Black Star Slayer.
The first to spread rumors about him was a mercenary named Cain.
He claimed that there was a mercenary who could break the Black Star Dungeon as easily as eating a cold meal, all by themselves.
At first, everyone treated Cain like he was crazy.
Because there was no way such a person could exist.
It’s a place where even the greatest swordmasters or great mages can lose their lives in a moment of carelessness.
To think there was a human breaking through the dungeon known for its extreme difficulty and conquest abandoned rating willy-nilly.
It sounded ridiculous.
But soon after, news of the Black Star Dungeon conquests spread throughout the southern continent.
This even made it to the agenda of the mercenary conference.
In other words, the Black Star Dungeon was being conquered inconsistently across the southern continent.
At first, they thought the dungeon was weakened as a group, but that wasn’t it.
All were defeated by the same anonymous conqueror.
The name of that mysterious person, as determined in the mercenary conference, was none other than the Black Star Slayer.
After the existence of the Black Star Slayer was proven.
Cain’s treatment changed 360 degrees.
A pale-faced girl who expressionlessly made a V sign was said to be the Black Star Slayer.
Cain insisted he saw her himself, but it was revealed through monster corpse investigations that the Black Star Slayer was an adult male using a longsword.
From then on, instead of being treated like a crazy person, Cain became subject to ridicule.
“That person over there.”
A man who exudes pressure just by standing silently.
The vice captain sensed it.
The mysterious mercenary who solely conquers the Black Star Dungeon and vanishes.
The Black Star Slayer was none other than the man standing right in front of them.
“Just to be safe, let’s shoot one more shot.”
“……Okay.”
Boom!
The girl stretched out her hand casually and shot a fireball into the tunnel.
Like the breath of a dragon, the flames burst forth, illuminating the tunnel for a moment before plunging it back into darkness.
What remained inside were completely shattered and melted pieces of clockwork dolls.
Not a single thing was moving.
Upon this, the mercenaries gaped in shock.
Even though mercenaries often looked down on magic as something only nerdy aristocrats learned.
This time, they couldn’t help but shudder.
“Affiliation. Name.”
“Y-yes! Ophelia Knight Order! Vice Captain, Tess!”
The man muttered while looking back.
With his chilling gaze, the vice captain quickly responded, lowering his head.
There was no obligation or reason to answer.
But his mouth moved of its own accord.
“Ophelia Knight Order?”
“The third princess of the Galia Kingdom bought the mercenary group and built a new name for it….”
“No wonder I hadn’t heard of it. That’s enough. Get out of this dungeon. You’re in my way.”
“Yes! Understood!”
He bowed without hesitation.
None of the comrades felt shameful.
Everyone just bent over following the vice captain’s lead.
“Ah.”
The man turned to enter the tunnel but stopped.
He slightly turned his head and parted his lips.
The vice captain and all the members swallowed hard, focusing on his voice.
“I am not the Black Star Slayer.”
Yup, definitely the Black Star Slayer.
It was obvious to anyone that he was the Black Star Slayer.
The pale-skinned silver-haired girl Cain spoke of was likely just a companion of the Black Star Slayer.
This somewhat cleared Cain’s unjust grievances.
“And I watched how you all fought. You fought quite well.”
So you mean we fought like trash?!
The vice captain’s face turned pale.
It felt like the words shouldn’t be taken at face value.
The Black Star Slayer’s serious tone came across almost as a mocking warning.
“Do continue to strive for conquering the Black Star Dungeon.”
That’s a warning not to step foot in the Black Star Dungeon again!
He understood.
The sight of chumps like them carelessly entering the Black Star Dungeon and dying must have looked pathetic to him.
“I will keep that in mind!!!”
It was a warning and notification from the Black Star Slayer.
The Black Star Dungeon is mine; so don’t touch it, you insignificant ones.
The vice captain and his crew had no choice but to interpret it this way.
“Wow. I saw the Black Star Slayer in person.”
“Did you see his face? The vice captain was the closest.”
“No, I was looking down…”
“We did, too…”
“Still, I now have a drink story for life.”
The mercenaries trudged out of the dungeon, clearly having failed their quest and faced humiliation.
Strangely, they didn’t feel bad about it.
.
.
.
Those guys were better than I thought.
To be honest, I looked down on them a bit.
But seeing how they calmly dealt with an unexpected situation changed my mind.
They could indeed be called elite.
They were too good to die here.
So I used telekinesis to pull them back to life.
In the process, I had to unintentionally expose my face…
But it didn’t seem like everyone thought of me as the Black Star Slayer.
It seemed the Black Star Slayer was known as a skilled swordsman.
I hadn’t even drawn my sword.
And I didn’t forget to ask them to focus on conquering the Black Star Dungeon going forward.
Such competent guys have to keep bustling around and clearing the Black Star Dungeon.
That way, I wouldn’t be at risk.
From the loud answer of “I will keep that in mind!!!,” it seemed they understood well.
Going forward, attempts to conquer the Black Star Dungeon would become even more vigorous.
This was satisfying.
“Hey, bug! Are you alive?”
“I’m dead!!!”
The moment I yelled into the tunnel.
From behind a rock, the Centipede Nun appeared.
Her eyes glistening with tears.
A little while ago.
To understand the situation inside the tunnel where the mercenaries had entered, I split the Centipede Nun into avatars and sent one in.
Thanks to that, I noticed something was off inside.
Then I evacuated the mercenaries and had Mi Jeong fire a Fireball, but…
It seems she ended up dying inside.
She should have dodged better.
“What do you mean shooting while I’m still inside?!”
“It was just an avatar anyway.”
“Even if it’s an avatar, it hurts! It hurts! And if the avatar dies, I become weaker! My body ages faster too!”
“Oh.”
The Centipede Nun wailed, close to tears.
Come to think of it, she really did shrink a bit.
She seems smaller than Mi Jeong now.
If an avatar dies constantly, do I keep getting younger? Until I’m a newborn?
Such questions popped into my mind, but…
I decided to leave it as a question.
“The tunnel’s cleared, so let’s move forward now.”
“Are you out of your mind? There’s that unidentified machine popping out, and you want to keep going?”
The Centipede Nun gasped in horror.
Since she’s a monster, the Centipede Nun has no reason to be afraid of monsters.
Meaning those clockwork dolls aren’t actually monsters.
Are they long-abandoned clockwork dolls?
The clockwork dolls that briefly became a trend and vanished like a ghost.
They should have been disposed of properly to end in an incinerator…
Yet those wastes are moving around for some reason in this dungeon.
“That’s creepy.”
“Is being creepy worth risking my life?!”
“Come on, there’s no way I’d die, right?”
“Don’t say ominous things!”
I thought all throughout the twelfth attempt that there weren’t any boss mobs in this dungeon.
I hadn’t seen these clockwork dolls either.
There must be some secret I still don’t know.
If I left it and later found out there were the Four Heavenly Kings hiding in this dungeon, I’d hate myself for it.
“Let’s get moving now.”
“Yes. You said that earlier.”
“Yeah, I said let’s go?”
“Why do you keep saying the same thing?”
“You should be leading the way.”
“Me?! Am I some spare life?”
“Actual spare life, you can make avatars. It’s right you should make an avatar and lead.”
“What did you hear earlier?! Just because an avatar dies doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt! My ability splits a part of my body!”
Earlier, after getting hurt a lot from Mi Jeong’s Fireball, the Centipede Nun protested with tears.
But after thrashing and yelling, her momentum gradually faded.
Maybe she knows.
No matter how much she whines, in the end, she’ll have to do it.
“All done whining? Then let’s get moving.”
“You bad guy! Abuser! Violator of human rights!”
“What kind of human rights does a monster have?”
“······If you give up, it’s easier, right.”
“What do you know!!!”
Eventually, grumbling, her body became wobbly, and she split into two.
Sniffing back snot, the main body hid behind me, while the avatar trembled and moved forward.
She was going to do it anyway.
But she’s way too dramatic in her protests.
“U-um, what’s that?”
Just a few steps into the tunnel, the leading avatar stopped.
Trembling, she pointed ahead.
“That’s a mechanical arm.”
“So, it’s not moving, right?”
“It’s not moving. Not moving.”
“Whoa, whoa. That’s so scary…”
“What’s wrong with you? Did you eat something bad?”
“No… I’m like this originally…”
But the avatar seemed to be acting strangely.
Continuously glistening with tears and wearing a frightened expression.
Seeing it like this made her seem like a gently nurtured nun.
“It’s because of my trait. The split avatar expresses one of my emotions strongly. In this case, it’s fear.”
“Why’d it have to be me… Waaaah… That’s scary…”
Staring unhappily at her avatar, the Centipede Nun stood side by side.
It was easy to see the difference.
The main body was ominous and street-smart, not caring about the world, while the avatar seemed like a gentle girl you’d want to feed and cuddle with.
So, it seems each avatar has its unique personality.
I kind of want to see different personalities.
“Whoa…”
“Your gaze is strange. You’re not a filthy human, right?”
“What did I do?”
By the way, if the avatar stays in that frightened state, progress will slow.
Just when I thought I should absorb and split again:
“Hey, avatar! Just turn into a centipede and go!”
“Uh… okay…”
“Will it be less scary if you turn into a centipede?”
“If I’m a centipede, my eyesight is terrible. If I can’t see anything, it won’t be scary.”
“······.”
So that’s a method.
The avatar soon transformed into a gigantic centipede and proceeded cautiously through the tunnel.
The speed undoubtedly increased.
What the hell could the boss mob be? I have no clue.
This dungeon features undead-type monsters.
So at first, I suspected the Four Heavenly Kings had something to do with it.
But seeing these clockwork dolls pop up, it doesn’t seem to be a necromancer.
That guy can’t control machines.
Then nothing else comes to mind.
That voice from earlier. I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere.
The mechanical voice I heard deep in the tunnel.
That sense of déjà vu refuses to leave.
I only know a handful of female voices: Jill, Yulia, Yerina, Cornelia, Alicia, Mia…
Huh? Why do I feel like that list has gotten longer?
“Hm?”
Suddenly, something catches my foot.
Picking it up and shining my multifunctional torch on it reveals a metal commemorative plate.
– Commemorative Plate for the Completion of Clockwork City Clock Tower
– Construction Manager: Cern
The fact that this came up means we’re near the end of the tunnel.
It’s a sort of landmark.
“Looks like we’re approaching the last room. Get ready. I don’t know what might pop out.”
“……Okay.”
This place originally held the (old) clock tower of Clockwork City.
Under Cern’s leadership, the clock tower was successfully completed.
A grand completion ceremony attended by the mayor even took place.
But on the day of the ceremony, an accident occurred.
The internal mechanisms of the clock tower malfunctioned, resulting in an explosion of unknown origin.
The explosion caused the clock tower to collapse, vanishing into the cliff below, injuring many, including the mayor.
This incident was what led to Cern completely retiring.
“Hm…?”
Finally reaching the end of the narrow tunnel.
A wide chamber with bright light streaming in opened up.
I had prepared to be tense since I heard the boss was awakening, but…
“It’s empty?”
Inside was painfully desolate.
There was just a large, beautiful dungeon core exposed in the center.
It matched precisely what I had seen in past attempts.
“This can’t be the end.”
“Don’t be uneasy for no reason! It’d be good if it ends quietly! Hey, avatar! Just grab that dungeon core! Let’s wrap this up and go!”
“Ugh, okay…”
This is the final room.
If there’s no boss here, where on earth could it be?
Amidst the increasing agitation, the avatar transformed back into the Centipede Nun and trotted over to touch the dungeon core.
“Uh? Uh-oh?!”
And in that instant.
The entire dungeon trembled severely, emitting a thunderous noise.
It felt just like when a dungeon was collapsing.
Is it an earthquake?
“Whoaahhhh!!!”
“What the…?”
At that moment, the floor the avatar was standing on shook.
Something rose endlessly upwards, creating clouds of dust.
After a while, I realized.
“The clock tower?!”
From underground, what rose was none other than the clock tower.
However, where the clock was supposed to be…
A massive eyeball was writhing in place.
“Whoaah! Please let me down!!!”
[Hate… Hate… Hate…]
The moment I met that eyeball, goosebumps ran all over my body.
And then, I recognized the owner of that mechanical voice.
“Linda. It was you.”
I believed I had grasped the identity of the boss.
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