DUNGEON DIVER: I become a Dark Knight in a world full of dungeons.
By Orangeowl
Vol 1 Chapter 3: Two sides of the same coin (The Holy Knight meets The Dark Knight)
What happens to me?
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STATUS
Name: Ren Sarain
Age: 21
Class: Dark Knight transformation (Transform)
Level: 15
Hp: 28/28 (+10)
Mp: 0/0
Strength: 24 (+5)
Speed: 13
Intelligence: 8
Agility:10
Defense: 21 (+10)
Exp gained to level 16 : 21%
Status Point: 80
Skill: Slash Lv2, Knife Art Lv2, unbreakable mentality Lv4, Retreat Lv6, Dark magic Lv1(New), Sword Art Lv1(New), Shadow manipulation Lv1(New), Strength up Lv1(New), Speed up Lv1(New), Summon subordinate Lv1(New), Hell Fire Lv1(New), Evil Energy Lv1(New), Mana Drain Lv1(New), Dark Fire Lv1(New), Dark Aura Lv1(New), Intimidation Lv1(New), Night Vision Lv1(New), Dimensional Storage Lv1(New), Charm Lv1(New), Dimensional movement Lv1(New), Dark Knight transformation Lv1(New)
Title: GoblinSlayerr, Slime Slayer, Professional Chicken, The One with iron spirit, Dungeon junkies, Coward, The one who dances with Death, Unbreakable Spirit, dark Knight of Nightmares, the immortal enemy of Goblins.
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Am I level 15? Is this because I used the orb the goblin dropped? I originally thought it was an orb of healing. Turns out it is an orb of exp, orb items are items with the most variation in the world, from casting magic, giving you a boost in stat, skill, class, or even healing you, obviously all of these have a limit depending on the orb itself.
The one I just used was the orb of Exp. As its name implies, it gives you exp so you can level up, this orb was extremely sought after by a rich and influential person, to gain power without the risk.
Seeing that my class was unlocked when I reached level 15, it seems the dungeon guild theory was right. I shudder thinking how much exp the orb has to bring me to level 15, isn't it a super expensive item? Did I just use millions of credit items? No no no, that's not the problem here. Right now, the problem is.
What is my class exactly?
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STATUS
Name: Ren Sarain
Age: 21
Class: Dark Knight transformation (Transform)
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I've heard of a unique class Dark Knights, it's a class of knights that utilize the power of darkness, like dark magic and dark-based elements in its class, however, my class appears to be different from what I've heard.
'Dark knight transformation'
Is this a subclass of the dark knight, or a different job class entirely is unknown. What I know is my body condition was not normal, I could feel I was wearing full plate armor from tip to toe, but at the same time, I knew with my instincts that this armor was part of my body. And it does not feel heavy at all.
And the fact that my HP, Strength, and defense were temporarily boosted might be the effects of my transformation. I also gained a skill called Dark Knight Transformation Lv1, Does it mean my transformation is actually a skill?
ah! I just didn't understand it!
"Answer me, who are you?"
Damn! I forgot the girl was still here!
Lost in my thoughts, I didn't realize the situation I was actually in. The girl had her sword drawn out, what if she thought I was a monster?! Would I get subjugated?! What should I do?! No, I need to keep calm.......
I need to solve this misunderstanding at once.
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Holy Knight Clerise (perspective)
Under the soft light of the moon, inside the first floor of Canaria dungeon, I and one other person faced each other in a vast grass field. The cold wind caressed my white hair. Trying to keep my face straight, I analyze the other person or should I say being?
In front of me was a knighted man with full plate armor, a big sword hanging in its hips, and its face was hidden by a helmet, I could tell its eyes were seeing through my soul. Its presence was intimidating me, I didn't even think it was a human, what if this knight was a monster!?
I'm going to die!
A dark knight from hell. And he just stood there menacingly!
I'm truly the most unlucky person in the world!
I was just in my room an hour ago enjoying my favorite vtuber stream, until I got called by the dungeon guild. Thinking I'm going to get a bonus from my last quest, I happily go down the elevator toward the dungeon center.
"Clerise, we need you to investigate an irregularity inside the dungeon"
"huh?"
I couldn't comprehend what the Canaria guild master just said. Where is my bonus?
"but.... But why me? Isn't there a stronger adventurer than me who is more suited for this quest"
Please! I don't want to go!
"yes. We are preparing a proper investigation team to be sent into the dungeon, but the situation needs immediate action, and we are running out of time"
"....what happens exactly?"
"dungeon anomaly, red codes"
"red codes?!"
I slammed the table with my hand in surprise. Ehhh isn't it dangerous? Was he going to send me in there?
"....yes, we got a report about 30 minutes ago that there is a sight of Minotaurs on the first floor of Canaria Meadow"
"Minotaurs? Level 20 monsters...."
Minotaurs usually spawned on the 10th floor, it's not too strong, only as strong as a bottom chart of iron rank adventurer, however, if minotaurs spawned on the beginner's floor, they wouldn't even have a chance to fight back.
"So you want me to defeat the Minotaurs?"
If that's it, I could do it! Slash here, slash there, and my job is done!
"No, defeating the minotaurs was not your main objective, the main mission is to ensure the safety of a large group of new adventurers inside the second floor of the dungeon, we need to make sure they are still alive. That's why your power as a holy knight is desperately needed, the fact that you are a solo adventurer and capable of healing others, makes you able to go alone in a dungeon and heal the need, you are perfect for this mission"
"........"
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh...... That's too much responsibility for me..... I already could feel my shoulder getting heavy, aaahhhh someone help me! I'm going to get crushed by this responsibility!!!
I don't want it
I don't want it
I don't want it
I don't want it
I don't want it
"Clerise as a silver-rank adventurer and a holy knight, we believe you would be able to do this quest, we believe in you"
"As a holy knight, it's my responsibility to help others"
Aaaaaaaaaa......he said it. I have no choice but to save my reputation as a holy knight.
Now come back to my problem, my hand was sweaty, holding my sword with my right hand. I'm in full alertness, to run away anytime.
"I see, you don't want to tell me who you are"
Trying not to sound rude, I carefully choose my language. But the Dark Knight only stands there, not moving an inch.
I already could imagine he suddenly teleports behind me and cuts off my neck. Or he would break my hips, no, what if he opened a portal to hell and dragged me in there?!!! I don't want to go to hell!!
"Ehem I'm sorry for my rudeness"
Eeekkhhh!!!! The Dark Knight just talks!
His voice was heavy, But it was more normal than I thought, A feeling of relief flowed through my heart, if he was a human then we could talk it out! No, there is a saying humans are crueler than monsters. Does that mean it's better for him to just be a monster!? I am still in danger.
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"Please, I'm not a threat"
The Dark Knight put up his hand in front of him and slowly walked toward me.
"Stop there!"
I pointed the tip of my sword toward the knight, The Dark Knight visibly surprised by my sudden action, stopped at his feet.
My feet start shaking, this is bad. I'm accidentally shouting at him, he looks like a high-level adventurer, if he gets offended by what I'm saying........
"I'm sorry"
the Dark Knight answered.
No, I'm so soorrrrryyyyyy
Hiding my true feelings, I lowered my blade. Ah! That's right, I need to ask what he's doing here.
"what are you doing here"
No! that's too curtly! I need to smooth my word.....
Pitying my own stupidity, the Dark Knight seems to realize something and lift his head toward me.
"that right.......I must go to the dungeon center as fast as possible"
The Dark Knight starts walking toward me.
Awawaawaawawa.........
What should I do? Should I strike first? If I activate the light of judgment, I might be able to do some damage and run away. No, maybe I should cast Valkyrie....wait, I'm not going to get criminally charged am I? I am just self-defense after all.
Don't know what to do, the Dark Knight has walked past me.
"eh?"
Did he just walk past me?
"where are you going?"
The Dark Knight stopped in his way and turned his head toward me. I could feel his gaze.
Why did I ask?!
"I need to warn the dungeon guild about the irregular phenomenon on the second floor"
Irregular phenomenon?
"is it red codes"
Hearing my words, the Dark Knight seems shocked, he immediately walks to my face.
"How did you know?!"
Ekhh! Too close!
Suppressing the urge to step back, I managed to maintain my unemotional face, Even this close I couldn't see a glimpse of his face, but I knew inside the scary armor was a human being, and he seemed distressed about something.
"Why do you care"
The feeling of curiosity takes over me, did this knight have something to do with the dungeon irregularity? But I couldn't give him the information from the guild easily, I don't know if he's a threat.
Hearing my question, the Dark Knight took a step backward and lowered his head, the Dark Knight thinking about something before answering my question.
"The veteran guide of beginner's adventurers on the second floor asked me to warn the dungeon guild about a weird earthquake that happened inside the dungeon"
Hearing the Dark Knight, it seems he doesn't know about Minotaurs that spawned on the first floor, but it's weird.
If he was asked to go out of the dungeon by the adventurers on the second floor, that means it happened more than two hours ago, while he should be able to go out of the dungeon in less than an hour if he fast.
But something tells me he's not lying. Looking into his face which was covered by his helmet, I couldn't feel any negative feelings from him.
"did you know about the Minotaurs that spawned on this floor?"
"A what?"
"the irregularity was Minotaur's has spawned on the first floor of Canaria dungeon, that's what I know"
"......."
Hearing my word the Dark Knight started to run toward the opposite side of the exit.
".....eh?"
Should I follow him? I don't want it!
B-but I have accepted the request from the dungeon guild. Hahhhhhh........ Why do my life never get rid of troubles......
Start running in the same direction as The Dark Knight, I didn't know what to expect, watching the Dark Knight back, he did not look too scary anymore.
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Running toward the second floor, I'm feeling anxious. The irregularity inside the dungeon was a monster stray, Monsters stray are when monsters somehow spawned or find their way to another floor than they usually inhabit.
This is an urgent situation, I don't know how many Minotaurs have spawned in here, but if they find their way into the second floor, many of the greenhorns would die.
I need to go faster!
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STATUS
Name: Ren Sarain
Age: 21
Class: Dark Knight transformation (Transform)
Level: 15
Hp: 28/28 (+10)
Mp: 0/0
Strength: 24 (+5)
Speed: 13
Intelligence: 8
Agility:10
Defense: 21 (+10)
Exp gained to level 16 : 21%
Status Point: 80
Skill: Slash Lv2, Knife Art Lv2, unbreakable mentality Lv4, Retreat Lv6, Dark magic Lv1(New), Sword Art Lv1(New), Shadow manipulation Lv1(New), Strength up Lv1(New), Speed up Lv1(New), Summon subordinate Lv1(New), Hell Fire Lv1(New), Evil Energy Lv1(New), Mana Drain Lv1(New), Dark Fire Lv1(New), Dark Aura Lv1(New), Intimidation Lv1(New), Night Vision Lv1(New), Dimensional Storage Lv1(New), Charm Lv1(New), Dimensional movement Lv1(New), Dark Knight transformation Lv1(New)
Title: Goblin Slayer, Slime Slayer, Professional Chicken, The one with iron spirit, Dungeon junkies, Coward, The one who dances with death, Unbreakable spirit, dark Knight of nightmares, the immortal enemy of goblins.
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I have 80-points status, put half of it on my speed, and my body suddenly feels lighter, and my feet become faster, much faster, too fast! If I fell while running at this speed I would die!
However, I can't slow down or it would be pointless, should I put another on defense? While I'm at it, I'm just going to put some in HP, since with my stamina right now, I already feel tired.
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STATUS
Name: Ren Sarain
Age: 21
Class: Dark Knight transformation (Transform)
Level: 15
Hp: 48/48 (+10)
Mp: 0/0
Strength: 24 (+5)
Speed: 53
Intelligence: 8
Agility:10
Defense: 41 (+10)
Exp gained to level 16 : 21%
Status Point: 0
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Guhehehe......I never thought I would see my status get this high, isn't I super strong right now....... Wait, am I too reckless? Status point isn't something you would spend on a whim.
Gah! I never had this many status points, I didn't know how to use them!
Let's think about it later, what's important is to arrive at the second floor. I could worry about anything else later. Did all those beginners survive?
Looking behind me, the white-haired girl casually following me behind, I know she's not even trying. How strong is she? She doesn't show any emotion on her face, thinking inside my mind, my eyes meet with hers, and she keeps looking at me without blinking. That's pretty awkward, turn my head forward I focused on running.
ah.... I forgot to ask her name.
Traveling in silence, we managed to arrive 10 minutes later on the second floor. All the way to here we didn't meet a single Minotaur, Walking down the stairs, I saw the wall was chipped and broken, there were numerous blades damaged that shattered the wall. On the ground, I saw several green monster cores.
"There is a sign of fight in here"
The girl said, picking up one of the monster cores, is that Minotaur cores? That means the adventurers had trying to hold their ground.
"I didn't see mark of blood, that means they succeeded in fully retreating into the second floor"
The knight girl said. That means they are still alive! we need to come to their aid, looking into my hips, I saw a two-hand sword, is this part of my Dark Knight transformation? Drawn the sword out of its sheath, a nice sound of metal echoed inside the cave. Even if it was a two-hand sword l was able to handle it with one hand, it's a lot lighter than it looks. I put the blades in front of my eyes.
I see, even the blades were black.
Yet, the blade was still able to reflect the light, it's looks like a wet stone, and what it was reflecting was a metal helmet, I couldn't see my own expression.
I like this helmet, no one would see my weakness, I'm hiding inside this helmet, holding the sword in my hand, a new confidence fills my heart.
"........"
"ah, I'm sorry to draw my sword so suddenly"
"no problem"
Saying that, The knight girl's red eyes do not leave my blades, she doesn't show any expressions on her face, and I'm not sure if I have seen her blinking since we met. I guess she still doesn't believe in me and keeps herself cautious.
"then, we need to move inside"
"please wait a second"
Trying to walk down into the first dome on the second floor, the knight girl stops me.
"protection!"
The girl activated her magic, my defense increased by 35 points, This magic is something else.
"Thank you"
"......"
The girl does not say anything, so both of us carefully walk deeper into the dungeon, the monsters might have waited to ambush us inside. Dungeon monsters appear not to have self-awareness, however, some high-level monsters show a clear intellectuality while others behave solely on instinct, and they all don't need to eat any substance to survive.
Step into the second floor, the caves were illuminated by some sort of crystal in its ceiling, I have night vision Lv1 now, so I could get a rough grasp of my surroundings in the dark, but it's still difficult to see around. With this, I could see clearly.
"......this is......"
"........."
In the first chamber dome, I could see more leftovers of fights. But this time I could see blood, plenty of bodies soulless lying on the dirt ground. Walking into the chamber I saw my surroundings.
Tents were torn to shreds, supplies were scattered everywhere. Pools of blood filled the potholes and bumps of the dungeon. I could see some of the corpses were eaten, are they eaten alive or death I don't want to know.
Walking toward the pile of corpses in the middle, I saw the one of the veterans who guided the greenhorns this morning. Behind him were the corpses of his students.
I am late....if I were faster, no, if I were not being a coward and recklessly raising my hand this wouldn't happen, I am constantly trying to prove myself of something....even when I can't do anything.
Even when I finally unlock my job class, I should be jumping in happiness and victories right now, after all this time, this is the only thing I want in my life.
Yet in the end, I'm feeling empty.....
Even when my appearance changes the inside is still the same.
Weak
"Dark Knight?"
"......."
"Are there any friends and family among these people?"
The knight girl asked me, tilting her head.
"no...I didn't know any of them personally......but"
The girl listened to my words in silence.
"it's my fault, it's my fault they are death"
"Because you are supposed to warn the dungeon guild and you are late?"
"......yes"
"did you intentionally do it?"
"There's no way I would do that!"
"........"
I accidentally let my anger outburst to her, the knight doesn't change her expression. Is this scene normal for her? As a high-ranking adventurer, I guess she has seen worse.
".....I'm sorry"
I said weakly.
"....no problem...unfortunately things like this happen every day in a dungeon...you don't need to blame yourself"
"I didn't blame myself, it is my fault"
"......."
The Knight was very young, younger than me, even just glimpsing at her, I could tell she was strong, to gain such strength in a short amount of time needs incredible talent and hard work, she doesn't understand a feeling of failure like me, I did not fail once or two, I have been failed all my life, I have only been here because my luck, even my job class are the fruit of my luck.
"the guild told me there are more than 50 people on the second floor, the corpse in this room was only 31, and the fact the Minotaurs couldn't be seen in here might be the reason for that"
"........."
The knight girl said something to me, but I didn't say anything to her, I just didn't have the energy, I had going through a ton today. Most importantly, I don't want to make the same mistakes.
"The Minotaurs must have chased the surviving adventurers deeper into the dungeon, I need to go, there could be adventurers who are still alive......Are you going with me? "
"......I would only become a burden for you"
".....I thought you wanted to pay for your mistake"
"......."
I did not answer her back.
"......"
Walks in silence. The knight girl walks past me toward the next caves inside the dungeon. Before that, she stopped in her way, didn't say anything, she just stood there. I didn't know what she was going to do. Isn't she going to save the adventurers?
After a few minutes, she finally turned her body toward me.
"Dark Knight, I didn't know what your problem was, yet we all have our own mistakes and shortcomings.....Like how I was a failure all my life.....But I didn't stand still in my sadness, I'm going forward, I never give up on myself"
What is she talking about? Failure? She is? Do not joke with me!
"How could you be a failure? Look at you, everyone who looked at you wouldn't even think to say anything bad about you!....unlike me.....everyone always looks down on me.... "
We are a very different person, she and I
"......first of all, I don't know this everyone person who dares make fun of you, and-"
The knight girl pulled her phone out of her pocket and pointed it at me.
"Second of all, have you ever seen a mirror?"
"........."
Fair enough.
In her screen was a full-plate knight, with a sword in his hand, his armor colored dark, I could feel the pressure from him. Strong is the word when I see it, it's just like what I dreamed to be, as if answering my desire, this armor doesn't let my weakness go through.
"I'm sorry for showing my embarrassing side"
If the inside is weak, I just need to make it strong, and strong I would be.
I would never give up
-------------------------------------------- unbreakable mentality has leveled up to 5
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"I promise you, I would help with all I have"
"that's more suitable for you Dark Knight"
The knight girl smiled, it was the first time I had seen such a beautiful smile.