Published: January 22, 2026
“Ouch, ouch, ouch!”
The day after our fierce battle with the black dragon, I woke up in my inn bed and, unusually, decided to go back to sleep.
However, just as I tried to turn over, a sharp pain shot through my entire body, waking me up completely.
This intense pain was a result of yesterday’s fight.
Yes, I’m currently suffering from full-body muscle soreness.
I activated [Pain Relief] to ease the pain.
“This is the worst wake-up ever…”
My head still wasn’t working properly due to yesterday’s overuse of magic.
I took a few raisins out and tossed them into my mouth.
When my mind isn’t sharp, I make a habit of eating raisins.
Or rather, whenever I eat something sweet, I feel like my brain gets activated.
Well, maybe it’s just because I like sweets, and it could be a misunderstanding.
Anyway.
Since I collapsed into a deep sleep as soon as I returned to the inn yesterday, I don’t know what happened after that.
Even though it was a corpse, the floor boss of the 92nd floor suddenly appeared on the surface.
There was bound to be quite a commotion.
It would have been better if the corpse hadn’t just stayed there at that timing...
Not sure if that was lucky or unlucky.
Right before we were suddenly transported to the surface, we were enveloped by a faint light.
It was the first time I’d seen such a phenomenon, but given the circumstances, the guild must have used forced recall.
Come to think of it, I heard the hero party had explored the 92nd floor yesterday.
The hero party appeared right after we moved to the surface.
There’s a very high possibility that the hero party was involved in yesterday’s incident.
“For now, let’s head to the guild.”
The explorer’s guild is the fastest place to gather dungeon information.
Since they’ll want to hear from me as the person involved, I’ll ask about the cause of this irregularity and what happened after I left.
◇
When I arrived at the guild, the eyes of those inside turned toward me.
The information must already be spreading among explorers — that was fast.
“Orun-kun, welcome. I thought you’d be here soon, so I’ve been waiting.”
I heard a familiar voice.
Turning toward it, I saw Ms. Eleonora.
She’s a guild staff member who has helped me since I first became an explorer.
Since she’s also in charge of the hero party, I saw her almost daily while I was with them.
“Ms. Eleonora, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, it has. Hehe, it’s strange — it hasn’t even been a week since we last met, but it feels nostalgic.”
“Haha, that’s true. So, you were waiting for me about yesterday’s matter, right?”
“Yes, I was, but the timing is so perfect, it surprised me.”
“Perfect timing?”
“Hehe, for now, come with me. Let’s talk over there.”
Ms. Eleonora led me to a conference room where the guild master, several guild executives, and the hero party were gathered.
Among them, Oliver, Derrick, and Aneli were giving me sour expressions.
Next to Aneli was a woman I hadn’t seen before.
She was probably my successor, Philly Carpenter.
Joining the party only to get involved in something like this so soon — tough luck.
“Thanks for coming, Orun. Sorry for the sudden request, but can we hear your account of yesterday’s events?”
The guild master spoke kindly.
He always wore a smile.
He had black hair streaked with gray and looked gentle.
An elusive person, somehow.
“That’s fine, but please start by giving me an overview of this incident. I only fought the suddenly appearing black dragon. I wasn’t involved in the aftermath, so the only information I can share is about the battle itself.”
“Understood. Luna, sorry, could you please explain the situation again?”
Luna agreed and began explaining.
While exploring the 92nd floor, a black dragon appeared suddenly in a non-boss area.
During the battle, realizing we couldn’t win, we used the ‘Whimsical Door.’
When trying to enter the warped space, the black dragon interfered and ended up entering it instead.
After that, we immediately contacted the guild and requested forced recall.