Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Part 2 Episode 20
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Dun arrived first at the meeting spot with Primaverra and frowned at the empty lot.
‘Didn’t they say there were two or three dungeons around here?’
Contrary to what he’d heard, the surroundings were barren—not a single monster remnant in sight.
{Dun: No dungeon?}
{Primaverra: Wait just a bit longer. I’ll be there soon! I’ve got one extra companion—is that okay?}
{Dun: Don’t say it’s Hayil.}
{Primaverra: Ah…….}
Her evasion confirmed it: Hayil was coming. Dun pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
A short while later, Prim showed up with the Second Army’s vice commander.
“Dun!! How has our adorable little duke been??”
He’d rushed down the moment he heard Dun was joining the expedition.
‘Ah, damn it.’
“Have you been eating properly?? Oh dear, still so skinny—it breaks my heart…….”
‘Ugh, ugh, damn it!!’
The grand mage Hayil, Second Army vice commander, stretched out his arms with a chummy grin. Dun recoiled in horror and bolted away from him.
After the war, when Noah had abandoned her daughter—herself—and vanished, most of the military saw Dun as utterly pitiable.
They knew she had a mother now, but her participation in the war felt like proof that she secretly yearned for her birth mother, Noah. It didn’t sit right with them.
Noah’s lingering influence in the military was immense, so that vague affection for her had morphed into fondness for the pitiful Dun.
Hayil took it further. He’d even created the “Noah Doodle Academy” and pored over her curt rebel strategies.
Typical of research-oriented mages, he was arrogant by nature. He’d harbored a silent closeness to Noah but never expressed it—now he unleashed it all on Dun.
Suddenly, this haughty Hayil turned into a fool just for her. Dun couldn’t adjust; goosebumps prickled her arms.
‘Why. Did. You. Bring. Him!!!’
Hayil roughly ruffled Dun’s hair with both hands, brimming with excessive affection.
With his face mashed, Dun shot Prim a glare.
Hayil was thrilled; Dun recoiled. It was hilarious—she knew she should intervene—but Prim clutched his stomach and laughed as he watched.
{Primaverra: Well, it’s an expedition that needs a grand mage……. No helping it.}
“I get that Dun looks cute, but enough already, Hayil. Look, she hates it.”
“Gasp! Do you hate—hate me?”
Hayil pulled his hands away from Dun’s head, his face faintly hurt.
“Not hate. Just do it in moderation. Excess anything gets annoying.”
Dun brushed back her bangs and spoke curtly.
But Hayil pictured her as a prickly kid hardened by scars. He wasn’t fazed in the slightest.
“Of course, my liege. The empire’s most lovable soul.”
“Kuaaaak!!!”
What the hell possessed him?
Dun couldn’t withstand the anti-magic force of those affection-drenched words and got exorcised on the spot.
It was ridiculous—calling herself his daughter meant enduring all this creepy coddling from the military brass.
Unlike players, these people would drop dead from one smack. She couldn’t just blast the annoying ones away.
“Anyway, wasn’t there supposed to be a dungeon here? Why’s nothing in sight?”
Dun settled her arm’s goosebumps and glanced around.
They’d gathered for a dungeon expedition, yet there wasn’t even a hint of one. Even hidden dungeons left traces near the entrance.
“The dungeon hasn’t spawned yet.”
“?”
“I got my powers back from the former emperor recently, right? I did some ability research with Hayil and unlocked a bunch of fun spells. One’s mana visualization.”
“Oh—you can predict dungeon spawn spots from mana flow patterns?”
Hayil had always researched mana-dense zones. Paired with Prim’s visualization, they’d apparently found a way to pinpoint dungeon generation areas.
No wonder he’d been so busy.
Dun pieced it together, and her two companions burst into admiration.
“Wow, as expected of the empire’s one and only little duke! So clever. A genius, a genius.”
“Who doesn’t know Dun’s a genius? The empire’s future is bright.”
“…….”
It felt like praising a mutt for rolling over. Over-the-top cheers for a basic guess.
Dun sighed and spoke up.
“Then let’s find the dungeon quick.”
“Right! Mana’s surging right on cue.”
He’d teased Dun a little, but now he felt the subtle air currents against his skin intensifying.
Prim summoned his wand and twirled it to ready his stance.
“Azik Hernuos!”
He chanted loudly, then slammed the wand into the ground.
A small pink orb materialized in midair as the spell took hold.
Clap!
Prim clapped once and spread his arms wide. The pink orb ballooned outward at terrifying speed.
It grew and grew, engulfing Prim, Dun, and Hayil—then the entire surrounding area.
Once it covered the expedition zone, Prim drew his arms together and clapped again, halting the expansion.
Prim gazed at the scene, as if viewing the world through a pink filter.
Thin, cloud-like white vapor drifted through the air. Raw, unrefined natural mana.
“Here, Dun. This is the mana invisible to our eyes…… Huh?”
He turned to explain, but Dun was gone. A massive red mana blob swirled where she’d stood.
“Prim, I can’t see ahead. Everything’s red.”
“……What in the world is this??”
Hayil gawked at the sudden mana blaze.
The distinct hue suggested personal, wieldable unique mana—but the sheer volume was inhuman.
“How…… that much mana……?”
“Dun!! All that red is your mana!! Shrink it down if you want to see!”
Prim’s voice echoed from afar.
Dun blinked.
Her vision swam in red, eyes stinging shut. So this was all her mana.
She’d known her reserves were vast, but seeing it hit different.
‘Soul Arrow shrink the mana mass?’
Dun pulled one of the many arrows Seol Do-yun had given her from her inventory and jammed it into her head.
“Better? Shrunk any?”
“Oh! A lot!”
Still blind, but progress.
It worked, so Dun burned through her arrows, shrinking the mana further.
The flames cloaking her dwindled until they hugged her body alone.
From outside, she resembled a human-shaped red glow. Her back bristled with black arrows like a porcupine.
“Pfft, Dun! You’re a red human now. Why turn into a hedgehog monster, though?”
“Reduces my power and mana.”
“Ahh, you’ve got it rough.”
Prim burst out laughing at the sight.
“Dun, try regulating your mana output. With the volume down, it’s perfect practice.”
“How do you regulate mana?”
Even with arrows throttling output, the thin, dense layer over her skin blocked her view.
Dun groped forward with an outstretched arm.
“Where are you?”
A few steps in, a hand clamped hers tight.
“Right here! Let me help. Blow some mana my way.”
“What for?”
“After reclaiming my powers from Luisa, I got way stronger. I’ll tame the energy and send it back.”
Dun nodded and channeled mana through their clasped hands as directed.
Prim took a portion of her mana, subdued it, and fed it back.
Her enveloping red mana gradually lightened.
The arrows had made her feel light before. Now Prim’s aid brought refreshing clarity.
[Ability Utilization: 65%]
Dun’s eyes widened at the status window. She’d never hit this high. Incredible.
Seol’s arrows boosted utilization for sure, but even a headful topped out at 50%—then her level just dropped.
Magic felt oddly tough too. Weaker power should’ve eased mana handling and spells.
Yet here she’d shattered that 50% ceiling.
An unexpected gift. Her mood soared; she lunged into a tight hug with Prim.
She could squeeze hard without shattering him. Bliss.
“Uh, uhhh……?”
“Feels like I can breathe now…….”
Prim’s eyes went wide at the suddenly ecstatic Dun bear-hugging him.
This feral cat, hugging of her own accord? First time since that dawn.
Too abrupt—he blanked out briefly—then his lips twitched upward.
“N-nothing big! H-hehahaha.”
Dun’s glee infected him; Prim fought back his dopey grin.
“Once this dungeon’s done, we’ll start with mana control lessons.”
“Sounds good!”
“Such a sunny Dun—so cute.”
“Whatever.”
“Ack, tsundere mode reactivated.”
Dun let go with a hearty reply, then clenched and unclenched her fist.
The effortless motion moved her deeply.
Pre-awakening, her agile body had real zip. Reborn, the surging mana and uncontrollable strength weighed her down—she’d missed that lightness.
Solutions to her chronic woes emerging one by one. Overwhelming.
“Our Lady Dun…… Mana control’s been a struggle, hasn’t it? We’ll help with all we’ve got!”
Hayil chimed in, eager for the upbeat vibe.
“Got it, got it. Anyway, where’s that dungeon about to spawn?”
Now controllable, white mana wisps came into view.
She reached out, grasped the gassy mana. Squeezed—some turned red and absorbed, the rest scattered.
Unlike her forced emissions.
“See that odd vortex? That’s my predicted spawn point.”
Mana streams looped a spot, dispersing repeatedly in eerie fashion. Hayil’s vortex matched.
“So, when’s it spawning?”
“Your intense mana earlier delayed it, but it’s reactivating. Just a bit longer.”
Prim backed Hayil up.
“No need to wait.”
“Oh, for real?”
“I can pull off Hayil’s dungeon acceleration theory.”
“Really!!”
Hayil’s eyes bulged; he bellowed.
“Developing my new powers let me nudge ambient raw mana. Truth is, today’s expedition’s goal was checking accelerated dungeons against normals.”
Dun had shown up for once—hoping for good results.
Prim extended a hand, shut his eyes, and exhaled slowly.
Huuu.
He clenched his fist. White mana gases whipped into motion, sucked toward the vortex.
It swelled into a white orb.
The orb hoovered up nearby trees, rocks, dirt, organics—forming a solid structure.
Kugugung!
A faint quake rumbled.
The condensed natural mana vortexed inward, absorbed into the structure, and blackened.
A dungeon spawned in seconds.
“Success?”
Prim slung an arm over Dun’s shoulder and palmed the entrance.
Dun whistled at the rapid formation before her eyes.