'Wait, I'm Supposed to Become a Goddess?! But I'm a Guy!'

The scenery shifted just as her voice caught the breeze, gliding across the open air while the three of them gazed out over the evolving landscape below.

“This place functions the same as the dungeon above,” she began, her tone calm.

After all, the owner herself knew better about this place than anyone else.

Below, the lush forest and mountain ridges gave way to a strikingly different terrain, thick canopies thinning into sparsely scattered trees, their roots swallowed by endless, glistening waters.

Such a shift was sudden, like a different layer on a cake, turning into this spectacular water world.

It resembled an ocean blanketed in colossal trees, their trunks piercing the surface like ancient spires rising from the deep.

“The closer you get to the center, the stronger the monsters become.”

“But what sets this place apart... is the terrain itself.”

Swoosh.

Boom!

A thunderous splash echoed in the distance.

Far off between two towering trees, a massive fish burst out of the water, its slick, scaled body slicing through the air with terrifying force.

The water erupted into waves, rippling outward, and yet the trees remained motionlessly, designed to withstand such a scene.

Though the landscape looked almost cramped from above, the space between trees spanned over a hundred meters, some gaps stretching even wider.

It only appeared dense because of the sheer number of trees dotting the waterscape.

Every so often, they watched as enormous fish breached the surface, some leapt skyward, others clashed mid-air in brief, brutal skirmishes that churned the water into frothing waves.

And yet, despite the chaos, the trees remained eerily unmoved, as if the entire ecosystem had evolved to endure these scenes.

She continued, her gaze steady, “This dungeon begins at the outermost edge, known as the first layer which also is to where we are heading right now"

Before long, the view morphed again.

A clean, sharp line split the watery expanse, giving way to a vast, earthy stretch of land.

Smaller trees dotted the terrain alongside tall grasses that swayed in the wind.

It was like a scaled-down forest, but still overwhelmingly massive when compared to the dungeon above.

The two men listened intently, absorbing every word while their eyes wandered across the alien scenery, struck by awe.

Then the old man broke the silence, voice tinged with wonder. “This is incredible. Such a rich ecosystem, and the structure... it’s so methodical. This dungeon, it’s a divine gift to awakeners.”

"This place is simply a treasure trove! What a gift for mankind!"

“Oh?” she lifted a brow, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “And what makes you say that?”

The old man turned slightly, taking in the surroundings with genuine appreciation. “It’s natural. There are too many types of monsters, too many undiscovered resources.”

“Even in the upper dungeon, I couldn’t identify a single herb or treasure that resembled anything outside. Yet their effects, some could be used to make tier seven pills!”

"Yes, it was the same pill I used to heal you. The rare and almost impossible medicinal herbs outside could easily be discovered here, their replacement"

He paused, his tone growing more animated.

“And this place? Hah, lady, I can tell the value of land based on the opportunities it holds. And this dungeon... it’s an endless, living treasure trove.”

“Hiss?! It’s really that insane, old man?” Klein cut in, his voice tinged with disbelief, but also curiosity.

This was his future hunting ground they were talking about.

He already liked the place. A lot. And if things worked out, he wouldn’t mind staying here for a long while. This idea aligned with how Mize was hoping for.

She needed him to stay here, and she had a lot of plans for this little protagonist in the future.

“Of course,” the old man nodded with certainty.

The woman listened quietly, eyes narrowing slightly.

There was something unreadable in her expression, as if her thoughts drifted somewhere beyond the conversation.

Eventually, they reached what seemed to be the edge of the third layer.

But rather than a boundary, they found a peculiar altar standing quietly in the open.

A moss-covered stele sat embedded in its center, its stone etched with time and entwined by vines.

The altar itself radiated an ancient, sacred aura, one that made the air feel still.

A deliberate disguise that she created.

The three descended slowly, the icy petals beneath them evaporating into the wind.

Their feet landed gently on a small patch of grass.

No creatures stirred nearby. No monsters crept in sight, only a distant mound, where ants scurried over a tiny hill.

Still, none of them were focused on their immediate surroundings.

Their attention pulled forward, toward what lay beyond the altar.

"What in the world?"

"It is as what I expected, but this is incredible!"

"A world class dungeon? This is something unheard of!"

They had expected a barrier of some sort, a wall, something to mark the transition between layers.

But what greeted them was something else entirely.

“…What the hell?” the old man muttered, eyes narrowing in disbelief. “Just what in the world is this place?”

Klein stood beside him, silent, equally stunned.

The woman leaned against one of the altar’s worn pillars, her posture relaxed, eyes fixed in the same direction.

A faint smile tugged at her lips.

“Welcome,” she said softly.

A salty tang drifted in the air, brushing past their noses like a memory of the sea.

“Welcome to the dungeon world.”

“Dungeon world?” the two echoed in unison, the words foreign on their tongues.

Beyond the edge of the land was an impossible sight, a clean, precise cut, as though the world had been sliced with a blade.

And beyond that line: nothing but endless, blue water stretching far into the horizon.

An ocean?

Then... were they on an island? A dungeon masquerading as one?

No... it didn’t feel like that.

Then, what lies beyond the ocean?

More island like dungeons?

Perhaps continent size dungeons?

“A world that is a dungeon? That’s impossible!” the old man exclaimed, rubbing his eyes as if to wipe the illusion away.

But it stayed.

The new reality couldn't be changed.

Everything he thought he knew about the world, about dungeons, was being rewritten moment by moment.

“I thought I’d seen it all,” he whispered, almost laughing at himself, “but this... I’ve barely seen anything. This is impossibly cruel to my reality"

“How can a place like this even exist?” Klein murmured, blinking rapidly. Part of him still hoped this wasn’t just some vivid dream.

“Incredible, isn’t it?” the woman said, voice softer now. “I reacted the same way during my first time here.”

She smiled faintly. “This place…”

“No.” She paused and corrected herself, eyes locked on the endless ocean ahead.

“This world... is vast. And somehow, it functions as a dungeon.”

“T-then... have you been here long?” the old man asked, curiosity rising again. “Your clothes bear unfamiliar markings. I’ve never seen such emblems before across the region"

“You don’t need to worry about where I come from,” she replied, brushing his question aside. “There was a strange altar behind my family mansion. I touched it on a whim, and found myself here.”

“In truth, I’ve only been here for a day. I’ve been exploring ever since.”

A quiet breath left her as she added, “I got arrogant. I thought my strength was enough to handle the monsters in the center layer. I got cocky"

“And we’re lucky to have found you,” the old man said, nodding firmly. “If not, it might’ve taken us days to even find this place, let alone know of this altar.”

“But... can we be sure it’ll take us back to the surface?” he asked, glancing at the stele.

“It does. I already tested it,” she replied simply.

The old man’s brow furrowed.

“You’re stranded here, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she answered, calm and unbothered.

There was no bitterness in her tone, no weight of regret.

“There’s no point in going back anyway,” she added. “Living here... in this strange world... it’s not so bad. There’s treasure everywhere. So many things waiting to be uncovered.”

“Maybe, just maybe, this place will help me reach heights I couldn’t even dream of before.”

“Ah. I see,” the old man said with a quiet nod.

“Then…” Klein hesitated, his gaze drifting out toward the vast stretch of ocean ahead.

The wind tugged lightly at his hair as he squinted into the endless blue, voice quiet. “What lies out there? More island-like dungeons?”

“I don’t know,” the woman replied simply, her arms folded as her eyes narrowed at the horizon. “I haven’t been able to cross it—no matter what I tried.”

“Oh?” the old man tilted his head slightly, his brows lifting in curiosity. “So you’ve actually attempted to venture across?”

“I did.” She nodded, her tone calm, almost indifferent. “But there’s something out there. presencez deep beneath the ocean, powerful, some of their auras scared me to the bones. And there were others too, a lot of them. Not weaker than me. Some even stronger.”

“Hah…” The old man let out a soft chuckle as realization dawned. “So the ocean’s crawling with those kinds of beings, huh? Makes sense. Probably only once we’ve reached another level will crossing it even be possible.”

He smiled faintly, as though already imagining that distant possibility. “But that’s for later. One step at a time.”

With that, the two slowly approached the moss-covered stele.

The woman stayed a few paces back, watching quietly.

The old man, without needing guidance, placed a hand on the ancient surface and spread his divine sense across it, as if reuniting with something long known.

Just before activating the mechanism, he paused and turned to glance at her.

“You coming with us?”

She shook her head. “Not now.”

"I will be spending most of my time here looking for treasures"

Klein, standing just beside the old man, couldn’t hide the flicker of anticipation in his eyes, nor how quickly it dimmed at her reply.

He lowered his gaze slightly, expression unreadable.

Then, her voice came again, lighter this time, almost teasing. “I’ll be staying here to hunt around for a while.”

She looked off toward the deeper layers, her tone thoughtful. “It won’t be long before others start showing up. Once that happens, the competition will get annoying.”

And without warning, no flash, no flourish, she vanished, her figure dissolving into the breeze like a wisp of mist.

Not even a trace was left behind.

Klein instinctively reached out with his hand, but grasped only empty air. “I didn’t even get her name…”

A quiet sigh slipped from his lips.

From beside him, the old man grinned. “And here I thought you weren’t interested in getting tangled with women"

However, his eyes saw something else.

'it seems she left a mark on this boy, huh?'

'Could it be?'

“My soul,” Klein muttered with a half-hearted smile. “She’s exactly my type… cold, distant, like an ice-capped mountain.”

“Yeah, and one wrong step and she’ll freeze your guts solid,” the old man added dryly.

Klein got the message loud and clear. He chose silence.

But the old man wasn’t quite done. His gaze flicked subtly to Klein’s side, eyes narrowing.

There it was, a faint trace of cold qi clinging around the boy’s shoulder like frost dust. It wasn’t much, but it wasn’t natural either.

He smirked.

“Still… who knows?” he said with an air of amusement. “You just might see her again.”

Klein gave a quiet nod. “I’ll do my best… to win her heart.”

“At least level up first, kid,” the old man snorted, shaking his head. “Right now, you’re just a tier-three nobody.”

"Even in my state, I can crush you with a finger"

"Shut up old man"