"I-I'm tired..."
"The treasury won't be open for long, you know? I'd rather not use it again today since I'll need to save it for when we're really in trouble later. But for now, we can rest here like any other adventurer would."
Once you learn comfort, it's hard to go back.
Elena's reaction was proof of that.
She gave Daniel a playful, almost teasing look, as if expecting him to open the treasure room.
It was the kind of thing that would have been unthinkable back during the original dungeon attack.
"From where I'm standing, you look shameless... don't you feel even a little guilty?"
Sophia, who was the least physically strong among them, wanted the treasure room just as much—but unlike Elena, she kept it to herself.
The difference was simple: Sophia held back because she didn't want Daniel to dislike her.
"Hmmm... alright, thirty minutes. But that's it. Don't expect another chance."
"Yes, yes!" Elena clapped her hands in excitement.
...Oi, oi, weren't you just saying you were tired?
The more Daniel thought about it, the more amused he became at her eagerness.
"Master, aren't you spoiling that pervert a little too much?" Sophia muttered.
"Maybe. But you're tired too, right? Better to rest like this than to stress everyone out. When your body breaks down, that's when mistakes happen. And mistakes here mean death."
Daniel had no interest in turning their journey into a death march. His goal was to conquer the dungeon with his companions while keeping things lighthearted.
He wanted to enjoy the adventure—not grind himself into despair. After all, his real dream was to live a slow life.
The moment they entered the treasure room, Elena immediately collapsed onto a bed and fell asleep without a word.
Fatigue was no act—it was real.
"I think it's kind of cute, how fast she crashes... keeping up this pace also shows she's stronger than she looks," Daniel remarked.
"...Or maybe it just shows she's rude," Sophia said flatly.
Daniel had no comeback for that. Instead, with a mischievous grin, he tugged up Elena's skirt as she slept, peeked underneath, and smiled to himself.
After Elena woke, the three of them pressed onward.
Soon, they reached another lower floor.
This time, only one type of demon prowled the level: large, lion-like beasts that hunted in packs.
"Hmmm... this feels strange..." Elena murmured, frowning.
"What is it? Something in your head?" Daniel asked with a laugh, watching her puzzling expression.
"No, it's not that! The number of demon encounters... it's higher than before, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then... could Derek and his group still be alive?"
Daniel shook his head. "I can't say. If I start guessing, it'll just make us careless. And if we get careless here, we're the ones who'll die."
The truth was, Daniel had his own suspicions.
He had planned from the beginning to move just behind the ones who went first. It was the same strategy he'd used when conquering [Ganymede].
Let others take the traps and the worst of the exhaustion. Then follow through in better condition.
It wasn't kindness—it was calculation.
Derek and his group might still be alive, but in Daniel's eyes, they were nothing more than convenient shields.
At seventeen, his instincts were simple, but in his heart still lingered the mindset of the twenty-nine-year-old modern man he once was.
It was all about minimizing risk.
And if, along the way, he got to keep Elena at his side... well, that was just an extra prize.
Not that he minded her, either as a woman or as a fighter. Her carefree, reckless attitude could be troublesome—but it was also part of what made her charming.
"I know it's wrong to say this after we left them behind, but... I'm worried about Derek," Sophia admitted quietly.
"I'm not saying he'll be fine, but odds are he's still alive. Maybe start thinking of a goodbye line, though. I'd expect his to be... less than dignified," Daniel said with a smirk.
If they didn't run into him, it probably meant he was dead. Conquering a dungeon required more than strength alone.
But Daniel kept that to himself. There was no point in frightening the girls further.
"Y-you pervert... you don't want to actually see Derek's pathetic little thing, do you?" Elena blurted.
"That's the kind of line I was expecting," Daniel said, laughing.
A slow life with a harem didn't sound so bad. As long as they were together, safe, and happy, that was enough.
"It's a dirty thought... one that would make Daniel want to claim me right here..." Sophia muttered, face red.
"If it's anything like when you touch yourself, I'd probably lose control completely," Daniel teased back.
Even he wasn't sure how long he could resist the temptation. Her openness and immorality only fanned the flames of his own desire.
"Master... I thought you were going to wait with Elena. I'm scared... someday, you'll use her like a slave, and then I'll be left behind..." Sophia's voice trembled with worry.
Daniel hesitated. The temptation was strong, especially since Elena never rejected him. His instincts screamed at him to claim her, to fill her, to prove she was his.
But he clenched his fists.
"I'll be patient. Don't worry. You're the only one I'll ever spoil, Sophia," he whispered.
Even though Elena looked younger in spirit, Sophia gave him the sense of safety—like a mother's embrace. Spoiling her felt natural.
Before they could speak further, Elena suddenly cried out.
"Wait! Something's wrong! Look—a giant hole!"
In the direction she pointed, a massive stairwell yawned open—wide enough for ten men to march side by side.
"I knew it... it's the same kind of dungeon as [Ganymede]. That leads to the lowest level," Daniel said grimly.
"You mean... the apex stronghold," Sophia whispered, taking an uneasy step back.
"So this is it? The end already!?" Elena exclaimed, half thrilled, half impatient, as she rushed to Daniel's side.
"No, not the end... the test. Honestly, with enough preparation, any strong group could make it this far. But no one's ever broken this dungeon yet. That's why we're just ahead of history," Daniel said.
If the lower floors were about endurance, the final boss was about strength. That was where it would all be decided.
He tightened his grip on his sword.
"Come on, both of you. Stay sharp. From here on, one mistake could mean death. And if I fall... you run. No hesitation. Got it?"
Both Sophia and Elena gasped, startled by the serious look on Daniel's face.
It was the first time he had ever looked so grim in front of a demon.
As they took their first steps toward the stairwell, a sharp metallic clang echoed around them.
*********************
"What the hell is this thing!? No matter how many times I cut it, it regenerates immediately!"
On the lowest level, near the center of a massive, empty floor, Derek, clad in white armor, was battling a monstrous alien form.
The sheer size of the floor dwarfed him. It was larger than a modern dome stadium.
When the fight began, Derek's companions had collapsed instantly from the demon's rush. There hadn't even been time to check on them, but he knew deep down they were already dead. They hadn't moved at all.
This creature was stronger than any demon they had faced before, and easily an order of magnitude larger.
Even Derek, who had little knowledge of demons, could not identify it.
The thing towered over him, tens of times larger. Its bulk was like three carriages stacked on top of one another in height, and ten carriages wide.
Its body resembled a rounded bun with four massive legs, and sprouting from its bulk were seven long, snake-like necks.
Each ended with a serpent's head, all moving independently as if with separate wills.
It was like some grotesque tsuchinoko hybrid with too many necks.
And the sound… the sounds were unbearable. Snakes weren't even supposed to make noises, yet each head hissed and shrieked differently, their overlapping cries reverberating through the chamber and stabbing at Derek's nerves.
Derek's temper was short to begin with, and this cacophony rattled him worse than most.
He combined swordsmanship with bursts of magic, slicing off several heads, only to watch them regrow before his eyes.
Even striking the main body proved useless—the thick scales turned his blade aside like steel.
Despite his situation, Derek's movements were sharp, almost graceful. The white-armored swordsman moved like a dancer. His style was a family tradition, one built on redirecting enemy power and turning it back as offense.
But now, exhaustion weighed on him.
I'm running out of strength... And that breath—damn, it's poison. Just inhaling a little and my body feels numb.
His comrades had handled recovery magic, and with them gone, there was no hope of purging the poison. He'd never been skilled at healing himself.
Just beyond the monster loomed the dungeon's final gate.
A towering, ornate golden door glittered like a treasure vault. Whatever he had sought lay behind it.
But the Hydra stood between him and everything he had fought for.
Despite its size, the creature was fast. Its primary attack was brutally simple—charging straight at him. Yet the sheer difference in power made even that straightforward motion a lethal threat.
If it trampled him, the armor would crush around his body.
"Am I... am I really going to die here? Alone, in a place like this, with nothing to show for it!?"
He tried to dodge the rushing beast, but his legs refused to move. The poison had already spread too far.
As death loomed, Derek screamed into the emptiness. No one answered.
Dying... for what? For everything I've done...
I have to be a hero! If I'm not special, no one will ever recognize me...!
But his intentions meant nothing. His body had reached its limit after the long march and battle, weakened further by the Hydra's toxins.
The entire chamber was already saturated in poisonous miasma.
The demon's colossal body slammed forward. Derek raised his sword desperately as a shield, but the effort was pitiful. The impact hurled him across the chamber, smashing him against the far wall.
His resistance had been meaningless, no more than a scrap of paper in a storm.
As his consciousness dimmed, one image surfaced—Elena, who had silently followed him all this time despite his harshness toward her.
Damn... Was I wrong...?
The ringing clash of Derek's armor and sword carried upward, reaching Daniel and the others above.
"Hydra...! W-Why is something like that here!? That species should've gone extinct ages ago! —{Poison Decomposition}! All of you, stop breathing so heavily!"
Sophia dropped onto the lowest floor right after Daniel. She quickly cast purification magic, a faint glow wrapping around the group to counter the spreading poison.
The Hydra lumbered toward Derek's crumpled body, unaware of Daniel's party.
The chamber stretched out like a massive dome. In the distance, Daniel's gaze caught the glimmer of the golden door.
"Derek...!"
When Elena saw his faint movement, she tried to rush toward him, but Daniel stopped her with a firm hand.
"Sophia. Tell me what you know. While it hasn't noticed us yet."
"Derek!"
"Elena, quiet. I need information if I'm going to save him. If I get hit by something I don't understand, I'm dead, and then none of you get out of here."
Daniel's tone was harsh, but there was no room for softness here.
This monster was unlike any demon he'd faced before. It carried the same dreadful air as the serpent he had once encountered in [Ganymede].
Two bodies already lay lifeless on the floor. Derek barely clung to life, but with the Hydra looming over him, his end was inevitable without intervention.
Sophia's voice trembled. "The Hydra... it's nearly immortal. Cutting the heads does nothing, they regenerate instantly. Its breath is poison too... My magic can suppress it for now, but not for long. Just standing here is killing us."
Daniel frowned. "So how do we beat it? Everything here reeks of poison, and it's guarding the dungeon's final gate..."
The snake in [Ganymede] had also wielded venom. But that one had only targeted its prey with dripping fangs, melting stone where it touched. This Hydra, however, polluted the entire battlefield with every breath.
Sophia shook her head. "Defeat it? No, we have to retreat! It looks like a snake, but it's part of the dragon family! A monster that should've been wiped out long ago—why is it still alive here!?"
Daniel's eyes narrowed. "Maybe you grew up in a safe place where only weaklings existed... but I'm sure dragons are real. Even if I've never seen one. Sophia, you must know something. Can it be brought down with just a sword?"
In this world, Daniel feared only three things: the dragons he had yet to encounter, his own brother, and the wrath of Sophia.
And of those, the dragons were no fairy tale.