Part 27

"Lord Aureys? I thought we wouldn't see you for a few weeks," Aros said as he noticed me. I waved to him, then turned my body to show Hazel. Aros quickly stood up, then walked over to me and bowed, "Oh! I see Lord Aureys has already brought home a lady! What a joyous day! And to see that she's been blessed with the scales of our kind! She's a bit young, my lord, but I suppose I have no right to judge you on your tastes in women."

"She's nineteen, Aros! Calm down!" I shouted. Aros nodded, then slowly stood up. I turned to Hazel, nervously laughing as I tried to push through the awkwardness, "Sorry about that, he's not usually like this."

"No, I don't mind, but who is he?" Hazel asked as she looked at Aros in fear. I looked back to Aros, then realized why she was so afraid. Aros was twice my height and wore terrifying armor, but his position as a rank E boss monster probably scared Hazel more than anything. His aura alone was strong enough to scare most adventurers, much less one that had been working just F-ranked quests.

"This is my subordinate, Aros," I told her, "He's a bit enthusiastic, but he's a good guy."

"My lord jests," Aros chuckled. He turned to Hazel, then bowed his body once more, "As my lord has told you, my name is Aros. I am the one that oversees this dungeon in the stead of my lord. Madam, if I might trouble you to ask, what is your name?"

"H-Hazel Conley," Hazel said, still a bit nervous.

"I see. My lord, if you didn't intend to bring Ms. Hazel here to court her, what are you doing here?" Aros asked.

"She's a spirit," I told him. Aros looked up in surprise, then touched his chin with his hands as he began to think to himself, "but she has a curse, so I was hoping to cure her by binding her to the dungeon. Is that possible?"

"Snakes are cousins of dragons, so it should be possible," Aros said, taking notice of her scales, "But I can't guarantee it'll go as perfectly as you had planned, Lord Aureys. In the worst-case scenario, Ms. Hazel will die and the dungeon core will sustain some damage."

"Die?" Hazel shouted. She turned to me with an angered expression and shouted, "Arthur! What exactly are you planning to do with me? And why is he calling you by your last name?"

"Ms. Hazel, you are here as a guest!" Aros suddenly yelled. Hazel's angry expression disappeared, replaced by fear as she began to hide behind me, "Please treat the lord with more respect while you are in his house!"

"I'm sorry," Hazel whispered. I sighed, then looked to Aros.

"She is here as a guest, Aros," I said, "But also as a friend. Do not anger me by treating her like like that again."

"I am terribly sorry, My lord. It will not happen again," Aros said. He backed away from me and bowed once again, "Now, if you intend to bond her to the dungeon, she'll have to make contact with the dungeon core. If she's willing, then the dungeon core will recognize her spirit body and you should be able to bind the two. If it works, she'll become a dungeon monster, but will still have to increase her strength through the leveling system, like you will."

"Will she have the same system as me?" I asked. Aros shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's something special only to you, My Lord," Aros said, "But her growth should be second only to yours. She will be a powerful bride in the future, my lord!"

"Aros!" I shouted, my face growing hot. Aros chuckled, then returned to the throne.

"By the way, I don't see Icarus?" Aros asked, "Where is the young boy? He's not dead, is he?"

"No. He's in Hewe with my friends. I wanted them to have a chance to deepen their bond while I'm here with Hazel, so I left him behind," I told him. Aros went silent as he listened to my words. Then, he sighed.

"My lord, I advise you to interact with the human race as little as possible. Even though you have more experience with the humans than your own kin, they are still your enemy. There are very few who can accept you for who you are," Aros warned, "but they are still your friends. I am excited to meet them in the future, my lord. When are you bringing them here?"

"I don't think I can. This place isn't a secret I can share with everybody, you know," I sighed. Aros nodded, then turned his gaze to Hazel. Then, though he was wearing a helmet, I could've sworn he started grinning like a madman.

"I see, I see," Aros chuckled, "Now, I suppose I shouldn't hold you any longer. If you need me, I'll be here."

"Thank you, Aros," I said. Then I turned to Hazel, who was still standing behind me. Her eyes were trained on the ground as she tried to avoid my gaze, "Let's go."

Hazel nodded as she began following me to the core room. Before we descended the stairs, I made sure to toggle Hazel as an ally so the traps didn't activate, then began my descent.

"As I said, he's a good guy," I told Hazel as we walked, "He just has an enthusiastic personality."

"He said he's your subordinate, didn't he?" Hazel asked, "What does that make you?"

"A dungeon master," I said, "The place we're in is a dungeon. Aros is simply the dungeon's boss."

"A dungeon? Aren't dungeons just the term the guild uses to describe monster nests? I thought the stronger ones only contained goblins, but how does this one have that thing- Aros- as its boss. Wait, that raises another question- how can you control him? He's a monster, isn't he?"

"It's not just control. I created him," I told her, "Don't you remember when I told you you were a spirit? I asked you if I looked like a human, didn't I? The truth is that I'm not a human, I'm just in human form."

"What? Then what are you?" Hazel asked, "Are you a monster- like Avos or whatever his name was?"

"Aros," I corrected, "I'll let you guess, but I'll give you a hint. Icarus is my son."

"Son?" Hazel shouted. I looked at her, then saw her face going red, "I thought you were younger than me? If he's your son, then that means- that means you've-"

"Stop whatever you're thinking. For somebody as expressive as you are, I would've thought you had experience," I laughed. I quickly turned around and looked at Hazel and stared into her eyes. As our eyes met, I remembered how Aros was acting earlier and my own face began going red, "I created Icarus in the same way I created Aros- through magic- but I created Icarus in my own image. He looks like me and was created in my image. Aros is different- he was created as he wanted to be created, as I had no way of intervening in his creation process, and he was an adult by the time he was created."

"I see," Hazel nodded. She looked up, then her eyes went wide, "Wait, your own image? Does that mean you're a dragon?"

"Indeed," I smiled, feeling confident in myself as I saw Hazel's reaction, "I'm a Red Dragon, the strongest type of dragon to exist! Well, second best. I wouldn't want to fight a black dragon any time soon."

"Black dragon?" Hazel asked. I looked at her, then nodded.

"Dragons are separated into different colors and types. Red dragons use fire and are immune to heat. Black dragons, on the other hand, are the most powerful type of dragon. They use curse magic- which is similar to what cursed you, now that I think about it," I said as I turned around. I looked at her as my eyes widened. My eyes drifted to her cheeks, where her scales were.

"Black hair, black eyes, and black scales," I whispered. Hazel looked at me with a confused expression, wondering why I was looking at her so intensely. As she met with my gaze, she turned away. I smiled, then began to run faster as I made my way down the staircase, "How interesting! Hazel, follow me!"

"What? Whoa, wait up!" Hazel yelled as she ran after me as well, "Why are you running?"

"I think Aros was wrong! I don't think you're a snake spirit at all! Hurry!" I yelled as I reached the bottom of the staircase and the entrance to the core room. Hazel continued to chase after me, eventually reaching the core room a few seconds after me. As we arrived in the core room, we both stopped. I turned to her, a bit nervous now that we were here, and looked into her eyes, "Hazel, what we're doing here could kill you, I won't lie. However, there's a chance it'll get rid of your curse. Do you want to take that chance?"

Hazel looked at me, her eyes full of determination, and nodded. I smiled, then turned to the core. Hazel and I walked up to it, standing next to each other as we stopped near the core.

"This is the core," I told her, "It's what this dungeon is built around. To put it simply, it's the heart of the dungeon. It's the thing that pumps blood through the dungeon and powers it."

"It's beautiful," Hazel whispered. For a moment, her eyes were trained on the core. Then, after a moment, she took a glance in my direction before turning back.

"I want you to put your palm on it," I told her, "Once you do, I can bond you to the dungeon. You'll become a dungeon monster, one of my subordinates, but you'll never have to listen to my orders or become my slave. You'll be a free person, welcome to explore the world as an adventurer all you want. Of course, I would prefer if you would do it with me, but I won't force you."

Hazel looked up at me, then at the core. Then, without any further announcement, she quickly put her hand to the core.

﹃

Detecting Spirit ]

Spirit's affinity with dungeon: 99%

Bond Unknown Spirit with dungeon?

『 Yes 』『 No 』

﹄

I took a deep breathe before clicked the [ Yes ] option. Hazel suddenly cried out, her voice full of pain. I turned to her, concerned and shocked. I watched as Hazel continued to cry out in pain, but she kept her grip on the core tight. A deep black fog began to leave the core and travel up her arm like a suit of armor.

"Hazel!" I yelled. Hazel looked to me and shook her head.

"I'm okay," She told me through gritted teeth. I turned to her arm, which was now completely covered by the black fog. The fog moved onto her shoulder, then began to crawl across her body. I quickly opened my dungeon panel, hoping to see a way to help Hazel, but I only saw a single notification.

﹃

Spirit Transformation in progress

25.6%

27.1%

﹄

The number continued to climb as the fog covered more and more of Hazel's body. I turned back to Hazel, not sure if there was any way I could help. However, without any knowledge of what was even happening, I had no choice but to stay back and watch as the black fog covered her entire body.

﹃

Spirit Transformation Completed!

Spirit Transformation Successful!

Congratulations on the Creation of a New Dungeon Monster!

﹄