Chapter 67

The ring shrank to fit Ariel’s finger, and now it also fit perfectly on Roo’s finger.

Roo looked at the ring on her finger with an expression of disbelief.

“B-Big sis… Thank you so much… I can’t believe I’m receiving something so precious…”

Even though fairies like Roo rarely had any connection to magical artifacts, she knew just how valuable they were.

Of course, the value varied depending on the type of artifact and the magic imbued within it, but according to the man, this ring could potentially buy an entire city.

Roo could see why.

A ring that shrinks to fit the wearer’s finger? That meant it could be used by any race.

Naturally, it had to be precious.

*Poof.*

Roo’s body vanished from her spot.

“Whoa!”

She reappeared on top of Ariel’s head.

“This thing lets me teleport to wherever I want.”

Blink was a magic skill that allowed the caster to teleport to a desired location.

Blink was originally that kind of magic, and the same was true for the magic imbued in this ring.

Roo experimented with the Blink skill from the ring and discovered a few things.

First, Blink couldn’t be used indefinitely.

It could be used three times in a row, but after that, there was a cooldown of about a minute.

Well, that made sense. Even when mages cast spells, there’s always some cooldown time.

The difference was that using a magical artifact didn’t consume mana and didn’t require casting.

In that sense, the Blink from this ring was far more efficient than a mage’s casting.

“Hehehe, now I won’t have to worry about being caught and put in a magic cage. Well, not that it would happen while I’m with you, big sis.”

Next, she discovered the range of the teleportation.

Blink didn’t allow the caster to teleport just anywhere they wanted.

There was a clear range limit.

About 10 meters from the caster.

The same was true for the Blink used by mages, though with higher mana consumption and skill, they could teleport a bit further.

But even then, it was only a bit further, making Blink a rather awkward spell for travel.

It was really only useful in emergencies.

Sena, who had been quietly observing the ring, finally spoke up.

“Ah, so maybe when Ariel disappeared earlier, it wasn’t a trap activating but her using Blink?”

But soon, she made a puzzled expression.

“No, but something still feels off…”

The distance Ariel had moved earlier was way beyond 10 meters.

Plus, Blink only allowed teleportation to places the caster was aware of, and Ariel couldn’t have known about this place.

She was in this dungeon for the first time.

“Hmm…”

Neither Sena nor the man could come up with an answer.

The reason for Ariel’s sudden disappearance remained a mystery—whether it was the Blink from the magical artifact or a dungeon trap.

Of course, Ariel had her own suspicions.

Earlier, she had drawn out a bit—no, quite a lot—of mana to check the magic on the ring, and at that moment, the space around her changed.

Perhaps the mana she drew out and the Blink from the magical artifact had interacted.

As a result, she might have teleported beyond the 10-meter limit, ending up in the Guardian’s room.

Of course, that wasn’t certain, and it didn’t really matter.

After all, they had defeated the Guardian and reunited with the party.

“Huh…?”

At that moment, Sena tilted her head.

“Speaking of which, Ariel, wasn’t there supposed to be something in this room? Like, a Guardian?”

Sena had been quite tense when entering this room.

Defeating the Guardian was the final challenge of the dungeon.

She thought she was the only one who could do it, given that Ariel had suddenly disappeared.

Honestly, Sena had been a bit excited.

Defeating the Guardian, conquering the dungeon, and saving Ariel—it sounded pretty cool.

Doing something like that would surely restore her self-esteem.

But Ariel had already been found, and the Guardian was nowhere to be seen.

“……”

At that moment, the man shook his head slightly while looking at Ariel.

In truth, the man had already figured out the situation.

No Guardian in the dungeon?

That didn’t make sense.

This meant the little elf had already taken care of the Guardian. Given the circumstances, there was no doubt about it.

But if he said that out loud, Sena might burst into tears again.

‘I absolutely cannot tell her the truth…’

Perhaps sensing the man’s thoughts, Ariel gave him a slight nod before turning back to Sena.

“There was nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Huh? Really? Is that possible? Aren’t dungeons supposed to have Guardians? They’re supposed to protect the dungeon’s core, right?”

Sena tilted her head with a serious expression, and Ariel quietly averted her gaze.

The Guardian, Medusa, was currently stuffed in Ariel’s inventory with a broken neck.

But Ariel kept her poker face, and the man inwardly sighed in relief.

Roo even chimed in.

“Hmm, maybe the Guardian ran away when it sensed the top mage from the Magic Tower coming?”

Fairies were naturally quick-witted.

She had already figured out the situation, that Ariel was lying, and even the reason for the lie.

“Ah, really? Is that possible? Can Guardians run away from dungeons?”

Sena frowned, clearly not understanding.

The man, lighting a cigarette, spoke up with a serious expression.

“Totally possible. Dungeons are mysterious places. It’s not strange for a Guardian to get scared and run away. Thanks to you, kid, we didn’t have to fight the Guardian and still conquered the dungeon. Impressive. You really are the top mage of the Magic Tower.”

At the man’s words, Sena’s lips twitched.

“Ahahaha!”

Finally, Sena burst into laughter.

“The Guardian’s such a coward! Running away without even fighting! Next time I come to a dungeon, maybe I should hide my identity? Haha, this is so boring.”

Sena happily poked the ground with her magic staff.

Meanwhile, Ariel quietly walked through the air using telekinesis, and Roo and the man exchanged glances and nodded.

The situation was resolved, for now.

The man exhaled a puff of smoke and looked at Sena.

“Well, since it’s thanks to you, why don’t you destroy the dungeon’s core? Let’s wrap this up.”

“Ah, right. The dungeon’s core. I’ll take care of it. Just wait a sec.”

Sena turned and walked away.

At the end of the room was another door, likely leading to the dungeon’s core.

Destroying it would mark the end of the dungeon conquest.

“By the way…”

Roo took a sip of fruit wine and handed it to the man, asking,

“What kind of magic is on that dagger?”

Roo’s gaze fell on the dagger hanging at the man’s waist.

“Hmm, well…”

The man took the fruit wine from Roo and gulped it down. Then, wiping his mouth, he shrugged.

“It’s a dagger, so probably some attack magic, right?”

“Try it out. I’m curious.”

“Oh, maybe I should. After all, I’ll need to explain its abilities when I sell it.”

The man drew the dagger.

“Now, let’s see what kind of magic it has.”

He swung the dagger through the air.

At that moment.

*Whoosh!*

A massive sword energy formed and shot toward the direction Sena was walking.

“Uh…”

The man made a dumbfounded sound, and Roo just blinked with wide eyes.

“Huh? What’s this… Ahh!!”

Sensing the sword energy, Sena turned her head and screamed, quickly jumping aside.

“What the heck!”

The sword energy flew past Sena and crashed into the door leading to the dungeon’s core.

*Crash!*

The door shattered easily, and the dungeon’s core inside was split in two.

The sword energy the man had unleashed had destroyed the dungeon’s core.

*

The dungeon was conquered.

With the dungeon’s core destroyed, no more traps would activate.

No bronze golems, no monsters, no Guardians would appear.

This place would become nothing more than the ruins of a dungeon, with no danger whatsoever.

Well, if you’re lucky, you might find some treasure while exploring.

Even in conquered dungeons, treasures could still be found, and many adventurers specifically sought out such places.

But none of that mattered to Sena.

“In the end… what did I even do…?”

When a dungeon was conquered, people usually cheered and celebrated.

After risking their lives to conquer the dungeon, even if they didn’t find treasure, they still felt a sense of accomplishment.

But Sena felt no sense of accomplishment at all.

When the trap activated, Roo flew through the bars to get the key, and Ariel took care of the bronze golem and the monsters.

And the Guardian? It had apparently run away.

Finally, the most crucial part of conquering the dungeon—the dungeon’s core.

The man had destroyed it.

“Ahh…”

Sena slumped down with a hollow expression.

In the end, Sena had done nothing during the entire dungeon conquest.