“Good, then your task is simple, heat up the blade, and place your sigil on it.” The guide smiled innocently.
She was being innocent, but I had a feeling it wasn’t that simple. Would Alysia feel the forge?
“Deek. It’s okay. I-I want you to mark me.”
“Alysia…”
“Ah… I already gave you… that, so, in a way you already have marked me. This will… just make it official. From now on, I will always be yours.”
I took a deep breath and then nodded. “Fine.”
By the time I turned back, the little girl had already vanished again. I was on my own again. No, I still had Alysia with me. I’m not sure I could have done it without her.
It’s not like I could argue. If we stopped now, it wasn’t like we could just go back up. My only choice would be to somehow take over the dungeon with Dungeon Master. That was my second plan. I’d need to challenge the dungeon master and become the dungeon master myself. That was honestly what I was planning. If there was a master, they would assuredly be on the final floor.
“Just one more…” I whispered to myself. “One last one.”
“What, Master?”
“Nothing.”
I walked up to the sizzling forge, and then I shoved Alysia into it. I also transferred the pain to me. At first, there was nothing, but it quickly grew. I could feel the burning of a molten forge. I clenched my teeth and shivered. The sword began to turn red. It felt like an eternity, and the pain grew more and more severe until I was shaking. It finally reached a point where even Alysia noticed something was off.
“M-master? What’s happening?”
“GGgghhaaaaaa!” I finally screamed, falling to my knees. “No!”
“Master!”
I stood back up and pulled her from the forge. I put the coin down where the hilt met the blade, and then I pressed the coin against the molten metal. Picking up a hammer, I hit the sword. It felt like I was being hit with the hammer. One. Two. Three. As the seal began to surround the sword, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”
“Master! What’s going on? Something is wrong! Master!”
I wasn’t able to hear her. The pain finally overtook me. I collapsed to my knees and then passed out on the floor. I gasped, waking up. I was still on the floor. I had no clue how much time had passed. I could still feel the ache. It felt like I had been branded with a cattle prod while being cooked over a lava pit. I slowly stood up to my feet. That’s when I saw the guide standing there, grinning at me.
In her hands was Alysia, who was now cool. I reached out to her, and I heard nothing. The Slave Communication was being blocked.
“Y-you…”
“I never imagined you’d be such a lightweight as to pass out over the heat of the forge. You only made it too easy to take this…” She said, her hand stroking the flat side of the sword.
“Give her back!” I said.
“Hehe… You may think that this is just a sentient sword or something, but actually…”
“I will take this dungeon, and everything in it!” I yelled, switching my job to Dungeon Master.
{You are a rival dungeon master. You have declared war on this dungeon. Defeat the dungeon master to claim the dungeon as your own.}
The little girl stumbled back, as the sword flew from her hands. It was the first time she showed a strong emotion. She was extremely shocked.
“Y-you’re a dungeon master!”
The sword landed between the pair of us, and then flashed, turning into the form of Alysia. Her eyes looked at me in shock.
“D-Deek. Y-you’re a dungeon master?” She looked just as shocked.
“I have that job,” I admitted. “It was my backup for when she betrayed us.”
“You… use dungeons… just like the demons?”
I blinked, only then realizing I had never really told Alysia everything. She had no clue about my dungeon back at home. In her mind, I was a True Dungeon Diver who destroyed dungeons completely. The expression on her face, the one that had been filled with happiness even as we made our way down, was now filled with confusion, fear, and apprehension.
“We can talk about this later, right now, we need to take care of her.” I took a step forward, but Alysia took a step back, as if repelled by me, her head shaking.
Before she could say anything else, her body returned to a sword again and then flew back into the little girl’s hand. “She’s made her choice, and that choice is your death!”
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