Marcille, Chilchuck, and Senshi… just as they were about to delve into the unexplored depths of the dungeon with Laois, all suddenly came down with a high fever and collapsed into bed.
But after a night of unconsciousness, Marcille rubbed her eyes and crawled out from under the covers—only to discover that her body had shrunk significantly.
What's more, standing before her were three unfamiliar people: a black-haired, inexplicably elven man, a kobold with cat ears, and a middle-aged human whose clothes had been ripped open by his bulging muscles…
"Waaaahhhhhh!!"
"Uwaaaaahhhhhh——!"
Screams echoed within the cramped room. After calming down a bit, everyone finally managed to confirm each other's identities.
Senshi had turned into an elf. Marcille had become a halfling. Chilchuck was now a tall human. Izutsuzumi had become a kobold—but her feline ears were still present.
"Where's Laois!?"
Marcille threw off Laois's blanket—but found nothing underneath, except for Kensuke the sword. "Could he have turned into something else…? Or did a monster attack in the night?"
"Would Laois abandon Kensuke?" Chilchuck muttered. "No, that's not like him…"
"Ohhh! You really did change your appearances!"
Just then, Laois walked through the door, wearing a suit of armor none of them had ever seen before, and holding a giant egg in his arms. "Senshi! I brought you an egg! It's from a herbivorous wyvern!"
"Laois! Where have you been!?" Marcille, now dwarfed by her own clothing, protested. "What's with that armor? What's with that egg!? And why haven't you changed forms? What is even going on!?"
"I did change!" Laois replied cheerfully. "We all stepped on some kind of transformation mushroom. I turned into a dwarf earlier."
He started sharing stories with his confused companions: "After I transformed, I ended up in another world where I met some really great people! They gave me this new gear, fed me meals made with dragon meat, and even invited me to join their team!"
"They know all about what's going on with us, too—they're coming to help us rescue Falin!" Laois beamed with delight.
"What even are you talking about!?" Marcille asked, going on tiptoe as if to check whether Laois was hallucinating from poison or something.
Senshi, meanwhile, turned his attention to the egg Laois carried. "Such a large egg—is it from a wyvern?"
He inspected it with his new elven eyes and nodded. "It's very fresh. Excellent."
Izutsuzumi, in kobold form, gave Laois a sour look. "You smell like strangers. And there's a weird beastly odor on you too."
"Laois, how did you turn back to normal?" Chilchuck asked with concern. "And where'd you get that armor? Did you go back to see Yad and the others?"
"Oh, that?" Laois replied. "Actually, they came here! And they said they really want to meet you all."
"Yoo-hoo! My dear friends!"
At that moment, a man wearing armor similar to Laois's burst through the doorway. Strapped to his back was a weapon so bizarre it couldn't be identified. With a dramatic somersault, he landed inside the room.
"Let's get acquainted fast! I'm the Grandmaster of the Monster Hunter Assembly! You can call me Kairo Retsu or just Grandmaster—it's all good!"
"Senshi! How about that herbivorous wyvern egg from our homeland?" Kairo Retsu struck a series of exaggerated poses. "I wanted to bring you a Flying Wyvern egg too, but it's a bit hard to carry… I'll definitely let you try one next time!"
"Grandmaster, tone it down on the first meeting—you'll make us look like lunatics."
Following behind Kairo Retsu, Joseph Joestar and the others entered the room as well. This made Chilchuck visibly tense—he seemed worried that these newcomers might be the kind of dungeon raiders who prey on others.
"Ah…"
Naofumi Iwatani noticed the expression on Chilchuck's face—he knew it well. So he stepped forward and explained: "We're not the kind of people who live off the dungeon or pose a threat to you. But I know words don't mean much… Let's get to know each other properly over time."
"We're here to help you!" Tanjiro declared with conviction. "Falin was transformed into a dragon, right? We're here to help defeat the Mad Sorcerer!"
"WHAT!?"
Chilchuck panicked. "Laois, what the hell did you do last night!? Are you really planning to go fight the Mad Sorcerer!?"
"Yes." Laois's response was surprisingly resolute. "After learning so much, I've realized something… If we want to save Falin, defeating the Mad Sorcerer is absolutely necessary."
"And more than that… I've learned how we can return Falin to her original form!"
Laois grinned brightly. "If we consume the part of her that's become dragon, it'll drive out the dragon's soul from her body!"
Everyone froze—Marcille and the others nearly thought Laois had gone completely mad after just one night. But Senshi seemed to fall into contemplation instead.
"That's true. I can explain the details," Kairo Retsu stepped in to assist Laois.
Frankly, if Laois were to explain this on his own, it would take an eternity to win their trust. Better to let an outsider do it.
"In this dungeon, souls are bound to their bodies—even in death, they cannot leave, right?" Kairo Retsu began. "But Falin is now fused with a dragon. Unless we remove the dragon's soul, we can't properly revive her. And in this dungeon, there are only two ways to remove a soul: eat it… or carry it out of the dungeon, which would cause her soul to vanish as well."
He glanced around at the group. "So… as a show of goodwill, how about a bath?"
"The transformation mushroom spores can be washed off to undo the change," he explained. "Besides, defeating the Mad Sorcerer is the only real option you have left, right?"
"Oh! Right!"
Laois perked up. "I also learned something else!"
"The Western Elves' ship has arrived! Looks like they're planning to take official action against this dungeon!"
Poll: What should replace Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980 (TKT)?
Hey everyone,
I've decided to put Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980 (TKT) on hiatus for now. In the meantime, I thought it'd be fun to run a poll to see what you'd like me to work on next. Can't wait to see what you all pick!
Options:
A brand new fanfic (picked by me)
Continue a recommended fanfic (suggested by Readers and will be voted on Again)
Two chapters a day for Uchiha Kei: Game Dev in the Shinobi World
Two chapters a day for My Game Studio is Full of Valkyries?!
Two chapters a day for Monster Hunter Grand Assembly
📅 Voting will be open on Patreon for one week!
patreon.com/BestElysium