It didn’t taste good, but it solved my hunger.
And so, the exploration began again.
Son Narin was struggling quite a bit.
"Give me back…! Give me back my body…!"
A mannequin doll lunged at Son Narin, grabbing her. It was a monster called a "Living Doll."
According to the experimental journal I had obtained earlier, the witch had been preparing a body that wouldn’t age, aiming for eternal youth.
And that body seemed to be a doll.
If only the soul could be anchored to the doll, one could avoid aging forever.
Under such a theory, she abducted young village women to conduct experiments, transferring their souls. It appeared that many Living Dolls had been born here as a result.
"Ugh…!"
Son Narin struggled with all her might, but the Living Doll refused to let go.
Living Dolls were rare monsters in this dungeon with low killing power. Encountering one didn’t pose an immediate threat to life.
However, as none of them were in their right mind, once caught, they wouldn’t easily let go.
Adding to the nuisance, they screamed loudly, attracting other monsters nearby.
Sure enough, the sound of footsteps began to echo from a distance.
***
"Mero, push it away."
From a little distance away, Laura calmly issued her command.
Following Laura’s instructions, Mero stepped forward and pushed the Living Doll away.
Mero’s class was 《Survivor》.
《Survivor》 specialized in survival when facing monsters one-on-one, equipped with abilities like knockback and stuns.
When Mero threw her weight against the doll, the Living Doll was separated from Narin.
Laura immediately swung her club.
-Crack!
The club, swung cleanly, smashed the Living Doll’s head.
"Th-thank you…!"
"Now is not the time to be thanking me. Mero."
"Yes! The loyal toy of the lady, Mero, at your service! Did you call for me, my lady?"
"We’re in a rush, so keep your answers short. How many knockbacks do you have left?"
"Two left!"
"That’s enough. Take the lead."
Laura gestured with her chin in a direction.
Without hesitation, Mero rushed ahead where Laura pointed, while Laura followed—no, she didn’t.
At some point, Laura approached Narin’s side and naturally helped her to her feet.
"If you’re up, run. Quickly."
"Y-yes…"
Narin began to run, while Laura positioned herself to guard the rear.
Only then did Narin realize the problem: their positioning was wrong.
As a 《Healer》, Laura was the one who absolutely needed protection in this party.
Not only did she have the weakest survival abilities, but with her <Resurrection> skill, Laura was the last person who could afford to die first.
She should’ve been positioned between Mero and Narin, not at the very back.
"Laura, let’s switch places…! I’ll guard the rear!"
"Ten minutes."
"Huh?"
"Just stay there for ten minutes."
Laura said this firmly.
Narin’s focus had begun to falter.
Laura had noticed.
It was inevitable.
《Explorer》 was a role that required standing on the front lines and stepping into dangerous zones first.
Because of this, Narin was always the first to encounter monsters and all sorts of hazards, necessitating sustained tension and focus more than any other class.
Son Narin was someone with exceptional concentration, but she was still human.
No human could maintain absolute focus 24/7.
Laura instinctively realized that Narin needed a moment to refresh.
"…Understood."
Narin agreed reluctantly.
Narin hated losing games, while Laura enjoyed winning them.
Their tendencies were slightly different, but their way of thinking was similar to some degree.
Both chose cold logic over heated emotion.
Of course, their excessive rationality sometimes came off as madness.
Because of this, Narin could partially understand Laura’s reasoning and followed her orders for now.
Not long after, Mero encountered another monster, exhausting her survival skills.
At that point, Narin and Mero switched positions again.
Narin took the lead, while Mero moved to the rear.
Mero guarded the back while simultaneously protecting Laura.
"Over there… it looks like there’s a secret entrance…!"
As a 《Explorer》, Narin identified the presence of a secret passage.
It looked like just an ordinary wall, but Narin activated a hidden mechanism, opening a concealed door.
Narin entered first, confirming there was no danger.
Laura followed her into the secret passage, and Mero quickly closed and locked the door behind them.
…….
Silence.
The three held their breaths, fearing even their breathing might attract monsters.
Narin activated her skill repeatedly to ensure this was a safe zone.
After confirming no monsters were following them, the three resumed breathing.
Hoo.
"…Could this be the dungeon’s innermost area? But there’s nothing here."
Narin spoke first.
The atmosphere of this place was completely different from before.
Up until now, it had felt like a spaceship reminiscent of Dead Space, but here… it was empty.
The texture beneath their feet was that of dirt.
It wasn’t paved, just bare ground with only basic leveling work done.
The area was about the size of a basketball court.
At the center stood a single desk.
On the ceiling, strange fissures were carved.
"Wow… what is that?"
Mero muttered as she looked up at the ceiling.
"It’s a Gate."
Laura, following Mero’s gaze, answered.
As expected, there was a Gate.
Laura had seen so many of them that there was no mistaking it.
How many monsters had poured out of that fissure, spreading calamity?
To counter the Gate, the One True God had granted power to the Paladins, dragons had chosen Dragon Knights, and Aurora, the Villainous Noblewoman of a ducal family, had to wield a sword herself.
The magic of the Gate had the power to corrupt both objects and living beings.
This underground workshop, once secretly used by the witch, must have transformed into a dungeon after being tainted by the Gate’s magic.
Fortunately, the Gate appeared to be dormant.
Even in its dormant state, the Gate still radiated magic, but at least for now, it wasn’t spewing out monsters.
For the moment, they were safe.
"Search the surroundings. I’ll investigate the desk."
With that, Laura approached the desk.
Scattered across it were papers, which seemed to be documents related to human experimentation.
Nothing appeared particularly useful, but they might fetch some gold if sold, so Laura tucked them into her bag.
The drawer was locked.
Was there a key nearby? Or perhaps somewhere in the dungeon?
There wasn’t enough time to search the entire area, so Laura struck it with her club.
Smash!
After a few hits, the drawer shattered, and its contents spilled out.
【Hitorigoto has donated 1,000 won.】
【Alpha move ㄷㄷ】
‘How rude. In what way am I a man?’
Anyway.
What spilled out was the witch’s diary.
It seemed important, so Laura began reading it on the spot.
[The witch pursues youth, but at least I do not. I clarify that everything is for the greater good.]
[To gain something, there must be a price. For humanity to achieve progress, sacrifices are inevitable.]
[Forbidden experiments yield many results.]
[But because they are forbidden, no one undertakes them. So I do.]
[You, who are reading this, may remember me as a criminal, but I don’t care. I hope that humanity advances by using me as a stepping stone.]
[So feel free to take the experimental records. I hope they are put to good use.]
Thus began the diary.
It detailed various experiments conducted here.
Among them was the occurrence of a Gate.
There were also accounts of abducting young women from nearby villages, which eventually drew the pursuit of a Dragon Knight.
"Wow… so this is the kind of character the witch is?"
Son Narin had somehow come up right next to Laura.
In her hand, she was holding something that looked like a scale. It seemed she had found something.
"What’s that?"
"Oh, this? It’s a dragon scale. You know that baby dragon the Dragon Knight always carries around? It’s one of its scales."
Son Narin spoke confidently.
If she said it so assuredly, it had to be true.
After all, no one here knew more about the Dragon Knight than Son Narin.
"It seems certain that the Dragon Knight was here. If we submit this scale, will the story progress?"
"Most likely."
"Then I’m glad we found it. By the way, the witch’s backstory is incredible. I heard she’s being added as a playable character."
"Is that true?"
"Yes. They said a few characters from this Dungeon Seeker would be made playable. The witch seems to be confirmed, and there’s also a rumor that the Sacred Crusader might be added too."
So it seemed.
Dungeon Seeker was developed to strengthen the story of Labyrinthos, after all.
The narratives of the existing characters had been unfolding significantly in this game, and conversely, it wasn’t surprising for characters introduced in Dungeon Seeker to be integrated into the main series.
Though admittedly, the witch wasn’t a particularly endearing character.
Laura had spent a decade in 'that world.'
She couldn’t even count how many times she’d fought the witch during that time.
[Due to the Dragon Priestess’s assault and the Gate’s encroachment, this base is deemed unsustainable.]
[The base will be abandoned, and operations will be relocated to the Iris Ducal Family estate.]
[The next research objective will be to determine the cause of the Iris Ducal Family’s downfall.]
[Additionally, efforts will be made to locate and abduct the sole survivor of the ducal family, 'The Noble Villainess.']
***
【Has the witch disappeared, leaving only the Gate behind? It seems best to send a Crusader squad to deal with the Gate promptly.
I’ve heard the witch has headed for the Iris Ducal Family estate.
It is said the Iris Ducal Family estate has already been consumed by the Gate’s encroachment, turning the mansion into a dungeon. If the witch has made her nest there, it cannot be overlooked.
The 'Priestess' may also have gone there, so I instruct the White Crows to investigate the 'Mansion Dungeon' of the Iris Ducal Family. - A letter from the Pope】
In Japan, they say, "A trip isn’t over until you’ve made it back home."
In Korean terms, it could be akin to, "Even on discharge day, you’re still a soldier."
In other words, even after the dungeon exploration ended successfully, leaving the dungeon was a struggle in itself.
Monsters were stationed along every exit, and carrying the crucial items obtained in the dungeon’s deepest depths meant dying wasn’t an option.
In fact, Son Narin thought the pressure was even greater on the way out than when they entered.
"At least we managed to make it back safely. With this episode wrapped up, shall we end the stream soon?"
It was already close to morning. It would be time for people to start heading to work soon.
Son Narin had been getting sleep warnings for a while, and it seemed like Mero was about ready to call it a night too.
The same went for Laura.
Although Laura could go for about five days without sleep, the story had reached a good stopping point.
Ending the stream here would be aesthetically pleasing.
"Laura, when’s the next time?"
At the mention of ending the stream, Son Narin found herself asking that question reflexively.
"Next time?"
"Yes. We still don’t know where the Dragon Knight is. I’m really curious about it."
Son Narin said this.
Though, there wasn’t a shred of sincerity in her voice—not even 1mg.
Well, maybe 1mg was an exaggeration.
She wasn’t entirely uninterested in the Dragon Knight, but it wasn’t something that mattered much to her life.
Son Narin wasn’t the type to care about game stories all that much.
Not even when it involved her main character.
"Anyway, call me again when the next story starts."
She said this not because she cared about the Dragon Knight but… because she was curious about Aurora.
Not to be misunderstood—she didn’t particularly like Aurora.
In fact, she was increasingly convinced that liking Aurora would be impossible for her.
Son Narin would do anything to avoid losing.
Aurora would do anything to win.
They weren’t exactly the same, but they were so similar that it was unsettling—like she could read Aurora’s thoughts. Was this what people meant by self-loathing?
Still, the fact that they worked well together was undeniable.
She had felt it when they were matched in Labyrinthos’ ranked mode previously—their synergy was exceptional.
'If we had been on the same team in the Fantasy League, we might’ve shown incredible chemistry.'
That’s why it felt like a waste in many ways. Before long, they’d meet as enemies, swords drawn against each other.
At least in this game, though…
"About going to the Iris Ducal Family estate. Unfortunately, it’s not possible right now due to scheduling."
But Aurora said so.
"Oh, that’s right… Leviathan has a match against Behemoth next week, doesn’t it? You must be busy practicing."
"That, and the Cerberus match just ended, didn’t it? Anna will have to face her punishment soon."
"…Oh."
Right, there was that. Anna’s punishment.
The escape room’s last-place finisher, Shiroki Anna, had a penalty waiting for her.
And that was…
"You mean the 1:1 matchmaking stream between Anna and Rui, right?"