The Petite Dungeon Explorer 33 The Goddess' Reques

"Go ahead," she says simply.

Reaching both of my hands out, they fall into my hands.

One of the boxes, that no bigger than a child's fist, that's been delicately wrapped in a mirror-like substance and a skull with a black bow of fog coming out of it, rest atop the box. The other is a box that's as long as my arm and covered in inky black starlight, just like the dress that she's wearing. A simple sparkling silver bow rest atop it.

I simply hold them in my hands, not making any move to open them.

"What a sweet and patient granddaughter, I have! You can open those later," she tells me, and I place them into my storage bank.

"Since you've accepted my presents, then I have something else to offer you as well if you'll listen to one of my requests," she says with a dazzling smile on her face.

Her silverish purple hair began to float up around her head.

"You don't want anything in return for the two that you've just given to me?" I ask her.

She shakes her head. "Those two are things that I planned on giving to you," she says with a small wink. "The other is something that I wouldn't freely give. Will you accept one of my requests?" She asks me with a smiling face.

Looking at her smile, I didn't feel any sort of malice or ill will. Nothing that made me question her intent. It was a genuine smile, on that felt warm and vulnerable.

Not that this woman was by any means vulnerable. She was a full-fledged G.o.ddess.

Biting my lip, I raise a hand.

"I'll accept this one request, as long as it doesn't involve hurting anyone dear to me," raising up a finger," that my one condition, if I accept your request," I tell her.

Her smile darken, but her face doesn't change.

"It doesn't involve them at all. With that it means that you've accepted my request, as promised I'll give you the other gift," she says.

Without any warning, she jams her hand into her chest. Her fingers sinking into her body without any resistance. The smile on her face doesn't wane at all, as she digs around in her chest for a second.

After what felt like an eternity of watching her fish in her chest. She pulls her hand out, and within her fingers, I see a completely clear egg with a pitch-black center appear.

With a flick of her wrist, she sends it flying towards me, and I reach out and catch it with ease. It's warm and soft, the black within the egg look sinister.

"What type of egg is this?" I ask her, tilting it in my hand.

"Now, the request. I want you to find something for me, it's something that I've lost," she says cryptically. Not even bothering to answer my question about the egg.

Sighing, I hold the egg tightly in my hand. It's smooth to the touch and felt warm like a little fire.

"What did you lose, exactly?" I ask her.

"My memories, I want you to find my memories, that have been stolen from me. I believe that they're somewhere within the world dungeon," she tells me with a grave expression on her face.

I felt my mouth twitch, she was joking right?!

If something was powerful enough to steal her memories, then why in the world did she think that I would be able to get them back for her. It felt like I'd accepted a suicide mission.

"If you know where they are then, why don't you go and get them yourself?!" I ask her.

A pitiful smile appears on her face.

"I'll tell you a secret, G.o.d's and G.o.ddess' are unable to enter the world dungeon," she tells me.

"As such, I can only ask you to find them for me," her voice softens as her eyes bore into my body.

I open my mouth to say something else, but she raises a finger to her lips.

"We've spoken enough about these topics; I've got other matters to attend to now. Enjoy my gifts and remember my request. I'll send you back now," she leaves no room for negotiation.

I try to speak, but the world and her start to contort, and then the pavilion completely vanishes. I find that I'm no longer in that barren wasteland either, instead, I'm sitting in a room that completely covered in smoke.

Instead, I was sitting in front of a statue of a three-eyed woman, that looks a lot like Muheia. Twisting my neck around, I see that I'm back in the temple. That means that this must be the statue of the G.o.ddess of Death.

"Was it all just a hallucination from the smoke?" I mutter to myself.

However, looking down at my clenched hand. I open it and find that the egg that she'd given me was still there.

That meant that everything we talked about happened! I'd even gone as far as to accept a request from her, in exchange for an egg that I knew nothing about.

I want to slam my head into the ground, this was so frustrating! Why in the world had I done that?

Laying back on the ground that's cool to the touch, I twist the little egg between my fingers.

"Appraisal," I say softly.

「Appraisal」

「This item is a unique item created by the G.o.ddess of Death. Feed it the spirits of the dead and hatch a mythic beast. Feed it with your own will and thoughts to shape a creature that you want! A total of twenty of these eggs have been gifted to the Vampires under Muheia! They're only obtainable by accepting a grand quest for the G.o.ddess. 」

「The item's name is 'The Egg of Mythic'」

「More information about 'The Egg of Mythic' will be displayed as you feed and grow your monster, please be aware that it's important to nurture your creature!」

"Well, at least it let me appraise it!" I say rubbing my finger along the egg. It wasn't any larger than the palm of a child.

It seems that I was the twenty-first soul to receive this egg, it looks like this was a pretty good item. At least she wasn't a stingy G.o.ddess and gave me a good item, instead of a trash one.

However, I now owed that G.o.ddess a request, it wasn't even a simple quest either, it was vague, and/or would probably put me in a lot of danger.

I want to cry, willing the egg into my storage bank. I push myself off the ground and take another look at the statue.

It was a spitting image of the woman that I had just seen. Except this statue was made out a thick fog, that was somehow condensed into a huge image of her. Around her, I saw the little spirits, that look like cats.

"You're also a real piece of work aren't you!" I growl, turning away from her.

When I remember the words of the woman that I'd seen before Muheia had appeared.

She said, 'be warry of all G.o.d's if you wish to live.' Just what or who was that person, was she perhaps another G.o.ddess?

But I'd never read anything about a G.o.ddess that looked anything like her…

If I can't recall anything then I'd have to search for a book or anything about a horned G.o.ddess.

Not dwelling on the topic any longer. I wander out of Muheia's room, and another startling thing happens. Instead of entering the hallway that was full of the door that showed the statue of the G.o.d's and G.o.ddess.

I was out on the steps of the temple. It was still busy outside, and I turn back and look at the entrance of the temple. A cold sweat running down my back.

Just what the h.e.l.l was that?!

How did I manage to get from there to out here?

Rubbing a hand over my eyes, I decide that I should just leave. I had another appointment to be at anyways.

Heading down the stairs, I throw one last glance at the temple, before I scurry off towards the restaurant district of the town.