The Fortress and the Unstable Dungeon

‘Even this time, it was called an unstable dungeon.’

Most dungeons appeared only in specific areas. Right at the base of the enormous mountain range in front of the Fortress.

After the first dungeon appeared in this world, the small kingdom located here was wiped out by the monsters that burst from it.

Now, with the ability to know how to deal with monsters and the existence of Purifiers, we can respond, but the people of that era had no idea what to do.

In less than a year, not a single ant survived in the surrounding area, turning it into abandoned land.

Officially ownerless territory was cleaned up several years later by a joint expedition force organized by multiple kingdoms.

The longest barrier in continental history was built around the areas where dungeons appeared.

And right in front of the region where the dungeon appeared, the Fortress itself was built.

After that, this place became the most dangerous and the richest spot on the continent.

Humans wanted to share the danger but keep the wealth for themselves. In just a few years, the number of humans killed by their own conflicts far exceeded those killed by monsters.

If things continued like this, they would decide that they could not even subjugate the dungeon and would be wiped out fighting each other, so they created the Kingdom Alliance, a new organization.

Representatives from each kingdom held joint authority, and even that changed every certain period.

Anything with unclear ownership was declared common property, and the wealth they gained was divided like a knife.

At first, it seemed fair, but there were many complaints. After several years, the Kingdom Alliance had established its foundations, and now it was the most powerful organization in the entire continent.

Naturally, the Kingdom Alliance placed the safety of its own members above all else.

That was why the Fortress had been rebuilt many times. They had moved in search of even safer locations.

Eventually, they settled here.

Land close to the dungeon, yet one where the dungeon had never appeared.

It was only later that it was revealed that an artifact buried underground had made the surrounding area a space where monsters could not enter, like a reward chamber inside the dungeon.

Since then, the Fortress had developed even further.

Thanks to that, the current Fortress was nothing short of a massive city.

Every year, when a new dungeon appeared and an artifact emerged, people flocked here from across the continent to hold auctions.

Naturally, the Fortress had several hotels built for visitors.

It was considered the safest place after the area where Purifiers and knights stayed inside the Fortress.

It was only right that they had to safely bring the people who came here spending money.

Irene first headed toward the document repository.

First, she wanted to check the size and form of the dungeon that had appeared yesterday.

When she asked about the dungeon incident yesterday, the employee, as if knowing what she would ask, handed her a paper copied using an artifact.

“If you had not seen it directly, you would never imagine how much chaos there was. Anyway, because an advanced dungeon appeared inside the Fortress, high-ranking officials were in an uproar.”

Had it been noisy about this issue since yesterday?

The employee, without hiding his excitement, told Irene everything that had happened yesterday.

“There really was everything. Who could have predicted that an unstable dungeon would appear in a place right in the middle of the Fortress? Moreover, it was truly in an unstable state, so no one knew when it would disappear. If Sir Michael had not entered, we probably wouldn’t have even found the bodies of the victims?”

“But it was an advanced dungeon. Why didn’t the others enter with them?”

Even if it was an unstable dungeon, once it was reported, the discoverers were given the same right to enter as normal dungeons.

This time, since it appeared in the center, there had probably been an overwhelming number of people who could claim to be the first discoverers. Moreover, private citizens had also been caught up in it, so they could have entered for the purpose of rescue as much as they wanted.

“Sir Michael advised them not to enter if they thought it looked dangerous and to stay outside as much as possible.”

“Still……”

Knights who entered the dungeon every day.

There were those who, upon seeing an unstable dungeon, had their fighting spirit stimulated and wanted to enter even more.

Of course, unstable dungeons also had a higher probability of producing artifacts.

Even if Sir Michael had tried to stop them, how could they not have entered?

“In the end, another knight did enter, but he came out immediately and then went completely crazy, as if he had seen something truly terrifying.”

“What exactly did he see inside?”

“Read the paper. Sir Michael’s report has not been reflected yet, so most of it is written based on that knight’s report.”

Then the employee continued.

“Still, he was brave. Everyone said they had completely lost the will to enter the moment they saw the entrance.”

The employee pointed to the bottom of the paper he handed to Irene.

There, strange crushed circles were drawn.

There were elongated circles, and also crushed circles that looked like those drawn by a child who had just picked up a pen.

Then there was a square with blunted edges, and also a sharp-spiked picture as if drawing a star.

“That was all the entrance to this unstable dungeon. Have you ever seen anything like this?”

Irene shook her head.

In her previous life, she had read and memorized every single ancient record from the document repository, including the worn-out ones.

Among them, unstable dungeons had especially stimulated her curiosity. There had been nothing regular about the starting point, the entrance, the monsters that came out, or the rewards inside.

“Moreover, according to the records, the internal structure here seemed completely different from anything she had seen before.”

As he said this, the employee pointed to the original of the paper again.

The moment she saw the names of the observed monsters, Irene almost let out a cry.

Because the names of the most terrifying monsters she knew were written one after another.

Even more terrifying was the form of the dungeon.

From the entrance, it was a gigantic trap. Every few steps, there was a deep pit right below, and in it, huge spikes taller than a person were planted.

She felt malice in the dungeon that meant it would surely kill whoever entered.

“It seems the victims who were caught up in the dungeon’s creation died here too. Sir Michael’s corpse had a large hole drilled through it. And how many of those wounds were slit wounds… We know the monsters are cruel, but it looked so miserable that one might think they were killed out of personal grudges.”

Personal grudges.

At those words, Irene’s spine suddenly turned cold.

When the people in the auction hall had insulted her, she had immediately harbored bad feelings toward them.

And Michael had seen that.

She suddenly became curious. When Michael learned that the victims caught in the dungeon were the ones who had won the stone of quietude, what reaction would he have shown?

Inside the Fortress, there was a temple.

It handled medical treatment for ordinary people alongside purifying power measurement, and also the place where those seeking prayers came.

Naturally, the temple had a bad relationship with the Kingdom Alliance.

But his reputation and the fact that he contributed to dungeon subjugation could not be ignored.

In addition, the demands of those who wanted to visit the temple could not be ignored, and there was also a need for priests to verify the abilities of the Purifiers.

Thanks to that, even amidst the many disputes over interests, the temple was able to secure its own space in one corner of the Fortress.

And in a corner of the Fortress, there was a incinerator where the trash from the temple was burned.

A young priest was wiping sweat from the increasingly hot weather while carrying the trash from the temple toward the incinerator.

Then, upon reaching the incinerator, he discovered someone.

“Who… uh? You’re Sir Michael!”

In greeting to the priest, Michael bowed his head silently.

Even as a priest, he did not see Michael often.

He held a special position even within the temple.

The knight whose name was not unworthy of the title Holy Sword of God in this era. Or perhaps the strongest knight in the history of the entire continent.

It was also all thanks to Michael that the priests were now able to regain the faith of the believers and widely spread the teachings of the God.

Therefore, the young priest looked at him as if he were a god.

God was far away, but he was a miracle right in front of him.

“Is there something you need to burn at the incinerator? If there is, please give it to me!”

Even that would be an honor if he could speak with Michael at all.

At the young priest’s words, Michael smiled faintly and answered.

“No. It was just something dirty that I brought here because I didn’t want others to see it.”

“What is it…? Ah.”

The priest looked into the burning incinerator.

At that moment, the sight of a red-stained shirt being swallowed by the flames appeared.

“Oh… it must have been quite dirty. Still, if you had left it to us, we would have cleaned everything, whether it was a thing or clothes.”

If it was a request from Michael, whether it was an item or clothing, the priests would have rushed to do it.

At the priest’s words, Michael shook his head.

“No. How could I entrust my business to someone else? Moreover, since it was so dirty, I just wanted to dispose of it quickly.”

The moment he saw Michael’s expression as he said this, the young priest flinched and stepped back without realizing it.

Staring at the writhing flames, Michael felt an indescribable satisfaction.

Completely burning things that could not be fixed or cleaned, feeling the relief in his chest.