The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 112 - The Emperor

tln : the author skipping 1 number, there’s no cut out on the story. its just the author really skipped a number.

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Will quickly swallowed the vegetables in his mouth and began explaining to Eir:

“It’s because this dungeon is actually quite useful, especially now that it’s been designated as a trial for new adventurers. It needs to stick around for a while. Otherwise, every time there’s a new trial, they’d have to find a completely new dungeon, which would be too time-consuming and inefficient.”

“But just because it’s useful doesn’t mean we can’t keep progressing, right? We could still clear the lower floors!” Eir argued.

Will shook the fork in his hand.

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“The Green Wild Maze isn’t deep enough. If we clear too far down, we’ll end up finishing it entirely, and the dungeon will disappear.”

“…Disappear?!”

Eir’s fur practically stood on end.

It seemed this was the first time she’d heard the term “dungeon disappearance,” and her level of shock exceeded Will’s expectations.

“You mean the kind of disappearance where you can’t even enter anymore, where everything inside vanishes, not even the monsters are left?!”

“Hmm…”

Will paused to reflect.

For someone like him, who had studied at Entark Academy, this was basic knowledge. But for Eir, who had never received formal education—or for most people far removed from dungeons—this was an incredibly obscure concept.

No wonder there was usually a mandatory knowledge quiz for forming new adventurer teams, ensuring at least one member had basic common sense. Will had skipped this step by using his green card.

“Oh~ Eir, you didn’t know that?” Leah said, surprised but in a lighthearted tone. After all, today was a relaxed, happy day for everyone to enjoy their meal together.

“Will, that’s not good. Policies these days require proper education for one’s servants.”

“My bad, my bad,” Will admitted, scratching his head.

“Well then~ Leah-sensei, could I trouble you to explain it properly to little Eir?”

“Even though I already know this stuff, I wouldn’t mind listening again to reinforce my dungeon knowledge,” Treya added earnestly, almost ready to pull out a notebook at the table.

“As expected, leave it to me.”

Leah puffed out her chest—though it was the smallest among them—and stacked some lettuce leaves on her plate. She speared the stack with her fork, turning the individual leaves into a compact bundle.

“Since recorded history began, this world has seen the emergence of ‘dungeons.’ These dungeons typically have a single entrance on the surface, and once inside, they extend downward in layers. Each layer is as thin as these lettuce leaves, with clear boundaries, but there’s no physical connection between layers. Like these leaves, two layers might look similar but are never identical.”

Her explanation was detailed yet simple, using the lettuce as a visual aid to make it easy to understand—like a mini dungeon lecture for kindergarteners.

She was more of a teacher now than she ever was in class.

For Will, this was something he’d grown accustomed to from reading novels—this world’s dungeons were essentially game mechanics transplanted into a story.

However…

Hearing a “local” use everyday objects to explain it added a refreshing perspective.

“I see… So that’s why it feels like a ‘whoosh’ when you go in, and then another ‘whoosh’ as you go deeper,” Eir said, leaning closer to the table and staring intently at the lettuce in Leah’s hand. Her ears perked up, a sign she was genuinely focused—something Will had only seen when she was studying The 300 Questions of Blackening.

“But just as these stacked lettuce leaves stay together because of my fork, a dungeon’s ‘creation’ and ‘existence’ are tied to a single entity—or perhaps a person.”

Before Leah could reveal the answer, the ever-diligent Treya instinctively chimed in.

“The dungeon’s ‘Emperor.’ It could be a ‘Queen,’ a ‘King,’ or even an ‘Emperor-class Beast.’”

“Students who know the answer should wait a bit before speaking~” Leah pouted, fully embodying the role of a teacher.

This was indeed consistent with what Will knew. In the original story, this “Emperor” wasn’t just the entity responsible for the dungeon’s creation and maintenance; they also acted as the leader of all the other “inhabitants” within their dungeon.

Of course, while the world spoke of “Emperors” as being male, female, or even non-human…

In the original story, 80% of them were female dungeon queens!?

The author’s preferences were painfully obvious.

“Hmm… I still don’t get it. What exactly does this ‘Emperor’ do for the dungeon? And how does it relate to the dungeon disappearing?”

“First, the Emperor is usually located on the final floor, like how the fork’s handle extends far above the stack of lettuce. Their position is above all else, as the ultimate boss of the dungeon.”

“Second, though the reason is unclear…”

Leah lifted the fork, causing the tightly compressed lettuce leaves to loosen and spring apart. The stack of leaves fell apart completely.

She then casually speared a piece and popped it into her mouth.

“When the Emperor dies, the dungeon collapses. No matter how many floors it had, no matter what bosses it contained, it all vanishes from the world. It’s as if… the dungeon is devoured by the world itself.”

“Of course, clearing the final floor is what it means to truly conquer a dungeon. So… it’s an unavoidable step.”

“Hmm… I think I get it now! If we defeat the boss on the twentieth floor—which seems to be the final floor—then the Green Wild Maze will disappear! But… since we don’t want that to happen, we stopped at the tenth floor!”

“Exactly!”

“Your large skewers and steaks are here—”

As Leah’s mini lecture wrapped up, the restaurant’s main dishes finally arrived—though the delay was understandable given the crowd.

Will looked at the food but couldn’t help his thoughts from wandering.

Dungeons could disappear…

But teams weren’t supposed to disappear…

He couldn’t shake the nagging question: what had caused “Morning Star” to become a completely new team name? According to the branch manager, it was as if the original team had never existed, and “Morning Star” was now a fresh, unused name.

Had the story’s trajectory changed?

Or had someone tampered with the records?

And yet…

By coincidence, the name had fallen back into his hands—almost as if fate was nudging him to continue down this path.

If, over the past four years, he had truly altered the course of events, changing lives and deaths…

Then perhaps he could confidently interpret the disappearance of the “former Morning Star” as a positive sign.

But unfortunately, whether it was the death of his pet dog “Three-Seven,” the attacks he thought he’d avoided but still suffered, or the marriage contract he thought he’d canceled but only delayed…

Everything reminded him that fate wasn’t so easily changed.

He could only grimly wonder if the “Morning Star” now assigned to him was a bad omen.

With that thought, Will picked up his knife, ready to cut into the steak on his plate.

But…

Before he could, a piece of steak, speared with a fork and still carrying bits of lettuce, was placed in front of him.

“Hmm… Will, you’re definitely… troubled by something, aren’t you?”

He turned to see Leah’s bright, shining crimson eyes staring at him.