episode_0077

“Asking for magic in the dungeon. Sir, don’t you hear a lot that you’re out of the ordinary?”

“No? I hear a lot that I’m just an ordinary and innocent young man.”

“You’re lying······.”

Despite muttering, the nun continued to gather magic at her fingertips, preparing for the spell.

But she’s quite good at it when asked.

She even has abilities.

These Four Kings seem to have a remarkable talent pool.

“Hmm······.”

The nun placed her hand on the stone door of the dungeon.

Soon, she started sweating profusely, making a difficult expression.

Then she turned around and said, “It seems impossible······.”

“What’s impossible? Everything will be fine once you do it.”

“Are you really stubborn? What are you talking about! These days, the Four Kings don’t say such absurd things!”

“Ah. Try it first.”

“There’s no point in trying! The dungeon is too big, and the curse can’t cover it all! We lack magic. And a lot of it.”

“Hmm······.”

That makes sense.

Even cursing an entire train is a massive task.

How much magic would it take to curse the entire dungeon, as complex and vast as a maze?

“Then replenish your energy. I’ll give you a special potion. Absorb energy from her.”

“······Me?”

“What kind of energy does this corpse have! Even if you absorb energy from her, you can only use a hypnotic spell once.”

“What? There’s such a thing as a hypnotic spell?!”

“Her eyes are full of desire. She might be a vulgar human······.”

Wait, there’s such a thing as a hypnotic spell?

If I had known that, I would have focused on spells instead of wasting time on swordsmanship or magic.

I could have just hypnotized the three main heroines.

I regret it so much.

“What on earth is my 12 years······.”

“Anyway, what can’t be done can’t be done.”

“Then use my magic. You know how to convert magic into energy, right?”

“I do. I wouldn’t be a sorcerer if I couldn’t.”

Magic and energy are like siblings.

They are both made of mana but have different properties.

So theoretically, both magic and energy can be converted into each other.

Usually, sorcerers are capable of converting energy into magic.

But it’s rare to find someone who can convert magic into energy.

It’s not that there’s a significant difference in difficulty.

It’s just a matter of experience.

Since there are far fewer sorcerers than wizards.

Sorcerers are so hungry for magic that they have to convert the abundant energy in the world.

While wizards rarely have the chance to encounter magic.

It’s similar to how baseball batters struggle against left-handed pitchers.

“However, with the energy possessed by humans, it’s impossible. Unless it’s a holy knight covered in relics. How much energy can a human have without any protection?”

“Try absorbing it. Will this be enough?”

“Hmph. It’s obvious that it won’t work, why do you keep······. Huh?”

Swiftly.

She shook my hand firmly and carefully, making sure not to spill the magic inflated with protection.

She slowly poured all the magic into the nun.

After circling her body once, the magic passed through the magic stone, becoming purer than ever.

It was in a perfect state for transformation.

The nun’s eyes widened as she absorbed the magic, and before I knew it, they were as big as saucers.

“Sir, what are you doing? Who are you? You’re not human, are you?”

Trembling, she couldn’t take her eyes off me.

Her gaze seemed a bit gentler.

It’s as if all her rebelliousness had disappeared.

“That’s right. Will this be enough?”

“It might be borderline······. Should I weaken the curse?”

“Yes.”

It seems that the entire dungeon will be covered by a hair’s breadth.

I left only enough magic to deal with the small fry, giving the rest to the nun.

Since there are no bosses in this dungeon, a massive amount of magic is unnecessary.

“Grant us······.”

In an instant, the magic transformed into energy, spreading a gloomy aura around.

As the nun placed her hand on the stone door, the black energy flowed in through the engraved patterns, emitting light.

“Take away the power from the evildoers······.”

“Is it okay to call monsters evil just because they’re monsters?”

“Quiet down······. I’m concentrating······.”

Is she using the stone door as a totem?

Quite clever.

The stone door began to emit a sinister light, which gradually faded away.

The powerful magic that was felt just moments ago was no longer present.

The curse has already spread throughout the entire dungeon, to the point where it’s so diluted that I can’t detect it.

“Alright, it’s done. I did cast a curse on the entire dungeon, but… its power is greatly weakened. Even if I try to weaken it further, the effect will be minimal.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I only wrote that to see if curses can be placed on dungeons.

It’s not because I found the dungeon conquest difficult.

Still, I should go check how much it has been weakened.

“Now, let’s go in. Grab the dungeon core quickly, then we can eat and sleep.”

“What? Why are you telling me that? I’m not going in.”

“Whoever wants to.”

“Why again! Just let me go!”

“If you suddenly change the curse from being outside to strengthening the monsters, what will you do?”

“I won’t do that! I swear! I swear on Kali! No, she’s already dead… I swear on Draken!”

“How can I believe that? Just come with me.”

“No, no! I don’t want to! Why are you doing this to me? Do you have a grudge against me? What did I do wrong?”

“The city guards are in chaos looking for you. Should I just hand you over to them? Do you want to see how the guards treat monsters?”

“Ugh! You’re cruel! Jerk! Meanie! Human!”

“The last one wasn’t a curse…”

Despite shedding tears and cursing vehemently, my footsteps following me do not stop.

It seems like I don’t want to die.

Even though I resist, I follow well enough.

As much as I want to break free and run, it would backfire.

Even a cornered mouse will bite.

If I keep repeating the empty promise of releasing me after this task is done, eventually, the stubborn one will be prepared for death.

It’s better to release and control from a distance.

But how do I control after releasing?

There are many ways.

“…If you give up, it’ll be easier.”

“So, you’re also caught like this and became a slave. Let’s join forces-”

“What. Don’t act friendly. No, thanks.”

“Huh?”

Mijung, stepping back and avoiding the nun’s hand that was reaching out sweetly.

Even from Mijung’s perspective, getting involved with dungeon-born monsters like the nun would be uncomfortable.

Since Mijung was once human too, she seems to feel more camaraderie with me than with the nun.

“The curse of the giant nun weakens the monsters in the dungeon.”

As I push the stone door and enter inside.

The system window appears, informing me of the effects of the curse.

So, it wasn’t a lie.

“…And the boss that was sleeping wakes up.”

What?

What does that mean?

This dungeon originally didn’t have a boss.

If you pass through the minions and traps, in the final room, there’s only the dungeon core, and once you grab it and leave, the conquest is over.

I’ve known that for the past 12 rounds…

A boss that I didn’t know existed has appeared.

It seems like the system is trying to adjust the consistency.

But why did they make such a major revision to add a boss that didn’t exist?

I can’t figure it out.

Was there something inconsistent in Taeyeop City?

‘I have no idea…’

There’s more than one thing to worry about.

I need to minimize traces to prepare for Eyerina’s pursuit.

I don’t even know what the inconsistency in Taeyeop City is…

There’s no other way.

I have to finish the magic tool quickly and leave Taeyeop City.

I don’t know what kind of boss woke up inside, but I have to confront it to make a judgment.

If it’s too difficult, I can retreat.

“…Someone. A voice.”

In the dark dungeon.

Mijung, who was walking and illuminating the path with a human torch, suddenly stops in surprise.

She felt a presence.

Listening to Mijung’s words, I focus on the sound.

Faint voices can be heard from inside.

Not monsters, but… humans?

“It’s a person.”

White bones are scattered around the dungeon corridor.

Skeleton corpses.

Ah. Should I say undead instead of corpses to avoid awkwardness?

Anyway.

Looking at the broken bones, it seems like they were hit by a sword or shield.

The weapons such as swords, bows, and shields that the skeletons were holding have been looted.

A professional mercenary, perhaps.

Who would dare challenge the Black Star Dungeon, where no one dares to enter…

Worries and concerns slowly rise.

“Hurry up.”

“…Okay.”

“Ah. My feet are starting to hurt. I want to stop walking.”

“Want me to carry you?”

“Eek! No! That’s creepy!”

“Hey…”

Hastening their steps, they quickly moved forward.

Before long, bright light seeped in from the end of the narrow corridor.

Beyond that, the sound of chattering voices could be heard loudly.

“Alright! Is everything ready?”

“Yes, Captain. Smoke bombs, explosives, potions, extra weapons, as well as provisions and water in case of unforeseen circumstances. Everything is perfect.”

“Don’t let your guard down, everyone!”

“Oh, it’ll be fine! We’ve confirmed through local investigation that there’s no boss in this dungeon, right? We can handle all the tough mobs ourselves!”

Those people.

They were the mercenaries we saw on the train.

Several mercenaries gathered, fully equipped with various weapons and armor, preparing for battle.

When we saw them on the train, they seemed unsure.

But seeing them fully armed, it became clear.

They were the top-tier veterans among the mercenaries.

“We’re all going to die…”

Of course, the concern wasn’t about losing the dungeon loot.

If we leave them be like this.

We’ll all end up dead.