Chapter 27: Odd dungeon
3rd Pov
Walking down some long stairs, Silvia along Dawn and Ria with a few elven guards, they slowly ventured through the first 5 floors of this dungeon.
As they cleared them, it was clear for Dawn that an otherworlder created the dungeon...there was no mention of this in the novel meaning that this is an uncanon event.
Silvia : How interesting, there are some types of monsters I had never seen before.
Dawn : (It's normal...whoever the dumbass who made this dungeon used our world's monsters which weren't used in Tensura...)
Monsters such as Minautor or even fiction like those big green aliens with one eyed were present in the dungeon.
Right now, Dawn was pissed off as such an unpredictable event was meant to mess up the original plot.
Dawn : Whoever this is...i'm gonna destroy him...
Ria : (Mmh...i never him so pissed off...does he know the origin of this dungeon ? I mean he wanted to come to Sarion for a reason...)
It seems Ria was starting to misunderstand Dawn's purpose...his primary goal was his sword and second forge contact and a relation with Sarion for later use.
This dungeon is in fact an eyesore for him...coming back to their situation, Dawn was using his skill to analyze the structure.
But it seems this whole dungeon couldn't be analyzed by an outsider like him...
Dawn : (This dungeon is a separate space with its own law and space time...to think such things could come from a unique skill.)
The only thing he could read was the name of the skill who made this dungeon when he was outside.
Now that he is inside, he has to follow the rule here...and this totally shuts down his skill.
Dawn : (Not quite right...i can still use my skills but...the skills I have constraints on are unusable...meaning that the one who created this has an Ep much superior to mine.)
The situation kept getting more annoying for him...but even if by some bullshit the owner of this dungeon was stronger than Dawn.
Silvia was here...so there was nothing to fear as long as they stuck together.
Silvia : The dungeon feels very different from the main world...it's as if the rules here are different...
Dawn : You already figured that out ?
Silvia : Oh ? It seems you were ahead of me on this one...
As they chatted, they slowly cleared more floors until they reached the 15 floors...as time passed Dawn was trying to apply his rewrite on the system.
At the moment, he couldn't do much...it was like being a hacker trying to get into a system from an unknown and new digital langage.
But surely he was getting there...it was a drain for his brain but more information was getting revealed.
Dawn : There are 69 floors in total but it seems the dungeon is expanding...
When they entered, there were 65...from a wild guess, the dungeon can only expand when the main entrance is open.
It was just a theory since there should be no reason to expand the dungeon when the visitors haven't cleared even half of the structure.
In this configuration, there should also be someone who welcomes them like a guardian or something like that...Ramiris can be a reference.
But none of that...perhaps the dungeon master is too busy expanding his dungeon.
Silvia ; 69, huh...
Dawn : (Wait...now that I think this is a dirty number...is it a coincidence that the moment I find this information it lands on 69?)
With this useless thought, Dawn and the others continued to clear the floor...arrised to floor 20, things started to get more difficult as the guard's attack couldn't affect the enemy anymore.
Guard 1 : What ?!
Guard 2 : Our magic and weapons are going through them !
While the monsters were too weak to cause damage, they were still on the way...Silvia, seeing this, sighed and turned to Dawn.
Silvia : It doesn't seem like anything inside the main world...what are those ?
Dawn : I'm not quite sure...my analysis is still ongoing but my best guess would be...
Narrowing his eyes, this was only something he could deduce as someone who had read Tensura...
Dawn : That this dungeon has its own system independent from the Voice of the world...and these monsters are spiritual life form here.
Silvia : Huh ?
Silvia's eyes widened for a moment...first at the mention of the VOTW and then at the true nature of these monsters.
Silvia : You seem to know a lot of things...what are you really ?
Dawn : ...
Dawn didn't answer...he just locked his gray eyes with Silvia's and started a silent staring contest.
Silvia : I guess you won't answer...anyway, how are we dealing with these things then ?
Dawn : Compared to the whole dungeon, these monsters are easy to read...my skills can affect them, so attack after i make them vulnerable ;
Silvia : I see, then please do so.
Nodding, Dawn took a few steps forward before activating unique skill Author...first he needed to confirm his claim.
The information within those monsters were instantly translated and transferred to Dawn...
Dawn : [Unachieved rewrite].
He couldn't reveal all his cards in front of Silvia and potentially the dungeon master if he was watching...
For that, he went on using the minimum of his ability to help...using unachieved rewrite, the composition of the monsters changed.
Since it wasn't under the voice of the world jurisdiction...he could actually overwrite the information : Spiritual lifeform.
This was only possible because it wasn't part of the cardinal world...his rewrite still had to follow certain rules...an ant can't defeat a dragon, Dawn cannot rewrite something much stronger than he is.
Instantly after he casted his rewrite, the monster's composition changed and was cut down by one of the guards.
Dawn : It worked.
Silvia : (Interesting...could he directly manipulate information particles ? No, it wasn't at that level yet...)
Everyone was somehow satisfied with the situation and thus they restarted their adventure through the labyrinth.
Between the 26-27 floors, as they walked down a long staircase, Ria approached Dawn quietly as both stayed a little further back from the elven group.
Ria : How is your analysis going ?
Dawn : It's getting there...i have to stop whenever special types of monsters appear but before the 35 floors, i can finish it.
Ria : And your mind ? Using analysis for so long should drain a lot of energy...
Dawn : Don't worry, I'm actually sharing the burden with Dusk.
Ria : I see...(Poor spirit...)
Ria couldn't help but sweetdrop...Dawn was using his soul corridor with Dusk to share the burden set on his mind.
When he started analyzing using read, his mind was constantly going through a ton of information...and judging by the complexity of this dungeon.
He has to decrease his reading speed to continue...this is the fundamental principle of reading...the more you read, the more information enters your mind.
And slowly you get tired...Dawn was exposed to this constantly for 2 hours now...
Dawn : (But there is something i don't understand...this whole structure is like...a whole mess with nothing coherent to Tensura...it's like the one who made...has never read or watched Tensura.)
That's true...either the creator purposely made it different from Tensura or he just is ignorant from the original novel.
Either way, at the moment Dawn could only continue to conquer the floors which increased to 71 now.
As they cleared more and more, upon the 34 floors, something changed...as the guards were struggling against a type of minotaur.
A voice resonated throughout the room.
???: Hahaha ! It seems someone finally came to this floor !
Startled, the guards raised their guard as they retreated and circled the empress and her guests.
Silvia : My~and who might you be, mysterious voice-san ?
???: I am the god creator of this place ! Call me X for now.
His voice was coming from everywhere...
Dawn : It seems he is telling the truth.
Silvia : I see...well then, might i ask what is your intention setting your structure inside Sarion's territory ?
???: Sarion ? What's that ?
Silvia narrowed her eyes...sparks of lightning were released as she smiled.
Silvia : You see...since the 5th floor, I had already seen what I wanted to see...I continued to go down the floors just because it was entertaining to see weird monster types, but now I'm bored.
As the former empress raised her arm...Chaos followed, Dawn immediately took Ria and flew backward as Silvia showed merciless behavior.
The guards with her were blasted along everything in the room...
Dawn : (Shit...i underestimated the mindset of a divine ancestor...)
Ria : Why did she suddenly attack ?!
Dawn : It's as she said, there is nothing to gain from this dungeon anymore...Silvia in reality behind her playful side is ruthless.
Ria : So she is going to destroy everything ?
Dawn : Most likely...(So what is going to happen now?)
Turning his face toward the ceiling, he could only wait for the situation to unfold...thought, his analysis was still ongoing.
???: Tch...you really destroyed this precious floor ! I took hours to make it right !
Silvia : You sound like a brat.
???: Whatever ! I'll send you all to hell !
As the voice said, a bright light covered the whole room...Ria closed her eyes tightly as everyone was eaten by the light.
Though neither Silvia or Dawn moved as they instantly understood the nature of this light...a transportation spell.
???: You are now on the 70th floor ! My boss floor, so good luck not dying ! Hhahahaha !
Laughing, in front of them was a giant mecha robot...turning on, 2 red lights served as eyes.
Silvia stared at the giant waiting for it to make the first move.
Dawn : (Now...this is pure cliche.) Ria stay put here.
Ria : Huh ?
Dawn : I'm going to end this whole thing now.
Ria : I see, then good luck.
Nodding, Dawn let go of her and quickly ran around the room, the boss's attention was on Silvia so he could operate in peace.
The analysis was finally done, all information was stacked in his mind as he moved toward the path to the 71th floor...the control room.
Dawn : I got a bad feeling...
Silvia Pov
At first I was intrigued, curious about this structure I know nothing of...but as we passed the 5th floor.
Everything became boring, I just wanted to end this and leave but few things kept me in check.
I was curious about Dawn-kun's ability...he seemed to be able to analyze anything...this was certainly a wonderful skill though i still don't know the nature of it.
So I kept observing...surely he will show more of his ability but it never happens as he just did the minimum.
Somehow it frustrated me so when that annoying voice started to speak...i let my emotion burst and decided to end this.
Now in front of this giant mechanical monster, I waited again for it to attack...since I'm here I might as well do some research on this.
I'm really curious about all and nothing, research is my whole life...so when something new is presented to me, I'm happy to uncover all about it.
But after ages doing this, nothing could really make my heart beat faster...and everything became dull. I would start a new research and finish it a few moments later.
Silvia : You aren't using magic or spirit to make this mechanical doll moving, huh...
It seems purely made with metal and gear...a purely scientific and technological process...
Interesting...
I watched carefully, as the beast raised his arm and launched a punch at me...it was slow. Perhaps if you added Wind and Earth spirit, this would improve it.
Silvia : Let's see for the durability now, [Spear of Lightning] !
I used basic spiritual magic to not ruin the fun too quickly, a spear made of lightning appearing and charged toward the beast.
It made contact and completely blasted it to the ground...though no damage was really made on the surface.
Silvia : Heh, I guess lighting inside is a good element for metal, so let's try fire now.
Smirking, i raised my arm once again...i'll have fun destroying it, i'm going to slowly open the whole things and uncover everything about it~
3rd Pov
Opening a hole in the dungeon's structure, Dawn can now rewrite the structure to a certain degree and so entering the control room was easy.
Dawn : Eh ?
But something unexpected happened when he set foot in as his body shrinked and changed...
Dawn : What the-
Looking around, he was in a long corridor made of glass and mirror..his eyes met with his reflection's eyes.
Dawn : What is the freaking mother Rimuru...
His former black hair was now gray with a ponytail...his body was small and his eyes were more feminine...
Dawn : Did I just turn into a loli ?!
Grabbing his hair, he tried to read through whatever thing turned him like that and it worked...
Dawn : Corridor of fantasm...anyone who enters this corridor will turn into one of the 3 fantasms of the dungeon master...
It was clear now...Dawn had to fight a lolicon...
???: Wuahhahaha ! Such a cute little loli !
The voice reappeared mocking him...a thick mark appearing on his forehead followed by a death glare.
Dawn muttered two words before his body came back to normal.
???: Eh ?! H-how did you turn back !
Dawn : Story's domain...
After analyzing the dungeon, Dawn concluded that the perfect counter of this structure was his own Story's domain....
Simply because, Story's domain imposed its own sub-space...contrary to the dungeon Dawn was creating a separate space-time.
He was just imposing his law within the actual space-time but his skill only worked with the VOTW system...but after witnessing this dungeon structure...
He managed to improve it and instead of imposing Story's domain into space-time...he will separate it and form a tiny bubble outside the world he was standing in.
Simply said, the 10 meters around Dawn aren't part of any world now...it totally became his.
Dawn : You must be at the end of this corridor, let's end this...tho I must thank you for this free upgrade.
Slowly walking through the corridor, the sound of a panicked voice could be heard though Dawn completely ignored it.
Step by step, until he reached the final room of this dungeon...
Dawn : ...
???: Sorry ! Please don't kill me !
In front of him...a little boy bowing in a dogeza pose as Dawn stared down at him.
Dawn : (Seriously...a little boy ? He can't be older than 12...) What's your name ?
Helios : H-Helios...I swear I just wanted to have fun !
Dawn : (Who in their right mind would think giving such an op skill to a brat is an good idea ! Wait...perhaps he is reincarnated too, his mind must be a lot older.)
Clicking his tongue, he grabbed the boy by his shirt and lifted him until their eyes were at the same level.
Dawn : Are you a reincarnation ?
Helios : R-reincarnation ? What does this mean ?
Dawn : Whatever, just don't move.
Helios flinched at his cold voice, even if the boy didn't know but at the moment he could do nothing...he was right at the center of the story's domain.
This is also the place where Dawn's skill worked the best.
Dawn : Phase 1 : Character status.
Story's domain main power was divided in multiple phases...Author, Reader and Character...
Each characteristic of these forms could be used as power...as an Author, you create and as a Reader you read.
With these two, accessing someone's status and information become plausible...as previously said, the combination of these skills allow Dawn to perform an infinite amount of possibilities.
Dawn : (Name : Helios, not a reincarnation...he was transported to the cardinal world at the age of 12...his main hobby was playing dungeon type mmorpg...)
Well at least this explained a few things...Dawn sweatdropped and just dropped the kid down.
Dawn : Seriously...now what should i do ?
Helios : Oy ! Why did you drop me, it hurt !
Dawn : Shut up, I still need my ears for later use.
Helios : What the heck are you ! You cleared my ultimate demon king dungeon so easily !
Dawn : What a cringe name...don't tell me you are a chunni...
The two glaring at each other, Dawn was conflicted...should he kill him ? But he is just a kid...
Dawn : Brat, do you know what Tensura is ?
Helios : Tensura ? What's that ?
Dawn : I see...
Closing his eyes...through his status, this boy is clearly like him and Sola...but it seems someone who had never touched Tensura in any way was transported here.
Dawn : Ahh...as I thought you are a public disaster...
His gaze shifting from nonchalant to deadly, Dawn's killing intent materialized as he glared down at the boy.
Helios: A-a-a...
Dawn : One day you'll become a bother and mess up everything, I can't risk that.
Rising his arm with his blade in hand, Dawn didn't show a hint of hesitation before smashing down his sword...