The two moons of this world were shining brightly above us surrounded by the countless twinkling stars sprinkled over the vast dark void of space. I couldn’t recognize any constellation, but all in all, it was a perfect night for stargazing, especially since there were so few clouds to obstruct that majestic view. The light cast down by the moons was bright enough to shine our path as we moved farther and farther away from the Elora.

All in all, the room was far better than the ones we received at Neyalin’s inn. The metal bath was fit for a human, but not a draconian. Speaking of which, Ayuseya had to bend over a little in order to get inside, the frame of the door was a bit too low for her. The same happened back in Perto. Every building here and there were built only for human-sized species like elves, el’doraws, nekatars, and dwarfs. The big draconians weren’t meant to step inside these places, then again, I didn’t see any of them on the streets. One could say that Ayuseya was a rarity here. That or there simply weren’t any of them wandering around outside at this late hour.

When we first caught glimpse of the city, I believed that it wasn't that far away from us, but in truth, I was heavily mistaken. My perception of distance had been misled because of the angle from which I was looking towards the settlement. I assumed it was going to be a simple straight walk, when if fact, we had to pass through a tricky terrain covered by trees and countless twists and turns on the road. It took us several hours on foot to reach it.

With the nekatar in our company and constantly jumping around us like an excited kitten, we made our way towards the next settlement. Because we lacked any form of map, we didn't know its name or the road layout in the area. Basically, we were traveling blind.

Then again, was there anyone on this continent who would sell us or make us a map of the three continents? I for one didn't want to bet my luck on it, especially since such things could offer a strategic importance to an enemy country. Considering how things usually were in this world, I was expecting maps to even be forbidden.

We left the Mehalom Dungeon in a hurry. All the monsters started to act violently as soon as the Dungeon Territory vanished. I couldn’t recall how exactly it was destroyed, but seeing how I woke up after that attack from the High Priest black mage, it was highly possible that it was entirely my fault.

What worried me now was the health state of our only survivor. She was barely breathing, and her wounds given by the mages left a bitter taste in my mouth. I was glad they were obliterated from existence, but for some strange reason, I felt guilty for how we found her.

The scent of burning flesh and bone was repulsive, but at the very least our Magic Armors were powerful enough to stop the toxins and fumes from entering our lungs. Nanya used that small crystal of hers to capture most of it, but we didn’t have time to wait for the pile to burn away. We placed the crystal on the ceiling and then moved towards the steel doors in the back. We planned on collecting it on the way back.

The imp squirmed and tried to get away, but it couldn’t flee from my grasp. The other one was furious and tried to scratch me, but I had him pinned down. Meanwhile, the women were giving me a strange look.

“What?” I asked them, squinting my eyes at them.

“Why are you try to make the imps kiss?” Nanya asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not… This guy is Peter, and he’s trying to steal the keys from Grog, the jail guard.” I replied with a serious tone of voice.

“Are we there yet?” I asked a bit bored.

That was the sixth time I asked in the past hour. Nanya was already glaring at me, and Shanteya let out a sigh. Ayuseya only showed me a smile of pity.

We were currently a few kilometers away from Petro Town. We were heading towards the Mehalom Ancient Dungeon. The path was clear, and we had been running constantly through the woods to avoid the road because we were using more than 800 points in agility and didn’t want to have random strangers witness our power, yet. At one point, I did try to run while carrying Shanteya in my arms, since I was faster than her, but Ayuseya ended up falling behind. The draconian Princess had the agility, but she didn’t have the reaction needed for one with her stats. She had much to learn about her current abilities, but so did I.

Thanks to Serya, the registration took no more than a couple of minutes. To our surprise, she wasn't just an ordinary receptionist, she was actually Perto Town’s Guild Hall Assistant. The Manager was currently away on a business trip, so she was currently the one in charge of all the paperwork. Of course, the Watcher dude was always glaring our way, or to be more precise, at Nanya. He wasn’t taking her out of his sight, and I was starting to think of it both as creepy and annoying. As for her, she didn’t really care.

Both Nanya and I were currently regretting the fact that we didn’t take advantage of my dungeon building skills to soundproof our room. The tired look on Shanteya and Ayuseya’s faces told me that they didn’t catch a single wink of sleep last night. Any excuse or attempt of getting out of this one was useless, absolutely useless. They were both glaring at me and Nanya, who was hiding behind me.

Seriously? You are powerful enough to reduce this entire town to breadcrumbs, and YOU are the one hiding behind ME? I thought while forcing a smile on my face.

I was laying in my bed, with a smile upon my lips and an angel in my arms. What a great night that was, and I would have lied if I said that Nanya didn’t know how to move those hips of hers. Least to be said that we didn’t fall asleep even after the sun had risen. It was now maybe around the equivalent of this world of 7 AM or 8 AM in the morning.

“You were great…” I whispered to her.

Nanya showed me a cute smile and then kissed me again, pushing her bare chest onto mine, pulling me closer to her. I welcomed her in my embrace, and we continued to kiss for another minute or so.

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…