An Invitation

Hey, Shun here!

I managed to visit the fantasy world I was hoping for and now, I'm kinda satisfied. Meeting fantasy creatures in person, interacting with them, this is really such a great experience for me.

This trip of mine has been going on for months now and I miss my family…

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(Shun's POV)

Whilst I was building the last of the two capsule inns at the Royal Capital of the Laverio Empire, Chloe struck up a conversation with me.

"Shun, can I take a few minutes of your time?" It looks like she came here of her own volition and not because Haku ordered her to do so.

This is rather uncharacteristic of her.

"Sure. I'm just doing the finishing touches anyway…" After dusting off my body, I looked at Chloe.

"So, how can I help you?"

"How do you know that I need your help?" Chloe seems to be rather skeptical as to how I knew that she needed help but it's just my gut feeling, really.

"It's just a guess." I just shrugged my shoulders while facing her questioning gaze.

"I see… That aside, I do indeed need your help. I heard that you are in need of money so I came here with a proposition after seeing your strength personally during our last Dungeon Battle…"

Oh? This is interesting. I wonder what she'll suggest. If I had to guess, I think it's about me eliminating someone stealthily or something?

I mean, they already have all the strength and power in this world but I think Haku doesn't lack enemies. I heard from Dungeon Core Number 629, who Tsuka apparently named as Mikan — this world's equivalent to the word 'orange' — that Haku is apparently labeled as a traitor by the majority of the Dungeon Cores because she murdered many of them.

She allegedly sent either the Soldiers of Gods to the dungeons of some Dungeon Cores after knowing of their location or her empire's knights to destroy the dungeon's core. Mikan narrated it to me while shivering in fear, saying that if his dungeon wasn't in a location that made it hard to locate, he could've been killed as well.

"Uh-huh? I do need some money, gold coins to be exact." There's really no reason for me to lie here. After seeing her overflowing, sometimes overly excessive, love towards her little sister Rokuko, I don't think she'd betray her.

If she ever betray Rokuko though, I guess I'm just not good when it comes to judging people.

"I see. Well then, here is my proposal…" Chloe handed over a paper to me. There is a map of the entire Laverio Empire in it, including a place called the Demon Realm.

"What are these markings?" I asked while pointing at the many markings in the map.

"Those are the locations of each dungeons that we have the knowledge of. You do know that we have been at war against the Demon Realm, right? If you'd like, you could pay them a visit and give them a surprise. By doing that, you'd get a lot of gold from killing them, as well as DP by storing the summoned dungeon monsters and absorbing them…"

This… This is a really great proposition. By doing this, I'd be able to finish my remaining quests.

However, I wonder how I'd be able to level up my Ultimate Skills. I already know how I could gain Dungeon Points and gold coins but I don't know how to level my Ultimate Skills up.

Not only will I be able to finish two of my four remaining sub quests, I'll be able to have Haku owe me one for doing this. Having a big shot owe you a favor could never go wrong.

"Sure. Thank you for telling me this, Chloe. You're such a lifesaver." I said while winking at her, showing her that I know what she's trying to do.

She didn't show much reaction in turn but the corners of her lips twitched a little. After receiving the map from Chloe, I proceeded to finish up the building with haste.

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Once I finished the last capsule inn, I went back home with the girls and, after taking a break for a few days, readied myself to go on an adventure. Whilst I was packing my stuffs, Tsuka appeared in front of me with her head tilted to the side.

"Squeak? Master, going?"

"Yep. I'll be gone for a while. However, before that, I have to help your Dungeon Core in arranging his own dungeon." I patted Tsuka on the head, since why not?

"Squeak~! Squeak! Master, going~! Going with Tsuka!"

Tsuka began jumping up and down in glee on top of the bed, her rabbit ears plopping up and down alongside her jumps.

"By the way, did you name your new friend yet? We can't keep on calling him Number 629, right?"

At my question, Tsuka immediately stopped jumping. She literally stopped midair like some ghost. Oh, yeah, I forgot that she could also fly.

"Squeak~? Name for Mikan~?"

This time, it was my turn to be confused. Mikan? Who's Mikan, exactly?

"Mikan… You mean, that's the name that you gave to Dungeon Core Number 629?"

"Squeeeak~. Yeap~."

"So, why did you give him the name Mikan? Don't tell me…" I don't know if what I'm thinking right now is really the reason why she named the orange rabbit as such but…

"Squeak. Squeak, squeak! Mikan fur, orange. Orange, Mikan!" I thought so. By the way, Mikan is this world's equivalent to 'orange' so, basically, Tsuka named Mikan after his orange colored fur.

Although I do think that it's quite the fitting name for the orange rabbit, I still couldn't help feel a bit of pity towards the guy. Well, only a tinge of it though.

"I see… Good job. You did great." That's all that I could say after being stared at by her with her 'praise me' look on full force.

I chatted with Tsuka while I was busy packing my stuff and, once I was done, we said farewell to our friends before leaving. First stop, the [Rabbit Paradise] dungeon.

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I'm currently working outside of a crumbling castle, my surroundings filled with rubbles, dried plants, and an overall 'dark' atmosphere. Well, that's to be expected from the member of the Demon Realm faction's dungeon.

I've encountered around 3 of them by now so I'm already kind of desensitized by their bizarre antics. I say that, but I decapitated the latter two instantly before they could say a word about how strong they are and whatnot.

I already learned my lesson from the first one.

After a few months of going around raiding dungeons, I finally discovered the way to increase the level of my Ultimate Skills. Turns out that I could increase the levels of my Ultimate Skills by destroying a [Dummy Core].

The skill it will upgrade is random but it's all fine and dandy. As an aside, I also destroyed three Dungeon Cores.

These three Dungeon Cores was the same Dungeon Cores who were members of the Demon Realm's faction. From destroying their Dungeon Cores, I got some experience points, leveling up my [Ultimate Protection] and [Ultimate Great Fortune] to level 5 and 6 respectively.

Chloe told me that I could possibly get some kind of Ultra Skill by destroying a Dungeon Core but it seems that I didn't get one. Instead, what I got was experience points that raised the levels of my current Ultra Skills up to five and more.

"With this, I could finally finish up my quest. What's left is inviting one girl…" I already have one person in mind to invite so there's no hurry there. I could've invited her right from the get go but, since she's just nearby and she isn't going anywhere, I opted to focus on finishing the harder quests.

I dusted myself off and, after looking left and right, left the place. I'm not going to stay any longer in such a torn down and decrepit place.

It took me a few days before I could reach our dungeon since I had to give Chloe a visit at Laverio Empire's capital city. After that, she gave me two bags that contains coins.

She then helped me go back to our dungeon by using [Teleport]. That was really such a lifesaver.

Looking around, it seems like I was teleported at forested area that's around a few kilometers away from our dungeon. How could I tell? Well, that's because I have access to a map using the [Dungeon Menu].

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Arriving at the entrance of our inn called Rabbit's Capsule Restspot a few minutes later, I was immediately greeted by an excited Zenko, Ikumei, Rokuko, and Tsuka. It seems like Ichika, Maichi, Seiko, and Koharu aren't here since they are busy tending to the customers.

"Squeak~! Welcome, back, Master~!"

"Welcome back… Master."

The first to welcome me was the ever so energetic Tsuka. She was then followed by Ikumei who is still as quiet as ever.

Then, there was Zenko who curtsied before welcoming me in a rather polite tone.

"Welcome home, Master." She seems to idolize Chloe and Haku so I guess this is just her emulating their behaviors?

Then, there was Rokuko who's tearing up a lot now. She's in her DP saving form right now so I look like I made a kid cry.

"I'm back, partner, everyone. I hope you all have been doing well while I was awa—"

Before I could even finish my words, all of them tackled me. This resulted on all of us laying on the ground simultaneously.

Man, this is such a warm welcome, isn't it?

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※~To be continued~※

Author's Remarks:

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※ Phew, finally. It was quite hard to finish this chapter because I had to skip a lot of things but hey, it's all fine and dandy. I have a feeling that if I didn't skip those things, I'd be able to reach chapter 200 or so without a problem with just LDM alone. xD