I was chosen as a Brave, and through the Criminal God I learned many things about this world—though a mountain of questions still remained.
But I had one small request, so I turned to the Criminal God and asked her.
"Right—do you happen to know any way for me to instantly reach any floor in the dungeon? Like jumping from Level 1 to Level 81 in one go?"
Climbing from Level 1 every time was tiring and time-consuming.
If such a magic existed, life would be much easier.
"What? Of course not—wait! Oh! I completely forgot—
When I was imprisoned here, Lady Fatelis gave me a two-person set of Dungeon Access Magic to hand to whoever reaches this place."
Criminal god originally spoke in a dismissive tone—then suddenly remembered.
Just how long had she been trapped here?
But two people?
There was only one Brave.
And once I got the Brave power, no one else could be chosen.
So who was the second person meant to be?
"Two people? But there's only one Brave."
"No idea. I wasn't allowed to speak. Lady Fatelis just talked at me."
So criminals couldn't speak to others?
Anyway, I should ask about restrictions.
Convenient magic always had rules—like enhancement magic. No matter how long, I never get used to it.
"What are the limits of this Dungeon Access Magic?"
"Hmm… you need to have reached the level once, and it only works in this dungeon."
That's basically no restriction at all.
We could breeze through every floor quickly.
And only usable in this dungeon?
No problem.
I spoke again.
"…Then can you delay leaving for a few days? I'll come back with Lina.
When we arrive here, give it to us."
Lina and I would definitely reach Level 100.
And we were clearly the two people she was supposed to meet.
But for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that every move I made had already been arranged. How annoying.
Well, whatever. I've already been designated as the brave—no way to swap with someone else now.
The criminal goddess went silent for a moment before agreeing to my request.
"…Fine, fine. I've waited this long anyway. What's a few more days?"
"Then when we come back here, please pretend you don't know me. Otherwise Lina will get suspicious."
"Got it. Acting, right? Then let me give you the brave's power first."
A sphere of light emerged from the statue's chest and quickly shot into my body.
But… I didn't feel anything. Did I really gain any power?
"All right, I'll send you out now."
"Wait—you haven't told me what the brave's power is!"
I hurriedly cut her off. She was seriously trying to toss me out without a single explanation. How careless could she be?
"Oh, I forgot. Your basic abilities have been enhanced, you can use light element magic, and your special ability is infinite storage. Satisfied? Then—"
"Hold on again. Since time outside is frozen, I'll just stay here for now and learn light magic."
I interrupted her again. Just how badly did she want to shove me out?
"…Do whatever you want."
I took out the ancient light element magic book and tried every magic recorded in it.
I really could use light-attribute magic now.
"Hey, what language have you been speaking this whole time? And why can you cast magic?"
The criminal god finally spoke up. She didn't ask anything while I was practicing—why bring it up now?
But explaining would mean revealing the truth about the first generation brave.
Still, if she's a god, she should know, right?
"You're a god. You must've lived a long time. Do you know anything about the first generation brave?"
"Nope. Not interested."
"Then let me tell you a story. I—"
"Mm-hm, very interesting story… NOT! I've never heard any god mention an ancient language. How can you read it?"
She's never heard of the ancient language? Then how did the Goddess of Fate know it?
Well, my previous life is supposed to be a secret. If I told her and she reported it to other gods after leaving, I might get erased.
"That's my secret."
"…Fine. Getting to hear this much at the end is good enough, I guess."
"'At the end'? You make it sound like you're about to die."
"You could say that. Did you think I'd return to Lady Timeos? Nope. I'll reincarnate somewhere in this world—no idea whether I'll be human or animal."
"You won't keep your memories?"
"Nope."
So that's the punishment for the criminal god.
Pretty miserable—reborn as an animal, life is short; reborn as a human, a bit longer; a dragon would last even longer.
Well, since she'll lose everything anyway, it's fine to tell her.
I spoke naturally.
"I see. Then there's no harm in telling you my secret. I was reincarnated from another world. The ancient language is something I saw every day. That's all."
"…What do you mean 'that's all'?! You have memories from your past life!? Why!? And what do you mean 'another world'?! That doesn't exist!"
Her voice paused, then suddenly turned hysterical. She even denied other worlds, so I immediately rebutted her.
"If gods exist, why can't other worlds? My previous world didn't have magic, and it was way more advanced than this one."
"Are you serious…?"
She sounded completely speechless.
I didn't try too hard to convince her.
"I told you it's a secret. If you don't believe it, just treat it like nonsense."
"It's not that I don't believe you. I just need time to process this."
So she needs time to accept it.
Lina wasn't even this shocked—her adaptability is outrageous.
I decided to change the topic.
"Then let's talk about something else. Do you know what the other dungeons' brave abilities are?"
There are eleven brave abilities.
I only knew two—ancient language and magic create, and the infinite storage I just got.
"No idea."
She replied instantly. She really knows nothing and forgets everything.
"There's one question I should've asked from the start—why was I teleported here? It never happened before."
It suddenly hit me—such a basic question.
"Because you became an adult."
Such a simple answer.
I turned sixteen yesterday, so I'm an adult now.
But mentally I'm thirty-three.
Is it based on body age?
"I see. I've asked everything I needed. You can send me out now."
Now that I had answers, learned the magic, and finished everything, it was time to return to Lina—my source of emotional healing.
"Okay, okay."
"Don't forget my request. I'll be back."
"I know, I know. Off you go."
The criminal god really wanted to kick me out.
Kind of sad.
But talking to her felt like venting—I actually felt refreshed.
Rainbow-colored light wrapped around me again.
This time I really returned outside.
I saw the familiar street… and Lina staring at me.
"Karen…"
Lina narrowed her eyes.
Don't tell me the criminal god lied and I was gone for a long time?
I should ask first.
"W-what's wrong?"
"You feel… different somehow?"
Lina put a hand under her chin, examining me, circling around my body.
I touched my face and looked at myself—nothing seemed off.
"Do I?"
"Hmm… maybe not? So weird."
Could she be sensing the brave's power?
What a sharp girl. Scared me.
But denying should be enough.
"Probably just your misperception—like how I felt seeing that girl yesterday."
"…Maybe. Let's go report to the guildmaster."
She didn't look convinced, but accepted it anyway.
But I didn't want to go to the guild yet.
The dungeon record might show I reached Level 100.
Then I'd be forced to confess everything.
Time outside was close to evening,
but I spent a long time on Level 100—my biological clock felt like nighttime.
A sudden yawn came, and I quickly covered my mouth.
Nice timing.
"Haah… I'm a bit tired. Let's do it tomorrow."
"Okay."
Lina nodded.
We returned to the inn to rest.