Morning came.
Ein, who was nervous for unknown reasons, was busying himself with faceting the gems. Since the yield of the mine kept getting brought in, he had a lot to use for practice.
Without his notice, the total DP he had finally reached over 30,000.
"Master, the two finally woke up," Lilith called by his side.
Ein immediately tensed up after hearing this. Noticing his current state, he couldn't help but have a wry smile.
'I, a Warrior known for being a cold-blooded killer back on Earth, am getting cold feet just thinking of revealing my true identity to others? How laughable,' he thought.
However, beyond his notice, the change in his state of mind was also related to his rejuvenation. Currently, he has the mind and thought process of a late teen. Unlike the cold and calculative mind of an adult, he was currently more accommodating to others' feelings.
Lilith, seeing the current appearance of Ein, couldn't help but shake her head.
"Before that, fix your appearance first," she said while taking out a full-sized mirror from her extradimensional storage.
"Oh, thanks..." Ein said absentmindedly.
He fixed his disheveled hair, flattened the creases on his robe, and practiced his smile. Then he nodded to himself before saying, "Yup... What the hell is this?!" He couldn't help but shout.
He saw his vague reflection numerous times while faceting gems; however, he thought that it was simply a distorted image of himself. Now that he was looking at himself in the mirror, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"I've become younger?! When did I—how?!" He was confused as he kept touching his face and making funny faces in the mirror.
"So you really didn't notice," Lilith sighed.
Hearing what Lilith said, as if experiencing the revolving lanterns, the entirety of the past few days flashed before his eyes. Realization finally dawned on him.
"Mana is the essence of a being. When you became a dungeon master, you got infused with a great amount of mana," Lilith started.
"You can think of mana in this situation like your lifespan. With your previous scant amount of mana as a human, you are already nearing the end of your life. Like 90% finished?" she said while gesturing a small gap using both hands.
"After becoming a dungeon master, your lifespan was increased forcefully. Right now, I don't know if the total years you've lived even reach 1% of your current lifespan," she said while gesturing a wide gap. Her chest jiggled due to her sudden action.
"Due to this large difference, your body was forced to get rejuvenated to its present, most optimum form." Lilith shrugged.
Ein was feeling amazed. He didn't know that being a dungeon master had such perks. Rather, he was more surprised that his lifespan had actually increased.
"If mana basically equals lifespan, then does that mean long-lived species have more mana?" Ein asked.
"It's the other way around." Lilith shook her head. "Those species born with a superb amount of mana end up living more years compared to those weaker than them."
Suddenly, "Ah!" Lilith exclaimed.
"The two elves are already at the dungeon entrance, waiting," she announced.
Nayta and Melina were probably waiting for Ein to show up before they headed out. Yesterday, Ein let a few wolves accompany them. Thinking that he would do the same for today, they patiently waited.
After a few more minutes of calming himself, Ein finally headed out.
As he approached, he saw the two looking at a wolf carrying a crate. They were amazed at how the wolf was carrying tons of precious stones like it was nothing.
"Good morning, Mr. Tamer," Nayta quickly greeted as she saw Ein appear.
"Good morning, sir." Melina greeted him too.
"Good morning to the two of you too," Ein said with a smile. "Sorry, but can I borrow a few minutes of your time? There's something I want to tell you both."
Sensing the serious tone hidden behind his smile, Nayta tensed up.
"Of course you can, Mr. Tamer. What is it that you want to tell us?" She asked.
Ein took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Then, with a serious expression, he continued.
"Actually, I had been lying to the two of you. I'm not a tamer," he said.
"Ah, because you're a noble, you aren't considered a monster tamer?" Nayta clarified. "Don't worry, since we don't mind it."
"No," Ein denied solemnly. "I'm not a noble either."
Ein then pointed toward the dungeon entrance.
"This place, too, isn't a cave but a dungeon."
Hearing this, both Nayta and Melina were surprised. They knew what dungeons were from ancient history books, so seeing one in person was quite a surprise. They can't help but doubt Ein.
"A dungeon? You mean those places where monsters sprout out from?" Melina couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, that one." Ein nodded.
"Are you really telling the truth?" Nayta interjected, asking for his confirmation.
Ein nodded in the affirmative. Seeing this, both Nayta and Melina tensed up, and blood drained from their faces, turning bluish-white.
Unfortunately for Ein, unlike Earth, which has been attacked by dungeons lately, the people of this world only know about dungeons through stories. What's more, the only source of information relating to dungeons was the creation myth of this world.
Dungeons are the beginning of life in this world. The Benevolent God created Heaven's Dungeon, and from there, beings that were made in their image, later called the human race, were born.
The Demon God, on the other hand, created Hell's Dungeon. From there, beings made with complete freedom in both form and purpose emerged. From them, races like dragons, elves, dwarves, goblins, and various animals and plants emerged.
After remembering the creation myth and noticing the presence of both slimes and wolves, the two reached the same conclusion.
'The Hell's Dungeon!' The pair unconsciously took a step back.
Without noticing the current state of the two, Ein continued.
"The slimes and wolves you see are not tamed, but rather summoned by me," Ein explained. "Because I am this dungeon's creator and master."
Hearing him say this, Nayta and Melina both blanked out for a few seconds. Then, as if on cue, the two immediately kneeled and bowed their heads. Or, to be clear, they were groveling on the ground, their foreheads hitting the dirt.
""Oh, powerful Demon God, it is an honor to be in your presence!"" The two said in unison.
"?" Ein, seeing the reaction of the two that was far from what he expected, was confused.
'Demon God?' He wondered, hearing an unknown term.
The creator of Hell's Dungeon, the symbolic father of all the non-human species, the Demon God. Ein, who claimed to be the owner of the dungeon capable of giving life to slimes and wolves, was surely the Demon God.
...
Later that day, Ein asked Nayta about the Demon God or something. After he heard about the creation myth and saw how the content of the myth was similar to the capabilities and limits of his dungeon core, he couldn't help but agree with their conclusion.
"Really... I am a Demon God (apparently)."