Chapter 48

Morning.

While I was being affectionate with Ririshia in the mansion in the forest, the enemy dungeon attacked, so we decided to infiltrate and conquer it.

I ran through the enemy dungeon. The floor and walls were blue-black. The corridor was wide.

The air was slightly cold, probably due to it being an Undead Dungeon.

Behind me, Ririshia spread her white wings and followed, wearing her monocle.

We ran through the empty dungeon, descending the stairs without encountering any enemies.

When we reached the lowest level, I took a deep breath.

Just that alone made a rolling sound of metal somewhere.

I asked Ririshia,

“Where is the enemy core!?”

“―Dark magic detection… this way, Master!”

Ririshia spread her pure white wings and pointed ahead while flying.

Thanks to the large amount of holy energy I gave her every night, she could now float and fly in her angel form.

If there was a pit trap, she would fly over it while holding me from behind.

We advanced through the dungeon smoothly.

For the poison gas trap, I dispersed the gas with a deep breath.

Moreover, it seemed there were only Undead, and there were hardly any enemies.

If there were any, they were in the process of disappearing.

We reached a large hall just before the room where the dungeon core was located.

There was a corridor without a door at the back, and I could see a blue sphere sitting in the room at the end.

However, there was a large Undead in the hall.

A giant Dragon Zombie, about ten meters long.

Its white scales were peeling off in places, and its abdomen was exposed, showing its internal organs.

It opened its rotting mouth and roared.

“Kishaaa—!”

“Master! It’s an A-rank Queen Dragon Zombie!”

Ririshia shouted, wearing her monocle.

“Queen?”

I had fought A-rank Dragon Zombies before, but I didn’t know about the "Queen" designation.

Ririshia extended her hands and chanted.

“Yes! It seems to lay eggs! —Heavenly White Feather Cannon!”

Several white feathers danced, forming a cylinder of light.

A loud boom echoed as the light cannon was fired, but the Dragon Zombie spread its wings and flew up to avoid it.

The cannonball hit the dungeon wall and exploded.

“Whoa! Surprisingly agile! I’ll go—Haah!”

I infused my sword with holy energy and attacked.

It seemed to be momentarily stunned by the release of holy energy.

“Holy Guided Slash!”

Zaah—!

I aimed for its neck, but it dodged, so I slashed at its large body.

However, the holy energy didn’t seem to be very effective against the Undead.

The Dragon Zombie turned and swung its rotting tail.

I braced myself, thinking it was an attack, but three round objects were released from the Dragon’s lower abdomen, hitting the walls and floor.

They were eggs.

The shells cracked, and three more rotting Baby Dragon Zombies attacked.

“Increasing in number! What a hassle!”

I cut down the flying Baby Dragon Zombies.

But when I tried to advance, the Dragon Zombie laid more eggs.

“Kishaaa—!”

—Damn! Can’t get close to the main body!

Then Ririshia shouted from behind.

“—Heavenly Feather Barrage!”

White feathers shot out like countless bullets, piercing the eggs and the baby dragons.

The path was cleared.

I immediately rushed to the giant body at the back of the hall!

“This ends now! —Holy Light Intense Break!”

I thrust my sword, infused with holy energy, with great force.

Dogo—!

A huge hole was pierced through the Dragon Zombie’s body.

The dungeon core, visible through the hole, was also destroyed simultaneously.

The core shattered with a metallic sound.

The Dragon fell, and its eyes, which seemed to be tearing up, were wet.

“Gyaaa—”

The Dragon Zombie collapsed on the floor and stopped moving.

Ririshia flew gently to my side.

“Even though it’s an Undead, it was tough…”

“Why? Does it change because of the Dungeon Master treatment?”

“I don’t know… But to defeat an enemy that holy energy doesn’t affect, you’re truly amazing, Master!”

While being praised by Ririshia, I looked at the Dragon again.

I had a sudden question, so I took out my sub-phone and called Kou.

“Hey, Kou.”

‘Why, Master?’

“I encountered a Dragon Zombie that my holy energy couldn’t destroy. Are you using it as material?”

‘I want it!’

“Got it.”

I brought the sub-phone close and absorbed the Dragon Zombie and the Baby Dragon Zombies’ corpses—though they were already dead.

Then I went to the dungeon core at the back.

I attached the sub-phone to the blue sphere, turned it white, and extracted the core.

There were three large hexagonal gems, each the size of my palm.

‘It’s a takeover!’

“This will boost your rank even further, Kou.”

‘Yes! Thanks to Master!’

“Also, where are the treasures in this dungeon?”

‘Ah, since I took over, I moved everything here.’

“Got it. So, is everything done?”

‘Yes, good work!’

I ended the call and said to Ririshia.

“It seems to be over. Let’s go back.”

“Yes, Master!”

She shook her silver hair and clung to my arm.

We retraced our steps.

◇ ◇ ◇

We returned to Kou’s dungeon.

The elf girl, Tetti, ran up with a bright face, her golden hair swaying.

“Welcome back! Master Alex, Ririshia!”

“Yeah, we’re back.”

“You did a great job, Master… Your performance was amazing.”

“You deserve it, after saving me! I’m so impressed!”

I shrugged, not thinking I did much.

“Well, it was because the enemy was Undead. Ririshia’s support was also great.”

“Thank you, Master!”

Ririshia, pleased by the praise, touched her rosy cheeks and smiled.

Then I handed over the dungeon cores I took from Kou.

Three large gems.

The white sphere glowed with joy.

“Yay! My long-awaited Tier 5!”

“Huh? Didn’t you get six cores in total?”

“Tier 6 and above have complicated conditions. It’s still a long way off… —But you can get it quickly with a payment.”

“It seems the dungeon world has a different system and is quite complicated.”

“Exactly. It’s like a heavy payment is required?”

“It costs money. Is it okay now?”

“It’s fine. The last time, I spent hundreds of thousands on soldiers who all died, so I’ll stick to no payments from now on.”

The sphere glowed as if reflecting her strong will.

I tilted my head and nodded ambiguously.

“Yeah, got it. I don’t understand, but do your best.”

“Yes!”

While having this somewhat confusing conversation, the dungeon corridor connected to the hall disappeared.

It seemed the crisis was completely over.

I looked at the two beautiful girls beside me and said,

“Alright. After breakfast, let’s open the shop. Then we’ll go to the bookstore.”

“Yes! I’ll prepare it right away!”

“Sure, leave it to me!”

Ririshia shook her silver hair and returned to the mansion, while Tetti nodded energetically with her slender body.

—But will they sell a map at the bookstore so conveniently?

I had my doubts, but since Ririshia said so, I accepted it. I rotated my shoulders and slowly returned to the mansion.

Thank you for the bookmarks and ★ ratings!

Thanks to you, I’ve reached 15,000 bookmarks and over 55,000 points!

I’ve even climbed to 7th place in the monthly rankings by genre! I’m so happy!

I’ll keep updating every day!

The next chapter will be updated tomorrow

→ 49. Opening the Shop