The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 10

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Magic Girl Hunter Builds a Dungeon! Episode 010
A Black Rotten Dragon, no less.
Every single word set off alarm bells in her mind—danger, danger, danger.
“Um, do I have to fight a dragon?”
[Don’t worry about the clear condition. We’re not here to conquer this dungeon.]
“What? Then how do we get out?”
[That’s only true for freshly generated dungeons. Here, once you find the entrance, you can come and go as you please. Just think of it as visiting a neighboring country and follow along.]
When Ijee hesitated, Grimoire set aside her impatience and spoke gently instead.
[You are my precious contractor. I would never let you fall into danger.]
“……”
[Besides, even if something unforeseen happens, I believe you’ll find a way through it.]
There was a note of genuine trust in Grimoire’s voice. Ijee slowly straightened her shoulders and followed the path Grimoire led her down.
A beautiful path stretched before them.
The sunlight was gentle, wildflowers trembling in the breeze.
It was a peaceful scene that naturally eased the tension.
……Though the mushrooms growing up to shoulder height were rather unsettling.
‘This place is just like the world of Alice in Wonderland.’
Which meant the Tea Party scene mentioned in the quest was inevitable.
In the fairy tale, the Tea Party participants were the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse.
‘Could the Black Rotten Dragon be charging into that gathering?’
Imagining the poor mouse and rabbit trembling sent a surge of feeling through her chest.
That was why she’d hesitated to follow Grimoire immediately a moment ago.
The dungeon didn’t need to be conquered, but if those small creatures were in danger…!
‘I have to find a way to help!’
Maybe her Conversation Skill could buy the animals time to escape.
With her resolve set firm, she pressed forward.
Then a strange sound reached her from a distance ahead.
The sound of dishes clattering, someone shouting loudly.
[There’s no need to worry about it, Ijee. It’s just the Tea Party.]
Grimoire’s warning only made Ijee more determined to find the source of the noise.
Beyond the undergrowth, the Tea Party site came into view. The great table and the dozens of teacups matched the fairy tale description perfectly.
The problem was the massive creature that had situated itself in the middle of it all.
She knew at once what she was looking at.
‘It really is a monster…!’
An information window appeared.
[Black Rotten Dragon]
An adult dragon covered in black scales.
It reeks of a caustic stench from its maw.
Thanks to its scales, any attack below C+ rank does nothing.
Its massive bulk, big enough to fill a classroom and then some, gleamed with an oily sheen. Ridges of blue protrusions dotted its body, accentuating the monster’s knotted musculature.
But what truly bewildered Ijee was something else entirely.
“Care for some wine? No, not to eat me! What does an uninvited dragon expect? I’ll make sure it can’t even smell the black tea!”
“Grrrrrowwwl…!”
The March Hare thrashed his head wildly, using both ears to pummel the Black Dragon’s cheeks with rapid, rhythmic blows.
And the Mad Hatter, beside him, was no less formidable.
“Hairless guest, you came to buy a hat from me, didn’t you? If you’re going to wear one, sit properly! Keep acting up and I’ll have no choice but to stack hat upon hat!”
“Screeeeeee!”
“Now that’s a hat wearing a hat—perfect match! What if a hat wearing a hat wore another hat? Lower your head!”
The Mad Hatter began placing hats one by one atop the Black Dragon’s head.
The force of each press was considerable, and the dragon’s jaw slammed against the table with each placement.
Ding! Ding! All the teacups rattled and shook.
And the Dormouse, awakening from sleep each time—living up to his name—would glare at the Black Dragon with barely-open eyes, only to drift back to sleep again and again.
‘What on earth is happening here.’
Ijee turned to Grimoire, who had sidled up beside her.
“Is the Tea Party being attacked?”
It certainly looked like the dragon was the one being attacked.
[It’s an attack, yes. That dragon is an uninvited guest from another dungeon.]
“From another dungeon?”
[Yes. Do you know what a Dungeon Break is?]
She’d learned about it in her safety training class.
“It’s when a dungeon explodes after a failed conquest. Monsters spill out and it becomes dangerous, right?”
[Something like that. When a shattered dungeon’s debris scatters, it sometimes seeps into other dungeons….]
Grimoire pointed upward.
Scattered across the sky were rectangular holes.
[Due to the nature of this dungeon—’Wonderland’—uninvited guests tend to slip through especially often. That dragon is one of them.]
“Like Alice falling down the rabbit hole?”
[Exactly. Of course, this intact dungeon holds the advantage. Even a beast that commands respect in its own dungeon becomes just another guest here, subject to the laws of Wonderland.]
A guest?
‘Does Grimoire not understand what “guest” means in this context?’
In any case, the residents seem safe enough.
And the dragon doesn’t appear to be in actual danger either.
‘Though its heart probably is taking a beating….’
[We can come back to the Tea Party when there’s time. Our true destination lies deeper within.]
Somewhat reassured, Ijee left the Tea Party behind and followed Grimoire onward.
Along the path they traveled, things wholly out of place in Wonderland lay scattered about.
A drill. A punctured tire….
‘Is that a Bacchus bottle? There’s even an instant coffee packet.’
Noticing Ijee’s confusion, Grimoire offered an explanation.
[Remnants of the burst dungeon. Objects, monsters, even the unlucky ones are scattered in all directions.]
“P-people too? What happens to them?”
[If they’re fortunate, they’ll fall back into the original world. But….]
In front of a massive Zelkova Tree, Grimoire’s flight came to a halt.
Ijee immediately grasped what fate befell those who were not fortunate.
Beneath the Zelkova Tree.
A man was trapped inside an enormous crystal.
Because of the crystal’s structure, the man’s body appeared twisted, like a broken puzzle.
Beneath dark hair streaked with grey, only the expression of clenched teeth remained vivid and clear.
It was instinctive knowledge.
He was still alive, even trapped in this crystal.
[Looks like he fought to the very end in that collapsed dungeon.]
“…Huh?”
[I don’t know his name, but his will—]
“This person looks like a hunter named Jin Siheon.”
[You know him?]
“I saw him on the internet.”
She’d seen him in a hunter community post while searching at school for “hunters, companions.”
Post title: Is Jin Siheon actually dead?
No activity updates for three months now
[Comments]
-If Rank 1 dies the Association would’ve announced it, seems fishy
-Death can’t be reported without witnesses…
-Dude only solo’d anyway, who’d even notice if he died
-Schrödinger’s dead hunter, what a legendary take on the community
In the video attached to the reply,
a stunningly handsome man, his streaks of grey gleaming like silver dust, stared directly into the camera.
Stop talking about dungeon monopolies, would you? The Association’s official stance is “we recommend activities with companions,” not “solo play is forbidden.” The real problem is your pathetic skill level—you can’t even feed yourselves without running in packs.
[Comments]
-This dead guy definitely went to sleep in the land of no manners
-Dude has zero friends, guaranteed
-↑ Reporting this for defamation of character
-Please correct to “defamation of the deceased”
-lol good riddance to Jin Siheon
At that moment, Jin Siheon had etched himself into Ijee’s memory.
A hunter who cleared A-rank dungeons alone, without a single scratch.
Yet a man who had vanished without a trace at some point.
In short—
“He’s apparently famous for having no friends.”
[Seems the man lacked friends in a rather thoroughgoing way. In any case, this is our destination.]
‘Wait… is this man going to become my companion?’
A rude old man as her first human companion!
‘I’d hoped my first companion would be a kind magic girl…!’
Reality and fantasy truly are different things.
While Ijee was trying to accept reality with mature grace,
Grimoire pointed unexpectedly at the base of the crystal.
[Look here.]
At first she’d thought they were flowers, but looking more carefully, she saw translucent pebbles glimmering.
“Are these… Mana Stones?”
[Indeed. This is the answer to your first question—how to earn money.]
“Wow, thank you!”
Ijee carefully reached out toward the Mana Stones.
While she did, Grimoire explained.
[Having fed on hunters’ Mana, these should be high-grade stones.]
Her hand, reaching for the stones, halted.
‘Something doesn’t feel right.’
[You can mine them later. If you leave them be, they’ll absorb more nutrients and grow larger.]
‘That feels even worse!’
Ijee crouched down and lifted her gaze.
Jin Siheon’s face came into clearer focus.
‘He looks about my sister’s age.’
She’d heard that people who struggle too much when they’re young develop streaks of grey.
‘My sister doesn’t have any grey hairs… so living without friends really must be that hard.’
Thinking of it that way, Ijee felt a surge of pity for this man.
“Grimoire, what happens if we break the crystal?”
[The hunter’s Mana will be absorbed by whoever breaks it.]
“So the man won’t be freed?”
[Abandon such vain hopes. As hunted prey becomes food, those who fail to conquer a dungeon become nothing but fertilizer for the system.]
“……”
[Gather the Mana Stones. You could absorb this man’s Mana as well, but breaking the crystal yourself would be beyond your power.]
The Mana Stones glimmered like they were beckoning her.
Mana Stones were expensive things.
With her small hands, she could only mine a little, but if she gathered them and sold them, bought better equipment, mined more stones from higher-tier dungeons….
‘These Mana Stones could lead to a two-story house!’
……And yet,
Ijee stood without touching the Mana Stones.
“I’ll mine them later.”
[Not days from now—later today? Surely you don’t mean to help this man?]
“Yes.”
[Why? He’s no friend of yours, nothing to you!]
“I have an older sister about this man’s age at home.”
[……? I don’t understand, but is that reason important to you?]
“Yes.”
[What do you intend to do?]
“First—”
Ijee called out the words she’d been wanting to say for the last twenty-four hours, pouring every ounce of determination into them.
“Magic Girl Shin Ijee, transform! Transform!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————