Chapter 65

You have entered the『Gluttony Dungeon』 Current Dungeon Clear Status:【0%】

Stepping through the portal, the immediate notifications confirmed Jae’s thoughts. The rosy Dungeon entrance quickly vanished upon the two’s entry, and their instinctual reaction was to gauge the surroundings.

However...

“Hm? Wait, aren’t these...”

...Something was odd. Looking around, Jae and Bailey were still in the room with the Gluttonous Slime, but it was now different in that the place contained many things. Things Jae had instantly recognised.

“Test tubes...? Why...?”

His curious gaze becoming both confused and slightly anxious, Jae turned his head to see a cluster of long desks with countless apparatus, documents, and paraphernalia lying atop them.

The common link between the equipment was its scientific air. Strangely-designed microscopes, test tubes and beakers holding bizarre-looking liquids, a balance and weighing scale―Jae had always seen these types of apparatus in a lab.

Picking up one of the many dozens of paper documents lying around, he quickly found the language to be indecipherable. Without hesitation, he carelessly let go of the paper and looked up at the room’s left wall.

“It’s the same language. It’s not what is spoken in the Empire. Maybe it’s an ancient language after all...”

Well, since the room actually looks to be frequently used, and the wall is not so dusty, I guess we’ve yet again come to visit the past. But, even if this is the past, how is a place like this connected to Gluttony? The Slime probably came through to the normal world with the entrance portal, right? Then, I wonder if there’s anything else here... If only I could read this, things’d be so much easier.

“...Master, what is all this stuff? It’s weird.”

It was inevitable that Bailey, who had never seen or even heard of anything related to science before, thought all this peculiar equipment was strange. Of course, Jae was well aware that some kind of scientific research was being conducted here.

He had no idea what kinds of mystical things a scientist would research in a world of magic, but the questions that perpetuated in his mind were an unending ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’.

“I wonder.”

―As such, he replied to Bailey rather simply.

Who is the one researching here?

It’s entirely possible that a scientist or even a team of scientists or researchers from Earth were transported here―after all, the very same thing happened to Jae and everyone from his class back at the beginning of it all.

What are they researching?

It’s entirely plausible that the people who were researching here were researching a way to return to Earth. It is equally possible that they were summoned in the distant past for this world, yet are still from a modern-day society on Earth. After all, it’s a world of magic, right?

Why are they researching it―

If modern-day scientists were suddenly transported to a world where magic exists, they would never be able to catch a single day of rest thanks to their innate desire to find out the answers to their questions.

―and how are they doing so?

Thus, the final question: Whoever was here―how did they carry out their research? Obviously, it was with the apparatus Jae saw around him right now. But, from where did they acquire such precisely-made equipment like test tubes, beakers and microscopes?

Sure, it was definitely possible that they were carried over from a laboratory on Earth. However, that is only if you were arguing for the theory that whoever was here researching, was summoned from Earth in the first place.

And so, if the people here were not from Earth, then just how did they come across this scientific equipment? Did they simply make it?

No. Even with the help of magic, microscopes couldn’t have existed in the medieval ages. They wouldn’t have been able to manufacture precise objects from fragile materials, either, like these glass test tubes. Unless...

Suddenly, Jae reached out and held one of the few empty test tubes, noticing its oddly high weight.

...Ah.

Quickly, it began to emit a dull blue light from within his light grasp.

As I thought.

After witnessing how smoothly his mana entered the test tube, Jae confirmed that the test tubes and beakers were created with mana crystals. Not glass. Not only that, but the sheer efficiency of which it permeated the object proved its purity as well. It was clearly made by sacrificing an especially rare, high-grade mana crystal.

Nodding to himself, Jae decided to put it in the Inventory.

Since I can’t get mana crystals myself, I might as well. There’s no reason not to.

Soon after, the two finished looking around the room. It was large, but everything was pretty much the same―illegible documents and useless scientific apparatus. Additionally, there were traces of transparent, blue slime in some places, but Jae already knew the origins of that.

He opened the room’s door and began walking down the hallway. On the way, he had this one concerning thought that continued prodding his mind.

It’s been at least an hour or two, right? Why hasn’t Gluttony said anything yet? Is it similar to what happened with Wrath? Gluttony’s not going to try and kill me too, right?

“...”

Jae ended up postponing the idea. There was no need to worry about it anyway, as Gluttony had no way to kill him, and even if he did, Jae wouldn’t truly die. This is what he kept on telling himself.

It was when his focus sharpened again, that something appeared on his magic-sensing radar.

Two... No, three signals. Two seem to be human, the last is likely a monster. Is it another Slime? Doesn’t appear to be a threat, seeing as they’re still alive.

Judging that there was no danger to themselves, Jae and Bailey each hastened their steps as they approached whoever was living in this Dungeon.

“Aaaaahh...!”

When they arrived, the first thing they heard was a scream. Its high pitch made it seem to belong to a woman, but for some reason, the voice contained not a trace of fear.

Jae opened the door to the room the voice originated from and instantly tried to grasp the situation. Meanwhile, the one who screamed didn’t notice his entry and continued in an overly-ecstatic tone.

“It’s a success! Finally! Look, Dor--eek! Who are you?!”

About to call out to the only other person in the room, the woman suddenly turned around and was startled upon seeing Jae standing at the entrance. Fortunately, because Bailey, a kid, was also stood silently by his side, it somehow made him seem less dangerous.

“Hello. I’m Jae.”, he introduced himself simply. Jae was more surprised at the fact that the woman was speaking the language of the Empire, but he didn’t let it show on his face.

If this is hundreds of years ago, then shouldn’t the Empire’s language be almost unrecognisable to me? How is it that she speaks the same way as people do today, despite this being the past?

Telling himself that the reason could be discovered later and that it didn’t matter anyway, he confirmed the situation at hand.

On the left of the room, there was a man who lay unconscious atop a sofa-like piece of furniture. On the right, stood the woman, who continued to stare warily at the pair of strangers who randomly entered the room.

At the back of the room, a huge collection of what seemed like dead slimes were stacked up in several repulsive piles. However, what was most important was the thing in the centre of the room.

It seemed to be what the woman was fussing so much over, and was likely going to be the cornerstone of Gluttony’s story―A large, cylindrical vat that stretched from the floor to the ceiling.

Filled with a viscous, luminous white liquid, and with numerous connected pipes leading to and from the vat, it appeared almost exactly like something from a science fiction universe.

Before asking any questions, Jae used Envy on the two people.

Soul State - Nadia West Soul Level : 7 / 100

Title : Magic Researcher

Age : 31 Health : 47

Magic Energy : 178 Power : 86

Magical Ability : 34

Defence : 86

Magical Defence : 20

Resistances : 8

Speed : 76 Condition : [Excited], [Relieved], [Happy], [Ecstatic], [Surprised], [Wary], [Agitated] Soul State - Doran Smith Soul Level : 18 / 100

Title : Magic Researcher

Age : 29 Health : 60

Magic Energy : 321 Power : 244

Magical Ability : 78

Defence : 364

Magical Defence : 89

Resistances : 13

Speed : 193 Condition : [Sleeping]

The two of them were standard, ordinary people that one could find anywhere. Other than the part about them being magic researchers, perhaps, there was absolutely nothing special about the two of them.

They weren’t at all people who could be classified as threats. Even Bailey could take care of the two of them by himself, and with one hand behind his back.

Be that as it may, what Jae was more curious about was the thing in the room’s central vat.

That milky white, glowing goo-like substance filling the inside of the tank―Jae pointed towards it and asked the woman called Nadia.

“Is that a Slime?”

He knew the answer already, so there was no real need to ask her. Jae only wanted to know if she would lie to him or not.

“...How do you know?”

―Still, he didn’t expect her reaction to be so intense. Widened eyes, a voice of stupefaction, and an air of suspicion. Jae regretted a little upon seeing this, but it was fine.

Well, it makes sense that she’d be like that when she’s the creator of it.

Jae ignored her question and instead stared at the Slime in the vat. From the evidence he had seen, it was clearly something the two researchers had manually invented or perhaps synthesised here in these laboratory-like ruins―an artificial creature, in other words.

It explains why I’ve never seen a Slime before now, I suppose.

Looking at this newly-birthed Slime―that the female researcher, Nadia, named a ‘success’―Jae asked it a question through telepathy.

[Gluttony, are you awake?]

“Hah?”

Making an unusual, inquisitive-sounding noise, Ryan was the first to speak upon seeing the otherworldly, grand magic portal in front of them.

“...Oi, the fuck’s this s’posed to be, eh?”

“““...”””

Nobody could utter a word in response. How could they, when not a single one of them knew what they were looking at?

*tap*

Interrupting this tense atmosphere were some abrupt, light footsteps.

*tap*

*tap*

*tap*

“...”

It was none other than Rena who approached the vivid, violet portal that proudly boasted a royal-like grandeur.

Everyone only watched her with silent gazes as she peered into the towering mass of mysterious magic. It was without much effort that she determined it a magic far beyond her current reach, and a magic she had most definitely never seen before.

However, for some inexplicable reason, it felt... oddly familiar.

“......Daddy...”, she unknowingly muttered under her breath.

The scene that came to mind was her father, Jae’s spatial storage magic―the thing he always called ‘Inventory’, as well as the teleportation magic she had witnessed him use countless times.

They were both magics she intuitively knew she had absolutely zero chance of reproducing by herself, and were therefore techniques that she greatly admired.

So, why was such an image coming to her mind now? Rena thought that this bizarre magic portal may be related in some way.

With an unmatched conviction, the young girl unpredictably jumped into the portal, whereupon she wholly disappeared from the rest of the group’s view, presence and all.

“Ah...!”

“Rena!?”

Amelia and Kaitlyn, who were the first to show a reaction, called out in pure astonishment. Following their frenetic cries, Ryan clicked his tongue in frustration, “Tch!”, and Nicholas couldn’t even get any words to come out of his mouth.

The group immediately began running towards the place Rena vanished―towards the portal.

Evidently, they didn’t take a moment to think about what they should do. They simply charged recklessly into the magic portal, leaving nothing behind.

First was Amelia, then Kaitlyn―One by one, they each entered the portal.

When Nicholas followed the girls and vanished along with them, Ryan was the only one left. He stood, glaring vicious daggers at where the group went.

“...These fuckin’ idiots. The hell’re they doin’?!”

Appalled by the fact that they foolishly scrambled into the mysterious and potentially treacherous portal without a single plan or prior discussion, it was all he could say.

Ryan wasted no time in taking the magic communications device out of his bag and immediately powering it. He planned to quickly contact Leila to let her know of the situation before following the rest of them into the portal, however...

The crystal ball, which only continued to systematically flash every few seconds, didn’t seem to be working. No, it was working as intended, but Ryan’s call was not being picked up.

“Tch! Shit. She ain’t answerin’.”

Whether Leila was busy working or simply wasn’t in her office to answer Ryan’s call, it wasn’t known. However, he had no time to waste when he had no idea what could be lying in wait on the other side of the portal, so he couldn’t afford to sit idle, waiting for her to pick up.

He promptly decided that it was a waste of time to give a report. Storing the communications device back in the bag, Ryan approached the portal with swift steps and entered it without a second thought.

And, of course, the first thing to catch his attention―

You have entered the『Pride Dungeon』 Current Dungeon Clear Status:【0.15%】

――Was a pair of unfamiliar notifications.

[Gluttony, are you awake?]

[Oh, Jae! Finally!]

Fortunately, the telepathy worked. Jae had a few questions to ask, but first, he had to sort things out with Nadia. Turning to look at the female researcher, the first thing he did was apologise.

“Sorry, but I can’t tell you how I know about the Slimes. I’m not here to harm you though, so don’t worry.”

“Ah. Well then, who exactly are you? And why are you here? My name is Nadia. I don’t particularly care about you coming to harm me, but you’re not here for my Slimes, are you? Especially...”

Wrapping her thin, pale arms around Gluttony’s vat, caressing it slowly and with great care, Nadia made an expression like that of a mother cradling her baby.

“...My favourite child.”

Then, as if turning from human to beast, her deep eyes, trembling with a hint of insanity, turned sharp as she glared spitefully towards Jae.

“If you dare to do something that harms my baby, I’ll fucking kill you.”, she warned in a grave tone.

However, Jae stayed apathetic to the facade she put on. Her threat was of no value, especially after viewing her Soul State. To him, her appearance seemed no different to that of a wild cat attempting to threaten a predator in front of its cub.

[So, Gluttony, what’s the story here?]

To establish a foundation, Jae first enquired about the two researchers and their origins.

[Who are these guys, and where did they come from? Do you know?]

If he was frank, he only really cared about the latter since he was still attached to the idea of them being from Earth, but he was also curious about how there would be scientists in this kind of magical world.

Well, maybe they’re a bit too young to have come from Earth. They’re also too weak and don’t even have the Otherworlder Title, so perhaps I’m wrong, but... Their names seem strangely familiar compared to anyone else I’ve met―I’ve never even seen a person with a surname like West or Smith in this world before, so couldn’t it still be possible?

As he wondered, he listened to Gluttony’s answers.

[If what you’re asking is that... Then I’ll just tell you this. They’re not from another world.]

...In the end, they’re not. Well, I guess it was too good to be true after all.

[But, they are descendants of people from another world.]

Hm? What, really? Huh.

[I guess that’s where they got their names from?]

[Yes. This person, Nadia... I suppose she would be my mother. One time, she told me of a story her parents told her as a child. That they were actually from a world called Earth. It’s the same for that guy, Doran, over there as well.]

[I see. So because they’re only descendants, they don’t get the Otherworlder benefits that their parents got.]

[Something like that. But, uh, because of that, as well as the way they were raised, they despise the words ‘magic researcher’ and call themselves ‘scientists’ instead. Anyway, there are more important things for us to be talking about, aren’t there?]

[...Certainly, you have a point. Give me a second, then.]

“Don’t worry, Nadia, I’m not here to harm your child.”

“Really? How can I trust you?”

Jae sighed inwardly at her reaction.

Can’t even use my Adventurer’s Card because I don’t know what time period this is. If it’s a time before the Adventurer’s Guild existed, then the card would be useless as an identity. Besides, she doesn’t seem like she’d trust me solely based on the fact I’m a high-ranking adventurer.

“...I don’t have anything that I can prove my identity with, and I’m not going to show you my Status, but... All I can do is promise that I won’t do anything.”

“What if you’re lying? What do I do if you’re tricking me?”

“I have no reason to trick or lie to you. I’m way stronger than you are.”

When he ended the sentence by generating four swirling balls of ashen fire above his hand, Nadia finally shut her mouth.

[Okay, so Gluttony. Where has everyone been since I left Wrath?]

[Right, right. Actually, we’ve been there, just unable to talk. The situation is taking a turn for the worse. And it’s much sooner than what you probably would’ve wanted.]

[...Shit. What do you mean?]

[Ah, um. It’s ‘that guy’. You made a mistake when talking with Wrath, so he found out about your plans to kill him.]

[What? What the hell do you mean I made a mistake?]

[You know that he watches over you all the time, right? I don’t know what it was, but he must have immediately sensed a change in your modus operandi or something. You did seem unusually urgent right after exiting the Dungeon, so that might’ve had something to do with it. You didn’t mutter anything about killing him or anything under your breath by accident, did you?]

[Oh, fuck, really? I don’t think I said anything...]

[Mm. Either way, he interrupted the connection between you and us, Jae, so that we can’t communicate anymore. It’s probably not something that will last forever since his power is still very limited and he’ll definitely want to save as much as possible, but I don’t know when it will return―if it even can.]

[...Right. That’s why you had to resort to this method to communicate with me. So, what do you suggest I do now?]

[Uh... I don’t know, honestly. Probably, you should keep trying to clear the Dungeons as fast as possible. I tried to force the exit of this Dungeon to take you as close as possible to another Dungeon, but I have no idea if it would work or not.]

[Oh, you can do that? Thanks for the help.]

[Don’t worry about it and repay me later. I don’t even know if it’s going to work anyway. For now, kill me and leave the Dungeon. You brought a lot of food with you, right?]

[Yes... Well, I’ll see you later.]

[Yep. Remember to just focus on clearing the Dungeons as quickly as possible, ‘kay? Don’t get distracted by petty things, Jae.]

That was the end of the conversation with Gluttony. As soon as the two said their goodbyes, Jae launched the four fireballs swirling above his hand towards the vat containing Gluttony.

“A-AAAAAaaahhhhh...!!!??? Wh-what have you done!?”, Nadia shrieked. Jae ignored her and focused on ensuring Gluttony’s death was as fast as possible. Well, it didn’t really matter what he did, as it would’ve been a ‘one-shot’ anyway.

―It only made sense, considering his pitiful Status.

Soul State - Gluttonous Slime (Enhanced) Soul Level : 0 / 1000

Title : Ruler of Gluttony

Age : 0 Days Health : ―

Magic Energy : 10 Power : 1

Magical Ability : 1

Defence : 1

Magical Defence : 1

Resistances : 1

Speed : 1 Condition : [Stasis], [Hungry]

As the grey fireballs impacted the vat, an explosion occurred as the mana-infused white gel splattered everywhere.

Level limit reached. Excess experience points stockpiled until the limit is increased You have defeated the boss of the『Gluttony Dungeon』 Dungeon exit has opened

―What used to be Gluttony, is now no more than a mess to be cleaned up.

Nadia was flabbergasted and rendered absolutely speechless. Doran had been jolted awake by the explosion, but Jae cared for neither of them. If they wanted to, they could follow him out of the Dungeon, but he suspected they―or Nadia, at least―wouldn’t want to live after losing the prized ‘child’.

In the vat’s place, the Dungeon’s exit appeared. Not wanting to waste any time, Jae approached the portal with Bailey following silently in his footsteps.

...However, when the two exited the Dungeon, they found themselves in a rather peculiar place.