Chapter 2632 – 2632. Dark Moon

This dungeon isn’t just filled with mages.

A dungeon is a dungeon. Mages are a type of named monster, and there are also monsters called fodder mobs.

“Shassss…”

A low, crawling breath.

Kukuru and I stopped moving and turned our gaze towards the sound. Parting the undergrowth, a lizardman with a mix of lizard and human features appeared.

In the distant past, they were treated as monsters, but now, like elves, they are classified as one of the demi-human races. However, their numbers have drastically decreased in modern times, so they are designated as a protected species. A kind of living national treasure.

‘It’s not about protecting them with human rights, but a pretext to stably extract lizardman factors…’

Lizardmen have superior physical abilities and mana affinity compared to humans. However, their average intelligence is lower than humans, making them more suited to shamanism than magic. If a human accepts lizardman factors, the disadvantage of intelligence disappears.

‘If I catch one and sell it on the black market, I could make enough money to change an ordinary person’s life.’

“Shasss… Human… Kill…”

The lizardman’s hostility and murderous intent are directed at me. Kukuru’s presence is ignored as if he were a backdrop. Both of us are beings bound to this dungeon.

The lizardman runs. He has a larger build than a human, a thick tail, and a steel spear clutched tightly in his hand.

[Wind Cutter]

A second-grade wind magic is activated. Invisible blades of wind rush towards the lizardman.

The lizardman raises both arms. He sensed the invisible magic. The wind blades reach the lizardman’s wrists. Scratches appear, but that’s all. They didn’t cut him. Not a drop of blood comes out. The lizardman’s durability is as expected.

‘Even if he enhanced his body with mana, it’s a bit shocking that there’s no damage at all.’

Wind Cutter is a second-grade magic, but the caster is me, a sixth-grade mage. Even the same magic can vary greatly in power depending on the mage’s level.

‘His physical durability must be at least fourth-grade.’

Everything else is crude. Movement, speed, etc. This means I can attack continuously.

[Wind Cutter]

Another wind blade is sent flying. But the result was different from before. It cut through the lizardman’s wrist and decapitated him.

The lizardman’s corpse fell to the ground with a thud. Kukuru’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the lizardman’s corpse.

“You added another magic to the Wind Cutter. It seems like you slightly modified the magic formula… If it were another element like fire or electricity, it would have been immediately visible. What did you add to the Wind Cutter?”

“Telekinesis.”

“…That trash magic? Why bother…?”

“The biggest advantage of Wind Cutter is that it’s invisible. Even if you sense mana, you’ll be slower than seeing and reacting. If I mixed fire and electricity, the power would increase, but it would become too flashy and easy to dodge. And telekinesis isn’t weak just because it’s telekinesis.”

“Indeed. So even dog poop has its uses. Still, I don’t want to use telekinesis magic. It’s more beneficial to use other magic. Telekinesis consumes too much mental power compared to its effect. Honestly, I still find it hard to understand. You, a mage, should know how important mental power management is for a mage.”

Telekinesis is a magic activated with a ratio of 9 mental power to 1 mana. Even if you increase your proficiency in telekinesis, the mental power consumption remains the same. After using telekinesis once, your mind becomes fatigued, so mages rarely use it, to the point of hating it.

I use telekinesis often because I don’t have any mental power consumption. It’s also convenient in many ways. But even if I say this directly, Kukuru will think it’s just boasting.

“It’s a preference.”

“Well, that’s quite a preference… Even a mage like you has flaws.”

I barely managed to resist the urge to smack Kukuru’s head.

Kukuru approached the headless lizardman corpse.

“Undead Rise.”

He chanted. His dark mana seeped into the lizardman’s corpse. The severed head and wrist reattached. The corpse propped itself up with its hand, and stood up. It gripped the spear as it had in life.

“Did you know? The lizardmen here weren’t eaten by transcendents. They are actually alive, residents living in this dungeon.”

“I know that the transcendent Belk was a lizardman, not a human. Living here means… they weren’t devoured but made into subordinates?”

“That’s right. Mages eaten by transcendents are obligated to protect lizardmen. Of course, I’m an exception since I control myself.”

“So, this is a paradise for lizardmen created by a transcendent?”

“Paradise? Heh. Absolutely not. What paradise when demi-humans with intelligence similar to humans are gathered in one place? I’ve seen these things kill each other in wars countless times. And the strongest one takes power. These are just frogs in a well, fish in a tank.”

He sneered at the lizardmen harshly.

After that, I followed him.

Several lizardmen appeared. As soon as they saw me, the lizardmen attacked without hesitation. Since they tried to kill me, I counterattacked and killed them. No need for conversation.

‘The lizardmen’s equipment is getting better. At first, they didn’t have any armor, but now they’re wearing light armor.’

It meant we were going in the right direction. Kukuru turned every lizardman corpse into an undead. There were 11 lizardman undead following him.

And then we found a mage.

“It’s cold. So cold… It’s cold, so I need to make a fire…”

As if it were natural, the deranged mage cast a Fire Tornado as soon as he saw me. Flames spun and soared into the sky. The tornado sucked everything in, rotating and slowly approaching me.

If I hadn’t grabbed my body with telekinesis, I would have been sucked in and burned to death.

Fire Tornado is a fifth-grade magic, but the magic that mage unleashed was at a seventh-grade level.

‘The magic and the mage are connected. He’s manipulating it to maintain the magic. Then the answer is to target the mage.’

[Chain Lightning]

A lightning bolt extended from my fingertip and flew towards a tree. The lightning bolt burned the tree, bounced off, and moved to another tree. It did this several times. The final destination of the lightning bolt was the fire mage.

The lightning bolt had weakened as it bounced continuously, so it couldn’t kill the fire mage in one go.

‘But the Fire Tornado is broken.’

In the forest where ashes were scattering, I cast magic on the fire mage who was unable to move due to being electrocuted.

[Telekinesis]

I grabbed his head with telekinesis and twisted it.

Normally, it wouldn’t work. Especially mages have high magic resistance, so telekinesis is practically ineffective. Not to mention if they are at the same sixth-grade level as me.

‘But he’s electrocuted and out of his mind. He’s casting magic, but he’s close to an empty shell without substance.’

The mage’s clothes and corpse disappeared, and a golden light appeared. The light flew quickly and seeped into my head.

“What magic did I get this time?”

“…Fire Mushroom.”

I used the magic directly.

A 30cm red mushroom was created in the air. The red mushroom bounced and moved forward.

“Hehe. A cute mushroom.”

The red mushroom exploded at a suitable point.

KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG!

An area of 10m around was engulfed in the explosion and devastated. Kukuru, who had been chuckling, stopped laughing.

“A moving bomb. It could be quite useful depending on the situation. Judging by the burning ground, even if you withstand the impact, the fire will stick to you. Unlike its cute appearance, its lethality is incredibly high. Especially bad compatibility with undead. What grade magic is it?”

“Third-grade. It’s a fire-type arcane magic.”

“Not arcane but arcane magic. Certainly, it’s worthy of being called arcane at this level.”

Just because it wasn’t arcane didn’t mean arcane was weak. Why else would magic be secretly designated?

‘I prefer arcane magic that I can understand the principles of and control 100% over arcane magic that I can’t understand the principles of.’

After that, I killed three more mages with Kukuru’s help. Unfortunately, I only obtained ordinary magic. The number of undead following Kukuru exceeded 100. I was a little nervous because I didn’t trust Kukuru.

‘I’ve saved as much mana as possible while coming here. If necessary, I also have Leap… Even if he suddenly betrays me, I won’t be caught off guard.’

‘I’ve killed a total of five named mages, so now only the boss remains.’

The named mages that appear in this dungeon are random. But the dungeon boss doesn’t change.

“Now, we’ll perform the final ritual at the altar. The altar is in the center of the lizardman city. Lizardman shamans and soldiers will try to interfere. I’ll block them, so you finish the ritual at the center of the altar. With that ritual, you’ll become seventh-grade, and I’ll be freed from the dungeon.”

Our respective goals will be achieved. If Kukuru’s goal is truly liberation, that is.

“Do you need a break?”

I gulped down an expensive mana potion from my inventory.

“I’m fine. I have enough energy. Let’s go right away.”

As we got closer to the city, I realized something was amiss.

The city was empty. Of course, there were a few lizardmen on guard. However, their numbers were much smaller than expected.

Kukuru paused for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahahaha! Luck is on our side! You said it, didn’t you, that there would be guys following you into this dungeon! It’s them! They came with considerable power, so all the lizardmen went to kill them!”

“Then we need to hurry. Whether the lizardmen win or the guys chasing me win, they’ll definitely interfere with me.”

“Right. Let’s move while time is on our side.”

It wasn’t a bloodless entry. The remaining lizardmen were killed by magic.

I took a look at the stone houses and roads, then used magic.

[Fire Mushroom]

A red mushroom that popped out of thin air bounced and settled in one spot on the street. Then it became transparent.

“Hmm? Did it have a transparency function too?”

“Instead, it can’t move. It will explode if someone approaches. It’s a kind of landmine. It can’t be maintained for long… For now, the maximum is one hour.”

“One hour is enough.”

I planted mushrooms all over the streets.

Suddenly, I remembered my past life. A game I used to enjoy. I was a jungler who planted mushrooms in the jungle of that canyon.

First, I would go counter-jungle and plant mushrooms in the enemy jungle, and the thrill when the enemy jungler stepped on a mushroom… I still remember it vividly.

‘…That was a long time ago.’

Anyway, I was able to reach the altar, which rose like a pyramid in the center of the city, without any interference from the dungeon boss.