Leah, Reincarnated As a Dungeon Core!

Sometimes there was a necessary evil ⁠— well not quite. Sometimes we simply had to do things. And these were the things that I needed to do. Well… it wasn’t quite the forceful thing. It was my choice to go in here and get myself into this mess after all… 

 

Sigh… So much for a plan… 

 

“Go in and kill everyone, heh…” I found it kind of funny. I mean, I was so serious about it but now I feel like it’s a kind of joke. Things have changed since I entered the mansion.

 

It’s kind of different now, now that I had that lengthy interaction… It kinda ruined the mood. Huh… Weird. I wasn’t even supposed to feel “mood” or to be in the mood for things. I just needed to do them. 

 

And now… I feel it… Ha...  So much for being a monster, kind of funny now thinking about it. Well, it didn’t matter. I just needed to do it, motivated or not, being in the mood or not. It just needed to happen, and that was all there was to it. Nothing more, nothing else. 

 

Huff… I guess it didn’t matter if I felt like it or not. It just needed to happen. 

 

After my little crisis, I readied myself once again and took a hold of my knives. How would I go about it? People didn’t strike me as strong or unique⁠— strong people normally look different… I think. I couldn’t underestimate them, but there are so many people… Would two daggers be enough? 

 

Probably not… But if they are dead then… Why not just pick up their weapons instead? I am sure I could do that, at least… If not a few corrections will help… I am still fundamentally a monster, correcting things… is a nature for me. 

 

Feeling more confident I exhaled ⁠— I was rambling and taking too much time. It was a waste of time. 

 

* * * 

 

I rambled for a few more minutes before finally having enough and simply doing it. 

 

Although the plan I had come up with made me realize it certainly wasn’t the best. 

 

“Hey girly, how about talking some more?” He placed his hand over my shoulder. 

 

It certainly was a mistake. Sitting at a table and chatting to people ⁠— trying to make to analyze who is the strongest… But if everyone seems to be in the same range of strength, no matter how I check then it was a waste of time… 

 

“Not gonna talk some more?” I didn’t need to keep talking with this person. It didn’t matter where I started killing if everyone was going to get killed anyways! 

 

I took a quick breath, my hand reached close to my thigh, although he probably mistook it. 

 

“Oh, getting ready now?” He sounded oddly excited. 

“Ah yes…” He seemed to be even more excited by my friendly reply. 

“Well, then let us get started!” 

 

Even though we were in the middle of a room; that was crowded with people. No one really was looking at us; I had attracted some attention before but it quickly faded as soon as I sat down at a table. So now I was there; a thief’s arms creeping to my neck and shoulders, with a rather ravishing gaze. Too bad that wasn’t going to last. 

 

“Right…” I grabbed the handle of one of my daggers. “Let us get started!” 

“You are really⁠— Kugh…” My dagger got wedged on his throat. The warmness of blood slowly reached my hand as the crimson liquid started to pour out. 

 

It was almost exhilarating. The feeling of… the blade penetrating the skin? Was it really exhilarating? It felt⁠— that didn’t matter. I just had to get this done with. 

 

I tried pulling the dagger, but almost as if it was being engorged by the skin it simply wouldn’t move. Fuck… just what i needed. I could feel a cold sweat on my back as the party continued. No one had noticed what I had done, but how much longer till they noticed? 

 

I desperately tried to unwedge the dagger from the cold corpse. I had to move onto other things, I couldn’t afford to lose time on this! The veins on my hand bulged, I was trying so hard and yet it wouldn’t move. Why wouldn’t it mo⁠— 

 

Ding

[You go unpunished by the death of⁠— 

 

I don’t care! This was the path I chose and I had to continue it, I couldn’t spend my time grieving about killing people ⁠— at least not anymore. It was a necessary evil. Every death felt impactful, but now it was as simple as swinging my arm to take a life. It wasn’t impactful. If it was about efficiency I might be almost unrivaled, but if it’s like this then I cannot continue. 

 

Although it surprised me in a sense, no one had said anything, nor interrupted, let alone noticed. What was happening? I let go of the dagger for a single second to take a look at my surroundings. Everyone continued chatting; slurring their words, some people burping, others drinking and others simply on the floor. 

 

I had to hurry before anyone noticed. I placed my foot on the corpse’s chest and started to pul and push with my foot. It still wouldn’t move. If I took too long I was going to lose⁠— 

 

“Hey, hey, do you have any new targets Boss?” 

 

The words instantly made my ears twitch, even though they were just as slurred as anyone else’s. It gave me a bad feeling. The conversation continued. 

 

“Targets, hmmmmmmm… Ha, you know how the slave-trading business goes~” He started laughing. 

“No, no. Not for that Boss. I mean like, for your other businesss, y’know?.” 

“Ah, you mean the slave stealing part? Ah, oops I blurted it out Haha~ It seems everyone is too far gone to even say anything thoooughhh.” He wasn’t any better.. “Ha, anyway. There is this real cutie out there.” Cutie? “She works day and night, but you know what’s the best part? That stare⁠— full of hatred. Hnghh, I can’t get enough! That beastkin I want her, too bad she works under that Trade House guy…” Rin? 

 

Was it Rin? No, it definitely was about Rin… Was it fate? The thing that took me here and gave me a choice. A possibility to save her from a future event… I didn’t love her nor felt anything for her, but I still had the desire to save her ⁠— this was saving her, right? Killing that person was saving her… 

 

No, that wasn’t it either. It’s nothing like that; killing is just something I am using as a means to an end. But I was saving someone in the process. Didn’t that make me some kind of hero? Regardless of what I was, or what I became ⁠— I had to hurry. 

 

The world moves even if I don’t do anything, things will continue happening. Then… isn’t it just better to take fate into my own hands? I dropped the thought of removing the dagger. I didn’t need it anymore, I still had another one. If that one got stuck I was going to scavenge around. If I didn’t have anything I was going to use my fangs, my teeth, my bone. Every inch of my being. 

 

Then there was no point in even thinking about it ⁠— the world was going to keep running no matter what I did. Or what I thought; it was fine to change things. It was fine to fight, it was fine to kill… If I didn’t kill them now, they would die at the hands of someone else… Then, it doesn’t really matter in the end, does it? 

 

Whether it was at my own mercy, whether it was at the mercy of the world. In the end, it’s the same result. I am just a means to an end; then ⁠— It’s fine to kill. All it took was a decision; whether I did it or not, in the end, it didn’t matter. 

 

So I just had to do it myself. 

 

Worried or not. Forgiveness or not. Dying or not. I was going to get this over with. That’s what I decided, and that was the path I chose. The decision I made. Whether it was pointless or not, that didn’t matter! 

 

I looked up and started walking to the people that were talking. A plan? Who the fuck needed one. The only plan was to kill everyone here, that was all I needed. I was going to be the hero in my own story, that was the end of it. Whatever it took to achieve it, it didn’t matter. 

 

“Ooh, looks like someone is conscious, you overheard us little guest of honor?” The person closest to me said mockingly; he was wearing a tunic and looked unarmed. The person behind him and the drunkest of them was a fat man, wearing glasses and a cigar lit from his mouth, his elongated trench-coat made him look fishy.  

 

I didn’t receive acknowledgement from no one in the group of five people that I was standing in front of. Just a few mocking smiles and the boss wasn’t even looking at me, he was too busy drinking some more, and dusting his coat. They all carried different weapons. 

 

It didn’t matter if they cared about my presence or not, they were going to die anyway. And that result was the correct one. I perched the hand on the handle of the dagger

 

“Ooh, don’t play with that! It’s dangerous!” He mockingly commented. “Come, now give me tha⁠— Ghah…” He grasped his neck in shock. The fine-steel dagger already piercing the center of the neck and snapped the vertebrae behind. A clean throw. 

 

All it took was a smooth motion of my arm, and it went flying like a string of light. Nice technique Mister Fighter 2, glad I got to witness it. 

 

His body coldly hit the ground, all eyes were on me now. One down. Every single person looked just as shocked. Things were about to get fun. 

 

“Wha⁠— how dare you! We didn’t do anything to you!” One of them exclaimed. 

 

“Do anything? You are here⁠ — that’s enough of a reason.” I smiled as I walked over to my victim. Digging the dagger off from his neck and grabbing the hammer he carried. It wasn’t a mace for some reason, just a hammer. Was he a worker or something? 

 

“Enough of a reason?! JUST BECAUSE WE ARE HERE?!” He yelled in shock. I simply smiled and rushed to him. Holding my new-found weapon on one hand I swung it down with all my force. 

 

Crack~ 

 

A horrible noise resonated inside the hall. I felt some resistance, but it went as soon as I felt it. I looked over in confusion. 

 

“Ugh…” The hammer had pierced his head, and gone into his brain. All of the grey-matter was now some bloody mush and the hammer was encrusted in it. I couldn’t even make myself pull it out, just thinking how it would slowly come out like some mush… Gross… 

 

Well whether it was gross or not. Even if it shouldn’t have felt gross. Second one down, three to go. 

 

After I was done inspecting the mess I had created, I moved the dagger to my dominant hand. And turned to look to the remaining three. Before I could do anything the boss looked at me in the eyes. 

 

“What is it that you want of us?” 

“Your life.” He bit his lip hearing my cold reply.

“Then you will regret it! The both of you!” He signaled to the remaining two thugs. “Attack her! Show her what you are made of!” 

 

One of them drew their sword, the other one held his hammer. The both of them sprinted towards me with their weapons up in the air ready to smack me down with a swing of their arms. 

 

Looks like it was finally beginning. A battle to death! 

 

I remained in position, tightly gripping my dagger. Throwing it would lose me the battle, there was no choice but to cut both of them down. I patiently readied myself. The sword swung down, and I side-stepped before throwing myself into his neck with my dagger first. 

 

Stab. It cleanly went through, almost immediately I saw a hammer-head closing into my eyes. I was going to die. In a desperate attempt, I rolled. 

 

The hammer hit his ally, breaking the rib-cage of his fallen comrade. Somehow I had made it. No, it wasn’t somehow. It was dark⁠— it was my territory. I had superior agility, and that; saved me. 

 

As he tried to un-wedge the hammer, I stabbed his feet. He cried in pain as he lost balance before I stabbed his neck. Two down. 

 

That was close… I had to be more careful. Although only the boss is remaining. My mouth split into a smile. Just him, and I was now the hero. Wasn’t that wonderful?

 

“You monster!” He shouted in horror. Right. I was a monster. 

“You’re next!” As I held my dagger with a smile, he stuck his hand inside his coat. 

 

In a split second his hand was pointed at me. What was that? A metallic cylinder, with a small handle. A black hole that was pointed at me. 

 

“Say goodbye.” 

 

> A fire-arm, a type of weapon that is powered by gunpowder to launch a lethal projectile with explosive force. The replacement of the bow and arrow, as well as the replacement of the crossbow. 

 

In a cold sweat, I threw myself to the ground, as I rolled. 

 

Bang! The weapon went off. Smoke coming out from the nuzzle, and the wooden floor next to me had a huge hole. I almost died. 

 

“Shit…” His single shot was gone. 

 

I silently threw my dagger at him, it pierced his skull. It wasn’t even a contest, it just landed and he died… But I felt increasingly uneasy. Why was a firearm here out of all places? No not even that…

 

How do I even know what is a firearm… It’s not in the database… Or rather, in my knowledge. Crossbows, automatic crossbows. Trebuchets… I could think of all the weapons, but yet nothing that used this “gunpowder”... Gunpowder, a volatile chemical mixture… 

 

“How do I even know what gunpowder even is…” I was sweating and my breathing was rough. I pressed one hand against the side of my head, it suddenly hurt… Did I not drink enough potions? No, it isn’t that. 

 

I am just overthinking… Come to think of it, she did mention she was from another world… Ha… Is this some type of shared knowledge? 

 

“Was it intentional Leah? Did you do it to save yourself and me, or is it a sign of forgiveness?” Unfortunately, no matter how much I waited, I wasn’t going to get a reply. That’s just how it was. 

 

“Haha.” A dry laugh escaped my lips. “It doesn’t matter, whether it was intentional or not. Carry on with the mission… Worry about details later.” 

 

I looked behind me. Even though I was doing blatant killing, a lot of people were just looking at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes.

 

“Perfect.” I broke into a smile. This was going to be a lot easier. Everyone is gone from drinking. Then I just had to kill them, no struggle from the opposing party. Wasn’t it wonderful? 

 

I started laughing. Let the feast begin.