Chapter 31

Is this the second update of the day?

In the dungeon, my beloved Lillisia and I, after reaffirming our love, resumed our exploration the next day.

By midday, we finally discovered the room containing the dungeon core at the center of the mountain range.

In the center of the vast chamber, there was a round sphere.

A black orb sat majestically on a red carpet.

As soon as we entered, the round orb began to flicker as if surprised.

—No, is it some kind of attack!?

I raised my sword and charged forward.

Lillisia's voice came from behind.

"There are transfer tiles on the floor! Five steps to the left!"

I avoided the tiles as instructed and approached the dungeon core.

Gagon!

My thrusting sword pierced the core from the side.

It emitted a high-pitched, ear-piercing sound.

At that moment, a strange sound came from behind.

Turning around, I saw a roasted bird emerge from the transfer tile.

Steam rose, and a delicious aroma wafted through the air.

—Why? Is this some kind of attack...!?

While I was puzzled by the appearance of the chicken, the core's light faded and it stopped moving.

—It seems we've defeated it.

I knew from studying the core's mechanism that it would be easy to defeat if attacked from the side.

"This is the core of the mountain range's dungeon. It was easier than expected."

"To destroy it with one hit... As expected, Master is strong."

Lillisia spread her angelic wings and came beside me.

I suddenly noticed the chamber was slightly shaking.

"Hey, if the core is destroyed, won't the dungeon collapse?"

Then my sub-device vibrated.

Taking it out, I saw a message from Koh.

"Don't worry, Master. Some dungeons collapse when destroyed, and some don't."

"It doesn't collapse here. That's good."

"No, it does collapse."

"Damn!"

The sound of cracking spread.

"While infusing magic power into the sub-device, attach it to the core."

"Got it."

I infused the flat, board-like sub-device with holy energy and pressed it against the broken core.

The black orb began to turn white at the point of contact.

When it turned completely white, the side of the core opened with a loud noise.

A platform extended, and on it were four hexagonal gems, each about the size of a palm, in vibrant colors like red and green.

"Takeover complete. I've turned off the self-destruct switch—also, this is the core of the core. Please bring it back; you can't absorb it."

"Understood... I'll sell one for the report."

"Please don't sell the green one."

"Got it. —By the way, there were no golems. Where are they, especially the mithril golem?"

I asked while putting the gems into a bag.

Upgrading Koh would improve our living conditions.

I wanted to bring back mithril for a significant enhancement.

"Hmm... I've sent them to the 30th floor of the dungeon in the eastern capital, Master."

"Got it. What should we do?"

"If possible, I'd like to get them, Master."

"Can we connect a passage to there?"

"It's impossible to connect to the 30th floor, but I can connect to the 29th floor."

"Then, let's do that."

"Okay. The passage will be a bit long."

A passage entrance appeared in the wall.

Lillisia and I entered.

"Be careful. There might be people. Please go back."

"Yes, Master."

Lillisia retracted her wings.

Our combat strength significantly decreased, but there was no choice.

I took the lead with my sword, and she followed behind, wearing her monocle.

Her slender fingers gently touching my back were very cute.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, in the deepest level of the dungeon in the eastern capital.

A chaotic dragon, sleeping in a small room, woke up to the sound of distant metal clashing.

It seemed something was fighting.

Sensing the presence, most of it was golems.

—No meat... Oh?

There are five small, soft-looking pieces of meat!

The chaotic dragon stood up and walked toward the most delicious-looking piece of meat.

◇ ◇ ◇

Edgar's team was fighting on the 30th floor underground.

They were buying time for Marius's team to return to their base on the 29th floor.

The children formed a formation, steadily retreating while maintaining their defense.

They steadily defeated the goblin knights and rock golems that charged at them.

Edgar mainly focused on defeating the iron golems.

He used his short sword to destroy the golem cores with a single strike.

They had successfully dealt with all the monsters that had surrounded Marius's team.

Edgar exhaled and looked up.

"Good job. Let's keep this up."

"Yes, Captain!"

The children responded enthusiastically.

At that moment, a chill ran down Edgar's spine.

A sense of unknown fear welled up inside him.

—What is this... Something is seriously wrong.

Feeling an instinctive fear, Edgar quickly gave an order.

"Evacuate! Form the cross evasion formation and evacuate!"

"What!?"

The children were confused.

The cross evasion formation.

They had practiced it many times under Edgar's command.

However, he had never ordered it in a real battle.

It was a formation where the children would escape without Edgar if the enemy was too strong to handle.

The children understood that it meant losing Edgar.

The youngest healer, a girl, pleaded with a trembling voice.

"We can't survive without Captain Edgar! You raised us orphans... We must repay your kindness! My healing magic—"

She stopped, trembling.

Edgar glared at her intensely from under his messy bangs.

"The traps haven't reactivated yet. Run back to the base. Moku and Seima, do you remember the way?"

Moku, a young hunter with glasses, and Seima, a young explorer, nodded seriously. Seima's short black hair swayed.

"Then, go back."

The healer girl looked up at Edgar with tears in her eyes.

"Why, Captain! We've worked so hard together!"

"Shut up! Do you want to be a burden?"

The girl flinched and fell silent.

Taking advantage of the moment, Moku and Seima lifted her by her sides.

"Let's go, Yuma!"

"Okay, Keiri, cover the rear!"

"Leave it to me."

With Yuma, a young swordsman, leading the way, the healer in the center, and the ranger and hunter on either side, they retreated in a cross formation, with Keiri, a young warrior, covering the rear.

The healer's sad voice echoed.

"Wait! Don't leave Captain behind! I'll protect him, I'll protect him—!"

However, her voice gradually faded and then disappeared.

They must have retreated to a higher floor.

The more dangerous presence drew closer, as if it had heard her voice.

Edgar chuckled and fumbled in his pocket.

"I don't know if I can win even if I go all out..."

He pulled out a large number of shurikens, kunai, and spirit curse cards, threading them on a string.

He wrapped the string around his waist like a belt.

Edgar's serious equipment.

He usually seemed unmotivated for a reason.

He had been hiding his true strength.

He was at S-rank in terms of raw power.

However, the opponent approaching from the other end of the passage was in a different league.

Sweat began to trickle down Edgar's forehead.

Then, the creature appeared around the corner.

It looked like a lizard about a meter long, with dirty green and black scales.

It was also severely injured, unable to use even half of its full strength.

However, it emitted a malevolent aura so intense that it could stop an E-rank adventurer's heart just by being near it.

Edgar's knees trembled.

"I haven't felt this kind of fear since I was a kid... This is seriously strong. Even the guild master or the knight captain might not be able to defeat it... I might not even be able to buy five minutes..."

The lizard and Edgar's eyes met.

In that instant, the lizard charged forward fiercely.

Edgar placed a finger to the side of his mouth and shouted.

"Fire Style—Crimson Lotus Blaze Jutsu!"

A scorching blaze erupted from Edgar's mouth, filling the area in front of him in a spiral.

However, the lizard broke through the flames without hesitation, charging straight at Edgar.

At the same time, Edgar threw shurikens and kunai.

They hit the lizard's face, causing it to reflexively close its eyes, though it didn't even scratch it.

Taking advantage of the moment, Edgar moved.

He formed hand seals with both hands and shouted.

"Earth Style—Great Elephant Gate Jutsu!"

A thick earth wall rose from the floor, covering the space between them.

But the earth wall was meaningless against the lizard's charge.

The lizard destroyed the wall with a single swipe of its claws and advanced.

—But.

Edgar's figure, which should have been there, was gone.

The lizard quickly turned its head to search for Edgar.

Then, Edgar's voice came from above.

"I'm here. —Water Style—Water Thunder Flower Jutsu!"

The lizard looked up at the sound, and at the same time, Edgar kicked off the ceiling and thrust a kunai.

The kunai, glowing with blue electricity, pierced the lizard's left eye.

Then, the spirit curse cards wrapped around the kunai exploded like a flower blooming.

"Gyaaa!"

The lizard screamed, swinging its claws and tail simultaneously.

Edgar shouted.

"Ninja Art—Substitution Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke appeared.

The lizard's attack only shattered a log.

Edgar's figure had already disappeared.

"Kishaaa!"

Amid the flying wood chips, the lizard went berserk in rage.

However, it suddenly calmed down, sniffing the air.

The tip of its tail was stained red.

It shuddered as it licked the blood with its long tongue.

Then, it followed the scent of blood, its right eye glowing as it walked in the same direction.

Meanwhile, Edgar was a short distance away.

He leaned against a wall, pressing his hand against his blood-soaked side as he walked.

With each step, bright red blood flowed between his fingers.

"Ouch... I used everything to take out one eye and swap my insides... This is a bad situation."

He smiled wryly, his eyes narrowing under his bangs, but he continued to retreat step by step.

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The next chapter will be updated around noon tomorrow

→ 32. The Orphan and Edgar's Wish