(Zhenya Pov)

Shit, Shit! “You guys find her yet?” Stupid! Why did you have to show her that ring.

“Zhenya! we have sightings of her in the dungeon.” Slightly winded, Fredrica came bursting into the room, already packed for the inevitable dive.

Already!? What is this monster speed? She just yoinked the ring and smashed through a window moments ago! And now I’m hearing she’s somehow in the dungeon?

“Come on now! We got a lead!” Before we can storm out of the inn, Diana suddenly stepped forward, shoving lunchboxes into our arms. “I don’t know what you did or even if I should thank you. But you get her home, yeah hear! Tell her I got her favorite warm on the grill.” Despite faces, she couldn’t keep her stress hidden.

The other patrons organized their own searches, but whether or not they got the news is anyone's guess. Nickolas, on the other hand, decided to tag along with us. “We have to save big si- s- Sushila!” He exclaimed, definitely not letting something slip. She looked after you back then, nothing to get flushed about.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

At the base of the world tree, we pushed past waves of fleeing people until popping into the dungeon proper. No turning back, giving up our last chance at respite, we plunged straight into the bed of chaos.

The dungeon walls writhed with unrestrained fury. Adding to the validity of Nirve’s theories. Let's hold faith that this and Su’s entrance are a completly coincidental.

Plant monsters of all types descended upon us from the very get-go, trap-like, beast-like, sprite-like. This range of variety far outmatched any dungeon. All wrapped in a veil of madness to boot. Coupled with these twisted paths, it’s just an absolute nightmare.

This madness reminds me of the wolves’ frenzied state. Oh shit, is Su like a living red hood?! I still need to pick that up from the funny old man.

We would’ve been overrun in the first stretch if we didn't have support. Not by the other groups. Goddess knows if they jumped into this mess. No, it was the dungeon monsters. Fending off their brethren as the dungeon untwisted itself, giving us unabated passage.

“Some kind of split personality?” Taking steps on the road ahead, wary of traps. Hopefully, this leads us to Sushila.

(Curator Pov)

What are they doing here!? Wait. No. That’s good. They can get that zombie girl outta here.

Maybe then G might calm down.

Madness pervaded every nook and cranny. And although Rose managed a steady head through it all, she was no exception. Torn between keeping her own mind safe from her beloved, wresting back control, and protecting her people, she had her hands full.

And that’s where I come in. Rose entrusted me with removing that girl, dead or otherwise. Venom bubbling from her tone. I’m sensing a history here but now's not the time.

With Zhenya, Fredrica, and Wolf-boy’s arrival, I decided to guide them to her. Why? Some might ask. It’ll make for a damn good story, I can feel it! Eh? Why is Rose giving me that look?

Work, yes. Using my limited stipend of power and the paltry forces Rose managed to regain control of, I provided the trio semi-bated passage to the next floor. All while following them in the body of a fluffy spore puff. A passive creature with little to zero offense but sports a wide variety of ailment-inducing skills and the ability to fly on the wind.

Swaying~ Swaying~ This guy wasn’t all too different from my immaterial self. Baby steps, don’t want to go into shock from possessing a solid body.

But enough of the easy life! I came here to grow as a dungeon core, and now life throws me the exam I’ll damn well ace it. Monster manipulation, dungeon shifting, in-body battling, DP skills, I’ll master them all!

The group lingered ever so briefly outside the first floor’s boss room, only minutely haggard thanks to my meddling. “Everyone set?” Zhenya called, stoking their flames before the storm.

Cautious strides ushered them into the room, trampled lilies crunching underfoot, spider lilies to be precise. There was no large budding boss nor spectacle to be enjoyed, simply an ambient miasma painted over a water-seeped land...

Red mouth-tipped tentacles slithered across the field towards the unsuspecting group. Oh no.

Knowing those two, they’ll survive the initial jump. But it is what comes after that worries me.

Would they be able to beat this thing fast enough without taking substantial damage?

My forces can’t fend off G's madness-enhanced creatures forever. They'll be overrun in no time, we're against the clock here! I need to afford Zhenya’s group the advantage. But how...?

Haah. So much for baby steps.

Invading the boss’s body, a tide of DP crashes against my own, denying me further control. On the outside, its many mouths screech in pain, alerting the group.

I could sparsely spare a glance, but it looks like they got the memo.

Freezing a limb here, misaiming a skill there. Wrangling control whenever possible, I made damn sure the fight progressed without a hitch. They were piling up the severed mouth-tipped umbels five at a time, but still no signs of the main body.

Well, I’ve done my part. Let’s end this on a high note. Sharper and sharper, I refine my DP while retreating from its body. Then, boom! Plunging deep into its core, the resulting clash instantly ejects me from its body.

Aftershocks of our collision tear the earth asunder. As the boss’s main body flopped to the surface, vomiting out a painful roar. Retracting what umbels it had left back into its main body, the blooming maw made its final stand.

I think they can take it from here. We’re still on good pace for the reunion. Speaking of which, how is that little zombie girl doing.

...She is tearing the place apart. And she’s already on the third floor!? Now I just feel silly assigning her guards. They’re all sitting bored out of their minds with nothing to do.

Might be hamming up the theatrics here. True, she turns every enemy in her path into a salad, but it’s not without reprisal. For all that proficiency, she was still unpolished, if I had to put it in other words. She’s like a master-crafted blade smothered in rust. So my guards weren’t out of the job quite yet.

As for the third-floor thing, she teleported there. This was G’s version of a checkpoint, a way to quickly resume progress on lower floors without needing to go through all the faff.

Is she looking for something? Her movements are definitely abnormal, checking every nook and cranny.

In a dungeon this big there’s no doubt of a secret room. But Maybe...

Like before, trying to spread control over that boss, I spread my influence through the dungeon in a much more benign way this time. Close my ‘sight’ and inhabit it as I do the DP eye.

Rather than ‘seeing’ everything, I felt everything my DP web touches. So long the object in question had mana, which is to say, I’m ‘feeling’ this entire floor in HD.

Yet, despite all this. I couldn't find a single hidden room on this floor or anything that would cause such need to find. But then again, dungeons can shift on a dime. It could be what she's looking for doesn't exist anymore.

Whatever the case was, I’m starting to piece things together. That pedestal G rests on, it was strange despite being oblong his core rested flatly. ‘It had to be an indent he slotted into.’ I thought, but the whole thing looked off, to clean where core met stone.

He was scarred, a portion of himself cut cleanly off. Which probably impacted his growth. Coupled with his extreme reaction at this girl's presence, all too reminiscent of a certain voice in my head. And things start to get clearer.

If just almost being attacked gave birth to my restless Paranoia Voice. I can only imagine what came out of G when the deed was done. Actually, I’m seeing it right now. This overflow of madness and animalistic disregard for life.

If things keep going as they are, he might invite the wrath of man. Rose and I have been working to prevent that. Thanks to not being the target of G’s rampage, no one has died yet, but it’s only a matter of time until someone gets unlucky.

Even then, this is all damage control. Word has already reached topside spurring them into an eerily practiced action. Even now, a crowd of heavily armed adventurers and guards were forming outside.

I have doubts that any army can take G out, but still. From what I know of the man, he’s not the type to seek needless deaths.

With that in mind, just what is this girl’s goal coming back here? I would hazard to finish G off, but her face denied that notion, being one of longing and loss. Almost as if in repentance.

Mehehehe. Ain’t this an interesting mystery.