Chapter 71

Speechless in front of the boy’s resolute tone, Jae allowed Bailey to come with him into the Pride Dungeon.

I didn’t know he thought about it like that... Well, it’s fine as long as he understands the consequences.

Of course, before that, they would first need to go to the Dungeon entrance.

Fortunately, there was no need to find it as the place Ryan’s party was last located could easily be pinpointed by the technical experts that served under the Demon Queen. By tracking the unique traces of magic emitted by the communications crystal that Ryan carried with him, they already figured out the starting point.

It was useful information for Jae; although he knew it was somewhere in the Land of Beasts, it’s not like Reius gave him an exact location. That, and the countless tall mountains spread all over that deadly and dull place would’ve taken ages to search each one, so this would save them some much needed time.

There was only a bit of misfortune in the fact that the teleportation circle was unavailable at the moment due to a lack of preparation―it required the desired location’s coordinates to make precise teleportation, which they didn’t have.

As such, Jae would have to fly there in his Wyvern transformation.

Before that, though, there were a few things to prepare. Namely, supplies. With Leila’s help, Jae stocked the Inventory full of various useful things from potions and food to clothing and spare weapons.

Rather than for Jae, however, they were more for those he was rescuing. Water wasn’t necessary thanks to Water Magic, but he made sure they had things like antidotes and potions for restoring health and mana. Food could also be acquired inside the Dungeon, but having some extra on him would only be beneficial in the case of an emergency.

Incidentally, the types of clothing that he stored varied for all ages and genders. Of course, this was because there were both boys and girls in their party, and both Rena and Bailey were only children. If it came to it, Jae could always just make some more clothes anyway.

Finally, there was nothing left to prepare, so the two could leave immediately―it seemed that Bailey had, in fact, not unpacked at all since arriving at the castle so that he would be available to follow Jae at any time.

And with that thought, Jae, alongside Bailey, swiftly departed from Asphal less than a day after their long-awaited return.

There were a few matters that Jae wanted to deal with while the opportunity was already here, but he saved them for a later time. It wasn’t nearly something on the same level of importance as Rena, after all.

...It’s fucking weird. Why were they there?

Still...

Zeel, and that ‘Gnoll Champion’... Just what relation do they have with the Demons? And the goblin―I still wonder just how that underground chamber led to the Pride Dungeon...

As of now, Jae didn’t feel it was a problem. Zeel was far weaker than himself, and the Gnoll Champion, Rut, was more or less on par with that Minotaur miniboss back in the Sloth Dungeon.

That is why he felt comfortable enough to let it go for now and leave it until there was another opportunity.

Even then... It makes me uneasy, just leaving it be.

Recalling the image of the hyena-faced Gnoll’s ravenous grin that he saw in the meeting hall, a disturbing chill ran down Jae’s spine as he imagined that battle-scarred dog hunting him down.

Ugh. Shit.

Be that as it may, he was confident that he could take both of them on simultaneously, even without「Mark of Death」. So, there was no need to worry.

Anyway, there isn’t much time. Let’s speed things up from this point onwards.

Alternatively.

Until everyone is safe, there’s no time for rest.

One could make the argument that, with his mind preoccupied with all the thoughts about the Pride Dungeon, rescuing Rena, and his classmates who teamed up with her, Jae had no space to worry about other things like the objectives of Zeel and Rut.

...I’ll make sure to do something about it when we return.

Thus, what no one could predict was whether or not that next chance would truly come.

Gliding at speeds that were almost to the point of being dangerous, it didn’t take as long as expected to arrive at the Land of Beasts.

How long did she say it’d take? A week or so, even via flying? Hah.

For Jae, it took no longer than thirty hours. The distance was less than half of that between Asphal and the Holy Country as there was quite a sizeable mountain range lying between the latter two.

Nonetheless, no matter the distance, Jae wouldn’t be satisfied. Every second he wasted here was twenty seconds wasted in the Pride Dungeon. With a simple calculation, it meant that approximately 600 hours, or 25 days, have passed inside the Dungeon since he left the castle.

Be safe. Please...

All he could do was pray.

There was a limit to how fast one could fly, even with the massive increase in Status and with magical enhancements. It wasn’t a matter of ability, but a matter of physicality―an ordinary Wyvern’s body simply wasn’t meant to fly at such speeds for long periods of time.

Eventually, an exclamation could be heard from atop Jae’s head.

“Master, look!”, Bailey shouted, pointing to the tall spikes of land that lay ahead of them.

Indeed, they were the lethal, rocky spires of the deadly and dull monochromatic Land of Beasts. With but a glance, Jae could tell that there were dozens of the things spread throughout this huge, unventured land.

Unconsciously, he recalled the sight of the Pride Dungeon’s Outer Layer. It reminded him of that place somehow, despite not looking similar at all. It was to the point of evoking nostalgia within him, strangely enough.

If there was one thing about the Land of Beasts that resembled the Outer Layer, it would undoubtedly be that; like thorns, the mountains stuck out of the ground. They were not thick except at the base, primarily being tall and thin structures called home by various monsters. Of course, the only ones that lived near the top were those that could fly.

Then, Jae was reminded of what Pride told him in the past.

〔I started with the land I ruled over and moved over all the Dragons to the new domain.〕

〔Then, I changed the domain to a more fitting style for my people and introduced those who are distant relatives of my species.〕

It was during the time they had a conversation about when they created the Dungeons. Remembering it now, Jae thought it clarified what happened.

There was a good reason for the nostalgia he felt in this place.

During its creation, the Pride Dungeon used the Land of Beasts as its base, right? Considering that the majority of the monsters in the Land of Beasts are under the reptile family of monsters, it makes even more sense.

Although it was heavily altered, the land was one and the same at its origin. Thinking about the subject brought another question to mind.

So, Pride was the one who created the Dungeon. The original Ruler of Pride. But, he died, so ownership was transferred to Aphy? I think I remember Wrath saying he died, but what was the cause...?

Needless to say, there was no response even though he asked. The sins still couldn’t seem to communicate with him even after that brief meeting with Reius. Nevertheless, a response wasn’t something that Jae needed.

In the end, it was just a curiosity that sprouted from the fact that he was a nigh-omnipotent Dragon. The cause of Pride’s death didn’t really matter, and it especially wasn’t something to worry about right now.

As long as it wasn’t something that can affect the current situation, there’s no need to think about it.

Putting an end to that line of thought, Jae focused on his destination.

Out of the numerous dark spires, only one of them contained the entrance to the Pride Dungeon. They may be too far away to figure out which was the right one with just sight, but fortunately, Jae had more than that to rely on.

Shouldn’t take long... Ah, there we go? It was closer than I imagined.

Merely by measuring which mountain had an abnormally high amount of magic power compared to the rest, it would be effortless to find the Dungeon entrance.

In any case, it turns out that Jae didn’t have to search far to find what he was looking for. He immediately swivelled his body in the air to make a smooth transition and flew directly to the top of the mountain using the last few minutes of transformation he had remaining.

The duo could see it from a distance. The great, imposing portal stood proudly as its name would suggest. The air it emitted was alone enough to frighten off any monsters that dared to approach the peak of the mountain.

Finally, Jae landed just ahead of the portal right before his time was up. Bailey jumped off with a mix of resolved vigour and sheathed anxiety, but he did not falter in taking steps towards it.

After all, in his mind, it was a portal just like any of the others he had entered previously. The only thing that was different this time around was the tension-filled atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Jae merely stared absentmindedly at the thing.

“...”

The portal was exactly as he remembered. All of a sudden, as if a dam had burst within him, old memories began to flood his mind.

Being saved by Aphy when he first awoke inside the Dungeon.

Accepting her offer to protect him as he followed her through what felt like an endless wasteland.

Being taught all about magic and theory as they travelled.

“...”

“Master?”

It all came back to him. Not only the memories, but the emotions, too.

The joy he felt as they grew close like family whilst travelling together.

The relief he felt when they finally made it to the Inner Zone after three years.

The serenity he felt as they lived peacefully for the months which felt like an eternity in that wooden cabin that was not too big, yet not too small.

“...”

“Uh, master?”

There weren’t only good memories, however. No, there were many bad times, too.

The countless, anxiety-inducing times where he was almost swallowed whole by the myriad of unimaginably strong monsters.

The depressing, regretful times when Aphy would refuse to speak to him for a while following an argument.

And... The despair he felt when the portal refused to open again after he finally left.

“...”

“...”

Subconsciously, Jae closed his eyes. It was overwhelming. Taking one, two, three deep breaths, he soon opened his eyes.

Throughout all of this, the blank expression on his face did not change. However, he could feel something warm roll down his cheeks.

Tears.

Using the black sleeves of his coat, Jae wiped his face and left no sign. Only after he did so did Bailey open his mouth.

“...Are you okay?”

Was it because this was the first time in a long while that he had felt this emotional? Jae threw an abnormally refreshed smile toward the boy.

“Couldn’t be better. Now, let’s not waste unnecessary time.”

“Ah, yes!”

Without hesitation, the two simultaneously stepped forward. Confidence bounding from their chests, they walked right into the violet portal.

And, just like that, a long-awaited notification entered Jae’s vision, and the world around them changed.

You have entered the『Pride Dungeon』 Current Dungeon Clear Status:【0.17%】

Hm? It’s risen a tad since last time, hasn’t it?

It appeared that Rena’s party hasn’t just been slacking off during their time here. Despite the increase in the Dungeon Clear Percentage being abysmally low at merely 0.02%, it could be considered rather impressive since they had only been here for at most a couple of months.

“Huuu... Haaaaah...”

Taking a deep breath of the transformed air, a pleased smile made its way across Jae’s face.

It tasted just as good as he remembered. That singular inhalation was enough to cleanse his lungs and refresh his body. Glimpsing around, he also noted the beautiful, familiar sight of the Merged Inner Zone.

Bailey asked with round eyes, “...Master, what... is this place...?”

Sights he had never seen in his life.

Glistening waters on one side, bountiful greenery on the other.

An endless orange sky that proved the sheer scale of the world.

Seven distinctly coloured suns floating at an unapproachable height in the sky.

Sweltering heat that reminded one of the harsh Summer.

And, of course, the inexplicable air, rich with mana almost to the point of making you never want to leave.

While Bailey was stunlocked by the utter reversal in scenery to a place nothing like he had ever experienced, Jae stood silent.

Pride Dungeon...

However, he couldn’t repress the sneaking smirk on his face for long. Quickly, he spoke aloud.

“...It’s good to be back.”

The mere realisation that he was truly back in the Pride Dungeon caused adrenaline to rush through his veins. As the beat of his trembling heart quickened, Jae pulled Bailey out of his stupor and began to walk from the beach where they first appeared to further in-land.

“Hurry, let’s go.”

“Ye-yes!”

“We’ve now got a lot more time on our hands, but it’s no reason to slow down. Still, we need to be thorough as we search. Who knows how far they’ve gone since entering the Dungeon. We can’t afford negligence.”

“Okay. But, how are we gonna find them?”

“How do you think we will? The efficiency of magic in this place is magnitudes above the normal world. That’s what makes it far easier to grasp here, and it’s all because of just how much natural mana there is in comparison.”

They travelled, Jae explaining along the way to Bailey various things about the Pride Dungeon such as its properties, monsters, and other things to look out for.

The first place they went to was somewhere Jae had been dying to return to ever since leaving the Dungeon.

Thankfully, the Dungeon entrance brought them somewhere he had been before.

Since he was familiar with this place and knew it like the back of his hand, it wasn’t at all hard to get to where he wanted.

“A house...?”, Bailey muttered. He seemed terribly confused about why there would be a house in a place that Jae called extremely dangerous, and it’s not like Rena and her party would have built a house here, so it was certainly odd.

Of course, he was already aware that Jae had been here before as not only was it mentioned previously to him, but it was also the reason that Jae could inform him about all the things to be wary about inside the Dungeon.

―As far as he recalled, though, none of those warnings involved a wooden house built amid such lush nature.

He stood questioningly behind Jae, curiously and closely watching his every move in wonder. He seemed to know it was here beforehand, but how?

Meanwhile, Jae paid little attention to the boy at that moment. Solemnly, he placed a hand on the cabin’s front door and gently pushed it open.

The door subtly creaked in the silence as the building’s interior was gradually revealed.

“...”

Despite it being a place untouched for god knows how long, the abundant magic gave it an unabandoned and clean appearance. It was as if no time had passed at all. Still, the cold and almost stale atmosphere of the cabin made it evident that nobody had lived here for a long time.

...It really is.

With the only sound being his each and every step colliding with the boarded wooden floor, Jae stepped further into the cabin. Slowly, he began to softly touch the objects within.

They were only simple things; a table, chairs, et cetera. Nonetheless, every single piece inside the room felt sentimental, even precious.

It was because it wasn’t ‘merely a table and chairs’.

No, it was the table and chairs he and Aphy sat at and ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner at; almost every day for months. Looking at it now, he could almost see the two of them, laughing and joking as they enjoyed the food.

......Why did things have to end like that...?

The way they parted felt tragic, especially now that he had returned to the place he once called home. It wasn’t even that he wished it never ended―just that it ended differently.

Was it really necessary to end that way...?

The way their relationship ended, truly, was too sad for Jae. Ever since, he constantly found himself wondering if she felt the same way, or if everything they had together was just a facade.

Indeed, Jae didn’t truly think that Aphy ‘abandoned him’ or wanted to get rid of him, but it was hard to keep such thoughts at bay when communication between the two had ceased.

Like this, Jae naturally thought of what he would say when they met once again. Admittedly, he had absolutely no idea what he would say.

He also had enough experience to know that, even if he planned what he was going to say beforehand, things would never turn out that way. Either he wouldn’t be able to say it, or he would want to say something else.

In the end, as he has no idea, he wouldn’t know until they met.

But then, what would she think of him after all this time? He knew he had changed since then, but it’s not easy to see yourself from another person’s perspective. Likewise, it is equally difficult to predict what will go through the mind of someone else when you meet them for the first time in many years.

After all, it wouldn’t be strange if Aphy were to have changed since last time as well.

“...”

And, if she really did change, Jae was worried as to what she would be like now. Would it even be possible to hold a friendly conversation?

...Ugh. What am I thinking? Of course, it’ll be fine...

Jae thought it best to erase these kinds of dark thoughts and just focus on finding Rena.

It does not matter what he thinks he is going to say to Aphy when they meet or if she has changed since then because no matter what, the reality isn’t set in stone until it actually happens.

The only thing certain is that they will meet before they can leave the Dungeon. It is inevitable because Aphy is the Dungeon’s boss. However, because he doesn’t know when they will meet, it is useless to think about what will happen at that time.

It could be months or even years into the future, and thus, is something futile to worry about at this point.

“......Haa.”

With but a single short exhale breaking the unending silence, Jae turned around and exited the cabin. Bailey, who watched in surprise at the sudden change in the air around him, stepped back unconsciously. It was more out of awe than fear.

Closing the door behind him, Jae opened his mouth in a serious tone.

“Bailey.”

“Yes?”, he responded respectfully.

“Do you remember what you said when you asked to follow me here?”

“Of course! I’m going to protect Rena, no matter what. I swear.”

Jae nodded.

“I see...”

He paused for a moment, then ruffled Bailey’s hair with a satisfied smile.

“Make sure you keep that temperament, rascal. Let’s go help her, huh?”

“Yeah. As soon as possible! I just hope she’s safe...”

Seeing his worried expression, it was now more obvious than ever to Jae that Bailey really meant what he said before. Despite his unfortunate early childhood and being abandoned by his biological parents, Jae believed he would grow up to be a caring and respectable adult in the future.

Because of that, he decided to be honest with the boy.

“Don’t worry too much. I noticed some residual magic around the area. Can you guess who it belongs to? Well, it was quite familiar. If you train your senses well, can you sense it too?”

Now that he had found a clue, Jae was no longer anxious.

“Shall we go carry Rena and her new friends through the Dungeon?”

It wouldn’t be long now until they reunited.