77 – Story 77: The Wind-Up City (4)
“Putting a hex on a dungeon, sir? I bet you hear that you’re quite eccentric often?”
“Really? I hear that I’m just a normal, innocent young man.”
“You’re totally bluffing…”
Despite her persistent complaints, the nun collects magical energy at her fingertips, preparing a curse.
She gets the job done when asked to.
And capacities are there as well.
These Four Heavenly Kings, they have more of a talent pool than I thought.
“Um…”
The nun raises her hand to the stone door of the dungeon and breaks into a helpless expression, exuding sweat all over.
She then turns around and utters,
“It doesn’t seem possible…”
“What’s impossible? When you put everything into something, anything is possible.”
“Are you truly senile? None of us, not even the Four Heavenly Kings, would utter such absurdities!”
“Oh just try it first.”
“There’s no point in trying! The dungeon is too big for the curse to cover completely! I don’t have enough magical energy. Not nearly enough.”
“Um…”
That makes sense.
Even to spread a curse over an entire train would be a gargantuan task.
How much magic would be needed to cast a curse over the entire dungeon, as complex and vast as a maze?
“Well, then we just need to replenish our mana. I’ll give you a special gift. I’ll suck your mana.”
“Huh? Me?”
“What kind of mana does a dead body have! Even if I suck your mana, I’ll only be able to use a hypnotism spell.”
“What? There’s such thing as a hypnotism spell?!”
“Your eyes are filled with desire. You must be a filthy human······.”
Wait, so there really is such thing as a hypnotism spell?
If I had known that, instead of wasting time learning useless skills like swordsmanship and magic, I would have focused on hypnotism.
I could have just hypnotized the three main heroines and won.
I deeply regret it.
“What have I done for the past 12 years······.”
“Anyway, some things just can’t be done.”
“Then use my magic power. You know how to convert magic power into mana, right?”
“Yes, I do. If you can’t do that, then you’re not a sorcerer.”
Magic power and mana are like brothers, but they have different natures.
They are both made of mana, but their properties are different types of energy.
So theoretically, both magic power and mana can be converted into each other.
Of course, that’s theoretically possible.
Sorcerers are mainly capable of converting magic power into mana.
But it’s extremely rare to find someone who can convert mana into magic power, especially among wizards.
It’s not particularly difficult, just a matter of experience.
Since there are far more sorcerers than wizards.
Sorcerers are starving for magic power, even if they have to convert the abundant mana in the world.
Meanwhile, wizards have limited opportunities to encounter mana.
It’s like baseball batters struggling against left-handed pitchers.
“But still, the magic power possessed by the Inju is not enough. Unless they’re a Holy Knight covered in relics from head to toe. How much magic power would a naked Inju have if they had a lot?”
“Let’s try absorbing it for now. Should this be enough?”
“Hmph. It’s obvious that it won’t work, so why do you keep······. Huh?”
Slyly.
Taking the rough hand he offered me.
Slowly, cautiously, so as not to unleash the power of the guardian knight. All of it is sent to the lady of the tower.
After a full body rotation, the magic, refined through the gem, is in a purer state than ever before.
It’s the perfect state for transformation.
The lady of the tower, receiving the magic, her eyes gradually widen and soon resemble large bells.
“Who are you, mister? What are you doing? You’re not human, are you?”
Her eyes tremble at the edge, unable to turn away from me.
It seems like her gaze has softened a bit.
It’s as if all rebelliousness has vanished.
“Right. Is this amount enough for you?”
“It might be risky… Should I weaken the curse?”
“Yes.”
Enough to cover the entire dungeon, just barely.
Pouring out all the magic would hinder the fighting inside.
Leave just enough to deal with the small fry, and hand over the rest to the lady of the tower.
There’s no need for a large amount of magic in this dungeon since there’s no boss.
“Grant it…”
In an instant, the magic is transformed into a spell, spreading a dark aura around.
The lady of the tower, who was gathering magic at her fingertips, places her hand on the stone door.
Along the patterns engraved on the stone door, black energy flows in and illuminates.
“Take the power from the wicked…”
“Is it okay for monsters to call others wicked?”
“Shh… I’m concentrating…”
Utilizing the stone door itself as a totem. Quite clever.
Before I know it, the entire stone door starts emitting a sinister light.
After a moment, the light gradually fades away.
The powerful magic felt just now is no longer perceptible.
It seems to have spread throughout the entire dungeon, making it too diluted for me to detect.
“Let’s just leave it at that. I did cast a curse over the entire dungeon, but… its power is significantly weakened. Even if I were to weaken it further, the effect would be minimal.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
It was just an experiment to see if curses could be cast on dungeons.
It’s not like I did it to make dungeon conquest difficult, so it doesn’t matter.
Still, I should check how much it has been weakened.
“Now. Let’s go in. Grab the dungeon core quickly, have a meal, and go to bed.”
“Huh? Why are you telling me that? I’m not going in, you know?”
“Do as you please.”
“Why again! Just let me go already!”
“What if you were outside and the curse suddenly changed to a monster reinforcement curse?”
“That won’t happen! I swear! I swear on Kali! No, she’s already dead… I swear on Drakken!”
“How can I believe that? Just come along.”
“I don’t want to, I don’t! I really don’t! Why are you singling me out? Do you have a grudge against me? What did I do wrong?”
“They’re causing a huge commotion looking for you in the Tae Yeop City Guard. Should I just hand you over to them? Do you want to see how the Guard treats monsters?”
“Ugh! You’re cruel! Jerk! Meanie! Barbarian!”
“The last one isn’t a curse, you know…”
Even as tears well up and curses pour out, the footsteps following me do not stop.
Doesn’t seem like they want to die.
They follow me obediently, despite their reluctance.
I want to just put a leash on them and be done with it, but…
“That would backfire.”
When a rat is cornered, it’s bound to bite.
If I keep making empty promises to release them after this, eventually they’ll resign themselves to death.
It’s probably better to release them and control them from a distance.
But how do you control someone after releasing them?
There are many ways.
“…If you give up, it’ll be easier.”
“So you’ve been caught and turned into a slave like this too. Let’s join forces, as fellow sufferers-“
“…What. Don’t get familiar with me. No, stop.”
“Huh?”
Mi-jeong stepped back, rejecting the affectionate hand of the giantess, and then hurriedly stuck by my side. It must be uncomfortable for Mi-jeong, being associated with a monster from the dungeon, even from her perspective. After all, she used to be human.
It seems like she feels more camaraderie with me than with the giantess.
[The curse of the giantess weakens the monsters in the dungeon.]
As I pushed the stone door and stepped inside, the system window appeared, informing me of the effect of the curse. At least, it wasn’t a lie.
[······And the boss that was sleeping awakens.]
What?
What does this mean?
Originally, this dungeon was boss-less. Once you passed the small fries and traps, the only thing in the last room was the dungeon core. If you took the core and left, that was the end of the conquest.
I knew that for all twelve rounds, but now, an unknown boss has appeared. It seems like the system also made some adjustments for consistency.
So, what didn’t they like this time to make an additional boss that wasn’t there before?
I just can’t figure it out.
From Noble mtl dot com
Was there something so inconsistent in Taeyeop City?
‘I have no idea at all······.’
There’s not just one or two things to be concerned about.
I need to minimize my traces to prepare for Ye-ri-na’s pursuit, and I don’t even know what this distorted consistency in Taeyeop City is······.
There’s no other way.
I have to quickly complete the magic tool and leave Taeyeop City.
I don’t know what kind of boss woke up inside, but I can only make a judgment after confronting it.
If it seems too difficult, I can always retreat, right?
“······A person. I heard a voice.”
In a dark dungeon.
Mi-jeong, who was walking ahead as a human torch, suddenly stops in surprise.
She senses a presence.
Upon listening to Mi-jeong’s words, she focuses on the sound.
From inside, faint voices can be heard.
Not a monster…
Is it a person?
“It’s a person.”
White bones are scattered around the dungeon corridor.
It’s the remains of a skeleton.
Ah, it’s undead. Should I say remains instead?
Anyway.
Looking at the broken bones, it seems like they were struck by a sword or shield.
The weapons that the skeleton held, such as a sword, bow, and shield, were all completely looted.
It’s unlikely that someone who accidentally got lost in the Black Star Dungeon would be so actively looting.
Are they a professional mercenary?
Who on earth would dare to enter the Black Star Dungeon?
Worries and concerns start to rise.
“Hurry up.”
“Umm… okay.”
“Ah, my feet are starting to hurt. I want to stop walking.”
“Shall I carry you?”
“Eek! No, thank you! It’s embarrassing!”
“Hey…”
Urging her steps, she quickly moves forward.
Before long, bright light seeps in from the end of the narrow corridor.
From beyond, the sound of horses’ hooves can be heard.
“Alright! Is everyone ready?”
“Yes, Captain. Smoke bombs, explosives, potions, extra weapons, and even food and water in case of unforeseen circumstances. We’re fully prepared.”
“Don’t let your guard down, everyone!”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine! Haven’t we confirmed through on-site investigation that there’s no boss in this dungeon? We’ll take care of any strong monsters that come our way!”
Those.
They are the mercenaries we saw on the train.
Several mercenaries, gathered here with various weapons and armor, are preparing for battle.
When we saw them on the train, they seemed like ordinary people.
But seeing them fully armed, it became clear.
Those are the top-tier veterans among mercenaries.
“We’re all going to die…”
Of course, the worry isn’t about losing the dungeon core.
If we leave them be…
They’ll wipe us out.