Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

Back in the Bosque Kingdom's royal palace, the conversation between Brennan, Samuel, Duke Lansworth and his long-lost brother Miller was coming to a close.

"Thus, we'd appreciate your cooperation" Duke Lansworth said in closing. This conversation ran for quite a long while.

Actually, rather than a conversation, it was more fitting to call it a lecture. In this lecture, the Duke went over many things. But to Brennan, the most important pertained to the future of his country.

"So… this is all because of the Volcan Empire?" Brennan asked hoping that would just about sum up their conversation.

"Well, that was one of the matters we spoke of, but the dungeons-" Before Duke Lansworth could remind Brennan of the real important issue, he was ignored.

"I know what you want, but hear what I want. I want to make them pay, can you promise me that?" Brennan said holding in his tears.

His son was good for nothing, but… he was still his son. Knowing that the Volcan Empire not only tried to assassinate him, but also successfully assassinated his son…. 

The sin the Volcan Empire had committed was actually larger than that. They led him astray and manipulated the foolish prince as if he were in the palm of their hands. They toyed with him.

"We… We will do our best" The Duke said with a wry smile. He didn't expect Brennan to be so stubborn.

Just like the Duke had done for Samuel, he explained their suspicions about gods and dungeons. He focused mainly on the time of their disappearance and the changes brought by it.

After the gods became unresponsive, there was chaos in the mortal world. Nevertheless, the chaos quelled and after a couple of generations, most people learned to live with it. Some even doubted the existence of gods in the first place.

It was then that the calamity of dungeons struck, the primitive humans fell victims to even the weakest of monsters, and driven by the will to survive, the humans learned to fight, advance technology, and adapted once more to the world.

The explanation the Duke provided this time was even more detailed than the one he did for Samuel. This meant that the A-class adventurer was learning new things about history.

"Wait, can we backtrack?" Samuel interrupted. Since he was learning new things, and this was technically a conversation between all of them, Samuel saw it fitting to interrupt.

The moment his voice was heard, all eyes were on him. Samuel viewed it as being given the go-ahead.

"How did you learn such ancient history?" Samuel asked the Duke who was currently sitting opposite him. Miller was handling his wheelchair now.

The Duke asked Miller to hand him his cup of tea. He took a sip before speaking.

"The forbidden forest has been tackled by many adventurers, all the expeditions are not fruitless" If the expeditions were fruitless, no one would bother risking their lives. At least not at the current scale.

Frankly, a large part of the forbidden forest's popularity came from the kingdom's promise to give land to those that conquered it. Without that, most wouldn't take their chances at finding relics.

What was a relic? Well, anything that seemed to survive from a much earlier time. It didn't have to be a magical device or weapon, it could even be a rock. Dungeons were for some reason like pockets of the past.

These pockets were firmly tied to reality, so they were a good way to figure out history. What all of this meant was that the Duke had been collecting relics found by adventurers in the forbidden forest.

"I see" Samuel murmured. The explanation of the Duke was not illogical, though he did have his doubts.

"How is the history related to our present and future?" Samuel asked that which had been weighing his mind for a few days now.

Was the Duke planning to hand the country over to an illegitimate son simply for the sake of history?

"As I told you before Sir Oakley, the dungeons are the enemy. Learning about their origins can help us preempt the appearances of new dungeons and maybe even beat current ones" The Duke's words appeared to make sense, coupled with his personal experience, Samuel was convinced.

Seeing an opportunity, Brennan who was still caught up on his kingdom interrupted this time. 

"Hey! What about the kingdom?" He asked loudly. This made W draw a blank in his mind. He wanted to learn more about dungeons!

'The kingdom can wait damn it!' W wanted to transmit this message, but tactfully kept it to himself.

"Well, if we will be cooperating…" Lansworth said slurring the end of his sentence before shooting Miller a glance.

"I am ok with that decision" Miller replied understanding what the Duke wanted to ask.

"Good, then as soon as things stabilize in the capital, we will reinstate you as king" Duke Lansworth said to Brennan whose mind dulled for a moment.

"Th- That's it?" If they gave away the position so easily, wouldn't it feel like he was somehow the one losing out? 

The duke's words were rather vague. What was stable exactly? But anyone with some sense would be able to recognize when stability was achieved and fight if the command was still not handed over.

"As long as you give us control over all adventuring affairs and laws, that should be it." The Duke replied, causing Brennan to frown. It sounded like a small price, but he was still not willing to pay it.

'This is good, as long as they have these changes still go through you, you can keep your authority on the surface' He would be king of everything, except adventuring matters.

This in of itself was not too odd. It was no different from creating a governmental authority or a branch of government that worked with some specific aspects. Though Brennan probably didn't have to be that formal.

"Hmmm…" Brennan didn't want to accept.

"Ok, we can do that" But the chance was also too good to let slip away.

As soon as this matter was settled. The tension in the room lowered. Everyone began to talk about less important topics when suddenly…

"Where did you bury my son?" Brennan initiated a rather awkward topic. No one buried his son…

This was when, perhaps by a stroke of what could be luck or misfortune, a messenger brought bad news to them. The messenger was in a hurry too, the news was urgent.

The door was being banged against with violent fervor. He had to deliver the message, even if it meant destroying the door!!!

"Let him in" Miller said before positioning himself at the forefront of everything.

"Dr- Dragon!!!" The messenger screamed clearly out of his mind.

"Huh? In the capital!?!" Samuel was dumbfounded.

"No… at the border…." The messenger said shrinking back sightly.

A new bang sounded out in the small meeting room. Brennan banged his fist on the table.

"Dragon or not! We have to do something about these bast*rds!" Brennan didn't need to know where his son was buried anymore. He would only worry about where they would bury all the Volcan cowards.

***

"ROOOARRR!" Back in the marshlands, the Hydra was starting to feel the wear from battle. All the heads let out a tired roar. The battle was drawn out for over half an hour, who had that much energy?

As for Eon, he was not any better. His robe was covered in his own red blood and although he seemed to have the upper hand, whether he could survive the ordeal was now being brought into question.

"Sigh… this is the inevitable result after all…" Eon's life was spent researching and learning. Early on in his life, his combat abilities were top-notch, but creating the black hole costed him many years.

Eon's health had deteriorated, and so had his skills.

"It's not very often you fight someone of your level…!" Another flashy collision. A beam of high pressure water combined with the explosive gas was set ablaze by the fire from another head.

The hydra knew all sorts of wacky combinations, but it couldn't break through Eon's defenses.

Eon began chanting again. This time, his voice carried with it a familiar, ominous tone. Spatial rend! The hydra, the lake, the world, were split in half! Only to be restored a second later.

"Cough- Argh Cough!" For Eon, this meant reducing his lifespan again. This spell had to be his last of this scale, otherwise he might cross a line of no return.

"Roooar…" The hydra let out a weak yell.

Surviving the first spatial rend made it better prepared to face this one, but with all the accumulated damage from before… the hydra could not take it.

Its legs gave away.

Blood red waves formed with the hydra as the center. These large waves rushed out and washed away the corpses of lizardmen and boat debris towards the lake shore.

The hydra itself started to slowly sink into the water. Some heads had their eyes open, while others decided to be the first to rest.

"Good, goood…" Eon's voice also started to fade.

"You did good" He told his equipment which shook with life. The exhilaration from the space mana crystal-fueled battle still had it in a state of high.

"Now… it's time to… Let go! Cough!" Eon shouted before attempting to remove the space crystal. Unsurprisingly, Eon's arm resisted.

"Urgh-! Come on!" Eon could still survive as long as he got the stone, but…!

"Let go!" The equipment of his own creation was being selfish at the last second. His victory was there, but… it wouldn't let go.

Eon was starting to panic, but after more fruitless attempts to cast spells or just move his body to remove the crystal, his eyes dulled.

It was over for him.

The hydra's body sunk into the now red lake, and Eon's mind was sinking into a mire of despair.