Blood was splattered on the wall as red liquid rushed out of his body through the sliced throat. It was a messy scene, as if someone was playing with water guns using someone's blood.
Once the adventurer was confirmed to be dead, Hiroki came out of his body and looked at the wall, which was beginning to glow red from the painted blood of the adventurer he just killed. He didn't look back at the corpse lying beneath his floating body, compared to the quiet girl, who didn't know how to react to this sort of execution and why Hiroki would do such a thing.
She knew that he must have had a reason for this, so she did not try to inquire about or bother the quiet ghost staring at the glowing wall.
"Aya."
Hiroki suddenly called out, which made Aya flinch for a split second. But due to the countless battles she had experienced until now, she was very good at hiding her emotions inside.
"Please try touching the wall and see if something will happen."
".... I…. I understand."
After gulping down her saliva and leaving her whole body to the ghost beside her, she decided to do as she was told, trusting him with everything she had. She understood that if there was no trust between the two of them, then she wouldn't grow any stronger, physically and mentally.
She had to do as he said!
She was already close enough to the wall, so with a move of her arm, she placed the palm of her hand on the glowing drawings that Hiroki knew how to read.
She didn't feel any pain at all. However, in the next moment, the glowing carvings in the wall glowed even brighter until both Hiroki and Aya found themselves in different locations. They were teleported to a different place.
They found themselves in a small space filled with various pieces of furniture and a few doors scattered around.
Hiroki knew that this was similar to an apartment complex but without any windows.
The only source of light in the palace emanated from bright, glowing red lights hidden beneath various objects or behind tables. The entire place appeared untouched for a long time, covered in dust that hinted at its disuse.
"Where… are we?" Aya questioned, her expression puzzled by the sudden change in their surroundings.
"The main room where the Dungeon Master is supposed to be."
"We're still inside the dungeon?"
Aya's eyes widened for a second as she saw many objects and furniture, inquiring whether someone used to live here. There was no doubt about it.
'But who would live inside a dungeon? '
Aya thought to herself before something clicked in her head. Hiroki was right all along, and there was someone called the Dungeon Master all along.
"This is…. Amazing….."
She expressed her shock out loud at this outstanding discovery, which would leave many kingdoms and guilds speechless.
Everyone until now knew that dungeons were something that spawned naturally, but if someone owned it, that meant that a dungeon could also be created at will…
"I don't sense anyone in here, and I doubt the Dungeon Master is anywhere near to be found. I will try to see something around this place. In the meantime, you can look around and get anything valuable that might come in handy to you." Hiroki suggested.
"Okay."
Using his ability to pass through walls, Hiroki swiftly moved around, exploring the area until he discovered a white, pristine room. At its center, on top of a stand, was a glassy, spherical object, shimmering with an otherworldly glow.
'I can feel a tremendous amount of energy from that thing…. That must be the core of the dungeon.'
Hiroki concluded while approaching the spherical object that was releasing the aura.
[ Alert ]
[ The Dungeon Core has detected a user! ]
A warning screen appeared in front of Hiroki as he attempted to get closer to the dungeon core.
However, despite the warnings, he still kept floating closer to it until he tried to interact with it using his see-through hand.
[ Alert ]
[ The Dungeon Core has acknowledged the user 'Hiroki'!
The dungeon core will give a new title and role tied to this room. ]
'So it's trying to make me the new Dungeon Master since the previous one is not present?'
Hiroki thought to himself, not pleased about the way this dungeon core was trying to shove the title into his status. That's why he tried moving away from the dungeon core in order to escape the enslavement of this dungeon.
However, no matter how hard he tried, his hand didn't budge away from the spherical orb that was glowing brighter.
[ ...….]
[ 'Monarch of the Undead' cannot be removed! ]
[ The Dungeon Core has failed on setting up a new user….. ]
The moment the dungeon core failed to give Hiroki the new title, a smirk appeared on his face.
'So this is how it is…'
He suddenly realized after the invisible force finally released his hand after failing to shove him the new title. A lot of pieces were coming together, understanding how and why a dungeon would spawn out of nowhere.
"Well, too bad for you, but I won't be sticking in here any longer with you." And with a confident voice in his tone, he raised his hand and released several 'Airblades' which cracked the core to pieces.
[ Alert ]
[ The Dungeon Core has been destroyed! ]
[ SF has been restored. ]
[ 1,345 points added! ]
As he saw the spherical core break into pieces, a teleportation circle formed on the ground before the whole room began to shake.
Hiroki immediately understood the gravity of the situation and rushed through the walls to find Aya. He found her struggling to maintain her balance during the earthquake.