"My lady, where are the others?"
Vissy looked puzzled as I stood alone at the entrance to the dungeon. She probably expected me to bring Karl or someone else for assistance.
‘I’m more than enough.’
"You think I need anyone else to clear this pathetic dungeon? What a joke, Vissy."
Even though I had no choice but to go in alone, I put on a confident front. Complaining to Vissy would only increase her anxiety, so it was better to instill confidence that I would handle everything.
Indeed, the Mesugaki persona is useful when hiding my true feelings. It always makes me appear arrogant and self-assured, keeping any uncertainty or hesitation buried deep inside.
"I see," Vissy said, not doubting my words.
Having seen me clear dungeons before, she likely believed I wouldn’t say such things without reason. It seems my reputation has grown. If this had been when I first possessed Lucy’s body, she would have thought I was spouting nonsense.
Or, more likely, she wouldn’t have come to me for help at all.
<Are you sure about this?> Grandpa asked.
‘Of course.’
As long as Armathi plays his part, there’s nothing to worry about. If Agra, that petty evil god, doesn’t interfere, I can handle the dungeon the usual way. Even if he does, as long as I can manage it, I’ll deal with it. And if things get too dangerous, I can always escape.
There’s nothing to lose, so there’s no reason to hesitate.
I just need to do what I want.
Seeing my determination, Grandpa didn’t try to dissuade me further.
‘By the way, Vissy...’
“Never mind that, Vissy. Do you still have the key I gave you last time? Hand it over. I need it for this pathetic excuse of a dungeon.”
“Ah, yes! Here you go.”
Taking the key from Vissy’s hand, I examined the dungeon entrance. It looked like any other dungeon, but the atmosphere was different.
While dungeons created by Agra were oppressive, this one felt eerie and unsettling. Just what you’d expect from a dungeon created by an edgy, darkness-wielding god.
‘I’ll be right back.’
“Just stay here and wait like a good little sidekick. I’ll be back before you know it.”
As I stepped into the dungeon, the surroundings changed.
A dark, ancient mansion under a moonless night sky.
The mansion outside was old and on the verge of collapse, but this one was pristine, as if it had just opened its doors.
“We have a visitor?”
A woman appeared on the staircase at the center of the mansion. She wore a stark white dress that contrasted with her black hair, her body semi-transparent, allowing me to see the family portrait hanging behind her.
“Hello. I’m Adri. Adri Velvet, the eldest daughter of the illustrious Velvet family. Pleased to meet you.”
‘Hello, Adri.’
“Hi there, lonely ghost. You must be thrilled to have a visitor, huh?”
“Lonely? Me?”
Her once faint smile faltered, turning into a frown. Mesugaki skills are still going strong today. Just a simple greeting and I’ve already drawn the boss’s aggro.
Antagonizing her a bit more now isn’t a bad idea. After all, I’ll have to fight her eventually. If I rile her up now, it’ll be easier to get stat buffs later.
“You’ve been crying about being lonely for decades, but you’re not lonely? That’s hilarious. Do you even have any friends?”
Adri’s smile vanished completely, replaced by a downward curve. The sound of her nonexistent teeth grinding filled the empty mansion.
“I’m not... alone.”
With every word Adri spat out, the temperature in the mansion dropped. Not just figuratively—literally. The space, being tied to her, responded to her emotions.
But I wasn’t cold.
This content is taken from freёwebnovel.com.
As her mood soured, I felt a surge of exhilaration in my chest.
“Who else is here besides you? Huh? Lonely ghost?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
With that, Adri began to ascend the staircase, but halfway up, she glanced back.
“Try to find me. If you can.”
As her form dissipated, silence filled the now empty mansion.
Even though she disappeared, my sense of elation remained, the Mesugaki skill’s buff still active. Maybe because this dungeon is centered around Adri, her hatred for me keeps the buff going.
This works out well for me.
It means I can move through the dungeon with a constant buff.
Good thing I riled her up beforehand.
<This place is strange. It’s a dungeon, but it doesn’t feel like one.>
‘That’s because it’s imbued with Adri’s resentment.’
Dungeons created by evil gods other than Agra are often like this. Because they’re formed around something with powerful emotions or history, they end up looking different from regular dungeons.
Adri’s dungeon is one of those.
Normally, dungeons are about descending to the boss room and defeating the boss, but this one is different.
Here, you have to explore the mansion, find Adri, and then defeat her.
<But child, why are you just standing there?>
Grandpa seemed puzzled as I remained motionless after Adri’s departure. Usually, I would clear a dungeon as quickly and efficiently as possible, so my relaxed approach surprised him.
‘This is the right way to clear this dungeon.’
If I just wanted to clear the dungeon quickly, there’d be no reason to stand still, but my goal here isn’t just to clear the dungeon—it’s to save Adri.
To do that, I need to follow the right order.
I waited a few minutes, standing still.
Gradually, vague figures began to materialize on the carpeted floor where there had been nothing before.
They took the shape of knights.
Blood-stained, worn armor.
Faces twisted in agony.
Yet, despite their suffering, their eyes were filled with a determination to protect.
If Karl were here, he’d probably scream like a little girl and roll around on the floor.
What a shame.
Seeing Karl, who usually just smiles at whatever I say, trembling in fear would have been pretty amusing.
- Leave. - You shall not pass through here. - We will protect our master with our lives.
Ignoring their buzzing voices, I tightened my grip on the mace. I infused the mace with divine energy, and its head began to glow.
A light so bright it seemed like a sun had risen in this darkness-soaked mansion.
The spectral knights hesitated, retreating slightly.
I may call Armathi useless and incompetent, but his power is real.
The divine radiance of a holy god is nothing short of a calamity for those who defy the laws of the world.
No matter how skilled they were in life, they can’t stand against me.
“What’s wrong? Scared of a little light? Some knights you are. Pathetic. If it were me, I’d be too ashamed to show my face.”
The spectral knights were not known for their patience.
Before my taunts could even fully leave my lips, one of them rushed forward, lifting his sword with both hands in a reckless charge.
I could tell he had lost all sense of reason, letting his emotions take over.
That won’t do.
No matter how weak I might look, I won’t fall for such a pathetic attack.
My body moved before Iron Wall even had to warn me.
I didn’t need the skill’s guidance.
The battle experience I’ve accumulated told me exactly how to respond.
I raised my shield to deflect the descending sword.
Since the knight had poured all his strength into the attack, the opening left when his strike missed was wide.
I swung my mace, shattering the already cracked helmet completely.
The knight couldn’t withstand the divine power in the mace and disintegrated into ash.
I stepped over his remains and moved forward.
“What’s the matter? Giving up already?”
The knights feared Armathi’s light.
They trembled as they watched their comrade turn to ash without even a chance to fight back.
“Are you going to beg for your lives? Cry for mercy in front of a little girl? Go ahead. I’d love to see that. It’d be hilarious.”
But their fear was swallowed by their anger toward me.
Even knowing they would die, they charged at me.
It was both bravery and futility.
Even if they were ready to die, it didn’t change the fact that they were powerless against me.
Their charge yielded nothing but more ashes.
As the last of the spectral knights faded and the mansion returned to silence, the mansion itself began to change.
The once pristine entrance hall, ready to receive guests, became a mess, as if ransacked by intruders.
The carpet was torn.
Wallpaper peeled from the walls.
Tables were overturned.
Glass bottles shattered on the floor.
<What is this?>
‘Don’t be surprised, Grandpa. This will keep happening.’
The changing mansion is proof that I’m progressing through the dungeon correctly.
I reassured Grandpa and moved on.
The next place I visited was the mansion’s reception room.
As soon as I opened the door and stepped inside, several specters appeared in the once-empty room.
A maid with a tattered uniform.
A butler with blood dripping from his eyes.
And necromancers in black robes, both specters themselves and masters of the dead.
Their faces, which would have once welcomed guests with smiles, were now filled with nothing but resentment and hostility.
- Leave this place! - There is no place for light here! - Do not interfere with the grudge of the dead!
Ignoring their nonsense, I stepped forward, and the ghostly maid let out a shrill scream.
A scream that could shatter the mansion’s windows.
A cursed scream.
If I hadn’t been prepared, that scream would have inflicted debuffs like fear, confusion, weakness, and curses on me, but I was fine.
Not because I’m Armathi’s apostle.
But because of the skill given to me by the one who probably hates me most in this mansion—Adri.
[No More Grudges]
The skill gifted by the ghost protected me.
As I smashed the maid’s head, silence returned to the room, and I smiled at the specters who had recoiled in fear.
- How? - Why are you unharmed?
“What’s wrong? Did your plan fail? Pathetic.”
If you want to blame someone, blame your master.
If it weren’t for the skill she gave me, I wouldn’t have been able to move so recklessly.
“Come on, vermin!”
I don’t have time to waste on you.