Reverse Dungeon

Unlike the other regions, the western lands felt distinctly underdeveloped. For starters, there were no proper roads.

Which meant no carriages traveled through the area. In the west, if you wanted to get anywhere, you either walked—or rode something that could survive the desert.

Ian bought three camels, the standard mount for desert travel. After handing one over to Keith and another to the elf, he checked the elf’s favorability.

Ding!

[Favorability with Dorian(?): 41%]

‘Only one percent?’

If he’d let the guy wander through the desert on foot for a while—sinking into the sand with every step while tiny pebbles ground painfully between his toes—and only then given him the camel, he probably would’ve been far more grateful.

Ian regretted being generous.

Still, the elf wasn’t officially part of Ian’s faction yet. This was still the stage where favorability had to be cultivated. Ian couldn’t risk saying something like “Buy your own camel” and accidentally lowering it instead.

For now, he settled for the fact that he could at least kick the elf around a little without losing points.

After half a day of riding, the desert finally spread out before them.

Ian blinked at the sight.

The sheer scale of it resembled something out of a nature documentary. He’d never imagined he would experience scenery like this firsthand, yet somehow, thanks to his absurd circumstances, he was witnessing the grandeur of the natural world inside a game.

Not that he felt particularly emotional about it.

“If we travel during the day, our movement speed drops and stamina drains faster. We’ll move at night instead.”

“What if we get lost?” the elf asked reasonably enough.

Though mildly irritated, Ian answered patiently.

“We won’t.”

“...”

And so they settled into a routine of sleeping through the day and traveling at night.

Ian kept the map floating before him as he plotted the shortest route toward the tower. Any demons they encountered along the way became experience points for Keith.

Watching Ian navigate for the first time, the elf’s curiosity quickly surfaced.

“You’re seriously finding the way just by looking at the stars?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow. How is that even possible? That’s amazing.”

“It’s because the gods are watching over us.”

“Then can my second favorite do it too?”

The elf turned toward Keith.

Keith, as though he hadn’t heard a single word, continued staring straight ahead.

Eventually, the overly talkative elf deflated into silence, and the desert grew quiet once more.

‘What’s with him?’

Ian glanced away from the map.

Keith was normally polite. Unless someone was a demon or part of the Traitor Clan, he didn’t treat people like insects.

The elf’s long ears drooped pitifully as he turned toward Ian.

“Look, I promise I won’t get in the way of you two. Can you tell him to stop acting like I don’t exist?”

‘You two?’

Was he talking about the fanatic and the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) fake savior?

Ian didn’t understand the phrasing, but he did understand why Keith was ignoring the elf.

Was it really because of that order?

“...You’re allowed to talk to Dorian. The same goes for the people in my dungeon.”

Keith glanced briefly at Ian before answering.

“Yes.”

Ian couldn’t understand why he looked disappointed.

Ding!

[Keith’s favorability: 92%]

‘His favorability’s still fine, though?’

Even Keith’s loyalty remained at 99%.

Ian assumed the missing one percent came from a tiny lingering doubt somewhere deep inside Keith’s mind.

‘Is he truly an agent of God?’

Balancing his Savior reputation with Keith’s loyalty was harder than expected.

“I do not possess the same gifts as Lord Ian,” Keith finally replied to the elf’s earlier question.

“So not everyone who worships the gods can do it? Are there special conditions or something? My second favorite is a world-famous Holy Knight, but the gods still didn’t bless him?”

“Lord Ian may not yet fully understand the mission entrusted to him, but he is unquestionably an agent sent by the gods. Please do not insult him by comparing him to someone like me, who merely serves at his side.”

Keith looked at Ian with unwavering faith shining in his eyes.

Ian deliberately focused harder on navigation to avoid meeting the zealot’s gaze.

“Wow... Faith really is terrifying,” the elf muttered in admiration.

‘A nonbeliever, huh.’

Keith didn’t hold particularly high expectations for the elf, so he didn’t bother looking down on him either.

“We’re heading straight from here.”

After studying the floating map for a while longer, Ian closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck.

Keith frowned slightly.

Did that actually help with fatigue?

Watching Ian’s small hands work at the tension in his neck made him strangely uncomfortable.

Keith quietly came to a decision.

‘Once we reach the village near the tower, I’ll give him a massage.’

His resolve solidified instantly.

They could have stopped to rest, but Ian brought up something else instead.

“What did you think about what the mermaid princess said?”

“What part?”

Keith had forgotten almost everything the princess had said aside from the part where she acknowledged Ian’s identity as a Savior.

“After hearing her confession, I think she’ll become a decent ruler someday. As long as she continues reflecting on herself and nurturing her faith.”

“No, not that part... Wait, when did she confess?”

“She declared us eternal friends and allies, didn’t she? It was rather moving. If we visit again later, perhaps she’ll sell me rare items at a discount.”

“Do you two seriously only hear whatever you want to hear?”

Ian’s patience was being tested.

“She mentioned something important right at the end.”

The elf tilted his head.

“What did she say?”

“The reason the underwater city started rejecting humans. Were you even listening?”

“Oh, that.” The elf nodded belatedly.

‘How do these people miss obvious quest clues this badly? What exactly are they paying attention to?’

Ian was genuinely baffled.

Before they departed from the underwater city, the mermaid princess had secretly pulled Ian aside.

“There is something I must tell you, Lord Ian. It is a royal secret.”

“Please, go on.”

“Our underwater city did not always reject outsiders. While we were never especially welcoming, there were times when we rescued those who sank into the depths and allowed them to remain among us. Even now, there are likely still compassionate citizens who quietly do the same.”

‘Right. Like that innkeeper.’

Ian knew for a fact such people existed, though he kept silent. Since the innkeeper was a dwarf rather than a human, they were probably spared the worst discrimination.

“The reason we began distancing ourselves from humans... was because of a certain incident.”

The princess swallowed nervously before continuing.

“One day, a human wearing a robe came to our underwater city. After speaking privately with my father, that human entered the graveyard. Soon afterward, the volcano appeared there, the dead began to rise, and Kyarakus started triggering volcanic eruptions.”

“What exactly did that human do?”

“I do not know. But I am certain of one thing.” Her voice trembled slightly. “My father deeply regretted trusting that person. He took my siblings and the royal guards to subdue Kyarakus... and none of them ever returned.”

That was the secret the mermaid princess revealed.

‘So the reason the underwater city hated humans was hidden behind a secret trigger?’

Ian was stunned.

The game itself had never explained any of this.

Did you seriously have to threaten the princess into terror and then comfort her afterward to unlock the information?

He had honestly believed he’d uncovered every hidden detail in the game already.

More importantly, the story sounded remarkably similar to what the Fairy Queen had told him.

A mysterious robed figure lurking behind everything.

Someone who aided the Demon King while planting demons and Life Vessels throughout the continent.

‘So they hid the Life Vessels and stationed demons nearby to guard them?’

This absurdly detail-obsessed game had never properly explained why the Life Vessels were located where they were. Maybe it had once been tied to a hidden quest Ian failed to discover. Or maybe it was content added in a later patch—

‘...No, probably not.’

More likely, the developers had retroactively stitched the lore together afterward. After all, Ian had completed the Fairy Queen’s quest countless times without ever hearing about this mastermind.

Even so, his heart started racing.

‘New content!’

For veteran players, defeating the Demon King had long since become routine. Back in the early days, the game had been difficult enough that people often settled for endings like “territory expansion” or “peace negotiations,” but that era was ancient history now.

Of course, actually existing inside the game and fighting the Demon King with a real body instead of just moving fingers across a keyboard was a completely different matter.

Still—

Ian had Keith.

His brilliant five-star character, steadily growing stronger under Ian’s guidance.

Ian looked at Keith with unmistakable fondness.

‘...?’

Keith looked momentarily confused, but he answered dutifully nonetheless.

“So there is another human traitor working with the Demon Realm? Someone deliberately sowing discord among the races to prevent them from uniting against the demons?” Keith narrowed his eyes. “Lord Ian... do you believe this person could belong to the Traitor Clan?” 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Keith still couldn’t understand why Ian protected—or forgave—the Traitor Clan at all.

“The Traitor Clan was hated everywhere even before they earned the name ‘traitors.’ Why would the underwater city ever allow one of them into the graveyard?”

“But when the Demon Realm invaded the continent, the only humans who truly benefited from the chaos were the Traitor Clan. Well... aside from the scheming dwarves.” Keith frowned thoughtfully. “Why else would a human betray their own kind and side with the Demon King?”

“You know the answer already. Demon worshippers have always existed.”

“Don’t tell me...!”

Keith’s eyes lit up immediately.

He hated demon worshippers nearly as much as demons themselves. In Keith’s original route, they had practically been his main enemies.

‘The developers actually did something clever for once.’

Ian rarely complimented the developers, but this genuinely impressed him.

By expanding the demon worshipper faction, they’d added far more depth to the world itself.

In Ian’s original route, demon worshippers had never posed much of a threat. But now that all the playable characters’ routes had merged together, the situation had completely changed.

Naturally, that also meant greater danger.

But it also meant more experience points.

More importantly, Ian was thrilled at the possibility of uncovering entirely new content.

Of course, Ian was a perfectly rational and mentally stable person.

There was absolutely no way he would voluntarily run around this world chasing hidden content.

...Unless the hidden content came looking for him first.