Chapter 5: The First Dungeon (1)
Chapter 5: The First Dungeon (1)
I wasn't sure if Tiamat had designed it herself, but the moment I opened the app, my first impression was...
Is this just a typical mobile game?
In the upper left corner was an SD character of a silver-haired girl with small horns, tucked under a blanket and sleeping in a bed.
I remembered Tiamat telling me, just as I was losing consciousness after she gave me her power, that she would be falling back asleep for a while and to look after things.
Piecing together what I’d learned from being invited into her dream, she had woken up earlier than expected while still recovering her strength, and then she’d spent even more power to appoint me as her proxy...
Though I had only accepted the role out of desperation for my own situation, a sense of responsibility began to creep in.
The screen displayed a parchment resting on a luxurious executive desk, with several menu options listed on the paper.
However, only one item at the very top was actually clickable.
Written in elegant cursive, it read: [Awakener Deployment].
I decided to tap it.
The writing on the parchment vanished, replaced by an image and text that materialized on their own.
It showed a female knight character with short, platinum-blonde hair, and beneath her...
Grace.
Currently, Grace was the only being I could summon and command.
Ding!
[Portal Detected!]
With a warning chime, the screen automatically transitioned.
The display changed to a map, showing the location of a newly opened portal along with the dungeon's estimated difficulty.
The portal was in Daejeon...
The difficulty was estimated to be D-Rank.
I wasn't sure what criteria were used for these ratings, but it didn't seem like a particularly difficult dungeon.
My next move was clear.
I tapped the portal icon, and a small Awakener deployment window popped up.
The only person available for dispatch was, of course, Grace.
Since she’s a follower of Tiamat, she should be able to clear a dungeon alone, right...?
[Would you like to dispatch?]
Of course.
[Yes]
The moment I pressed the button, my vision was washed in white light, and I felt my body float into the air.
Huh?
What? Am I going into the dungeon too...?
★ ★ ★
Grace, a follower of Tiamat, was originally a knight from a fallen world.
Born a commoner to ordinary farmers, the established logic of her status-based society dictated that she could never become a knight.
However, she transcended her origins.
From a young age, her dazzling talent drew everyone's attention.
Whether it was boys her own age or full-grown adults, she could easily knock them down with nothing but a wooden stick.
Anyone who tried to lay a hand on the beautiful girl was soundly beaten, a testament to her extraordinary gifts.
Even those who knew nothing of swordsmanship could see her immense potential, and soon, she was exceptionally admitted into a knighthood as a squire to begin her training.
She went far beyond the cliché of learning ten things from a single lesson...
Grace was perfect, performing every task as if she had already mastered it long ago.
It is human nature to feel jealousy toward mediocre talent, but talent so overwhelming instead inspires awe.
The knights of the order—her mentors, her peers, and her juniors alike—all felt the same way.
Regardless of rank, everyone believed they were standing in the presence of a hero who would leave her name in the annals of history.
It also helped that Grace, despite her immense talent, possessed a personality that won everyone over.
She was gentle and well-rounded.
The fact that she never looked down on others despite her incredible gifts proved that she was a perfect knight, not just in skill, but in character.
Everyone who knew her anticipated a glorious future and prayed for it.
But reality was cruel, mocking their expectations with a sneer.
No matter how brilliant she was, she was still a mortal human.
It was impossible to become a hero in a world that had become a battlefield for higher beings—the gods.
Had the gods fought through proxies, she surely would have been chosen, and things might have been different...
But the gods had manifested in their true forms, clashing head-on in a violent struggle. The best anyone could do was try not to get swept away in the carnage.
Grace was forced to watch as her kingdom, and eventually the entire world, was shattered to pieces.
She wanted to stop it, but she knew it was physically impossible.
She fought desperately to protect as many people as her strength allowed, but she also learned the cruelty of the reality that she could not save everyone.
Though she was humble and never looked down on others, she was still a woman who took pride in her skills and knew the extent of her talent.
It was then that she realized, quite painfully, that the world does not bend to one's will.
Nevertheless, she wanted to save people.
In a world destined for destruction, she fought desperately to keep as many alive as possible.
Cutting down rampaging monsters and maddened humans alike, she eventually encountered Tiamat in her final moments and entered into a contract.
In exchange for becoming Tiamat's follower...
She asked the goddess to save all the people of the kingdom she was currently protecting.
Tiamat took a liking to Grace, who was willing to sacrifice herself for others without a shred of self-interest.
Grace was a mortal of such talent that, in peaceful times, the gods would have competed to make her their follower.
However, having just fought the Evil Gods directly, most gods were exhausted and found Grace's condition—saving so many people—to be a burden.
Some gods had already fallen into a slumber to recover from the aftermath of the battle, and most of those still awake were occupied with the task of sealing the Evil Gods.
In truth, few had the will or the energy to save the humans of a world that was already ruined, but Tiamat granted Grace's request.
This was possible because Tiamat had already been planning to save as many humans as she could even before Grace asked.
From another perspective, Grace had essentially volunteered to be Tiamat's follower.
Grace swore an oath of loyalty to Tiamat, vowing to serve her as her new liege.
Afterward, Tiamat—along with a few other gods who had a change of heart—sent the people of Grace's kingdom and as many other sentient beings as possible to another dimension.
The sight of people passing through a massive gate in a long line was the last thing Grace saw of the world she had lived in and protected.
Soon, she was sent to a space Tiamat had created for her followers to rest and wait.
It was a sanctuary where followers could sleep or engage in personal training.
Tiamat had manifested many things in this space for her followers, and it was designed to maintain itself without her constant attention.
Grace knew that her master, Tiamat, had fallen into a deep sleep.
She could have chosen to sleep alongside her master, but Grace did not.
Since she was serving a new liege and starting a new life as a divine follower rather than an ordinary knight, she felt she needed to be prepared.
Grace believed she had to possess strength worthy of her new station.
As the epitome of a diligent knight, she continued to study and train in the space provided for her, even without being ordered to do so.
Only after investing a significant amount of time into acquiring the knowledge and skills required of a follower did Grace finally fall asleep.
Because of this preparation, Grace was not flustered at all when she woke up and found herself summoned by someone.
The platinum-blonde female knight stood clad in full body armor, custom-made to fit her perfectly and allow for fluid movement.
The surroundings were pitch black, so Grace created a sphere of light in her left hand to illuminate the area.
This simple light magic was something she had known since her days as a knight, a basic spell that anyone with mana could cast.
In truth, as an Awakener with superior physical senses, she didn't need it in this level of darkness...
But she used it for the man standing before her.
Han Shin.
The first proxy chosen by her master, Tiamat.
Before falling back into her slumber, Tiamat had informed all her followers about her new proxy and provided a brief overview of the current situation.
Grace had learned that the Evil Gods, trapped in her original world, were causing damage to other dimensions in their attempts to escape.
Naturally, she was furious and more than willing to help thwart the Evil Gods' plans.
One ruined world was enough.
That must never happen again.
Grace did not take her eyes off Tiamat's proxy, Han Shin.
She watched as his eyes widened in surprise in the darkness, looking around before squinting his left eye at the light she had produced. It hit her then that Han Shin had been an ordinary person with no abilities until very recently.
He was undoubtedly lacking and weak for now, but that didn't matter to her.
I must serve and support him well.
Her thought was simple: if he was lacking, she would teach him and fill the gaps.
Grace did not look down on Han Shin at all; she treated him as her absolute superior.
"It is an honor to meet you. I am Grace."
As Grace gave a disciplined salute and greeting, Han Shin reflexively bowed his head and replied.
"Ah... yes. It's nice to meet you."
Han Shin didn't know much about Grace, but the moment he saw her, he felt what everyone else in her past had felt—that she was a knight of truly extraordinary caliber.
It was only natural for him to speak formally; until just recently, he had been an ordinary person with a frail body.
The small sphere of light floating in her left hand cast a strong impression on Han Shin, illuminating the beautiful figure of the platinum-blonde knight in her silver armor.
She looked truly noble and perfect.
There was no better way to describe Grace.
Watching Grace wait silently for his orders, Han Shin finally remembered what he was supposed to do.
Right... I have to clear this dungeon first.
"I need to defeat the monsters in this dungeon. Could you help me?"
At Han Shin's cautious request, Grace immediately nodded.
"Of course. However, Lord Han Shin, I would prefer if you did not use honorifics with me. You are my superior, and I am a being who exists to receive and carry out your orders."
Grace wanted to clarify their relationship first.
To her, it was more uncomfortable to have Han Shin treat her with such difficulty.
"Ah... right. I mean, okay."
"Thank you. Then, I shall take the lead, Lord Han Shin."
"Please do."
The platinum-blonde knight drew the sword from the scabbard at her waist.
Shring...
The cold metallic sound rang in Han Shin's ears. Seeing the blade, which radiated a sharp, lethal aura, the reality finally sank in.
He had stepped into a dungeon—a dangerous place that only Awakeners could challenge—and he was about to face monsters.
Given that Han Shin had been severely injured two years ago while trying to block orcs pouring out of a portal, it wouldn't have been surprising if he suffered from PTSD.
What's this...? Strangely, I'm not shaking at all...
But there were no such symptoms.
It was a sign that Han Shin's mind, which had weakened along with his frail and sickly body, had been healed just as his body had.
Han Shin followed behind Grace as she moved forward slowly, sword in her right hand and shield in her left.