173.The Scheming Gorgon
”Hisss… This demon…”
Observing them from a certain distance, Nyssa didn’t feel good. She could not understand what had happened between the demon and that dragon, but it didn’t bode well for her.
She was hoping the Crimson Dragon would wipe out this demon and end up extremely injured. Then, she would kill the dragon and take the dungeon’s authority from Sren.
This was the reason why she had saved her energy. From the start, Nyssa had been scheming to become the new dungeon master. This gorgon had been in Tartus for more than anyone else, except for the fairy, Lith.
She was one of the few who lived here before that mysterious man sealed the Crimson Dragon here. Indeed, Sren had thought it was his secret but the sly Fel Mistress knew about Yvonne as well.
Actually, she knew more than Sren ever did, but never told him.
Last time, Nyssa had lost her opportunity to become the master of this dungeon. Thus, she’d stayed silent and waited for this day, when someone powerful came to challenge the Dark Mage’s power.
Nyssa absolutely hated being under someone.
That was one of the reasons she had sent Sapheisa and Ruxa to another dungeon. She had been originally planning on killing the master of the newly spawned dungeon and living there.
But who knew this demon was so powerful? He had even made a dragon kneel.
As the dungeon core began stabilizing, Nyssa knew she had lost this chance as well. It frustrated her to no extent!
But she knew fighting for it was meaningless now. Instead of wasting her time here, she ought to flee.
But… flee to where? Could she find a place safer than Saelther Canyon? The outside world was dominated by greedy humans, they would kill her kind for their selfish intentions.
Should she submit to this demon then? Her mind quickly denied it, but this was the only option left.
”Hiss…”
Nyssa’s curvy body turned into a dark green snake. She glanced at the aftermath of the previous battle and turned around, slithering to the upper floors.
For now, she would have to return to the 56th floor. With that weird girl guarding, there was no chance to go near the demon or the dungeon core.
…
Two days later, on the 71st floor of the Tartus Dungeon.
Inside the floating Herion Castle, Jake sat on a throne while the homunculus, the dungeon fairy, and the dragon knelt below him.
”Yvonne,” Jake called. He had recently learned her name.
”Go and bring that gorgon here.”
”Understood.” She turned into a blurry afterimage as soon as she heard him.
It felt nice to order someone higher in rank than him. Jake leaned on the throne reserved for the dungeon master. Actually, he hadn’t gotten the authority from Sren.
Due to the unexpected merging between a dungeon master and a dungeon fairy, those black mana threads or the Dungeon Authority became a catalyst for union.
If Sren tried to transfer them, he would die on spot, making the dungeon core explode. So it appeared he would remain as the master of Tartus Dungeon, but with someone above himself.
This wasn’t too bad, actually. Controlling Dungeon Masters seemed more reasonable instead of personally taking charge over other dungeons. Jake could be sort of like the main head here, with multiple branch heads under him.
Jake stood up and stretched his left hand. On its middle finger, he wore the control ring of the Herion Castle. This whole structure was one big artifact itself.
Other than the wide variety of rooms, this castle had many long range weapons and defense mechanisms. Sren claimed that he had created it with the help of thousands of monsters in a span of 50 years.
It appeared he was not just a dark mage, but someone with great knowledge on magical technologies. In other words, an Esoteric Artificer!
”Go to the 72nd floor and focus on recovering yourself,” Jake told Sren, the dungeon master and its fairy.
”Yes, master,” Sren began chanting after saying this.
Very soon, a teleportation magic circle appeared below his feet and the fairy disappeared suddenly.
Jake felt it was a pity he couldn’t steal such a useful skill. He would have to be at least one rank higher for him to use [Skill Steal].
Jake shook his head and flew toward the lobby, beckoning the homunculus to follow him. After a while, both of them exited the floating castle and went higher and higher.
Jake began climbing the floors and Fiona followed. She asked a few times where they were going, but when Jake slapped her a few times, she obediently shut up.
‘I hope they didn’t worry too much… Heh…’ He was thinking about his women on the 23rd floor, of course.
Jake had left them there the day before yesterday. The dungeon had experienced some extreme quakes last night, so they were bound to be worried.
It took him and Fiona about half a day to climb up to the 23rd Floor. Because both of them could fly, it had taken them such a short time.
If they went by foot and without rushing or using their skills at all, two and a half months would go by trying to climb up. And that was without dealing with the monsters which spawned all across the floors.
As they entered the 23rd Floor, Jake immediately flew toward Pitts Town. Surprisingly, it still stood without any damages done. Did the tremors not reach here?
”Daddy, I can see them!” Fiona flew below Jake and pointed at a certain part of the town.
”Hmm…” Jake squinted his eyes as he saw them on the road.
Quite a few adventurers were surrounding Erin, Ruxa, Perry and the centaurs. It appeared a fight was just about to happen, and the adventurers clearly had the upper hand.
”What’s this about?” Jake flew faster toward the city, being mildly irritated that these lowly adventurers would dare surround his women.