The thing about owning something is the fact that you’re the owner. And by owning, it comes with troublesome responsibility. I really hate that.

***

“P-please! Don’t destroy me!”

“What are you talking about? I’m not here to destroy you.”

A minute has passed since the two of us properly met (or so I think), still, she’s still on the wall with her back stuck flat on it like she’s a rat who’s afraid of a cat. Though I think she’s really beautiful, I’m not going to attack her.

Right now, I’m doing my best in trying to calm her down because she’s firing at me with stone spikes from everywhere. Good thing Shell’s with me to cut them all down which I think is very unnecessary because of my > being active.

“Please calm down. I won’t hurt you, and Shell, stop being such a scary guy. You can just let the spikes hit you. You’re sturdy enough to resist it.”

Since Shell’s defensive mode is very intimidating to the girl (I think), I let him stand down to calm the girl down. And when he did, as I expected, he and I got targeted by numerous spikes and stabbed through me and trapped Shell.

[This somehow displeases me, master.]

“Just bear with it for a while.”

When the girl finally saw that she couldn’t hurt me or Shell, she got more scared and scratched the wall with more force like a cat while screaming loudly. Can’t this girl calm down?

“Look here girl, we’re not here to hurt you.”

“No! Get away!”

She screamed even more when I passed through the spikes that struck me already. I can understand, after all, this is something that would come out of a horror movie.

“If you just calm--”

“NO!!!”

“Down for a--”

“Get away!”

“second…”

“I don’t want to disappear yet!”

“IF YOU WON’T SHUT UP, I’M REALLY GOING TO MAKE YOU DISAPPEAR!”

I had it with this girl! So it’s probably normal that I get angry at her. Though it might be wrong at yelling at a stranger, I can’t help it. But because of that, she fell quiet and obedient which is good. Ah she sat down!

[I thought you will just handle this calmly, master.]

“AND YOU, SHUT UP! Oh wait, sorry about that.”

Since Shell suddenly spoke while my mind was still in the middle of cooling down, I yelled at him too.

Both of them are now quiet and just remained where they stood. Shell doesn’t have a choice though.

Because the girl has a high chance of getting scared of me again if I moved forward, I crouched to level myself to her.

“Look, I just want to ask a question. What are you? Why are you glowing (literally)?”

“…”

“If you’re not going to reply, you’re going to stay here with us until you talk. I’m sure you don’t want that do you?”

“… no.”

“Good?”

Since her voice was too small, I can’t hear her properly. But I understood what she said because she shook her head. I tried to lean towards her, but I saw her shoulders shake in nervousness so I didn’t continue the attempt. Geez, this girl’s too much of a scaredy-cat. On top of it, her voice is very ghastly so it’s a little hard to understand her when she speaks.

“Anyways, please answer my question. What are you?”

Before she answered the question, she looked directly at me, then to Shell. Since Shell’s seems to be too intimidating for her, I used > to make Shell disappear.

“Now do you trust me?”

“…”

“Well I guess you wouldn’t trust a stranger. For now, please try answering my questions. After that, I’ll leave here for good.”

“AH! Please don’t leave!”

“Gah!”

Since she suddenly spoke with loud and strong voice, she startled me and made me sit on my butt on the stone hard ground.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“I’m fine but, I didn’t expect you to have a loud and cute voice.”

-I’m not lying. Her voice sounds really cute in high pitch.

“Well anyways, why did you suddenly say not to leave?”

“… actually, I need you.”

“What?”

“Not you ‘YOU’, I meant the power within you. I can sense immense mana surging out from your being. ”

-Good, I almost misunderstood that one.

“If you need my mana, answer my question first. What are you?”

“… I’m not human like you.”

“That’s pretty obvious.”

Since I became slightly sarcastic, she lightly puffed her cheeks.

“I’m an entity of a [Dungeon Core].”

“Hmm.. I see, is that why you’re glowing?”

“Yes, however, this form of mine would disappear soon if I don’t return to the [Dungeon Core].”

“What would happen if you can’t return?”

“Then that would mean that the Dungeon would crumble and the monsters in it would go outside and rampage in search for a new source of [Mana Essence].”

After hearing that, I stood up from where I stood and brushed off the dusts on my butt.

“Is that so? Then let’s hurry up and go to your main body. I have some friends outside and inside this dungeon (this wasn’t a cave huh…) that I don’t want to get hurt.”

“B-but you’ll destroy me if you see my main body! I can’t trust humans like you!”

“Believe me, I’m not someone who’s interested in [Dungeon Cores]. I don’t even know what that is.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

She looked straight into my eyes with her hands clenched on her chest while making a tough act. Her posture sure is cute. Then suddenly, spikes popped out from everywhere and went through every part of my body. Keywords: “went through”.

“Nice try.”

“I was just trying to make sure.”

Of course, I haven’t let my guard down and let my > active all the time.

After finally realizing that she doesn’t have any way of defeating me, she gave up and turned towards the wall behind her again. What’s she trying to do this time?

Then, out of a sudden, a metal rod came out of the wall. She did some small chant beforehand, but she was using a very small voice so I couldn’t hear what it was.

She then pulls it down like a lever. The next moment, the cave quakes and I could feel a movement going down similar to an elevator. Probably because the whole part of where we’re in moved down. And in the next moment, the wall that was supposed to have the lever on it moved to the sides and opened up a new path.

“We’re here.”

“Wow! That was convenient.”

Since the girl’s reaction gave it away, I guess my reaction was not something she would expect. In other words, the thing about this thing we’re in moving towards the core room is correct.

“For a human that isn’t interested in the core, you sure know a lot.”

“Nope, I just know something very similar.”

Next, together, we entered the room.

***

I just skipped because it was a long quiet walk.

Now, we have entered a room where there are numerous glowing stones (or crystals) on the walls that illuminates the room. Moreover, there’s something that familiar about this room.

“Hey, is this the [Core Room]?”

“Yes.”

Though I say it like it’s the same thing as the one under my mansion, but there’s something that’s very odd here.

On the walls, there are vines, or roots, that are glowing in a pulsing way. Though it doesn’t create any sound, I can hear some beating sounds for some reason.

“What are those things on the walls?”

While walking towards the core, she shifted her head and watched the pulsing vines.

“Those are the [Earth Veins] which is supposed to power my dungeon’s core. But they have dried up years ago so they’re just decorations now. ”

“I see, but what else does it do?”

“Well, although I called it a decoration, it actually lets me access the other dungeon cores and communicate with them.”

“So it’s like a wire that connects you to other [Cores]. Wait, if it’s like that, do other dungeons have a personification like you?”

“There are some, but only those who have [Necromancy] in their script index. But I’m a special case. Even though I don’t have [Necromancy] in my script index, someone gave me this body many years ago.”

“I see, dungeons know how to use magic. But I’d like to know about that someone who gave you the body. It makes me curious how he managed to enter this place with that strong gravity outside protecting this place.”

“Actually he’s the one who put that magic here. Though I’m the one who actually invoked it, he’s the one who gave me a script.”

“Amazing! What kind of person was he?”

Before she answered my question, she turned towards me and looked from top to bottom like she’s inspecting me in many ways.

“I actually though he was you.”

“…. Uhuh…”

“You two looked the same, but he was old. To be honest, he’s so old that his beard almost touched his belly if I didn’t tell him that he should shave it.”

-This is quite surprising. To think that I would find a clue about whom my grandfather was in this place… What are the chances?

“Moreover, you came here when I sent that beacon from the mountain top. I really thought he was you because the two of you have the same magical pressure. But when you stepped into this mountain, I immediately found out that you’re not him because of the way your soul’s resonance.”

“That I do not know. But probably the reason why that person and me have the same magical pressure is because I’m his descendant.”

The moment I mentioned the word descendant, she suddenly froze. For some reason, her head made creaking sounds as she turned her head towards me.

“Did you just say, ‘descendant?’”

“I did, but that isn’t really surprising is it.”

Out of a sudden, probably because everything we’ve talked about fits perfectly together, her jaw dropped in shock.

“Y-y-you’re the descendant of Master Godfre!?”

“Technically, my name is also Godfre. But I preferred being called ‘Key’ because that’s the first part of my name.”

Then, she walked towards me with her hands opened like she was reaching out for something very precious.

“Y-you! So your name is Key Godfre Chardelier, the son--”

“Grandson.”

“The Grandson of Godfre Chardelier, the Linker of Magic.”

[The Linker of Magic], just how many titles does my grandfather have?

The girl tried to grab my clothes, but since my > is still active, she went through me and tripped then fell on the floor face first. Totally not my fault!

“You should hurry up and go back to the core.”

After fixing herself, she immediately rushed towards the core of the room with a flustered face. For some reason, I can feel that she’s really happy about something. I’ve got a very bad feeling about this.

She then dove into the water like it was normal. I tried to look for her in the water, but surprisingly, she disappeared and left no trace.

“H-hey. Where are you?”

[I’m already here.]

When a voice replied to my question, the core glowed as if it had life.

“That quick?”

[Yes. And… can we continue our conversation just now?]

I then crouched just on the edge of the pool of water and then put my hands on it. Though it was probably unnecessary, I poured my mana in it.

“I also want to, but bring my friend here first. I’m slightly worried about him.”

[That Dark Elf? Well, whatever you say.]

--Dark Elf? She must be misunderstanding something.

“Well anyways, I want to know what should I call you. I can’t keep on calling you ‘you’.”

[You can just call me Fleiya. That’s what Master Godfre calls me during the time he was here. And please, let me call you Master from now on.]

--I thought I’d be having another time naming something, good thing she already has a name.

“I’m fine with that. For now Fleiya, can you get Sora now?”

[Okay master.]

After that, the ground shook again. This time, I was fully prepared for this so I’m not nervous about the earthquake.

Later some time, the path where Fleiya and I entered opened up again. This time, Sora’s standing there while leaning on the wall while looking very tired.

“What happened to you Sora?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask.”

With a tired face, Sora walked towards me while I only looked at him. I’m a good friend after all.

“Haah… water… I’m so frigging thirsty!”

Sora dropped beside me and tried to scoop water from the pool using his hands. But since the water in the pool isn’t exactly water, I pulled him away.

“Key! What the heck!”

“You have magic eyes right? You can see that that water is not normal.”

Sora gave me an irritated look, but when he activated his magic eyes, it got replaced with a shocked one.

“This much essence… Is this liquefied magic essence?”

[Correct!]

When Fleiya’s head suddenly pop out from the water, it made Sora flip from where he sat and hit his head on the cold hard ground. To be honest, it surprised me too.

“W-who are you!?”

“Since you are my master’s friend, I’ll tell you. I am Fleiya, the personification of this Dungeon’s Core.”

While slowly raising herself out of the water, she bowed with her skirt slightly lifted to show some respect. But the way she’s talking, it’s like she’s putting up something.

Then out of a sudden, she jumped towards me with her arms wide open. Since I deactivated my > a while ago, I caught her weight and dropped my back on the floor.

“What the heck Fleiya?! What are you trying to do? Kill me?”

“If you weren’t my former master’s descendant, I would have.”

For some reason, she’s acting all chummy out of a sudden. It’s slightly creeping me out.

“Who is she, Key? Is she another harem member?”

Sora made a stupid statement, because of that, a piece of sharp earth spike came out and pointed itself on Sora’s throat. Probably because he has low mana, he couldn’t see it coming.

“To call my master by his name… such disrespect.”

“Hey, hey, hey, Fleiya, stop that. Though I don’t know why you’re angry, you shouldn’t point people like that.”

While saying so, I slowly started crawling out backwards since Fleiya’s sitting on my crotch. But then, she suddenly put her weight on me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Whatever you say, Master!”

She’s really hyper.

Since she’s moving a lot above me, I tried to distract myself and looked at the core. Then I got reminded what I actually came here for.

“Hey, Fleiya, you said something about a beacon right? Why did you send something out?”

From a happy face, it suddenly turned grim as she looks like she just remembered something very important. Next, she immediately stood up and started pulling me towards the water.

“Thank you for the reminder master! Now, please give me mana! I’m actually running out empty.”

“You don’t say…”

I actually noticed this a while ago. Not only the water had no crystals on it, it was also very pure that anyone could mistake it as water like Sora a while ago.

When we entered the water, Fleiya started to dematerialize to liquid.

“Are you made of water?”

“‘Liquefied Mana Essence’ to be exact. My script composition was actually made by my former master, your grandfather. It took him a day just to formulate the right magic for my body to be assembled from Liquefied Mana Essence only.”

“So it was a hard task.”

Without minding Fleiya who only has her upper body materialized, I swam towards the core… which isn’t really necessary. But hey, there’s gravity magic here. Maybe I could copy it.

Using my left hand to pour mana into the water slowly (I learned my lesson), and used my other hand to touch the core and activate the [Rune Grabber].

When I activated it, numerous scripts came out into my vision. I’m already quite used to activating the ring so I can just scroll through with it using only my mind. Though I need to actually use my hands in separating the runes, if it’s just searching for the script, using the mind will do.

“To think that the two of you have the same power, you really are his descendant.”

While I was busy working, Fleiya dropped some comments which slightly intrigued me.

“Did grandfather also have this ring?”

“He did, but he wasn’t really skillful in using it. I can tell that you’re used to using this because you’re not making much effort even though you’re doing two things at the same time.”

“Impressed?”

“Yes.”

After finally finding the rune, I then added it to the >. Next, I then used the core for another reason.

“Does this core have memories of my grandfather?”

Probably because my objective was obvious, Fleiya shook her head in denial and apologized.

“Unfortunately, the Dungeon’s Memories deteriorated every day because of the [Gravity Magic’s] function. Since the formation of that magic was imperfect, it somehow affected other scripts in my core.”

-So that explains why she couldn’t recognize my face like the headmaster.

“I see… Then what if I removed the [Gravity Magic] script? Would it return the [Dungeon Core’s] memories back to normal?”

Fleiya gave my words some thought. She put her index finger on her chin while thinking about it. Though the index finger is slightly disturbing, she looks cute.

“Hey, Key! I think we should probably go back. I think we’re out for 2 hours already. The girls are probably worried for you.”

Sora suddenly yelled out to me from the edge of the pool. Now that I think about it, we’ve been out here for too long.

After that, I then answered him by raising my right hand and showed him 3 of my fingers. Three minutes in short.

“To be honest, I hate the fact that I keep on losing my memories. But since the gravity barrier is protecting me, I actually can’t let go of it.”

With a sad face, her shoulders drooped while expressing her ‘cannot be helped’ atmosphere. But I expected that.

“So, what if I replace it with another kind of defense?”

“Replace it?”

“Yes.”

***

After putting the new defense of the dungeon, I left the pool and let myself dry for a few minutes. During that time, we had a small conversation about something very important.

First topic: The [Mithril Ores].

Since this place is a ground which has a [Earth Vein], the land here is naturally healthy during spring and summer seasons. Not only that. Due to the [Earth Vein’s] natural ability to draw magical essence under the earth, metals like [Mithril] are formed. According to Sora and Fleiya, [Mithril Ores] are formed from iron and gold which is condensed with mana. If left alone for a hundred of years, those iron and gold will become [Mithril Ore] naturally. Since this mountain had an [Earth Vein] in it for unknown years, naturally it had a lot of supplies of [Mithril Ore]. It was made obvious by those [Mithril Golems] and [Mithril Knights] which attacked Sora and I not long ago.

The second topic: The Dungeon’s Ownership.

To be honest, I hated doing this. But since Sora and Fleiya insisted on letting me own this whole mountain, I had no choice but to accept it. I don’t know what running through Sora’s mind and let me grab ownership, but since this guy isn’t the type who talks about his whims, I won’t ask.

And Fleiya, her only reason is that; I’m her former master’s grandson. But the way she looks at me is telling me there’s something else she wants.

Last topic: My decision.

Since I’m already the master of this dungeon, I’m planning on changing this place.

Because of the [Mithril] that exists in this place, I’m planning on harvesting every last of it to remove the danger to the [Dungeon Core]. Fleiya didn’t have any qualms about it.

Next, I made Fleiya’s core a link to me using [Soul] and [Arcane] magic and created > so that this dungeon wouldn’t run out of mana as long as I live. I had that idea while thinking about Cherry. It was a little hard task, but it only consumed 30 minutes. Also, I let Fleiya clear out monsters in a 4 mile radius from the dungeon. This is to minimalize the chance of adventurers straying here into the mountain and expose the [Dungeon Core] to danger.

After that, Sora and I exited the dungeon and headed towards the caravan that camped not too far from the dungeon. Though Fleiya didn’t want me to leave, she doesn’t have a choice, only because she can’t touch me when I use >. *evil laughter*

But I’ll visit her though.

-End of Chapter-