The Dungeon's Sole Conqueror (4)
“It’s the water room! The male human entered the water room!”
The plaza. Everyone watching the crystal orb held their breath.
That guy was human. Humans couldn’t breathe underwater.
So the outcome was obvious. This was the end. He was out.
No one averted their eyes, determined not to miss the moment of his failure.
And then, moments later.
Their predictions were utterly shattered.
“N-No way!”
“Impossible!”
“He’s a merman!?”
The plaza erupted in chaos.
Inside the crystal orb. A room filled to the brim with water.
There was Kang Naru, transformed into a merman, swimming effortlessly!
That form…!
April’s eyes widened.
The sleek, blue-skinned merman Naru had become looked familiar.
A week ago, deep in the ocean, she’d crossed paths with a merman who turned out to be him! The lone wanderer who’d explored a wrecked ship after driving off the undead sea witch.
The instant she’d spotted him, curiosity had gripped her at first sight. An inexplicable, intense pull.
She’d regretted not seeing him again after that… and now here he was—Naru!
A bright smile bloomed on April’s lips.
“I have a feeling I’m gonna fall for him.”
Meanwhile, Sophia stood beside her, mouth agape, staring blankly at the orb.
Turning into a merman really shows off his body…
It was blatantly sexy, every curve on full display. She’d never properly ogled his full naked form during sex, so this was her first time taking it all in so clearly.
Even as a merman, his physique was nearly identical to his human one—dazzling.
His skin tone had shifted, scales and fins added, but he was utterly naked, without a stitch.
Firm chest and those princely abs. A plump, angry-looking ass. Thighs gleaming with shine and bounce like a stallion’s.
Only one regrettable detail: the center of his lower body was smooth and flat like a woman’s mound.
The hefty protrusion that should’ve been there was gone.
Where’d his dick go?
Well, it wasn’t a huge deal. He’d grow it back once he reverted to human.
Her mind was flooded with one thought: Naru’s body was too damn perfect.
For a widow with two kids to hook up with a guy this sexy… it felt like a divine blessing, almost undeserved.
It’s unreal… I hit the jackpot…
Suddenly, memories of him pounding into her flooded back, stirring her arousal.
“Ugh… Lady April. Mind if I step away for a bit…?”
“Of course, go ahead.”
Imagining making love with that skilled fighter and his killer body, Sophia couldn’t hold back anymore. She hurried off.
She suddenly had to pee. Badly.
A few minutes earlier.
I’d just entered the water room.
Suddenly, the exit sealed shut, and water gushed from holes in the walls.
“Trying to drown me, huh?”
The water rose steadily. At this rate, I’d be fully submerged.
Without hesitation, I exposed the Sea Princess Skin Armor I’d already equipped.
My body was instantly covered in finned armor, transforming me into a merman in the blink of an eye.
Good thing I had the armor.
The water soon filled to the ceiling.
Guess this room’s meant to be cleared underwater.
I breathed comfortably, scanning the surroundings calmly.
Soon, I spotted carvings on the walls.
A mural, jumbled out of sequence.
I got it immediately.
A picture puzzle, huh.
I swam right up and started sliding the square tiles up, down, left, right to reassemble the mural.
Breathing underwater? Piece of cake.
Taking it slow and focused, I completed the puzzle smoothly.
Right after, the water drained rapidly, and a door to the next area opened.
“Come to think of it, that’s centuries-old filthy water.”
It creeped me out now.
I spat repeatedly.
I’d breathed through gills, so the water was expelled from my body, but some lingered in my mouth.
“Worst.”
Grumbling, I moved on.
And into the next room.
“You’re the first visitor since Illar. Welcome to my chamber, whelp.”
A knight in golden armor, handsome and refined, sat alone on a skeletal throne.
Not a monster—a human.
Locked in a dungeon for two hundred years, yet his skin showed no rot. Bizarre.
No food in here—how’s he survived?
I’d learn the reason soon enough, through our conversation.
“Two centuries ago, I consumed an Isle granting immortality, gaining eternal life. No matter who you are or what you do, you cannot defeat me.”
He introduced himself as Knight Randelt, serene like an enlightened monk.
The guy was a chatterbox, dying to talk after so long, with no hostility toward me.
That much confidence, huh.
“To eat that immortality Isle, I had to slay my own lord. I needed a hideout. Illar promised to shelter me if I hid here for three hundred years. But if anyone tried to pass this room, I was to show no mercy.”
Whoosh.
He rose, drawing his sword.
Shing.
He approached slowly. Aura cloaked his blade.
“You’re out of luck. Now that you’ve heard my name, you can’t leave alive. Oh, did Illar mention? From this room on, the dungeon’s return portals don’t work. Beat me to proceed, or die trying—that’s your choice. I spared Illar before since he created the dungeon.”
Randelt’s eyes sharpened.
“But not you.”
Finally, his killing intent poured out.
Up close, he crouched into an iaido stance.
His form was no joke. Definitely a master swordsman.
One wrong move, and I’d be bisected in a single clash.
It was worrying enough.
“…Randelt.”
I watched steadily, unmoving, then spoke.
“You lost because you’re a blabbermouth.”
“What?”
He smirked.
“What kinda nonsense is that?”
“You shouldn’t have told me about your Isle.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I unleashed my strongest Isle without hesitation.
Isle Silence
The eternal life effect dwelling within you will pause for a moment.
Whoosh!
A fierce gust whipped around, tossing my hair.
“What!? Aaaargh!”
Knight Randelt dropped his sword, screaming.
His body, defying nature’s laws, crumbled to dust from the head down.
“Th-That guy actually reached the place even Lord Illar went!”
“He’s a monster.”
“Does that mean he’s on par with Lord Illar?”
“Dunno, but he’s overwhelmingly strong, that’s for sure!”
The mermen couldn’t shut up, eyes glued to the orb.
Naru had now entered the next room, facing Randelt, the Greedy Knight who’d once subdued even Illar.
Inside the orb. Randelt, 1.5 times Naru’s bulk, slowly rose from his bone throne.
The two seemed to be talking.
The orb showed everything—but conversations were inaudible. A flaw.
The Greedy Knight Randelt will be tough.
April was certain this wouldn’t be easy.
Randelt had an undying body. Kill him, and he’d rise again.
How do you beat that?
His existence alone proved how sloppily Illar had designed the dungeon.
But then.
“Huh…? What’s wrong with Randelt?”
April stepped toward the orb unconsciously.
Something unimaginable was happening.
“R-Randelt’s dying!”
“H-How? Did you see what he did!?”
“What the hell is that guy!?”
Defying all expectations, the impossible unfolded.
Naru had crushed Randelt—whom even Illar couldn’t defeat.
And effortlessly, at that.
BOOM!
As Naru felled Randelt, a majestic rumble echoed from across the plaza.
In the city center. The grand crystal palace’s sealed doors swung wide open.
“Beating even Randelt! Whoever this rolling stone is, he’s got some guts!”
Illar, lord of the Migad, appeared in full grandeur.
His shark-like face. A frame twice the size of an average merman. His booming voice was a highlight as he led dozens of retainers into the plaza.
“Ooh, Lord Illar…!”
The mermen bowed in unison, showing reverence.
“Raise your heads, all! I came to watch the fun with you! Ahahaha!”
Illar personally attending the tournament was unprecedented in history.
The whole city was abuzz over one human.
How far would Naru go? Unprecedented curiosity gripped everyone.
“You here too?”
Illar looked down warmly.
At the end of his gaze stood the slender April.
“Yes, Father.”
She smiled brightly.
“Perfect timing. I’ve found the man I want to marry.”