Chapter 205: The Completion of the Dungeon (Tentative)
Exactly one month had passed since Ryu obtained the ores.
Which meant that, around this time—the “monster fang he’d happened to pick up somewhere” should finally be arriving at the House of Duke Mondo.
Today, Ryu was exploring the dungeon together with the Dungeon Master.
To be more precise—they were currently walking through the mining tunnels hidden deep within the dungeon itself.
Despite having absolutely no mining experience whatsoever, Ryu carried a pickaxe over his shoulder with the confidence of a seasoned worker.
“Ooh. We’re still near the entrance, and there’s already exposed iron ore scattered around. That’s a pretty promising sign.”
“Well, iron and copper are easy to grow naturally, after all～” the Dungeon Master replied casually. “But stuff like orichalcum and hihiirokane are super difficult. Sorry, but I think those’ll probably only be harvestable once every two or three months.”
“That’s more than enough. Honestly, way more than enough. Thanks as always.”
“Ehehehe. I may not look it, but I’ve got a lot of free time, y’know～”
The Dungeon Master’s main duty was, naturally, operating the Federation’s massive earth-beast dungeon.
However, now that it had officially been designated an SS-rank dungeon, hardly any adventurers dared enter anymore.
Visitor numbers had already only been around once every half year to begin with—and now even those sparse challengers would likely continue dwindling.
“Speaking of which, how’re Alice and Ryoma doing these days?”
“You could just go see for yourself, you know… You can instantly teleport to Blanc and the underground dungeon in Tosa whenever you want.”
“Nah, I’ll wait until things settle down. I don’t want to interrupt those two during their lovey-dovey newlywed phase.”
“……Funny thing is, those two were saying the exact same thing. Like, ‘We don’t want to ruin Ryu and Stingray’s lovey-dovey newlywed life.’ Humans really have weird ways of keeping distance from each other, huh～”
As expected of Dragon Road.
People with strangely similar personalities naturally gathered around it.
“So things are going smoothly then. Honestly, I thought Count Blanc would be the stubborn overprotective father type who’d shout, ‘I refuse to hand my precious daughter over to some random nobody‼’”
“Uhh, according to him, he used to feel that way. But now he’s apparently more like, ‘Ryoma-dono, only you can keep this rampaging daughter of mine under control.’”
“Alice really has become a berserker nowadays.” Ryu sighed. “According to Lena, she spends most of her days off returning home covered in blood and mud before getting scolded by her parents.”
“That’s definitely your fault, right?” the Dungeon Master said flatly. “Alice herself said, ‘The one who changed me was Ryu-sensei.’”
“………………”
“………………”
“Alright. Looks like we’re about to reach the mining area.”
“Ah, you changed the subject.”
The moment they arrived—a dazzling variety of minerals protruded directly from the surrounding rock walls.
“Ooooh‼ This is incredible. A mine where this many different ores are exposed in one place… there probably isn’t another one like this anywhere in the world.”
“Probably not～. Oh, and there are technically other mining dungeons out there, but ours is the only one where you can safely gather materials this easily.”
Ordinary mining dungeons were infested with bat-type monsters, mole creatures that collapsed tunnels, or giant spiders that filled passageways with webs.
Simply reaching the mining zones was already a deadly ordeal.
And even regarding the quality and variety of ores—most mining dungeons considered it a major success if someone managed to bring back even a tiny amount of mithril once a year.
“Once the next generation fully rises to prominence, I plan on cleanly stepping away from Arden.” Ryu spoke quietly while gazing at the mineral-veined walls. “When that time comes, I’ll have to destroy this dungeon too. ……What a waste.”
“Oh, no worries there‼ Dungeon records can be stored directly inside the core. As long as the core survives, the dungeon can be relocated anywhere exactly as it is‼”
“……Seriously?”
“Seriously seriously. Ultra seriously.”
Ryu genuinely stared at the Dungeon Master in shock.
(I’m really glad I became friends with this guy. Seriously.)
“Well then, guess it’s finally time to start mining.”
Ryu grabbed the pickaxe from his shoulder—
but then suddenly froze.
“Wait… I heard minerals lose a ton of value if they get scratched or cracked during extraction. Is this actually okay?”
“…………Maybe today should just be a sightseeing tour.”
“Knowing when to give up is important too～”
And so, the two simply wandered through the mining cavern together afterward, excitedly pointing things out to one another.
“So that’s hihiirokane?”
“And that one’s adamantite?”
The atmosphere became strangely lively as they admired the exposed ores before finally turning back toward the exit.
“Hey, hey,” the Dungeon Master suddenly asked. “Earlier, you said you plan to leave Arden someday. Where are you thinking of going?”
“No idea yet. The Demon Continent’s off-limits as long as the Demon King exists, but there are still other inhabited continents out there. Traveling through those sounds interesting.”
“Oooh～. And when’ll that happen?”
“Could be thirty years from now. Could be a hundred. Maybe even three hundred.”
There was probably nobody else in the world with whom Ryu could casually have conversations like this.
“Hmmm. So you’re not planning on going to another world?”
“That’ll be the very last step.” Ryu folded his arms behind his head while walking leisurely through the tunnel. “After I’ve completely explored this world… if I somehow manage to open a door to another dimension, then maybe I’ll take the chance.”
“A loooong time ago, the Dragon King opened portals to other worlds a few times.”
“────Huh?”
Ryu’s thoughts stopped cold.
“……What did you just say?”
“I said Dragon King Bahamut connected dimensions to other worlds a few times～”
“…He never told me that.”
“I think he was keeping it secret. Dunno why though.”
“………………”
A conversation Ryu once had with Bahamut resurfaced in his mind.
‘Can dragons not use Hero Summoning magic?’
‘It is not that we cannot use it. Rather… such magic is impossible with dragon mana. That spell can only be activated using human magical power.’
(So since he couldn’t perform summoning magic… did he instead try forcing his own way through dimensions personally?)
(……Well, whatever.)
“Alright. Next time I head to the floating island, I’ll ask him directly.”
“Ooh, nice. Tell me what he says too.”
“Of course.”
This was a world where dragons existed.
Where dungeons existed.
In a world like this—
the existence of a method to travel between dimensions wasn’t strange at all.
The only real question was whether Ryu himself would ever truly desire it.
And perhaps—
that alone was all that mattered.