“Before you go, I had a few questions for you!” I said as the giant got down to enter the portal.

“Ah, that’s right,” The giantess said, stopping at the entrance. “To answer your question, yes, a group did come through. It was a tough fight, and I had even killed a few. I was on the verge of winning when a cloaked man hiding in the back emerged. He is likely this King you speak of. He was strong and regal, and managed to get me to my knees. He reminded me a bit of you. In the end, he said he couldn’t bear to destroy a woman with such a magnificent chest.”

“What kind of man do you take me for!”

She chuckled lightly. “The second man who made me fall to my knees. Although, this time, I’m doing it willingly!”

“Ah… yeah… about that… um… this dungeon is how many levels? Do you know?”

She nodded thoughtfully. “It is as you think, just thirty-five levels deep. It only grew deeper rather recently. I was on the twentieth floor until the growth a few years ago. Then I was brought to the thirtieth.”

“Ah… so that’s how it works? You started on the tenth and then moved up with each, becoming more powerful and smarter?

She grinned sadly, “If you wish to try to understand dungeons, you’re following a fool’s journey. They are unpredictable and picky. Every curse follows its own unique rules, and while they tend to act similarly, never expect a dungeon not to pull the rug out from under you as soon as you grow comfortable. They are quite good at that.”

“I see… you sound like you weren’t made from the dungeon…”

“I was made from the curse… and the curse has the thoughts and wills of those who were caught up in it. Some may be living; some may be dead. Now that I am no longer under the curse’s control, my mind is free to wonder. I was created based on the emotions of a certain woman, although her name is gone, and I no longer remember it. If you were hoping I could tell you how to solve this curses lore, I’m afraid I lack that knowledge. Although the lore wants to be completed, it’s like saying grass wants to grow. While it certainly pushes towards this act, it neither understands how or what its final objective is.”

“It’s more like a force of nature than a creature…” I said.

“Perhaps… although a force of nature usually wouldn’t react to the actions of an individual.” She pondered.

“Master, we should…” Lydia spoke up as I sat staring at the giant, perhaps wasting a bit too much mana keeping the door open so long.

It was Celeste’s mana, and she was sweating and breathing hard. I shouldn’t have opened the portal until she was ready!

“Ah!” The giantess snapped, a sound that actually created enough wind to cause my hair to move a bit. “I almost forgot to say something.”

“Well, hurry!” I said, coughing in embarrassment.

She also blushed, shooting a sympathetic smile Celeste’s way before turning serious. “Even if you fight your way down to the 34th floor, you’ll never make it to the final floor! The door to the boss room is closed. It has been closed for some time.”

“What?”

I was shocked for several reasons. First, that must mean the king was alive and in there. It also must mean that I had no clue how to rescue him.

“No matter how much you attack that door, you’ll never be able to open it with your current strength…” She paused for a second, as if she was hesitating on something, but then she decided with a firm expression. “Return to the safe room in the floor above. I still have enough control in this dungeon that I was able to grant you and your party access to the dungeon transportation system. In other words, simply use the DTS to reach the 34th floor safe room, then you will be able to find out what happened.”

With one last nod, she plunged into the portal and disappeared to beyond. Rather than looking toward the stairway going down, the group of us were looking at the stairway going up. We had reached the end of the line so quickly. We had only just started getting ready for another long haul, but it was here already. It wasn’t even past noon yet, so there was plenty of time.

“S-should we go?” Lydia asked nervously.

“I suppose… we should get this over with.” I decided hesitantly.