A lonely figure stood by a certain window, looking out upon a grandiose view. The figure was silent, their thoughts inscrutable. Light from several candles bathed this figure, giving it an almost regal glow from one perspective. The rest of the room, opulent in decor, was left in relative shadow.

Part of that shadow rose up behind the figure. It, too, was silent. But only for a moment.

“Report.” The figure said in a low, but distinctly audible voice.

“Your maj-” The shadow began, but was quickly interrupted.

“You know better than that,” the figure said. “Only in public. Just give me the details.” His words were as firm as his stance. He had yet to turn around or even move. The shadow seemed to hesitate briefly, but soon continued.

“Yes...sir. An anomaly has been detected. There are signs that another disaster is going to emerge.”

The figure remained silent for a moment. “...I see,” it eventually replied. “Is there any indication of its strength?”

“According to the ripple response that the seers have experienced, it is...uncertain,” the shadow answered cautiously. It did not want to give that particular piece of news, because it would say far more than it did not. Even his word choice, awkward as it was, was an effort to mitigate the implications. It was an effort in futility. “They may need to wait for more significant actions to take place, for the ripple response to become greater.”

“The seers...could not determine anything, huh?” The figure mused to itself. The shadow did not respond. It could not. Would not. “That is most unfortunate. Prepare the necessary alert, but do not send it out yet. This is only a precaution. If one of those has shown up here, then...” The figure lapsed into silence.

The shadow knew that it should not speak at this moment, but it could not help itself. It took a risk. “Sir?” came the tentative probe.

The figure did not respond immediately. The shadow dared not risk saying anything more. Once was already enough. It would wait until spoken to this time. Finally, just as the shadow was reaching the edges of its mental tension, the figure opened its mouth again. “It is nothing. Ready the alert. I only pray that we will never need to use it.”

The shadow nodded, but did not move. It waited for any further instructions as it was trained to do. The figure continued to stare out the window, seemingly lost in thought. Time stretched out, impossibly slow, as if the weight of the words just spoken forced the world to hold its breath. And then, it passed. “Go,” the figure said at last. The shadow was gone before the sound finished echoing in the room.

The figure remained, alone.

***

Consuming the fairy granted me energy nearly as great as that of the core. I supposed I should call it mana from now on, it seems more appropriate. I once again felt a sense of fulfillment, almost but not quite the emotion of joy. It, too, was short lived.

I wondered if I could get addicted to this rush of mana, eventually falling into the path of constantly seeking greater amounts of it. Somehow I intuitively knew that this would not be the case. Whatever it is that cut me off from my emotions seemed to also work in preventing me from actually “craving” anything. I could almost be called apathetic at this point if not for my previous life as a human. The knowledge of what I should be feeling and how those feelings work apparently acted as a sort of safety net, preventing me from fully sinking into this new existence of mine and completely losing my identity. Not that it made any sense to me whatsoever.

In any case, although I somehow understood that absorbing mana would not become an addiction for me, I also knew that it was the only thing I could desire in any capacity. Thus I made it my primary goal, to continue to search out other sources of mana and consume it. Perhaps I will be able to learn about the world at large at the same time.

Mind made up, I set about looking for a way out of this now dead dungeon. I felt no attachment for this place, and so I had no trouble casting it aside. As I moved, I realised that a trickle of mana was slowly entering my body. I wonder where...ah. It must be the remaining ambient mana from the dungeon core. Assuming that the core operated in a similar method as what I have read about, dungeon cores should be influencing their domains by spreading a layer of their personal mana through the environment. Even though I already destroyed the core, the ambient mana created by the core previously still hung around. Despite it being clearly a weaker source, it still...nourished me, for lack of a better word. I wondered if I would end up draining the place dry by the time I left.

I followed the only path that was visible to me, the same path through which the horde of slimes came to attack me. Reflecting on what I remembered of my previous life, I tried to come up with a comparison to determine my current movement speed. It was strange to think through, but eventually I came to the conclusion that my default motions, without actively trying to go fast, matched the speed of a morning jogger. Of course, I had no way to completely verify this without measured units of distance, but it was the best I could do at the time.

Shifting my thoughts to more relevant matters, I examined the tunnel I flowed along. There were a number of pitfall traps, stalactites, and hollow holes in the walls that would serve as perfect hiding spots for slimes. It would appear that my...maker...at least knew what it was doing when it set up this dungeon. It did make me wonder, was the dungeon crafted entirely by the dungeon core? Or was this cave system already here and it was simply modified to suit the preferences of the core better? The numerous novels that I have read all spoke of dungeon cores building their domains from scratch, carving out every inch of usable space, but I have no idea if that is how this world operates.

Well, I thought to myself as I approached what looked like the entrance of the dungeon, there is an easy way to find out. If I were to hunt for mana sources to consume, it may be best to find other dungeon monsters. And perhaps, other dungeon cores. Their partner fairies too.

I suppose this Dungeon Boss will become a dungeon hunter.