Chapter 24: Conqueror of the Dungeon
The guardian moved first.
It vanished.
Tanaka’s core shuddered.
Too fast!
BOOM!
Its spear crashed into the stone where he had been standing a heartbeat earlier. The impact split the crystal floor and sent fragments flying in every direction.
"Scatter!"
His command echoed through every connected mind.
The slimes sprang apart.
The wolves split into two hunting groups.
The rabbits disappeared behind crystal pillars.
The guardian calmly pulled its spear free.
Without hesitation...
It attacked again.
The spear danced.
It wasn’t wild.
Every movement was perfect.
One thrust forced the Alpha backward.
A sweeping strike sent two veteran slimes rolling across the floor.
A downward slash carved a deep trench through solid crystal.
Tanaka stared.
It fights... like a person.
Not a beast.
Not a monster.
A warrior.
The Alpha howled.
Two wolves rushed from opposite sides.
The guardian stepped between them.
One spin.
Two strikes.
Both wolves were thrown away before their claws even reached it.
The rabbits watched with wide eyes.
One whispered nervously to another.
They couldn’t win head-on.
Neither could the wolves.
"Don’t fight alone."
Tanaka’s thoughts spread across the battlefield.
"Fight together."
The command was clearer than ever before.
The slimes immediately changed formation.
Instead of charging...
They rotated.
One attacked.
Another defended.
A third pulled injured allies away.
The wolves stopped trying to overpower the guardian.
Instead, they harassed it.
Every time it turned toward one wolf...
Another attacked from behind.
The rabbits darted between the crystal pillars.
Whenever a slime was knocked away, a rabbit dragged it to safety.
When a wolf became exhausted, another rabbit brought medicinal herbs gathered from the forest.
Tiny contributions.
But they kept everyone fighting.
The guardian remained silent.
Its blue eyes swept across the battlefield.
Then...
It changed.
Instead of chasing whoever attacked...
It ignored everyone.
Its gaze settled on Tanaka.
The leader.
The one giving orders.
It understood.
Kill the leader.
Win the battle.
The guardian lunged.
Tanaka met it head-on.
Earth Impact!
The attack collided with the spear.
The resulting shockwave blasted him backward.
Pain spread through his body.
His Mana Reinforcement absorbed part of the force.
The rest still hurt.
A lot..
The guardian attacked again.
Tanaka deliberately allowed the edge of the spear to graze him.
Mana flooded into Devourer.
His body screamed in protest.
Again.
He narrowly avoided another strike.
Again.
Each exchange revealed another fragment.
The guardian’s movements.
Its mana flow.
Its balance.
Everything was being recorded.
Minutes passed.
Nobody had fallen.
But everyone was tired.
The guardian...
Wasn’t.
It fought with the same flawless precision from beginning to end.
The little slime bounced beside Tanaka.
Boing!
Tanaka looked down.
The little slime pointed toward the guardian’s feet.
Then toward the crystal floor.
His thoughts accelerated.
The floor...
The guardian wasn’t just standing on it.
Mana was flowing from the Dungeon Core...
Through the floor...
Into the guardian.
It was constantly replenishing itself.
That’s it!
"Alpha!"
The wolf instantly looked toward him.
"Break... the floor!"
The Alpha didn’t hesitate.
It let out a thunderous howl.
Every wolf charged the same point beneath the guardian.
Claws tore into the crystal.
The veteran slimes immediately understood.
Earth Impact crashed down again and again.
Cracks spread across the floor.
The guardian finally reacted.
It abandoned Tanaka and rushed to stop them.
Exactly as planned.
"Rabbits!"
The three Fanged Rabbits burst from hiding.
Instead of attacking...
They threw bags filled with powdered crystal directly into the guardian’s face.
Blue dust exploded.
Its glowing eyes flickered.
Just for an instant.
It lost sight.
"Now!"
Every slime attacked.
Every wolf attacked.
The guardian staggered.
The cracked floor beneath it finally collapsed.
One leg sank into the opening.
Its stance broke.
Tanaka compressed his body.
Mana surged through every inch of him.
Thought Acceleration sharpened the world.
Everything slowed.
He could see every movement.
Every opening.
Every ally.
"Everyone..."
His voice echoed inside every connected mind.
"Trust me."
The battlefield answered.
The Alpha pinned the guardian’s spear.
Four veteran slimes slammed into its shield arm.
The rabbits distracted its vision again.
The little slime leaped higher than ever before.
It crashed squarely into the guardian’s helmet.
BOING!
The guardian instinctively reached up.
Its neck became exposed.
Tanaka moved.
LEAP!
He became a blue streak crossing the chamber.
Mana Reinforcement condensed around his body.
Every bit of power he possessed gathered into one attack.
EARTH IMPACT!!
The blow landed precisely where he had predicted to be its weakness.
A sharp crack echoed through the chamber.
Then another.
Blue fractures raced through the guardian’s body.
Its spear slipped from its fingers.
The light inside its eyes flickered.
It spoke.
"...Worthy..."
The word was barely audible.
The guardian smiled.
Just slightly.
Then its body shattered into countless fragments of light.
Silence filled the chamber.
No one moved.
Then...
The Dungeon Core shone brighter than the sun.
A voice descended from the heavens.
Cold.
Ancient.
Absolute.
"Voice of the World"
Hidden Trial Cleared.
The First Dungeon has been Conquered.
Calculating Rewards...
Golden light rained across the chamber.
Every slime.
Every wolf.
Every rabbit.
Each was bathed in warm mana.
Tanaka felt his Soul Record tremble.
His skills stirred as if celebrating.
The floating Dungeon Core slowly descended from the air.
Not toward the guardian.
Toward him.
The chamber trembled.
Tanaka slowly reached out.
His gelatinous body touched the glowing crystal.
The light intensified.
The Voice of the World spoke one final time.
Reward Distribution... Beginning.