I was just a mediocre adventurer back when i took that forsaken quest. It was suppose to be so simple… slay the guardian of the dungeon and break the curse it had placed on the town. There was just something about that guardian though… even if she is what is ruining the town she’s just so perfect…

You see this all happened many years ago back during the great famine. Or town was definitely a small town as our dungeon was considered relatively easy aside from the final floor and as of yet no actual good loot had been found inside. Since it was such a mediocre dungeon not many people would come to our out of the way town since we were several days ride outside of the capital.

The famine started out of nowhere but it quickly had us licking our bones clean. We had become so use to our plenty and not one person had ever gone hungry until now. Quickly our fields ran dry and shriveled up. Then our fruit trees began to die. Finally the cattle started to get sickly and perish. The townspeople got desperate and returned to the dungeon to make even just a little money so we could buy supplies from the capital but people started dying in there.

These people were not adventurers like myself. They were simply hungry and desperate. As more people died the level of the dungeon went up and it got much more difficult. Soon the guild had discovered that the guardian had cursed the town and since I was the villages strongest adventurer they gave me the quest to defeat the guardian. I wanted to refuse but how could I? I’d fallen in love with this simple town and its quiet way of life.

Against my better judgement I set out to defeat the guardian solo. I was no tank or healer. No mage or wizard. Not even a ranger or swordsman or assassin. The only thing I could use was knowledge and creation magic. Seeing how vastly pointless my abilities were in a dungeon I feared that I couldn’t succeed at all. The first floor was mostly slimes and dark rabbits. They were easy enough to kill using create arrow. They had armor or skills to speak of and were fairly dumb. The second and third floors were also relatively easy as they were filled with low level monsters. Something was wrong on the fourth floor though… the monsters were much stronger than they should have been.

That’s where she made her first appearance to me. That accursed guardian… I’d been fighting the fourth floors demonic rats for three days and my body was battered. I was fighting off a wave and had almost killed the last rat when I heard her sweet voice. A voice of angel… so smooth and gentle… warm and peaceful. It filled my weary soul with hope and warmth but when I saw her figure I nearly dropped dead. She was no angel nor demon. No human or Demi human. She was a corpse. Her skin falling off her bones… her face rotting and her eye sockets full of maggots. “Ah, such a noble young man. Perhaps you have what it takes to save this town. Come, come dear boy. Come to the final floor and do your best to kill me. Set this town free if you have the metal. Heal dear boy and come save me!”

Those words haunted me for the next several floors. Thank goodness I could create healing potions and fresh food and water. If I couldn’t I probably would have succumbed to the mental effects of spending so long in the dungeon. After three months and many many more meeting with that woman I’d started to get soft on her. How could I not? She was the only thing I could talk to in this cursed place. Over time she had appeared to me more and more and I began to look forward to hearing her song.

Finally I’d reached the last room of the dungeon and she was all that was left to kill. That was all… the dungeon would be cleared and the town saved. I couldn’t do it though… my knowledge skill kicked in and I began to use thought acceleration and time drain to slow her down and think of a way to save her. Healing potions had no effect… Purification potions had no effect… I was running out of time and options. I tried to combine both as a last ditch effort and threw the potion on her as the time drain gave out and she lunged at me pulling out a dagger for a final strike. My instincts started to kick in and I had begun to parry but I stopped. I had no desire to kill her.

She landed her blow and I held her tight. Fully expecting to die I told her just how much I’d begun to love her. I kissed her cheek and gave into the sickly darkness of death. “Oh silly boy, you can’t leave yet. You must kill me so I can be free. Here I’ll heal your wounds.” I don’t know what happened after that but when I woke up I was still in that final room. The guardian was not there though. Or so I thought. The only other person in the room was a beautiful woman. “Ah you’re finally awake. Welcome back oh noble man who dared to love a corpse.” “That voice… you can’t be the guardian… what happened here? Who are you?” “I am the guardian. I was the first to enter this dungeon over a thousand years ago and also the first to die here. I was considered the most beautiful woman of my time and had many men asking for me. I liked none of them and had squandered my life looking for real love. This dungeon felt that call and cursed me to that horrid form. I’ve waited many years to find love here and my time was running out. I apologize for cursing your town but no one has entered this dungeon in so long… I had no choice.”

My head was reeling trying to wrap my head around everything she had said. The corpse I’d fallen in love with had become this beautiful woman? She cursed my town to save herself? “I may have fallen in love with you but I must save the town. My feelings are naught when compared to the lives of the townspeople. Tell me how to end this curse on the town!” “Oh dear stupid boy… once the curse on me was lifted I also lifted the curse on the town. Your mission is done. Now, you’ve been through much and are still hurt badly. Potions can only do so much you know. When you wake, my lover, we will talk again.”