Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society

“Isn’t this the Grand Canyon?”

“Shin, think about Windermere Lake. They say higher ranked dungeons go through greater terraforming.”

“It’s majestic...”

“Hm? Aren’t all canyons this big?”

The Antelope Canyon was known for its narrow passageways, formed by the erosion of sandstone, and the beam of light that shined down from above.

However, the current Antelope Canyon was wide enough to play a game of soccer, and its beautiful passageway had taken a strange formation. It wouldn’t be weird if a golem popped out of it. Furthermore, it was incredibly large. I couldn’t tell where the canyon ended. Though, perhaps the fact that it was currnetly night had something to do with it.

“Oh, who are they?”

“Hwaya Mastifor and Thunder Knight. They’re famous. They’re the ones who cleared Britain’s Field Dungeon.”

“Not even America can ignore them. I didn’t think they’d come here though.”

A few ability users were grouped in front of a car at the entrance of the canyon. I could clearly hear their whispers. It was the power of 300,000 gold.

“There are two more girls though. They’re both wearing masks.”

“Thunder Knight’s wearing a mask too. They’re probably his friends.”

“He’s not alone? I’m getting more curious as to who he is.”

“They could be Flame Witch’s subordinate. There is a rumor that Thunder Knight only appeared at Windermere because he was the Flame Witch’s subordinate.”

“Shin, I’ll go burn those idiots.”

“Just let them talk. We don’t need to care about weaklings like them.”

Unhappy with the ability users whispering to themselves, Hwaya created flames on her palm, but I calmed her down. I was looking for something else. A few months had passed since the Field Dungeon had been created. Just like at Graveyard Over the Lake, there were several buildings above the canyon, ruining its natural scenery. I suspected that the person waiting for me was in one of those buildings.

As expected, not long after we arrived, a voice rang out in my head.

[You came. I’m happy. If it’s okay, can we meet right away?]

It was the voice of a young and frail girl. I remembered from her letter that she could use telepathy. However, I didn’t know how to respond to her.

[If it’s okay, nod your head once.]

I nodded my head. She answered immediately.

[Come inside your lodging. Room 1301, I’ll be waiting there.]

With that, the telepathy cut off. I led my companions looking at me curiously to the lodging, while I gave them an explanation.

“I’ve been contacted by a telepathy. You guys didn’t hear anything?”

“No, not at all.”

“Is it like the messaging system between dungeon explorers?”

“It’s a bit different. The messages ring in my ear, but this one rings in my head.”

“Uk, that doesn’t sound comfortable.”

There was no elevator in the building. In other words, we had to climb the stairs to the 13th floor. Since Ludia refused to unlink our arms, it was a bit uncomfortable, but Hwaya, who was wearing a long dress unsuitable for climbing stairs, seemed more irritated.

“Kuk, I don’t like this girl...! Telling my friend to come and go as she wants, and even making me climb these stairs...!”

“Ludia, can you let go? It’s hard to walk up the stairs like this.”

“No.”

“Four blind spots, seventeen points... If I install traps here...”

When I realized, Ye-Eun was analyzing the building and murmuring like some bomb expert. ‘Damn, I want to pretend not to know these people!’ Feeling the people’s gazes piercing me every floor we went to, I blamed the heavens.

When we arrived on the 13th floor, it was extremely quiet, unlike the floors we passed through. There was no one walking around, and the hallway even looked different. Hwaya tilted her head and looked back at the stairs to the 12th floor. Then, she clapped once with a bright expression.

“This is a barrier. Anti-recognition barrier. A kind of conditional barrier.”

“Sorry, but can you explain it in a language I can understand?”

“It’s a barrier that prevents people that don’t know about the 13th floor from reaching the 13th floor.”

It was truly a simple, yet extraordinary, barrier. Ye-Eun and I were only slightly surprised, but Ludia looked shocked as she asked Hwaya.

“Such a high-rank magic is being used like this?”

“High-rank? It’s not that hard in the modern magic system.”

“Uuk....!”

Without my knowledge, Ludia’s losses were increasing. With a bitter smile, I knocked on room 1301 with them.

[It’s open, Hero-nim. Come in.]

Why was she using telepathy when we were within audible range? I opened the door. A large living room and, beyond the window, the Antelope Canyon transformed into a large canyon caught our eyes. We also saw several wyverns flying through the night sky and the ability users fighting against them.

At the same time, we saw a little girl sitting on a chair.

[Nice to meet you, Hero-nim and Hero-nim’s companions.]

The girl got up and bowed respectfully.

[I am Ciara Kenex. You can call me Ciara.]

With her introduction, I could immediately tell why she couldn’t move her body easily. I shouted.

“You’re a kid”

[I’m 12 years old this year. I’m just a bit of a late bloomer.]

“A 12 year old is still a kid, you know...”

Ye-Eun murmured in shock. Ludia and Hwaya also had surprised expressions. As for me, I noticed something else the moment I saw her.

“... Can you not see?”

[I was born blind. At first, I couldn’t hear or talk, but thankfully, my ears opened up as I grew.]

Even as she greeted us, she had her eyes closed. I asked because of it, but I didn’t think I would actually be correct. Was that why she was talking to us in telepathy? Thankfully, we could all hear her through telepathy. She could likely see us through an ability similar to her telepathy.

As for her appearance, she was quite cute. It was a bit different than Koreans’ black hair, but her charming black hair reached her waist in curls. With her small frame and white skin, she really looked like a doll.

Hwaya made a look of pity at Ciara’s words, but soon erased it. She likely thought it was rude. As if to erase the thought from her mind, Hwaya asked quickly.

“Alright, since you called Shin here, can you tell us why Shin is the Hero? I’m quite curious too.”

I already explained to Hwaya and Ye-Eun in the plane. Although they made fun of me at first, Ludia got mad and told them about her continent. After that, Hwaya and Ye-Eun were more worried than me. I knew how annoying and dangerous being a Hero was, but it seemed like someone else’s problem until they began to make a big deal about it. As a result, even I felt a bit odd.

[Hero-nim, are they...?]

“Yeah, you can trust them. Also, don’t call me Hero-nim. Call me Shin.”

[... Understood, Shin-nim. Then, I’ll start from the beginning. From the moment I first awakened. It was 3 years ago...]

“Wait.”

Hwaya immediately interrupted her.

“Two Moon only happened a year and two months ago. 3 years? That’s impossible!”

[But I awakened 3 years ago.]

“What...?”

Ye-Eun and I, who understood what she meant a bit late, were also shocked. What was she saying? She awakened before Two Moon? 2 years at that! Although Hwaya wanted to say something, I reached out and stopped her. I believed Ciara would explain.

She also said she awakened from a premonition-like dream. She had come of age, and was standing next to me. There were also countless other people and giant enemies. In her dream, she taught people when and in what size monsters would appear, and how strong they would be. Resistance against the monsters were centered around her.

[Perhaps because my ability is still lacking, but its range is only wide enough to cover a city.]

“That’s an amazing ability, especially in this day and age, where even satellites are being shot down by monsters’ attacks. If your ability can really grow to how it was in your dream...”

[Hero-nim was the strongest and most radiant among them.]

“You don’t need to flatter me.”

[After that dream, I became more sensitive to human presence. I could feel their hostility towards me, how strong they were, how much potential they had... Of course, before Two Moon, there were no monsters in this world and no ability users, so it wasn’t that useful.]

That wasn’t it. The day after she awakened her ability, she once again dreamt several hundred dreams.

“... Wait. Several hundred?”

[Yes. In my dreams, I saw countless particles of light. There were countless number of oddities.]

“Countless oddities...?”

[The dream continued. For 2 years, I saw and experienced hundreds of thousands of abilities. Worlds and environments other than Earth. They fought each other, demons, invaders, alien insects, bugs that lived in the mind, monsters that lived in electromagnetic waves, orcs with countless mutations, fallen group of dragons that lost their intelligence and others.]

“I don’t understand...”

No, I think I understood. The problem was that I understood. If she was telling the truth, it would be truly absurd.

[One day, around early evening, I fell asleep. I had a dream, and I met someone who gave me a portion of power.]

“The world’s power?”

I said blankly. Damn, I felt like I understood. Although it sucked, I think I knew.

[Our world’s power is especially large. He kept saying inexplicable things like the World of Origin or the World of End.]

“Who is he?”

[I don’t know. He could be the embodiment of the worlds, or perhaps just Earth. All I know is that he was worried about the monsters stealing this world’s power and worried that people of Earth wouldn’t have the power to resist them.]

“...”

[So he separated the world’s power into two. The smaller power, which was still necessary to maintain this world, was given to Hero-nim. The bigger power, which was more pure, was given to me. Of course, it was too big for me to bear it alone.]

After hearing until there, I asked.

“You... created the ability users?”

She answered.

[Yes, Hero-nim.]

Author’s note:

Huu, one secret has been revealed.

Right, Ciara was young! (Bang!)

I’m kidding, of course. I’m sure everyone understands that the secret I mentioned wasn’t about that. In any case, with this, I hope no one asks if Ciara is a heroine...

It’s the start of a new chapter. Once the talk with Ciara is over, you’ll see Shin and his companions shining within wyverns and new ability users.

I got a lot of criticisms about the girls’ relationships last chapter and also a lot of encouragements. I think everyone said it because they’re fond of the story and its characters.

As I said before, not everyone can be happy. There were good advices here and there, of course! Regardless... the story will take the direction I think is best.

If there’s anything you don’t like, that’s unfortunate, but I hope you can continue to enjoy this novel. If there’s one thing I can promise you, it’s that I will be happy if you can continue with this lacking author.

Then, see you tomorrow!