Leah, Reincarnated As a Dungeon Core!

«Rin» 

 

What was a Colossus in this place? 

Something I wondered about since I first saw the word in this world... 

 

Why were things like this? 

Decided by a weird battle system… 

 

Clank! Ding! 

 

[You go unpunished by the mu⁠— 

[You go unpunished by⁠—

[You go unpu…

 

I wish I understood, what made me so special? 

I never asked for this… 

 

Clank! Ding! 

 

Sometimes I wondered what I was even doing?

In this hell. 

 

[You survived a life or death situation⁠— 

[You survived a li⁠— 

[You survived… 

 

Why did it have to go on like that? 

I did not choose this… 

 

Splash!   

Ding!

 

Swing! 

Ding!

 

Creak!

Ding....

Sp… 

D… 

* * * 

 

[Colossus lost its effect ⁠— We fight the strong, not face the weak.] 

 

Eh?! 

 

Crash! 

 

I coughed up blood as my body rolled on the ground, completely beaten up and torn apart. I had gone past my limits, and yet… I didn’t want it to happen… My sword hit the ground with an empty clank. 

 

Broken armor, spilling blood from my mouth. I was such a mess, it was laughable really, and yet… I didn’t want it to end like that. 

 

“Ooh, to believe the crimson wolf was nothing but a girl!” His leather boots sitting right in front of me, if I still had the strength I would’ve bitten his foot off. “Not answering? Eh?” 

“Fuck you.” He wasn’t going to get me like that. Not after looking down on me. 

“Well, let us see! What happens first?” His arm went around my neck like a clamp; effortlessly lifting my limp body from the bloody and messy ground. 

 

“What breaks first? Your neck or your mind?” 

“Don’t j⁠— Gaagh!” I could fear my muscle tearing apart, bleeding. It was time to… go… 

 

Things ended like this. How long had it been? A year? Two years? I lost count… Aah, Alice you have no idea how much I would’ve liked to see your smile one last time… I wish I pampered you more… I wish I could’ve seen you graduate… I wish I could see you… 

 

I want to see you… I was going to die. I wanted to see you. If I died… I… wouldn’t be able to see you. I wouldn’t be able to see Alice… 

 

“I want to see her…”

“What’s that?! I can’t hear you… A dying wish, is it?!” His hand pressed harder and yet I couldn’t feel it. There was only one thing I wanted. 

 

I wasn’t going to die… I was going to live… I wasn’t going to rot away in a decrepit land. I wasn’t going to get stomped by every single person that desired me… I wasn’t going to be a slave.... I am… going to… LIVE. 

 

Creak. 

 

“Is that it? Is that all you have to offer? How… disappointing…” 

 

My body dully hit the ground. 

 

I wasn’t going to die. 

 

“Well, I suppose it’s time to save you and make a slave out of you, heh…” 

 

The pool of blood built up under me. Next to my sword. 

 

It was still too early. 

 

Too early to die…

Too early to become a slave…

Too early for this fate…

 

I WILL LIVE! 

 

[Error.] 

 

My hand clamped on my sword as his hand closed in; that shit-eating grin of his, those lustful eyes… 

 

I was going to end it all. 

 

“Come here doggie. I have a brand new bracel⁠—” A glint of silvery light was everything to be seen. He blinked a few times as he processed, only a dull sound to be heard as the wind blew. 

 

His eyes slowly traced down to the pouring fountain of blood; only a hand holding a black-bracelet to be seen. 

 

“Die…” With a single swipe, he was gone. No time to scream, I didn’t have it either… Served him right. 

 

“Ali… I swear I will come ba⁠—” I paused as my feet felt unsteady. “Just you wa⁠— 

 

Losing my balance I fell on the ground, nothing but darkness to be seen. 

 

* * *   

 

Perhaps I should’ve seen it coming… 

 

My eyes shot open⁠—I couldn’t die here. Eh?

 

“Looks like you are finally awake.” A noble-man with glasses. That meant… “Relax I haven’t done anything.” And yet… I was naked…  I could feel my skin rubbing against the bedsheets. His hands joined like some type of monk. 

 

Even though I could barely see his face under unstable candle-light. Palpitating as if the fire was breathing. The glint of his eyes seemed sincere, the monotone and unflinching expression was something I hadn’t seen in… how long had it been? 

 

Where even was I?

 

Frantically lifting the sheets I checked my body. There was nothing ⁠— no scars, no blood, no sword… With a slight panic I looked around trying to find a weapon to defend myself, but I couldn’t see anything, a candle? No. A book, no? What about the bedsheets? Also no… The shelf full of books was a good option...

 

“Relax, you don’t need to be so startled…” He laughed, but it wasn’t going to fool me. There had to be some type of intention. He wanted something ⁠— they all wanted something. 

 

“Not trusting, eh? Alright… I'll just leave this here.” He opened his hands, carefully standing up and leaving a piece of bread(?) as he left the room. 

 

It had to be a trap, they always had some other motives. 

 

“It’s probably poisoned…” 

 

Time passed, my stomach growled; no activity to be seen or heard. Eventually, I lost patience and grabbed a book from the shelf to defend myself. Carefully approaching the mysterious bread, I looked at it ⁠— examined it. 

 

Time went by… and yet… 

 

“It’s not poisonous…” No matter how I looked at it, how I examined it. It was a normal piece of bread ⁠— generally poisoned food smelled weird⁠—had a different shade of color. And yet, this was just normal bread… 

 

My stomach growled at me. I sighed in defeat and began eating, the grumbling from my tummy went away as soon as it started. I still had to leave.

 

I made sure to grab something to cover myself, a weapon, went out of the door and⁠— collapsed. 

 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

 

“You should just relax.” 

“I… suppose.” As if I could do that? I had to leave. 

 

Collapse.

 

“You know your body cannot support such a thing…” 

“Hmm…” 

 

Collapse. 

 

“You should⁠— 

 

Collapse. 

 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

 

“Why…” Why couldn’t I leave?! Oh... “It’s your fault!” In spite of my obvious rage, he solemnly shook his head. 

 

“It’s because you pushed yourself too hard and now you are on deplorable condition.” 

“What does that mean?” He was just speaking jargon ⁠— something to get someone like me to trust him ⁠— share knowledge, build trust… betray. 

 

He sighed. 

 

“Our bodies cannot handle such power, so we have some type of protection, but if we push it too far our bodies start taking the damage. Which leads to a deplorable condition, which may include ⁠— heavy breathing, general struggle, organ damage.” Hah… that was too technical. 

 

I was still in the same room, I hadn’t seen past the door much. Same candlelight and bookshelf, and yet the person in front of me never got altered, nor mad… It wasn’t normal… Why would he be kind to me, out of all things? I was a beastkin after all… I knew my worth already. 

 

He sighed under my glued gaze. 

 

“Well… you are free to do whatever you want. Just know that if I wanted to do anything, I would’ve done it already. Your clothes? They are gone, you can find some more over there.”  He nodded towards the corner of the room; a single chair stood there with a pile of textiles on top of it. “Feel free to stay as long as you want. I saved you after all. It would make me a bad host if I kicked you out.”

 

“That is all, goodbye.” He closed the door behind him ⁠— his cold voice entered and left my ears over and over again ⁠— perhaps I was too judgemental? 

 

Maybe I just made an ignorant assumption. The assumption that all humans hated beastkin. It was simply something from experience, but perhaps I was wrong ⁠— perhaps I was ignorant… 

* * * 

 

Days went by, uneventfully. He fed me food and gave me the occasional trash-like liquid that was hard to swallow, it was a potion. Things got better and my condition improved, and yet he didn’t treat me any differently. 

 

Perhaps he was different… 

 

Weeks passed. Feeding me and treating me no different. He lived in a big house alone, even though he clearly had gold chandeliers, candle-sets and ceramics, he didn’t have maids. He was clearly a wealthy person… 

 

And yet… he still treated me the same, unlike the other nobles I had seen in my travels… 

 

He would leave the house every now and then and come with groceries. Perhaps things weren't so bad. He fed me, allowed me to do whatever I wanted… 

 

I don’t know when it happened, or how it happened. 

 

I had started talking to him actively, helping him with house-chores like a wife. I simply felt the need to repay him; for everything he had done. But I still had to go. 

 

◇ ◇ ◇ 

 

The heavens were pouring on the town ⁠— the crackling roof ot the house was no different; the ceiling’s grainy sound echoed throughout the house in the cool and blue atmosphere. 

 

Perhaps it wasn’t the right day… 

 

But I felt ready to leave, everything was fine. 

 

I approached him on the dinner table as he ate. 

 

“What is it Rin?” 

“I am leaving…” 

 

“Cough!” I supposed it would be like that. “I-Is that so?” He started to fumble with the pocket on his pants, like he always did. Eventually, he sighed after a long pause. 

 

“I guess it was coming. Rin… this might be too much to ask, but can I hug you before you go? You see my wife is long gone…” He distantly looked at the painting on the wall. The one I never paid attention to. 

 

“O-oh, sure…” It was a bit awkward, but I couldn’t tell no to a man whose wife died. 

 

He approached me with a smile on his face and hugged me tightly. 

 

“Are you sure?” His cold voice entered my ear.

“Yes…” Sorry…

“I see… So it’s like that…” 

 

Click. 

 

If only I had known; what that metal click meant… 

 

SLAP! 

 

“W-Why?!” I stammered on my words as I hit the ground, my cheek was burning. 

“You think, I will let you leave?! YOU THINK, I WILL LET YOU DO THE SAME AS ELISE?!” 

 

“I⁠— 

“Enough! If we can’t have nice things, then let us do it the wrong way! As your master, I command you to oblige!” 

“E⁠— Yes…” My hand shot in pain, a black bracelet was there… a slave’s bracelet. 

 

I should’ve seen it coming…