The Eye of Exploration
“Just the two of us?”“LT>
Irene’s voice rose without her realizing it. She had assumed there would be others with them when they went to explore an unstable dungeon, yet the escort offered only two. A wave of unease washed over her.
“There’s no need to worry too much. The artifact has already completed the simple internal exploration.”
To prove his words true, a floating blue orb hovered beside the Kingdom Alliance staff member standing at the entrance.
‘It’s been a while since I last saw it.’
That was the artifact the Kingdom Alliance owned in common—known as the Eye of Exploration.
When a new dungeon appeared, they always inserted it.
The Eye of Exploration would then scan the dungeon’s interior at lightning speed, revealing its structure and the monsters within.
Once it finished its sweep, the staff recorded the findings and noted the dungeon’s rank along with a rough list of monsters.
Knights would then apply for dungeons that matched their abilities according to those records.
“Even though it’s an unstable dungeon, it doesn’t differ much from a regular one.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about…….”
If that was the case, there would be no reason to take me along.
Irene felt puzzled, yet she never voiced the thought.
After all, entering together as a Pair was natural, so she couldn’t refuse his request to accompany her.
At that moment, Michael extended his hand.
It was a natural escort. But Irene stepped back a pace as if avoiding him.
Without meaning to, memories of the purification she had performed at night surfaced.
No matter how she thought about it, that act felt distant from stability and peace.
Above all, if someone witnessed her embarrassing state in front of others…….
A chill ran across her entire body.
Seeing Irene hesitate and draw back, Michael withdrew his hand with a helpless expression.
Immediately, the gazes of the waiting Purifiers sharpened.
It seemed they were already convinced that Purifiers, no matter how weak their abilities, were showing off by entering as Pairs.
Whatever the reason, Irene believed she was destined to be disliked and followed behind Michael.
After completing the simple verification procedure at the dungeon entrance and stepping closer to the entrance, tension made Irene’s mouth feel dry.
‘Is this really…… okay?’
The entrance’s appearance, size, and color all screamed that this place was extremely dangerous.
Yet, since the Eye of Exploration had approved it, she couldn’t turn back.
At that moment, Michael extended his hand again.
“…….”
Irene stared at the hand he offered. She had thought he had stopped inviting her, yet why?
As if reading her thoughts, he spoke in a concerned voice.
“Unstable dungeons sometimes cause separate falls during the approach to the entrance…….”
In a reflexive grab, Irene seized his hand.
“You should have mentioned something that important sooner.”
She had tried to sound as calm as possible, but her voice came out strained and unnatural.
She knew better than anyone how powerless a Purifier left alone in a dungeon could be.
“I should have told you sooner. My apologies.”
Michael glanced at the hand she was clutching for a moment before apologizing.
Irene shook her head.
“No, I must have become too sensitive.”
Michael hadn’t done anything wrong.
Irene was simply sensitive because of her memories.
Irene gathered her thoughts and gazed at the dungeon entrance.
Holding her hand firmly, Michael led her into the dungeon.
Crossing the strangely bright entrance where nothing was visible on the other side, an atmosphere completely different from outside immediately enveloped them.
‘This is an unstable dungeon.’
Honestly, the moment she stepped inside, Irene felt a small sense of relief.
She felt slightly dizzy, but that was the only change.
The inside differed greatly from a regular dungeon.
‘I was so tense, yet somehow it feels embarrassing.’
In the past she had never entered, so it was unavoidable.
Even a regular dungeon terrified her, and a mid-tier unstable one, no matter how much she read the records, was like stepping into unknown territory.
‘But…… it’s fine?’
As she relaxed, Irene looked at the hand she was still holding.
She had grabbed it reflexively out of fear, yet she worried what would happen if purification suddenly began like last night.
To her surprise, nothing like last night occurred.
Since nothing unusual happened, it seemed all the demonic energy Michael had accumulated had been wiped away by last night’s purification, leaving nothing left to purify.
‘But it only makes me more anxious.’
Was it because he was right there?
The large, rough hand felt painfully vivid.
The thick knuckles, the calluses from years gripping a sword, even the uneven patches from old wounds.
Since it felt sharper to her eyes than if she had simply looked at it, Irene blushed and quietly withdrew her hand.
“……?”
At that, he stopped walking forward.
“Why did you release my hand?”
“We’ve safely entered, so isn’t it fine now? Besides, if you keep holding me, I worry you’ll find it bothersome when monsters appear.”
“You’re not that weak.”
His voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
“Ah…… I wasn’t doubting your skill or anything. I just thought you might find me in the way.”
Just like before.
Irene swallowed the words before she could say them.
Hearing that, Michael offered no reply.
Embarrassed, she continued.
“If my rank were higher, I might not say so, but it would only waste time on purification or healing…… and when monsters appear, they’d only trip me up needlessly.”
Was she speaking too hastily?
In her previous life, she had spilled the reasons why he had left her behind to enter the dungeon alone.
At those words, Michael’s stern face twisted.
“That’s what you thought?”
“…….”
“That’s not it. I just……”
At that moment, a sharp slicing sound of wind cut through the air from far away.
Michael drew his sword in a blur and swung it toward the empty space with force.
Clang!
Before Irene could turn her head, a loud noise rang out, and something bounced off his blade and rebounded.
Thud!
And it stuck to the wall with a dull sound.
“That’s…….”
Irene saw something trembling against the wall.
“A spike?”
It was as long and thick as a grown woman’s arm, yet its shape was unmistakably sharp.
A moment later, several spikes attached to a crawling monster emerged from behind a rock a short distance away.
“Stand behind me.”
Michael blocked her and spoke in a calm voice.
“I’ll finish this soon.”
***
“Oh my.”
Irene swallowed her astonishment.
His words that it would end soon were not mere talk.
‘Even a typical mid-tier dungeon clear normally takes over five hours, right?’
Yet, despite defeating all the monsters and reaching the reward chamber, it hadn’t taken more than an hour.
Irene looked at the corpses of the monsters lying nearby.
It was one of the regular monsters listed in the dungeon’s monster catalog.
However, there were parts that didn’t match the illustration.
‘Are these the monsters of an unstable dungeon?’
Unlike regular dungeon monsters, unstable dungeon ones had subtly incomplete forms.
Some parts of the body didn’t connect properly, or the shape was blurry, like unfinished drawings.
Seeing them in person after only hearing about them made it simply astonishing.
“Irene.”
“Y-Yes!”
Hearing her name called, Irene turned.
Right in front of the reward room, Michael was wiping the monster’s blood off his sword and waiting for her.
“I’d like you to check the rewards together.”
At Michael’s words, Irene tilted her head.
This dungeon today was not one she had specified.
So all the rewards here belonged to him, yet why did he insist on checking them together?
There was no reason to refuse.
‘It sounds fun, doesn’t it.’
Irene, being a person, found opening an unknown box thrilling.
Moreover, the rewards of an unstable dungeon were always a mystery.
As she entered the room, a rather large box sat in the corner.
“Wow……”
As someone who had only entered lower-tier dungeons before, this was the first large box she had faced.
Irene, who had been pacing in front of the box, turned to Michael.
He smiled and gestured as if asking why she wasn’t opening it.
“Open it.”
“But this is yours, sir…….”
“It’s fine.”
As if the box belonged to her, he urged her to open it at once.
Since there was no reason to refuse, Irene sat in front of the box and carefully lifted the lid.
Inside the softly opened box…….
“……a ring?”
A ring of rather basic shape was inside.
pGT>It resembled a simple circular silver ring, almost like an unfinished piece of metal for a ring.
Not a single jewel was set in it, nor were any carvings.
Instead, the surface was covered with large and small dents, as if it had tumbled through the ages.
Irene muttered while gazing at the ring, wondering if it would improve even after cleaning.
“Is this also an artifact……?”