My Own Way Of Conquering A Dungeon

When the sunlight had begun to slant toward the western sky.

Liricia and I returned to the Royal Capital.

However, instead of returning the cart we had been pulling right away, we were allowed to use it for gathering supplies.

We walked along the cobblestone street, the wheels clattering noisily.

“Let’s see. Food, a simple cooking pot, and cups. Then candles and lamp oil for lighting… and after that, copper ingots?”

“Kou-chan said he wanted those.”

“Materials, huh. Got it.”

After buying various things, we headed to a cheap inn where we could get a room on the first floor.

We spent 113,200 Gort on shopping, and 3,000 Gort on the cheap inn.

—Since the shop couldn’t be used for a while, wouldn’t it be reasonable to get a rent discount?

I decided to talk to the landlord about it later.

Then we carried the supplies we had bought into our room, connected to the dungeon from there, and brought them in.

After that, we returned the cart to the warehouse near the castle.

Total funds on hand: forty-three large gold coins, twenty-nine gold coins, six large silver coins, and thirteen silver coins. 4,597,300 Gort.

---

Kou’s dungeon was filled with a bright, pale blue light.

When I placed the copper ingots on the corridor floor, they sank down and vanished.

We laid the rest of the food and other goods out on the floor.

I spoke to the sub-unit.

“Okay then, Kou. I’m counting on you, just like we planned.”

“Roger that.”

The entrance disappeared, and immediately another location appeared.

When we stepped outside, we were on a mountaintop.

I intended to conquer a dungeon in the mountain range that was highly likely to be the main dungeon for the golems.

If possible, I wanted to destroy the core and power Kou up.

From what I had heard, dungeons were apparently in a constant state of war with each other, so if I left things alone, Kou would just end up destroyed again.

Kou’s voice came from the sub-unit.

“This is my limit. If I get any closer, the other dungeon will notice I’m here.”

“Where’s the entrance?”

“On the far side of the ridge.”

“Got it.”

Liricia and I walked eastward along the ridge, where gravel had piled up.

The scenery around us was magnificent, with green forests and plains spreading to the north.

To the south stretched a vast canyon, cracks running through the flat ground.

Somehow, the blue sky felt closer here.

I spoke to Liricia as she walked beside me.

“It’s a really pleasant place.”

“Yes. I think it would be even lovelier if there were no dungeons or monsters.”

With the grand scenery at her back, Liricia’s silver hair swayed as she smiled.

Just seeing that made me feel like it had been worth coming all this way.

On the slope beyond the ridge, we spotted the dungeon entrance.

We carefully descended the slope.

—Then.

Liricia suddenly furrowed her brows with a little “Hm?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I can faintly smell blood… It seems a monster died nearby.”

“Then the enemy that killed it might be close. I’ll go into the dungeon and secure the entrance. Liricia, you turn into an angel and scout.”

“Yes!”

Wings flared open from Liricia’s back with a whoosh.

I drew my sword as I headed down the slope.

I dove into the dungeon entrance.

The ceiling and walls were made from solid bedrock. I didn’t sense any enemies.

“It’s clear inside.”

“Yes, I’m coming.”

Spreading her wings, Liricia flew lightly down to the entrance.

Then she used Aura Detect and her finger monocle to scout the surroundings.

“I don’t see any enemies. There’s only the corpse of a Great Boar.”

“I see. A corpse, huh. Should we take the valuable parts as proof of subjugation?”

“Most of it has been eaten away, so I don’t think we can get a usable hide. And it’s at the bottom of a cliff, so it might be dangerous.”

“Then never mind. Let’s ignore it and move on.”

“Yes, Master.”

We headed deeper into the dungeon.

The ceiling and walls glowed faintly, so it was relatively bright.

The floor and walls were all made from seamless slabs, forming a dungeon that felt like a square tunnel.

I kept my sword drawn, while Liricia had her wings out and watched ahead through the finger monocle.

Whenever we came to a fork or a crossroads, we chose the passage without traps and continued on.

Even after a while, nothing happened.

“…Since this was a passage used by monsters, I thought we wouldn’t be able to avoid combat…”

“How strange. Maybe they already harvested all the materials in this area?”

“Well, let’s stay alert and keep moving.”

“Yes!”

Even after that, we never encountered a single monster, and we made smooth progress as we descended underground.

---

It had been yesterday evening.

Near the cabin in the forest, the Chaos Dragon was still alive.

However, it was on the verge of death.

It knew it had to eat prey and grow, but its mind was ruled by a greater terror.

Its instincts screamed louder than its hunger.

—Crap, crap, crap, that guy is bad news! I’m gonna die! He’s going to kill me!

Its body wouldn’t move, and it couldn’t run away.

Yet despite that, it continued to suffer merciless, ongoing holy-attribute damage.

Just having that man nearby meant it would be toyed with and slaughtered without being able to do anything.

—What the hell is he!? I’m an SS-rank-class monster, you know!?

But no matter how it struggled, its grievously wounded body couldn’t do anything.

All it could do was wait for death.

Then, all of a sudden, its body felt lighter.

That man’s presence had vanished. It seemed he had moved somewhere else.

—N-now!

The Chaos Dragon immediately scrambled out of the bushes and ran, scattering broken eggshells as it went.

Desperately, it fled that place, that clearing with the cabin.

Then, bawling as it dashed, it headed south.

For a creature that had reincarnated countless times and tried to destroy the world, this might have been the first time it had shed tears.

It had realized that if it went northwest from the forest, there was a human town.

But it also knew that if it attacked that town, that man would definitely come.

It wanted to eat and heal its injuries and stamina, but right now, getting away took priority above all else.

However, it had no idea how far it had to run to escape the horrific range of that man’s power, which was like a map-wide weapon.

Fear, more than pain or exhaustion, drove its legs to move.

Even when it reached the edge of the forest, its anxiety only grew.

There, the Chaos Dragon brought down a large boar, then climbed up into the mountains.

—If I go to the far side of the mountain, I’ll be out of his range for sure.

That was what it thought.

And so, even while grievously wounded and near death, it crossed the mountain and reached the far side of the ridge.

As expected of an SS-rank monster.

—If I’ve come this far, I should be safe.

The Chaos Dragon slowly ate the large boar it had carried in its jaws.

As it chewed the meat carefully, it thought.

Ten thousand years ago, it had gotten carried away, angered even its own kind, and ended up isolated.

As a result, all the races of the world had banded together and hunted it down.

This time, there was someone that strong out there, so until it had built up its strength, it decided it should hide somewhere and keep quiet.

If possible, it would join forces with the Demon King or the Evil Dragon King and destroy the world. Yes, that was what it would do.

Once it reached that conclusion, it just slept and ate, slept and ate, over and over.

By the next day, its injuries had gradually begun to heal.

When it looked around in the bright daylight, it saw that there was a dungeon up on the cliff.

Apparently, it hadn’t noticed the entrance during the dark of night.

—That looks like a perfect place to hide.

The Chaos Dragon climbed up the cliff and entered the dungeon.

It was bright inside. And there were golems.

Against an SS-rank-class monster, they didn’t even count as obstacles.

It smashed them to pieces with a swipe of its claws or a lash of its tail.

Then, inside the shattered stone bodies, it noticed there were black cores.

It pulled one out and took a bite.

It was a little hard, but packed with dense magic power and delicious.

“Gugya.”

For the first time in its life, it let out a cry of joy.

After that, it kept hunting golems and crunching their cores like apples.

It descended deeper and deeper into the lower floors.

Then, when it reached a room with a round orb in it, the floor beneath its feet glowed in a circle.

—Crap, a magic circle!?

However, it wasn’t a trap; instead, a freshly roasted whole bird appeared in front of it, steam still rising.

The Chaos Dragon’s eyes went wide, but it still sank its teeth into the roast.

—Ah, this is good.

Its body felt like it was coming back to life… Right, so eating only golem cores didn’t actually restore its body.

Meat. It needed meat!

As if reading its thoughts, some presence spoke to it.

“There’s softer meat further ahead.”

Part of the wall opened up, revealing a corridor.

Still munching on the chicken, the Chaos Dragon stared at the round orb that must have been the master of this room.

—Really?

“I don’t lie. And there will be even more from here on. If that’s still not enough, I’ll prepare another hundred birds just like the one you’re eating.”

—Fine.

After all, aside from that man, there was no one in this world who could kill it.

Everything in existence was its food.

It would feast to its heart’s content.

When the Chaos Dragon finished eating all of the roast, it headed into the long corridor that stretched on without end.