Chapter 14
For adventurers, dungeons were all but inevitable. After all, they were the only gateways to the next floor.
Only adventurers who defeated the boss or proved their worth could claim the right to advance to the next floor.
However, even in the Tower’s long history, it was hardly common for an NPC who wasn’t an adventurer to enter a dungeon.
“Huh?”
“Wait, isn’t that……?”
The gazes of the people gathered at the dungeon entrance to prepare for a run all turned in the same direction, as if on cue.
Amid the novice adventurers carrying worn weapons and wearing battered armor, silver-white hair fluttered in a beautiful arc.
Her delicate nape and pale skin, exposed beneath her jet-black nun’s habit, were like white jade painstakingly sculpted by the gods.
“Good heavens, she’s even prettier than the rumors said.”
“If I’d known, I would’ve gone to the chapel at least once……!!”
At the blatant stares pouring in from all around, the girl in the jet-black nun’s habit, Zion, sighed and muttered.
“……I’m drawing more attention than I expected.”
At that, Rin, standing right beside Zion and guarding her like some sort of bodyguard, smiled brightly and put a hand on her sword hilt.
“Just wait a little, Big Sis. I’ll gouge out every last one of those filthy people’s eyes.”
[Kyaou!]
The little dragon, sitting obediently in Zion’s arms, cried out as if in agreement with Rin’s declaration. Of course, Zion immediately stopped her.
“Don’t.”
“But……”
“No means no.”
At Rin’s sudden declaration that she’d gouge out their eyes, Zion hurriedly restrained her. The stares were certainly uncomfortable, but……
Still, gouging out perfectly good eyes was a bit much. Rin clicked her tongue regretfully and lowered her hand.
Meanwhile, Ifrit, watching all this from the side, clicked their tongue, openly looking at Rin as if she were a lunatic.
“Why are you getting so worked up over a bunch of newbies?”
“But they’re pigs who don’t know their place and dare to look at Big Sis with those filthy eyes.”
“If they cross the line, punish them then. Those guys don’t even realize what a big deal this is.”
Ifrit glanced at the adventurers, still completely smitten with Zion and oblivious to everything around them.
Quests that involved entering a dungeon with an NPC were extremely rare. It was only quiet here because this was a first-floor dungeon.
If this were the entrance to a dungeon above the 50th floor, teeming with veteran adventurers, a fight to claim the NPC would almost certainly break out.
“Let’s get inside before we waste any more time.”
Zion looked in the direction Ifrit indicated with their chin. At the same time, her cross-shaped pupils widened.
Before them stood a massive stone gate carved from pitch-black rock, its surface covered in inscrutable patterns.
But just as Zion was taking in the stone gate, the gate itself had recognized her.
[You have met the conditions.]
[Entering the Hidden Dungeon.]
With a harsh rumble, the stone gate slowly opened. Soon, the cool, crisp air inside the dungeon greeted the three of them.
Ifrit and Rin followed her inside. But the sight that unfolded before them soon left them both stunned.
They couldn’t help it. The scene before them was completely different from the Starting Dungeon they remembered.
“What is this place……?”
“Ifrit, do you know anything about this?”
“No…… I’ve never seen a place like this either.”
The Starting Dungeon they remembered had been a cramped, desolate maze, with stones tightly stacked on top of one another.
But the sight before them contradicted those memories. An immense, dense forest stretched endlessly in every direction.
An absurdly vast dungeon, the sort one wouldn’t see before reaching at least the 30th floor, had appeared on the first floor.
“……It’s been a long time.”
But the one who dispelled their doubts was someone entirely unexpected. The two High Rankers turned their gazes toward her, seeking an explanation.
Zion brushed back her silver-white hair and gazed wistfully at the forest. At that moment, the two shuddered.
No matter how they looked at it, there was only one person who could have caused this absurd change: Zion.
‘Wow, this really brings back memories. How long has it been since I saw the Sacred Forest?’
Of course, Zion was lost in memories all by herself. The Sacred Forest…… a beginner dungeon from a very long time ago.
The gentle background music, the forest bathed in gold…… Though it had disappeared as the story progressed……
It was a sight no veteran player who’d been around since the early days could ever forget, now unfolding before her eyes once more.
“Zion, do you know anything about this place?”
“……”
The problem was figuring out how to explain it to Ifrit, who was asking with such a serious, complicated expression.
It wasn’t as if she could say, Actually, I’m a game character, and this is a dungeon from the game!
In the end, Zion had no choice but to give an indirect answer. One that was as roundabout as possible, but technically not a lie……
“I’m sorry. A nostalgic sight came to mind for a moment, and I lost myself in it……”
“Big Sis Zion……”
“A nostalgic sight?”
“Yes. This place is called the Sacred Forest. It was the starting land where all adventurers, myself included, first set out on an adventure.”
“……!!!”
“Though now it has become a land forgotten by everyone.”
It wasn’t a lie. In the early days of Dungeon and Soul, the Sacred Forest was the starting land where every player began their adventure.
Later, as the main story progressed, the map was permanently deleted, with the explanation that the forest had burned down.
Calling it a ‘forgotten land’ was strictly accurate. But the two, unaware of the truth, couldn’t have understood it that way.
‘A Hidden Dungeon……!! And it’s even the legendary Great Dungeon from the old tales. This is insane……!!’
‘This is where Big Sis began her adventure. It’s beautiful…… but somehow bittersweet.’
Hidden Dungeons.
These were dungeons one could enter only by meeting special conditions, and not many people knew they existed.
Every Hidden Dungeon had different conditions and environments, but they all had one thing in common: enormous rewards.
‘If we can clear this dungeon, we’ll get an unimaginable reward. But……’
“……Big Sis Zion, are you all right?”
Their gazes cautiously shifted to Zion, who was simply taking in the golden forest.
But the deep, sorrowful longing in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Seeing her like that, Rin—and even Ifrit, who had initially thought of Zion as just another NPC—made a vow in their hearts.
‘I don’t know what happened, but I never want to see that sad expression again. I have to stay by her side and protect her.’
‘Big Sis Zion, don’t worry. I’ll never leave your side!’
‘Now I’m really in the mood to play Dungeon and Soul. Is it because I got to see the Sacred Forest again after so long……?’
[Bao! Raaaar!]
Their utterly divergent misunderstandings continued until the hatchling in Zion’s arms let out a roar.
Zion was the first to come to her senses. At first, she thought the hatchling was hungry and begging for food.
But it was no such trivial matter. The hatchling was glaring straight ahead and growling like a beast.
Thump. Thump. Thump!!
“……Something’s coming.”
“Big Sis Zion, get behind me.”
The two quickly took up defensive stances, as befitted High Rankers. A threatening presence, hard to believe in a first-floor dungeon.
The giant trees that made up the forest came crashing down with loud cracks. Whatever was approaching must have been too powerful for them to withstand.
The creature that emerged from the fallen forest had a body as powerful as a lion’s and a head as noble as an eagle’s.
It was truly strange. Though it was made by combining only the best traits, the result was downright grotesque……
Its radiant golden feathers, imbued with the light of the golden forest, covered its entire body like exquisitely crafted armor.
The two immediately recognized the identity of the bizarre beast that had appeared with such overwhelming presence.
“A griffin……?!”
“I didn’t expect to see a griffin on the first floor.”
[Raaaar!!]
With a fierce roar that shook the earth, it spread wide the enormous golden wings on its back.
The powerful gust that arose just from spreading its wings swept over them and the dense forest alike.
Faced with its overwhelming presence and destructive power, the two had to admit it: that was no ordinary griffin.
‘I never expected the boss to show up right from the start.’
‘……If it’s to protect Big Sis, I have no choice!’
Its enormous claws gleamed sharply, ready to tear steel apart in an instant, while its keen eyes held a deep, murderous intent.
An ordinary adventurer would have run away the moment they saw it, but the two of them weren’t ordinary adventurers—they were High Rankers.
They could easily withstand a threat of this level. And yet, even then, Zion was lost in memories for a moment……
‘Whoa! I never expected the Golden Griffin to show up!’
The Golden Griffin. A monster that appeared as a boss from the alpha test through the closed beta, only to be cut at the last minute.
She was glad to see it again after nearly ten years, but she still had things to do. Zion took up a stance.
The Golden Griffin wasn’t all that difficult, but…… this was no game. This was reality.
“Battle Aura.”
So she’d give it everything she had.