Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society

“Daisy Ectradion?”

“Yes, Loretta. Do you know who that is?”

The next day, seeing Loretta act completely nonchalant, I decided to give up asking her about what happened with Desert Scorpion. Instead, I asked her the other question I had. If Desert Scorpion’s guild master told me not to get involved with this person, I figured that Loretta knew about her as well. However, as soon as she heard what I said, she took out her axe and smiled.

“So, who’s that woman, Shin-nim?”

“I’m the one who asked! Also, aren’t you taking that axe out way too often lately!?”

“But Shin-nim is the bad one for asking about other women knowing how I feel.”

“What’s bad is Loretta’s head! Didn’t I explain!?”

“Then, I’ll stop joking and...”

“You were really joking, right? You won’t use that axe, right!?”

“... Huhu.”

Loretta simply answered with a bright smile. That meant she wasn’t joking, right..?

“Sorry, Shin-nim. I can’t tell Shin-nim even if I want to. But I think Shin-nim already has somewhat of an idea who she is.”

“I do... yeah...”

I didn’t know exactly who Daisy Ectradion was. However, the only thing he knew about me was that I had a god’s true name and that I was Beyond’s explorer. In other words, this Daisy Ectradion was likely to be Beyond’s second explorer. It was the strange woman who offered to take my corpse.

I was concerned about her. Just like the first explorer, it seemed she didn’t want to leave her mansion. Why wasn’t she exploring the dungeon? Perhaps, Desert Scorpion’s guild master had something to do with it.

“Then do you want to stroll through the Residential Area and asked around?”

“Why are you linking your arms with mine?”

“To make the best use of our time, huhu.”

In the end, Loretta dragged me off to the First Dungeon’s Residential Area. However, the people that saw us together acted rather... strange.

“Hey, is that guy...”

“Revival’s guild master, right? The holder of Evil Eyes.”

“Evil Eye holders are even rarer than holders of god’s true names... There are less than ten of them!”

“I hear he has a god’s true name too.”

Ah, my Evil Eyes gave away my identity! They had to be talking about me since I was probably the only one who recently gained Evil Eyes. However, their following words made me drip with sweat.

“I only found out with this incident that administrative guilds also have ranks.”

“Look at him! He looks like a natural women magnet. It’s not surprising that he could even seduce the Fairy Garden’s famous queen.”

“They’re walking around quite publicly. Did Desert Scorpion not know about this?”

“He doesn’t appear often in the Residential Area. It looks like he’s trying to show off right now.”

“He sent Desert Scorpion to their death so it’s understandable.”

“Desert Scorpion simply paid the price for their deeds. They’re the ones who bribed an administrative guild to try to destroy an innocent new guild. They got what they deserved.”

I looked back at Loretta. She was happily humming as she pressed her body against me. I sang the national anthem inwardly and asked Loretta.

“Loretta, tell me honestly. What’s your goal for walking around this?”

“I’m advertising to everyone so other women won’t bother Shin-nim!”

“And?”

“I’m warning others who might bother Shin-nim or Shin-nim’s guild!”

She was brutally honest. It seemed she wasn’t really avoiding the matter with Desert Scorpion.

“Really, I didn’t think there would still be such a dirty guild remaining in the First Dungeon! I got slightly angry and ended up being a bit overzealous. The administrative guild almost became four, huhu.”

“F-Four!?”

“Don’t worry, Shin-nim, it was resolved peacefully. All administrative guild masters are close friends!”

There’s a liar here! It seemed Loretta understood what I was thinking, as she put her hand on her mouth and smiled with her eyes curled to a crescent shape.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Everything I did was within my authority, so there won’t be anyone who won’t acknowledge it. Harming other guilds or explorers for the benefit of one’s own guild is strictly forbidden in the dungeon.”

“That’s good, then.”

All the attention we were getting was starting to get annoying. When I glanced over them, they seemed to have thought I would attack with my Evil Eyes as they all turned away scared.

“Huhu, I’m so happy.”

“That’s... good.”

Seeing the extremely happy expression on Loretta’s face, I could only smile wryly. Since she did it for my sake, I decided to enjoy this moment as well.

Soon, however, a man stood in front of us, blocking our way. It was Desert Scorpion’s guild master!

“Well... done.”

“Yeah, really. You made it sound like you could do whatever you wanted with the First Dungeon, but it seems there are proper laws in this place, huh?”

“This won’t be the end of it! No, this is only the beginning!”

He gritted his teeth and shouted. Of course, purely in terms of strength, he was stronger than me. I could feel him already trying to overwhelm me with spirit. Trying to kill me my spirit in the middle of the Residential Area... This guy had to be nuts. I held Loretta back, who was about to step forward angrily. I made up my mind to try out the Evil Eyes.

I would get in huge trouble if I accidentally turned bystanders into stone, but I suspected that the magic resistasnce of an S ranked guild’s guild master wouldn’t be lower than SS+ rank. Even if the petrification went through, I could always cancel it, so there was no worry. In the first place, the spirit he emitted was also threatening to people with low abilities, so we were doing the same thing.

I poured mana into my eyes, and the golden Evil Eyes began to shine brilliantly. Even I could tell that a bright light was coming out of my eyes. Desert Scorpion’s guild master’s spirit immediately subsided. He gritted his teeth to hold his stance.

“Kuk! You... You can already wield the Evil Eyes so freely...!”

“Sorry, but I’m a lot stronger than you think. I’m warning you now. I’m already busy with everything going on in my world, so don’t bother me. If you do, I’ll make you regret it.”

“Ha...! I already lost everything because of you. I have nothing left to lose!”

I smirked.

“Because of me? If someone overheard, they’d think I was the guild master of a large guild that bribed an administrative guild to harass and threaten small guilds that got in our way.”

“... Mark my words. You’ll regret what you did! Remember that you made an enemy of the holder of Scizarnath’s true name. I’ll kill you one day, Earth’s Hero!”

He’s saying that knowing that I’m Earth’s Hero? How can he act like he’s the victim when he simply paid for the crimes he committed? I guess the dungeon has people like him too... No, perhaps, being an explorer for dozens of years is what made him change.

In any case, I wasn’t afraid of him whatsoever. I saw his strength during the raid. I knew that he had a god’s true name and that he was currently much stronger than me. However, the time we spent was different. He said he’d kill me one day? Fool, you already lost your chance when you said ‘one day’ instead of ‘a week’ or ‘a month’!

I deactivated the Evil Eyes’ power with a smirk. Only then did he pick himself up properly, still glaring at me intently. It was then that I remembered something. He was the best person to ask about Daisy Ectradion.

“Who’s Daisy Ectradion?”

“If you’re Beyond’s explorer, you should know that deserter wench. I already warned you. Don’t get involved with her. Don’t think about helping her either.”

“Deserter...”

“That’s right, she’s a filthy deserter! A deserter that dared to defy me...! Just like you, I will kill her too.”

He turned around, leaving me behind. However, Loretta caught him with his words.

“Hold on, customer. How can you just leave?”

“Fairy Garden’s master...! You’re not satisfied with taking everything from me? What else do you want?”

“Of course there’s something I want.”

Loretta tilted her head like he just asked the most obvious question.

“You announced that you’d kill another world’s explorer. You can’t be expecting me to gloss over it. Plus, you mentioned another world’s name and threatened to kill its Hero... As the dungeon’s administrator, I cannot let that slide.”

“So what, you’re going to kill me?”

“No.”

Loretta smiled brightly.

“From this moment on, you are no longer a dungeon explorer. Moreover, you’ll have to promise that you’ll never do anything to hurt Shin-nim. Through a Soul Contract, of course.”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t do that to me! What right do you have to—“

At that moment, a door suddenly opened up. He tried to enter it, then screamed. The door was closing before he could pass through it. Loretta said with a slightly lowered tone.

“I can see how much Sipua is looking out for you. Threatening another explorer is a grave offense that is strictly forbidden in the dungeon. When that explorer is a Hero, the punishment becomes unimaginably heavy. Dungeon explorers are expected to help each other. Didn’t Sipua teach you properly?”

“Y-You...!”

“You freely oppressed others with Sipua’s backing, so you have expected that the same could happen to you. It seems you prevented explorers that went against your guild from using the Residential Area’s facilities? You should be glad you aren’t being punished by the Lord personally. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be able to keep your life.”

“You. Who are... Kuk!”

He knelt on the ground. I widened my eyes. I could feel that his strength disappearing. His soul’s league, his powerful constitution, and boundless mana, they were all disappearing! Now, he only had the strength of a level 30 explorer. It was probably the mana and strength he built up through training outside of levels. Most of it should be from the god’s true name.

A sparkling piece of paper appeared in mid-air. Loretta caught it and took out a pen.

“Now, let’s see... What should I write to make you suffer more... Huhu.”

“Loretta, was the reason we strolled around the Residential Area today...”

“Don’t ask me that. Just think of it as a good wife helping her husband!”

Loretta expected us to run into him. No, she baited him to come. Once he saw us, he would undoubtedly threaten me, and Loretta would then punish him thoroughly.

Everything had gone as she planned.

“Loretta, I can’t quite understand. How can someone lose his qualification as an explorer so easily?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Heroes receive special treatment in the dungeon too. At the very least, they shouldn’t be threatened by other explorers, should they? Of course, if someone threatens to murder a Hero, he must face a grave punishment. And the one who administers that punishment is...”

Loretta pointed her pen toward herself. Her calm smile gave me a chill.

“I’m so glad that I could catch him before Sipua got to him! I was worried that she warned him beforehand!”

“You... bitch...!”

“Don’t you know that cursing at an administrative guild’s guild master is also punishable? Regardless, I’ll be adding to your list of crimes.”

I came to understand that making an administrative guild’s guild master was disastrous.

Then, a woman appeared mid-air.

“Loretta, you! How could you do this to my Lod— kyak!”

“You need to be disciplined too, Sipua. Stay put in your guild house and wait for your punishment.”

She was instantly sent back by a wave of Loretta’s hand. After taking care of her like swatting a fly, Loretta threw the contract in her hand at the man gasping for breath on the ground.

“Quietly read it and sign it. If you do, your punishments won’t increase any further. Do it for Sipua, who cares about you.”

“Ku.... Kuaaaaaaa!”

Just like that, he lost his qualification as an explorer and was kicked out. Furthermore, he was forbidden from meddling in my affairs in any way. Everything happened under Loretta’s leadership. Seeing me stare at her blankly, Loretta said carefully.

“Shin-nim is busy with clearing the dungeon and matters back on Earth, so I can’t have Shin-nim distracted by trash like him. I can only do these types of things... D-Do you think I went overboard? I simply did what was within my authority to do, don’t hate me...!”

“N-No, I was just surprised because Loretta sent him away so cleanly. Thank you. It’s just that... I didn’t think he’d be threatening even if I left him aloneo.”

“Shin-nim, that kind of thinking is naïve.”

Loretta’s expression suddenly became more serious.

“Don’t think that Shin-nim is the only special person. Even after losing their power as a dungeon explorer, there are many people who can threaten Shin-nim. Not making any enemies or cleanly destroying all enemies. These are the only choices Shin-nim has. Of course, I think the former is much better. Though most explorers also think the same way, there are always outliers like that trash. So if Shin-nim makes enemies, make sure to tell me about them.”

Loretta continued with a firm voice.

“I’ll take out the trash.”

“... From now on, I’ll take care of it, so Loretta doesn’t have to do anything.”

She was right, I was naïve. I had the Dimensional Travel skill. If I really wanted to harass another world’s explorer, I could think of many ways to do so. Although I wouldn’t do something so troublesome, there were many crazies in the world; ones that did things without thinking about the consequences, ones that only lived for revenge.

It seemed I relied too much on the assumption that personality was part of the qualification to be a First Dungeon explorer. I should have known that people could change. Only after Loretta took care of the dirty work did I realize this. Really, I was wasting my intelligence stat.

“If possible, don’t make enemies. If I do, destroy them thoroughly. That’s it, right?”

“If possible, it’s better to use Soul Contracts to tie their lives down.”

... Still, Loretta’s methods were iron-blooded!

“By the way, the wisest thing Shin-nim could have done was to not participate in the raid. Although Shin-nim’s guild is strong, it’s still not in a position of absolute strength.”

“Then from now...”

“No, it’s fine now. Fortunately, we crushed a guild and its guild master. I doubt anyone will try to be Shin-nim’s enemy. It really turned out well!”

Loretta smiled as if to ask for my agreement. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“R-Rather than that, since I got the information I wanted, I’m going to go.”

“To Daisy Ectradion?”

“Uh, mm... Yeah.”

“Okay, let’s go!”

Loretta linked her arms with mine again and shouted joyfully. I had somewhat expected she would do so.

With a bitter smile, I headed to Beyond’s Residential Area. It was time to meet Daisy Ectradion. Of course, my arm was still linked with Loretta.

Author’s note:

The iron-blooded wife, Loretta. She’ll destroy anyone who dares to touch her lover!

PS - The popularity contest is a popularity contest! It’s not how the story will go. It’s just something that will let me know which characters are popular. Feel free to vote however you want.

The popularity contest is still up! I’ll probably announce the results next Friday. Check out the announcement post if you missed the link!