Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 98: The Dungeon’s “Death”
Once they had decided to destroy the core, the question became who would do it.
No one knew what might happen when it broke, so everyone was understandably cautious.
“I’ll destroy it,” Bob volunteered.
“I was the one who set everything in motion by suggesting we investigate. I’ll take responsibility to the end. Besides, if something happens, I’ll run. I’m confident in my agility.”
“Then I’ll stay and see it through with you. I’m confident in my agility too,” Tauro offered.
The B-rank team’s leader considered this briefly before saying, “Let’s finish this before another orc spawns. Everyone, get out of the dungeon.”
The party ran toward the entrance.
“Don’t overdo it, okay?” Aeris told Tauro before leaving with the others.
After confirming that everyone was gone, Bob called out, “All right, I’m breaking it!”
With that warning, he swung his sword down onto the core.
Clang!
A crack appeared in the crystal-like stone, but nothing else happened.
Apparently, they would have to shatter it completely.
Bob struck the core again and again. The cracks spread little by little, but it refused to break apart.
“Take this!”
Bob brought his sword down with all his strength.
Clink!
Instead of the core breaking, Bob’s sword snapped against its hardness.
“I’ll take over,” Tauro said, drawing his short sword.
“…Sorry. I’m counting on you,” Bob replied apologetically.
Tauro climbed onto the pedestal, thrust his short sword into one of the cracks, and worked it deeper. Then he took a hammer from [Magic Storage] and used the short sword like a chisel.
After several blows, countless rays of light burst from the core. The stone shattered with a faint sound like breaking glass.
At that moment, the Voice of the World echoed in Tauro’s mind.
“Activation condition for the special skill [Garbled Text] confirmed: <One Who Shattered a Dungeon Core>. Acquired [Creation Magic (Weak)].”
“Tauro! The light in the floor and walls is fading!” Bob warned.
Tauro immediately illuminated the area with the light spirit spell [Illumination]. At the same time, the glow from the floor and walls vanished completely.
They could tell that the dungeon had “died.” The floors and walls, lustrous only moments before, had lost their vitality and become ordinary stone. Contrary to their fears, however, the dungeon didn’t collapse.
“It’s over…” Bob murmured in relief.
“…It seems so… Hm?”
A patch of ground behind the pedestal was raised, as though the core had been trying to create something before it was destroyed. When Tauro examined it with [True Eye], the words “Treasure Chest” appeared.
Bob urged Tauro to leave, but Tauro stopped him and pointed at the ground.
“There’s something over there. May I dig it up?”
“Hm? There is? I’ll help.”
Together, they pried up the floor stones and brushed away the soil, revealing a literal treasure chest.
Tauro couldn’t see what was inside, but under the circumstances, it was unlikely to be a chest-shaped monster—a mimic.
“How did you even notice that?” Bob asked in amazement before urging him to open it.
“Here goes.”
Tauro opened the chest and found a bow inside.
It was plain and didn’t look valuable at first glance, but [True Eye] identified it as the Bow of Artemis. Both its value and its abilities were hidden. Tauro had never seen anything like it and wondered whether it might be cursed, though it didn’t feel ominous.
“A bow, huh? I don’t use one, so you can have it, Tauro. Put it in [Magic Storage] and let’s get back to the others. They’re probably worried.”
Tauro nodded and stored the entire treasure chest. He also decided to take the pedestal and a fragment of the dungeon core with him.
When they emerged, the others were indeed in the middle of organizing a party to go back and check on them.
“Tauro! Are you all right? Nothing happened?” Aeris asked as she hurried over.
Shin and Rumeya followed, surrounding Tauro as well.
“For now, the dungeon seems to be dead, so no more monsters should spawn.”
“That’s right. It cost me my sword, though! Hahaha!”
Bob laughed and patted Tauro on the head.
“I see. Then this quest is fully resolved. Let’s withdraw,” the B-rank leader declared.
The party nodded and set out for Dansas as evening fell.