The hero's mysterious enemy X

"Hmm, this isn't the result of the collapse. It actually crumbled on its own."

"But I don't sense the presence of the hero. How is that possible?"

These questions came from the first person to arrive on the scene. She appeared out of nowhere as soon as the dungeon collapsed, as if she had been forewarned about something.

She was now observing an enormous hole—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a crater—where the Dungeon of Amon once stood.

"What happened here? Who could have destroyed such a gigantic dungeon with pocket spaces if not the hero? Not only has the main structure been obliterated, but all the branches as well. Only fragments remain."

She let herself fall into the crater. The descent lasted a while, a testament to the depth of the place, giving her time to think about the situation.

There was a reason why only the hero could conquer the final floor. Regular adventurers, no matter how strong, could make it, but the final boss would inevitably return. It was pointless—just an endless cycle and a pain in the neck. This was a specific function designed to keep the boss alive until the hero was strong enough to defeat him and evolve. People didn't know this, but she did, and with that knowledge, she began to reason.

Only a few privileged individuals could pull this off.

No, it's not that simple. After all, only the hero would benefit from it. Unless... could it be some kind of provocation or something similar?

After a while, she finally reached the ground. She landed as lightly as a feather, as if she had nullified her weight entirely; not a speck of dust was disturbed.

She raised her head, but apart from the hole she had come through, there was nothing—not even the light that was supposed to penetrate this place.

"I see."

She began exploring her surroundings.

As I suspected, someone went wild here. But this isn't a battle. There are two energy signatures, but they're too similar, even though their nature is different. An evolution? That rules out the hypothesis of a fight. But why go wild here?

Oh.

She stopped before what appeared to be an egg, right in the middle of the dungeon—something intact!

Strange. I didn't sense the presence of any creature. They usually vanish with the collapse. But what is this?

A monster egg?

She picked up what she perceived as an anomaly. In the pitch darkness, she could see as clearly as in broad daylight, unaffected by the lack of light.

She could make out the silhouette of a child inside the egg's shell.

The first word that came to her mind was "human."

A human in an egg? That's ridiculous. This is a problem!

Indeed, she had picked up a problem. For some, it would have been better if this problem never hatched.

My time is limited. He's coming.

I have nothing left to do here. I'll take you with me and figure out what you are later.

After thinking that, she vanished, moments before someone else descended and landed heavily where she had just been. The ground cracked under this person's weight.

Chreíos now observed the final level of the dungeon with a palpable sense of rage.

"How dare you? That was a fruit I was guarding carefully. I was so close to completing it, unlocking my next skill. And now someone has cut the ground out from under me."

The hero was blinded by his anger. After seeing the notification signaling the completion of one of the dungeons he had marked, he had flown into a rage and rushed here. If it was a trap, one could say he had taken the bait.

Who could have defeated Chimera Amon and completed the Dungeon of Amon? Even I had to flee the battle the first time!

"I don't like this. I don't like this one bit."

Chreíos stomped like a child who had lost his toy. Though he held back, his strength was immense, kicking up great amounts of sand and dust, turning the entire area into a foggy mess.

He surveyed the scene. If this collapse were his doing, he could have gained both experience and treasures. But there was nothing here—just a massive hole. And the very thought enraged him even further.

"At worst, we could just mine some ore and magic crystals from this place. Tch."

I think the kingdom will send people to investigate this place. It's already clear that I wasn't the one who cleared it, but the news hasn't spread yet. It's still recent. A little manipulation of the information, and I can take the credit. That'll save us some trouble.

And based on my detection skills, there's nothing left here. There are traces of a fight, but I can't determine more than that. I'm stronger than that boss was, but if someone has reached his level, I need to find them. They could be useful.

"But they'll have to compensate me for this first."

The hero leaped upward. At a certain height, he began to slow before pushing off the wall of the hole and repeating the motion, bounding from wall to wall to climb out.

"I knew this place was deep, but not to this extent. The structure had so many shortcuts and oddities, but it didn't seem this endless. Damn it."

A dungeon is a complex structure. The study of dungeons was a lengthy endeavor. From what little he knew, these structures were covered in all sorts of spells and formations. A dungeon could appear small and yet be ten times its apparent size inside.

"This child is troublesome. It's obvious what would have happened if he had found me there."

"And you? What are you?"

The person sat on a chair, holding the egg in one hand.

The atmosphere of the place had completely shifted. She was using her power to analyze the thing she held.

"You emit no magical signature? What an astonishing constitution."

She said this but didn't seem surprised. She was more intrigued by the nature of the thing she held.

There was an analytical method that involved sending magical energy into a foreign body to probe it. She had used it as well, but instead of yielding results, her magical energy simply disappeared.

"On the other hand, your vital and spiritual energy levels are abnormally high."