Chapter 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1
Prologue
How long had they been walking? At the end of the damp cave, an artificially constructed path finally came into view.
We've finally arrived…
At the thought, he let out an involuntary sigh.
He turned his head to look back.
When they first entered the dungeon, there had been seventy-four of them. Now, only forty-three remained.
Despair was etched onto the faces of his surviving companions. Everyone was exhausted. The sheer size of this cursed dungeon was part of the reason, but the monsters were simply that strong.
We didn't lose thirty-one people.
Forty-three of us survived.
He repeated the words like a mantra, forcing himself to believe them. It was the only way to keep moving forward. The plan hadn't been flawed, nor had they suffered extra casualties due to bad intel. It was simply that despite executing the best possible strategy, despite everyone giving their utmost, they had failed to protect thirty-one of their comrades.
That was all.
Honestly, he had prepared himself for this. In fact, he had braced himself for far worse scenarios. After all, this was one of the Seven Great Evil Caves—the 'Primordial Core'.
Since it was one of the Seven Great Evil Caves, a dungeon "provisionally deemed impossible for humanity to conquer," heavy casualties were to be expected.
Bern, the captain of the subjugation squad, bit his lip. A greatsword larger than his own body was strapped to his back.
Every subjugation squad that had challenged the Primordial Core before them had chosen the 'Red Path' on the left.
It was the route most squads had attempted, meaning the vast majority of the information—bought with countless lives—was centered on it.
According to that intel, following the Red Path led to a vast, wide-open chamber. There, the 'Blade Maid Rene' would be waiting to welcome the subjugation squad, greeting them with a graceful curtsy, her fingertips pinching the hem of her skirt.
A faint smile. And then, a relentless downpour of blades.
Though a few had escaped, crippled and broken, no one had ever made it through that room alive.
No one knew the true identity of the small monster disguised as a maid, but everyone knew that a clash with the 'Blade Maid' meant the subjugation squad would never return.
That was why Bern, unlike the squads before him, had chosen the filth-covered Right Path.
The monster waiting there was a colossal beast writhing with over a hundred tentacles. They had lost more than twenty comrades to that beast alone, but still—it was the right choice. He forced himself to believe it again. If they had chosen the left path like the previous squads, they would have suffered far greater casualties. Surely, that would have been the case.
As his agonizing thoughts subsided, a deep darkness, unlike any they had encountered so far, consumed Bern's vision.
He stopped walking. Before he knew it, he was standing at the end of the path. Stretched out before him was a massive cavern. It was shrouded in such absolute, pitch-black darkness that it was difficult to even estimate its scale, but he was certain it was larger than any dungeon cavern he had ever seen. The immense resonance echoing from the empty space told him as much.
Once again, he looked back. The subjugation squad members standing behind him wore solemn expressions, as if they too had steeled their resolve. Nodding silently, he slowly took a step forward. The air was strangely cold. He looked up, but the ceiling was nowhere to be seen. The sheer scale of the space was overwhelming. Gritting his teeth, he exhaled.
"This is the end of the Primordial Core."
Even without anyone telling him, he knew it instinctively.
This vast cavern was the end of the dungeon. This was the final destination of their adventure, reached after countless sacrifices—a place where unimaginable treasures were stored, and where perhaps the '36 Masterpieces', the greatest creations of humanity, lay dormant.
And the place where the master of this dungeon resided.
In that instant, a thunderous roar echoed.
"Everyone, into formation!" Bern shouted.
The roar, loud enough to shake the massive cavern, swallowed his voice, but everyone managed to steady themselves and tighten their ranks despite the tremor of fear. It was all they could do.
The ground shook. Their vision shook with it. In the chaos, even their formation began to crumble. The sharp crack of stalactites breaking loose from the unseen ceiling and crashing to the ground echoed all around them.
Belatedly, magical spheres floated into the air, illuminating the vast space. And in that light, every member of the subjugation squad saw something colossal.
A black, malevolent, terrifying creature of indistinguishable form, so vast it seemed to reach the sky.
As if waking from a long slumber, the massive creature twisted its body and took a single step forward.
Through the flickering light, which seemed on the verge of being swallowed by the darkness, its silhouette slowly revealed itself.
It was only then that they realized the black mass, the size of three or four watchtowers combined, was merely the monster's head.
With a sickening, tearing sound, the monster's maw split open, revealing countless teeth aimed directly at the subjugation squad.
At the same time, one of the monster's four eyes locked onto Bern.
Only then did Bern, the captain of the subjugation squad and the hero known as the Hope of the Empire, know for certain.
"...Run."
They couldn't win.
Absolutely not.
Prologue. 2
"So, to sum it up… you were sleeping, a bunch of humans invaded, so you fought them off while half-asleep. Is that it?"
"Exactly. I was fighting two enemies at once: humans and sleepiness. And I wasn't sleeping, I was just dozing off. So, Patrick, I'd appreciate it if you'd calm down."
"Calm down? How on earth am I supposed to calm down! Does it make any sense for the dungeon boss to be dozing off until the humans are right under his nose? Does yawning in front of them make any logical sense? This is a mental fortitude issue! Rene, what do you think?"
"Are you raising your voice at me?"
"...Rene, what are your thoughts on this?"
"Well, to overwhelm humans with nothing but a yawn… I, Rene, am once again amazed by Lord Swallow's majesty."
"Wow, you call that an answer…"
Snap. He felt something break inside him. The skeleton knight clutched his skull with both hands as if struck by a sudden headache. Deciding that a rational conversation was impossible, he muttered in a low voice.
Yeah. This dungeon is doomed. I've always thought so, but this really seals the deal.
"Stop it, Patrick. I was wrong… Wait a minute. Isn't it your job to keep them from reaching my room in the first place? Why are you getting mad at me?"
Even while playing both victim and accuser, the monster called 'Lord Swallow' didn't stop yawning. Though the thousands of teeth revealed every time he opened his massive maw looked ready to devour everyone on the spot, no one was frightened. On the contrary, the skeleton standing before the massive black body raised his voice at Swallow, looking ready to pounce at any moment.
"Oh, of course! That's true, too! But isn't all of this ultimately to build up the boss's intimidating presence? And you, the very person in question, ruined it all! That's why I'm like this! Argh! This is so frustrating!"
"Patrick, I get that you're angry, but you're going to dislocate a bone at this rate."
"Indeed. Patrick, your problem is that you overreact. Besides, that clattering jaw of yours—to be perfectly honest, it's noisy. It's so loud I bet it can be heard outside the dungeon."
"Yeah, yeah. Rene said if you keep making so much noise, she'll rip your jaw right off."
"W-When did I ever…!"
"Sigh…"
Muttering, "I should just hand in my resignation," the skeleton hung his head in defeat. Swallow, wearing a pitying expression, scratched the back of his neck. Perhaps he accidentally struck the wall while raising his arm, because the cavern rumbled as the section his arm had brushed collapsed with a loud crash.
"Ah, my bad."
"Oh, great. That's way louder than my jaw clattering," the skeleton retorted spitefully, sinking deep into his chair.
Behind the crudely made wooden chair lay the corpse of Bern, once the 'Hope of the Empire', along with his sword.
This was the 'Primordial Core'.
One of the Seven Great Evil Caves, dungeons "provisionally deemed impossible for humanity to conquer."
Phase. 1
Most 'dungeon raids' end in human victory.
To begin with, dungeon raids are not fought on equal footing. They are nothing more than blatant invasions carried out under humanity's noble pretext of 'challenging the unknown.'
How could the positions of humans, who can 'attack at any time,' and monsters, who must 'always be ready to defend,' ever be fair? Even if humans occasionally lose due to an unexpected dungeon layout or powerful monsters, they can simply adapt based on the information gained from that battle and try again.
There is no limit to the number of attempts. As the war of attrition repeats, it is the dungeon that rapidly weakens, not the humans. Of course, there will be casualties in the process, but that is a sacrifice easily tolerated when considering the rewards of conquering a dungeon.
For that reason, as long as there are challengers willing to try, a dungeon will inevitably be conquered.
Rare treasures hidden deep within, monster corpses used as materials for equipment or magical research, the vast territory of the dungeon itself, information on the monsters, and the rewards and honor bestowed upon the successful subjugation squad—a single conquest yields so much. There was no reason for humanity to pass up such an attractive challenge.
Countless subjugation squads are formed solely for dungeon raids. In this manner, they conquer the monsters' domains one by one. With the treasures obtained in the process, the squads grow stronger, using that power to challenge even tougher dungeons.
Through this simple cycle that began centuries ago, countless dungeons have been conquered, and new ones have emerged.
In such a climate, it was only natural that dungeons humanity could not conquer existed.
The Great Evil Caves. More precisely, the Seven Great Evil Caves.
It was the name given to the unknown territories, painted in shades of anger and fear, which humanity had provisionally deemed impossible to conquer.
This did not mean that not a single Great Evil Cave had been conquered in hundreds of years. It was simply that the seven dungeons deemed the most difficult—impossible to conquer under current circumstances—were referred to as such.
When one of the Seven Great Evil Caves was eventually conquered by humans, a new dungeon would simply rise to take its place.
Yet, even among the notorious Seven Great Evil Caves, there was one dungeon judged absolutely unconquerable.
The worst demon realm in history, which had never once revealed its depths to humanity.
The 'Primordial Core'.
A subterranean dungeon in the form of a massive cave, guarded by dozens of high-ranking monsters.
After pushing through the perilous paths, a fork in the road exuding a sinister aura would greet the subjugation squad.
Waiting for them beyond that fork were the dungeon's gatekeepers, one guarding each path.
Guarding the Red Path on the left was the homunculus, 'Blade Maid Rene'.
Guarding the Blue Path in the center was the skeleton, 'Death Knight Patrick'.
According to recent reports from investigation teams, a right path contaminated with filth also existed, though no precise information about it had been uncovered.
In this demon realm adorned with bizarre structures and sculptures, tens of thousands of challengers had fallen, unable to even pass the gates.
Ruling over this impregnable fortress was 'Swallow', the primordial monster appearing in the very first chapter of the Empire's mythology.
It was said that his size was grander than the Empire's imperial palace, and his thick hide was impervious even to cannonballs. His sharp claws and teeth could tear the heavens apart, and his eyes, harboring death, were said to plunge anyone who met his gaze into an infinitely deep abyss.
Despite the despair of having to face such a primordial monster, the reason the strongest heroes of the century endlessly challenged the 'Primordial Core' was due to the countless weapons rumored to be buried deep within, especially those known as the 36 Masterpieces…
"...That's what it says. Just as you said, Lord Swallow, the number of humans coming here has definitely increased since these books started circulating. Though I never imagined the humans, who always took the Red Path, would choose the Right Path."
"See? Running a dungeon requires know-how. Look at some of those other dungeons. They wrap themselves in mystery for no reason, so humans don't even spare them a glance. You have to leak just enough information so they delude themselves into thinking, 'Ah, we know that dungeon well!' That's how you get them to publish books that are half-imagination and rush in like moths to a flame. And then they get hit hard, just like this time."
"Hehe, you are so smart, Lord Swallow. I could never calculate things like that."
"...Well, even so, I honestly didn't expect them to swarm in like this. And to think they'd head straight for the Right Path without even testing the waters…"
At Swallow's words, 'Blade Maid Rene' turned her head.
In the corner of Swallow's room, which resembled a ceilingless cave, a pile of dozens of corpses came into view.
"Was it seventy-four in total?"
"Yes. But fewer than fifty of them have intact equipment. The rest had their gear completely melted while dealing with Mr. 116 Black Tentacles, so they're useless. Looking at the intact gear, they all seem quite valuable…"
Swallow shifted his massive body, turning his gaze away from Rene, who was smacking her lips in disappointment.
Despite the vast cavern, he seemed uncomfortable, twisting his body this way and that to find a cozy position. As he did, he felt a gaze so intense it practically bored into his face.
Unable to ignore the persistent stare, he reluctantly looked down and met the eyes of Rene, who was pouting with puffed-up cheeks. Twirling the ends of her braided silver pigtails, she muttered just loud enough for him to hear.
"If it were me, I could have cleaned them up perfectly without damaging the merchandise…"
"...Yes, yes, I know."
Unsatisfied with his half-hearted response, Rene pouted even more. Swallow chuckled at her behavior. He knew exactly what her hair-twirling meant.
It meant, 'Please pay more attention to me.' Something like that.
He was used to it by now. To humans, she might be a terrifying homunculus, but in reality, she was just a young girl.
How troublesome, Swallow thought briefly before letting out a breath. In sync with his exhalation, his body rapidly shrank.
`<Polymorph>`
Swallow transformed into a human-like form in an instant. Only after he patted Rene on the head did she let out a soft giggle. She really is just a child at times like this, he thought, looking at the light pink blush dusting her cheeks.
And as if finding the sight highly offensive, 'Death Knight' Patrick muttered, "What a joke."
He tapped his fingers on the table, openly displaying his irritation.
"Excuse me. Rene? Boss? We gathered here for a meeting, right? Not to play around. So why are you two the only ones having fun? Wow. The atmosphere is so sweet I feel like I'm getting cavities just breathing the air. Seriously. I came for a meeting, and I'm going to end up with tooth decay. But it's not just my teeth that are rotting; my head is splitting, too. And Boss, if you're going to polymorph, shouldn't you do it properly? That hand you just used to pat Rene's head—at a glance, it had six fingers."
"Ah. You're right. It does have six."
"Last time, you had over forty teeth. And then you grinned from ear to ear, saying the transformation went well. It was absolutely terrifying…"
"Patrick, your jaw is clattering too loudly. It's annoying."
"Sigh, this dungeon is a joke. I need to quit as soon as possible."