Ball of Nothing

Furious. That was the only word Zero could use to describe his friends when he returned.

"I'm sorry," Zero apologised but Truen was still angry. Bob held his breath and so did Jermine. Nobody said it aloud but Zero stank badly. What had he been doing in that dungeon?

Truen was angry at Zero's attempt to ditch them for an adventurer of his own. He wasn't happy when they got locked out of the dungeon and had to evacuate the camp area when it started to collapse. He was more furious at the audacity Zero had to block out communications. One side of him was proud that his friend conquered a dungeon all by himself. Zero was definitely mature enough and strong enough to handle dangers on his own. However, old habits die hard and the archer was worried sick when he didn't hear anything from Zero.

He was sorry, truly sorry. Truen had all the right to be angry but Zero just wanted to keep his friends safe. He didn't want to hurt the archer's pride by telling him the truth about the mana-siphoning dungeon after witnessing Bob become incredibly weak after dealing with some low-level scorpions. Truen was strong but unlike Zero, he was still vulnerable. Sure, nothing might happen to the archer if they entered the dungeon together but Zero thought it was easier this way. He would rather get nagged about this than risk his friend's safety. That sandfish shaman would have been tricky to handle even for Truen who was only a B rank adventurer.

Truen sighed. Zero was starting to zone out. Maybe he was being too harsh on the kid. With a slight smile, he placed his hand on Zero's head and patted him.

"Regardless, I must say that you've done a good job. Officially clearing a dungeon all on your own is quite the feat. You should be proud of yourself, Dungeon Conqueror Zero."

The praise came rather unexpectedly so Zero didn't register it until a few seconds later. Then, a rosy pink appeared on Zero's cheeks.

"I-I'm going to take a bath!" he announced and swiftly ran away to build his bath underground with earth and water magic.

Truen shook his head at how flustered Zero was. Then again, it wasn't too surprising. The doctor stank quite badly as if he had been wrestling in poop all day. The only time Truen remembered Zero willing to take a bath was when he had to look presentable. The boy had really grown up and it was now time that the archer resolved himself to stop treating Zero like a child.

Bob and Jermine worked their best to prepare dinner because they didn't have much to do. They also helped with dismantling some of the monster corpses Zero collected from the dungeon. The Eternal Dragon had to admit, with Zero's ability to simply bring everything into his void inventory and kill them there, the corpses were very well preserved. Unlike other adventurers who tried to do the least damage to preserve the value of monster carcasses, Zero's haul was simply perfection. If the monsters were in a good shape, they fetched the full price and even if they weren't the best of their batch, they still sold for higher than average prices in the market.

"How many beetles did Zero kill?" Jermine couldn't help but ask. These scarabs just kept pouring out from Zero's inventory and they never stopped coming. Mii was very productive even though Wii and Lily were slowly dying in the mindscape. The smell was so bad that both fairies had opted to use nose clips while they worked and breathed through their mouths.

Truen came to help them out and checked on the grilled sandfish. The monster must have been at least five times bigger than Zero because the doctor only gave them a portion of lizard fillet for the grill. Yet, it was enough for a feast. Just how many enemies did Zero fight in that dungeon? Truen might never know.

Dinner was more relaxed and Zero kept checking on the sandstorm above them. It was still going strong so they would still be trapped for a few more days. With enough excitement and adventure for a while, Zero decided to take things easy. He now had a new summon and there was the introduction of Penelope to the village.

"Truen, do you think I should have stored the poop that the dung lord collected? Now that I think about it, that thing might actually be more useful than the fertiliser that Cleo makes. Some of the plants might grow better with something made by the dung lord."

The archer wrinkled his nose. "I think there is no love lost there, Zero. I doubt anyone would blame you for not thinking that far ahead. Still, I cannot believe that the dungeon was guarded by three insect generals and a lizard overlord that we're eating right now. What was the dungeon for?"

Bob hummed. "The same reason why any other dungeons exist," he replied. "They're created as a replacement for magic towers. Magic towers generate mana from the planet but it is a slow process with a very complicated magic circle to guard constantly. Only a guild of magicians can afford the resources to create a mana tower. For those who don't have resources to burn, they create dungeons to harvest mana or energy from people or creatures that enter it."

"What about Sleepy Cave?" Zero asked.

Bob paused. "That thing is a monster and not a dungeon. Sleep Cave is its own master, it doesn't have any summoner or magician behind it. Which is why I was sent there to guard the entrance."

Zero nodded and Jermine was very quiet. Zero realised that and asked what was bothering the mole girl.

"Is it true that you've made a summoning contract with Penelope the Spider Queen?"

Proudly, Zero grinned. "I'm going to introduce her to the villagers. Penelope spins very good webs that we can sell and use as building materials or armour. She's a priceless addition. Would you like to meet her?"

Paling terribly, Jermine declined the offer quickly. "I'm sorry... the truth is, I'm actually not very good with spiders. I can eat all sorts of insects with worms being my favourite but spiders... spiders scare me. They once gave me a very bad fever after eating them and my mother said that they were poisonous."

Zero blinked then slowly patted the girl on the shoulder. "Don't worry," he smiled comfortingly. "You don't have to be wary of Penelope. If you met her in person, you wouldn't be afraid of eating spiders. If anything, I think Penelope is more likely to eat you than you eating her. Just be sure not to touch her children in the future or she might get mad, she's a very protective mother."

The doctor probably said that with good intentions but Truen and Bob exchanged a look. Someone had to teach Zero what not to tell a lady in future. Jermine stopped eating after that and nobody blamed her. That night, the poor girl whimpered in her sleep often enough. Her dreams were plagued with nightmares of getting eaten by a huge spider and Zero could only wonder if this was some kind of trauma that needed curing.