Meeting (2)
Meeting (2)
Dojin and the mysterious girl of unknown name kept their distance from each other, warily eyeing one another. For now, since she was human, they didn't turn outright hostile, but they didn't discard the possibility that she could be the first discovered humanoid monster.
"......You there, what's your name?"
"They call me Dojin. And you?"
"You don't know me? Definitely a monster......!"
"Isn't your self-confidence a bit over the top?"
"......I'm the Platinum Hero Emilia."
"Platinum Hero?"
"You're not going to say you don't know that name too, are you?"
"I know it."
He didn't.
But Dojin had a gut feeling that if he honestly admitted he didn't know here, she'd come charging at him right away.
Taking her down wouldn't be that hard, but she clearly looked like an adventurer, and subduing her without hurting her seemed pretty damn tricky.
'That greatsword swung pretty fast for its size.'
To move that massive blade so quickly required not just skill, but physical abilities to match.
Look at those skinny arms—no muscle fibers in sight, barely able to hold a greatsword, yet she swung it around like it was nothing.
Physically impossible—which meant she was a superhuman who transcended the laws of physics. A leveled-up powerhouse.
'Being on this floor means at least Level 2, maybe even Level 3.'
And no matter how strong Dojin was, subduing someone on his level without injuring them was impossible.
Especially if that opponent mistook him for a monster and resisted with everything she had—.
Cheol-keok-.
Dojin sheathed his sword, showing he had no intention of fighting first. Of course, even with Dojin sheathing his blade, Emilia didn't put hers away.
Thinking she wouldn't attack out of the blue, Dojin let go of his sword and tried talking.
"So, why are you here?"
"What kinda stupid question is that......? To hunt in the dungeon, duh?"
"By yourself?"
"You're alone too, aren't you?"
Emilia said that while scanning Dojin up and down. But honestly, there was something way more important than that.
"To begin with, what the hell happened? You can't meet other people in the dungeon, right?"
"Beats me—that's what I wanna ask."
Dojin played dumb and tried to change the subject. Anyone could see this situation arose because he'd jumped straight to the 30th Floor.
She hadn't noticed only because the fact that he could dominate and control the dungeon at will wasn't public knowledge yet, but if any info slipped, Dojin could end up under suspicion.
But Emilia wasn't about to brush off this unprecedented situation so lightly.
She was dead set on figuring out the cause and making sure it never happened again.
"Hmm, no. What's the problem? How about we go down to the lower floors together?"
"......No, I came here to head up to the upper floors."
"Going up is fine too."
"......."
Dojin glanced around as he watched Emilia stubbornly sticking to him like glue, refusing to back off.
He couldn't sense any monsters approaching nearby. Meaning, even if she was temporarily incapacitated, it wouldn't cause any issues.
Dojin closed his eyes and focused on his Dominion Authority. It connected to the ground beneath his feet, granting the ability to alter the dungeon's shape.
Of course, since it wasn't his original power, there wasn't much Dojin could do. Among those limited options, the most effective one: clearing the dungeon's dark curtain.
The dark curtain that swallowed all light beyond five meters lifted, revealing the dungeon's true form.
"Wha—wha—!?"
A fourth-dimensional reality projected onto human brains that could never comprehend it. The otherworldly sight he'd thought was just another dungeon floor revealed itself—hundreds, thousands of dungeons in their true forms.
It was like the pupils of a monster with thousands of eyeballs attached, creepy enough at a glance to trigger trypophobia.
Naturally, the first time Emilia laid eyes on it, she couldn't process the fourth-dimensional info and fell into chaos.
'Now's my chance.......'
While she was distracted, Dojin instantly teleported one floor down.
And the moment he vanished, the dark curtain reappeared. Regaining her senses, Emilia looked around for Dojin.
"......Gone?"
Of course, Dojin had been gone for a while.
'Good thing I shook her off.'
Dojin sighed in relief on the lower floor, catching his breath.
Emilia or whatever, he almost got tangled up with some weird adventurer and turned it into a hassle.
'One more girl sticking around here would be a disaster.'
He already had more women clinging to him than he could count on both hands.
One more, and even Dojin wouldn't be able to handle it physically.
'Best not to create any connections at all.'
Of course, there was no rule saying Emilia had to fall for Dojin, but who knows?
An encounter in the dungeon, known to be impossible.
The budding connection and love that blooms from it—.
Dojin couldn't rule it out entirely.
'Getting involved in that kinda crap would just give me a headache.'
And above all, the reason he'd met Emilia in the dungeon was because he'd used his Dominion Authority to warp inside.
He didn't know the exact mechanism that led to their meeting, but...... if he'd gone deeper into the dungeon with Emilia just like that?
'I warped right after entering the dungeon... so the time would be on record.'
With the Guild Staff stationed at the entrance managing adventurers' entries and exits, if the guild found out he'd just entered the dungeon and met Emilia on the 30th Floor?
They might not pinpoint that he had the Dominion Authority and created the elevator, but they'd definitely suspect he had something special.
And once the vested interests knew Dojin had something, they might start hounding him.
'No need to stir up trouble for no reason.'
Whew, letting out a light breath, Dojin instantly sharpened his honed mind once more. Then he gripped his sword and looked around.
The monsters welcoming him were even weaker now that he'd descended a floor. The 29th Floor—monsters monstrous enough to earn the name.......
'Not enough.'
Monsters at this level couldn't satisfy him.
Raising his blood-soaked head to gaze at the dungeon ceiling, Dojin smacked his lips.
'......Wonder what the blood of 40th Floor monsters tastes like.'
It didn't seem half bad. Dojin scanned Emilia's position with his Dominion Authority, realized she'd gone down to the lower floors, and immediately warped back to the 30th Floor.
Landing right in front of the stairs, Dojin climbed them toward the 40th Floor.
To the nest of monsters that would instill the fear of death in him, making him truly feel alive.
"So I'm telling you! It was really there!?"
"Y-Yes, yes...... Em-Emilia-ssi. But without proof......."
"Argh, seriously! You saying I'm lying or what!?"
The Guild Staff inwardly sighed repeatedly as the adventurer in front of him yelled and threw a tantrum.
If this wasn't the guild's next-gen prospect, the Platinum Hero Emilia, he'd have called security and dragged her out ages ago.
What the hell does 'prospect' even mean— the staff just sighed and repeated what Emilia had said.
"So... if I have this right from Emilia-nim...... you encountered a humanoid monster inside the dungeon?"
"Yeah! It looked exactly like a human, and it was strong enough to block my sword!"
"And it could talk."
"Uh!"
"And it was strong enough that even a prospect like Emilia-nim couldn't catch it. Right?"
"......Well, that's."
Dungeon monsters' strength doesn't exceed their floor. No matter how strong a 1st Floor monster is, it's just a goblin at best.
Even the strongest 30th Floor monster can't surpass that level. To Emilia, blessed by the gods with a Skill, they were just trash mobs not even worth a punch.
And yet, a monster she couldn't beat appeared? One that's humanoid with intelligence to boot?
"Please refrain from spreading false info that could drop morale......."
"......It's not false info."
"And even if it was true, that's a problem. Would adventurers have to start suspecting if the person next to them is a monster or human?"
The staff had another reason for not buying her story.
A never-before-reported humanoid monster perfectly mimicking a human? No way that exists—or should exist.
The dungeon wasn't even fully open up to the 10th Floor yet. If adventurers had to doubt whether the guy next to them was human or monster...... they'd slide right back into a distrustful society.
Worst case, rumors could spread that monsters escaped the dungeon and are wandering the city.
"......Fine."
After the Guild Staff's persistent persuasion, Emilia gave up her claim and hung her head glumly.
Seeing her usual confident self like that softened the staff's heart a bit, but there was no helping it.
This industry falls apart if you let emotions sway you—.
As he thought that, Pion next to him packed her stuff and stood up.
"Ah, Pion. Leaving already?"
"Yeah. Dojin-nim came to pick me up."
"Talk about devotion. Must be nice."
"Ahaha, what?"
The Guild Staff looked enviously at Pion, who'd snagged a great guy and was walking the flower path of life.
Emilia turned her head toward Pion at the familiar-sounding name.
And right there, standing tall with his head held high, was the man she'd been searching for: Dojin.
Dojin, who'd come to pick up Pion, spotted the glaring Emilia, hardened his expression, and tried to drag Pion out of the guild pronto.
"Hold it."
Of course, Emilia wasn't one to let that slide. With quick movements, she blocked their path, drew her greatsword, and pointed it at Dojin.
"You—what's your deal?"
"E-Emilia-nim!?"
The Guild Staff freaked out and rushed over. But even with his pleas, Emilia didn't lower her sword.
She stared him down fiercely, refusing to budge until Dojin answered.
Dojin tilted his head at her, then fired back with a question of his own.
"And what's your problem?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you blocking my way? Do you even know me?"
"Of course! Back in the dungeon......!"
"Dungeon what?"
"We met in the dungeon! Don't play dumb!"
"What are you even talking about... How could we meet in the dungeon?"
At those words, Emilia was at a loss. Yeah. She had no way to prove she'd met Dojin.
She was the only one who'd encountered him in the dungeon.