Chapter 3: The Dungeon and the Black Dragon
"You may call me Bastet." The voice of the black cat, who had already departed, still echoed in the room.
"Bastet... the Goddess of Cats...?" Shirou stroked his chin, lost in thought. "An Ancient God, huh... it seems a bit different from what I knew..."
Whether it was Hypnos, the "God of Sleep," or Bastet, the "Goddess of Cats," they belonged to the category of deities known as Ancient Gods or, alternatively, Elder Gods. Ancient Gods often stand in opposition to the Great Old Ones, and in the Cthulhu Mythos, they are occasionally depicted as having benevolent personas. However, in reality, the divide between Ancient Gods and Great Old Ones cannot be judged by human concepts of "good" and "evil." To be more precise, Ancient Gods are closer to "Order," while the Great Old Ones belong to "Chaos." These two forms of existence are destined to be incompatible, inevitably locked in a state of hostility.
Shirou recalled the goddess who had turned into a catgirl and left such an indelible impression on him. "Although it's a bit different from what I knew, it seems alright." Moreover, whether Ancient God or Great Old One, they are powerful deities, so it is no surprise that they can change their forms at will.
"I won't dwell on this. Let's first choose a world that is similar in status and convenient for me to conquer and control." As he muttered this, Shirou heard the system's unique female synthetic voice for the first time in a while.
[Selecting world...] [Selection complete—determined to be Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?!] [Crossing beginning—]
Because of the goddess's earlier interruption, Shirou had a fleeting thought about whether the system could turn into a catgirl, but before he could imagine too many scenarios, his body was enveloped in light and he crossed the boundary of worlds.
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Long, long ago, the distance between gods and men was as vast as that between the sky and the earth. Powerless humans prayed to the omnipotent gods—praying for health, harvests, victory, and everything else they could desire. At the beginning, the gods held freshness and anticipation for the children of the lower world, but in their endless, boundless lives, they soon grew weary.
And so, one god proposed: "Why must we stay in this dull Heaven, acting as high-and-mighty gods?"
The gods fell into deep contemplation, and after grand discussions, most of them reached a conclusion: to go down to the rich and colorful lower world. They would seal their divine power, leaving behind only immortal lives, and use bodies with physical strength comparable to ordinary humans to find amusement in that ever-changing, unknown mortal realm.
When the gods came to the mortal realm and sealed their divine powers, they experienced all the joys and sorrows of this colorful human world. Naturally, it was impossible for the gods to truly seal their divine power completely; they could easily break the seals to utilize their godly strength. However, through the collective deliberation of the gods, a rule of the upper realm was established: once any god who descended to the lower world used their divine power, regardless of the reason, they would be immediately sent back to the upper realm. This protected both the entertainment of the gods and the fragile beings of the lower world.
From a certain era onward, meteors symbolizing gods began to constantly rain down upon the earth. At first, humans were shocked by the arrival of the gods, but after living together for a long time, they gradually grew accustomed to the gods' existence and were no longer panicked or stunned by these eternally living beings.
To this day, the earth has become a place where gods, humans, and demi-humans live together. By receiving the special abilities that the gods uniquely retain and becoming their followers to obtain extraordinary powers, the stories of heroes, adventurers, and gods are being constantly written in the labyrinth city of "Orario" at the center of the world.
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Desolate ground, a space devoid of light.
Accompanying a flash of pure white light, Shirou emerged from the radiance and opened his eyes to see this new world. A deep red, multi-layered, infinitely expanding space unfolded before him.
"This is... the Dungeon?" He could see no sky, nor any sign of human existence, only empty winds howling. Therefore, this must be one of the deeper levels of the Dungeon.
"Oh well, since I'm here, I might as well see what the deeper parts of the Dungeon are actually like." Curious about this fresh world, Shirou wandered through this deep red space, heading toward the upper levels. The floor number was unknown, but to Shirou, the level didn't matter.
Leaving the deep red zone and ascending a few levels, Shirou noticed a clear change in the color of the walls and ceilings, shifting from deep red to deep black. This level was vast, and fresh green grass had appeared underfoot. Some plant similar to a dandelion was growing, emitting a pale blue light that illuminated everything around.
By Shirou's estimation, this level was several tens of kilometers wide. Inferring from the area of the 18th floor, this was likely a relatively deep level. Just as Shirou was speculating, he suddenly looked up in surprise.
"Hm? A solitary giant creature. Is it a Floor Boss?"
In the wide sky above, a giant black dragon spread its wings and circled, its crimson eyes staring fixedly at Shirou, who had trespassed here. Slightly shaking its massive dragon head, the black dragon's eyes, like magma, burned with fury. Within its gaping maw surged dragon breath, purple flames hotter than lava.
ROAR—!!!
Accompanying a dragon roar, the entire Dungeon shook violently, and countless rocks collapsed. The black dragon's massive body glowed with flame-like patterns on its scales, burning as if blood were flowing beneath them. From the dragon's giant maw, a purple torrent of light erupted instantly, the spewing energy looking as if it intended to destroy this entire floor.
"How noisy. Keep it down!" Shirou said, slightly annoyed.
At the same time, those pale golden eyes looked at the black dragon. The moment it was gazed upon, the dragon felt the terrifying power contained within. In the next second, this black dragon, which had been extremely arrogant, landed on the ground and groveled before Shirou as meekly as a kitten, its body still trembling with fear. In the original work, this black dragon was a powerful boss capable of crushing Level 9 adventurers, but before Shirou, it was simply beneath notice.
"..."
Looking at this black dragon, which was clearly bullying the weak and fearing the strong, lacking any spine, Shirou wore a speechless expression.
But he couldn't blame it. After all, the Shirou of today could shatter the foundation of this world's gods with pure power alone; even if all the gods in "Orario" "unsealed" their power and joined forces to oppose him, it wouldn't even be enough for him to warm up. He had to be a bit gentler in a world that didn't focus on power levels; if he destroyed it too thoroughly, even if he gained control of the world, it would be left in ruins and useless even as an "anchor."
"Well, I did disturb your sleep, so you can just stay here." He raised his hand to pat the black dragon's head, muttered that it "felt average," and walked away from that floor.
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