, her body eroded as she clutched the drawn sword and froze solid.
The power's ripples calmed, leaving the dungeon deathly silent.
Clank.
Only Barie's armor rattled with her movements.
"Yes, I am Barie, knight of Lady Lijet. I'll make her mine. Heh. Hehehe. I'll grant that wish."
Barie's eyes glowed red. That was the moment.
Rumble rumble rumble.
The hill shook. It raised its buried body, uncoiling its rounded arms. A golem. As the golem crouched like a hill rose up, whoosh!! Boom!!! Its massive arm swept the dungeon, slamming mercilessly into Barie.
Barie reflexively raised the magic sword. She blocked the golem's arm, but her feet scraped the ground as she was pushed back.
"Ngh...!"
The golem, with only its upper body emerged, smashed a fist down at Barie.
Thud!
The ground quaked.
"Haha! Good, good! This body's better than I imagined!"
Barie burst into laughter. Each time the sword blocked the golem's attacks and counter-slashed, the golem's movements slowed ever so slightly. The mana-powered golem lost its drive source with every cut from the magic sword.
"Die!"
Mana infused the sword, igniting like flames. Silver flames erupted, blasting the golem. Its upper body tilted.
Barie leaped high toward the leaning golem; her sword blazed brighter. The silver sword-flames were tainted red. Crimson-silver flames poured onto the golem.
Rumble boom!!
Within the crimson-silver blaze, the golem lost form and crumbled.
"Kuhuhuhu. How great it would've been if milady saw that. I can't wait to return, pin her down, and make her mine."
Barie leered lewdly, stroking her chest and smacking her lips.
"Hehihi... What a fine body."
She flexed her hands open and closed. The boss possessing Barie's body removed her pauldrons. Tossed aside her arm guards. Unfastened her breastplate and flung it to the floor.
Clang! Clang! Clank!
The armor rolled across the ground.
"What an eyesore. How dare you cover such a beautiful body with scrap metal? Beauty must be admired by all. That a beauty woke me—truly my good fortune."
She tore off the clothes beneath the armor. Revealing her pale nude form, she flaunted the assets hidden by her breastplate. Squeezing her breasts, she looked satisfied. As she moved to leave the dungeon, I blocked her path.
"You dare block this body?"
Barie's reddened eyes smirked down at me.
"But it's too late. The guardian's fallen. No one to help you. Or do you lust after this girl?"
Barie's lips curled up. Her eyes crescented slyly.
"Fine. Swear loyalty and bow your head, and I'll personally give you my first time."
Barie touched her breasts and crotch.
"Rejoice. This new body is a pure virgin's, never once taken by a man. I can grant you the honor of its first piercing."
Her long tongue licked her lips. She eyed me like prey. Left unchecked, Barie would become a demonic seductress ravaging the city.
"No, offer your body. Get hard. Be true to your desires."
"Heh."
I chuckled despite myself.
"What an unpleasant laugh."
"Hahaha. Of course it's funny."
Even with that condescending gaze, physically I was the one looking down. And in reality, the gap between Barie and me went beyond the physical.
"You're gathering power, yet I'm just letting you."
"To resist me with such meager strength? Adorably pathetic."
Barie sneered at the mana I was compressing, then thrust the magic sword at me crudely. A fierce stab. Launched from her honed body, it pierced the space I occupied at terrifying speed.
I slipped behind her and seized her from the rear.
"Think that'll work?!"
"Obviously."
I didn't miss her lapse in guard. I drew my mana sword, channeling every drop of mana. It happened in an instant. In a split-second beyond perception, we exchanged blows. The sensation hit belatedly. For that brief moment, I matched her mana output in power, overwhelming her with swordsmanship. Augmented by my experience and knowledge, Eck exploited the gaps in Barie's habits and the boss's patterns.
"Limb Destruction."
Her arm flew off. The sword sailed away with it as Barie clutched the stump.
"Kyaaaaaaaah!!!!"
Blood sprayed as she screamed. The boss clinging to Barie's body was torn away with the flying sword. Drained of power, Barie collapsed. I caught her falling form.
"Ugh..."
"You okay?"
Barie, impressively, hadn't lost consciousness. She gritted her teeth in fury.
"What... happened."
"Nothing much."
I gently laid her down, retrieved a potion from her discarded armor strewn in the dungeon, and poured it into her mouth. The potion worked well. Pressing the severed arm to the wound made it adhere like clay.
"Damn...!"
She pounded the floor in rage but flushed red, swallowing her humiliation.
"Eck."
"Yes."
"This must never reach anyone's ears. Understand? Never."
"I'll keep it secret forever."
Barie turned her head away and murmured softly.
"......Thanks."
I shrugged. Once Barie had stabilized, I roamed the dungeon farming loot.