Tuge, Leader of the Dungeon Closure Unit, Subordinate Team
After I finished answering the questions, Majoka' s eyes bulged, foam spilled from his mouth, and he fainted on the spot.
I caught him just in time before his head hit the ground.
Majoka didn' t know I hadn' t told him everything.
In truth, I' m fed up with my position. There' s no chance to show my skills to Lord Jaigia, so my prospects for advancement in the guild are slim.
I shouldn' t be wasting time cleaning up in a subordinate team, let alone in a minor branch of an outer city like this.
Hours passed, and that wretched corpse was completely absorbed. But this dagger—why is it absorbing so slowly?
My team and I waited for hours, and it still only absorbed half.
I couldn' t take it anymore. I clenched my fist and smashed it down to scare the dungeon into hurrying up.
Who would' ve thought it' d be so weak it shattered on the spot?
With the core broken, no more monsters could be spawned. So, my team and I decided to head back.
We' d just explain that we hit it too hard, so there' s no final monster corpse to deliver.
As for the dagger, it' s probably worthless after stabbing that useless kid, so I didn' t bother bringing it back.
Everyone rushed back to the guild, as Majoka saw.
*****
The Unseen Event of the Newborn Dungeon Core
At that moment, the core sensed its impending death. It hastened to absorb everything lifeless across its ten floors to convert into energy for spawning monsters to protect itself.
It was delighted when someone tossed a mangled corpse down for it to absorb. Corpses like that were easier to process than living beings, which took time to break down.
It didn' t take long to convert the corpse into energy. But as it prepared to spawn a new monster, it discovered a power far greater than it could' ve imagined.
This wasn' t a monster even high-level dungeons could easily create.
It was a monster beyond the dungeon' s control.
It mutated and evolved to its ultimate form.
That thing was the fang of the beast known as the [Oger King] .
Called by many names—Beast of Ruin, Walking Catastrophe, King of Destruction, and so on.
The dungeon core was overjoyed. Even if this [Ogre King] was defeated immediately after becoming a king, its power was enough.
It was enough to create a mighty boss or thousands of monsters.
And it made its choice—to spawn a supreme boss to protect it.
The corpses of those trying to kill it would become energy to create minions for this boss.
It wouldn' t die. It would expand its floors and devour everything.
All that remained was the other half of the dagger. Then everything would go as planned.
That was its final thought before it crumbled to dust.
*****
The Dead Dungeon, 10th Floor
Without the core to supply energy, every floor was plunged into darkness, devoid of light.
The dungeon was counting down to its extinction.
But the overwhelming desires of two entities changed that.
The core' s desire to create a boss.
And Calika' s desire to survive.
These desires shouldn' t have manifested. But the immense power within the [Ogre King] ' s fang drew them together.
The half-dagger left in the dungeon called out to the other half in the void, merging back together.
And it brought those desires with it.
The half-blade shattered into glittering dust, sparkling beautifully before being drawn to a central point.
The powers of both sides converged, making the desires reality.
Amid the void, a blinding light erupted, illuminating the entire floor.
At the center, a new form was being meticulously crafted.
When the light faded, only the naked body of a young woman lay unconscious on the ground.
*****
Jaigia, Leader of the [Radiant Fang] Guild
Rachel reported that she' d informed Majoka, but it' s been almost an hour—why hasn' t he shown up?
While waiting with nothing to do, I recalled the past, ten years ago, when I acquired that fang.
I broke that fang myself, fighting alongside [Rank S] and [Rank A] guilds from multiple kingdoms to defeat the [Ogre King] .
It was a brutal battle. Countless guilds were obliterated. Adventurers [Rank A] and below died like falling leaves—I nearly joined them.
Even some [Rank S] fighters were crippled, forced to retire, including my old guild leader.
After he disbanded the guild, I founded my own.
We fought for weeks, taking turns to wear it down without rest until it weakened.
We were lucky it had just evolved into a king. Otherwise, it' d be my fang it broke.
After another week, we brought it down, but at a tremendous cost. I was gravely injured and bedridden for a year.
There was no victory feast. The loss of key figures was so great it reshaped the power dynamics of entire kingdoms.
That fang was the greatest honor of my life.
When I held it up to the sun, it gleamed brilliantly. That' s how my guild got its name.
I didn' t hesitate to turn it into my trusted weapon. I could feel its immense power.
Deep down, I wanted to graft it into my own fang, but it rejected me, so I made it a weapon instead.
I sent a request to Guido, a [Rank S] weaponsmith in another kingdom, to craft it into a dagger.
He took the job because of the rare material, but it cost a hundred platinum coins—ten million gold.
It was worth it when I saw the dagger.
Its durability was unbelievable. I tested it in combat, twisting the blade with all my strength, and it didn' t bend a bit.
Its sharpness was average—it could scratch but not cut through thick shields. But when used to stab, it pierced almost anything.
Truly the work of a fang.
I often sent it to my guild' s weapons division for study, hoping to replicate it without spending a fortune on rare materials.
But when Majoka returned it, it was a dagger made from the fangs of dozens of rabid rabbits.
That dagger had another name: the Dagger of Disgrace.
Using it in combat was an insult, implying I was fighting rabid rabbits with a weapon of their level.
Rabid rabbits are the weakest monsters—even [Rank F] adventurers can handle them with decent gear and a group of three or more.
For [Rank E] , they' re trivial prey you don' t even think about.
Then a knock came at the door. My senses told me it wasn' t Majoka.
"It' s Roja," came the voice.
"Come in!!!"
Roja entered, bowed, and handed me two boxes containing fangs.
I opened both. They were as pristine as the first time I saw them—cleaned perfectly, no damage.
"Excellent work as always!!!"
"Thank you, Lord Jaigia."
I noticed Roja had more to say and nodded for him to continue.
"The [Rank F] fang in that box—it has a sibling."
I smirked. If it' s just as fine, they' d look good displayed together.
"Verify it! Then bring it to me!"
"Understood, sir."
After Roja left, I sensed three others lingering outside for a while. They were too scared to enter, terrified of me.
Since birth, I' ve had a keen sense for the fear of weaker prey.
They were scared to death, but more afraid of not facing me. They knew what' d happen if they fled.
Soon, Majoka steeled himself and dragged Labo and Tuge in with him.
"What happened to my dagger!!!" I demanded.
I could piece it together from the three of them.
Majoka dropped to his knees, and the other two quickly followed.
He spilled everything he' d done.
Labo and Tuge, hearing the full story, were so shocked they clenched their teeth.
Unable to withstand my pressure, they confessed their own truths.
So, the dagger' s only half a blade now.
"Rachel!!! Take them to the dungeon farm for sacrifice!!!"
I wanted to tear them apart piece by piece, but I had to retrieve the dagger before someone stole it.
I bolted from the guild to the newborn dungeon where I' d sent the subordinate team, moving at top speed, ignoring their pleas.