“…It seems you’ve generated several of ‘those’ within me.”
“By ‘those,’ you mean the things inside this, right? It’s in a compressed state, but can you still tell?”
I showed the binder of chips, and Futaba-san pointed at a specific one.
“‘Revive Stone’… is that correct?”
“The items discovered inside the dungeon contain energy that could restore the dungeon itself?”
I had the same thought as Cipher. Could the altered core of the ‘Purple Balun’ become a source of strength for her, considering she is essentially the dungeon itself?
“The reason I accept human intrusions is because their life energy… and what you call magic, are the same type of power that sustains my activity.”
“…So that’s why monsters attack humans.”
“All monsters act independently, sustaining their own lives. My avatars, however, have the ability to collect life force.”
“So, the monsters are on their own, but the ‘Joker’ works directly under you?”
“That is correct. It seems the same type of monsters are found outside of me as well. I can only gather external information from the invaders… but…”
Suddenly, Futaba-san’s words began to break up. The pulse of the cocoon grew even weaker—so weak I thought it might stop altogether.
“…The human magic interfering with the monster’s core has created that ‘Revive Stone’… its effect is… ‘when the target’s life force reaches zero, it has a certain probability of restoring a certain amount of it.’ That effect…”
“Life signs are weakening. At this rate…”
“…I’ll use the ‘Revive Stone.’ Cipher, stand back.”
I approached the cocoon and held up the restored ‘Revive Stone’—and then.
“Ugh… grrr…!”
Futaba-san seemed to be in pain. The light inside the cocoon flickered slightly stronger, but then immediately began to weaken again, almost going out.
“Isn’t it supposed to recover with this…? What’s going on…?!”
I thought I could save her. But that was only a possibility—it was suggested that the ‘Revive Stone’ might maintain her life.
“…Transfer… to… you all…”
Her words were fading. The transfer would likely start in a few moments.
Why did it fail? The phrase flashed through my mind—’a certain probability.’
How can I increase that probability? Should I use the remaining two ‘Revive Stones’ to increase the number of attempts? Or maybe, there’s another method.
“…It’s not over yet…!”
《Skill ‘Compression’ activated. ‘Revive Stone x2’ transformed into ‘Revive Stone +1’.》
I don’t know if this is the right choice. But if the regular ‘Revive Stones’ didn’t seem to work at all, then using two more of the same likely wouldn’t change much.
I bet everything on the ‘plus one.’ I held up the ‘Revive Stone +1’ and wished with all my heart—to save her.
“…Please… please…!”
Cipher’s voice. The first attempt only seemed to cause her pain—but.
The cocoon throbbed with a pulse.
The dim internal light began to grow stronger—the ‘Revive Stone +1’ turned into particles of light and was absorbed into the cocoon.
The brightness increased to the point where it illuminated the surrounding darkness. Tears were streaming down Futaba-san’s closed eyes.
The root-like tendrils that had entwined her body began to fall away. And then, instead of her body, her voice resonated directly in my mind.
‘…That Revive Stone had no effect. I knew after the first attempt… but the stone you used was not the same as the first.’
“So, that’s what the ‘plus one’ was… To be honest, I’m completely drained too…”
“…Sniff… Thank goodness… Thank goodness…”
“Cipher, are you crying?”
“N-No… I-It’s not like that, not at all!”
Cipher’s small unit appeared flustered—probably a mix of embarrassment and relief, as I couldn’t help but smile for the first time in a while.
‘…To humans, we should be an abominable existence. Why did you preserve my life?’
“Like I said earlier, being able to communicate with a dungeon is an opportunity no adventurer—or explorer—would want to lose.”
“That’s not the only reason, is it, Master?”
“…It’s hard to say. The ‘Joker’ is a formidable enemy, but earlier, it fought as an ally. There are times when you have to defeat monsters, and times when you don’t.”
I haven’t fully worked out my thoughts yet, but if I ever enter this dungeon again, I’ll be just another explorer. I can’t be the only special existence in this place.
“…By the way, about Ryudo Hinata, that male student…”
‘He was parasitized by a monster called ‘Blood Roper’ and used its power for himself. During the transfer to this location, he was attacked by one of my avatars… but he won’t die. I’ve already transferred him outside.’
So that’s why I haven’t seen him—though I’m concerned about the attack from the ‘Joker,’ if Ryudo survived, he’ll probably consider it a win.
(Still, the name ‘Ryudo’… it’s similar to ‘Ryud,’ one of Beck’s companions. It’s a strange coincidence, but an odd connection nonetheless.)
I wonder what happened to Beck’s companions after he disappeared. I have no way of knowing, but I can’t help but be curious.
“Beep—Incoming call from the main unit. Establishing connection.”
A communication came through from Cipher’s main unit—Nanami-san and the others. After a burst of static, the sound cleared.
“Fujiwara-kun, is everything alright there… Did you find Futaba-san?”
“Yeah, I found her. We’re heading back now.”
“…That’s great… Nanami-senpai, Fujiwara-kun found Futaba-san… Yes, yes. Everything’s fine…”
Nanami-san was soothing Haruka-senpai, though I couldn’t hear her voice—she must have been exhausted, but she should feel better once we return with Futaba-san.
‘…Are you sure you don’t want to be transferred?’
“If we do that, won’t it exhaust you again? After all, magic power is also the source of your life force, right?”
Having just escaped a crisis, making her push herself again would be unwise.
That’s what I thought—and said—but then.
“Wha—?!”
The cocoon’s light suddenly grew intensely bright—so dazzling that I couldn’t see a thing.
“…Beep—New life signature detected…?”
There was a note of confusion in Cipher’s voice. It seemed even Cipher didn’t fully grasp what was happening.
When the light subsided, I rubbed my eyes, unable to believe what I was seeing.
Next to the collapsed Futaba-san, there was—another person.
“…What’s going on?”
“…Could this person be… Dungeon-san?”
Clearly not someone from ‘this world,’ a woman of an entirely different species lay there—perhaps slightly younger than me, or around the same age.
“…Mmm… mmph…”
As she shifted to lie on her back, I reflexively averted my gaze—if this person really was the dungeon, I hoped, for her sake, she was at least wearing some clothes.
