At a Glance, Ordinary
The dungeon they had found looked, at a glance, perfectly ordinary. A passage led down into the earth, ringed by stone, and Yujun's party stepped into a rock cave that did not seem especially large.
Was it because this was a dungeon of the Demon Realm? The pressure he had felt since first setting foot here seemed to have grown heavier still. It was not his imagination. Moving his own body had become genuinely restricted.
He glanced at her, and Do Jiyun gave a wry smile.
"This is only bearable because I'm past level 500. If an ordinary player had come, even walking would have been too much."
"I can endure it well enough."
"Well, you're strong enough to count as an exception," Do Jiyun said, sounding faintly resigned by now.
"Master. I, too, am perfectly intact."
Yujun snorted at Paranet's words.
"You're undead."
"Yes."
"Then shouldn't you actually get stronger in the Demon Realm?"
"That is not the case."
"No?"
"I am spared the Demon Realm's constraints. I do not, however, feel any stronger for it."
Paranet sounded dissatisfied, but that alone was advantage enough. If demons could act upon the Continent with no restriction at all, the Continent would have fallen into their hands long ago. Demons were, by that margin, an exceptionally powerful race compared with the other species.
The dungeon's interior was dark, as expected. Their footsteps rang—step, step. His Agility was high enough that he could see well ahead, but he still cast a light spell and brightened the surroundings. The place looked very old. Cracks ran through the walls here and there, and dust lay thick upon them.
They had not gone far before monsters appeared. What lived in the dungeon was, of course, more monsters—each with a different shape, and all of them impatient. They charged straight at Yujun's party.
Do Jiyun unleashed the flame magic she had prepared in advance.
Fire Blast
Flame surged like a wave and swallowed the monsters. Fwoooosh—! Boom! The wide passage filled with fire. Kieeeek—! Shrieking, the monsters burst free of the flames. Not a single one had died to Do Jiyun's signature fire magic.
So Yujun stepped in. He did not use magic. He met them with the sword. Shhk! Snk! Every time a line was drawn through empty air, a monster's head flew.
When all four monsters were slain, his level rose by one.
Yujun spoke.
"A bit different from when you fought them in the game, isn't it?"
"I'm pretty strong these days. In an ordinary dungeon, that attack should have killed them. Since it didn't, this dungeon's rank must be on the high side."
"Then the odds that a pureblood witch owns this place go up too, don't they?"
"I'd say so."
According to what Do Jiyun had said earlier, a high-level dungeon meant a high-level witch managing it. Strong monsters were, if anything, excellent news.
Shhk! Snk! Packs of monsters appeared two or three times more, and Yujun disposed of them with ease.
"There's something I'm curious about," Yujun said.
"Curious? About what?"
"What would happen if I used meteor magic in here?"
"...You're joking, right?"
"I'm just curious. Aren't you, Jiyun?"
"I mean, I'm definitely curious, but actually doing it is a bit much for the situation."
"In the game, a message popped up saying the meteor skill couldn't be used in an area like this. Think that's still true, now that it's real?"
"...Why are you like this? I'm genuinely scared, so stop."
"If meteor magic did work, we might end up forcibly trapped in the dungeon."
"I said I'm really scared!"
"Of course I won't do it. I value my life too."
"Haaah. My heart just shriveled for nothing."
"You're more of a coward than I expected."
"That's because it really seemed like you would do it."
"What kind of image do I even have?"
"Shameless, and completely reckless?"
"Aren't you praising me a little too highly? You've been at it for a while, and compliments like that... they're a bit much."
"It's not a compliment..."
KRA-BOOM!
That was when it happened. A single tremor. The yellowed walls shook violently.
"Wh-what was that?"
"The monsters are swarming."
"How many?"
"Too many to count exactly. A rough estimate... over a hundred."
"Until now they've only come in threes and fours. Why all of a sudden...?"
"Who knows. The witch's doing, maybe?" Yujun answered, as if it were nothing of importance.
Vmmm. Vmmmm. He drew out a vast quantity of mana. Ten or a hundred, it made no difference—one spell would sweep them all away. If anything, having them rush in like this was more than welcome.
Seeing the amount of mana pouring off him, Do Jiyun's mouth fell open.
"Are you casting a large-scale spell? Won't the dungeon collapse before they do?"
"Don't worry. The scale will be large, but it won't collapse."
Space Domination
With this ability, he could specify a chosen range and strike whatever lay inside it without affecting the surroundings. Unlike before, however, that range would be considerable this time.
Vmmm. The tremor swelled by the moment. Monsters surged in like a tide, and he sealed every last one of them inside the spell of Space Domination.
Thoom! Thud! An invisible, formless force. The monsters struck it and could advance no farther.
"Whoa..."
The exclamation slipped out of Do Jiyun before she knew it. Monsters trapped in a single place, screaming—that was not a sight one got to see often.
Mana continued to drain from Yujun's body. Little by little, he shrank the scale of Space Domination, and as the space contracted, the room the monsters occupied narrowed with it.
"Kyaaaaaak!"
"Graaaaah!"
The monsters vomited screams of agony. Sharp claws tore one another's bodies to shreds. Not much time passed before their bodies were compressed like clay. Only then did the last of them fall silent.
For a title with a condition attached, the effect was exceptional.
A shame it only applies in the Demon Realm. Even so, it was an achievement reward from a situation he had not anticipated at all. He had no complaints.
Eighteen titles already. This is insane. When he thought about how he had entered the Tower of Infinity only a few months ago, the current number was beyond reason.
Feels like just the other day I was wandering the Demon Realm for a single title. Searching dungeons back then had been partly about raising his experience, but more than anything, he had wanted one more high-grade title.
Coming in at a much lower level really does make titles easier to earn. He was even stronger now than the level 500 No-Pay Casual Gamer. Obtaining a Legendary title was, in a sense, only natural.
Most of the monsters inhabiting the dungeon had been wiped out in a single stroke.
Do Jiyun spoke.
"So what do you think she'll do now?"
"If we go to the end of the dungeon, we'll meet her again."
Yujun started walking once more. No monster rushed them before they reached the dungeon's far end. It seemed every monster inside had gathered with that earlier tremor.
That was when his instincts rang the alarm. A thrilling killing intent from above raised gooseflesh, and every hair on his body stood on end.
A witch. And not just any witch—Manuela, a pureblood witch. This time she revealed herself before Yujun not as an illusion, but in the flesh. Do Jiyun's body froze.
"Just watch. I'll try talking to her," Yujun said quietly.
Manuela was glaring at him the way one might look at a cockroach. He flinched slightly under that gaze, but kept his expression calmly unbothered.
"How did you find this place again?"
"There's something I wanted to tell you."
"Human, do you even have a conscience? Fine—I'll let the dungeon with the transcendent species slide. But I begged and pleaded for you to turn back, and you went and cleared the Source of Mana too! Do you have any idea how much I lost because of that?!"
Manuela spat the words out like a barrage. Pure resentment. Tears had gathered faintly at the corners of her eyes. She must have been holding quite a lot in.
"Who made you that angry? Tell me." Yujun said it with a gentle smile.
"......"
Faced with his shamelessness, Manuela could not even get her mouth to close.
"You walked into the Demon Realm of your own free will. You're already dead. Cry and beg to be spared all you want—there will be no forgiveness. You'll pay for destroying the Source of Mana."
"Manuela. I only made it this far thanks to the Source of Mana. Thank you. Sincerely."
He had been able to put Ancient Magic to proper use because his Magic stat had increased by an enormous amount. Yujun bowed his head to Manuela, floating in the air. The gratitude was genuine.
Manuela's brow twitched.
"Are you trying to rub salt in the wound right now? The Source of Mana was mine, I said! You completely destroyed my property! No—you stole it!"
"I truly am sorry about that. I'm sorry."
"...I-I told you apologizing like that won't get you forgiven!"
"I'm not apologizing because I want forgiveness. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry."
"......"
Witches' personalities varied. The general impression was that they were capricious and difficult to deal with, but there were quite a few surprisingly gentle ones as well. The witch who had saved Paranet had probably been of that sort.
Manuela did not know what to do. Until a moment ago she had meant to kill, with her own hands, the human who had invaded her dungeon three times. And yet here he was, apologizing as if he truly regretted it, and she was thrown off balance.
No. Humans are a race especially skilled at lying. I must not trust him.
Manuela shook her head hard.
"Do you know how much I lost because of you? Two dungeons were shut down, and this one has been devastated."
"......"
"This place is even a popular dungeon—the one they call the demons' graveyard. You killed all my lovely monsters, and then you act like this. Do you know how loathsome that is?"
"I understand how you feel. Completely. All of it is my fault."
"Th-this... that's not all! You called me an idiot, too!"
"I did?"
"Yes! After you erased my illusion, you said it was a good thing I was an idiot! Do you know how much that hurt? Can you even imagine how it feels to hear that from some wet-behind-the-ears human brat?!"
"I'm sorry. I did mean it. But I didn't say it with bad intentions."
"Wh... what? You meant it?"
"Yeah. But I really didn't mean it badly. You know idiocy and innocence are separated by a single sheet of paper, right? I felt you were innocent. By human standards, that's high praise."
"......"
Trying to persuade her with logic that made no sense. Manuela could not hide how absurd she found it.
"You... you're trying to make me even angrier, aren't you? That's what this is?"
"No. I'm serious. In a harsh world like this, how great an advantage is innocence? Knowing there's a witch as pure as you made me feel the world is still worth living in. Thank you."
"......"
"Actually, I was just saying that. I came to make a deal with you."
"You spend all this time spouting nonsense, and now it's a deal? Are you in your right mind?"
"Just hear me out. You'll be tempted too."
Had rambling at random actually worked? Manuela's expression had clearly softened from how it had been at first.
"Before that, can I ask one thing? The reason you run a dungeon like this is to lure demons in, isn't it?"
A sudden question from Yujun. Manuela frowned as if she could not believe him, then opened her mouth as if giving up.
"More precisely, to reduce their numbers."
"Why?"
"There are too many demons right now. Order and balance have to be kept just as they— no. I can't tell you that much. Why are you changing the subject?"
"But if you run a dungeon to kill demons, doesn't that just create a smaller number of stronger ones?"
"That's better. If their numbers keep growing and they unite later, there'll be no answer at all."
"So your goal is to kill as many demons as possible, then?"
"Uh... huh? Y-yeah. That's right."
"Perfect. You and I want the same thing."
"What?"
"I came to hunt demons too. Here, in the Demon Realm."
"...You came to hunt demons?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Yes. There isn't a shred of a lie in what I'm saying."
It was, in fact, a lie. He had come to obtain a lead on a Transcendent-grade item. He had no interest whatsoever in demons, or in the state of the Demon Realm.
Manuela seemed to believe him.
"What's the reason?"
"The reason I want to kill demons?"
"Yeah."
"It was recent. Demons crossed over to the Continent, kidnapped humans and all sorts of other races, and made them into sacrifices—so they could summon a Demon King onto the Continent. The plan failed, but for the people who suffered, that doesn't make it as if it never happened."
"Mmm..."
"I want to take revenge on their behalf. It's meddling, I know, but I was so angry I couldn't stand it."
"And that's why you came all the way to the Demon Realm? The cost must be considerable..."
"I can bear that much, no problem."
"...I see."
A meek, compliant answer. Inwardly cheering, Yujun delivered the finishing blow.
"You said the damage you took because of me was great, right? I'll help you recover all of it."