From Dismantling To Camping - Part 3

Thousands of years ago, in an age when humanity was said to have reached the pinnacle of magic, dungeons mysteriously began appearing all over the world.

Though it was claimed there were hundreds—perhaps even thousands—of them, only seven dungeons prevailed. These seven, expanding and devouring others as they overlapped, ruled over seven-eighths of the entire continent.

Each of these dungeons is ruled by a dungeon master, and each is cursed. These curses influence all the monsters within their domain.

"The seven curses are known as wrath, pride, sloth, greed, lust, gluttony, and envy."

"You mean the humanity's seven deadly sins?"

"Eh?..."

Arezu's remark abruptly halted Lynn's storytelling. For the first time, he saw a look of genuine bewilderment on her face.

Lynn remained silent for a moment—then burst into laughter, completely disregarding those sleeping nearby. Yet even though she laughed brightly, as if enjoying herself, Arezu could tell the truth behind her act. She was laughing to mock herself.

Unable to find words of comfort, Arezu simply waited for her to calm down.

Eventually, Lynn let the act drop and resumed her story, asking Arezu another question.

"Mr. Arezu, do you know why monsters keep attacking humans—even though some are intelligent enough to understand our language?"

As the campfire's flames danced between them, Arezu gathered his thoughts, trying to answer her question.

If some monsters were intelligent enough to speak, why couldn't they forge a peaceful treaty with other races? That way, needless conflict could be avoided.

He thought back to their previous topic. Perhaps the answer lay there. With that in mind, he replied:

"Because they're under the influence of the seven curses, right?"

"Tsk!"

"Oi, what was that for?"

Ignoring him, Lynn continued her explanation. All monsters, she said, were affected by the curse of wrath—the source of their uncontrollable rage and hatred toward humanity.

"For the next question, there are two curses that can empower a living monster. Which ones do you think they are?"

Somehow, their conversation had turned into a quiz game.

Arezu thought for a moment. Without any solid evidence to go on, he made an educated guess based on the meaning of the words.

"I guess... greed and pride?"

"Pfft!"

"Hey, don't laugh! Just tell me the right answer."

Still smirking, Lynn explained. While the curse of lust granted monsters an insatiable desire for the opposite sex, it also allowed them to give birth to evolved forms—like the orc magician Arezu's party fought yesterday. Meanwhile, the curse of gluttony enabled monsters to grow stronger—or even evolve—by consuming humans or other monsters.

"For the third question: Why do you think Hannah offered a prayer to the monsters we defeated, that you disgracefully butchered, and I mercifully buried?"

Do you have to make it sound like I'm the villain? Arezu grumbled inwardly as he gave the only answer that came to mind.

"It's because Ms. Hannah is a good person."

"Ehhh~ Is Hannah your type, Mr. Arezu?"

"Don't make it sound like I'm preying on a minor!"

"Pfft!"

Lynn laughed at Arezu for assuming Hannah was younger than she was. But in truth—according to the information Lynn had revealed without anyone's consent—Hannah was the oldest at 21. Alex and Liz were both 18.

"And you, Ms. Lynn, how old are you exactly?"

"Come now, Mr. Arezu. It's rude to ask a lady's age without sharing your own first."

"I'm... 20."

"So, as I was saying about Hannah—"

"Oi, aren't you going to tell me your age?"

"My, my... Are you really trying to force a lady to reveal her age?"

Not wanting to push the matter, Arezu let it go and listened to her explanation.

Hannah, as a priestess, had prayed over the dead monsters to prevent them from becoming undead—resurrected by the curse of envy. Normally, adventurers would burn the corpses of defeated monsters. But since they hadn't had time, Hannah had no choice but to purify the orcs' remains so they wouldn't rise again and attack another traveler.

Continuing on the topic of the seven curses, Lynn posed yet another question.

"Wrath, lust, gluttony, and envy—those four curses corrupt monsters and prevent peaceful coexistence with humans. So what do you think happened to the other three: pride, sloth, and greed?"

"As if I could possibly answer that."

Arezu admitted his ignorance, and Lynn responded with a smug smile and her usual haughty tone.

"If you kneel before me and worship me forever, I'll tell you."

The story was getting interesting—but not interesting enough for Arezu to start worshipping Lynn.

Seeing his reluctance, she relented and offered a new deal.

"If that's out of the question, how about fulfilling one of my requests?"

Curious enough to continue, Arezu agreed—so long as the request wasn't ridiculous.

"Since I'm younger than you, drop the honorifics. Just call me by my name, Mr. Arezu."

If that's all, it should be easy enough, Arezu thought.

"Then please continue the story, Lynn."

"Tsk! You're not even stammering or blushing."

Disappointed, but moving on, Lynn continued her tale.

To answer what happened to the final three curses, she returned to the broader story of the seven dungeons—how they claimed seven-eighths of the continent, while humanity clung to the remaining one-eighth.

At the brink of extinction, heroes blessed by the goddess arose. With divine gifts, they fought the monsters, slew dungeon masters, destroyed dungeon cores, and closed the dungeons themselves.

But even though the heroes defeated the dungeons of wrath, lust, gluttony, and envy, their lingering curses still plagued monsters across the land.

"As for the dungeons of pride, sloth, and greed, the heroes didn't have to intervene."

"And why not?"

Lynn didn't answer immediately. She stared into the fire, then raised her hand close to the flames, her palm glowing orange in the firelight. Arezu waited silently until she finally turned back to him, her voice calm and serious—free from her usual mischief.

"Because the goddess herself intervened. She sealed the dungeon masters, destroyed their dungeon cores, and erased their curses from the world."

That the goddess had acted directly left many questions unanswered. But as Arezu mulled them over, Lynn's playful demeanor returned.

"Now, now, Mr. Arezu... One last question. Which part of the story do you think I lied?"

"Eh?... Oi, don't tell me it was all just a made-up story?"

"Pfft!"

"You—!"

"Hahaha!"