Things had mostly settled down by the time I finally made my move.
I had traveled to a location far to the north of Saloom. It was rumored to be the ground zero of the Stampede, but the distance was so great that the kingdom had officially abandoned all attempts to investigate it.
"Ugh, I’m feelin’ a chill that’s givin’ me the shivers, sir."
"Indeed. It feels as if we are descending the very stairs to Hell."
A dungeon now occupied the site.
I made my way down the stairs of the narrow but incredibly deep structure.
"Still, this wasn't here the last time I visited."
"You’ve been here before, sir?"
"Yeah, about five years ago, I think. Back then, it was just a vast, empty plain, so I figured leaving it like that wouldn't be a problem..."
"Did you go and cause more trouble, Master Lloyd...?"
Grimo and Jiriel both looked completely appalled. Hey now, it hasn’t been proven that this is my fault yet.
...Though I won't deny the probability is high.
"Five years old... You’ve been doin’ outrageous stuff since you were that tiny? A kid your age should be playin’ with dolls or somethin’."
"Well, in a sense, the previous homunculus incident wasn't that different from playing with dolls... Oh, it seems we’ve reached the lowest floor."
Before us stood a massive door, the unmistakable entrance to a Dungeon Boss's chamber.
"But we haven't seen a single monster on the way down."
"The Stampede must have exhausted the entire population. That means if we don't clear this dungeon out, the same thing will eventually happen again. ...Still, what an enormous door."
The door was so tall I had to crane my neck to see the top.
I remembered Katarina, the guild receptionist, telling me that a boss's strength is reflected in the sturdiness of its door. She had warned me never to enter a room if the door exceeded three meters.
This one was easily five meters tall.
"Well, I'm going in anyway."
Turning back after coming all this way wasn't an option. It wasn't every day that Sylpha and Albert were both away long enough for me to sneak off like this.
I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The heavy thud of the door closing echoed through the hall, and something stirred in the furthest depths of the dim chamber. On an eerie throne made of layered bone sat a human skeleton draped in a tattered robe.
"Is that... a Skeleton?"
"It’s certainly no ordinary one. But this tremendous mana... I feel as though I recognize it from somewhere..."
The two of them tilted their heads in confusion, but I knew exactly what I was looking at.
"Oh boy."
I slapped my palm against my forehead.
The tattered robe, the shredded shirt that barely held its shape, the worn-out boots—those were the exact clothes I had been wearing when I died in my previous life.
Yes, this human skeleton was my own corpse from my past life.
Five years ago, shortly after I had learned Necromancy Magic, I’d had the urge to try controlling a corpse... but I’d hesitated. I wondered if it was truly right to disturb the sleep of the dead.
But I really wanted to test the magic. After agonizing over the ethics of it, I had eventually concluded that using my own body wouldn't be a problem.
I had tracked down my old grave, dug it up, and cast Necromancy Magic on my skeletonized remains. Since the soul that should have been in the corpse was gone—or rather, had been reincarnated into my current body—I had fashioned a mock soul with magic and embedded it. It had started moving without a hitch.
Seeing my own corpse walking around had been a bizarre sensation, but I’d taken the opportunity to experiment. I’d applied every strengthening spell I knew. I had enchanted the bones themselves with spell formulas, draped the body in a Mantle of Darkness that allowed it to regenerate automatically, and—fulfilling a long-held wish—taught it all kinds of magic.
Eventually, the skeleton had started acting on its own. Before I knew it, it was running wild and ignoring my commands. Realizing I’d created a problem, I had sealed the bones within a barrier and transported them to a place where no one would ever go—namely, here. I’d dug a massive hole, buried the body, and left it behind.
To think my own bones would end up creating a dungeon and attacking Saloom with a horde of monsters.
—No, wait. Was I the one it was after?
A corpse revived through Necromancy Magic holds a powerful obsession with the living, and that obsession is strongest toward those closest to its original self. It stood to reason that it would target me, its own reincarnation. If that was the case, I couldn't just leave it be.
"A... aaa..."
The Skeleton let out a hollow groan as it rose from its throne.
"Wh-What is this sinister mana...? It’s so dense I can actually see it!"
"Unbelievable... This mana capacity is on par with an Evil God! To think such a thing exists as a Dungeon Boss...!"
The Skeleton swung its arm, and a row of giant fireballs materialized in the air.
"To deploy that many 'Blazing Fireballs'... a High Magic spell..."
"AAAAAHHH!"
With a roar, the Skeleton unleashed a storm of fire. I blocked the impact completely with a Magic Barrier.
Yeah, that’s got quite a bit of kick to it.
The me of the past—the one who had no talent and couldn't use proper magic—has certainly learned to handle it well. It made me feel almost sentimental. It would be easy to erase it now, but it felt like a bit of a waste.
On the other hand, I couldn't just leave it here to cause another disaster... Hmm.
After a moment of thought, I nodded.
"Alright, I’ve decided."
I turned my back on the Skeleton and held my hand toward the massive, sealed door, concentrating my mana.
"Y-You don't mean to break through that door, do you!? That door is incredibly sturdy! No matter how powerful you are, Master Lloyd..."
I condensed the gathered mana, focusing it into a single, microscopic point.
"Hah, you don't understand anything, Jiriel. Master Lloyd’s mana has long since exceeded a level that can be measured by common sense!"
The spell formulas inscribed into my blood roared, generating even more power. The mana swirled and surged in my hand, eventually stabilizing into a small Magic Orb. I flicked the orb, which glowed a burning, intense red.
"—'Fireball'."
I released the spell toward the giant door.
The moment the flames touched the surface, they melted through the reinforced wood and iron with a searing hiss. The blast didn't stop there; it pierced through the door and slammed into the wall behind it, liquefying the stone instantly.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-What is this!? That massive door crumbled in less than a second against a mere 'Fireball'!? Boss doors aren't even supposed to be destructible! It hasn’t just exceeded common sense, it’s surpassed the level beyond that...!"
"Ha... ha ha... All I can do is laugh. Even my Lord in the Divine Realm likely doesn't possess this much power. Calling it 'impressive' doesn't even begin to cover it."
The two of them were muttering with dazed expressions. They seemed a little surprised.
I hadn't really had a chance to use my magic seriously during the recent war. I’d decided to let loose since I was here, but between the Bloodline Magic and the efficiency of Military Magic, my total firepower has become quite terrifying.
The 'Fireball' had carved a massive tunnel through the wall behind the door, stretching so far into the distance that the end was no longer visible.
Hmm, did I overdo it? Well, even with a massive amount of mana packed into it, it’s still just a basic 'Fireball,' so it probably burned out eventually.
"Aaaaa, aaa..."
Behind me, the Skeleton continued its assault. As long as I was in the room, it would keep attacking.
Still maintaining my barrier, I walked out through the hole where the door had been. As soon as I crossed the threshold, the Skeleton stopped its attack and stood perfectly still, as if seeing me off.
"Bosses are bound by a constraint that prevents them from leaving their chambers, which is why they possess such high combat stats. Not that it mattered against Master Lloyd..."
"But Lloyd, aren't you going to destroy it?"
"Hmm? Oh, I had a better idea."
I glanced back at the Skeleton one last time and walked out of the dungeon entrance. Once outside, I layered the opening with several heavy Barriers.
"...Phew. With this, the monsters won't be able to escape and cause another Stampede."
Since I’d dug such a large horizontal tunnel, the monsters would have plenty of space to roam inside without overflowing, and the barrier at the entrance would ensure nothing could wander out.
"I see. So you're claiming this entire dungeon for yourself, Master Lloyd."
"Exactly."
The monsters will eventually respawn, and since many of them were quite powerful, I can use this place for all sorts of experiments. It would have been a waste to just destroy it.
"A dungeon this extraordinary... there can't be many like it in the world. To take it as your personal property... truly, I don't even know what to say."
"And he's just gonna use it as a Magic Experimental Grounds. It's not even funny."
Followed by an exasperated Grimo and a stunned Jiriel, I took one last look toward the depths where my former self resided.
"See ya."
With those parting words, I took to the sky and flew away.
I'm glad I found such a nice place to practice. This worked out perfectly.