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Chapter 1070
“Alysia?” I spoke to her, because she had gone silent for a while.
“I-is his story true?” She asked.
“When it comes to dungeons and their curses, there is no such thing as a truth. Stories change and warp with time, and every person there observes things differently. That story is very likely his truth, just as her story was her own truth. That’s ultimately what creates a curse. People not knowing the whole story, their lives being forever poisoned by their story being cut short, or falling in a direction that was far too cruel. Just like every story is different, so is every dungeon.”
“I… didn’t know…” She spoke quietly.
“Few people on this continent do. To the Fey, dungeons are just the points of invaders, threatening to eat away their mana and poison their world. Even humanity has forgotten where we came from.”
Is there a dungeon between Earth and this world? I wouldn’t even be able to guess. I was able to use magic over there, but the mana wasn’t particularly thick like on the fey continent.
“The fey?” She questioned.
“You see-“ I stopped just as I was about to explain some things to her because the middle-aged man had approached me.
“You have lowered your blade.” He stated.
“I have,” I confirmed.
“You were the one who resurrected me?” This was closer to a question.
“I was.”
“Then, I owe you my thanks. I owe you one.”
“If you owe me, then my goal since entering the dungeon has only been to leave it. As our souls are trapped in here, people I care about are in trouble. The both of us were kind of in the middle of something. A demon lord, countries at war, and so-on. If you’d let me leave with Alysia, I would be eternally grateful.”
“Regretfully, that is something I am unable to do.” He responded, a bitter look on his face.
I felt a pang of anger, but I quickly repressed it and took a breath. “Then, I would ask that you explain.”
“This dungeon isn’t completely controlled by my daughter. In the way that she was able to control me like a sword, I also had some modicum of control while I was in that blade. The trials were ultimately created by me, in hopes of finding a successor. I was looking for a person who wouldn’t be corrupted by a cursed blade like I was. A god soul, one blended with darkness and light.
“That was the prerequisite?”
“One of them. The second was someone who had completed the lore of another dungeon. When you activated your blessings, you met the conditions to enter this dungeon.”
“Alright, continue…” I had a bad feeling about this.
“The only people who can enter this dungeon are those who have been completely detached with their bodies. Those like Alysia who died against my blade, their souls are sucked into the dungeon. However, for you to enter the dungeon, your body also had to be destroyed. However, when I went to take your soul, your body was absent.”
“What are you saying?”
“First off, the only way to bring you into this dungeon was to destroy you. Your blessings were absorbed by this dungeon, as were all of your essence. In short, to the world outside, you are dead. Not only would you not have been able to be resurrected, but any indicators that would have suggested you lived would have shattered. You were completly disconnected from your world. I cannot return you, because you are not alive to return.”
I began to shake as I heard this. I felt a hand grab me, and Alysia had returned to her human form to keep me from falling. I still had to ask.
“Slaves?”
“The bond would have been destroyed for all of them.”
I barely managed to keep standing. “That’s… it’s only been a couple of days…”
The man looked down. “As to that…”
“Wh-what?”
“Your soul entered this dungeon in a nontraditional way, being dragged in with your partner. Although this allowed you to see through this dungeon’s true nature quicker than others, there was a time where you were… for lack of a better word, lost. It was I who pulled your soul out of the weapon and placed you in the trial.”
“H-How long?” I demanded through gritted teeth.
“Two months. You were in this dungeon for two months.”
Chapter 1071
“What was the point of it then?” I demanded, still trying to keep my cool, which would have been impossible without Alysia beside me. “Why put me through a trial if I cannot be resurrected?”
“This dungeon… has always had a single mission. It was to find a swordsman and to manufacture him his sword. To find a replacement for my failure with my daughter. Had that purpose not become corrupted and forgotten, then in this level, your sword would absorb all of the power of the sword, and you would finally be released.”
“What about now?” I asked.
He pointed up, and a white ball began to fall from the ceiling. It gently floated down, and he caught it in his hand. Then, he held it out to me.
“If you destroy this, then this dungeon will disperse. You, and Alysia, will be freed. The body will be reformed, and Alysia will be released to be resurrected.”
I reached out to grab the orb, but as I did, a soft hand fell on my mine and held it. I turned to Alysia, who was looking at me tearfully.
“We… shouldn’t destroy this story. We don’t have the right.”
“I’m sorry for the trouble we-” the man stopped as he felt his shirt being tugged.
He looked down to see his daughter pulling his shirt and looking up at him.
“Is there nothing that we can do?” She asked, her eyes wet with tears.
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to help?”
She nodded her head. “I… want to be a good girl.”
He smiled gently, kneeling and stroking her head. “Oh, my child. I also wish to do something good for once.”
“Can we complete it?” Alysia asked.
He turned to us. “Complete it?”
“The dungeon… can you finish turning me into the blade. Deek will be the swordsman, and I will be his blade, right?”
“If you do this… it won’t be painless.”
“I can take it.”
He turned to me, but I was looking at Alysia.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“I want to walk this path with you. I want to save more dungeons, and turn misfortune into blessings.”
I nodded. It was something I needed to hear at that moment. I was still in a bit of shock over the previous declaration. All of my slave bonds had been severed, and two months had passed. That was two months where everyone believed me to be dead. Just what was going on up there? Was it too late to save Aberis? What about all my girls? Who knew where they were after two months? As my Slave Master grew, I had gained the skill Bond Conditions. It allowed me to set the nature of a Slave Bond. Normally, the bond would reconnect to someone else, usually in the slave guild. I had set my bonds to disperse upon my death, effectively freeing the girls. This was technically against the rules, but I wasn’t expecting to die permanently. I should also state that even upon death, the bonds remained intact as long as your soul was alive. It took the soul being destroyed or the bonds being severed from the soul to truly end the bond. That’s why when I cut my soul, one part of me ended up with all of the bonds, rather than them being duplicated or something.
“Then, let’s finish this dungeon right.” I firmed my resolve.
I would fix everything. I would show this world my strength, and I would resolve myself to reclaim what I lost.
“Good.” The man stood back up. “Then let’s begin.”
Chapter 1072
The man clicked his fingers, and the forge appeared in front of him. “In order to create a sword, the first thing we must do is create the physical body. This dungeon isn’t just a trial, but a repository. All the energy we saved on traps, mobs, and treasures have gone into storing the finest materials this world has ever known. Silvthril, malacrum, mithril, orichalcum, astral, proteus ore, deep steel, I have enough of it all.
“This dungeon has existed for quite some time. Believe it or not, although my conditions of entry were originally less strict, you’re not even the first True Dungeon Diver with a god soul to enter this place. Many heroes have fallen in this dungeon and become weapons under my daughter’s hand.”
“S-s-sorry!” She cried.
He reached out and patted her head before turning back to us. “I will make the ideal body for you. Then, we will infuse your spirit into it. The final step… well, we’ll get to that when it comes.”
“So, she’ll be only a sword? She can’t change into other shapes?”
“You’re able to transform?” His eyes widened. “That’s incredible! To do such a thing, a person’s mind must truly be committed.”
“You mean that wasn’t an intentional part of the dungeon? Just how were we supposed to beat it then?” I looked at Alysia, who was more incredible than I originally thought.
“I just… decided I had to be… whatever Master needed me to be.” She blushed.
“I could do that if I wanted to!” The little girl responded defiantly. “I… just didn’t feel like it!”
“To answer your question, if she can transform, then she should still be able to. It might take more effort. In here, the sword is just a soul construct… and the manifestation of your will. One can accomplish a lot with their will, but when it comes to physical use, it will take time and practice.”
“I see…” I nodded as I took in what he said.
“Oh, and another thing… she will end up cursed in the end. This is a dungeon, and we are miasma, so ultimately, she will become miasma as well. I believe, with her mind, she will be able to resist the bloodthirst and corruption that comes with it. However, in time, her mind will inevitably degrade. On the bright side, by that point, you’ll be long dead.”
“Th-then, when I die, I will be buried with Master.” Alysia didn’t look put off at all.
“Deek, you will be the only one who can wield her. Anyone else would be slowly corrupted as I was. This is why someone with a god soul is needed.”
“There… might be another way,” I said.
“Hmm?”
“I can… absorb and purify miasma,” I explained. “As a White Mage and a Dark Priest, well, I have some tricks up my sleeve. I once used myself a sieve, purifying the miasmic infection of a budding demon lord. Upon reflection, that was probably the act that set me on the course of getting a god soul in the first place. However, when it comes to Alysia, I can purify the magic.”
“The amount of miasma being used… to use you as a channel…” He held up his hands.
“If she can take it, so can I.”
“Very well… then instead of a cursed blade… perhaps this sets the time where we’ll create the very first blessed blade.”