Dungeon Hallow

Dungeons and Shensin

Erix was jolted awake by the hot temperature and a bitter smell that permeated his senses. Struggling to open his heavy eyelids, he surveyed his unfamiliar surroundings. His gaze fell upon the wooden ceiling with its large beams, which seemed to belong to a house of some sort.

As he tried to make sense of his situation, a sudden headache gripped him, causing him to wince in pain. In an attempt to calm himself, he took a deep breath and looked around once more. That’s when he realized that his right hand was being held down by something heavy.

He tried to move it, but the weight was too much. It was then that he noticed Haruka, sleeping soundly on his arm. With a sharp tug, Erix managed to free his arm, waking her up in the process.

“Erix, you’re awake!? Thank goodness, I’ll call the doctor,” she hurriedly left Erix, who was still confused about his condition.

Lucius had been patiently sitting next to his master, waiting for him to wake up, when her sudden shout startled him. Reacting quickly, he dashed over to his master’s side. “Master, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Where am I?”

“At the hospital. You fainted when we came out of the dungeon,” replied Lucius.

Erix remembered suddenly losing consciousness at that time. “Ah, that’s right.”

Lucius handed him a glass of water. He took it and drank the cool water slowly, soothing his dry throat.

Erix made an effort to sit up, his gaze scanning the room as he did so. He noticed the open window, letting in the warm afternoon air. His eyes roamed over every corner of the room, taking in the details. It became apparent to him that he was lying on a pristine white bed, with a pole next to him typically used to hang intravenous fluids. The tell-tale signs of being in a hospital were evident.

As he took in his surroundings, Lucius approached with a plate of neatly peeled and sliced apples. Erix took one with the small fork that had been thoughtfully laid out for him.

“So, how long have I been unconscious?” He asked as he chewed.

“Just a few hours, Master.”

“Hmmm,” He munched on the apple in his hand. “What did you do while I was out? You didn’t just wait for me to wake up, did you? Like a man waiting for his lover.”

“Of course not. I gathered a lot of information.” Lucius pulled a parchment from his pocket and handed it to him.

As he took hold of the aged parchment, he carefully unfolded it, revealing an ancient map of the world. The map depicted a massive continent surrounded by vast oceans, but his attention was drawn to the sixty percent of the island that was marked in black ink. Upon seeing this, his face became filled with confusion, and he turned to Lucius, demanding an explanation.

“This world is called Leavgard. As Haruka mentioned earlier, we’re currently in the Kingdom of Ardesdale. While technological advancements aren’t as prevalent in this world, the development of martial arts, magic, and medicine has progressed rapidly. Weapons here are commonplace, but they consist mainly of sharpened weapons that have been magically reinforced with runes. Although Leavgard may seem like a typical fantasy world at first glance, it’s not without its own set of problems. Just like on Earth, this world has a dark side that is fraught with various crises. The primary issue that Leavgard faces is the presence of the Demon King.”

“Demon King!?” Erix exclaimed instantly.

“Yes. As per the information I’ve gathered, around 1200 years ago, a creature appeared who wielded darkness as his weapon. He referred to himself as the Demon King Satan and sought to dominate the entire Leavgard. But, there was a human who stood against him and thwarted his plan. That person was none other than Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes. They engaged in a fierce battle until Gilgamesh finally succeeded in sealing Satan away by sacrificing his own life. However, before being locked away, Satan managed to release his progeny, whom we now know as the Seven Princes of Hell, each representing the Seven Deadly Sins.”

Erix held his breath for a moment, his heart beating fast. Fear, perhaps, was one of the instincts that also stirred in his soul.

“The Seven Princes of Hell continue Satan’s ambition. They’re the ones who planted Dungeons in every corner of Leavgard.”

“Dungeon? What do you mean?” asked Erix.

Lucius went on to explain, “Dungeons serve as gateways for the demon’s army to attack the world, and the black markings on the map show the areas that have succumbed to darkness. To defend against this threat, all races in Leavgard come together to fight the demon’s army. They use two methods to protect their territory: sending troops to the borders to repel potential attacks and sending a group of brave individuals called Shensin to explore the perilous dungeons and eradicate the monsters within. Only Shensin and their supporters are allowed to enter the dungeons.”

Erix sighed deeply, as if he wanted to inhale all the warm air in the city. His heart tried to force himself to accept the reality. “Haruka said she’s also a shensin.”

“And we are her supporters,” added Lucius.

Suddenly, the door opened. Haruka entered with three complete strangers behind her. The three unknown individuals looked very gallant, with swords sheathed at their hips and red cloaks waving behind them.

“Are you the ones who helped this girl?” asked the person in the middle of the three, who seemed to be their leader, judging from the two others who always followed him.

“Yes, that’s right. Is there a problem?” Erix replied innocently, with a face full of questions, as if he were a villain being interrogated.

The gallant man retrieved a scroll of parchment and a bag from his armor and tossed them towards Erix, landing at his feet. “Twenty Mythtril stones and a proof of ownership of the Goblin Temple, as gifts from The King to reward you for purifying the Goblin Temple Dungeon,” he explained.

Erix was taken aback by the man’s discourteous conduct, perceiving him as extremely impolite and ill-mannered. Despite feeling furious, he kept his emotions in check. His servant Lucius shared his sentiments and glared at the man menacingly.

The three knights turned around and were about to leave the room.

“Then, I have a message for your king,” Erix spoke up. “Tell him I’m very grateful for the gift he gave me and next time, bring someone more polite to deliver his gifts.”

The three stopped in their tracks. Erix smiled, but his gaze was as sharp as a sword. Haruka was shocked to hear Erix’s words, and she began to worry about the situation. The atmosphere grew uncomfortable as the temperature in the room rose rapidly.

“How dare you!!” As a woman with reddish-yellow hair drew her sword and prepared to attack the young man, who was lying on the bed, two others stood behind her. With lightning speed, Lucius sprang into action, swinging his knife to protect his master. In the skirmish, Lucius wounded the woman’s hand, causing her to drop her sword. Without missing a beat, Lucius picked up the sword and aimed it at its owner. The sudden turn of events surprised everyone in the room, except for Erix, who remained unfazed.

Haruka, on the other hand, stood silently with a pale face, backing up against the wall. She didn’t know what to do.

“You! Stop it!! This is a hospital. Don’t cause trouble!” someone entered and shouted. Judging by the white lab coat and stethoscope around his neck, he was a doctor, the one Haruka had called earlier. No matter how high your position in the government, in a hospital, doctors hold the power.

Everyone fell silent and didn’t reply. But Lucius remained on guard with two weapons in his hands. The woman was in pain from the wound caused by his knife.

“Let’s go!” their leader called out and they left the room.

But the injured woman remained still.

“Selina, let’s go!” the third person, who had been silent the whole time, called out.

Selina began to walk while holding her right hand. She left without taking her sword back from Lucius. The two of them quickly followed their leader. Haruka slumped down, feeling weak, and took a long sigh of relief.

“What were you thinking?!” Haruka scolded, looking very angry. “You got us into trouble. That person… the person earlier… was the Third Prince.”

“Ouwh… He’s a prince. But he’s like a dog in my eyes. A barking untrained dog,” as Erix turned his face to the window. A cool breeze blew in and swept across his face.

Haruka took the bag of Mithril Stones on the floor as the doctor checked on him. Inside it were twenty thumb-sized Mithril Stones that had been polished like precious stones.

Mythril Stones are highly valuable and scarce in this world. These stones have magical attributes that are particularly useful for enhancing weapons and spells, making them very costly. Haruka greatly admires the exquisite blue hue of these stones, resembling a pristine sky.

Lucius took the rolled-up letter and handed it to his master. He untied the red ribbon that held the letter and read its contents.

“Ownership Rights to the Goblin Temple? What does that mean?” asked Erix.

“When someone manages to purify a dungeon, they will become the rightful owner of the structure and all its contents. Since you’ve successfully purified the Goblin Temple, you now own the place,” explained the doctor. “It’s better for you to rest now. You still need a lot of rest.”

Erix handed the ownership letter to Lucius. “Keep it safe!”

Lucius bowed, following his master’s orders as he took the letter from his hand.

*****

The following day, Erix was discharged from the hospital and declared healthy. With their mission complete, they were ready to depart from the this world. Lucius had packed all their equipment in his backpack, which included two sets of armor, a sword, and arrows that they had found in the dungeon.

“Haruka, we want to express our gratitude to you for summoning us to this world. It’s been an extraordinary experience, but we feel our task is done. Please use your magic to send us back,” said Erix, as he tried to hide the painful disappointment he felt in his heart. The intense emotion he was experiencing made him reluctant to part ways with the girl and return to the mundane world that had been oppressing him.

“But I can’t. I’m enable to. I don’t even know how,” Haruka panicked.

“Miss Haruka, don’t joke at a time like this,” Lucius said somewhat seriously.

“I’m not joking. I’m telling the truth,” Haruka explained again. This time she was really panicked.

Erix fell silent. Hearing this, he felt like his heart was released from pressure. Unlike Lucius, he looked distressed and was infected by Haruka’s panic. “You summoned us, but why can’t you send us back?”

“I was hoping that someone would come to help me, but I didn’t cast the summoning spell on you.”

“So, we can’t go home, right, Lucius?” Erix asked, his face beaming with joy. He couldn’t hide his happiness. Of course, this world was far more interesting than his original world.

“Yes, Master,” Lucius answered weakly.

The happiness in Erix’s heart exploded suddenly. He felt as if flowers were raining down on him.

Lucius expressed his disappointment with a heavy heart, regretting the decision they had made that fateful night to flee from the house. He couldn’t help but feel defeated, finally surrendering to his emotions, “I can’t believe this is happening. We should’ve gone back and apologized to the Master and Madam instead of running away. Then, we could continue our days as usual.”

“That will never happen! Never! Got it? Never…ever!” Erix said sharply, his gaze piercing.

“Okay then,” Lucius finally replied. “Let’s find a place to live.”

“Hold on,” Erix interjected. “For that matter, I want Haruka to be responsible too.”

Haruka was startled, Erix stared straight at her.

“You did summon us, right?” The woman gave a nod. “We can’t return to our original world now, so you have to accept responsibility!”

Hearing this, Haruka was a little worried. She was afraid that there would be things she couldn’t fulfill. “W-what do I need to do?”

“It’s not difficult. We require three meals per day, and a place to sleep and shower,” he explained with a cheerful smile.

“What do you mean?” Haruka didn’t understand the word “shower” that he just said.

“My Master needs a place to live,” Lucius explained, irritably. He was still sulking.

“What do you say? Can you do it? It’s your fault, you know!” Erix cajoled, full of hope.

“Alright, I’ll agree to it,” Haruka said. She seemed pleased because the request did not appear to be too difficult.

Erix was thrilled as well. A smile of freedom was etched on his face. His life was sure to be anything but boring on Earth. Meanwhile, Lucius just remained silent, accepting his fate. He was just following his ridiculous master’s wishes.

But…

Erix and Lucius were left stunned as they arrived at Haruka’s house shortly after. The small, dilapidated building made of old-looking wooden planks was a far cry from the house Erix had left before. Despite its shabby appearance, there was a small vegetable garden in the yard, and a wooden fence protected the house from the surrounding bushes and tall shrubs.

As they passed through the gate and made their way towards the house, a little boy suddenly darted out and collided with Erix, causing the child to fall to the ground.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Erix asked as he lifted the child up.

“I was looking for- SIS HARUKA!! You’re back!” Joy exploded on the child’s face upon seeing Haruka. “Mom, Haruka is back.”

A delicate, beautiful woman came out of the house. She had long black hair just like Haruka. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at the girl in front of her and immediately hugged her.

“Thank goodness you’re safe, Haruka. Thank goodness,” the woman said.

“I’m sorry I made you worry, Auntie. We also found Yura,” Haruka replied, returning the woman’s embrace.

They all went inside the house. The woman was the owner of the house. She was her mother’s little sister. Her name was Auntie Izumi and the little boy was her youngest child, Takeru.

As Haruka shared her experiences in the dungeon, she made sure to tell her aunt about Yura’s safety and current treatment in the hospital. She didn’t leave out the details of Erix and Lucius’s situation either, and it was clear that they needed a safe place to stay. She then turned to Auntie Izumi, pleading with her to allow them to stay in the house.

Without hesitation, Auntie Izumi agreed to let them stay, grateful for their heroic actions in saving her eldest child. Erix couldn’t help but smile happily, knowing that his new life in Leavgard was beginning right here and now.