Chapter 53
Summary of characters (so far)
It seems that several days have passed since the humans’ army attacked…
Or so I heard from Ann.
The reason is that I have no memory of the past few days.
The only thing I barely remember is getting really excited and making a declaration like, 『Let’s do our best together from now on!』 in front of all my subordinates.
What the hell was that? It’s so embarrassing.
Who the hell did that?
Yes, it was me.
The effect of the “Earth Dragon’s Spine” was tremendous, to the point where I thought that.
I’m practically a completely different person now.
Moreover, it seems that the memories of when the drug was effective are vividly remaining, which is unpleasant.
Scary… drug is scary…
However, I don’t remember anything after it wore off completely.
The next thing I remember is waking up deep down for some reason and Ann and Tres taking care of me.
When I asked them, “Hey, what are you guys doing?” everyone responded, “You’ve come back to your senses!” or “Oh, Lord Earth, thank goodness, I’m really glad!” or “We don’t have to take care of you anymore,” or, “Puu-puu.”
Pururu is lovely as always.
Then, when I asked Ann what happened, she just said,
『Um… well, you were cute.』
What on earth happened?
Did I do something in my half-asleep state while I was sleeping?
I don’t know. I can’t remember at all.
When I asked Elibel, she said,
「You want to know? Seriously…!? That’s a black history worse than mine… Do you really want to know?」
She said it with a serious face, so I was too scared to ask.
What the hell happened?
…Well, there’s no use thinking about it.
Now, where is Elibel?
I want to talk to her about what’s going to happen from now on…
I look around, but she’s not here.
Oh yeah, she said she was going to the middle layer.
Elibel’s ruins are in the middle layer.
Apparently, the ruins suffered quite a bit of damage during the last breath, and Elibel is working hard to repair them.
She will start creating a new dungeon after her ruins are fully restored.
My stomach growls loudly.
I’m so hungry.
I look up.
The two suns are rising just above the center.
It must be around noon.
Ah, the sun is so dazzling.
Since that breath, a huge hole has opened in the center of my dungeon, and a massive crack runs across the dungeon.
As a result, even in this deep layer, sunlight shines through, and I can clearly sense the passage of time.
Thanks to that, I’ve been forced to live a very regular life.
I wake up as the sun rises and sleep when it sets.
It’s a shitty life. Damn it.
That Dragon Slayer bastard… What did he do to my home and dungeon?
For someone like me who had been a shut-in, sunlight is now poison.
Living in the brightness feels somewhat depressing.
It’s as if my dirty soul is being purified.
It’s really a terrible situation.
Now, should I go to Elibel’s place?
I think that and try to move my body.
In the next moment.
Cracks appear on the ground as soon as I move my feet.
……………。
Next, I lightly swing my arm.
SWISHHH!!
A giant rock in the distance splits in half.
It falls to the ground in two pieces.
Oh, right.
I forgot.
My hands and feet are still in the state of armed transformation from that time.
To counter that damn Dragon Slayer, I performed the extraordinary feat of arming both my hands and feet as a last resort.
Thanks to that, I was able to defeat that bastard, but the aftermath was the problem.
…I don’t know how to revert back.
The Earth attribute magic “Alchemy” is basically a one-way street.
It can turn soil into minerals or transform minerals into weapons, and so on.
But when it comes to the reverse, it becomes instantly difficult.
For example, how do you turn a weapon into a mineral or wine into grapes?
It’s impossible.
Desperately trying to imagine returning my body to its original state, but every time I activate “Alchemy,” my body’s armament progresses instead.
Now, even a slight movement causes damage all around me.
My hands and feet have become walking weapons.
Everything I touch gets hurt.
The other day, I lightly ran, and a huge crater formed around me. I was almost the one to strike the final blow to the dungeon with my own hands.
Elibel scolded me, saying, 『You can’t move on your own, you stupid Earth Dragon! You’re like a mobile strategic weapon now!』 It’s a situation like that.
What a mess.
With this, I can’t even eat properly.
Ah, I want to eat magic stones.
I stretch my neck while paying close attention not to move my arms or legs, and I lick the nearby soil and rocks.
Lick, lick, lick… gulp.
Well, it’s not bad. It’s definitely not bad.
But once you’ve tasted the flavor of those magic stones, my tongue can no longer be satisfied with just plain soil and rocks.
I know there’s some nearby.
Right underneath me.
If I dig here, ultra-high purity magic stone will come out immediately.
But the moment I try to dig, my claw strike will crush the magic stones along with the ground.
It’s frustrating, to say the least.
I want to eat them, but I can’t. It’s maddening.
They are right nearby, yet I have to settle for substitutes. It’s infuriating.
This is what happens when I let myself be carried away by temporary excitement.
Yes, everything is because of that white powder. It’s the reason my personality flipped.
And that damn Dragon Slayer. I really wish he would die, somewhere away from me.
I’ve decided.
I will never lick that white powder again.
Because it caused me a lot of trouble.
I absolutely won’t lick it. Absolutely.
『Hey, Elibel, where are you?』
Since I can’t move my body, I communicate through thought transmission.
After a while, I receive a reply.
『Yeah, yeah, what is it? I’m busy, you know?』
『Have you found a way to restore my body?』
『Hmm… it’ll take a bit longer. I’m analyzing a part of your claw, but you see, about a third of my ruins were also damaged by that breath. I’m also repairing magic tools, so it’ll take a bit more time.』
『How much longer?』
『Well… at least another three days, I guess.』
『Three more days!』
That’s too long.
I’ll starve to death.
『What are you talking about? I’m a genius and a great person, so I can produce results in just three days, which would probably take a normal magician several decades to research. ‘Alchemy Reduction Technique’ is a subject that is not only a matter of research, but also of the art of alchemy.』
『But, Elibel, I’m hungry… I want to eat magic stones.』
My stomach growls.
Elibel, my tummy is hurting…
I want to eat magic stones.
『If you’re so hungry that your tone has changed… Then, ask Tres or Pururu to feed you.』
『Eh… but if I do that, I’ll look like an old man being taken care of.』
I don’t like that.
I’m only a little over a year old.
And yet, being taken care of…
『Not just ‘look like,’ you’ll definitely be a full-fledged care dragon. If you move carelessly, the dungeon will be destroyed, so be patient for another three days.』
Okay, got it…
Aah, it’s boring.
I like sleeping, but being told not to move is really boring.
『Ah… There’s no helping it. Then, take a look at this.』
Saying that, Elibel sent me an image through memory transmission.
『What is this…?』
The images that were sent were of caves, ruins, forests, and wilderness.
Amazing, they all look like they could be registered as world heritage sites.
『These are the images of the proposed sites for the new dungeon that Ann and the others are investigating.』
『Oh, so this is it.』
When Elibel was creating her teleportation dungeon, she traveled around the world, placing “teleport gates” and created a teleportation dungeon consisting of 88 floors.
During that time, she apparently had some places that she considered but ultimately didn’t use.
Furthermore, she improved the teleportation gates in the ruins, allowing teleportation to all floors, not just the 88th floor.
Some of her dungeons apparently directly connect to the outside, and she seems to pick up new candidate locations from there.
By the way, she seems to have taken all the necessary precautions like camouflage, so they won’t be discovered easily.
Yeah, she did an amazing job.
Thanks to that, I really have nothing to do.
So, it’s unbearably boring.
Let me eat magic stones, let me create golems or something.
『If you have nothing to do, then choose from these locations and indulge in fantasies about what kind of dungeon you would create. At least keep yourself occupied for the next three days. Oh, and if you have any opinions or ideas about the dungeon, contact me immediately. I’d be more than happy to hear them.』
『Ugh… Fine, I got it.』
But it was actually a good way to pass the time.
A new dungeon, huh?
As I gaze at the images sent by Elibel, I start contemplating the conception of a new dungeon.
rumble
Ah, I’m hungry.