Push...
Push...
Kinito strained, face blood-red, a vein throbbing on his forehead as he tried to move the giant rock.
To his disappointment, it didn't even budge.
Defeated, he collapsed to the ground, gasping.
"Where the hell did this stupid rock even come from?!" he screamed, voice echoing in the training room.
"You're just too weak to push it, my lord," Aqua said, casually sitting on top of the rock.
"I'm weak... yeah, because I don't have a simp to buy me protein shakes," Kinito muttered bitterly.
"May I try?" Aqua asked, hopping down from the rock and landing effortlessly.
"Yeah, yeah," Kinito grumbled, face still buried in the floor. "Don't worry, I won't be mad if you can't push it either, 'cause you're—"
Push—
FWOOOM—
A loud crash.
Kinito's head snapped up.
The rock was gone.
He cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I—I would've sent it flying too if I was using my full power."
Aqua tilted her head.
"But my lord, I only used my pinky finger."
Kinito just stood there. Dumbfounded.
"…Training's gonna be extra hard from now on, my lord," Aqua said, voice disturbingly cheerful.
Kinito's soul visibly left his body.
"Maybe I shouldn't have made her this strong," he whispered to himself.
[HOST: PRAY YOU GO BACK IN TIME TO FIX YOUR MISTAKES]
Then—
[HOST: WARNING! SOMEONE POWERFUL HAS ENTERED THE DUNGEON. DO SOMETHING.]
"Is it a friend or an enemy?" Kinito asked, eyes wide.
[NOT SURE, HOST. BUT THEY'RE CURRENTLY ATTACKING THE MOBS.]
A glowing glass screen appeared before Kinito, showing a live feed of chaos.
His precious crab and jellyfish mobs were getting absolutely smacked around by two shadowy figures.
They went flying—bouncing off walls, flailing.
And now... the shadows were heading straight for the training room.
Panic set in. Kinito immediately hid behind Aqua.
"W-who are they?! Witches? Tentacle monsters? Space demons?!"
His brain was sprinting.
Thuck—
The throne room doors creaked open.
Two women entered.
Both had long black hair, glowing purple eyes, and massive purple wings.
They were... stunning.
And terrifying.
They radiated the kind of power that made your bones ache just by looking.
Kinito, still peeking from behind Aqua, tried to fix his hair like an idiot.
Meanwhile, Aqua's eyes locked onto the newcomers
Realizing they were beautiful —her rage lit up like a storm.
FLASH—
In a blink, she was in front of them.
SWING—
Her blade gleamed, slicing through the air—
"AQUA, STOP!" Kinito screamed.
Her blade stopped mid-air.
Kinito kept his composure, but his eyes stayed sharp—watching them closely.
Above the woman in front, a glowing title appeared:
[TITLE: DUNGEON BOSS]
"She must be a neighboring dungeon boss," Kinito thought, mind racing.
System, show me their ranks.
[TITLE: DUNGEON BOSS]
[POWER LEVEL: COMMANDER]
And the woman behind her?
[TITLE: HERO]
[POWER LEVEL: UPPER SOLDIER — MEDIUM]
Kinito's expression shifted—calm, but serious.
He subtly signaled Aqua: be ready to strike at any moment.
Then, he stepped forward and spoke with a cool, steady tone:
"So... what brings a fellow dungeon boss to my humble domain?"
The winged woman smiled and fluttered her butterfly-like wings.
She stepped closer and bowed with grace so flawless it could've been rehearsed.
Aqua tensed, almost drawing her blade again.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the butterfly-winged woman said.
"I'm Aerial, boss of the Butterfly Dungeon. And this is my hero, Tera."
She gestured toward the second woman.
Tera said nothing, but thought to herself with a scowl:
"I heard dungeon bosses were supposed to be handsome... Didn't know they could be this ugly."
Meanwhile, Aerial giggled and added with a wink,
"I heard a new dungeon boss had appeared... but I didn't expect him to be this handsome."
The word "handsome" echoed in Kinito's head like music.
A dumb smile spread across his face as he scratched behind his head.
"I'm... flattered," he said, voice cracking just slightly.
Oh...
I haven't properly introduced myself, have I?
"Hello, my name is Kinito. I'm the boss of this dungeon. And this here is Aqua, my hero."
"We'll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on, Lord Kinito," Aerial said with a wink.
Kinito suddenly felt a strong bloodlust. He turned to Aqua and immediately understood—if he stayed here another second, he was going to die.
"Let's continue this meeting in the throne room, Miss Aerial."
"It would be my honor," she replied, bowing gracefully.
Not wanting to die, Kinito bolted out of the training room.
Inside the throne room, Kinito sat on his throne.
Aerial, on the other hand, was sitting on a beach chair. It was the only other chair available.
Kinito could feel Aqua's silent rage. That was her personal chair.
"How much do you know about the dungeon levels, my lord?" Aerial asked, sipping from a coconut.
"Not a lot," Kinito admitted. "But I know there are 99 floors. Ours is the weakest, and Floor 1 is the strongest."
His tone was serious now.
"But that's not the full picture, Lord Kinito," Aerial continued.
"On Floor 99, there are twelve dungeons in total. Three of them are powerful—great dungeons. The other nine, like ours, are weak."
She leaned forward slightly.
"There was an agreement between the great dungeons not to attack each other. That's how peace was kept on Floor 99. But something happened. The agreement is broken. Now, weak dungeons are panicking. Everyone's looking for alliances to survive."
She looked him in the eyes.
"That's why I'm here. I want to form an alliance with your dungeon, Lord Kinito."
Kinito's thoughts were racing.
"If that protection's gone, then anyone can attack us. I need to join an alliance to survive. I literally just got isekai'd—I have no idea how this world works. I can't risk Aqua's life… or the mobs'."
[HOST: CONSIDER CAREFULLY. NOT EVERYONE CAN BE TRUSTED.]
"I know that, system," Kinito muttered, "but right now, the only thing that matters is protecting this dungeon. Without an alliance, we're easy prey."
He looked straight at Aerial.
"Okay. I accept your request, Miss Aerial. I'll join your alliance."
Aerial smiled brightly.
"I'm so happy to hear that, my lord! Please visit my dungeon tomorrow so we can make it official."
Aqua suddenly spoke.
"And what kind of mobs does your dungeon have, Miss Aerial?"
"Only female butterfly mobs, Miss Aqua," Aerial replied, confused. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason," Aqua answered, still staring at Kinito with pure murder in her eyes.