“Gleam is so strong, did you see? She went all sploosh and then zoom!”
Natia, the youngest of the four children Rusty had taken in, was practically bouncing with excitent. Gleam sat in front of her, waving her antennae while the child jumped around. The children were inside his ho, peering through holes in the nailed shut windows as they watched Gleam defeat the orcs with her magic.
“(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)”
“Indeed, Gleam is quite strong. You can depend on her.”
Rusty said this as he stood with them, having just returned from the orc siege. While the scene before him was cheerful, his thoughts were elsewhere. This was the second ti he had been involved in an orc attack, and this ti he knew the monsters were planning sothing. His guides agreed.
“They were not charging blindly this ti. It could have been a test.”
Alexander’s voice was low as he continued to study their behavior with suspicion. He was a hero who had faced countless monsters in his life and recognized the pattern as troubling.
“That’s possible, but it doesn’t an an attack is imminent. For all we know, those lesser monsters will return to their old ways after failing so miserably.”
Aburdon, on the other hand, saw little reason for concern. To him, the tactics of lesser creatures such as orcs were beneath consideration, and he seed unwilling to believe they were capable of planning anything intelligent.
“Well, all I can do is get stronger and get closer to C-rank. I’m still one level short, and this siege was far too short.”
Even though he had defeated a large number of D-rank orcs, he had still been unable to reach his goal of level twenty-five. Now he had two options. He could spend a few days in the dungeon killing monsters, or he could enter the summoning chamber, and he was leaning toward the latter.
‘I should be able to get enough experience through the summoning chamber.’
If he did not use it, he would lose it. Without activating the summoning chamber, the next reset would not begin, so it was best to access it the mont the tir ran out. Because of the orcs, he had been unable to get there, but now he finally had so ti to himself.
The rcenaries had been asked to stand down. With Aburdon’s help, it had not taken long to prepare a report for the Guard Commander. After that, he was free to do as he pleased until the noble called on them again.
What this new rcenary band would be responsible for was still unclear. It was possible they would be replaced by more trustworthy people, the kind who would not ask too many questions when transporting bribes and stolen goods, unlike the previous Black Hound rcenaries.
“...”
However, not everyone seed happy in this house. The oldest of the children, Rolo, looked quite gloomy as he stared in Gleam’s direction.
“Is sothing wrong? Were you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine…”
Humanoids had complicated emotions, so Rusty was not sure what this was about. Alexander, on the other hand, had a hunch, so he spoke.
“The child might feel powerless. He has a battle class but is unable to level it up. I wonder if he is angry at his own weakness.”
“Is that it?”
The child did not hear the conversation, and Rusty did not press the matter as he walked toward the smithy in the basent. He was not sure what to do or say to the growing teenager. There were no goblins nearby, but perhaps he could help Rolo begin his journey by helping him kill so monsters.
“Leave the boy. He will figure it out himself. We need to worry about ourselves, and above all, you should develop your skills further.”
Aburdon comnted as he closed the basent door behind him. While the demon lord was not wrong, Rusty was getting the impression that he had ulterior motives, as usual.
“Which skills exactly?”
“The puppeteering skills, of course. The aid I can provide you in battle is worth more than chasing simple level-ups and new ranks!”
“I’ll think about it…”
Rusty had learned not to trust Aburdon’s words fully, as he was always seeking so way to escape his control. While Rusty did not think this was possible, the demon lord was clever, and if an opportunity presented itself, he would likely betray him to gain freedom. Yet it was also true that with the two serving as his puppets, his power could increase, since handling everything alone was not always possible.
“Now then, this should not take long, so there is no reason to hide my fra.”
After the conversation ended, Rusty entered the soul forge, specifically the summoning chamber. This ti, he was almost at the peak of his current rank, and with just a few experience talismans, he could probably reach a new level.
“Of course, everyone is doing sothing else…”
As expected, he could not be summoned by any of his old summoners. Not Gwen, not Teral, and not even the necromancer, whom he wondered if he should remove from the list. After being manhandled by him for almost an entire week, the old man might have decided never to summon him again. However, he still had enough points to unlock a new summoner slot.
‘I’ll just get a new slot. If I find a better option than that necromancer, I’ll replace him.’
Rusty was not really in a rush. Even though the necromancer was not ideal, he still allowed him to gain a large quantity of summoner coins. Rusty was also curious about that powerful magic user. Even though he should fear her, his curiosity was stronger, as she seed capable of perhaps teaching him so spells. He had sensed dark elental energy in her vicinity.
“Well then, let’s see if this works.”
He was curious what would happen if he bought a new slot, so he navigated through the console and selected the option. Once it unlocked, a new empty slot appeared, along with new options for him to choose from.
Quest:
Dungeon Defender
Difficulty:
dium
Description:
Summoned by the dungeon itself, you must protect the core from invading raiders. Drive out all enemies or slay them all.
One was a quest he had seen before. It had the sa description, and the difficulty was moderate. It was one that usually appeared, but he had always dismissed it because of his troubled past as a dungeon’s slave. Yet in all the other summonings, he had never truly been compelled to do anything, and he was beginning to wonder if this might not be a bad choice after all, especially considering the second option looked troubleso.
Quest:
Princess Rescue
Difficulty:
Hard
Description:
Summoned by a desperate royal court magician, you are to locate and rescue the captured princess from an unknown captor. Intelligence is limited, and hostile forces are expected. Failure may result in the execution of the hostage.
This one was peculiar, as it involved soone called a court magician. He knew who such people were, and it ant he would likely be working with other humanoids, perhaps even an entire adventuring party sent to recover a hidden princess.
There were a few concerning details in the description, the main one being at the end. To him, it implied that if he did not finish the quest fast enough, the princess would be killed, leaving him with no reward. The first quest was much simpler. He would remain in a dungeon, defend the core from destruction, fight off attackers, and dispose of them.
“I don’t need that many experience points to reach the next level. It’s better to take the safer route.”
Though he had not yet failed any summoning quests, the ones he had been taking part in were becoming harder. During the last one with Teral, he had allowed things to get out of hand with the noble’s strange transformation. Taking risks was fine, but he was not soone who liked to gamble too much. It was a humanoid trait he did not fully grasp, so for the ti being, he decided to ignore his past. He was no longer a slave to a dungeon heart, and he was curious.
Normally he was summoned by humanoid individuals, but this ti it would be a dungeon core itself. He wondered if it would have so kind of voice like the previous one and whether he could speak to it. There was also a practical advantage. He likely would not need to provide a dungeon with additional summons to control, as he had with Gwen and Teral.
“I suppose I’d better get a move on, then.”
Soon, he selected the mission and moved onto the summoning platform. The symbols around it began to glow and, as so many tis before, everything went white.
“Where will it bring now? This part is always enjoyable!”
Rusty wondered as he was transported to another location. Every ti it was a new place, filled with new experiences, people, and enemies. To him, a monster barely a year old, it was truly fascinating.
When his vision returned, the first thing he noticed was the silence. There was no wind, no whispers, no chatter from humanoids. Instead, he found himself in so kind of underground chamber, with torches lining the walls and rocky statues standing in the shadows.
‘Looks like so kind of temple, so it’s one of these.’
As a creature born in a dungeon, Rusty knew the kinds of environnts these places usually had. There was often so sort of the a dungeon followed, sothing that defined its monsters, traps, and even the layout of its corridors. Many tis, it was tied to an elent, such as fire or water. In his case, he was a creature usually found in dungeons occupied by undead or other magical constructs. A temple like this fit that pattern, and the skulls and bones scattered around implied he had ended up in so kind of undead temple dungeon.
“It’s rather empty, though. Where is everyone? Could I be the only monster here?”
Rusty scratched his hollow head as he looked around. There was no sign of enemies or even allies.
“...”
“Wait, who was that?”
As he waited for sothing to happen, he heard sothing. It was no more than a whisper, faint and weak, as if a child was trying to get his attention from far away.
“H…i…”
“Oh… hello there? You don’t sound as bad as my previous dungeon.”
The dungeon he ca from had always shouted at him and tried to dominate him, but this one was rather docile, its voice quiet and weak. It did not seem to have the power to invade his mind and force him to act as his previous oppressor had, which was what he had assud would happen.
“So, I’m Rusty, and who are you?”
“I…”
“Yes, you?”
“...”
“Hello? Can you speak up? I can barely hear you.”
His previous dungeon had been too loud, but this one seed too silent. Even when he asked, it would not really say anything, so he could only do one thing and try to explore on his own. The place he was in looked like so kind of ruined chapel with a strange, small altar at its center, cracked straight through as if sothing had burst out from beneath it long ago. Dust coated everything in a thin gray veil, and just as he was about to move, he heard sothing.
“Oh?”
There was one path leading into this decrepit chapel. One likely led to an exit, while the other descended deeper into the dungeon. From one of them, he could hear echoes that resembled footsteps. His weapons were the usual shield, halberd, and a mace strapped to his side. There was no reason to remain waiting in the middle of the chamber when there was a perfect hiding spot near where the sounds were coming from.
Two large statues stood there, and he could easily conceal himself behind one while waiting for whoever was approaching. The area was shrouded in shade, making it easy to activate his concealnt skill. Once he did, he noticed an added boon tied to this unique summoning quest. His mana was being replenished.
“It’s not as fast as with a humanoid summoner, but it’s a steady stream of mana. Convenient.”
There was another advantage to this situation. Humanoid summoners required him to stay within close proximity, and they also needed protection. The dungeon, on the other hand, encompassed the entire area he was in, allowing him to move freely. His mission was either to kill or drive out the intruders, so there would be no need to pursue them once they escaped.
“Let’s get the core and leave. This place doesn’t seem to have any worthwhile treasure.”
While hiding and considering the situation, he heard people approaching. Judging by the footsteps, it was a small group, one that did not seem afraid to be here, as they chatted leisurely among themselves. Once they passed through the entrance and he could see them from his hiding spot, he was surprised.
‘I haven’t seen these types of humanoids before. There is a faint trace of dark energy around them… could they be demons?’
To his surprise, this group did not belong to any humanoid race he had seen before. They had elongated ears, though shorter than those of elves and angled differently. Two of them had red skin, while another was black as charcoal. Their eyes were different as well, with slitted pupils instead of round orbs like most other races.
‘So these are demons? Or were they called demonic humans?’
He wondered as he watched them move deeper inside. The group did not seem cautious at all. One of them, a tall red-skinned man with curved horns, let out a low chuckle as his boots echoed across the stone floor.
“Pathetic place. Are you sure this one even has a core we can sell? What if this is just a regular cave, and those few skeletons we defeated ford naturally?”
A fourth mber of the group snorted, this one shorter but broader, his skin a dull ash gray and his arms covered in faint glowing markings.
“You complain too much. The broker said there was a core here, so there is a core. Even a weak one is worth sothing.”
This surprised soone like Rusty. He had heard things about demons before and had even spoken to one himself in Aburdon, yet these felt far more normal. They did not speak much differently from regular adventurers, but one thing was clear: the amount of mana they carried was far above normal.
“Hmm… Well, I am supposed to get rid of these guys, and now is the best ti to strike while they are bickering.”
This was the perfect opportunity. The four figures were distracted and felt safe. The mont he moved, his form would be revealed, so he needed to make it count. He readied himself, then quickly hurled his spear toward the nearest of the demonic humans…
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