Flower Trap Dungeon

"First of all, you should place the 'mana generator' At the very back, behind the core room"

"Eh?"

Right now, we're discussing on how to develop the dungeon layout

Adding more generators is a given, but I didn't expect to hear a very obvious hole in my placement

"Throughout my travel, I've never seen a big dungeon with a mana generator 'on the front line' like, you're basically asking for people to destroy it"

"... Now that you mention it... Yea... You're right"

Aeee... I didn't think about that, in a dungeon master game I've played, you usually have to build all of the room in front of the core, a mana generator would either be treated like any other room with no traps or have no monster in it

I didn't think that the generator could be damaged, rather, why did I think it wouldn't be damaged? Although it shouldn't get damaged if we're using the usual dungeon rule... It wouldn't be a surprise if some hero would decide to bombard it with magic artifacts to the point of destruction

"As for monsters... Well, it'll probably be better if you just let them come in to fill the dungeon rather than... Buying them from the shop"

"Hmm, how so?"

"I mean, look at them! You wouldn't want the other monster to be like them and got themselves killed right?"

She pointed at the Razor Flower and as she do that... They dance by swaying left and right... She's right though, I wouldn't want any of my monsters to get killed

"Right? If any of your summon is smart like them, then I wouldn't want them to die just like that"

"Hm, is it the usual 'the monster reflects the dungeon master' shenanigans?"

"Yep, an undead master will have an undead army, a dragon will have lizards, etcetera... That reminds me, it's a surprise that you summon those flowers instead of humanoid monsters... Hmm, maybe because you're more on the 'neutral' side of things because you're a human... You know, wielder of all, master of none... Or maybe because of your earth magic"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I can summon just about anything"

"Ah, the former then... So this is the summon monster of a human huh? "

Fryia then spins and dances around the core room with a thinking face... It's quite a unique way of thinking about things, she told me it's a bad habit from her younger days... She even has the title of 'Dancer of the Flame'

"So... I guess I should make a room dedicated for my summon and for the wild one then"

"Yep, you should separate them lest the adventurer see them as the same kind"

We keep on throwing ideas left and right, those that stayed will be implemented right away...

"Alright, that should do it for now..."

Right now, the dungeon layout is a straight line that goes toward the left going into the mountain... And I planned to have it go left then left then straight, right next to the previous hallways, and right, right, straight, then repeat

"But seriously, you really want to make the dungeon THIS tiresome?"

"Hehehe, I mean, I could, so why shouldn't I? A dungeon that only has one way forward that makes people fatigued because of its compact road that makes for a long trip... It's perfect"

"Haah, just remember that a dungeon core needs natural mana and people's mana to develop, the longer the road is, the harder the mana needs to travel"

"I'll just install an air vent then~"

"... What's an air vent?"

This is it! I've long since dreamed of becoming a dungeon master like this! 

Creating room, placing traps, adding weird shitz, that... Is my dream, added to the fact that I can customize the room to the max? Well I'm in for a treat

But... 

"I got no point..."

"Well... We just have to wait, we got time on our side after all even though it'll probably take forever..."

"I guess... ... Wanna play chess?"

"What's that?"

"Here"

With my earth magic, I manage to create a chess set, though the quality of the piece is... Questionable

"So, how do you play this?"

"Well... This one is a pawn, this one is a queen-"

"That's a queen? It doesn't look that different from the pawn"

"... Shut it, I tried... It's hard to make considering it's the first time I tried making this"

"Sheesh, if you can't do it in one shot, then do it one by one, here, I know a magic that can help"

"... Even though you're a fire fairy?"

"S-shut it! One of my earth friends just can't stop themselves from forcing me to help them"

And with that, I've learned how to turn a stone into clay that'll turn back to stone due time like in one of the slime-taming isekai... And we had a lot of fun trying to make the horse piece

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======[??? POV]======

*A few days later*

"Haah, are we there yet?"

"No, we're not"

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Yes, I'm sure... The Slime King is this way... Look, there's a track of it has gone this way"

I look at the damaged grass around me that leave a clear track... One that some of this raiding party ignore... 

... What am I doing with my life? 

To be honest, I don't want to be in this rang tang of a raid party, I'm supposed to be helping my father with documents work, yet here I'm, a Duke daughter up on the battlefield, although I know that I'm born in a family with knightly-ish history... That doesn't justify it... Whatever the heck the King is on... 

I look towards my back, and my eye landed on one of the other noble ladies, one with a serious and determined face, ready to take any challenge head-on

On the other hand that Lady is definitely younger than me, but is actually born in a noble family of knights... I have never seen her at any of the official party so... She must be underage... Haah, what has this kingdom become? 

With blond hair tied in a ponytail, and wearing a gambeson stands proud and tall, is the one and only young lady of the Pendragon family

Although she's a Duke's daughter, her armor is... Questionable, I mean, I did ask her but... To think her reasoning will be "I'll need to dodge more if the enemy is a king slime"... 

Sure it's not a bad idea considering the King Slime will melt through any normal metal like steel and such but... To think a Noble lady... 

Then again, I'm not one to talk... But I'm a ranger, so it makes sense that I'm not wearing any armor...

Although armor is nice and wouldn't really restrict your movement contrary to what people believe... It is still a heavy piece of equipment that'll tire you out

We keep on walking through this forest as the sun fall down from the sky, as soon as it becomes dark, we decided to set up a camp somewhere near the track

The three of us rangers nodded at each other then went to carve out a marking on the trees behind us, and as we were marking the tree, the noble knight lady from before come up to me and ask me a question

"Hey, why are you carving that on the tree?"

"... So that we don't screw up at following the King Slime trails, we definitely don't need to accidentally go back to where we come from"

"I see... Does the marking mean anything?"

"Well, this one- a line around a tree with X on the top- means wrong way, we rangers usually used this when we're doing our jobs, hmm... Here, a book about rangers marking, cuz the adventures guild also started to use our marking too, so it'll be a good idea to memorize some of the markings"

Tossing my old Rangers book, the girl catches it with interest, she then opens it up and looks at it with a surprised face

"This... Is a lot of marking"

"Sure is, but the most important one is basically all similar to this one if it's a long X going around a tree then it's a general forbidden area, with three vertical lines in the middle it'll become a dangerous area, with a circle in the middle it'll become poisonous area and such, and the reason why it's going around a tree like this is so that normal folks will stop on their place and wonder that this means, making us rangers having an easier time warning them"

I took a glance at the girl, and she give me quite the scared by being too close to my face with that shining eyes

"U-uhm..."

"That's cool... What kind of job do rangers usually do?"

"W-well, patrolling areas mostly, we're basically like the explorer before they merged to become adventure guild, unlike them though, we directly work with the town guards"

"Oooh!"

T-this admiration! Is this normal!? Doesn't this usually only happens to knights? 

"Alright, people! Food ready!"

Thankfully, before I got myself bombarded by questions, I've been saved by the chef's yelled

From there, we're all lined up to get our serving of food, after I got mine, I sit down on the log chair that's been brought out of the magic bags and took a bite of the meat in my soup... 

Ahhh~ Delicious... Man, being able to eat well while out here in the wild is something else... If only I could cook as good as this, hell, I'll pay for a chef that could fight by my side if I could

Sadly, such chefs would rather be hired into these kinds of raid party, because not only does the contractor provides the ingredient, but they also pay the chefs extra according to the dangers of the quest

As I eat, I took a glance at everyone, while some of the soldiers stayed to guard, the other Knights, Soldiers, and adventurers eat

"Who's there!"

Surprise by the shout, I almost throw my spoon and grab my weapon, but I resist the habit of doing so, I move my head and took a look in the direction of where the soldiers are shouting, from here I could see that a bush is moving unnaturally with the height of a human, seemingly in panic

"If you do not come and reveal yourself this instant, you'll be treated as an enemy spy of the Britain kingdom!"

Certainly, it is possible that whoever's hiding in there could be a spy, but I doubt a spy could make such a blunder... 

But then again, this could be "one of those" kinds of spy... 

"On the count of five, if you do not reveal yourself this instant, we'll attack you without question asked!"

As the soldiers move in and surrounded the bush in a curved pattern, a voice could finally be heard from the bush

"O-ok! Ok! I got it! Geez!"

Getting out of the bush is a pink hair girl wearing otherworldly outfits that are usually worn by summoned people, with her hands up in the air, and pouty face, I could feel the soldiers raise their eyes brows at the unexpectedly revealed

"Muu~ I was just foraging for mushrooms and herbs... Why is my luck so empty today... "

"You... Otherworlder, state your reason why are you sneaking into our camp!"

"Well... As I said, I was looking for mushrooms and herbs when suddenly, I smell something delicious, and with the smoke and light from campfire to booth! Of course, I'll be curious about what kind of food the traveler that's camping out here is cooking to be able to smell THAT good, and maybe try to bargain to get a bite of it, but... I never imagine I'll stumble unto a military camp..."

Well from my perspective, her story checks out, with the wooden basket still in her hand being held up in the air, filled with mushrooms and herbs, it'll be hard to not believe her story... 

But well, the soldiers have a reason to be cautious, and that is the fact we have Nobility in this party

"You think such reasoning is believable?"

"But it's the truth though! And why are you calling me an otherworlder!?"

"You really think you could fool us when you dress like that?"

"Oh, this? I got this from the dungeon over there"

She then pointed toward her back, if what she says is right, then it must've been a new dungeon because there's never been a report of one existing but... For it to drop otherworldly clothing? 

Curious, I got up and walk towards her while speaking what's in my mind

"So... You got that from a dungeon?"

"Yup!"

"What's the dungeon master like?"

"Secret! That one's a secret! But well, she's not a rouge one if that's what you're asking"

Then... Could it be an otherworlder that has become a dungeon master?

Otherworlder is a general term for those that come from outside of this world, whether they come through summoning, rifts, or reincarnation, they're all been documented because their very presence is the literal embodiment of chaos, which can bring both good things and bad things

From her tone, this one seems to be a friendly one... Let's hope they won't go rouge anytime soon, cause I do not want to live my life in a history books

The last three documentaries of evil otherworlder are all full of a word that can be summed up as Hell on Earth... 

Queen of Hell Lilith, Mad Scientist Edov, and King of Chaos Xiao has brought about the apocalypse of the world, and the only reason why such documents are safe in the first place is because of The Great Spirit of Time that has collected and moved said document into the Spirit realms where after the said otherworlder are defeated, came back to deliver the document where then the Sage of that time build the safest place to store them in

An Army of Demons, an Army of metal golem (Robot), and An Army of Abyssal Abomination... God help me if I'm going to be a part of that chaos

I look towards the pink hair girl, who seems like she has been arguing with one of the soldiers while I'm deep in my thoughts

"Like I said! I'm not lying! You can just follow me back to that dungeon if you don't believe me!"

"You think we would follow you back to your cave and let ourselves be ambushed by traps!?"

"Like I said! There's no way I would! The only trap that you'll see is the dungeon's trap!"

"Then, could you lead me there?"

Intercepting the conversation, I ask the pink hair girl while giving the soldiers a side eyes

They're too strict and cautious if I'm being honest

"Miss Emi! This person is not to be trusted!"

"Shut up, I'm not asking for your opinion... So?"

"Yep! I can lead you there if you want!"

"Alright, lead the way then"

"Yess~ sire!"

After saluting at me in a playful way while saying that, the pink hair girl then spin her body around and march forward, towards the dungeon

From behind me, I can hear the soldiers shouting about how much danger this could potentially be... Well, I don't really care about them, and my instinct as a Ranger told me that it's fine to follow this fellow

As we're getting further away from the camp, some of the people will obviously follow on, some from curiosity, and the soldiers out of duty, and without me realizing it, Young Lady Pendragon is already on my side and chatting up with the pink hair girl

"Nice sword you got there Saber girl!"

"Umu, thank you for the compliments, it is a sword that has been passed down from generation to generation within my family"

"Woa, then... Is it a powerful sword? A legendary sword!?"

"Haha, although I wish that's the case, sadly, it isn't a legendary sword, it is nothing more than a normal spring steel sword with an enchantment of Holy Fire... But, as my grandfather always said, it is not the sword that makes the men, but it is the men who make the sword, because well... You've never seen a sword forge a human out of a furnace now have you?"

"Haha! That's true, hmmm... Umu! I like that! It's not about how strong the sword is, it's about how strong YOU are! Even if the sword that you're using right now is a legendary one, if you don't have the skill to use it, then it's nothing more than a decoration for intimidation"

Surprisingly, these two have similar thinking proses which allowed the two of them to talk on and on and on, whether it's about swords, armor, stance, or even food... They're a match made in heaven

"Ah! By the way, I forgot to introduce myself!"

The girl then spin while walking then proceeded to walk backward while giving us a playful salute with two fingers

"My name is Astolfo! Nice to meet you!"

"Umu, my name is Artoria Pendragon, heir of the Pendragon family, it is a pleasure to meet you"

"Whoa! You're an heir of a noble family!?"

"That's right, though I never really like doing those nobility politics... I rather be out here helping people rather than that"

"Ah~ yes, politics, honestly, never really like those kinds of stuff, one of the reasons why I run away from home, to be honest"

"Huh, you ran away?"

"Yep! Pops and Ma keep on talking about me needing to enlist and become a soldier and whatever but... The soldiers back home are... Questionable, to say the least"

"Hum, how so?"

"Well, one word... Corruption"

After saying that, the girl- Astolfo - finally stopped walking backward and finally look forward, we keep on walking in silence for a while until we arrived at our destination

"Ah! There it is!"

True to her word, in front of us stand a cavern, one that smells like it is filled to the brim with mana

With the dungeon in front of us, Astolfo suddenly bolt out towards it, making us run to catch up to her

Passing a group of common Razor Flowers, I see a big dungeon gate made out of metal at the end of the cave, one that's being swung open by Astolfo as if it's made out of paper

"Ya ho~! Fryia! I'm back~~~!"

Fryia?

A second later, the sound of someone wrestling themselves out of their business could be heard, accompanied by a loud yell

"You- didn't I already tell you that my dungeon isn't open yet!?"

Flying out of the corner of what seems like the alchemist corner, is a little fairy with red hair and wearing a white alchemist coat

"So why ar- wha- why are you bringing people here!?"

Pointing at us as if she's a criminal getting surprised by the town guard, she yells out and starts complaining

"Seriously!? I give you that jacket and this is how you repay me!?"

"Er, well... Ehe"

"Don't 'Ehe' me!! Ugh, whatever"

The fairy then fly towards us and began by greeting our group into her humble dungeon

"As that annoying self proclaim adventurer had said, my name is Fryia, and welcome, to my flower trap dungeon"

And that's, how I got to know two new unique people amongst other unique people that I've to know