Chapter 252

The breakdown of the level-up announcements each person heard is as follows:

Tatsuro: You have reached Level: 101

Ai: You have reached Level: 96

Cardina: You have reached Level: 63

Jeanne: You have reached Level: 60

Nana: You have reached Level: 62

Leah: You have reached Level: 81

Athena: You have reached Level: 64

Next, the rewards for conquering the Level 10 dungeon were granted to each of them.

|||||||You have obtained the title [High-Difficulty Labyrinth Conqueror]|||||||

You have been granted Skill Points (10).

Furthermore, for defeating the dragon, the five members, excluding Tatsuro and Ai, received the title [Dragon Slayer]

Tatsuro and Ai, on the other hand, obtained the title [Dragon Slayer +1]

However, for Tatsuro, who had surpassed Level 100, there was one additional bonus.

You have obtained the title [Transgressor]

"Transgressor? Another intriguing title added to the list."

"Huh? Tatsuro, you got another title that is different just for yourself?"

"Yeah. I think it's probably a gift-like title for crossing Level 100, so Ai, you'll likely get it eventually too."

"There's something like that too- Everyone! Get away from here right now!!"

""""""_!?""""""

As Ai was about to activate the system to check Tatsuro's title, it happened.

Suddenly, Ai's Crisis Detection sounded an alarm.

She didn't know what it was, but she understood that staying there was dangerous.

So, she immediately grabbed Tatsuro and Leah, shouting to the other members to escape.

Cardina and the others, though startled, trusted Ai's words and hurriedly fled the area at full speed.

And at that moment, it happened.

"What the!?"

While being carried under Ai's arm, Tatsuro looked back to see the dragon's corpse split open with a crack along its back, opening on its own, and bones slithered out from within.

Then, like a single flower in a vase, the long body stood upright, pointing what was once its head toward the sky.

"Why!? Is it still alive!?"

"But our levels properly went up!"

Once it stood completely upright, red-hot, scorching bone spikes, radiating extreme heat, extended at an absurd speed in all directions.

Those spikes naturally stretched toward the fleeing Tatsuro and the others, chasing to pierce them.

However, since they had started escaping before the spikes extended and continued to flee at full speed, they managed to avoid being pierced.

"How far do we need to escape?!"

"…About twelve seconds more, and it should stop!!

Keep escaping at full speed until then!!"

"That should be manageable then!"

Leah, held under Ai's other arm, frantically relayed what she had learned using her [All-Seeing Eye] while looking backward.

And, just as Leah predicted, the spikes began to slow down as the ten-second mark approached, completely stopping two seconds later.

According to Leah, it was safe now, so they all gathered at a spot some distance from the spikes.

"What the heck… was that?"

"It seems there was a skill that activated with a delay after death."

"Even Leah's eyes couldn't figure that out?"

"Yes. To be precise, it seems it was set to automatically acquire that skill upon death. When I looked, there wasn't even a trace of such a skill."

"Like a trap set by the dungeon?"

"I think so."

"They properly announce the level-up and then pull this. If a party without Crisis Detection defeated this thing, they might let their guard down and get wiped out."

"Even with Crisis Detection, if you don't have the ability to escape those spikes coming at that speed, there'd be casualties."

They all looked up at the massive dome of red bone spikes.

Even after the spikes stopped extending, the bones retained their high heat, and the intense heat radiating from them made it clear that touching them barehanded would not just burn but melt you.

They tried splashing water with Water Magic and blasting cold air with Ice Magic, but it had no effect.

"What do we do with this? We need to get over there to collect the dragon's corpse…"

"It's a whole body, after all. Since we came this far, we want it all, and going back now would be a waste."

Even slicing through with Ai's attacks caused the spikes to regenerate instantly, like dungeon equipment, making it difficult to break through by destroying them.

However, Leah came up with a simple solution.

"Then just put it all into Tatsuro's [Infinite Item Field]. It's no longer a monster but an object, after all."

"---Oh. That's all it takes?"

When he tried collecting it with [Infinite Item Field], it was easily stored.

And far away, the dragon's corpse, now free of bones, remained intact.

With that, they headed toward it. Then, Ai, using Far Sight, spotted a small, glowing white vortex right next to the dragon's corpse.

"What's that? Is there still something else?"

"--That's… ДЙΛΩ? …It's not dangerous. It's like the dungeon's will visualized, so to speak."

"Is it gonna give us some congratulatory words or something?"

"Does a high-level dungeon do that kind of thing?"

"No way. But if it's not dangerous, let's check it out."

So, they trudged through the sandy beach back to the dragon's corpse, and the white vortex floated gently toward Tatsuro and the others.

They braced themselves warily, but then, instead of the familiar mechanical voice, a woman's voice, as if someone was actually there, spoke.

[Everyone! Congrats on clearing!]

"Well, well, it really was a congratulatory message."

[No, no, this is just going along with the flow.]

"So, there's still something left in this dungeon?"

Tatsuro, no longer hiding his desire to leave the dungeon, asked, and the dungeon responded with a wry chuckle.

[No, no, please don't be so wary. As far as the dungeon is concerned, this is truly the end. Actually, since you're the first to complete the dungeon since its renewal, I'm here to deliver a special reward. This is something given to the first conquerors of a newly born dungeon or one that has leveled up. I'm just following the rules here.]

"Renewal? It didn't feel like such a gentle change… Anyway, if you're giving us something, I'll take it as long as it's not weird."

[No, no, it's not a physical item.]

"Then, SP or something?"

[No, no, it's not that either. What we can offer is knowledge.]

"""""Knowledge?"""""

"Peewee?"

"Neigh?"

The answer was so vague that Tatsuro, on behalf of the group, asked for clarification.

To summarize what they were told:

Apparently, only one person from the party could ask any single question, and it would be answered.

For example, when this dungeon was still Level 7, the first conqueror asked about an untouched, ultra-rare metal mine that no one had found, and it was answered.

In other dungeons, questions like the whereabouts of a missing child, the weakness of an enemy they wanted to kill, how to become stronger more efficiently, or how to obtain a specific weapon were answered, regardless of good or evil.

"…Huh? Didn't you say dungeons don't know about the outside world?"

[Yes, I don't know.]

Suddenly, it felt suspicious, and everyone thought so.

"…Then how do you answer?"

[How? It's not me answering. Through me, you can temporarily connect to the world. So, it's like asking the world directly.]

"Connect to the world? Sounds amazing, but there are no side effects, right?"

[None at all. It's just a temporary connection.]

It seemed like they could truly ask anything and get an answer.

So, Tatsuro first asked everyone for their opinions.

"Does anyone have something they want to ask?"

""""""…""""""

No one seemed to have a question significant enough to ask the world.

But Tatsuro had something he desperately wanted to know.

"Then, why don't you ask, Tatsuro?"

"If everyone's okay with that, I'd love to, but are you really sure?"

He pressed, knowing such a chance might never come again, but everyone nodded in unison.

With that, Tatsuro's heart raced with both anticipation and anxiety, wondering if he could finally get the answer to 'that' question.

If they said it was impossible or unknown, he wouldn't know what to do.

But getting a clear answer here would make it easier to move forward.

So, pressing his chest, Tatsuro stepped forward.

"Then, I'll ask on behalf of everyone."

[Understood. Please put your hand into this white vortex.]

"Into… there?"

Tatsuro grimaced at the thought of sticking his hand into a vortex connected to who-knows-where.

But the dungeon laughed amusedly at his reaction.

[It's fine. It won't bite. And in real-world time, it'll be over in less than a second.]

"--Got it. …Is this okay?"

Resolving himself, Tatsuro plunged his right hand boldly into the white vortex.

[Yes, that's fine. Here we go--]

"---!"

The dungeon's voice cut off, and Tatsuro's ears heard nothing but his own breathing.

Looking around, he found himself floating in a pure white space with no walls, ceiling, or floor, as if in a weightless void.

"What is this place…? Hey, Dungeon! What do I do now---?"

[O bearer of a question, we shall answer one and one alone.]

As Tatsuro called out in confusion, a calm voice, like the dungeon's but with a completely different aura, echoed from all directions.

Somehow, Tatsuro understood this was the voice of the world.

And so, he voiced the question that had been on his mind ever since he created Cardina in this world.

"Not this world. Another world-no. In the world I came from, tell me how to use the full power of the system."

Could the system be used on Earth? That was his lingering question.

If the system became unusable upon returning, their statuses and skills might vanish.

And if that happened, what would become of Cardina and the others?

Even if he converted his Dragon Power into magic to sustain them, Tatsuro knew it was merely a temporary measure.

It was like diluting his magic to stretch it further.

Without regularly replenishing it before his magic ran out, their bodies would dissipate-or rather, they would die.

Tatsuro couldn't just think, "We're back, so it's fine."

Efficiency during their journey was certainly a factor.

But the main reason he used SP to raise their body's level, even at the cost of returning, was his hope that creating them at a higher level might allow them to exist independently.

Yet, there was no sign of that happening.

That's why he needed to know if the system from this other world could be used elsewhere.

But if he asked directly, he might not learn about any special activation methods that could exist.

Only one question was allowed.

A question that could be answered with a simple "yes" or "no" was out of the question.

So, Tatsuro chose a question that would yield "no such method" if it was unusable, "it's usable" if it worked normally, or the specific method if a special one was required.

If the answer was that it couldn't be used, what then?

Would he have to abandon Cardina and the others? He felt the blood drain from his head.

After about five seconds of silence, the world answered.

[The system operates using an invisible energy, let's call it world force, that permeates this world. Thus, it cannot normally be used in a place outside this world.]

"-You just said 'normally,' didn't you?"

[Yes. It can be made possible by bringing this world's world force itself into that place.]

"That's---… how?"

He had asked for the method, so he should have the right to ask further. Tatsuro suppressed his eagerness and pressed on.

[To use the system's full functionality in your world, you must bring a large quantity of what humans call [Return Stone]. By keeping it in direct contact with your body, it becomes possible.]

"Return Stone? This is it, right?"

Tatsuro pulled a Return Stone from his [Infinite Item Field] and held it out into the empty space.

[Yes, that's it. By keeping it in direct contact with your body, even in an environment without power, the system detects the energy contained within and activates. This enables skill acquisition and use, checking and withdrawing funds, presenting identification, status enhancements---everything becomes possible.]

"You said a large quantity earlier. How many are needed?"

[For activation alone, one is sufficient, but for skill usage, the amount required depends on the skill's power. However, even for the most powerful skills, a hundred should suffice. By the way, if all hundred are attached together, touching just one of them is enough.]

"---I see… I understand. Thank you. This really helps."

[I'm glad your question was answered. Now, we'll terminate the connection-]

The voice cut off abruptly, and Tatsuro found himself back on the sandy beach.