Chapter 11. Dungeon 1st Floor (2)
Episode 11. Dungeon First Floor (2)
Underground caverns are inherently dark. Without torchlight, you couldn't see an inch ahead.
But dungeons were different.
The floor, walls, ceiling—every surface shimmered with flames. It wasn't as bright as daylight, but it wasn't pitch black either.
"Huuu..."
After steadying my breath, I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead with my sleeve. I inhaled and exhaled slowly, sharpening my focus.
The second chamber I entered.
Grk-grk— Grk-grk—
A sound like stone scraping against earth echoed. This time, it wasn't a beast-type monster.
Magma Turtle.
"Damn it."
A godforsaken monster had appeared.
In my past life before regression, I had fought countless monsters.
In dense forests.
In barren deserts.
Along raging rivers.
On cliffs overlooking the sea.
In volcanic regions.
In frozen wastelands.
So when it came to monsters, I was more knowledgeable than anyone. And Magma Turtles were infamous for being troublesome—so much so that they were called the "bane of knights."
Grk-grk— Grk-grk—
They moved. Their massive bodies, twice the size of an Ember Wolf, were like small houses.
The magma flowing between their rocky shells, like veins, radiated heat fiercer than flames.
Their tough hides wouldn't even show a scratch from ordinary attacks.
And despite being turtles, their speed was alarmingly fast. And there were thirty of them.
I immediately formulated a plan.
Time wasn't on my side.
A swift, decisive battle was the only answer.
'Their weak point is their soft underbelly.'
I unfurled twelve scrolls.
Six [Thorn Rock].
Six [Metal Attribute Enhancement].
Combining the two spells, I set up a magical trap.
In my past life, my comrades had been shocked when they saw this. How can you give form and will to spells of different attributes? I didn't know. It just came naturally to me.
I channeled mana into [Lightning Strike].
Zzzt—
Moving swiftly between the Magma Turtles, I laid traps across the floor.
The turtles charged at me, swinging their massive legs like pillars, trying to crush me flat. I leaped away just in time. But then—
KWA-BOOM!
One of them had retracted its limbs into its shell, rolled into a ball, and slammed into me.
"Guh—!"
It felt like being hit by a cannonball. I was sent flying into the wall, coughing up blood from the impact. The pain was excruciating, as if my insides had been pulverized.
But I couldn't afford to dwell on the pain. The other turtles were still rolling toward me. I forced myself to move.
Zzzt— I dashed again, but my body kept grazing their shells.
"Tch—!"
Biting back a scream, I kept running.
Burns covered my body, ribs were broken, and blood trickled from my lips.
Yet, even then—
I analyzed each pursuer as I moved. This strategy would've been impossible without advanced mental processing.
After about a minute, I finally managed to position them as I intended.
"Rise!"
At my command, the ground trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
GRRRUMBLE— CRACK!
Thorn Rock erupted from below. The metallic spikes pierced the turtles' soft bellies with ease.
Squelch!
Thick blood gushed from their mouths and bellies, pooling on the floor.
They'd been skewered. Of course, their shells remained intact, but none of the Magma Turtles survived having their bellies impaled.
Rumble—
The door to the next chamber opened.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
The wounds stung. My body ached. My stamina was drained. But what could I do?
Gritting my teeth against the throbbing pain, I pressed on.
Fwoosh—
[April Sprout] healed my body. Without it, I would've collapsed long ago.
The dungeon was saturated with pure mana, so my mana recovery was incredibly fast. But even so, I couldn't call the situation favorable.
'I have to hurry.'
I needed to finish before my body gave out. In a place where a single moment of carelessness meant death, I sharpened my senses further.
When I reached the final chamber—the center of the cavern—the ceiling opened, and something descended.
ROOOOAR!
A deafening roar assaulted my eardrums. Had I not protected my ears with mana, my eardrums would've burst.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The third chamber—the first floor's boss—had only one monster. But it was on an entirely different level. Numbers no longer mattered here.
Crimson scales. Slit pupils. Flames spewing from its maw. Its body was about the size of a Magma Turtle, but when it spread its wings, they spanned four times that.
Red Wyvern.
It flapped its wings and took flight, spewing multicolored fireballs from its mouth.
KWA-BOOM— KWA-BOOM—
The fireballs rained down, turning the ground into a sea of flames.
Honestly, without [Lightning Strike] and [Ice Barrier], I would've been reduced to charcoal.
WHOOSH!
A single beat of its wings sent a scorching gale tearing through the chamber. Just getting close seemed impossible.
And with its aerial mobility, chasing it was out of the question.
Damn it.
I steadied my breathing again.
The stronger the opponent, the more hopeless the situation, the more my fighting spirit burned.
But at the same time, my mind grew colder.
I drew upon the experience of my past life, where war had been my daily reality.
I spoke to my ring-shaped artifact, [Lightning Strike], and my sword artifact, [Flower of the Snow Mountain].
"Forgive me."
I released their Limit Release, consuming their entire lifespan in an instant. A forbidden technique that burned both the wielder and the artifact—but I had no choice.
I also used all thirty-six remaining [Ice Wall] scrolls.
"Make me a path!"
ZZZT— ZZZT—
Massive walls of ice erupted across the cavern, forming a path between me and the Red Wyvern.
"Come at me."
A decisive battle.
Neither of us hesitated.
I poured every last drop of mana from my Holy Wheel and Core. With [Attribute Conversion] still active, I became a god of ice and lightning.
The Red Wyvern, too, roared furiously, its maw filled with flames straight from hell.
WHOOSH—
It took flight, and in that instant—
I hurled [Impact].
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH—
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM— KWA-BOOM!
Each [Impact] exploded on contact, destabilizing the wyvern's flight.
And in that split second of distraction—
CRACKLE—
I lunged like lightning and swung [Flower of the Snow Mountain] at its head.
Karsen-style Ancient Sword Art (Modified).
[Flashing Blue Flame].
CLANG!
We crossed paths.
I landed a short distance away.
"Cough—!"
The recoil forced blood from my mouth. My insides were wrecked. My entire body screamed in agony.
And on the other side—
CRACKLE—
The Red Wyvern's head froze over, its crimson eyes turning white.
ZZZT— Sparks flew as its skull split into six pieces, collapsing lifelessly.
GRRRUMBLE—
"That's that."
Despite my trembling legs—
A sigh of victory escaped me.
I had felled the wyvern.
[Lightning Strike] crumbled in my fingers.
[Flower of the Snow Mountain] in my hand—
SNAP! —shattered.
Thud.
I collapsed where I stood.
My body felt like lead.
I lay still, catching my breath.
What would my comrades say if they saw me like this? The great Duckie, struggling like this? The thought almost made me laugh.
[April Sprout] healed my battered body, but I could feel my lifespan dwindling.
I forced myself up. My body had reached its limit, and my Holy Wheel and Core felt completely drained.
But stubbornly, I moved. I still had work to do.
At the end of the chamber stood a stone table. On it were two glass vials—one sky-blue, the other crimson.
One radiated scorching heat, the other biting cold.
No doubt about it.
[Fire-Ice Dragon's Breath].
But why two?
One must be the Breath of the Fire Dragon, the other the Breath of the Ice Dragon.
I wanted to drink them immediately but resisted. Elixirs had ranks. [Fire-Ice Dragon's Breath] was at least S-rank. Consuming such a potion carelessly could kill me. I needed to prepare my body first.
I picked up the vials, about to stash them in my crossbody bag—then stopped. My bag was as torn up as my body.
Reluctantly, I tucked them into my clothes.
Then—
CRACK— RUMBLE—
The cavern walls split apart, collapsing inward.
"Good. They're here."
Amid the rubble, crimson stones glinted. I knew what they were.
Sun Stones.
Precious gems, each worth as much as a high-grade artifact, radiating warmth.
After steadying myself, I dug through the debris and pocketed a few.
These would be my future income.
But then—
Something else caught my eye.
A smooth, pitch-black sphere.
"What... is that?"
Even in my past life, I'd never seen anything like it. It looked like... an egg? Huh?
"Hmm..."
Upon closer inspection, it was an egg. I didn't know what kind, but it seemed worth taking.
Rustle—
I tore off a piece of my clothing to wrap it.
Then, I left the dungeon.
In my arms—
Two vials.
Several Sun Stones.
And one egg.
Back in my room, I stored my spoils before stitching my wounds with clean needle and thread.
Then, I brewed a recovery potion using high-grade herbs:
[Arnica]
[Comfrey]
[Calendula]
A handful of these would cost 10 million Jeni, but I didn't hold back.
This wasn't the time to save resources—it was the time to use everything to grow stronger.
Next, I soaked in the bath, adding drops of [Isgrine] to the water.
The medicinal energy seeped into my cells, repairing the damage. My battered blood vessels calmed, and my twisted organs realigned.
Slowly.
Very slowly, I felt better.
In a few days, I'd fully recover—and my body would surpass its previous limits.
'Another skill I learned as Duckie of the Resistance.'
As I lay in the bath, I reminisced about my past-life comrades.
My first meeting with them hadn't gone well.
"What the hell is this idiot?"
Some cursed at me outright.
"You'll be a corpse soon. Might not even be able to retrieve your body."
Others treated me like I was already dead.
"You're really the third son of the Karsen family? Compared to the lord and the eldest son... Ugh, forget it."
Comparing me to my father and eldest brother—this one was the worst.
To them, I was a half-witted fool who'd die first on the battlefield. Getting along was impossible.
But I defied their expectations.
I survived battle after battle, losing eyes, limbs, and organs, yet never dying. I kept fighting the Demon Race.
Eventually, I earned their respect and rose to the Resistance's leadership. Those who'd mocked me died before me.
But.
I wept bitterly each time.
"You're the one who'll live and change things."
"If the myths are true, you're the only one left."
"I never wanted this ending..."
"Sion. Live."
"Don't look back—just go!"
I climbed mountains of my comrades' corpses.
I rowed through rivers of their blood.
In the end, I carried the weight of all their sacrifices and gambled everything.
This second chance—how could I waste it?
For two days, I focused on recovery.
Roman fretted over my condition, but I assured him I'd be fine.
Between rests, I mined Sun Stones from the dungeon's first floor. They were abundant—found in every chamber.
By the time my wounds healed and my body surpassed its limits—
An order arrived from the Inspection Bureau.
『Operation: Red Awl Subjugation.
Commander: Louis Dykken.
Deputy: Sion Karsen.
Attire: Disguise (Civilian Clothing).』
"Hmm..."
In my past life, the Red Awl subjugation happened much later. Back then, Louis Dykken and her had led the operation.
I'd heard there were complications, but they'd completed it without major issues.
'It made front-page news.'
That was probably when her fame spread across the North.
But this time, she wasn't involved—I was. If I distinguished myself here, I'd claim the renown that should've been hers.
"......"
The ripples I'd created had redrawn the entire picture.
Did I regret it?
Not at all.
This, too, was a stepping stone to changing the future. All I had to do was move forward.
I opened my wardrobe, searching for civilian clothes.
To subjugate the Red Awl—
Let's investigate this properly.