Beyond the Dungeon…?

“T-the same…? What do you mean, ‘the same’?” Runa was absolutely flabbergasted at my assertion.

“Just, the same, you know?” I didn’t know what else to say. For a brief moment, I felt an immeasurable amount of mana passing through my body. And then, as soon as I punched the amalgamation, it was gone. It seemed like my body couldn’t handle the large increase in mana that it was supposedly ‘adjusted’ to.

However, my mana capacity increased quite a bit. I wouldn’t be able to take down an amalgamation with one punch again, but I could at least defeat one without putting my life in danger. Still, was this really worth five minutes of that pain and torment? Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.

Runa seemed to come to a realization. “Wait a second…Sly?”

“Uh, yes? Who did you think I was?”

“But how is that possible?!? How did you maintain your sanity?!?” Runa roughly shook my shoulders. I couldn’t even get a proper response in.

“It is rather impressive. It’s not often I see a person able to reject manaforms.” Runa and I jumped back, unsheathing our weapons and pointing them towards the voice. I could feel the sweat rolling down my cheek.

Normally, the scene would’ve left me dumbfounded. A young twenty-year-old woman sat on the ground, playing a video game. She wore a sleeved, off-shoulder, laced black dress along with some heels. Her long, curled black hair flowed as if an invisible breeze passed through. Other than the video game, she had nothing else on her. Everything pointed towards her being a regular person; however, that made me even more worried.

The sounds of the video game echoed across the dungeon, but I hadn’t heard it until I noticed her. Her dress was free of dirt even though she was sitting on the ground. However, the scariest thing was that although I could see her directly in front of me…

…I couldn’t sense her presence at all.

“Who are–?”

“What are you doing here, Chairman?!?!” Runa yelled, interrupting my question. Her normally composed and teasing attitude had been replaced with an expression of despair.

“I’m here to investigate the spike in mana in this dungeon, as is my job. You should be aware of this, as the one who initially reported the investigation request. Ah, there we are…” The Chairman said, not once looking up from her video game.

“But I was sure that you were busy with another dungeon!!”

The Chairman tilted her head as if she didn’t understand, “I’ve already taken care of that though. Did you assume just because I was dispatched to an S-rank dungeon you could get away with whatever you were doing here? You manaforms seem to underestimate people too much. And, done.” The Chairman stashed her video game away, throwing it into a pocket dimension before standing up. Her dress didn’t have a single speck of dirt. There was one thing I couldn’t ignore though.

“Wait a second. What do you mean, manaform–”

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!” Runa yelled loudly, spreading her hands out front of her. An insane quantity of mana manifested in front of her palms. A dust cloud grew as the wind swirled around faster and faster. Then, a blue flame rushed from her hands towards the Chairman. The wind feds the flames, turning it into a tornado of fire. It was completely insane.

And yet, the Chairman stood there without a care in the world.

“Now then.” The Chairman disappeared.

“Time to clean this up.” The next moment, the Chairman smashed the back of Runa’s head onto the dungeon floor, cracking it with ease. I barely saw anything, but I was sure the Chairman casually walked through the flames without a single one touching her body. There had to be some sort of mana surrounding her, but it was so precise I couldn’t sense it whatsoever. That means…

“Ugh…you damn god…” Runa spat. The Chairman crushed Runa’s head, causing the rest of her body to dissipate. The Chairman then turned towards me. “Sorry about that. It’s best to destroy a manaform quickly before it can escape and wreak havoc on the world.” She didn’t seem hostile, but I still couldn’t sense anything. Though, it didn’t really matter because with her strength, I would be dead before I could move. So, reluctantly, I lowered my weapon.

“Would you mind explaining what’s going on?” I asked, trying to get a better sense of the situation.

“Sure, I have time.

“I was sent to investigate this dungeon after a massive spike in mana was reported. However, I couldn’t come here immediately since another massive spike was reported in an expert-class dungeon. As such, I prioritized the expert-class dungeon; however, that ended up being a mistake. When I arrived, you were already in a trance as the excess mana from the dungeon attempted to invade your body. If it actually succeeded and you became a manaform, I would’ve had to destroy you too. You’re quite lucky.”

“Wait, what do you mean in a trance?”

“You were standing still for ten minutes with your hand against the dungeon wall,” the chairman said, slightly confused. I was confused too.

“That doesn’t make any sense. I was beyond the mana veil.”

“The what? Never mind.” The Chairman walked over to the wall where the purple mass of mana swirled around and stuck her hand in. Absolutely nothing happened.

“See? Just a wall.”

“Then, what in the world did I see?”

The Chairman shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows? Mana is still a mystery – manaforms even more so. I wouldn’t be surprised if the superdense mana manipulated your mind somehow. I’ve heard similar things from others who rejected…” She trailed off, her attention snapping behind her.

“Uh…?”

“Sorry about that. It seems like someone broke the barrier surrounding the academy. I’ll have to go repair it. Bye!” The Chairman snapped her fingers, opening a portal beneath her feet.

“Wait a minute!!” I rushed out to stop her, but the portal closed behind her as she fell. I stood there for a few minutes, staring where she once was.

So…what do I do now?

Ring-ring. Ring-ring. My phone started ringing in my pocket. I looked at the caller id.

Huh? I’m getting a call from my boss? “Hello?”

“Where are you? I got a call that none of the on-site staff has seen you at the dungeon.”

“What? But I’m in the dungeon.”

“Are you sure you’re in the right one?”

“Uh…” Now that I think about it, didn’t the dungeon change at the last minute this morning? “Didn’t the location change this morning? I got a call confirming that.” My boss put me on hold for a few minutes.

“As far as I can tell, there was no call to you this morning.”

Of course there wasn’t. This entire thing was a trap. Ugh, this is so annoying. “Ok then. I’ll be over in a few hours.” I hung up before stretching my body. Then, I dusted off my clothes. It was time to do my actual job.