Chapter 17 [Dungeon, 1. Dungeon Subjugation]

The skinks in Crevasse mentioned that there's a large cave a little further ahead. Perhaps we should check it out for ourselves...

Yeah, I knew it, too... In skink language, "a little" translates to "three days" in Japanese... We've walked over a hundred kilometers...

We arrived at the outskirts of a town called Moro. Moro, once bustling with gold mining, is now deserted after exhausting its gold reserves, resembling a ghost town. Walking mechanically through the desolate outskirts, a considerably high mountain comes into view. Unlike the mountain ranges like Edge Village, there's only one mountain, but to eyes accustomed to barren lands, the deep green looks reassuring. At the foot of that mountain, there was the cave.

"It seems there are no large animals... but more importantly, the feel of this wall. Could it be..."

"Master, is this a Dungeon to be subjugated?"

Dungeon subjugation?

"Well, when dungeons grow larger, monsters become stronger, and because it's dangerous, humans kill the Dungeon Core."

"The Dungeon Core is the main body of the dungeon. When it's destroyed, the dungeon dies like this, and the monsters find it uncomfortable, so most of them disappear."

Come to think of it, our cave isn't as smooth. There are small cracks here and there, and it's quite dusty overall. We've descended to the bottom, but there are signs of collapse. Is it the result of the Dungeon Core being destroyed?

"The Spirit Tree remembers... a few years ago... the hero from the neighboring... barony... seems to have... subjugated it."

Highfa, who had been listening to our conversation through telepathy, explains. Did the dungeon collapse because the hero subjugated it? Telepathy is quite convenient. We can talk even when we're nearly 300 kilometers apart.

So, is this the end state of a dungeon? Anyway...

"Hey, what is the Dungeon Core? I've never seen it."

"Master, it seems you and the Dungeon Core have become one."

"It's a semi-transparent, crystal-like sphere. Oh, that one over there seems to be a fragment."

Is this it? It's almost completely split in two. Huh? Wait a minute...

"Hey, this Dungeon Core doesn't seem completely dead. When magic is infused, there's a faint reaction."

"Huh? In that case, if Master pours magic into it, could it possibly come back to life?"

"Eh, can dungeons come back to life? Master."

Well, I don't know. But...

"Let's give it a try. Like this?"

Infusing magic, both fragments weakly respond. Through Highfa's mycelium, I asked the Spirit Tree's grandpa, but he said he had never heard of a case where a Dungeon Core was revived. Well, let's give it a shot. We can't stay here for long, so we'll gather the fragments and return to our cave. Now, it's an experiment.