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[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Demon God]

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Chapter 1   – [Prologue]

After a long journey, an artificially adorned path appeared at the end of the damp cave.

With the thought, “Finally arrived,” I unconsciously sighed.

I turned my head and looked back.

When we first entered the dungeon, there were a total of 74 members, and now there were 43 members behind.

Even the surviving comrades had a deep despair on their faces. Everyone was exhausted. The dungeon was large, but the monsters were equally powerful.

It’s not that we lost 31 people,

We have 43 survivors.

I desperately brainwashed myself like that. Without doing that, we couldn’t move forward. It wasn’t because the plan was wrong or the pre-information was incorrect, leading to additional casualties. It was just that we couldn’t protect 31 comrades despite the best plan and everyone doing their best.

That’s it.

Yes, honestly, I was prepared for this level of determination. In fact, I had considered even more serious situations than now.

This is one of the “Seven Great Evil Dungeons,” the “Primordial Core.”

It’s one of the dungeons deemed “impossible for humanity to conquer” – one of the Seven Great Evil Dungeons. It’s only natural that many sacrifices follow.

Vern, the expedition leader with a greatsword on his back larger than his own height, bit his lip.

All the previous expedition teams, when challenging this “Primordial Core,” always chose the left path, the “Red Path.”

Most expedition teams had chosen the “Red Path,” and most of the information obtained at the cost of numerous lives was from the “Red Path.”

According to the information, if you go straight into the red path, the space that appears is a wide room with an open view on all sides. Greeting the expedition team in that place is ‘Blade Maid Renee,’ who elegantly greets with outstretched fingers and a slight smile.

A faint smile.

And then, a cascade of slashing blades.

Although there were those who escaped by luck, no one who entered that room survived.

No one knows the true identity of the small monster in the form of a maid, but everyone knows that if you confront the ‘Blade Maid Renee,’ the expedition team will not return safely.

That’s why Vern, unlike previous expedition teams, chose the right path covered in filth.

The monster waiting there was a giant creature with over a hundred tentacles wriggling. Even so, more than 20 comrades were lost to that monster.

No, it was undoubtedly the best choice. I brainwashed myself again. If he had chosen the left path, like the previous expedition teams, we would have suffered much more damage. It must have been like that.

As he finished his agony, a deep darkness different from before covered Vern’s vision.

He stopped his steps. Before he knew it, he stood at the end of the path. What spread out in front of him was a huge hall. It was difficult to gauge its scale because it was covered in complete darkness, but he was sure it was larger than any dungeon hall he had seen so far. The tremendous resonance created by the empty space was telling him that.

He turned his head back again. The expedition members behind him, who had been silently preparing, now wore determined expressions. After nodding silently, he slowly stepped forward. The air was strangely cold. He lifted his head, but he couldn’t see the ceiling. The space overwhelmed him. He bit his lip and exhaled.

“This is the end of the ‘Primordial Core.'”

even without being told, he could instinctively know it.

This vast hall is the end of the dungeon. This is the final destination of the adventure that arrived after numerous sacrifices – a place where unimaginable treasures are stored, and perhaps the ‘Masterpiece 36,’ the ultimate creation possibly made by humanity, is sleeping.

And, then…

The place where the owner of this dungeon resides.

In an instant, a roar echoed.

“Everyone, into formation!”

Vern shouted.

The noise of the huge hall shaking was enough to Devourer Vern’s voice, but despite stumbling, everyone neatly adjusted their formation. That was all they could do.

The ground trembled. Consequently, the vision shook. Even in the chaos, the formation was disrupted. The sound of sharp stalactites, which had been sticking together here and there, falling to the ground, echoed.[Note- A stalactite is an icicle-shaped formation that hangs from the ceiling of a cave and is produced by precipitation of minerals from water dripping through the cave ceiling.]

Magic spheres that had belatedly risen into the air illuminated the vast space with light. And within that light, all members of the expedition saw something gigantic.

A black, seemingly reaching the sky, sinister, fearful, indistinct creature.

As if awakening from a dream, the huge creature twisted its body and took a step forward.

Between the precarious light that seemed to be Devourered by darkness, the silhouette slowly revealed itself.

It was at that moment that they realized the black mass, the size of several watchtowers combined, was the monster’s head.

With a tearing sound, the shape of the monster was revealed along with the opening of its monstrous mouth, which had an uncountable number of teeth aimed at the expedition team.

At the same time, one of the monster’s four eyes met Vern’s gaze.

Then the expedition leader, who was once hailed as the hope of the empire, was convinced.

“…Run away.”

It was impossible to win.

Absolutely impossible.

* * *

“So, let me summarize… You were sleeping, and humans swarmed in, and you fought despite being tired. Is that it?”

“Yes, I faced two enemies simultaneously – humans and fatigue. And it wasn’t sleep; it was just a brief nap. Patrick, calm down for a moment.”

“Calm down? I will calm down. Is it reasonable for the dungeon boss to be dozing off until humans are right in front of it? Is it sensible to be yawning in front of humans? This is a matter of mental health! Renee, what do you think?”

“Are you mad at me right now?”

“…Renee, what do you think?”

“Well, overwhelming humans with just a yawn… Devourer, I’m once again amazed by your majesty.”

“Wow, you’re saying that now…”

There was a feeling of something snapping inside. The skeletal knight, as if plagued by a headache, covered its skull with both hands. Then, as if judging that rational conversation was impossible, it mumbled in a low voice.

Yeah, this dungeon is done for – it was always a thought in the back of my mind. Now it’s firmly confirmed.

“Enough, Patrick. I messed up… Wait, isn’t it your mission to prevent those guys from coming to my room in the first place? Why are you mad at me?”

Even while playing the drums and beating the drum alone, the monster referred to as ‘Devourer’ didn’t stop yawning. Despite the thousands of teeth revealed with each wide-open mouth, no one was frightened. Instead, the skeleton standing in front of the large, black body raised its voice as if ready to attack Devourer.

“Of course! That’s right! Moreover, aren’t all these actions to enhance the boss’s intimidation? Isn’t the problem that the one who’s messing it up is the person involved? Argh! It’s frustrating!”

“Patrick, you’re getting too worked up; you’ll dislocate something.”

“Right, Patrick is overreacting; it’s a problem. Besides, that rigid jaw, to be honest, it’s too noisy. It’s so loud that it might even be heard outside the dungeon.”

“Yeah, yeah, I told Renee that if she keeps making noise, I’ll rip off her jaw.”

“Renee, when did…!”

“Sigh…”

With the murmured words, “I should write a resignation letter or something,” the skeleton seemed to give up, lowering its head as if in defeat. Devourer, who was making a scornful expression towards the skeleton, scratched the back of its head. Perhaps making a mistake while raising its arm, the wall in the vicinity vibrated, and soon the wall where its arm touched collapsed with a loud noise.

“Oh, my bad.”

“Oh, it’s much louder than the sound of my jaw clicking.”

With a sarcastic remark, the skeleton buried itself deep into the chair.

Behind the roughly made wooden chair, lay the corpse of Vern, who was once the ‘Hope of the empire,’ and his sword scattered around.

This is the ‘Primordial Core,’ one of the ‘Seven Great Evil Dungeons.’

It’s one of the dungeons deemed ‘impossible for humanity to conquer’ – one of the Seven Great Evil Dungeons.

Phase. 1

‘Dungeon conquest’ mostly ends with human victory.

From the beginning, dungeon conquest is not conducted from a fair standpoint. It’s merely a blatant act of invasion under the guise of the human pretext of ‘challenging the unknown.’

Is it fair for humans, who can attack at any time, and monsters, who must always be prepared to defend? Even if humans fail due to unexpected dungeon structures or monsters, they can refine their strategy based on the information gained from that battle and retry.

There’s no limit to the attempts. It’s not humans but the dungeon that rapidly weakens with each repetition of war. Of course, there will be human casualties in the process, but considering what can be gained after conquering the dungeon, it’s a sacrifice that can be endured.─For this reason, as long as there are those willing to challenge the dungeon, dungeons are ‘ultimately’ conquered.

Beneath the dungeon lie hidden treasures, the corpses of monsters used for equipment or magical research, and the vast territory called a dungeon. Information about monsters, rewards, and honor given to the successful expedition team. One conquest yields many things. With such an enticing challenge, humanity has no reason to miss out.

Numerous expedition teams emerge just for the sake of conquering one dungeon. They systematically attack the territories of monsters one by one. Through this process, the expedition teams become stronger with the treasures obtained, challenging even stronger dungeons.

In this simple cycle that started centuries ago, countless dungeons have been conquered, and new ones continue to emerge.

Even within this flow, there exist dungeons that humanity cannot conquer, which is quite natural.

The deadly dungeons, precisely known as the Seven Great Evil Dungeons.

A name attached to the unknown area judged temporarily impossible for humanity to conquer, filled with anger and fear.

Among the notorious The Seven Great Evil Dungeons, there was a dungeon that received an absolute judgment of being impossible to conquer.

The worst abyss in history that has never revealed its end to humanity.

‘The Primordial Core.’

A dungeon in the form of a giant cave. Dozens of high-level monsters guard this dungeon.

As one progresses through the rugged path, a crossroads emitting a gloomy aura welcomes the expedition team.

Beyond that crossroads, guarding each path, are the gatekeepers of the dungeons.

Guarding the red path on the left is Homunculus ‘Blade Maid Renee.’

Guarding the central blue path is the skeleton ‘Death Knight Patrick.’

According to recent reconnaissance information, there is also a path contaminated by sludge on the right, but accurate information about it is yet to be revealed.

In the macabre structure adorned with grotesque forms, a crossroads awaits the expedition team beyond the gate. Only tens of thousands of challengers who could not overcome it are known.

Dominating this impregnable fortress is the first monster mentioned in the imperial myth, the primordial creature ‘Devourer.’

Larger than the imperial palace, its thick skin is said to be impervious even to bullets. Its sharp claws and teeth tear through the sky, and its death-filled eyes plunge the hearts of those who meet its gaze into an endless abyss.

even in the midst of despair facing the primordial monster, the reason the century’s strongest challengers endlessly challenge the ‘Primordial Core’ is the numerous weapons presumed to be buried within the dungeon, especially the 36 masterpieces…

“…It’s written like this. Certainly, as Devourer mentioned, after these books spread among humans, more and more people have been coming. I never thought humans who always came through the red path would choose the sludge path.”

“See, dungeon management requires know-how too. Look at some other dungeons. Just because you wrap it up in mystery, humans won’t bother. You need to leak just enough information so that humans think, ‘Oh, we know a lot about that dungeon!’ and delude themselves. So, even while publishing books that are half imagination, rush in like a hornet. That’s how we get hit hard like this.”

“Hehe, Devourer seems really smart. I couldn’t calculate that side of things at all.”

“…Well, even so, I honestly didn’t think they would rush in like this. Moreover, without even glancing, they went straight to the right path…”

At Devourer’s words, ‘Blade Maid Renee’ turned her head.

Devourer’s room, reminiscent of a cave without a ceiling. Dozens of corpses piled up in a corner caught the eye.

“Were there 74?”

“Yes. But there are only about 50 humans with intact equipment. The rest faced the ‘116 Black Tentacles’ and their equipment melted away, becoming useless. Looking at the intact equipment, each one seems to be quite valuable…”

Devourer, seeming disappointed, turned away from Renee as if to divert her attention.

Despite the spacious common area, it seemed uncomfortable to find a comfortable posture, and Devourer’s body rapidly contracted with each breath.

─In an instant, Devourer, transformed into a human-like form, petted Renee’s head, and then a giggling sound was heard. At times like this, she was truly just a child. Seeing the blush on Renee’s face, it felt like such a thought.

And in a manner that seemed quite unpleasant with that spectacle, ‘Death Knight’ Patrick spoke─

“What a spectacle.”

Showing a clearly annoyed expression, he tapped the table with his fingers.

“Hey, Renee? Boss? We gathered for a meeting, right? Not to play, right? But why are you two having so much fun? The atmosphere is so sweet that just breathing in the air feels like it’ll give you cavities. We came to have a meeting, but we might end up with cavities instead. And Boss, if you’re going to polymorph, wouldn’t it be better to do it properly? The fingers that just petted Renee’s head looked like they were six.”

“Oh, right. They are indeed six.”

“Last time, there were over 40 teeth. After transforming and laughing while grinning, saying ‘I melted them with my gums,’ it was truly chilling…”

“Patrick, your jaw clattering is too noisy.”

“Ha, this dungeon. It’s screwed.”

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[Translator – Kie]

[Proofreader – Demon God]

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