Chapter 40 – A New Dungeon (2)
“Brother, are you sure you are alright? You have been silent since a while ago?” Ley stared at me with a worried expression.
I forced out a smile and shook my head. “I’m alright, Ley. I’m just thinking about something.”
“Are you sure?” Ley looked at me doubtfully, but when she realized that I was not planning to talk, she pouted and stopped insisting.
I apologized to her inwardly before talking to the demon in my mind.
‘Are you sure that a dungeon will appear? How do you know?’
[I can felt the spatial fluctuations from here, Boy. I’m not mistaken.]
I furrowed my brows.
It’s not that I don’t trust the demon’s words, but I find it hard to believe that a dungeon will appear in this place.
After all, after several years of development, humanity has developed a system to detect if a dungeon will appear beforehand. Every city in the World’s United Government is equipped with this system, allowing the government to evacuate the civilians in time if a dungeon appears.
Normally, any dungeon in the middle of a city will be detected around five to fifteen days before it appears; and although this system is not perfect, it has a 99,8% of certainty.
In other words, the chances of a dungeon appearing in a city without a warning are 0,02%.
But the demon is telling me that it’s going to happen, and he can predict it when the government can’t.
[Don’t underestimate me, boy.] The demon snorted. [How can you compare me to a system created by puny humans? Even in my current state, I can feel the slightest fluctuations in space easily. If I tell you that a dungeon will appear, then a dungeon will appear.]
I fell silent before heaving a sigh.
‘Although I hate to admit it, I believe you, demon.’ I said in my mind.
After experiencing the demon’s abilities in the last few days, I believe he has the ability to detect if a dungeon is going to appear or not.
But, are you sure I can use it to get battle experience? What if the dungeon’s level is too high for me?
[Don’t worry about it. Not much mana is being absorbed by the spatial fluctuation, so this dungeon should not be that powerful, I think.]
You think? Are you not sure?
[This is my first time seeing the process of a dungeon being created after all; but I should be right, don’t worry.]
I sighed in relief.
In other words, this is a great opportunity to enter a dungeon.
And as the demon said, this is the perfect chance to get battle experience.
But before that–
“… I should find a way to warn the government about the dungeon.”
[Stop, boy. What are you talking about?] The demon’s stern voice suddenly sounded in my mind. [Are you a fool? How are you going to explain to them why you know that a dungeon will appear?]
I was slightly startled.
Is it not simple? I can just tell them that it’s a skill I awakened.
[Idiot.] The demon sneered. [Right now, you have already made public two skills; [Lightning Seed] and [Physical Strengthening]. Are you planning to advertise yourself by telling the government that you awakened a third skill?]
I fell silent. I guess I understand what the demon means.
The tallest tree always experiences the strongest wind. Two skills already attract a lot of attention. If I reveal a third skill, then the attention I’m going to receive will be much higher.
Moreover, a skill that allows the detection of dungeons is not something that the government can ignore. I can imagine that they won’t leave me alone if I say I have a skill like that.
I’m a person with a lot of secrets. You don’t need to be smart to know that the existence of the demon is not something that I can reveal easily. Thus, attracting too much attention is not good.
Even so, I can’t just do nothing when I know that a dungeon will appear in the middle of the city.
How many people will be swallowed if the dungeon appears without a warning? How many of them will die?
It would have not been a problem if I don’t know about it. But now that I know that a dungeon will appear, I will feel responsible if I do nothing.
As though reading my thoughts, the demon snorted.
[Fool. What do these people have to do with you? Why should you care about them? What do you think you are? A Hero? Their savior?]
That is not that, but–
[Stop.] The demon’s voice was firm. [I won’t allow you to do something stupid. Remember that it’s not just your life at risk here. My life is at risk too.]
I bit my lips and fell silent.
Am I really going to do nothing?
[Boy, I will warn you. If you try something stupid, I will make you faint and you won’t wake up until after the dungeon appears.]
My expression fell.
You…
[Don’t resent me. I’m just showing my position to you. I don’t care what do you do with your life, but if you try something that will threaten our safety, I will stop you even if it’s against your will.]
I bit my lips and fell silent.
My expression changed several times as I thought about the words of the demon. I knew that he was partially right; but, how can I ignore the safety of thousands of people?
In the end, though, I heaved a long sigh.
‘I understand, I won’t do anything foolish.’ I spoke up in my mind.
[Good. Then start to prepare. This dungeon will be the perfect place to test the results of your training.]
I understand.
I guess I will need to prepare a weapon, huh. A good spear will be a bit expensive, but I should be able to afford it.
Also, I should buy clothes suitable for exploring a dungeon.
Finally, I need a good excuse to be in the place where the dungeon will appear when it appears. I don’t want to raise any suspicion.
By the way, demon, can you tell me the exact time when the dungeon will appear?
[… Just after noon.] The demon replied as his blood-red eyes stared at me fixedly.
I got the feeling that the demon knew what I was planning, however, he did not try to stop me.
In other words, it was within the limits of what he could allow.
At the very least, I would like to believe that.
[… Sigh, how naïve. I can’t believe that my host is someone as naïve as you.]
I smiled bitterly to myself.
Yeah, perhaps it’s naïve.
But if I don’t do this, then I won’t be able to live with my guilt.