Blessing from the Goddess and Transfer to Another World! ~No Thanks, I Don’t Need a Special Ability~

Chapter 79 – A Duel Attempt and the Hidden Area’s Dungeon

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Author’s Note: This author also likes 中華-番.

*For convenience, this time the hidden letters are denoted by the ‘-’.

 (ED: Some dish, probably; 中華 – Chinese food)

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“So, what’s the meaning of this…?”

“I told them to let me tame them in exchange for meat skewers, and 53 of them agreed and became my Monster Followers.”

After that, the Chieftain, who heard the commotion, asked me what had happened, so I answered briefly.

“I’m not sure if I should be more astounded by the fact that you openly asked the people of the Hidden Area to let you tame them, or that so many of them actually agreed…”

“Did I break any rules?”

I’m not going to give Dora back to them, but as for the other Dragon Newts, if it’s against the rules, I might be willing to release them from their taming contract.
However, if there actually was a rule prohibiting this, someone would have likely said something by now.

“Well, there is no such rule, per se… As you might expect, there are no rules prohibiting things that wouldn’t normally happen.
I guess it was a mistake to invite you here after all…”

The Chieftain, who’s holding his head, looks to be regretting his previous decision.
Yeah, I’m sorry to say this, but it might have been a mistake.

“I’m sorry, but could you please release them all? It’s fine if it’s just Shirayuki, since she wandered outside of the Hidden Area on her own, but if you add other Dragon Newts to that, it’s going to be pretty hard to explain.
If you want, you can have more treasures in exchange for the meat skewers.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s a no.
Regardless of the situation, I’m not willing to sell out my subordinates like that.”

“*heavy sigh…* Well, since there’s nothing I can do…”

The Chieftain looks like he’s given up on something.
Perhaps, were it the tamed Dragon Newts?

“I have just one question, are you going to take them outside of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area?”

“Well, yeah, that was the plan.
Perhaps, is there a rule prohibiting Dragon Newts from exiting the Hidden Area?”

“Obviously not… There is no explicit rule prohibiting Dragon Newts from going outside.
However, only Dragon Newts can enter the Hidden Area, so if more of them go outside, then the chances of the Hidden Area being discovered also increase by a lot.
If possible, that’s something I’d like to avoid.”

The only way to enter the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area is by using a Dragons’ Gate, and those can only be activated by Dragon Newts, so it could be said that having them go outside is tantamount to putting the entire Hidden Area at risk.
It was already hard for the Chieftain to accept us taking Dora away, and now there are 53 more Dragon Newts on top of that.
…What’s that, it’s all my fault? Well, yeah, honestly, I’m already aware that I’ve gone too far this time.
Guess it’s time to make some concessions.

“Then, how about I leave the tamed Dragon Newts other than Dora in the Hidden Area?”

“…Would you be willing to do that?”

“Yeah, to be honest, I don’t really have any need for them outside.”

To begin with, what kind of work can Dragon Newts even do? I mean, I could make them into adventurers, explorers, mercenaries, maids, or butlers… these are all valid options, but… it’s not like we’re lacking manpower in either of these departments.
Not to mention, we would have to teach all of them human common sense as well.
Honestly, there’s not much gain in taking them outside.
Plus, I only tamed them as a part of my hobby to begin with.

“Instead, how about you give us a ‘free pass’ for the Hidden Area?”

“A ‘free pass’? What’s that?”

It didn’t translate well.

“It means, we can come and go whenever we want.
Otherwise, I won’t be able to come visit them in the future.”

“Hmm, I see… I guess that could work.
It’s certainly much better than letting them be tamed and taken away.”

“Then, we will exercise our ‘free pass’ to extend our current stay indefinitely.”

“All right.”

And with that, I exchanged the 53 tamed Dragon Newts (obtained for the low low price of some meat skewers) for a permanent ‘free pass’ for the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area.

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That day, the Abyssal Dragon’s subjugation celebratory feast lasted long into the night.

Once Dora started to get sleepy, we asked Mikazuki to show us to our room, so we could get some rest.
We were led to a guest room in the stone mansion, Dora’s former house.
Well, it was actually just an empty stone room with no furniture inside.

“Man, I’m tired~!”

Mio exclaimed, reclined on a sofa she took out of Inventory [Infinite Storage].

“Thank you for your hard work , Mio-chan…”

“Good job~, no~, thank you, Mio.
Thanks to you I was able to tame a bunch of Dragon Newts, and I was even able to get us a ‘free pass’ for the Hidden Area as a result.”

“Congratulations, Jin-sama.”

“To think Master would tame more than 50 Dragon Newts with just meat skewers.
It’s all thanks to Mio-san’s cuisine, isn’t it?”

There’s no doubt Mio was a key player in pulling off this taming.
She was also the one to take down the Abyssal Dragon, so right now she’s the current MVP for the entire Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area.

“Ehehe~, I’m glad I was of help to Master.
Speaking of which, Mio-chan’s cooking event was a great success!”

“Ma~” (ED: Mayonnaise)

“Would you please stop that already!?”

Eh, but I’ve only said ‘ma’ so far…

Well, let’s just have a quiet talk instead.

“Kyaa~.”

After we chatted for a bit, Dora let out a big yawn.

“Kyuu~. So sleepy~.”

“It’s already pretty late… We should put Dora and Mio to bed…”

“Eh? I’m being treated as a child too? But, I guess I am getting pretty sleepy after all this work…”

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As Sakura said, it wasn’t just Dora, but Mio as well, who started to fall asleep.
As previously mentioned, it’s one of the drawbacks of her having a child body.

“But, furniture aside, there isn’t even any bedding in this room.
What’s going on, Mikazuki?”

“Yes.
Dragon Newts don’t use bedding.
There is none in the Hidden Area.”

“I see…”

I got such a simple answer.

Since it couldn’t be helped, we had no choice but to take out three beds from Inventory [Infinite Storage] and go to sleep.

Unfortunately, it was Sakura’s turn to sleep with Dora, so the sleeping arrangements were the two of them, Mio and Sera, and Maria and I.
Tamo-san was sleeping under my bed.
I think that Tamo-san, who doesn’t mind the lack of rest or sleep (other than jiggling a bit) is really the strongest.

Thus, the first day of our stay in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area came to an end.
Let’s enjoy some serious sightseeing starting tomorrow.

…Still, it was pretty hard to sleep, knowing that there was a monster under the bed.

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The second day of our stay in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area.

Starting today, we’re going to go all out with sightseeing in the Hidden Area.
Plus, I already got a ‘free pass’, so we should be able to manage without much hassle.
…The only problem is the lack of tourist attractions in this place.
At least, when it comes to food stalls and grocery stores, yesterday proved that there isn’t much for us to look forward to.

“Dora, please guide us around like we promised yesterday.”

“Kyu~! Un~!”

She already offered to show us around yesterday, so I brought it up again during breakfast.

“Kyu, Kyu~! Knew it, Mio’s food is the tastiest~!”

Despite staying at the Chieftain’s mansion, we are eating our own food.
It’s obviously much better than what the hosts are having.
The Chieftain himself doesn’t seem to care, but the people around him are desperately trying to hold back their drool.

“*drip…*”

“*drip…*”

Correction, they are unable to, it’s already dripping.
If you want some delicious food, just let me tame you.
See, like Mikazuki, who’s sitting on the ground next to us, devouring Mio’s home-made bread with a huge smile on her face.

On a side note, Mikazuki has officially become our attendant.
They couldn’t leave us, who don’t know the rules of the Hidden Area, completely alone, so it was decided she’ll come along as our guide/eye candy.
Then again, since I already tamed her, if we do try to break some rules, it’s not like she’ll be able to stop us, right?

“Still, it’s pretty rude to cook your own food when staying at someone else’s place…”

“Then, would you prefer the local food?”

“Mio-chan’s food is really delicious…”

“That’s right.”

Since Sakura pointed out our lack of common sense, I encouraged her to act on it, but she quickly backed down.
…I didn’t think so! 

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“Speaking of which, what are Dora’s recommended sightseeing spots?”

I asked, when we got back to our room after breakfast.
I’m fine with surprises and all, but it’s Dora we’re talking about, so I wanted to make sure.

“Kyui~, kyu~, kyukyu~, kyuo~, kyuu~. Um, there’s cave, ruins, waterfall, mountain…“

“Looks like there are many to choose from, but they all seem to be outside the village…”

“Dora-chan is pretty active, isn’t she?”

Sakura and Mio smiled wryly, hearing Dora’s recommendations.
Looks like our Dora was much more adventurous than we’d initially thought.
Well, she did end up going outside of the Hidden Area on her own.

“Kyuo~, Kyu, Kyuu~. But, there’s nothing delicious, or interesting here.”

“Dora-san, you really don’t have any mercy for the Hidden Area.”

The Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, and its Chieftain are really pitiful.

“By the way, what are those ruins that were among the candidates?” 

“Kyu? Kyui~.
Kyuuu~.
Kyu~. Eh? Dora doesn’t know.
Only saw some ruins.
Couldn’t enter.”

Shouldn’t you at least know that much if you’re gonna list them as a potential spot? Dora really is carefree, as expected of a pet.

So, Alta, what are these ruins? You would obviously know, right?

A: Yes.
In short, it’s a small dungeon.

Eh? There’s a dungeon in the Hidden Area? When I searched the map below our current location, there really was a dungeon there. (ED: Map can show the current and adjacent areas)

A: Yes.
It’s not on the scale of Estia’s dungeon, but there is indeed a dungeon core.
Since there’s only one floor, I was able to fully grasp its current condition.
There is no Dungeon Master, nor are there any Dungeon Keepers.

Meaning, there’s no one controlling it for the moment.
Perhaps, is the barrier around the Hidden Area also connected to the dungeon…

A: As you might have guessed, it’s one of the dungeon’s features.
Technically speaking, the entire Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area is also a part of the dungeon.
Under the current settings, most of the dungeon core’s power is being diverted towards supporting the barrier, which lets the Dragon Newts safely live and proliferate inside, which in turn generates more power for the dungeon core.
(ED: It’s literally ‘resources’, but I decided to use ‘power’ instead)

It’s a pretty well designed loop.
It basically allows the dungeon to remain self-sufficient infinitely.
Um, but aren’t there more dragons breaking through the barrier as of late?

A: A fall in the number of strong Dragon Newts threatened to put the system out of balance.

I see…

Basically, the main source of a dungeon core’s power are the creatures staying inside the dungeon (excluding the ones created by the dungeon core itself).
The stronger they are, the more power will be generated.
By the way, this ‘strength’ seems to be roughly based on each creature’s level and stats. (ED: Dungeon Master and Dungeon Keepers also don’t count)

So, in short, over the years, the combined ‘strength’ of the Dragon Newts fell below the level that can supply enough power to further support the barrier.
Moreover, with more and more people dying in each attack, there’s less and less power being generated, effectively creating a negative reinforcement loop.
But, won’t that lead to the destruction of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, if left as is?

A: That should have been the case, but currently, there shouldn’t be any problems with maintaining the barrier for at least a few more hundreds of years.

Eh, why?

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A: Masters are among the most powerful beings in this world.
By simply staying in the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, you’ve supplied the dungeon core with a huge amount of power.
On that topic, since Master is a Dungeon Master, no power was generated.

…THE HECK!?

We unknowingly saved the Dragon Race from a major crisis? No wait, ‘I’ didn’t contribute anything.
It’s ‘all the people beside me’ that did it.

But still, it’s another dungeon, separate from the one in Estia… Meaning, it’s the work of someone other than Azuma.
How could I not be intrigued by it?

“All right, I’ve decided.
Today, we’re going to explore those ruins.”

“Is there something interesting about them, Jin-sama?”

“Master wouldn’t have said so if there wasn’t, right?”

Maria and Sera asked, so I nodded to their questions.

“Of course.
It turns out that the ruins are the entrance to a dungeon, and the barrier around the Hidden Area is also generated by it.”

“Oh yeah.
Now that I think about it, the only other case of teleportation we’ve seen until now were the transfer stones in Estia’s dungeon.
They are pretty similar in function to the Dragons’ Gate, now that I think about it.”

“We’ve been using ‘Portal’ so much, we totally forgot how rare it normally is…”

Apparently, we got so used to teleporting around all the time, we totally missed the connection between the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area and Eastia’s dungeon.

“I’m pretty interested in other dungeons anyway.
Like, who made them, and how are they different from Estia’s dungeon? There’s no way I would skip it.”

“Kyui~! Dora wants to go too!”

“Then, Jin-sama, should we go right away?”

“That’s right, though, I think we might get slightly delayed…”

Looking at the map, Akatsuki [Insect Bastard] is approaching the mansion as we speak.
It’s a red marker, meaning, an approaching enemy, so I was naturally alerted to it.

“Ah, it’s that Dragon Newt again.
I somehow get a bad feeling about this…”

“Shouldn’t he be imprisoned to begin with?”

Everyone seems to have taken a look at the map as well, based on their disgusted expressions.

A: He’s been temporarily released to aid in the fight against the Abyssal Dragon.
As of now, he still remains at large.

Oh, is that how you people manage this Hidden Area? Considering that Dora also left through the Dragons’ Gate without anyone noticing, aren’t all those guards just for decoration at this point?

Looking at the map again, Akatsuki [Insect Bastard] seems to have arrived at the mansion, only to be stopped by the Chieftain at the entrance.

“Well, I don’t know why he’s here, but it’s not like it’s someone I’m actively trying to avoid, so let’s just go.”

“Are you sure? Won’t it cause more trouble?”

Mio asked, so I nodded to her question.

“Oh, I’m sure it will, but the Chieftain is also there.
Let’s hope he’ll be able to suppress that Akatsuki bastard.”

“And if he can’t?”

“Then, we can just forget the ‘free pass’, kill Akatsuki, go visit the ruins, and then take all the tamed Dragon Newts and leave.”

“So, you’d still go visit the ruins…”

Yep, that’s the one thing I’m not willing to miss out on.

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After getting ready, we headed outside, accompanied by Mikazuki, who was waiting in front of our room.

“And that’s why, they are our guests now.
You just have to accept it.”

“I won’t accept it! I won’t stand these cowardly humans, who would finish off a dragon that was already weakened after I fought it, and then use it to walk sideways across the Hidden Area, acting like some kind of heroes!” (ED: ‘Walk sideways across’ as in ‘act like they own the place’, not sure if it’s a proper term, I can’t find it in google…)

“What are you talking about? The dragon was still alive and well after you fought it.
Besides, you should still be locked up.
You shouldn’t even have the right to complain.”

Since they were talking pretty loudly, we managed to mostly grasp the situation.
In short, Akatsuki [Insect Bastard] is jealous of our success, which is… pretty much as you’d expect.
…That’s why I told you you should take the credit for defeating the Abyssal Dragon.

Well, I don’t really have a reason to get involved with the two for the time being, so let’s just ignore them and keep going.

“Oh, you’re just gonna walk right past us like that…?”

“Wait! I want to talk to you!”

The Chieftain was astonished by our blatant attempt to slip by, while Akatsuki [Insect Bastard] started shouting after us.

“You only managed to kill that dragon because we weakened it first! The honour of slaying it should belong to the Dragon Newts.
You should apologise for stealing it from us… no, return the treasures you stole! And leave Shirayuki-sama and get the hell out of the Hidden Area!”

It’s such a blatant request, I’m actually also amazed by it.
…No, honestly, it might be more interesting this way.

“Chief, is that how you raise your people?”

“I’m sorry.
Akatsuki, …I might have spoiled him too much.”

“Chief! Why are you apologising!? Are you giving preferential treatment to those humans, over your own people!?”

“It’s not preferential treatment.
It’s a matter of simple reason.”

“Yes it is! You’re being blinded by your affection for Shirayuki-sama! You, I won’t forgive you for sticking your fingers into Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area’s matters! Duel me! If I win, you have to follow my request!”

…Well, I certainly didn’t expect to be made to duel someone in the Hidden Area.

“Master! It’s the ‘duel me’ template! We have to do it!” 

Mio pleaded with me via telepathy.
She seems to be really fired up by it…

“Ah, but then Dora-chan would have to be the main prize.
Do you mind, Dora-chan?”

“He dares to treat my Dora as a thing to bet with…”

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“Um, Master wants to.
It’s fine~?”

I don’t mind duels, but we’d be betting Dora this time around.
I have no intention of treating my subordinates like objects.
Even if Dora is fine with it, I’m certainly not, even if it is a template.

“…Wait, Akatsuki, what would you even bet with?”

“I won’t lose against him, Chief.
That’s right, I won’t lose, so, how about this: if you win, you can take those Dragon Newts away.”

You want to bet with a right that I already have? Even though I just got over my previous amazement, I have no choice but to be amazed again.

“I’ve already given them that right.
If you want to bet on a duel, you need something to bet with.
…No, forget that, in the first place, you should still be locked up.
Take Akatsuki away.”

The Dragon Newts standing behind the Chieftain tried to restrain Akatsuki, but he wouldn’t have it.

“Don’t do this! It’s for the good of the Hidden Area! Why would you do this Chief!? Why do you despise me!? You! It’s all your fault!”

Shouting like that, Akatsuki [Insect Bastard] shook off the two Dragon Newts and tried to grab at me.

“I won’t let you.”

Of course, being my escort, Maria couldn’t overlook such an outrageous act, and she pierced his outstretched arm with a sword.

“Gyaaaaah!!!”

Akatsuki [Insect Bastard] started screaming and thrashing around, due to intense pain… Since I told Maria not to kill him before, this seems to be her way of holding back.
First it was a heel-kick to the solar plexus, and now she even pierced his arm with a sword, Maria really doesn’t show any mercy.
Not that I mind… (ED: I mistranslated it as a ‘roundhouse kick to the temple’ before)

“I’m not going to heal him.”

“…It can’t be helped, I can’t really overlook his violent behaviour until now.”

Akatsuki [Insect Bastard] got restrained and taken away, though he still kept shouting profanities at me, while holding his bleeding arm.

“You! You bastard! I’ll make you regret this… I’ll kill you!!!”

…I don’t think that’s even possible, right?

In the end, the duel template collapsed without me having to anything.

“Hmm… When I think that I wanted him to marry Shirayuki, and be the next Chieftain, it makes my head hurt… I should keep him confined for the next 100 years… This way you shouldn’t run into him again.”

100 years would be a life sentence for a human.
As you’d expect, their view of time is totally different.

“I’m sorry I’ve caused you trouble yet again… But, if you knew this was going to happen, shouldn’t you have avoided it in the first place?”

“Well, I decided to rely on Chief for this one.
If things really did get too far, we already decided to forget the ‘free pass’ and just take the tamed Dragon Newts and leave.”

“Okay, okay! It’s my fault! Please stop that!”

The Chieftain humbly apologised.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a joke, so I can’t really say that it was.

“Of course, I’ll keep my promise and let them stay here, as long as you keep our ‘free pass’ valid.”

“Yes, I know…”

“Then, it’s fine.
We’re off sightseeing.
We’ll be back by evening.”

“Um, it might not be necessary, considering your strength, but there are monsters outside of the village, even if they are pretty weak, so do be careful.”

We separated with the Chieftain after that, and I used Nosferatu [Wings of The Immortal] to fly to the ruins, while carrying everyone.

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“That really surprised me.
Regular humans can’t fly, right?”

While in the air, Mikazuki asked us a series of questions.
Like Dora, she is flying alongside me in her human form, plus dragon wings, also known as the angel form.
By the way, she is currently wearing clothes.
I made it mandatory for all the tamed Dragon Newts to wear them during our stay.
Since she can grow wings out of her back, she’s wearing a pretty bold dress with an open back.
…Still, it’s not as bold as going around completely naked.

“No, only Master and Maria-san can do that.”

“Still, two out of five of you can fly, right?”

“Well, if you put it like that…”

Sera tried to teach her some human common sense, only to fail spectacularly.
While we were chatting like that, Mikazuki suddenly started to sway.

“…This seems to be my limit.”

“Oh right, I forgot about the skill level difference…”

I caught Mikazuki, who started to fall down, with Nosferatu [Wings of The Immortal].
Because her ‘Flight’ skill level is much lower than ours, it was a considerable burden for her to keep flying while keeping up with our regular speed.
She is already about to pass out.

“There is indeed some merit in serving Jin-sama to the point of passing out from exhaustion, but you will also worry him by doing so, so please make sure to avoid it in the future.”

“Wait, Maria, what are you even saying…?”

Mio got puzzled by Maria’s remark.
As for Mikazuki herself, she wasn’t in any condition to respond.

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We continued to fly for a couple more minutes, before finally arriving at the ruins.
From what I can see at the entrance, it’s indeed similar to Estia’s dungeon, with a stone staircase leading below ground.

“Kyukyui~. We’re here~.”

“So, this is the entrance to the dungeon… There seems to be a barrier around it.”

If there is one difference from Estia’s dungeon, it’s that there’s a barrier preventing us from entering.
Apparently, it’s the same kind as the one around the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area.
The barrier itself is transparent, but when you touch it, there’s indeed a clicking sound.

“Jin-sama, should we destroy it?”

“Please don’t be so quick to destroy things, Maria.
If there’s a barrier, there has to be a way to open it as well.”

“Yes, I understand.
I will follow Jin-sama’s wishes.”

“That’s right.
As a gamer, you have to follow the rules and figure out the hidden mechanism to unseal it.”

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Maria tried to take the brute force approach, but when I stopped her, Mio also agreed with me, nodding her head.

“Then, first, let’s look for clues.
There don’t seem to be any near the entrance.”

“Oh, I’m looking forward to finding out what kind of gimmick it will be.”

“Kyu~! Dora will find gimmick~!”

Mio and Dora both look really motivated.
Of course, I am too.
We’re not in a rush, so let’s try to capture it without relying on Alta and other cheats this time around.

“Then, let’s split up and check the area… How about the usual, Jin-kun and Maria, Dora and Me, and Mio and Sera…?”

“I have no objection.”

“There’s no problem, as long as Jin-sama isn’t left alone.”

The groups were decided, and we were just about to begin, when a report from Alta suddenly came.

A: …I’m sorry to report this, but there is no hidden way to disable this barrier.
As such, I decided I should intervene, instead of letting Masters waste their time in vain, trying to solve it.
The only way to disable it would be to kill all the Dragon Newts in the Hidden Area and wait for the core’s power to run out.

Eh? So there’s no hidden gimmick to open this barrier? And I was already looking forward to it…

“What the heck! That’s against the rules!”

After listening to Alta’s explanation, Mio immediately raised a complaint.
From a gamer’s perspective, it’s preposterous to have a barrier without a hidden way to open it.
But, the reality of it is, that not all things in life follow game logic.
Just because Estia’s… Azuma’s dungeon used so many game mechanics, it doesn’t mean all we should expect the other dungeons to be like that as well.

“Kyu, Kyu~. Then, we can’t enter…”

“Oh, don’t worry, Dora, we’re still going to explore it as planned.”

“Kyui~! Yay~!”

Obviously, I’m not going to change a schedule I’ve already decided on so easily (though, I’m not saying that it will never happen).

“Then, what are we going to do, Jin-kun…? Do you want to destroy the barrier, as Maria said…?”

“No, we don’t have to go that far.
All we have to do is use ‘Warp’.
See, like this.”

While responding to Sakura’s question, I moved to the inside of the barrier with a ‘Warp’ spell.
There’s no point in following the rules, if the other party doesn’t follow them in the first place.

“The ‘Warp’ spell can be used to transfer to anywhere in the visual range, so as long as you can see the other side, there’s no problem if there are obstacles between.”

“Oh, you’re right.
As always, Sakura-sama’s spells are really useful.”

“Kyui~! Dora got in~!”

Other members followed us inside using the ‘Warp’ spell.
Mikazuki is still unconscious, so I brought her over using ‘Summon’.

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“The inside is similar to the first 10 floors of Estia’s dungeon.”

“That’s right… But there are no monsters inside…”

Maria and Sakura muttered, while we moved forward through the dungeon.

“Oh, you’re right.
As far as I can see on the map, there aren’t even monsters placed at key points to act as gatekeepers… This is totally casual mode.”

“I guess I was expecting too much.
I am a bit disappointed now.”

“This place isn’t a prohibited area, right?”

While Mio and I expressed our disappointment, Sera asked worriedly.

“Not that I heard.
Mikazuki, is there a rule banning people from entering the ruins?”

“No, there is no such rule.
Though, it might be because no one can enter in the first place, with there being a barrier in the way and all…”

I checked with Mikazuki, who already regained consciousness, but there didn’t seem to be any such rule.
Though, like she said, it might just be the case of there being to need for one.
Still, like my best friend once said: ‘everything that isn’t explicitly prohibited is technically allowed’, so it should be okay.
…It’s okay, right?

“Well, based on what I’ve learned as a Dungeon Master, it’s a basic rule to let other creatures enter the dungeon, and if there is no Dungeon Master, the person who first reaches the core, becomes the next Dungeon Master.
This was also the case in Estia’s dungeon, even if the conditions for reaching it were a bit more strict.”

Sure, it was something only my best friend Asai and I could feasibly solve, but it wasn’t technically impossible.

“But then, what about this dungeon? You could say that the entire Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area is technically ‘inside the dungeon’.
But still, blocking the way to the core with a barrier is a major rule violation.
Since there is no way to unlock it, there is no other way but to use the transfer magic, which in itself is also a cheat.”

It’s only a conjecture of mine, but it sure seems like the creator of this dungeon, no, of the Dragon Newts’ Hidden Area, did all in their power to create a safe haven from the Dragon Newts.
And that’s why it deviates so much from your bog-standard dungeon.

“That’s right! If you really didn’t want people to enter, you should have just filled in the entrance! It’s way too selfish to prohibit others from entering with a barrier, even though there is no Dungeon Master! Not to mention, I would love to hear more about these ‘basic dungeon rules’ from Master!”

“Well, maybe another time.”

“Eh, Master, don’t be like that!”

Mio really couldn’t forgive the ‘blocked without a secret gimmick’ thing.
By the way, there are way too many ‘dungeon rules’ for me to explain right now, so let’s just leave it to Alta instead.

A: Please leave it to me.

“Anyway, since there was no way to enter this dungeon without going around the rules, I don’t think anyone will complain.”

“If Master, who’s also a Dungeon Master, says so, then it should be right.”

“There aren’t many Dungeon Masters like Jin-kun though…”

“Please don’t say that, Sakura…”

I’m Shindou Jin, a Dungeon Master who doesn’t live inside a dungeon.
Nice to meet you.

*************************************************************************************************************

Author: “I want to first generate more hate towards Akatsuki”

Maria: “I only hurt him moderately.”

Author: “Then, you’re saying that the hate only moderately decreased!?”