Chapter 636 - What Is This Doing Here?
(MC POV)
While Tsuki was excited over our finding of the key, I was in a state of slight confusion.
Did the dungeon change the contents of the chest on its own? Or did a monster within the dungeon swap the bracelet out for the key for some reason?
Or is someone tampering with the dungeon I made?
While my mind was still occupied with these questions, we made it back to the entrance hall where Tsuki and I had entered the dungeon from.
"Eh? Aniue? Wasn't there supposed to be more hallways than this?"
I looked up and I realised Tsuki was right.
I designed the dungeon to have four pathways leading out from the entrance hall, each with increasing difficulty as we progressed through the dungeon.
And yet, now there's only two hallways left: the one we just came out of and another one directly opposite us.
What's more, there was now a giant metal door that wasn't there before blocking the entrance to said hallway.
In addition to that, the once pristine hall was now littered with debris for some reason, even though the rest of the hall still looked fine.
"Cool! This is the type of dungeon that's constantly shifting, isn't it?" Tsuki exclaimed.
That would be the explanation that makes the most sense except I did not design this dungeon to be that way.
Still unsure of what is causing my dungeon to change, I followed Tsuki to inspect the door that was opposite us.
My little sister pushed against the door but it wouldn't budge no matter how hard she pushed. She also tried to pull it to make sure but the results were the same.
"Ah! This key must be the one that unlocks it!" Tsuki concluded, pulling out the key we found just now cheerily.
She inspected the door from top to bottom, trying to find somewhere to insert the key only to find none.
She frowned and turned to me, "Aniue… There's no keyhole?"
"Hmm… Then the key must not be for this door. There must be another way to open it then. Maybe I can break it?"
Just as those words left my lips, the piles of debris within the room shifted and rose up from the ground, each pile forming itself into stone golems that towered above us in height.
"Aniue?" Tsuki called out, a little unsure of the situation.
Even she wouldn't be able to handle the five stone golems six times her height that was currently stomping their way towards us.
This dungeon was definitely tempered with, I did not fill this place with any stone golems at all.
I stepped in front of my little sister protectively and clapped my hands together, letting out a shockwave that immediately turned the golems into dust upon contact.
I wasn't sure what other surprises they might have so I did not hold back.
"Aniue… So cool~" Tsuki swooned, my little sister clasping her hands in front of her chest. "My Aniue is the strongest after all!"
The doors behind us groaned and the entire dungeon rumbled as the two massive doors swung inwards to open up the way, stopping when there was enough space for five men to walk in side by side.
Tsuki looked like she was ready to continue onwards but I was not of the same mindset.
"Tsuki, we're stopping here. Let's go back."
"Ehhh? But we only just started?"
I shook my head, "This dungeon isn't supposed to be like this. I know this dungeon inside out and this is the first time the route changed and there aren't even supposed to be stone golems here. I have a feeling someone or something is messing up this place and we shouldn't stay here."
Tsuki sobered up quickly, my little sister understanding the seriousness of the situation.
"Understood Aniue, let's go back."
Good thing I have a sensible little sister.
Anyone else and they might have let the previous victories get to their head and insist that we were fine moving deeper into the dungeon like this. Those kinds of people tend not to live very long.
We turned our backs on the open door and went to the middle of the hall where the teleportation inscription was located. I could've just teleported ourselves out but I saw no need to do that now.
What I did not expect to see when we climbed up to the platform was a small pedestal with what appears to be a display case on top of it.
Curiosity got the better of me so I went up to it to take a better look.
Within the display was a velvet cushion and resting on said cushion was a ring I never thought I would see here.
It was Lian Li's storage ring.
Tsuki noticed my surprise "Hmm? What's wrong, Aniue?"
I placed my hand on the glass, "This ring… I recognise it… It belongs to someone I know. This should not be here."
Tsuki frowned, "Does this mean… That person is currently inside this dungeon as well? Perhaps someone is using that as a bait to lure Aniue into a trap?"
"That would be a logical explanation, but this person is someone I will meet in the future, so it doesn't make sense for that…"
Not to mention Lian Li isn't even supposed to be in this world to begin with.
"Then what do we do, Aniue? Do we still go back home or do we continue into what might very well be a trap?"
If Lian Li's ring is here, she might be here as well. Perhaps she had inserted herself into my memory scape for some reason? If that's the case, then I should meet up with her to find out why she did so.
Making up my mind to find her, I turned to my little sister, "Tsuki, go back home first, I'll finish the dungeon myself."
She shook her head at me, "There's no way I can do that, Aniue. We stay together or nothing."
"It's not safe," I argued.
"Nowhere is safer than Aniue's side. What if the exit out of here is rigged too and I end up getting captured while trying to leave?"
I doubt it would go that far but she has a point. Right now I shouldn't treat this dungeon as my own anymore but a foreign one instead.
"There might be even scarier monsters ahead, are you up for it?"
Tsuki clenched her fists in front of her, "Even more reason for me to follow Aniue! I will protect you!"
This cheeky little sister…
"Alight, in that case I can't let you have those lousy gear that you're using."
I snapped my fingers and the shield and mace of hers disappeared in a flash of light.
Before she could comment on it, I snapped my fingers again and she was now donned in a full set of armour alongside a different set of weapons.
"The armor of Achilles; Jarngreipr and Megingjoro, the gauntlets and belt of Thor; Aegis, the shield of Athena; Goswhit, the helmet of King Arthur; last but not least, Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor. Use them well."
Did I just outfit my little sister with mythical weapons? Yes I did.
Why?
Because I can of course.