DUNGEON DIVER: I become a Dark Knight in a world full of dungeons
By Orangeowl
Vol 1 Chapter 11: Canaria the dungeon master (revelation and discovery)
Canaria? That was a familiar name.
(indeed)
....are you a dungeon master?
(...you didn't seem too surprised?)
I did......however, I've heard countless theories about it, dungeon cores, dungeons phenomenon, dungeon masters, rumors and myths, scholars around the world have been searching why and how dungeons could occur in our world, about monsters and magics and how we get status and inhuman power when we enter the dungeon, although in the end, it's all just theories and rumors
until I talk to you, The abilities you've shown and had were outside the realm of human beings as far as I know....that alone was proof that you are not a human.
(that's right.... You could say I'm the master of Canaria Dungeon)
.....Then, why do you help us?
(because it benefits me)
That was a rather straightforward answer, what kind of benefits does she get and what does she want? What a shady person.
(you didn't trust me?)
I wouldn't trust someone who can read my mind without my permission?
"BOOOMMMM!!!"
As I was talking in my mind, the sinister nurse had hit the maid through the floor below with her giant syringe.
Uwahhh... that's must be hurtful!
Looking beside me the holy knight stood in confusion looking back and forth trying to understand the situation.
Well, dungeon master, I didn't know what you wanted from us, but what I know you want us to live?
(Indeed, I want both of you to live, more correctly to help me)
As I thought, this all wasn't free....
Suddenly, the world around me goes slower and slower, so slow as if it was standing still, however, my movement also slowed down that I can't move my body at all. without I realized, my surroundings turned into pitch darkness as if I had gone completely blind.
Where am I?
Trying to move my hand, I once again able to move freely, although I couldn't see where am I going, walking forward, I tried to analyze the situation, I was in the hallway a second ago, and now I have been transported to an unknown room? Realm? I don't think the dungeon master going to just kill me right here... Is she still reading my mind even now?
Hello? Canaria? Dungeon master?
Walking through the darkness I couldn't even see anything with my night vision skill, finally, from afar I saw a spot of light, is that the exit?
venturing onto the light, suddenly the warm light of the sun touched my skin, looking up, the clouds peacefully floating in the sky, turn my head around, I had arrived in a beautiful garden with lush trees and colorful flowers, took a deep breath the fragrance of flowers filled the garden.
Exploring the beautiful garden, I saw one small pavilion on the top of a small hill built with smooth white stones, on the inside was a round table with three chairs around it, and one of the chairs was already occupied, patiently waiting for me.
Did she want me to walk all the way to the top? Couldn't I just use my skills to get there?
Activating dimensional movements, my views changed to the inside of the pavilion.
"you really couldn't read the room aren't you?"
Brought the cup to her lips, she was gently smiling at me, in front of me was a beautiful woman with light green hair and fair skin, her eyes looked sleepy yet it only added to her beauty, with a soft smile her eyes looked at me with interest.
"Are you Canaria?"
"yes, Indeed I am"
"where am I? What happens to the holy knight, I can't leave her alone...."
"rest assured, I have accelerated your mind 1000 times than that of a normal human, 1 second in there was 1000 seconds in here" Canaria smiled.
"YOU WHAT?!" I yelled in shock.
"w-whats wrong?" Taken aback by my reaction, Canaria blinked in confusion, but that was not the problem now.
how could she cast such a terrible thing on me?! 1000 times?! Isn't my head going to explode?!
"you know I am not very smart?! My tiny mind is barely intact together every day!! Less accelerating it 1000 times! Do you actually want to kill me?!"
This is unacceptable!
"P-please calm down! I promise you it wouldn't have any everlasting effect!"
"so there is short lasting effect!?"
I slammed the stone table with both of my hands.
"ah!...I'm sorry!"
Didnt know how to react Canaria bowed her head to me after seeing my burst of emotion, wait, isn't she a bit too easy? Maybe I could take advantage of this...hehehe.
"Why did you even-"
"Dark Knight"
Hmm? Who there? Isn't I supposed to come alone? Looking behind me was the holy knight who stood with her cold stares pointed toward me.
"....I never thought you would threaten a helpless girl like this"
"hah? No! I am just...uhh.... did you know she accelerate our mind 1000 times!"
"I said I'm sorry!"
Canaria begged behind me, first of all, why was the holy knight even here!?
"Canaria! Why is she here? I thought our relationship was special!"
"what- you didn't want me here?!"
Ahh this is useless, I thought this going to be a fateful meeting, a story that would be told as a legend to generations, but they ruin the mood, Gah! I don't want it anymore!
Sitting down on one of the chairs, I took the teapot from the table and poured the contents into the cup in front of me.
"I hope you didn't spit on this tea"
"why did you even think I would!? And you are the one who ruined the mood!"
"stop reading my mind!"
Looking at both of us with wrinkles on her brows, the holy knight slowly sits on one of the chairs.
"...I....did not understand what happening?" The holy knight said in confusion, she was looking at me for some explanation, but I diverted my gaze from her, why was this tea so bitter? Where is the sugar?
"Ahem! Please rest assured, I'm not here to cause harm to any of you" Gaining back her composure, Canaria said softly to the both of us.
"...who are you?" The holy knight said with suspicion in her voice, hearing the question, Canaria smiled with her sleepy eyes and swiftly prepared a cup of tea for the holy knight.
"Please, don't need to be hasty, want some tea?"
The holy knight, however, didn't touch the cup and didn't leave her eyes on Canaria.
" you didn't need to worry about poison, this realm was an illusion that I made"
So this tea was fake?! Geh! Never thought dungeon master would use such a cheap trick! reading my mind, canaria looking at me with tears gathered in her eyes.
"you haven't answered my question"
Holy knight said with her hand on the handle of her sword ready for any scenario that might happen, she must have realized Canaria's ability to read her mind, seeing this, Canaria lightly chuckled.
"the dark knight has known, but I'm the dungeon master of Canaria Dungeon"
Canaria said gracefully with a gentle smile on her face, the holy knight however, was only able to freeze on her seat with her eyes widened in surprise, and she looked at me again for help.
"that's what she told me" I said casually while taking a sip of the fake tea in my hand gracefully holding the cup with two fingers, is this how rich people do it?
"dungeon master?" Unconvinced, the holy knight said with doubt in her face.
"the truth is, I have watched both of you since you two entered my dungeon and in his case, I have known him for quite some time."
Canaria said with seriousness in her eyes, I understand that, Does that mean she knows who am I? Wait, does it mean she has watching me for a long time?
"is that why I'm not attacked while unconscious on the first floor?"
I asked for confirmation, if that's true then she had saved my life, expecting her to say yes but Canaria only frowned with a firm expression before opening her mouth.
"you are not attacked by monsters on the first floor and the incident on the second floor was out of my control..." Canaria hesitated for a moment.
"what do you mean?" Wasn't she the one who protected me? It's her dungeon after all.
"I have lost control of the first and second floor at that time" Canaria's expressions were filled with a bit of frustration, Does that mean she has no control of the Minotaur army? This is getting more and more confusing, listening to our conversation in silence the holy knight decided to chime in.
"I feel I have left behind here...why is Dark Knight unconscious on the first floor?"
"....it's a long story"
"he's fighting a goblin" Canaria said in a whim.
Turn my head toward Canaria, she had a smug smile on her face, this woman!
"a goblin?"
"That was not important!" I yelled and slammed the table once again in an attempt to distract the conversation, yet they chose to ignore me.
"I think she deserves some explanation about you" Canaria smiled at me, but I knew she just wanted revenge on me for trying to take advantage of her.
"you see, this man has locked job class"
"...locked job class?" The holy knight glimpsed at me, ahh! what should I do!? Seeing my hesitation, holy knight's curiosity about me peaked.
"..... how this is all connected?"
"It all started three years ago..."
Ahh...whatever... I'm not embarrassed, I'm not embarrassed, I'm not embarrassed... Hanging my head low, Canaria cheerfully explains.
"mm, I still remember when he entered my dungeon three years ago, he so high spirited to be an adventurer you know, I'm going to be a hero! he said cheerfully every day"
Canaria talks with nostalgia in her eyes.
"at that time when he finds out he got his job class locked, he was so happy! He thought he was going to get a unique job class, so he's boasting to all adventurers he talks to, Ah.....what a pity I thought! Even all the adventurers see him with pity in their eyes! Ahahaha!"
Canaria couldn't hold her laugh anymore and happily laughed while holding her stomach, I'm not embarrassed! Not at all! Holding the cringe feeling inside my heart, I drink the tea straight from the teapot.
"From there watching him became my hobby"
What did she mean to become her hobby?!
"....but in the end he couldn't open his job class and was only able to fight goblins on the first and second floor....For three years he's done it without stopping, after what happened I really took pity on him, so I would send goblins from time to time to him as a reward for his hard work...mm, indeed, I'm so kind!"
Canaria praised herself with a proud expression, what reward?! If you are kind Send me an Exp orb or something! You still reading my mind don't you?!
Ignoring the protest on my mind, Canaria continued her story.
"and indeed he was so lucky, in the end, he managed to level up after using an orb that a goblin dropped and clear the requirement to unlock his job class! well, he almost died in the process, I thought he was going to get killed by a goblin!"
Canaria tells it like it was a good show while the holy knight wryly smiled at me.
"...to almost die while fighting a single goblin....I-I think you did a great job.."
Stop! Don't point those pitiful eyes at me! I dont neeedddd ittt!!!
Holding my head with my hands, the holy knight Closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief with her expression relaxed, she smiled at me.
"but I'm glad that I'm not wrong about you.....you are a human after all"
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
I see..... she must have some anxiety in her heart, not only did she make the dungeon guild her enemy by helping me, but she also didn't even know who I was, even if she believed in me, to help a person you know for a day was not something people do, much less to risk their own life, is it because her sense of justice as a holy knight? I am a bad person to drag her into my problem...
"......thank you for trusting me"
I said shyly, this is the least I can do right now, diverting my gaze toward Canaria, she watching us with a warm gaze, tch! She looked down on me!
"Ahem! I think we have wasted our time enough, we can't forget about our situation right now!"
Crossing my hand, I said it with a dignified tone to hide my feelings, remember it now, Canaria hasn't explained about the the Minotaurs army and how she lost control of her own dungeon.
"yes, It seems we have derailed from our topics, we didn't have much time, truth to be told, the situation was urgent"
"urgent?" The holy knight tilts her head, puts on a serious expression for the first time, Canaria's eyes filled with frustration.
"last night my dungeon was attacked"
""Attacked?"" My voice and holy knight voice were overlapping with each other.
"yes, and it seems we are on the verge of a war"
Ahh, I have a bad feeling about this, met my eyes with the Holy Knight, she seemed to think the same.
"what do you mean you got attacked?"
I ask in hesitation, then I could hear anger rising in Canaria's voice.
"Kaeli, the puppet master, the master of Abyss Dungeon"
Abyss dungeon? I have heard about it, it was one of the famous dungeons just like Canaria dungeon with 50+ floors has been explored.
"Abyss dungeon was located in Fireflies city, it's 500 kilometers from here" Holy Knight voiced.
"yes, but all dungeons were connected despite the distance and location"
Uwah....she just dropped the biggest finding of the centuries, how does it work? And why? This information makes my head spin, this might be the effects of her accelerating my mind....
"we dungeons have our own systems just like humans with their status, we could communicate with each other and fight each other to take over other dungeon masters' domain"
"so did this kaeli fight you to take over your domain?" I asked with tension in my heart, Canaria was one of the biggest and oldest dungeons in the world, it's the same for abyss dungeons, if both of them fighting wouldn't it affects humanity's lives? If Canaria loses wouldn't her dungeon become abyss dungeon domain? Ehhh... isn't it dangerous!
"no, this one is different, Kaeli was not fighting me in a duel but he sure declared war on me, usually when dungeons fight with one another, we would send our army into our enemy dungeons through systematic portals that connect all dungeons in the world, then the dungeon that got attacked would need to defend itself.....that's what humans called dungeons irregularity"
Another big revelation makes our faces drop.
"It wasn't because the magic in the air or the monsters changed in hormones?" the holy knight asked with cold sweats on her forehead.
"Hm? There is nothing like that, we dungeon masters have full control of our own monsters unless we lose contact with them"
"I-I see, then, what he does to you?" I chim in.
"yes, Kaeli did not attack me through portals, rather he attacked me by sending his army straight from the entrance of my dungeon"
"That's impossible..... There is no way an army of monsters marching through the dungeon entrance without anyone realizing" Holy knight said in disbelief and I wholeheartedly agreed, there is no way for such a thing to happen in front of our eyes, seeing our disbelief, Canaria smiled at both of us.
"it's where the guild master takes his part isn't it?"
"what do you mean?" irritation could be heard in the holy knight voice while I reminded myself how trustworthy Canaria's words truly are, we can't accept everything she said.
"I know and understand your doubt, however, what I said was the truth, the guild master has snuggled a magic item into my dungeon to summon Kaeli Minotaur army"
Both of us widen our eyes hearing her words, but why would the guild master do such a thing? Reading our minds, Canaria opened her mouth.
"I don't have any influence on human society nor dungeon guild, that was purely my decision to do so, however, some dungeon masters do, some even control their own dungeon guilds, practically turning them into their subordinates"
"...but why would they betray their own?" the holy knight asked, but even I knew the answer, and It was a simple one, power, what Canaria had shown alone was outside the realm of what I had ever seen in my life, its not hard to imagine what other dungeon masters could offers.
"Humans were greedy beings" Canaria gently smiled and the Holy Knight finally understood the reasoning.
"Although we dungeon masters were no different, we fight each other for more power and domain....I don't know what Kaeli offered to the guild master, but I know his attack was not pointed toward me...." Canaria paused for a few seconds before pointing her gaze toward the holy knight "It's to her"
wait, what?
"among the dungeon masters, I was on the stronger side, a mere thousand Minotaurs couldn't scratch me, that's why after some investigation I believe Kaeli's intention was to get the holy knight"
"....why me?" the holy knight frowned, thinking in her own mind.
"Kaeli's most famous nickname was puppet master, that's how he gained his strength, by turning other dungeon masters into his own faithful puppet, and what he liked the most was a unique specimen whether it was dungeon masters or.... Adventurers"
"adventurers?!" holy knight yelled in suprise.
"how did he do that?" I ask, did he stuff the adventurers like a doll? Or put strings on them? I shudder at the possibility, not only because the holy knight has a doll-like beauty.
"I'm not sure how his abilities work, but I know he has an army of them, that how he managed to become so strong until now, by turning strong adventurers and dungeon masters into his own loyal subordinates"
"....I almost died a cruel way" the holy knight mumbled while lowering her face on the table.
"I know she had a unique job class, but is it worth it to fight you?" it's definitely a high gamble to take, I think to myself.
"Hm?" the holy knight glimpsed at me with a cold stare.
"ah! It doesn't mean she was not valuable enough! It's just...you know...."
"I think kaeli just wants to take what he can, and he would fight me regardless" Canaria calmly said.
"I understand that, but why didn't you help us then?" sharpen my gaze toward her.
"I have said that I lost control of the first and second floors" Canaria frowned at my accusations, but I couldn't trust her without clearing the doubt in my heart.
"I assume lost control means you can't directly help us, but can't you send your monsters to fight the Minotaur army" This is the weird part of her story.
"I have sent my own army to defend the first and second floor...but my army was wiped out...albeit it's just the same level as the Minotaurs" Canaria said.
"wiped by who?" I might have the clue but I need to hear it from her.
"the dark knight" Canaria lowered her voice.
"....." the holy knight's gaze locked to me in silence.
"wait, no, I didn't do it, it wasn't me!" I waved my hand frantically in an attempt to deny it.
"no, not this one, this one was just too stu-innocent to do something like that, it's someone with another dark knight transformation job class" Canaria cleared.
"dark knight transformation?" the holy knight asked.
"It's my job class" I proudly proclaimed raising my nose high.
"I never heard of it?" the holy knight trying to remember in her mind.
"is that so? Ah! let me explain!" I quickly get up from my seat and walk around the table to show off my armor.
"...why is he so happy?"
"... it's just how he was born"
Ignoring their useless mumble, I proudly stand in front of them "You see my beautiful armor? Ah you might think I spend tons of money on it! But no! Thanks to my dark knight transformation job class I was able to turn into a dark knight anytime I wanted! Just like a superhero! This armor was part of my body!" raised my hand above my head I cheerfully posed to show it off.
"like a bug?"
"Pfft!"
The holy knight innocently tilted her head while Canaria tried to hold her laugh.
"what? It's like super sentai isn't it! Like a superhero, I can change my appearance anytime I want!" I yelled with frustration in my voice, this should be obvious!
"I understand, it's convenient to be able to equip your armor anytime isn't it? That's why my armor too" Saying this to me, the holy knight activated the silver bracelet on her left wrist, and in an instant her armor shone white and disappeared into the bracelet.
"it needed three months to make this" the holy knight happily smiled showing off her silver bracelet.
"w-what... My special ability!" I fell into my knee, I should be special! Why! This life was not fair to me!!
"....are you alright dark knight?"
"ahahaha! Look at him! I have never been bored watching him like this!" Canaria happily said while clapping her hand like a monkey
"......" The holy knight kept worriedly looking at me who curling on the ground while Hughes my knees, and yet Canaria continued to laugh above my hardship.
as I thought she was heartless! dungeon masters were soulless beings that thrived on others' suffering!
"I heard that!"
"stop reading my mind!"
"ahh.... We are not going to make it in time if keep playing with him, now, we need to continue if we want to make a deal" Canaria said after satisfying with her laugh.
"a deal?"
"Indeed, I'm here to make a deal with both of you, you see I believe the dark knight that attacked my dungeon last night was one of Kaeli's puppets"
"Does that mean he was also an adventurer before turned into a puppet?"
"possibly... At least I have never seen or heard of dungeon masters with that kind of....appearance, not only that, his armor and ability were exactly the same as his" Canaria Pointed her hand toward me "so I assumed this kind of armor was the same for all the dark knight transformation job class users"
"how do you know my job class?" I asked her while lying on the pavilion floor watching the clouds passing by.
"Hm? It's easy, I read your mind" Canaria casually explained, she really doesn't have a shame on this subject...
"I understand it now, that's why Dark Knight was accused as a monster!" the holy knight stood from her seat in revelation of the problem.
"If we could prove that you were two different people, we can clean our names" the holy knight bravely smiled with determination and started to walk out of the pavilion.
"Hm? Where are you going?" I called to her.
"We can't sit here, we need to clean our names as fast as possible"
"And how are you going to do it?"
"........." the holy knight froze on her way, ah...she hadn't thought that far had she? Maybe she also doesn't think too far when she helps me.....
"both of them are just two sides of the same coin..." Canaria said holding her head with the palm of her hand.
"Canaria, you didn't have the corpse of that dark knight aren't you?"
"no, I can't even touch him, he immediately retreats after that girl kills all the Minotaurs"
"All alright then" I got up to my feet and cleaned the dust on my armor before sitting down in front of Canaria, reading my mind, Canaria smiled.
"let's hear the deal?" I said with determination in my heart.
"absolutely"
"dark knight, could we really take a deal from her?" the holy knight whispers behind me, I don't know if we can take a deal from her but the fact our lives were in her hands, she wouldn't let us go before she got what she wants.
"no, dark knight...that was not what I wanted" shook her head, Canaria looked into my eyes, her smile disappeared and her eyes were sharper than ever.
"you can walk away anytime you want and I wouldn't take back the help I have given" Canaria paused for a moment to see our reaction before continuing "Or you could hear the deal I have offered"
Looking behind me, the holy knight put on a serious expression on her face, met her eyes with me she nodded her head, the holy knight knew we didn't have much choice but to benefit ourselves so I'm going to hear the deal at last, seeing that we have taken our decisions, Canaria happily smiled
"Kaeli has humiliated me in my own domain" Canaria's aura was changed and even when smile could be seen on her face, the pressure she emits makes the guild master pressure that I've felt like child play, cold sweats trickling down my back.
"I'm not going to accept it like this, I'm going to go all out with him and crush that punny face unrecognizable, that's why.... I'm offering you the dark knight corpse that I'm going to take on the way" Canaria offered to us.
"With that, we could clear our names.... But what is your slice of the bread?" I asked Canaria straight on, such offers couldn't be cheap.
"It's easy, I want both of you to be my messenger"
"....messenger?" both of us didn't understand what she meant, messenger to who?
"you see, dungeon masters built their own faction and alliances with each other to survive, if not like this younger dungeon masters going to be material for meat grinder for stronger dungeon masters" Canaria explained.
"Did Abyss also have his faction?" I asked trying to get information as much as possible.
"Indeed, and even like this I have my own faction....and if I and Abyss were going into a war it would spiral into a bigger fight between our factions" Canaria then raised her hand in front of us and opened the palm of her hand, in there an item manifested itself "I want you to send this item to Tiger Fang dungeon, to Aragis, she was one of my faction members and investigate something on the way there"
took the item from Canaria's hand, I analyzed it closely, it was a small crystal orb that looked like a gem shining with unique rainbow light
"It's so pretty!" the holy knight snatched it from my hand and started playing with it, she was unusually cheerful.
"then, can I ask what this item does? And what do we need to investigate?" if the item could blow up a city I better deny this offer altogether, it's the same if the investigation was too dangerous, there is no point in dying on this mission.
"inside that crystal was a spell to summon monsters from my dungeon"
"monsters summoning? I thought all dungeon was connected through portals?" why would she need us to send such an item?
Hearing my question Canaria hesitated for the first time, lowered her head, she lost in her own thought for a moment before looking toward us.
"I want you to promise not to tell this to anyone, no matter what happens, not even to Aragis when you met her and this has something to do with what I want you to investigate"
this is smell problem! But I really want to know what Canaria hiding... What thing that so big that she even hesitated to tell us...
"I promise with my life to keep your secret in my grave! please tell me what it is" the holy knight firmly said from behind me while holding the crystal in her hand, her face was filled with curiosity like a cat to a fish....she must be not thinking this through also....
Looking at her like she was stupid, she tilted her head to me as if asking me what's wrong, hahhhh...I have not much choice after all...
"...I promise with my life" I said weakly.
After that, magic formations appeared in front of us with a red blood color before disappearing into thin air.
"w-wait a minute! What is that?!" I panicked
"now that was a seal to not tell this secret, if any of you violate the contract then the punishment is dead"
"........" turn my head to the holy knight who standing behind me, she only wryly smiled "....ehehehe"
What do you mean ehehehe!
....I can only let a big sigh from my mouth, turns out no one is perfect, no, I should know she wasn't right in the head from the start!
"Now, what I want to tell you is the situation among the dungeon masters" Ignoring our feelings, Canaria said with seriousness on her face "I'm afraid the Kaeli Attack was the start of a bigger war to come"
"...how big the war we are talking about?" I ask with uneasiness in my mind.
"several factions that involved hundreds of dungeon masters" Canaria said with a grim on her face.
While I and the Holy Knight only able to widen our eyes in shock, hundreds of dungeon masters?! That was nothing but a disaster!
"in fact, I have lost contact with several dungeons on my faction, and others dungeons from allied factions...in the worst scenario... "
"They have been defeated?"
"or turned into puppets, since their dungeons show nothing different from the outside until we tried to contact them and it was completely blocked, we couldn't even going through their portals" With sadness in her voice, Canaria stood from her seat "Kaeli and his faction has shown strange actions for sometimes, But I never thought it was to start a war with me"
Canaria walked to us with her grace and beauty "I want you to send this item in case Aragis got attacked, she was a young dungeon and new member of my faction, not many knew her so it was safer to send this item unconventionally"
"I understand, and for the investigation you want us to get information from the dungeons that you have lost contact with?" I asked thinking deeply on my mind about this request.
Seeing my hesitation Canaria opened her mouth "That is correct and I promise you my full support, and so you know even if you find another way to clean your names, the guild master didn't care about that, he was backed by Kaeli, and Kaeli want the girl to be his puppets and you, he won't let you two to get away, he was basically a pervert"
"ehh! Me too?!" I jumped from my seat While the Holy Knight patted her chest in relief that she was not the only one who got targeted by the creepy guy.
"Indeed, I have known that creep for quite a long time, he won't let go of such rare specimens once he sees it to add them to his collections, a second Dark Knight sounds good enough for him"
Uwahh... I shudder in my shoulders, imagining the Kaeli guy blushing while touching my armor, oh no...
"And you didn't need to worry about the investigation, I just want you to check one dungeon on the way to Aragis, the Green Frog dungeon was a young dungeon that I had lost contact, with only 7 floors, his entrance was hidden inside a forest, I want you to sweep through and check the dungeon master inside, his name was kyokyokyoko"
"kyokyo- I understand that, but it's still a lot of work isn't it?" I said trying to imply something to her.
"humans were greedy...but you are on another level, I understand, I would reward both of you if you two succeed in this quest, and as a return I want you to aid Aragis with your power, including defending her dungeon if needed"
"...reward? " my face lights up hearing the word reward.
Thinking for a moment Canaria decided "I will give you two magic items of your choice, it's should be a fair deal"
"magic items?!" the holy knight screamed behind me, her face was more excited than ever.
"Does that mean, I could get an exp orb?!" I asked blushing on my face.
"yes, I promise I won't disappoint you with my items, I need to keep my pride as ancient dungeon master after all" Canaria said proudly, but her word didn't go into our heads, because both of us was hooked on the reward, if someone sees us they could imagining drools from our mouth like dogs to bones.
"Dark Knight let's go to Tiger Fang dungeon!" the holy knight was high-spirited
"Canaria, your deal was more than fair, we would gladly accepted" I said, with this, we had accepted Canaria's quest and our bodies started to glow.
"thank you, now I will send you back" Canaria gently smiled at us before remembering something "Ah I almost forgot about the dark-haired girl that was with you in the guild master's office"
"huh? What's up with her?" I ask curiously.
"she seems also targeted by Kaeli but I can't read her mind for whatever reason"
"wait a minute, what do you want me to do with this information?!" our body start to turn into a particle of light.
"Nothing, it's your decision, but I think she had important power sleeping within her, the fate"
"what do you mean fate?! Beside! I forgot to ask you where Aragis dungeon is located?" I asked in a hurry.
"ah it's on Amirta Island, 5000 kilometers from here" Canaria happily smiled.
"5000 what?!"
"..did we get scammed, Dark Knight?"
"I hope you two are blessed with luck, Aragis was like a little sister to me, please, her life was in your hands"
Our body start to disappear into thin air "Canaria! Wait a moment! I want to talk to you!"
"let's meet again here to take your rewards" With this word and her beautiful smile, we got out of the illusions realm Canaria had built.
"I hoped you didn't end up the same as him, Ren Sarain" Canaria said to no one inside the empty pavilion.
From behind, a man with a butler uniform and a mask comes out from his hiding and kneels behind Canaria.
"lord Serena, the preparation for war was ready" The butler said politely.
"Kakara"
"yes, my lord"
"did you see him? What do you think about him?"
The butler paused for a few seconds to choose his words "He looks exactly like lord Schwartz, but also completely different"
"did you ever miss Schwartz, Kakara?"
"...everyday, my lord"
"Indeed" Serena's expression became stoic and she only stood there in silence for a few minutes.
"my lord?" the butler warly called.
"even though I know they are different person, I don't want to repeat the same mistake, I wouldn't let him have the same fate as Schwartz"
"is that why you sent them to lord aragis dungeon, my lord?"
"it's one of the reasons but also..." Serena turned around to the butler, her smile was gone, and there was only rage in her eyes "I don't him to see what happens to this place, because this time, I'm not going to show any mercy"
"......" Serena words make the butler shake on his feet.
On the deepest floor of the Canaria dungeon, the biggest events of the centuries started.