A Dungeon’s Survival

Connie

I hadn't wasted any time when it came to speaking with the Hero. There was so much that needed to be discussed yet so little time. As it stood, I didn't trust Fable not to kill me the moment she entered the room. At the same time, though, I feared Sean turning on me if she were to die against the bear.

My solution had been to ask Adraugon to keep her both alive and away from me for a time, but I wasn't delusional enough to believe that alone would solve all my problems. No matter how powerful and opportunistic the dragon was, the power gap between him, the bear, and the girl was too extreme for me to expect much. Still, I had no better options, so time was of the essence.

“And there's more like you? Heroes who were stuffed into Dungeon Cores, I mean.”

At Sean's question, a surge of discomfort ran through me.

Yes, I answered, I know there are, but I think it was only a few of us. Back before I broke things off with the fairies, I was too busy just trying to stay alive to really worry about that, so I never asked for those kinds of specifics. Also, if I'm being honest, I didn't want to think about it too hard.

Worry, fear, and regret were the emotions that flowed from him at my response, those and images of a twisted mockery of a Dungeon with a goblin cowering under a ramshackle bed at its end. Understanding hit me at once, and I winced inwardly at the implications.

“This wasn't the first Dungeon we went to. Do you think–” he started, but I cut him off.

–No, I answered simply, From my understanding, the other Heroes ended up with former Fairy Council members as their advisers. They never would've allowed their cores to build a Dungeon like that.

Relief bloomed in him momentarily, and I hated the fact that I had to crush it so swiftly.

But, I asserted the word, trying to make it clear that wasn't all I had to say before he could get his hopes up too high, I know they started stuffing souls native to this world in cores, too. My best guess is it would've been one of those.

He shuddered at that. I wasn't sure what to expect next from the man, but the details that flowed from his mouth, as disconnected as they were from his previous question, caught me by complete surprise.

“We were supposed to exterminate three Dungeons,” he started, “You're the second. There's also one up north, near a place called Castallia, that's been causing a lot of problems. That was our main target, actually. We were saving it for last because of how dangerous it's supposed to be.

“So far, it's completely destroyed the local ecosystem and killed just about anyone who's ever entered it. People have been going missing in the area, a lot of people, and that's not even touching on the more disturbing rumors floating around about it. You wouldn't happen to know if that one is also, a … would you?”

Um, no clue? I answered uncertainly, blindsided by how wrong that intel felt to me.

If I understood anything about how the Fairy Council operated, it was that they cared about subtlety above all else, common sense, morality, and results included. What had just been described to me did not match up with that, not in the slightest. Some of it didn't even sound like it would be possible for a Dungeon under the pact they enforced. Honestly, I didn't know what to make of it.

“I see,” Sean said dejectedly, which made me feel as though I needed to give him something, anything, to reassure him.

Look, I can't guarantee anything, but personally, I'd say there are three possibilities. That's not how Dungeons work, at least not from anything I know, but I haven't exactly been in the loop for the past–uh, I'm not actually sure how long it's been–a month, maybe? Anyway, something may have changed drastically on the fairies' side of things in that time, but outside of that, you're either not getting the full story, or what you just described isn't the work of the Dungeon itself. Outside interference maybe?

Admittedly, I felt less confident in my answer than I probably should've giving it, but those conjectures were the best I could make on the spot. Seemingly, it had been enough to reassure the man, however, at least slightly.

“Okay,” he nodded, “thanks. I don't know what I'll do once I get out of here, but I'll find a way to use that information somehow.”

Don't take it for fact, I interjected, Keep in mind, I'm kind of stuck here. My information network currently consists of stolen books full of outdated information, ominously vague warnings from higher beings, and a single Shade Lurker I send out to eavesdrop on the nearby town. I'm not even native to this world, so at the end of the day, I don't have all that much to go off of.

“Wait, higher beings?”

Yeah, the Custodians. Don't worry about that for now, though. That would take a whole other explanation that isn't exactly relevant here. They don't tell me much anyway. They're like a part of the System that deals with errors. That's a gross oversimplification of them, but it should still get the point across.

“I see. Got it, I think.”

So far, I'd given him the briefest of explanations as to how Dungeons actually worked, had mentioned the ominous alert about the approaching cataclysm alongside what little relevant information I had pertaining to it, and had lightly touched on the operations of the Fairy Council without revealing too much that could come back to haunt me. The two things I had made sure to emphasize, though, had been the extent of their power, which I wasn't entirely sure of myself, and their desire for secrecy. The last thing I needed was them figuring out about this. After all, no matter how that scenario played out, I was sure it wouldn't end well for me or any other parties I involved, Protection of the Fairy Queen or not.

As for the Custodians, I most certainly didn't have time to get into that. Even with how little information I'd actually gone over, doing so had already taken up minutes of our limited time. In fact, just as I'd brushed him off in regards to his last question, the time we had to spare seemingly came to an end.

[An Onikuma (Level 43) has died in your Dungeon! You have gained 2,629,324 experience.]

Uh …

“What's wrong?”

Sean's voice snapped me back to my senses after a long moment, and I pushed the rest of the notifications to the back of my mind. I hadn't made it past the first, all thoughts having ground to a halt as I read the number attached to my earned experience points. It far eclipsed anything I'd managed to earn in a single go up until this point, nearly by an order of magnitude. I didn't have time to investigate why that was, however. If the bear was dead, it meant we had bigger problems to worry about.

Perhaps I could've discerned the specifics of what had happened if I'd just finished reading over the rest of my notifications, but checking for myself was faster, so that's what I did. Breaking off a part of my focus, I brought the scene currently playing out in my boss room into sight. Then, after confirming Fable's safety, I shared my vision with the Hero.

“Wait, isn't that the Onikuma?” he practically shouted as the image of the corpse appeared in his mind, completely ignoring the absurdity of the rest of the scene that was playing out.

Yes? I answered sheepishly.

“You said you had her distracted! She was fighting that?”

Um, yeah?

The emotions I felt from Sean in that moment were less than positive. Seeing that, I quickly rushed to defend myself.

Look, I started, it's the best I could manage! Come on, you guys are ridiculously strong. I was fighting for my life with a disadvantage here, and you didn't exactly leave me room to pull my punches. Besides, if I hadn't taken this chance to get rid of that thing now, it almost certainly would've come looking to kill me the moment you guys either left or died. It was the only choice I had.

That was enough to make him feel conflicted; though, it didn't appear to raise his mood any. Still, with the bear dead, that wasn't my biggest concern. With how Adraugon was pulling ahead of the mage as he ran off with her staff, I doubted we had long.

Listen, I began, She'll be here soon, and I can't risk letting her near me. I need to go–

“–No, it's fine,” he cut me off before I could finish my thought, “I'll handle this. You, stay close. I won't let her hurt you.”

But–

The rest of my words never made it to him as he raised his hand from my core, moving to instead place it instead on the hilt of his blade. As he drew his weapon, I, once again, had to actively stop Archie from using our trump card. As for Prism, rather than letting the Hero drop them as he intended, the slime instead clung to him, making their way up his arm to his shoulder where they they situated themselves. That put me in an awkward position with a decision to be made.

Watching as Sean turned and planted the tip of his sword in the ground, eyes glued to the entrance of the room with a silent determination about them, I found myself with two options. I could either play it safe, leveling up and using what mana I gained from doing so to rip a hole in the wall so that I could escape back to the deepest depths of my Dungeon through the hidden pathway beyond, or I could trust him. There were risks and advantages to both options, but in the end, it was a single factor that determined my choice for me.

Am I seriously doing this? I wondered as I resolved myself to remain in place.

After how much effort I'd just put into finding a solution that didn't involve killing the other Hero, I wasn't about to ruin any rapport I'd just managed to build with the man by spitting in the face of his resolve. Outside of my own monsters, he was the first person who'd shown themselves to be actually on my side, even if it meant going up against his own ally. For that reason, I chose to place my trust in him. I only hoped Fable was truly as exhausted as she appeared to be.

* * *

Sean

I would've been lying if I claimed to feel anything resembling confidence or even surety in my own choices as I stood there, but as Fable entered the room and locked eyes with me, there was at least one thing I was certain of.

“We're not killing this Dungeon,” I stated it as a fact, not as something that was up for debate, “I'll forfeit my claim to the Dungeon Slayer title, but this Dungeon lives.”

In response, my companion narrowed her eyes at me. At first, I'd disapproved of Connie's methods, even going so far as to resent her somewhat for them, but as I stared down the one who defeated that enormous beast I'd been shown the corpse of, I couldn't help but feel relieved that she'd been disarmed and weakened ahead of time. Still, I feared the results of a battle between us and wanted to avoid one if at all possible. I knew that would be unlikely, though, and regardless of my own personal feelings, I was resolved to do what needed to here, no matter what that entailed.

“Okay,” she said simply, throwing me for a loop as I failed to process her response.

“Wait, what?”

“I said, 'okay,'” she repeated in a monotone voice, “I assume you have a reason for this.”

“I do.”

“I also take it that you're weapon isn't drawn for the sake of keeping Sir Archibald II, there, in check.”

I winced at that but still found myself answering, “No.”

“And knowing I was just forced to fight a level forty-three regional lord to the death with an overlord present wouldn't change your answer either, would it?”

That actually made me feel guilty. I'd seen the corpse, yet her words made what Connie had thrown at her feel all the more real to me, that and they made what she'd overcome seem that much more impressive. Still, as much as I hated it, that changed nothing.

“No,” I answered after only a brief hesitation.

Upon hearing that word, Fable closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded.

Opening them, she said, “Then, okay. Shall we take our leave?”

I blinked at that, loosening my grip on my sword slightly. A moment later, I tightened it again. That had been too easy. There was something wrong with this. How easily she'd accepted my demand, the visible tension in her body, the way her eyes kept darting around, and the distant nonchalance in her voice, I wasn't sure what it all meant, but it was enough to set me on edge.

“You're seriously okay with this?” I asked again, dumbfounded, “Just like that?”

“Would you rather I refused?”

“No, it's just–why?”

“Sean,” her voice grew cold, “do you intend to kill me?”

“What?”

At that, I looked from the sword in my hand to her. Obviously, I didn't want to, but I'd resolved myself to do what I needed to here, no matter how much I hated the thought. With that being the case, how was I supposed to answer her?

Taking a deep breath of my own, I forced myself to give the only response that was appropriate, “I don't want to, but if you insisted on killing her, I would've if it was the only way to stop you, either that or I would've died trying.”

“Her? What do you mean by that? Are you referring to this so-called mistress of the stone?”

I hesitated at that but answered, nonetheless, “Her name is Connie Aldman. She's a Summoned Hero, and her soul was sealed in this Dungeon Core.”

For the first time this conversation, her mask slipped, giving way to both confusion and a look of deep thoughtfulness. She didn't speak for a while after that, and as the seconds dragged on, so too did the mounting tension that pervaded the room. Then, suddenly, she asked an unexpected question, “What's this Hero's class?”

I paused at the words that had seemingly come out of nowhere before thinking back on it and answering, “Heroic Summoner.”

“Was it the baron that imprisoned her?”

“No, it was …”

Again, I hesitated, Connie's warnings about how much the fairies seemed to care about their secrecy causing me to question how much of her story I should share. There were entire nations that didn't have even a single level one hundred, let alone multiple. The potential danger of attracting the ire of such a group wasn't lost on me, but even so, this wasn't the time to hide the facts.

“It was a group fairies led by multiple fifth tier individuals.”

“Dungeon Fairies?”

“Huh?”

The way she'd said that made it clear there was more meaning held within those words than simply the sum of their parts, but I wasn't sure as to what that might've been. In my silence, however, another voice spoke up.

“Indeed.”

“I see,” Fable said as she nodded at the Trenti's confirmation, “Tell me, then, Sir Archibald, for whom is it the stolen paradise blooms?”

“Hmm?” he sounded uncertainly before pausing; it was a short time before he actually answered, but soon enough, he said, “I apologize, miss Aspenbow, but your words hold no meaning to either the mistress nor myself.”

“Is that so? Forget I spoke them, then. They are not relevant.”

“If that is what you say, so be it. If I may ask, however, how do you know of Dungeon Fairies in specific? I was under the impression they did a good job of maintaining their secrecy.”

“You said it yourself, didn't you? I am the great-granddaughter of this kingdom's branch of the Adventurers Guild. There are many secrets not known to the public that have made their way to me, a plethora of fairy sightings within Dungeons, all of which that have occurred under unusual circumstances, included. Even if they normally have protections against Appraisal, it only makes sense they would've been spotted by individuals able to bypass those protections at least a few times over the centuries. With that being said, do you have any proof of your claims?”

“If you seek proof, might I suggest using your ring on the mistress?”

“Appraisal doesn't work on Dungeon Cores, I'm afraid. 'Error, no valid target found,' is all it gives.”

“Unfortunate. I would suggest she show you her status herself, but, that would require physical contact, and I have no intention of allowing you close enough to facilitate that.”

“That is unfortunate, but tell me, has Sean already viewed it?”

“Indeed, he has.”

“I see. Then, Sean,” she said as she turned to face me, an action that caused me to jump as my mind raced to keep up with the pair's exchange, “would you do me the favor of removing that slime from your shoulder for a moment? There is something I'd like to test, and I'd rather avoid involving unnecessary factors that I cannot fully account for.”

“Um,” I began, unsure of how to respond as I turned my head to look at the little blob, but before I could do or say anything more, it leaped off my arm of its own volition.

“Odd,” Fable mumbled before asking, “Now, could you view her status again?”

“Why?”

“I just want to confirm something.”

My eyes shot between my one working arm, sword still gripped in it, and the mage standing across the room from me. I was hesitant at first, but after a moment, I slowly raised my hand, never allowing the weapon to leave my grip. Careful not to shift my position in any way that would give the girl an unobstructed line of sight to the core, I moved my hand behind me, the backside of it facing downward, and a moment later, I felt the core's cold surface press against my skin as Sir Archibald touched it to me. From there, words once again appeared in my mind.

“Do you see it?” Fable asked.

“Yes,” I answered.

“Read it to me.”

After getting Connie's permission, I did. Starting with the name I recited the entire status screen in full, from the oddity of the two separate levels she had to the double experience pools, one of which far exceeded its required experience total for her to level up. I read out her achievements, her abilities, everything she could create as a Dungeon, her list of awakened monsters, which was apparently what the System referred to her static monsters as, and the many other categories of information that meant nothing to me. The part of it that seemed to interest Fable, however, were her bonds. On top of listing her familiars, that part of her status also listed her as being bound by various magical contracts on top of having access to the very magic that facilitated the formation of such bonds themselves.

Once I was done, Fable made another request, “Sean, I want you to repeat these words verbatim, 'I, Sean, request to form a magically binding pact with with you, Connie Aldman, the one to whom I am currently in telepathic communication with. The terms of this pact are that we may not lie to each other, neither directly nor through omission. All words, status screens, and depictions of such must be spoken or shared between us without the intent to mislead.' Once you have done so, I want you to confirm the details of the pact and accept.”

I did as told, and to my surprise, once Connie had agreed, a screen detailing my words appeared in my field of vision along with a question.

[Do you want to accept the proposed pact with the individual, Connie Aldman?

Yes / No]

Mentally, I accepted.

“Now,” Fable said once that was done, “Try to lie to her in order to make sure the pact is working properly. After confirming it is, have her show you her status again and confirm the validity of the information she's given you. Do that, and I'll believe you.”

“Um, the sky is gr–”

My attempt to say something obviously false was cut short as I found myself physically incapable of doing so.

Instead, I instinctively changed my word to, “blue,” before commenting, “Now, that was weird. Yeah, definitely seems to be working.”

A moment later, the status screen reappeared in my field of vision, completely unchanged, and the words, “Everything I have said to you has been the truth,” echoed in my mind.

I nodded at that and relayed the information to Fable. Her reaction was to deflate as the tension visibly left her body. Following that, she entered the room properly, made her way a short distance along the wall, and slumped back against it in a far less guarded posture.

“You're a real piece of work, you know that Connie?” she called out her complaints one after another as she sat there, “I mean, I get why you did it, but seriously? A regional lord and an overlord, isn't that a bit overkill? Also, the rest of your Dungeon feels like it was designed by a raging psychopath. Using failed mind-altering concoctions as traps and weapons? Really? For a supposed Hero, you're downright twisted.”

The was a long moment of silence before more words flowed to me from the crystal, “Could you tell her sorry for me? Also, that she probably isn't getting her staff back. I'm not sure I even could get it back from Adraugon at this point, but even if I could, I'd rather not ruin my relationship with the little menace to do so. There's also a provision in our contract that may or may not apply here, so …”

I couldn't help laughing at that, my own exhaustion quickly catching up with me now that the situation seemed to be defused. I was just about to fulfill her request when more words rang out, these coming from an unexpected source.

“Ah, I see you've found the core! Excellent!”

Surprise, both foreign to me and my own, flooded through me as another wave of adrenaline hit me. Without hesitation, I turned to face the speaker. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Fable jolting upright to do the same.

There, by the entrance, stood a naked figure, painted head to toe in blood, dirt, soot, black sludge, and, if I wasn't mistaken, a few lingering patches of frost. By his side hung a bag that was only in marginally better condition than he was. The corpse of a two-headed snake lay draped across his shoulders. It took me longer than it should've to place the massive figure, but undeniably, it was Cudgel.

“Ha! And here I thought I'd hogged all the fun for myself!” he roared boisterously, “That beast in the last room was quite the sight! So, brother, are you laying claim to this core?”

Again, I felt Connie's emotions mirror my own as panic rolled off of her in waves.

“What? Vie!? Pee!?” her thoughts frantically rang in my head, “Um, oh. Oh! Yeah, that'd do it. I definitely should've read through that flood of notifications earlier.”

Doing my best to tune out her thoughts, I made to object to Cudgel's words. Again, I felt myself tense at the thought of having to fight someone I'd grown close to, especially someone I wasn't sure I could beat in a fight. Before I could say anything, though, Fable clambered back to her feet and shouted, “No, this Dungeon extermination is canceled!”

For a tense moment, things went so quiet I would've been able to hear a pin drop, but then, to my surprise, the mess of a man smiled and called out, “Good! After the fight I had, it would've been a shame to put an end to this place.”

Relief filled me at his words, and this time, the strain of bouncing between panic and calm caught up to me. Immediately, I felt all of my building exhaustion hit me, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a decent bed. By this point, I wouldn't have been surprised if this Dungeon had taken a few years off my life, and that had nothing to do with the damage it'd inflicted upon me. Still, there were questions I felt needed to be asked before anything else.

“Hey, Cudgel,” I began, “what happened to you, and where's your equipment?”

His face darkened immediately at my that, and for a moment, I feared just what Connie had put him through. Then, he spat on the ground in disgust and spoke with more venom than I'd ever heard from the man.

“Our, 'noble,'” he put emphasis on the word, “got his pride hurt and went mad on me. Started throwing out wide-range spells with no regard for how enclosed of a space we were in and even hit me with artillery magic of all things. Man had no business being on a battlefield.”

“Wait, seriously!? Are you okay? Where is he?”

Again he spat before answering, “Dead. Good riddance. And, no. Pretty sure I'm slowly dying. Do you reckon, if I brought this thing to that baron, he could make me an antivenom?”

He pointed at the corpse of the snake as he asked that, causing me to shudder involuntarily. The way he added that as an afterthought spoke volumes of the man and his priorities. All I could do was stare him in response.

“Huh,” Fable's voice rang out, “I guess I was wrong when I said they wouldn't kill each other. My bad.”

I could recognize the attempt at a joke but found no humor in it; as for Cudgel, he just rolled his eyes at her words and exclaimed, “What? I didn't kill him! The snake did! Can't say I feel sorry for the bastard, though.”

“Forget that,” she sighed as she made to approach the giant, “That's his bag, right? Here, I have a health potion, but if you want me to keep you alive until we can get you a cure, I'm going to need any mana potions Ivan had on him.”

I couldn't believe the nonchalant tone the two had taken up as though all of this was normal. It, paired with the madness of everything else, made it all feel more like a fever dream than anything else. It was ridiculous.

With thoughts like those, I allowed myself to slump into a sitting position. There was no doubt we were still going to need to have a long conversation with Connie about everything she'd told me, but for now, I needed a moment to relax and get my thoughts in order.

“Yep,” I muttered as I tried to get as comfortable as my battered body, clouded mind, and general soreness that seemed to affect my very being in a way that went beyond what physical damage could would allow me to, “I'm definitely in over my depth.”