My Dungeon Life – Chapter 1668-1670

Chapter 1668

“It appears that the pirates scattered, and the remains of the fey fleet have fled.” Eliana explained.

A day had passed since the attack was broken. Most of the people who had died in the invasion were currently being resurrected thanks to Anne and her church. However, no one could resurrect the fey, and every one of those who had died was a blow to their empire. In the end, it proved too large a blow for them, at least for now.

“They’ll be back.” I sighed.

“Yes, well, for the moment, we’re safe.”

I had spent the last day resting, as did everyone. It was nearing nighttime when I had found Eliana up and working, despite everything that happened. I both admired and worried about her. So, I had sat her down and checked on her. Of course, the small bulge that had started to form on her stomach was no longer there.

“Are the little ones doing, okay?” Eliana asked, looking at my bed.

I hadn’t rested alone. The winners of the competition had turned out to be Chance and Cici. After healing them, the girls insisted that I went to the victors, and the next thing I knew, the two were being shoved in my room.

“S-since you’re honoring flat-chests… the church will allow it this once.” Anne declared shyly.

That woman! Thankfully, neither Cici nor Chance understood what their aunties were suggesting, and so we merely slept in the same bed. It was fine because I wanted to continue to check on them and make sure they were alright.

“Chance was just tired. She’s still young and doesn’t have the kind of stamina to handle all of the things we did today.”

Few adults would have the stamina to do all of the things she had done.

“What about the older one?

“The miasma had permanently altered her. She’s not a god soul, but she’s a bit like Astria now. In the same way, the fairy girls from Chalm are touched with a bit of fairy, she’s been turned darker.”

There was no saying what this would do with her, but at the moment she was still sleeping peacefully. There were black streaks through her purple hair. Had I gotten to her earlier when I had the chance, this wouldn’t have happened. It was my fault. I had acted carelessly and recklessly.

A hand gently took mine and squeezed it. “I’m hurting too, but as long as Deek is by my side, I will make it through. That’s why… you can never sacrifice yourself like that again!”

“I’m sorry…” I apologized for not the first time.

“You don’t need to apologize to me.” She straightened. “Although, you may have to answer to my brother.”

“Ai… that I will…” I wondered if he’d still be able to call me a man’s man after all of this.

Eliana hesitated for a second. “Are you okay?”

“I detached from the dungeon core. Despite connecting with all of that lore, laughably little of it ended up being processed. The dungeon core is shattered, and all of that energy was lost. I didn’t even get to absorb any of it.”

“The core is destroyed… isn’t that bad for humanity?” She looked worried.

“The core I mishandled and destroyed was the Champion’s Gauntlet. It had a copy of the human core. The original human core… I recovered it.” She looked a bit confused, so I continued. “You don’t need to worry about it. The human core exists, and it’s no longer bound to the dungeon, so I have it.”

“Will you bind it, and become the next human king?” Her voice was very quiet.

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m not… ready for that yet.”

The one thing I had learned from this was that I wasn’t ready for that kind of power. I had nearly abused it to wipe out the fey. I was ready to sacrifice a chunk of humanity to do it. Being a Slave Master, I had always had that kind of power over my slaves. I could theoretically take their energy and make it my own, becoming temporarily powerful at their expense. I had never done it, and I never would… Yet, as the human king, I had nearly enslaved the entire human race and used them as a weapon. No, I wasn’t ready at all.

Chapter 1669

I talked with Eliana for a bit longer. She had to leave though, as she still had more work to do. I had never realized just how strong Eliana was until today. All of the girls were strong. If we went by the standards of adventurers, most of my girls were S ranked or higher. However, Eliana’s strength was of a different kind. When she thought I had died and she had lost everything, she had kept her wits and continued. She chatted with, ate dinner, and face her enemy down for months while doing everything she had to so she could protect our baby.

Now, she had lost that baby, and rather than spend time grieving or throwing a tantrum, she was already back to work, doing everything she could to support those around her, including me. I had always been fond of Eliana. I had intended to marry her, and she had always had a special place in my heart. Our relationship had been a bit more traditional than the relationship I had with the other girls. There were no extenuating circumstances or strange events that had pushed us together. We were with each other because we cared about each other.

However, after today, I knew that I was deeply, completely in love with Eliana. When the dangers were passed, and we could live in peace, I would give her another child. I would give her ten. That’s how much she meant to me. I watched as she walked out of the room, wondering just how I was going to make everything up to her.

She was going to finish the peace talks. All of the tribes were coming to the table with the intent of signing the treaty tonight. Like Eliana had suggested, the threat of a common foe had brought them all together and united them. There was just one problem. It wasn’t the fey threat that had brought them together. It was me. The tribes of the Ost Republic had seen me, break through the fey and pirates, and realizing how vulnerable they were, decided to finalize the treaty.

More than that, they had decided that the new prime minister would be Eliana! Although she had impressed them over the talks these last few days, it was her relationship with me that they wanted. They wanted to be a united force to protect their autonomy, and they wanted Eliana because they felt she was the only thing that could protect them from me!

I had been shocked into silence when I heard all of that, but I supposed it was for the best. Eliana would stay in the Ost Republic and work on increasing the protection from a future Fey Invasion. With Eliana as prime minister, an alliance with Aberis was all but assured. In short, this was the best thing anyone could hope for.

As for me, I’d be returning to Chalm tomorrow. I was but a portal away from Eliana at any time, but perhaps it was time I started taking care of my place too. The girls had been working hard on my behalf, but maybe I should work hard as well. As I sat in the dark, I idly opened up my map. The dots were all back to neutral or green. There was no redder.

That’s when I saw a dot in a strange place. As I clicked on it, my mouth fell open. Standing up, I created a portal and then stepped through it. I came out onto a beach. In particular, it was the same beach where the special path had opened the previous night. There was no more dungeon through. It had shattered, and this was just a normal island once again.

A woman who had been standing just far enough that the waves struck her feet turned back to me. “Hello, Deek. We have to stop meeting like this.”

“Calypso…”

Chapter 1670

“You’re still alive.” I let out a breath, half filled with relief, but also a bit of resignation.

Calypso let out a throaty laugh. “Did you think it would be so easy to kill me? I didn’t live as long as I did by acting recklessly.”

“Not at all…” I responded. “I’m just surprised you stuck around for so long.”

“That’s true.” She nodded. “I would normally leave without saying goodbye. You’d miss me much more that way. However, something has been bugging me, and I found myself unable to leave without finding an answer.”

“What’s that?”

“Why didn’t you attack them?”

“What?”

“The girls.” Calypso raised an eyebrow. “There is a major difference between absorbing the power of a dungeon and assimilating it. The first option is a means of chopping up and stealing the power of a dungeon. The second option tries to take the information uncorrupted and complete. You lose less, but it’s as difficult as can be. If anyone tried to do it, they would lose all of their sense of self. They would become corrupted by the dungeon, a monster that was destroyed without thought. I know this from personal experience. When I absorbed the lore, I destroyed friend and foe alike!

“Yet, you saw all of the worlds as you enemy, and you killed indiscriminately… until you encountered your girls. They stood in your way, and you rather than kill them, incapacitating them. Perhaps, I could believe a shred of your still could feel the master and slave relationship with them, but then those two little girls appeared and grabbed onto you. The obstructed you completely, and you didn’t move. When they all piled on you, you didn’t lift a finger to stop them, even when they caused your objective to be lost.

“So, I want to know why! Why didn’t you attack them? Why didn’t you smear yourself in their blood? Why didn’t you shoot arrows at them? You did at Carmine and the lionkin! You should have kept fighting until there was nothing left. You should have kept fighting until everyone was dead or fled. Yet, you stopped! You disconnected yourself from the power and submitted. I want to know how! I want to know why?”

Calypso’s voice had risen as she spoke. Her eyes were like fire, and she was panting by the time she was done.

“I… didn’t want to,” I responded awkwardly.

“You…”

“They’re mine! That’s why!”

“Wha-“ She blinked, taking a step back.

“They are mine, all of them. They are my lovers, my slaves, my women. I only shot those arrows because I knew they’d be blocked, and I only attacked when I knew I wouldn’t hurt them. Hurting them would have been like hurting myself. No matter how angry you get, would you cut off your foot? You may kick something too hard and hurt your foot, but it doesn’t matter how angry you got, you’d never intentionally try to injure yourself. And once you broke your toe because you were being an idiot, would you still be angry? No, you’d feel foolish that you acted up. It’s… like that.”

Now that I said it, it sounded dumb, but that was my genuine feeling. Calypso stared at me for a solid minute, her eyes giving nothing away. Then, she threw back her head a laughed. It wasn’t her usual sultry seductive laugh. It felt somehow light as if a burden that had been weighing on her had suddenly been uplifted.

“Wh-what’s so funny?” I frowned.

“Oh, Deek…” She looked back down, wiping a tear from her eye. “If you keep this up, I’ll have no choice but to submit myself to becoming your slave.”

“Huh?”

“I have enjoyed this chat we have. You have… given me closure. I am no longer bound to this dungeon, and the human core is no longer my responsibility. It feels… freeing…”

“You’re not strong anymore either.” I declared.

“Mm!” She smiled. “To think, that silly boy I ran into would end up… oh my, perhaps you’re more dangerous than I gave you credit for.”

“What are you talking about?”

She reached into her dress and tossed something at me. I instinctively lifted my hand, catching it. When I looked down at it, it appeared to be some kind of crystal. It seemed familiar with something I had seen before. That was right, this looked a bit like that crystallized soul that the father from the Illusory Sword Dungeon gave me.

“Wait… this is…”

“I keep what I copy.” She winked. “It’s a copy of daughter. Oops, did I spoil it?”

“My daughter…” I looked down at the crystal, my body shaking excitedly. “How… how can I bring her back?”

“Eh? Do I look like your mentor or something? Figure it out on your own!” She shrugged. “As for me, I’ll be leaving.”

“You’re going?” I asked, my mind still half-focused on the crystal in my hand.

“I’m free now.” She declared. “I’m going to go out and enjoy things a bit longer… before I become a slave to my emotions and can no longer leave…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing! Chou Chou! I’m leaving now.”

“H-hey, wait! You’re still a pirate… and a bandit!”

“Eh? You’re still on about that?” She blinked. “Don’t you have bigger things to worry about?”

“Like what?” I declared, putting the crystallized copy of my unborn child away safely before grabbing Alysia, who had returned to my side. “I won’t let you escape.”

She laughed. “You already freed me. Didn’t I say it? More lore is done. It’s time to start a new story.”

“You can just run from your past! You’re under… wait… what was that about lore?”

She smirked, pointing up. “I’ll say my goodbye. Once you see all my dirty little secrets, I hope you can still remember me fondly!”

I looked up to see a light flying toward me. Champion’s Gauntlet… the core I thought had cracked and dissipated… the remaining energy had collected and become a blessing.

“Oh… you bit-“

I was struck by a punishing white light, followed by pain.