Jensen's POV

  He killed a dungeon freaking lord.

  I eyed that boy to my left and Benzo's dead body to my right. Both were sprawled on the floor. Jack's flesh was charred to the bone in places while he lay on the dungeon floor, unconscious. And then I looked at Benzo. A low-skilled coward with a level around thirty at best, with all the mumbling he was doing to cast spells.

  But still a dungeon lord. Who died a gruesome death.

  His eyes gouged out, his face smashed in, his beard burned, revealing a triple chin underneath, and burns that looked like only divine magic could heal. If it were not for those flames. He still would have been breathing. But those flames had burned right through his chest when he swallowed them, leaving a large opening behind.

  I eyed that broken lantern, which I had stored away in my inventory.

  'The House of Dragon's Breath'

  A special grade user item that lets you cast a fire spell with twice the damage. The bonus effect was that it incapacitated the enemy for thirty seconds upon the first direct hit. And I happened to know just how bloody long those thirty seconds were.

  My eyes drifted to the unconscious boy once more. A part of me wanted to help him. He was still breathing, and the fact that System wanted me to identify him even now was proof of that. But the only way to help him was to oust him to the system.

  I sat on my butt.

  I had learned the same lessons enough number of times to know that I shouldn't get involved. There was no way helping Jack was going to benefit me in any way. If anything, it would create more problems for me as I wanted to move in and out quietly.

  But this dungeon. I grabbed my hair in a bunch and pulled on them. This dungeon had a minotaur as its final boss. I pulled my hand away and saw a few black strands of mine.

  Black? My thoughts came to a halt while the ball of light hovered around me aimlessly inside that tunnel.

  My eyes darted to Jack in that same instance.

  There was no way he didn't know my spell had ended, I thought.

  Status… I called out and looked at the time at the top right corner.

  Being inside the dungeon for days had messed with my perception of the passage of time. More hours had passed than I had realized. But that would mean Jack saw me change, and still kept quiet about it.

  No wonder he wanted to run away from me, I thought, and pulled out his device which I had tucked on my leather belt.

  In that trap room, we had made a grand total of twenty four credits for killing all those goblins. Twenty. Fucking. Four. Credits. I held that device in my hand, and when I pushed the button on it. Hoping to return at least this to his parents. The rectangular tab came to life with a fine crack that promptly split the screen into pieces and died.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  My hand raced to grab it and put it back.

  "No, no, no, no…" I said, trying to fix it. "You don't get to die on me too. You stupid shit…" But I clutched it a bit too hard and smashed it into even more pieces.

  I closed my eyes and cursed myself.

  There was a reason System had phased out these devices a hundred years ago, and had integrated everything within the screen. Even in a restricted state. I, a battle mage, was strong enough to crush something with my bare hands.

  "Damn it," I said, and caught my hair in a bunch again.

  Now, even if I saved the boy. He will have no means of earning money inside the dungeon. And even if I left his father with another thirty five thousand credits. It was only so long it would last. Plus, it wasn't like I could make any trade I wanted with his father. The System had rules around such things. The flowers from the secret room were a unique class item, and I doubt there are any other unique class items in the dungeon of this caliber.

  I could wait another cycle for them to repopulate, I thought.

  But then again. Could I even believe what Benzo wrote in his record about the dungeon cycle being three years?

  Questions… Questions… Questions… I closed my eyes and hit the side of my fist on my forehead.

  What I wouldn't give right now for a smoke? I asked myself.

  It helped me think clearly, for starters, and made even the most impossible task look possible. The task in question being about that Minotaur. There was no way I could one shot it with all these restrictions. I would need someone to reduce its health first. Before I charge in with a final blow.

  I should have gotten more information before I accepted this quest, I thought.

  This was no normal dungeon. Usually, a dungeon has just one floor. Anything beyond that is a risk to the safety of people and is promptly cleared and destroyed.

  But dungeons like these, with thirteen floors, were special ones. You get to rule over them when you conquer them. Hence why I was given the task to clear it for them. I was expendable after all.

  With a thought, the system showed me the quest prompt.

  Ping!

  Find the Nayara Dungeon, and claim its core for your Guild Master.

  Your guild master has a new task for you.

  He wants to gain the favor of the nobility by offering a claimed dungeon to the prince of the Lesgard family.

  Your job: Make your boss happy. You owe him that much.

  Quest Time: 3 months!

  Time Remaining: 2 months 15 days!

  Reward: Your debt of 5.6 Million Credits is considered paid.

  Note: System enforced pact is in place to make sure that you hand over the dungeon core once you obtain it!

  I got on my feet, having made my decision in a split second upon rereading that prompt.

  I was going to cut my losses. Pay the penalty for removing the self imposed restrictions mid quest and destroy that monster. Because there was no way anyone was strong enough here to kill that minotaur, and I sure as hell wouldn't be able to do that on my own with both of my hands tied behind my back.

  Holding my hand out, I charged up the fireball spell. But before blasting my way out of the tunnel. I looked at Jack once more. My heart wanting to do the right thing. But my mind warning me not to make the same mistake again.

  Truth be told, if it wasn't for my over confidence. Jack wouldn't have ended up in that state. Benzo and I both had underestimated this boy. Benzo thought he could take him out like he had done so for many adventurers before us. But Jack was no adventurer. He was a dungeon born.

  I charged up the spell.

  Letting Jack die here was for the best. His heart beat had slowed down considerably. And nothing in this dungeon could heal him. Moreover, taking him out of this dungeon with an active quest would mark my quest as failed. That was one of the restrictions I had negotiated. I got just one shot at this quest.

  I looked away. This was a goodbye.

  "Jensen…" Jack spoke up, weakly.

  It made my heart clench. But I had made up my mind.

  "You there…"

  *****