My Dungeon Life: Rise of the Slave Harem - My Dungeon Life - Chapter 49-52

Chapter 49

“We need to concentrate on the Necromancer! He’ll just keep summoning skeletons!” I panted.

“Yes, Master!” Lydia confirmed.

I wish I had spoken up two waves of skeletons ago, but as he summoned the third, I realized that he could do that all day. A part of me wanted to treat this as a game and assume three waves was his limit, but as much as this was like a game, it was also very real. I couldn’t use game logic to assume anything about this world, Living Armor turkey legs notwithstanding.

Without hesitation, Lydia shifted her attention to the Necromancer. He casually stepped back. The skeletons split up, but this time an extra one went towards Lydia, leaving me with two. I could only grimace as I looked at him adjusting his strategy. Definitely not like a game. Lydia was the more dangerous of the two of us. As soon as she fell, I’d be quickly surrounded and overtaken. The Necromancer was more than aware of this and thus had changed his strategy.

I felt very inadequate as I continued to keep my distance from the two chasing me. If I was a stronger opponent, this wouldn’t be an issue. Lydia was putting her life on the line for me, and all I could do was keep my distance. After seeing her take a cut, I tossed a Group Heal Lydia’s way. The spell healed her and injured the four around her, but it wouldn’t be enough to change the direction of this fight. I popped another bottle of mana potion immediately after. It was the second to last one that I had.

“Harm Undead!”

I sent a spell at the Necromancer. He let out a cry and shot me a glare. If I pissed him off, then wouldn’t he start sending the undead after me instead. Four skeletons seemed to stress Lydia’s ability, as she struggled to keep the monsters back. As long as I kept the Sanctify Land active, the monsters couldn’t keep up with me, but I was growing tired and my mana was starting to dwindle.

“Harm Undead, Harm Undead!” I shouted sending spells at the necromancer.

“Useless!” He shouted. “You won’t be able to stop me with those pathetic spells!”

“Yeah?” I asked. “But I can distract you!”

The Necromancer turned just as Lydia managed to finish off one of her skeletons. Without him coordinating them, they fell in battle prowess just enough.

“This time, leave 1 skeleton alive!” I called out. “He probably can’t cast another six until all the others are dead.”

“Yes!” Lydia jumped back, her expression looking fiercer than ever.

“Tsk!” The Necromancer cursed. “You’re annoying. It’s time to end this farce.”

“You…”

The Necromancer raised his hand, and for the first time since the fight, the dark aura that seemed to be resonating in the room coalesced right on his fingertips.

“Watch out!” I shouted.

A dark power exploded out towards Lydia. With three skeletons on her, she could not focus on escaping them. The black fog exploded around her. I let out a shout as shadows exploded everywhere and obscured her vision. When it finally cleared, Lydia was lying on the ground. Her skin was grey and dull. Her eyes were lifeless. Lydia looked just like the dead!

Chapter 50

“What did you do? A one-hit KO? That’s cheating!” I screamed.

“Eh… Deek?” Lydia spoke, slowly standing up.

Her body looked like that of a walking corpse. There was nothing gross like blood, but her skin wasn’t the right shade and her body moved much like the corpses. She picked up her sword and then started walking towards me with shaky steps.

“Wh-what… what is happening?” She asked, fear on her face, the fact she was moving didn’t seem to be within her control.

“Curse of the Zombie.” The necromancer said. “A curse that turns a living target into an undead.”

“What’s the point of that?” I asked, backing up as I noticed the skeletons were now standing by.

“In my life, I was a powerful necromancer. I ruled over the undead. This woman, she is now mine to control.”

“W-wait, no!” She cried out, trying to drop her sword.

However, her hand tightened on it, and she continued to advance on me. I lifted my hand and cast Weak Heal. She let out a cry as if she was in pain, stopping for a second.

“Yes…” the necromancer laughed. “This is exactly like it was back then. The Hero advanced on his White Mage under my curse. She could heal him… but healing only hurts the undead. Slowly, he walked towards her. She could have easily killed him and survived. She should have killed him and survived! But she wouldn’t… because she was convinced she loved him.”

“So, he wasn’t some undead…” I spoke up. “Just a curse…”

“Of course. Would it be so tragic if there wasn’t will there? That’s what I tried to tell my precious sister. There is no love between master and slave. That hero didn’t love her at all. He was just using her and kept her around because he was kind. But she wouldn’t listen!”

“Remove Curse!” I shouted.

{You must have contact to use Remove Curse.}

“Haha… yes… it’s so simple, isn’t it? All you have to do is touch her without her killing you, and you can remove this curse and my control over her. And yet, she will stab you all the same. The Hero might have been able to resist my charm and choose not to. This girl is far lower level, do not think she could do the same.”

“No… please…” Lydia exclaimed tearfully.

“Either you kill her, or she kills you. That was the decision. That has always been the decision. Masters and slaves can never be together.”

“So… what, the hero cut her down and then you killed the hero?” I demanded, wanting to keep him talking even though I continued to back up.

“How would I let him cut down my own sister?” The Necromancer responded bitterly. “No… what he cut down was an illusion I put in his mind. I just wanted her to see the truth. To see that he never cared about her. I didn’t realize… I didn’t expect her to throw herself on his blade… to sacrifice herself to remove his curse… he killed me that day. Used my sister to the very end. The Hero Dormont, famed throughout the land, raising himself up on the corpses of his party members. His path had more blood on it than the Demon Lords, yet he was adored by all.”

“You… don’t have to do this…” I said, looking in Lydia’s panicked eyes.

“Don’t worry, there are no illusions here.” The Necromancer chuckled. “Show her the truth. Kill her so that you can survive. If you do… I’ll allow you to leave this dungeon. On the other hand, bring out your hands and allow her to kill you, and I will free her from her curse and return her to the surface. The choice is with you, hero, will you put a slave’s life above your own?”

My back hit the wall. I had reached the end. All that was left was to make a decision.

Chapter 51

Lydia and I had only known each other for a week. There was no way that our relationship could be put to this kind of test. How could anyone, let alone a cute girl like Lydia, have any kind of feelings for a fat loser like me?

“Please… just kill me,” Lydia spoke, my eyes snapping to hers. “Just cast your spells until I fall. Please…”

Tears fell down her cheeks, yet her steps kept coming forward. In this world, she was a slave. She had almost no value, and certainly not more value than a hero. If she died, no one would care. Her master certainly wouldn’t care. He already thought she was dead. No, that wasn’t true. I would care. She mattered to me! I wouldn’t go so far as to say I loved her. I had made that mistake a hundred times in the past, giving my heart to someone. I wasn’t doing this out of some misguided desire to love anyone who was even a little nice to me. I did this… specifically, because it was Lydia.

“I don’t know how I feel about you,” I spoke honestly, causing Lydia to blink. “But I regret that we’ll never have the chance to find out.”

“W-wait… no, kill me! Please… don’t!” Lydia’s eyes began to panic.

“History repeats itself, huh?” I leaped forward.

Her blade was raised towards me. She was way too fast. There was just no way, but I wasn’t going to go without trying.

“No! I love…” Lydia’s words stopped as the sword slid into my gut.

“Ah…” I let out a groan, putting my hand on her cheek. “Really… painful… Remove… Curse.”

There was a glow around her body, but she let go of the sword, and I collapsed to the ground.

“N-n-no!” She screamed, collapsing with me as my body fell to the ground. “No. Please…”

She grabbed my chest, “I love you! I love you! Please… I love you! You’re the best Master I ever had. Please… don’t leave me… I’ll be good. I’ll be good. Just don’t leave me.”

The Necromancer looked down at the scene with a grimace. “Skeletons… finish her off.”

“Hehehe…” I chuckled, “I knew he was a liar.”

“M-master?” Lydia’s eyes widened as she realized I was still awake.

“Can you pull the sword out of my stomach, it’s really painful.”

“Ah!” She grabbed the sword and yanked it out.

“Ahhhhh…. Damn…” I let out a moan. “Weak Heal.”

I pulled out the last mana bottle and Lydia helped pull it to my lips. “Weak Heal! Weak Heal!”

White magic quickly covered me and the wound closed very quickly. With that, I worked my way up to my feet with Lydia’s help. The Necromancer was staring at us with his mouth open. As for the skeletons, they didn’t seem to move at all.

“You… really love me.” I asked.

Lydia blushed, lowering her head. “Of course. I aimed low… didn’t I? It’s okay that you don’t know how you feel about me…”

“Ah… actually, I was just trying to sound cool,” I said sheepishly. “I love you too.”

Lydia’s eyes widened and she looked up at me. “You do?”

Forget all my bold talk as I thought I was going to die. I really was a sap who fell in love too easily. However, Lydia was the first girl to ever reciprocate that love.

“What’s going on here?” The Necromancer demanded.

“She was supposed to aim for my heart,” I explained. “Not my stomach. I’m a White Mage. I can pretty much heal from anything that isn’t an instant death. You may have guided Lydia’s hand, but at the last moment when it counted the most, she wouldn’t kill me.”

“That…” The Necromancer shook his head. “He…”

“I love you,” I said. “Please… be mine.”

“Mm! I love you! You’ll always be my Master.”

Actually, I meant to be mine like a valentine. My only understanding of romance came from Valentine’s Day memes. I was still uneasy about the master-slave thing, but it seemed like a bad time to bring it up. Our lips met, and the two of us kissed.

“Enough of this!” The Necromancer snapped. “This isn’t… no… just kill… kill them!”

The skeletons finally moved forward this time, but a second later a bright light exploded from the ceiling. The skeletons were reduced to ash. A glowing orb floated down from the ceiling.

“Y-you…” The necromancer backed up. “They can’t be… this was…”

“Brother…” A voice came from the lore, causing the skeleton to shake. “It’s time for you to realize the truth.”

“No… you can’t… slaves are just owned by their masters. They’re tools!”

“Can someone not love a tool?” Her voice asked gently. “Can an animal not love its master?”

The Necromancer’s face was twisted. “You’re not a tool, nor an animal!”

“That’s right… I was his beloved party member who chose to give my life for him. Look at the pair of them. Know the truth.”

The skeleton looked back at us, still in each other’s arms, and then a strange sense of peace fell over him. “I see… so that’s how it is.”

“Come with me, brother. It’s time.”

“I suppose so…” The Necromancer sighed and then shot me a look. “Take care of her! Rather, I’ll hold you to it!”

“Y-yes!” I declared, nodding.

With that, the white glow spread out from the orb and then surrounded the skeleton. A moment later, he was no longer there. With that, the boss was defeated. After all, the story was now finished.

Chapter 52

The orb continued to pulsate in the air, but the pulsing seemed to grow faster and faster.

“What now?” I asked.

Did we need to destroy the orb? That had to be the lore, right? I didn’t have long to think about it though.

A second later, the orb shattered, and then the pieces flew at me. I gave out a cry as I backed up, but the pieces kept coming. They slammed into my leg. I let out a scream as a burning sensation crept through my leg. At the same time, text flew in my vision.

{Congratulations, you have completed Mina’s Dungeon.}

{You have unlocked the job: True Dungeon Diver.}

{You have unlocked the Dungeon Point System.}

{For completing the lore, you have gained 5 dungeon points.}

{Mina’s lore is now a part of you. You have gained Mina’s Blessing.}

{You have an increased affinity with slaves. Slaves will earn experience twice as fast.}

{Your affinity to slaves is maxed. You have unlocked the job: Slave Master.}

“Master! Master…” Lydia was cradling my head while the pain subsided.

I reached down and pulled up my pant leg to see what was there. “A tattoo?”

It looked like text, except it took on a strange shape, and wrapped around my leg like a snake.

“What’s that, Master?” Lydia asked worriedly, wiping tears from her eyes.

“The lore becomes a part of you. I think they meant that literally,” I said, frowning at my new tattoo.

When someone destroyed the lore, someone defeated the dungeon. There wasn’t much to it. However, if you completed the lore, then that lore became a part of you. The curse that infected the dungeon was turned into a blessing that targets you. In my case, Mina’s blessing increased my affinity to slaves, allowing them to earn experience faster. Furthermore, it allowed me to unlock the slave master job. As for Lydia, she didn’t gain anything. Was it because she was a slave, or because I was a hero?

Out of curiosity, I quickly equipped the new job slave master. My first skill was Take Slave. If I had to guess, it was an ability that allowed me to transfer a slave from someone else to me. Could this be done forcefully? I wanted to try it, but I was worried that it would cause some troubles once we got out of the dungeon. On that note, we were still in the dungeon’s boss room. Looking around, I noticed a door behind the throne.

After getting back on my feet, I led the way into the final chamber. It was a bedroom which contained a few dressers, a desk, and a bed. Glancing around, I noticed a small box on the desk. Opening it, I found that there were several small trinkets in it. One of them looked to be a magical storage ring, although there was nothing inside it. I couldn’t guess what anything else was. There was also a magic rune on the ground which had to open the portal. I was very confident that this one would lead us back outside. There was a crystal ball that I couldn’t move, and other than that, this was the extent of the last room of the dungeon.

“What is the Dungeon Point System?” I asked.

The tattoo on my leg suddenly glowed, and a giant list appeared in front of me. It was a skill list complete with prices. My mouth fell open as I glanced at it.

The skills read things like

2X experience – 1 dungeon point.

Sword of healing – 1 dungeon point.

Revival – 10 dungeon points.

2nd Job – 1 dungeon point.

There were items and skills of all types. For some items, there seemed to be tiers that grew exponentially expensive. For example, 2X experience also had 5X and 10X next to it, but they require five and ten dungeon points respectively. Furthermore, they were greyed out, and I got the impression I’d need to have 2X selected. That meant, 10X wouldn’t cost 10, it’d cost 16 dungeon points.

However, all selections seemed to be on this list from 1, 5, 10, 25, or 50. The 50 skills sounded scary. Immortality. Temporary Invincibility. Omega. Create Life. If someone just defeated 10 dungeons, they could become immortal. No… you had to complete the lore, not destroy it. That was much tougher, and no one had done that in a long time. In fact, I had a distinct feeling that the Dungeon Point System only unlocked for True Dungeon divers. That meant no one had even had access to this system, even if they had points.

With this system, someone could truly become overpowered. This was the way to become a true hero. Before I could consider the system much longer, there was a strange cough behind me. I closed the menu and turned around. My jaw hit the floor.

Lydia was standing there, but she had taken off her clothes. She now stood naked in the room, her hands covering herself shyly as her face flushed.

“Once we leave this dungeon… things may change.” She spoke quietly with her head lowered. “Will you… do it with me? Just once, before we have to face that world again?”

I could only gulp.