𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐: 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞

When I woke up, the first thing I felt was the hardness of the floor.

It’s hard.

Incredibly hard.

Not like a hallway or anything, but as if I was lying directly on a rock wall.

The overwhelming discomfort of the bed.

My usual low-resilience bed could learn a thing or two.

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“Ugh. . .”

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There’s no way I could sleep forever in such an uncomfortable place, so I got up.

I rub my sleepy eyes and look around.

I see a cave-like background.

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“Huh?”

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Unable to understand the situation, I freeze for a few seconds.

Then, I close my eyes and open them again.

I see a cave-like background.

I rub my eyes hard.

It hurts.

But, thanks to that, I’m a little less sleepy.

In that state, I open my eyes again.

I see a cave-like background.

OK.

It seems that I’m still half asleep.

ㅤ

For now, I tried pinching my cheek hard.

ㅤ

“Ouch?!”

ㅤ

It was a mistake to do it without holding back.

I feel such intense pain that I think my cheek is going to tear, and I quickly let go of my hand.

But, thanks to that, I’m completely awake.

I look around again.

I see a cave-like background.

OK.

It seems that this is reality.

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“???”

ㅤ

My brain is confused by the incomprehensible sight.

Could it be that. . .I was dumped in this cave while I was asleep?

Is this part of my parents’ “De-Hikikomori Plan! ~Let’s Rehabilitate Mamori-chan Project~”?

Ha ha ha.

Papa and Mama have done something quite daring.

Is it that?

If you can’t handle crowds, get used to nature, is that it?

Isn’t that abuse?

I’ll sue, you know?

ㅤ

Thinking that far, I suddenly remembered what happened yesterday.

I remembered.

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“That’s right. . .Papa and Mama are already. . .”

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Dead.

I remember what happened yesterday.

My head couldn’t keep up with the sudden event, but it’s all real that Papa and Mama were killed by that stalker, and that I killed him.

Because. . .

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“Dirty. . .”

ㅤ

My body is covered in the stalker’s blood.

The blood is completely dry and crusty.

It’s disgusting.

I want to take off my clothes and wash my body.

I want to take a bath.

But, this is inside a cave.

ㅤ🔹𝔸𝕨𝕖𝕓s𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤.𝕔𝕠𝕞 ― 𝕀𝕟𝕕𝕦𝕝𝕘𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 “𝕕𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕦𝕡𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤” 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕖𝕩𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕒𝕕𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤🔹

I don’t understand.

My head is in utter chaos.

I don’t even have the luxury to mourn the death of Papa and Mama.

My emotions can’t keep up because an abnormal situation is currently happening, where a stalker broke into my house and killed my parents, and I killed that stalker in self-defense, and an even more abnormal situation is happening.

Well, that might have been a good thing, in a way.

Thanks to this abnormal situation, I don’t have to think deeply about that night of slaughter.

ㅤ

For now, let’s sort out the situation.

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Yesterday, my parents were killed by a stalker, I killed that stalker, and then I fell asleep exhausted.

And when I woke up, I was here.

How did this happen?

ㅤ

Kidnapping?

No, probably not.

Because, if I was kidnapped, the perpetrator would have at least done ◯◯◯.

I’m a super beautiful girl.

And if that were the case, I would have been made to change clothes or stripped naked.

Even for a super beautiful girl, there probably aren’t many people with a special fetish who want to ◯◯◯ a bloody girl.

If I was kidnapped by someone with such a special fetish. . .I’ll have to try to kill again.

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So, other than kidnapping. . .I can’t think of anything.

For now, should I look for something that can be used as a weapon?

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With that in mind, I look around the cave again.

A cave that looks like it could only be in nature, like the ones you see on TV.

The ceiling is about 5 meters high, and it’s circular with a diameter of about 50 meters.

It’s quite spacious.

The entrance is about the size that 3 or 4 people can enter side by side.

You can see the sunlight from outside.

ㅤ

But, the inside of the cave is not lit by the sun, but by a faint blue light.

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“. . .Yeah. After all, this is the biggest point to question.”

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I turned around and looked at the source of this blue light.

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It’s a mysterious substance, like a huge crystal that glows faintly blue.

The crystal, which exists as if it’s growing from the ground, is shaped like a beautiful hexagonal prism, as if it’s an artificial object.

Is it natural or artificial?

To begin with, do crystals glow?

I don’t think so, probably.

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“Really, what is this?”

ㅤ

Muttering so, I touched the crystal, somehow, yes, really just somehow.

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The moment I did, a vast amount of information flowed into my head.

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“Huh?!”

ㅤ

Even as I was confused by the abnormal situation that had occurred again, the torrent of information mercilessly entered my head.

I can’t even take my hand off the crystal.

For some reason, my hand is stuck to the crystal as if it’s been welded and won’t come off.

ㅤ

While I was doing that, the torrent of information stopped.

And then I came to know what this crystal is.

ㅤ

This crystal is a [dungeon core].

It’s the heart of a dungeon, an entity that absorbs magic power from ley lines and intruders and grows its own body, the dungeon.

That’s the instinct of a dungeon core, so to speak, a dungeon core might be a kind of life form.

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And I, who was chosen by that dungeon core, became a [dungeon master] from this moment on.

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A dungeon master is, as the name suggests, the ruler and caretaker of a dungeon.

A guardian who was forcibly contracted and taken in by the dungeon core to assist its growth.

There is no way to cancel this contract.

The core and the master are in the same boat.

If the core is shattered, the master will die.

In other words, if I don’t want to die, I have to help this dungeon core grow and defend it by making it a splendid dungeon.

ㅤ

“Is this a game!”

ㅤ

I couldn’t help but retort.

Is this, by any chance, that?

Is it the thing called reincarnation in another world that’s popular on the internet?

No, in this case, it’s a transfer to another world (Isekai).

Either way, I think it’s safe to say that this is not Earth.

There’s no such thing as a dungeon core on Earth.

I might just not know about it, and the government might be desperately hiding it in an SF pattern, but if that’s the case, I’d be more convinced if I was told it was another world.

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Well, that’s fine.

For now, I’ll just assume that I’ve been transferred to another world (tentative).

ㅤ

So, in order for me to survive in this other world (tentative), I have to build an ironclad dungeon here.

The future is bleak.

After all, this dungeon core is brand new.

This dungeon has no maze, no monsters, and no magic power (apparently called DP) to strengthen the dungeon.

All I have is a part of a cave and a dungeon master who is the only one, a state of extreme poverty with nothing.

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Moreover, there is one major problem that is far more dangerous than those problems.

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“I don’t really need to live. . .”

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Yes.

That is, I don’t have the will to live.

Having lost my only family and having no friends, I honestly have little attachment to this world.

I don’t care if I just die in the wild.

This dungeon core, which took me in as a master, can only be said to have made a mistake in its choice.

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“Sigh. . .I guess I’ll go to sleep.”

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I decided to sleep, leaning against the dungeon core, as I didn’t care about anything anymore.

The bed is terrible, but I didn’t feel like staying awake for nothing.

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But, I didn’t fall asleep.

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“Huh?”

ㅤ

A new sensation that emerged when I became a dungeon master is sounding an alarm.

This sensation is. . .an intruder.

If I look towards the entrance, there are three monsters there.

Monsters that are about the size of a human child and look like ugly little demons.

ㅤ

“Goblin. . .?”

ㅤ

With the voice that inadvertently came out of my mouth, the goblins must have found me.

Seeing me, the goblins. . .grinned with a disgusting face that made me feel disgusted.

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