The good part about all of us having an agility over 1000 was that we didn't need to bother ourselves with acquiring a carriage or a horse to travel around. We were able to run through the desert at about 100 km/h give or take. We could go much faster than this, but we weren’t in a hurry, and I wanted to get a good dose of staring at Ayuseya’s sweet bottom! Unfortunately, the chainmail I gave her had the uncanny ability to keep her bosom from bouncing too much. Actually, it barely did at all, making it more comfortable for her and less appealing for me.

Ugh! Me and my attention to useless details… I grumbled in my mind.

While my companions went inside the dungeon to finish off whatever monsters were left alive in there, I stayed outside and sulked over the fact that I conquered my first dungeon so easily. I literally just stepped inside, and the Dungeon Core went bye-bye. The problem was that I had no idea why that happened… Was I so strong that it simply had a heart attack? Can a Dungeon in its Crystal Body even have heart attacks in the first place?

It was very good to see the girls alive and well again, but there was a bit of worry in their eyes. Shanteya didn’t leave my side and constantly stuck to me like she was afraid I might vanish any second now. She was cute that way, but I hoped the battle with Dankyun didn’t leave any lasting mental scars.

Time shatters the illusion of reality and the reason of action spawned from a moment of recklessness. The longer you live, the more the world around you seems simple, fake, maybe a bit disturbing. Even the lives of those you see as precious seem nothing more than simple toys in the hands of gods and destiny. One may believe or not in these, but no proof except the one offered in the moment of death can show them the truth of existence.

Such was my case as well…

271 years were spent in that darkness, working constantly on my body with little to no time for anything else. Other Dungeons besides the Primordial revealed themselves to me one by one as time went by. It was a hard work to build the body I desired while being forced to constantly listen to them as they poked around at my memories and made fun of me with every chance they got. The Primordial tried time and time again to explain why humanoid organics shouldn’t be trusted and how Dungeons were superior to all of them in any way or manner.

Dankyun’s sword pierced my guts and went out through the other side. I felt the cold blade as it cut deep into me, hurting me, making me bleed, making me tremble. Fear grasped my heart in its deadly claws, reminding me of my weakness and uselessness. This time, it was different though. This weakness in front of Dankyun was a proof of my inability to protect my Master, my lack of strength and skill, my lack of determination to obtain the power I needed and desired in order to repay my Master for all the kindness he offered me ever since that fated night.

What do you mean? I asked the voice.

Looking around, I couldn’t see or sense anyone. Actually, I felt rather odd and sluggish. Was it because I was here or because I was dead?

The strange voice didn’t answer me. I was left waiting in silence, surrounded by that darkness for who knew how many hours? All I could think about was how I left Nanya, Shanteya, and Ayuseya to die like that. I did nothing for them, absolutely nothing…

If I didn’t deny my true nature and power for so may years, maybe the unsealing process would have lasted only a few minutes at most, not hours. All I could say was that I was a fool… A fool who continued to believe that I would end up being hated because of who and what I was.

Upon returning to the second floor, I found Dankyun standing still in front of the maze and waiting patiently for the return of his commanders, now either dead or walking away from my dungeon. He didn’t move an inch from when he ordered everyone to scatter and find the exit. Whatever was left of his force was either here with him, dead, or lost among traps and imps.

I managed to survive somehow…

Huffing and puffing, I looked back and saw the dead imps on the floor. Only bits and pieces remained after I attacked them. The battle was tough, but it was not over yet. Without any soldiers to support me and tortured by the complexity of this infernal maze filled with numerous traps and monsters, I was now faced with an even greater danger. Somewhere within the darkness and shadows before me, a terrifying monster laid hidden, waiting for the opportune moment when to jump out and slit my throat!

No! No! No! This dungeon maze was all sorts of wrong! It didn’t even have a decent mirror! All of these walls were all wavy and reflecting our images, making me dizzy and confused with each step I took. There were also the traps and monsters roaming around this place that we had to worry about. This Dungeon built too many spike traps and flamethrower traps on these corridors! It was a pain to get past all of them!

While Nanya was preparing herself for the upcoming battle by unsealing her power, I led Shanteya through the maze on the fourth floor. I then carried her over the lava on the third floor and guided her through the maze on the second floor.

I believe I was among the first to see the signal from the two scouts sent by lord Dankyun. The explosion from their spell followed soon after, and we pulled our horses in that direction. We went off the usually traveled road and entered the thick forest, but Milord Dankyun didn’t care, he didn’t even sheath his sword after Princess Ayuseya vanished before our very eyes. He was mad and furious. We all saw him cast his Supreme Skill to destroy the human's academy.

To see Ayuseya alive and well nearly brought me to tears. The only problem was that I was technically a big floating crystal who had no eyes. Although she was crying and hugging my crystal body, I couldn’t even return her warm embrace. I was cold and motionless like a piece of furniture, but on the inside, I was throwing a real party of joy. For a moment, I even forgot the fact that a very angry and annoying Supreme Ranked Adventurer was approaching me at lightning speed.

An hour or so before I summoned Ayuseya back to the academy, I woke up from my sleep.

NO! Ayuseya! I screamed and reached out for her, but she wasn’t there anymore.

Everywhere I looked, all I could see was the darkness of my Inner Mind, but Shanteya wasn’t there to greet me as usual, causing me to be confused and scared for a moment.

Was it all just a nightmare? I wondered as I tried to settle down my breath and fast beating heart.

Illsy’s voice was so weak. He was trying as hard as he could to survive Dankyun’s onslaught, pushing himself beyond his limits, to the point of fainting from exhaustion.

In all my life, I had never seen another man try so hard for me, but seeing him in pain, seeing him suffer like that made my heart feel strangled by a hand covered with needles.

How can I let you suffer like this, Illsy? I said, but he didn’t reply.

With a speed faster than the human eye could see, she dashed towards Dankyun, who noticed the incoming danger and lifted his right hand up to block the first strike. He didn’t even flinch when he received the blow. The shockwave was so powerful, it shattered the window behind him into a billion pieces, and the impulse sent him flying through it. The frame was blown apart, and the wall cracked because of his sheer size.

Lifting my head up from my el’doraw’s chest, I turned my gaze towards the draconian princess. My eyelids were heavy, I was tired, true, but not to the point where I would allow myself to fall asleep and ignore the enchanting sight which suddenly appeared before me.