That said, I got the gist of where the joke came from. I suspected that other than superficial knowledge, some of my memories were shared here, though fragmented.

“Then again… there won’t be a problem if I just leave, right?” I spread my hands in a shrug.

She went silent for a moment, then nodded and shook her head almost immediately. “Well, no matter how far you travel, there are no limitations. Um… However…”

“Is there a problem?”

“If the Core were to be destroyed, you would die too. The connection we made connects us even in death.”

That… was bad news. Once I got back to my world and the worst happened… I didn’t want to imagine it. Moreover, it would become a useless endeavor.

“And don’t worry, even if you die, I’ll be fine,” she added.

“Don’t worry your head!” I sighed.

That explained a lot of that unworried look on her face… She had me set in the palm of her hand all along, limiting me to have little to no choice but to assume my position as a Dungeon Master — at least until I could leave it behind with peace of mind. Once I refused or even turned my back at her, the consequences might be dire.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Maybe the life of a Dungeon Master wouldn’t be so bad… To put it in my perspective, this would be akin to base building, and I had tons of experience through playing strategy games. Well, with the caveat of dying if the Dungeon Core were to be destroyed.

Also, she mentioned that she didn’t have a name… so…

“Lore… lei. Lorelei — Lorelei Argentum.”

She looked at me with an “I don’t understand what you mean by that” face.

“Um… You said that you don’t have a name. How about Lorelei Argentum? Lorelei is your first name and means alluring or temptress, and Argentum is your last name, which means silver in Latin just like your hair… It’s a perfect fit for you.”

“Lo-re… lei… Lorelei. It’s a good name — I like it. Okay, my name is Lorelei Argentum. But that doesn’t erase the fact that I still resent you.”

Good that she likes it… I had given her a name rather arbitrarily…

“All right. Well, you may already know it, but my name is Vincent, you can call me by name. I hope our cooperation will go smoothly.”

“Ugh…! Yes…” She held her head as if in pain.

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just that you are technically my master. The Dungeon Master over this dungeon — me. You have influence over me, albeit slightly.”

That was only natural. I was glad that there was a mechanism that restricted her like that. Even if the chance was slim, I didn’t want to die getting stabbed in the back. There was no saying whether she still had some hidden agendas behind tucked away. She was still a total enigma to me.

Nevertheless, everything that had happened so far hadn’t entirely sunk in for me. It had been a roller-coaster of emotions and experiences. One that I would call surreal… Maybe I wouldn’t be surprised even if I were told that the world would end tomorrow.

Anyway. All of this talking had made my throat dry, so I slurped the hot tea given earlier. To my surprise, it was my favorite drink: lemon tea. I knew that we would get along well if she liked what I liked. As they say, “Great minds think alike.”

“Hmm? Why are you blushing?” I noticed that Lorelei, whose face had a tint of pink, was stealing a glance at me. She was strangely adorable in that expression, considering that she was always expressionless.

“Saaay… remember that I said this is an Artificial Realm?”

“Yeah, so?” I picked up the cup and stared at it. Did she put poison inside my drink or something?

She took a tray from the table to cover her face and said meekly, “The tea… Well, this Artificial Realm itself lies inside of me, so… everything that you take in: The air you breathe, the water you drink, and what have you, come from me.”

Then, the tea I just drank… “Pfft!! Cough! Cough!” I tried to spurt the tea out of my stomach without much success. “Why don’t you say so from the get-go?!” I held down my mouth while sweating intensely.

“My apologies, but you didn’t ask. Let me rephrase it a bit — it’s all made of my mana.” Her words were proven when the small amount of tea I managed to spurt out changed into tiny particles and disappeared.

You’ve got to be kidding! This girl…! I bet she did that on purpose… Feeling all embarrassed for something that she intentionally did. Was there something wrong with her?

“So, I’ve been wondering. Lorelei, you're a Dungeon Core, but why with a human girl appearance?” I’d been assuming she did that to attract my sympathy or the like now the table was turned. And there always had been this sense of adoration when seeing her… Was it a kind of charm magic?

“A Dungeon Core, when it gets a Dungeon Master, will manifest an avatar and acquire a form similar to its master’s form. For me, I become human in a sense, but my true form is still a Core — the crystal ball you see outside.”

“But… why with the appearance of a girl around twelve to thirteen years old?” I wouldn’t mind it if she looked like that senior of mine from a different faculty was what I meant… Er, what am I thinking?

“Multiple reasons: One, I’m not yet familiar with the body of humans, and choosing a younger, smaller one would be easier. Two, it is easier this way to drink lemon tea; a smaller mouth means I can consume more with the same amount.”

Welp, she had been drinking lemon tea constantly. I didn’t really understand her logic, but okay.

“Last but not least, I am in a form where you, Vincent, would find it the most attractive, thus female, and it’s kind of permanent.” She stood up and walked in my direction.

“Are you joking with me?!” I hit the table.

Good grief! Why would I be attracted to a middle-schooler? Well, if she was at least three to four years older, then… No, no, no… She’s a Dungeon Core!

“Not really, but I never said about the age being in the equation. Let me show you…”

Lorelei took a few steps back, and then her body shone brightly. From the silhouette of her glowing body, she grew in size, becoming taller and a bit larger. The process was quick but lasted for about ten seconds. Now, where she once stood was a twenty- to twenty-one-year-old girl… or woman that looked just like the grown-up version of Lorelei.

Her clothes were the same but in a larger size. I noticed that her already not-so-flat bust grew into a perfect size, and even every part of the curves that made her feminine was enhanced into perfection; any healthy man would be attracted to such a sight. I even gulped my saliva and backed away. Crap. She’s dangerous!

“How is it? My, oh my. Why did you back away?” I could tell that she was being all smug as she sat upon the table and bit the tip of the glove of her right hand; her thick lips were seducing. “Boy. How about becoming my slave?” She acted like what I had in mind of a seducing lady in a bar, just that she was extremely beautiful and flawless.

My heart was racing fast. Calm down! I had to calm down. I closed my eyes and breathed in the air around deeply, calming my mind. Her chronological age as the Dungeon Core aside, physically and mentally, she was about my age… This may have something to do with what was shared with her.

“…I’d be lying if I said that I’m not attracted, but… No, I think I’ll pass.” I was strangely calm in this awkward situation and still thinking logically as opposed to how I might usually do. After all, I didn’t want to fall into a honeytrap only to be turned into a mindless puppet.

“Tch.”

“Hmm? Did you say something?” I knew that she clicked her tongue. There was no way that I would miss that, but it would be better to play oblivious here.

“It’s nothing.”

Eh… At least her ability is neat. Would she be able to turn into an old granny and a toddler, too? That would make a hilarious prank, for sure—

“Aah!” she groaned.

“What’s wro—?”

Below, Lorelei was lying on the ground in mild pain; she must have fallen down from the table. And for one reason or another, she had fallen into a sexy pose… Though I didn’t know whether it was intentional or not, she seemed to be in pain, so I helped her out.

“Are you alright?” I gave her a hand, which she took to stand on her feet. Her hand is warm… At least she isn’t an illusion and has a physical form.

“Nhnn… I’m fine, but it’s better for me to change back.”

“Um, I don’t know about that…”

“What, you want me to be younger? I didn’t know that you have that kind of taste…” Lorelei eyed with reproachful eyes. “Well, if it’s—”

“No!” I rolled my eyes. “Let me finish my sentence first. I think you should take a form in between, maybe around sixteen years old.”

“Well, fine. Gimme a sec…” Lorelei’s body glowed again. The process of transformation was about the same as prior, but instead of getting larger, her body shrunk. It took about half the time of the previous transformation for this one to finish, which meant the more age difference she changed, the more time it took.

From where she previously stood, I saw a girl around fifteen to sixteen years old standing in her place. If her loli— younger version gave off a pure and innocent look and her older version gave off a seductive allure, then now she was somewhere in the middle. Indeed, medium is premium.

In fact, when messing around with her status screen, I found that I was able to see all of her body sizes — her three sizes included… Even projecting her own 3D model was possible. But I wouldn’t do that. Nope.

No matter what, the sight of how she transformed looked like a magical girl transformation; I’d definitely want to take a photo of it with my phone, but I wasn’t too keen on doing that. Speaking of which, what’s the condition of my laptop?

Quickly, I unzipped my backpack and found that my laptop was safe and sound.

“Oh baby, my precious!” I took the laptop out and inspected every inch of its surface. And thank goodness, despite having fallen with me into the ravine’s bottom, it was nearly undamaged — only tiny dents were mildly visible. As expected of a metal-cased laptop… coupled with the thick layer of fabric of my bag, it had a high degree of impact resistance.

“Uh… So you have that kind of kink… huh? No wonder my charm didn’t work.”

While rubbing my cheek on the laptop with enough force to fuse them, I retorted, “It’s not! This is my most precious thing — my sweat and blood. This laptop I named ‘Lappy’ that contained basically most of the knowledge of my world is the only one of its kind in this world. I can’t bear losing this, my one and only.” I wasn’t being melodramatic here. This was a very expensive laptop, one that cost me all of my savings.

“So it is a kink.”

“Gah!” I groaned over Lorelei’s harsh appraisal. It was hard to refute her words…

Well, I had had enough with this charade, so I went ahead and asked whether I could get out of this place and how to do it.

“But of course. Since you’re the Dungeon Master, you have the authority to control this Artificial Realm and go in and out as you wish. Actually, this is the first time for me as well. But, here, let me show you the way. Watch and learn.”

Lorelei flicked her hand and said, “First off, you need to have an intention to get out…” Moments later, a black portal appeared two meters in front of Lorelei.

Ooh! That’s just like magic. Cool. I couldn’t wait to try doing it myself.

“Now, you just need to enter the portal to exit.” Stepping into the portal, Lorelei’s figure disappeared. Soon, the portal vanished as well.

“Eh, so she can travel outside too, huh? Neat. But is that the only way to get out?” I imagined teleporting, but instead of doing that, I used [Developer Interface] on this Artificial Realm.

And surprisingly, a status screen emerged.

Artificial Realm

An independent space located inside a Dungeon Core. The place is rich in mana and can generate anything within one’s imagination, although whatever comes from this space cannot be brought outside.

I searched for the exit button, and there it was, in the bottom right corner. Without further ado, I tapped the button.

My line of sight instantly changed as the dark cave interior replaced the big garden. Moistures in the air tickled my skin, and the smell of mold and wet walls filled my nostrils. And even the taste of rich earth gently pervaded my mouth. These were something that the Artificial Realm lacked.