The World Is Mine For The Taking

We ventured deeper into the dungeon, pushing further until we reached the sixth stratum. By this point, the air had grown thick — not just with stale dampness but with something far more oppressive. The mana clung to my skin like a cold, invisible shroud, crawling along my arms and neck. Each breath I took seemed to drag that heavy presence into my lungs, leaving me uneasy.

Even here, I couldn't shake the feeling that something lay far deeper within — something far worse than anything we'd seen so far. This place... it felt wrong.

"Don't you feel that?" I asked Rose, my voice lower than I intended.

Rose glanced at me, her expression blank. She was dressed in a black tank top, with leather gloves snugly fitted over her hands — her typical adventurer's attire, it seemed. Even in such a grim setting, she looked stunning. The way her top clung to her curves made it hard to focus, and though her pants covered her legs, her hips and thighs were... well, hard to ignore.

The way her body moved — toned yet feminine — left me staring longer than I should have.

Damn... if I hadn't fucked her last night, I'd probably be dragging her into some dark corner of this dungeon right now.

I wasn't the only one who'd thought about it. Plenty of adventurers were known to give in to their urges mid-expedition — some couldn't resist, especially after getting all hot and bothered during a dungeon run. But with this mana suffocating the air, I couldn't imagine feeling turned on. It was too oppressive... too unsettling.

"Feel what?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.

I frowned. She doesn't feel it? The mana was practically suffocating at this point, yet she seemed completely unfazed.

"Nothing," I muttered. "Anyway... looks like I can see some red gems up ahead."

"Red gems?" Rose repeated, her brow furrowing. "That's strange... They usually only show up around the seventh stratum. I figured they'd all been mined out since this place gets so much traffic from other adventurers."

"I see..."

That was strange. Unless...

Could the blue and green gems down here be turning into red ones? No, that couldn't happen — not naturally, at least. But if someone was deliberately placing red gems back here...

Why?

The thought made me uneasy. Someone tampering with this place meant there were intentions behind it — and that was never a good sign.

"Let's keep going deeper," I said.

We pushed further in, and the air only grew heavier. The mana was so thick now that it seemed to crawl beneath my skin, like cold tendrils slithering up my spine. It felt wrong. The deeper we went, the stronger that sense of dread became.

It was unsettling — not because of what we'd seen, but because of what we hadn't.

For a place so rich in mana, there were barely any monsters. The few we encountered were nothing special — weak creatures that barely put up a fight. It didn't make sense.

"What's the most powerful monster you've encountered here?" I asked Rose, my gaze flicking warily around the dimly lit tunnel.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... just a Giant Lizard, I suppose."

A Giant Lizard... that wasn't particularly threatening. They were village-level threats — dangerous, sure, but easily handled by a skilled adventurer. Of course, that was assuming there was only one.

"Why are you asking?" Rose asked, giving me a curious look.

"I dunno... I just feel like there's something stronger lurking around here." My voice was quiet, almost instinctively. "Can't you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

I frowned. "Nothing... Anyway, would you mind if we kept going deeper? I doubt there's anything down here that we can't handle."

Rose gave me an incredulous look, folding her arms tightly across her chest.

"That might be true," she said firmly, "but don't you think there could be traps down here that even you can't escape from? So while I'd love to go on a deeper dungeon date with you, that's not happening — and I won't allow it. I don't want you putting yourself in danger."

Her voice was stern — her words firm — yet her eyes betrayed her concern. It wasn't just stubbornness. She was genuinely worried.

"Well, it's not like I wouldn't be careful... aren't I?"

Rose shot me a sharp look, her arms crossing tightly over her chest.

"Even so, I don't want you putting yourself in danger," she said firmly. "Not when you're my man now."

Her voice softened at the end, and for a moment, that tenderness caught me off guard.

That was... sweet. Almost enough to make me blush. Hearing her say that — claim me as hers — it stirred something warm inside me.

"I want to go deeper," I told her, my tone growing serious. "I promise I won't get myself killed. I mean... I'm planning to go deeper into you, too." I smirked. "Well... inside you, of course."

Her face instantly flared red. For a second, she just stood there — stiff, flustered — before she snapped back to her senses and smacked me hard on the back of my head.

Ouch... Okay, fair enough — that was cheesy even by my standards.

"Don't say something ridiculous," she huffed, still visibly embarrassed. "Ugh... I can't believe you said something like that... So ridiculous..."

She turned her face away, her fingers curling into her hair as if trying to shake off her flustered state. But just as she muttered those words, I caught the faintest whisper slipping from her lips.

"...And what's worse... you still managed to make my heart race."

I smirked. Even something that corny could still make girls in this world swoon, huh?

"Well... I guess we can push ourselves a bit," Rose finally said, still a little flustered. "I'm... kinda curious what's deeper down too."

I grinned. Got her.

We pressed on, venturing further into the dungeon. The air only seemed to grow heavier, colder — the mana so thick now it felt like I was walking through syrup. It clung to my skin like a suffocating fog, seeping into my pores and crawling down my spine. Each breath I took felt like inhaling smoke — cold and dry, yet somehow stinging my throat with unnatural heat.

Even Rose — who couldn't sense this mana earlier — was starting to notice it now. She stopped in her tracks, her brows furrowed as she rubbed her arms.

"I'm... starting to feel something," she muttered, her voice low and uneasy. "Something... ominous. Is this what you were talking about earlier?"

"That's right," I said grimly. "I've been feeling it for a while now."

"This... isn't good," she said, her expression tightening. "If whatever's releasing this mana escapes the dungeon... it could devastate the kingdom."

She wasn't exaggerating. Dungeon outbreaks were catastrophic.

In places like the Principality of Cohona — a kingdom built dangerously close to a dungeon — governments poured insane amounts of money into hiring adventurers just to keep disasters like that from happening.

It wasn't just about protecting lives. Dungeon outbreaks shattered economies, destroyed ecosystems, and turned thriving cities into desolate wastelands. A monster horde pouring out of this place... it wouldn't just kill people. It would cripple the land itself.

"If that happens..." Rose murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "It'll be... hell."

"Yeah..." I muttered. "But I don't think this is even a monster."

She blinked. "What makes you say that?"

"Because..." I hesitated, my eyes narrowing as I let my senses reach out again, feeling that dense aura swirling around us.

"I've felt this mana before."

Her gaze sharpened. "What...?"

"It's different, but it's still familiar." My fists clenched at my sides. "I remember this feeling... when Sesillian opened a portal to allow the Great Darkness into this world."

Rose's breath hitched.

"W-Wait, really?" Her voice trembled slightly, her fingers tightening against her gloves.

I nodded. "No one's ever gone far enough to see the end of this dungeon, right?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but I didn't wait.

"Then I'll be the one to do it," I declared.

I clenched my fists tighter, staring into the shadowy depths ahead. If there really was an open portal hidden somewhere within this dungeon...

Then maybe — just maybe — I could use it to return to my world.

***

???'s POV

........

Recharge complete.

.......

Monitor mode. Activated.

Movement detected... deeper than the 15th stratum.

Mission: Prevent any individuals from descending past the 15th stratum. Ensure the portal to the other world remains undiscovered.

The portal must remain confidential. It must be protected at all costs.

Two individuals detected...

Elimination required.

Elimination required.

Elimination required.

Elimination required.

Killer mode. Activated.

***

Leon's POV

We had reached the 16th stratum, and for some reason, the mana here felt even thicker — like the air itself had turned to sludge, clinging to my skin and filling my lungs with each breath.

"Don't you think we should go back?" Rose asked, her voice strained. "It's getting harder for me to breathe the deeper we go."

She wasn't wrong. The air felt heavier, and with no ventilation in sight, it was like the deeper we descended, the less oxygen there was to take in.

"I guess we could call it here..." I trailed off, but then —

Huh?

Suddenly, I felt something — a presence approaching fast. But it wasn't human...

Before I could react, something shot toward me, its arm cocked back in preparation for a punch. The strike came fast, cutting through the air like a blade. Instinctively, I raised my arm and channeled my mana, forming a protective Guardian just in time to block the blow.

BANG!

The force behind it was immense, enough to send vibrations coursing through my body.

"Leon!?" Rose gasped, her eyes wide with shock.

The figure that attacked me took a step back, and in the dim lighting of the dungeon, I finally saw it clearly.

Metal. That was the first thought that crossed my mind. Its body gleamed with cold, steel plating, limbs jointed with mechanical precision. The faint glow of red energy flickered beneath its armor, pulsing steadily like a heartbeat.

Then, in a cold, robotic voice — oddly feminine in tone — it spoke:

"Order to prevent individuals from progressing past this point is in motion."

Its glowing eyes locked onto me, flickering with an eerie intensity.

"Those who have passed... must be eliminated swiftly."