With great powers, comes a great harem!

Shiinra Minoru was Yuki’s middle-high friend. The only person with whom Yuki was able to be himself. Before meeting Shio in the first year, Yuki had developed quite a good relationship with Minoru.

He was a quite reliable kind of friend who never laughed behind Yuki’s back and always believed in a person’s personality rather than their past or background.

On one of those days, when Yuki and Minoru were passing by a random dark alley, they saw a dungeon that was fluctuating wildly. And before they could have rushed to call for help, dungeon crawlers pulled them to the other side.

What transpired after that was still a hazy remembrance but one thing was etched in Yuki’s mind.

The gentle smile Minoru displayed lingered in Yuki’s memory, from when he had to reluctantly leave him behind due to the coercion of the hunters. Infected, Minoru awaited a healer’s arrival on site, holding on to hope that he would be treated and evacuated in time.

Yet, before the healer could reach Minoru, the Gate abruptly sealed shut, even though some Crawlers remained very much alive on its opposite side.

It was a very rare occurrence when a dungeon closed off when the monsters were still lurking around the area of summoning. However, if that rare occurrence caused someone so dearly, then it was Yuki.

He lost his only friend, that day.

And now, out of nowhere, someone came before Yuki, telling him that someone was behind Minoru’s death.

“Don’t screw with me!”

The gazes of the nearby visitors of the cafeteria turned their heads in the direction where Yuki sat with the woman.

Once Yuki agreed to listen to the redhead, he led her to the students’ cafe on the ground floor. However, from her viewpoint, it felt like an ill-suited location for such a discussion.

“You say someone closed the Dungeon just the moment I walked out of that place…why? And how?”

Yuki was just an inch close to calling this woman a lunatic to propose such an idea.

According to her, there was someone who disconnected the connection between the two worlds through the dungeon, leaving Minoru back in that domain, to die in isolation.

All those sleepless nights and the anxiety attacks Yuki has faced whenever Minoru’s face surfaced across his mind, began circulating around his consciousness once again. Yuki had put a seal on those memories to not let his decision be guided by his past.

“Hear me out before you react such brashly, alright?” The woman retained her composed voice despite having an essence of annoyance now blended in her gaze.

Yuki kept his emotions in check and remained silent. In his mind, he had resolved to give her the time it took to finish his coffee before making his exit.

Interpreting his silence as an invitation to proceed, the woman leaned in, her voice dropping to a hushed tempo, “Have you ever wondered, why and how these gates appear and who decides for how long the portal would retain its form before closing off the connection between two worlds?”

Yuki quirked his brows before asking, “Isn’t it because hunters clear off an area around the vicinity of the other world when a gate shuts off?”

This was a well-known fact among the hunters and those mature enough to grasp the intricacies of worldly matters.

A Dungeon merely serves as the link between the two realms until the monsters near the portal are defeated. This is why hunters prioritize eliminating these creatures over ensuring public safety.

However, the lady had a different opinion on the matter.

“If that really was true, then how come once in a while someone gets entrapped inside the dungeon and before they can escape, the portal shuts down? Sometimes even before the monsters get clear out, the dungeon disappears like it has sentience or sort. Not to talk about, the location of dungeon summoning always has been random.”

Unsure, Yuki replied in a doubtful tone, “Maybe because God has put their destiny in that way?”

“Oh, so you are saying your friend died because of mere destiny?”

Yuki’s eyes sharpened at that before he realized how pointless this conversation was. Allowing the cup to hit the table a little harshly, he relayed his reply before parting ways with the strange lady.

“I don’t know what’s your point telling me all this, but you surely aren’t good at your job. So let’s drop this topic now.”

Turning on his heel he never intended to look back at her. His life has stabilized just now after that incident last night, he didn’t have any intention to get involved with something messy once again.

The woman also didn’t call him back, fortunately, before Yuki left the cafeteria.

****

After walking out of the place, Yuki was still thinking about what the lady said.

If only she hadn’t brought up the name of his childhood friend, Yuki wouldn’t have bothered even going with her. But now, his mind was continuously contradicting his decision to leave so soon.

‘But she didn’t seem to have any evidence to back her words…. ‘ Or so he was thinking to convince himself.

“Hmm?” From the corner of his vision, he spotted someone which made Yuki turn his head in their direction.

There was a hooded figure near the biggest tree in the garden situated beside the main building. At a glance, Yuki felt something suspicious for a student to roam around at this hour when it was already past six.

‘Invisibility barrier. ‘ Chanting a barrier that would allow him to blend with the surroundings to a certain point, Yuki brought his feet to a halt and kept on looking at the person.

‘Is she chanting?’ By the long blue hair flowing down the hood, Yuki guessed the person to be a woman… However, his main focus was more concerned with the formation of a mana circle in front of her adjoined palms and the silver locket hung down her neck, shining brightly.

‘Is it some kind of occult activity?’His musing soon died down when he felt the ground shaking and the very fabric of space in front of the girl tearing apart.

A chill ran down Yuki’s spine when he noticed the formation of reddish-black smog not so far away from the girl, which soon erupted and took the form of a semi-circular gateway…

There was no doubt about it. The person just now summoned the Dungeon and this time there was no debate to argue about.

‘What the fuck… ‘

On that day, the school’s security team quickly dealt with the dungeon situation. But a nagging sense of doubt and suspicion began to grow in Yuki’s mind.

*****

A/N: – It’s a trap, runnnnn!!!

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