On the way back, nothing happened.
The Hyzen Great Forest was quiet as if it were a lie — no monsters encountered at all.
The only thing was, I caught a glimpse of the restored "Wreck" from a distance.
It would go on living as a dungeon monster in the Hyzen Great Forest from now on, forever.
So, that enormous dungeon core.
Naturally, it's not the kind of thing you can carry by hand.
But thanks to Ambrosius, I was able to transport it.
Legendary Collection Book.
It can be stowed away like a pouch, and what's more, it's perfectly preserved.
As long as something is inside this book, it practically can't be damaged.
Ambrosius — as I thought, she's no ordinary person.
Once we returned to Hyzen, I went around greeting various people.
The most painful part was talking to the Poor Man's Club.
When I told him about Araya, he just said "Is that so" and looked down a little.
I decided not to mention Biggs. It would've just gotten all sorts of complicated.
I chose to stay silent especially for the sake of the "Thousand-Face" person's mental state.
"Come on, come on, let's set the dungeon core on this pedestal."
After the rounds of greetings were over, the witch brought me to the Junkyard.
It was Hyzen's dungeon Junkyard, located beneath my uncle's hideout.
Thinking back, my Hyzen started from here.
"Th-this is... the legendary..."
"...That Sturm. I'll never, ever forgive him."
"So it actually exists."
"Magnificent. I'm amazed you managed to keep it hidden all this time."
"Hoss. So Hyzen really is a dungeon, huh..."
"Yeah. Luma. Now you see, right?"
At this point, might as well.
Seiran. Poor Man Club. Guild Master. Giiza.
I called Luma over too. At this point, why not.
"It really is a Junkyard, isn't it."
"Indeed it is."
"Yeah... truly a Junkyard."
The folks from Torquetam came along as well.
I still hadn't given Pakira the Rank Up Relic Plate yet.
And since Bid already knew, he just gave a faint wry smile to the three who were looking stunned.
"You're the dungeon's consciousness?"
"I'm Isubara. The Spider Queen."
"I'm Nekia."
Somehow, Isubara and Nekia ended up chatting in the corner.
Come to think of it, Isubara tried to have Nekia killed, didn't she.
Let's hope they don't get into a fight over that.
— Th-the pedestal... the dungeon core... h-h-here you go.
The one speaking so timidly was Mires.
A two-tailed fox-folk beauty with glasses that hid her eyes and the air of a shut-in.
— Mires. Do I set it here?
— Y-y-yes, that's right...
— Here...
I was a little surprised.
The pedestal that had been sitting in the Junkyard was the same dungeon core pedestal from the Forbidden Land.
Exactly the same thing.
The only difference was that a smaller pedestal had been added in front of the large one.
It looked similar to the data-viewing pedestals you sometimes found in dungeon ruins.
— The witches made this?
— Ohohoho, it was quite the ordeal.
— M-mostly, the witch made it...
— No, no, without Mires it never would have been finished. As expected of the second-generation dungeon master. Her mastery of dungeons and vast knowledge are truly commendable.
— Th-th-that's far too kind of you...
Mires gave the witch a flustered bow.
Ambrosius, keeping an eye on that, set the dungeon core in place.
The dungeon core began to spin with a low, resonant hum.
A chorus of surprised voices and cheers went up.
"Oh my, how pretty."
Megadia said, taking a swig of her drink.
She'd been drinking for ages now. Ages. She'd pretty much given up pretending.
"I still kind of want to break it, though."
Narcesis muttered something unsettling under her breath.
Those two. They were still here, huh?
Pay no mind to them — the witches led me over to a small pedestal, and I stood before it.
"Do I put my hand on this?"
"That's right, that's right. Place your hand down, and you'll understand."
"Okay."
I set my hand on the small pedestal.
The dungeon core immediately ground to a halt. W-was this supposed to happen?
Wait — was I even the right person to be creating a dungeon in the first place?
Everyone seemed perfectly fine with it, like my being the one to build it had been decided from the start.
The witches had probably gone around persuading people, or wearing them down.
Then again, there was also the theory that everyone just thought it sounded like a hassle and pushed it onto me.
*"— Wish for it. The dungeon you envision — wish for it."*
Isibala's voice came from the dungeon core.
I envision the dungeon I want. My mind's already made up.
"The dungeon I envision — it's a dungeon where nobody dies."
I wish for it.
"N-No one dies?"
"Nobody dies, you say?"
"Is that even possible?"
"Oh my. Now that's something, isn't it."
"Won't die, Desu?"
"...?"
"But... is that really allowed, I wonder..."
"That's certainly novel."
"Huh... the dungeon's... common sense is... changing..."
"Nobody dies? I dunno, that's kinda hard to wrap my head around."
"Hoss, is that really possible?"
"If it's Wof, he can pull it off."
"A-A-A dungeon where nobody d-d-dies...!"
"Huh. Never even thought of that."
"Na!"
"Won't die? That's so busted. Busted for life, even!"
"That would be an easy dungeon, wouldn't it?"
"No. It's neither lukewarm nor easy. You just don't die. In exchange for avoiding death, you lose half your possessions and any treasures obtained in the dungeon. It's just a dungeon where you don't die, that's all."
"So there's a cost. That's pretty gnarly, honestly."
You can't cheat death for free.
The dungeon core blazed with light.
**'Very well, Wof. I shall construct the dungeon you envision. Simply wish it so. As you imagine, as you contemplate, as you desire — the dungeon shall take shape.'**
"Wait, I can craft a dungeon just by thinking?"
**'Indeed. The broad strokes are sufficient at first. Details may be refined later.'**
"Then..."
No need to hold back.
Come, then — all those memories of past lives lodged within me.
Time to put to use the skills I'd honed playing countless dungeon-crafting games.
That said, no need to go overboard with the details.
I wasn't sure how resources and the like worked, but since I could do whatever I wanted, I'd just ignore all that.
Then I'd use that game as my reference.
A sandbox type, where you connect and combine spaces called "rooms" to build it all out.
The title was... *Dungeon de Danjon*, I think.
And I'd fold in ideas from *Dungeon Crafter ni Naritakute*.
That was it!
For the floor system, I'd model it after *Dead Endless Death Dungeon*.
The legendary death game — a mad creation that had spawned countless dungeon addicts.
Then again, maybe I should add *Sunday Dungeon DIY* and *The Cage of Sin and Punishment in the Labyrinth* to the mix too.
This is getting fun!!
"What the—?! What the hell?! What kind of dungeon is this?!"
Apparently, that sent shockwaves through the dungeon community worldwide, according to Isivara.
So that community actually exists.
Alright, that should be enough for today — time to call it quits.
When I snapped back to reality, Isivara was the only one left.
"Huh? Where is everyone?"
"They went home ages ago."
"Ages?"
"How many hours do you think have passed?"
"Wait, that long...?"
"Yep."
I hadn't even noticed.
I was so absorbed... that much time had really gone by?
"Were you... waiting for me this whole time?"
"Don't be ridiculous. It's past dinnertime, so I came to get you."
"...I see."
So the dungeon core is Isivara's true body, right?
Something about her soul leaving her body and ending up inside a black spider-woman — I don't really get it, but that's the gist of it, if I remember correctly.
Whatever. I was getting hungry.
"Wof. You made an incredible dungeon."
"Not even close."
"...Huh?"
"All I did was finish today's batch. I'll keep crafting tomorrow."
"...Tomorrow too... you say!?"
She looked pretty surprised, but what did she expect.
"Yeah. That's right. The plan is to finish the rough assembly in about a week, then do a test play and refine the details."
For the test play, I'd ask Torquetam.
And Mineha. For the upper to middle floors, her group should be able to handle it.
When I hand over the rank-up Relic plate... oh, right. The letter.
I'd completely forgotten. I had to deliver the letter from Hals to Pakira.
This time I'd actually remember to hand it off.
"Test... play..."
She furrowed her brow like she'd never heard the term before.
Wait, she doesn't know what a test play is?
"It's a trial run. Obviously you have to do one. The difficulty goes like this: upper floors are moderately challenging, middle floors are fairly tough, lower floors are harsh, and the lowest floor is pure hell."
"...Whaaat..."
Isivara's face said she was exasperated from the bottom of her soul.
Right. For the lower to lowest floors, I should ask Narsis and Megadia.
I'm looking forward to seeing how far those two first-rank explorers can get.
I've got a few things with Narsis personally, so I wouldn't mind getting a little payback.
But wait—I'm the will of this dungeon. Why am I this surprised over something like this?
Besides, even if I iron out all the details, it won't be finished.
The plan is to install a gate in Heisen so I can travel back and forth to Hydrangea.
I'm thinking I'll repeat updates at roughly weekly intervals.
"Oh, right. Starting tomorrow, the dungeon core will move to a temporary deepest level, and I'll work from there. Would it be okay if I put the gate in my room?"
I'd set up the creation system so that teleportation circles could be placed freely, though limited to Heisen.
"S-sure, I guess."
"Thank you!"
Yes! Now it's nothing but dungeon crafting for me!
"Th-that's too much of a li……asked me to do it……"
"Did you say something?"
"Nope. Nothing at all, yo."
Isivara forced an awkward smile.
Oh well.
The next day.
I gave an impassioned speech about my dungeon to Milese and Ambrosius.
And then Milese awarded me the title of "Third-Generation Dungeon Master."
Why, though?
One week later.
Finally, the dungeon's preliminary framework was complete.
"I'm getting a bit nervous."
"I agree. A freshly built dungeon... As a delver, there is no greater honor."
"Hmm... So this is the... beginning of Torquetam's legend..."
"Legend... That has a nice ring to it."
"Riv. You say something good for once."
What lies ahead is Torquetam.