"These guys are so damn speedy! Go on, march! Forward! For freedom and victory!" - Mira

"Freedom from what?" - Garami

"Debt collectors!!" - Mira

"That would be just running away from your debt." - Garami

Mira calmed down, rather, gloomed down after hearing that. Maybe she has some past with debts? ...Okay, not "maybe". It's "definite".

What I can agree with her is that the Sliprauses-driven carriage is incredibly fast. Those guys have been running nonstop since we left the pioneer-ish town, and they don't seem to need a break anytime soon. Is it me, or are they trying too hard? Maybe they worked with the Sahuagins before and remembered me? ......Naaah.

"It should be fine now. Want to take a break?" - Garami

"What for?" - Mira

"You know, what I promised to tell you yesterday." - Garami

"...Oh, right. About the Magic Stones." - Mira

We stopped behind some rocks that could act as cover against wild monsters and took a break. The raptors...went from heroes to zeroes after I told them it was OK to relax. So they did outperform themselves. Poor idiots.

"*Cough*, alright. Ms. Mira, what good is Magic Stones for?" - Garami

"I didn't hear there would be a quiz!! ...For creating strong weapons and armor?" - Mira

"...70 points. How exactly are those pebbles relevant for this enhancement business then?" - Garami

"Geez, you sure are picky. ...Is it because the Stones have obtained the traits from the creatures they stem from?" - Mira

"Correct. And this is the important part. Magic Stones contain traits of their previous owners. And said traits are what I need for a certain project." - Garami

*Dunk!*

I ended my sentence by taking an item out of my Storage. It was a large sphere, around the size of a basketball, and looked like it was made of solidified water, yet liquid on the inside.

"Woooow. What's this? Some gem?" - Mira

"A gem within the housing category. It is a Dungeon Core." - Garami

"Hmm......hmm? HMMMM!? D-d-d-did you say 'Dungeon Core' just now!?" - Mira

"I did." - Garami

"As in, the thing that's located at the deepest depth of a Dungeon!?" - Mira

"The one and only." - Garami

Well, not 'only', seeing as there's one for each Dungeon...

"Where did you get that!? And how much is it worth!?" - Mira

"It's worth a potential calm piece of land to relax on." - Garami

"Details. NOW." - Mira

You can't be more demanding than a woman that forces herself up close onto you like that.

I started my explanation by first telling how I'd obtained the Core. It was part of the rewards after the Water-Knot was "cut", probably since the so-called Disaster was based on a Dungeon.

After arriving at Velantas City, I had Bloom tell me more about this Core. To create a Dungeon with it, one needed a "free space with a diameter of 5 kilometers at the very least", and 3 sources of monster traits. The produced Dungeon would be based on the area used, the 3 monster trait sources, and lastly, the characteristics of the Dungeon Masters themselves.

"And most importantly, if done well, a Dungeon can be 100% self-sufficient without contact with human society." - Garami

"THAT is the sole reason why she is aiming to create one for herself in some godforsaken area!" - Bloom

Bloom suddenly appeared after I was finished with my story. Why are you saying that as if it's a bad thing?

"Hmm, yeah. I can see that being the driving force behind Garami's actions." - Mira

Again, why is that such a bad thing?

"And I like it! How many adventurers do we need to kill?" - Mira

See---HOLD ON THERE!!

"Who said anything about killing!?" - Garami

"Isn't that a Dungeon's raison d'être?" - Mira

"You sure know lots of fancy wordings... And that's not the goal I have in mind. If the Dungeon is known as a killer Dungeon, or people find lots of fancy treasures they can take there, then there will be no peace and calm in that place. And by extension, for me neither." - Garami

"Because you would be the manager of the Dungeon, so more 'customers' would turn into more work. I'm starting to see the picture here. This 'Dungeon' is closer to a secret hideout that comes with different facilities for your needs, am I right?" - Mira

"As right as the sun's hot." - Garami

"And all this while ignoring the fact that the Dungeon needs to defeat creatures to grow in certain areas..." - Bloom

Eh, I'll cross that bridge when that time comes.

"Okay, I'm in anyway. Having a secret base sounds just like what the ancient heroes of Solomar would have! How about trying to settle in a crime-filled area and hunt bandits for their bounties and EXP?" - Mira

Don't bring up such scary ideas with such starry eyes...

"...That could be possible. Most of the unpopulated areas on this continent do have criminal problems. Then again, so do the cities. We have experienced that first-handed recently." - Bloom

"A 'Dungeon of justice' does sound like it would prevent some problems..." - Garami

"And it is also possible that we could develop facilities that would simply eject certain invaders instead of having them die when inside the Dungeon." - Bloom

"That would make a Dungeon be seen as less hostile! Talk about service." - Mira

"It sounds like a pipedream to me, but dreams are there to be fulfilled. But for now, let's focus on making the Dungeon itself a reality before chasing fantasies we have no dirt on." - Garami

"Oki-doki~. This Dungeon-talk has the smell of money all over it, so I am happy to be your partner-in-crime!" - Mira

So said the (dubious) spirit knight as she latched onto me. Hey, stop that! Not the hugging, but watch where those hands are grabbing, you inversed female knight! Even orcs would run away from you!

---

The next day, we finally reached our designation. The Knocker's Grotto.

If I had to describe it, I would say it's...plain. Simply plain. A normal cave you could find anywhere. A HUGE cave, but still your everyday cave. Except for a strange door barely hidden at the deepest end of the cave.

"Hmm, you wouldn't find this if you didn't know what you were looking for." - Mira

"Mostly because you would be too bored to continue investigating the cave after you're halfway in." - Garami

That is one advanced way of hiding stuff. Maybe I should make a note of that for my future Dungeon?

"Ladies first." - Garami

"Hold on! Why do I have to be the guinea pig?!" - Mira

"Your medal is showing a sword, right? No way that one is gonna reward us with a Magic Stone." - Garami

Extra Trials reward you based on how well you cleared the Trial, but just what it rewards you with depends on the Trial's theme. Swords aren't gonna give us what my future Dungeon requires to be built.

"Fiiiiine. But you owe me dinner." - Mira

I'm the only one of us who is paying our bills...

Anyway, I looked over the console that was placed right beside the giant doors. Mira tried tapping the medal she had on the console's screen(-looking part), which made the item kick into overdrive. ...Okay, it wasn't that impressive, but compared to how stone-dead this rock-made console was just a minute ago...

The console opened up a coin slot-looking opening on itself with the screen asking for us to insert a medal into it. As a joke, we tried with a bronze Sol first, only to have the console spit the coin out again and repeat its message.

"No other way around it." - Garami

"Cheapskate console..." - Mira

Mira inserted the medal this time, which caused the screen to display some new options for us. One was a co-op mode, but you needed multiple copies of the medal equal to the number of people that would participate alongside the person who inserted the medal, which also acted as the candidate for the Extra Trial.

"You think we should save on a medal-type in case we wanna tag-team in a future Trial?" - Mira

"It's not that bad of an idea... I gotta think about it." - Garami

After going through all that the screen had to tell us, Mira started to push on the buttons on her own. Bloom popped up and asked if she could help somehow, but...

"No worries~. I got this under control~." - Mira

Mira politely refused Bloom (while acting strangely upbeat). Trusting her, I gave her some room in case the Trial wouldn't start if someone else was too close to the console.

After Mira pushed what seemed like the final button, the giant stone doors started to slowly open up...before closing again with a bang. ...Hmm? Hey, what gives!? I turned around to Mira to ask her if she was given some explanation or whatever...only to find that she was gone.

"Huh? Was Mira that eager to do this?" - Garami

"No, she was not, Master! The Trial must have teleported her inside while the doors were opening!" - Bloom

So that's what it was. Well, Mira knows about the whole non-lethal "safety mode", so she should be safe... Is the console blinking over there?

I went up to it and saw a "Trial-in-progress" sign making its blinking message all too clear. But why's it red?

"...Bloom, be honest with me. For what reason do you think Blinky here is acting all tomato-y and red?" - Garami

"Either some issues occurred, not that it seems like it, the red color is just a fashion statement, or...the Trial was activated in the dangerous mode we were warned about..." - Bloom

"THAT STUPID-! Is she crazy?!" - Garami

"P-please calm down! It is still possible to resign from the Trial mid-way, even in the dangerous mode." - Bloom

"That's...that's true...and that stupid get-rich-plan-making knight must have known that too! Oooooh, she's getting SO punished after this!!" - Garami

I had the raptors enter the cave as I sat up a small camp close by the doors. Meanwhile, I started to juggle [Poison Balls] to kill time and farm some proficiency. My skills haven't advanced as much as I wished them to, despite having been in the city for so long. And I am so close to reaching the turning point known as "having 3 Poison Skills at Lv.10 or higher".

...Maybe that's the problem? I've lived in a do-or-die environment for so long, but maybe that had a positive influence on my skills' growth. The people living in the city had extremely low levels despite how much longer they've lived in this world compared to me. And I doubt I have some skill-growth cheat on me. I already have that doubling cheat for AP due to me being a Champion...

*Step, step, step...*

Hmm, it sounds like we have company. I dropped the ball of poison into the bucket I'd prepared beforehand and went to see who was coming into the cave. The raptors wished to come along, but I had them stay here and stay quiet with some silent hand signals. These guys are more intelligent than you'd expect from some overgrown lizards.

Anyway, I silently looked for the source of the footsteps and found...that guy!? Why is he here?! Oooh, you entered the wrong cave, you bastard! It is time for you to taste my fury, regrets, and boredom of having to wait for Mira while she's doing something as stupid as entering a death game on her terms!!

Then there's all the pain and regret you inflicted on me, mister! PREPARE TO DIE!!