My Dungeon Life: Rise of the Slave Harem - My Dungeon Life – Chapter 1139-1141

Chapter 1139

“Hah… hah… hah…”

“Why is my sword panting?” I asked helplessly.

“Just ignore it. I’m properly oiling and maintaining her.” Xin declared.

We were still in front of the dungeon entrance, but now Xin was enthusiastically using a rag and some ointments she had pulled from somewhere and was now working Alysia over.

“I’m not sure a spiritual sword needs to be oiled.”

“Swords are swords, and Master should maintain them properly!” Xin cried out.

She was slightly scary when she was serious. I cleared my throat.

“Um… anyway, about the dungeon’s influence…”

“When I was pulled into this body, I was given a real form. It severed my connection with the dungeon. You don’t need to worry about me. I can focus my attention on Alysia…”

“Uh… actually, I was more worried about everyone else. You were the Dungeon Master, so you should understand what happened more than anyone. Astria’s memory was a bit foggy, so I was hoping you could give me a better understanding of the situation.”

“That… I can’t…”

“Don’t tell me your mind was blocked too?” I asked and sighed. “I mean, it’s not that big of a deal. My plan wouldn’t change much. I’ll finish curing the residents and once I stake a claim on the dungeon, I’ll enter through the mansion and confront Elaya. I should be able to talk some sense in her at that point.”

“No.”

“Hmm?’

“It’s not that my mind was blocked, but that I won’t tell you the situation.” Xin declared.

“M-mom?” Alysia spoke up on my behalf.

“Deek, what are dungeons?” Xin suddenly asked such a question.

“Um… they’re the lore from an incomplete story. They’re blights on the land which corrupt the local mana, turning it into the miasma.”

“That makes them sound evil. Dungeons are neither evil nor good. They can be destructive, but so is a tornado. You wouldn’t call a tornado evil, it simply is.”

“That’s true…” I responded thoughtfully, although I still wasn’t sure what she was trying to say.

“In essence, a soul is a conduit for mana. Mana is a part of the world. It flows through the earth as gaia. However, it flows through all living beings, connecting us to the world. This is the essence of life. When someone dies, their soul disperses into mana and rejoins the life stream. We who aren’t necessarily as closely linked to the life stream, we have a period where we can be restored to life, this would be the resurrection spell.”

“Right.” I had guessed most of this already from my own observations, although it was nice to hear another confirm some of my theories.

“When a soul is threatened to be destroyed prematurely when it’s unsatisfied with its end and feels like it still had a purpose in this world, it begins to change, attempting to defy its fate, and refusing to enter the life stream. This is the beginning of a curse. Once a soul falls down this path of corruption, it will become a seed for a dungeon, planting itself into the earth and feeding off of it, a lingering purpose still driving it to fulfill that one desire, to complete that lore.”

“Xin, what are you trying to say?”

“Down in that dungeon is a soul that fell into despair. It is a soul that wanted its story to be heard. Deek… Master… will you be the one to hear it?”

Chapter 1140

“Elaya…” I gave an awkward look. “I’ve already fought my way down Widow’s Dungeon. I’ve seen her story, and even absorbed her blessing.”

“Have you?” Xin raised an eyebrow. “Do you believe that this dungeon is your own?”

I bit my lip and turned to look at the dungeon. I had been assuming that the dungeon had been taken over. In my mind, Elaya had done something similar to Calypso at the Bandit’s Respite. She had conquered the dungeon and bent it to her purpose. However, it sounds like something else happened. This was much closer to the Twilight Dungeon. Elaya had died within my dungeon, and her soul had consumed the dungeon, building a new dungeon from the corpse of my abandoned dungeon.

All dungeons needed a soul to exist. That soul was usually the dungeon boss, but it didn’t necessarily mean it was the main final boss of the dungeon. Once that soul no longer supported the dungeon, it would disperse. This was when the lore revealed itself, offering someone the choice to either destroy it or turn it into a blessing and absorb it. When I died, the dungeon I had built must have begun to collapse, and through Elaya’s sacrifice, it had become born anew.

“No.” I looked away from the entrance and back to Xin. “This isn’t my dungeon.”

Perhaps, I had known that the first time I had felt the energy, but I didn’t want to believe such a thing. The dungeon belonged to another now. If I stole it from her, then I was trampling over her story. It was the same as ignoring her pain or telling her to just get over it. Her soul had sung out a story, and if no one heard that story, wouldn’t it just be too pitiful? As I began to realize this, Xin was watching me carefully, and even her machinations on her daughter had slowed down.

“You’re starting to realize then.”

I licked my lips and nodded slowly. “I have to go. I can’t take a shortcut on this one. If I ever loved her, then I have to see things through. That’s what you mean, right?’

She nodded, her hands picking up their speed once again. “I have come to see many sides of you, Master, from many sides of my own. I believed you to be this kind of man, and it seems that I am correct in my assessment.”

“Master…” Alysia spoke up, her voice filled with indescribable emotions.

“When you enter the dungeon, you will need to put many of your preconceived notions aside. This is a story you haven’t heard before. The maid hero’s tale is something you must understand because, at this moment, I’m not certain you can defeat her.”

“That…”

“Defeating powerful enemies was never your strength, Master. Have you ever defeated a dungeon through sheer power? It’s always been your heart, and your understanding and your willingness to learn that has allowed it. All of the girls know this. This is what attracts them to you.”

“She’s right, Master.” Alysia asserted.

“The maid hero is stronger than me, and if we crossed blades, I believe I would win, although I do not believe I could kill you.”

It was a fair assessment. Just like with the Demon Lord, there was a big difference between killing someone and defeating someone. She could probably force me to flee, but in a direct fight, she’d be hard-pressed to put me down permanently. I had too many tricks up my sleeve at this point. Although, that was probably the same with Elaya.  If I wanted any hope of ending the dungeon and freeing my people, my only chance was to learn her story and reach her heart.

Chapter 1141

It would be far too easy to think that she’d take one look at me and instantly submit. If she was dead, then her soul had already been corrupted by miasma. She had already been a morally questionable woman when she was alive, well, alive the second time. She had even made plans to destroy her husband, so I had no belief at this point she’d just roll over without a fight.

My only chance at success would be to win her over once again. This time, I didn’t have an entire group of support giving me their energy and power. I also had a feeling that using that to sway her over wouldn’t be as effective this time around. All in all, I just had to tackle this dungeon like any other, learning about it along the way and coming up with a plan to help her. Only once this story was complete could I restore my own dungeon.

“Then, I will be going. Ruby?” I turned to the woman who had been waiting quietly with a group of soldiers a polite distance away.

“Ah… it’s okay if you wish to go. The remaining infected are being contained.”

“I may be able to do something about their infection,” Xin responded. “As a sword user, I grew familiar with qi.”

“Qi?”

“It’s a means of affecting the soul through just the use of the sword. It’s high-level sword work for someone who does not become a mana user.”

I guess that made sense. Not every sword user became a Magic Swordsman like me. I incorporated mana into my sword, using it for attacks. However, a Swordsman like Xin or Lydia would only be able to attack physically. Creatures like ghosts would be immune to them. To counter this, there must be spirit attacking abilities. They were called qi. Lydia could take advantage of qi, huh? I wished that I had Xin to train Lydia. She wouldn’t have needed to leave to find a teacher. At the time, Xin had still been two parts monster and one-part Swordsman, so it didn’t make sense.

“Then, I’ll leave the city in your care, Xin.” I bowed. “Please, protect it.”

“I will.”

I was putting some trust in her, but she was my slave now, so I felt I could trust her. Even if it wasn’t a direct order, with Slave Empath I was certain of her emotions, and I knew she wasn’t lying to me.

“Then, Alysia.” I lifted my palm, the back of my hand starting to glow.

“Eh! No, she’s staying with me!” Xin cried out.

“M-mom!”

“What? That’s my sword.” I frowned.

I didn’t want to sound possessive over Alysia, but our souls were kind of linked.

“It’s fine if she stays out here, isn’t it?” Xin asked.

“How will I get through a dungeon without a sword?” I cried out helplessly.

“In this dungeon, you won’t need it.” Xin declared. “Trust me, this isn’t a dungeon with mobs.”

I looked at her dubiously. She looked between the sword in her hands and me reluctantly, and then she sighed, pulling out the sword from her belt. She tossed it at me and I had no choice but to catch it.

“Take this! It’s best if you follow the maid hero’s story alone.” Xin spoke mysteriously. “Besides, I wish to spend quality time with your sw- ahem… my daughter.”

“Quality time? You want to swing her around, don’t you?” I accused.

“Ah! I-I’m just going to put her through a workout. I want to see what my daughter can take!” Xin broke down and admitted.

“M-maybe this isn’t such a good idea…” Alysia suddenly sounded panicked.

“P-please! Just this once! This is a soul blade! I’ve never even heard of such a thing!” Xin’s eyes brightened.

“I feel like she doesn’t care that I’m her daughter at all!” Alysia cried.

I took Xin’s sword and tossed it into my Inventory and sighed. “Alysia, this is time you can spend with your mother. Do you want to refuse?”

“That… I’ll stay.” Alysia’s voice sounded defensive.

“Then, I will leave you. Take care of this city until I return.”

“Yes!”

I had everything I needed in my Inventory. It had been growing since I started leveling Blue Mage, and now it was as big as any Inventory ring. It was still missing most of the good stuff I had collected from previous dungeons, but my collections would return in time, and I wouldn’t lose my stuff again. Of that, I was determined.

I walked up to the dungeon entrance that looked both very familiar, and completely foreign. It was time to learn her story, the story I hadn’t heard.

{You have entered the Maid’s Lament. Destroy the lore to break the curse, or complete the lore for extra dungeon points and a blessing!}