【Kid has cleared the dungeon.】

  【Kid has become the Boss of the Lost.】

  【Kid has gained the Skill: Beginner I.】

  "Who's that?"

  "Wait, was this a dungeon that could be cleared?"

  "Son of a gun, I knew it. That girl was a dungeon native."

  "What girl?"

  "See, a few years ago..."

  The rookies, the would-bes without any Skills of their own, chattered excitedly.

  Thanks to new management, there was now a proper link through the portal to the Terran internet, so word of the new dungeon boss spread.

  To the greater population, it was basically just a rumor. Even though a bunch of people said so at once, there was no proof unless the guild operating the dungeon confirmed it.

  They had no intentions of doing so before confirming things, but... they ultimately basically did it anyway by kicking everyone out and closing off the dungeon while investigating things.

  Of course, people weren't just pushed out.

  The current guild wasn't some low bid contractors taking care of things while another bigger guild ran things on paper, not like the situation a few years ago.

  The current guild was one of the top five in the country.

  The Azure Dragons.

  They were a bit more classy and professional than that, but that is ultimately what happened.

  Its place was the most volatile of the top five, but that's because they were hardcore into quality over quantity, meaning there were only a dozen or so senior officers, and maybe two or three dozen juniors.

  Because of that, a public training ground that let them scout for the exceedingly rare talent they relied on was perfect for them.

  Well... a perfect waste of time and money 99% of the time, but their leader declared a single success would make it all worth it.

  And hey, maybe he was right after all.

  Nobody's ever heard of the Skill Beginner before.

  ***

  The trio of alien thoughts weren't exactly alone this time.

  First of all, I became innately aware that I was now the boss of the dungeon.

  This was very similar to my innate awareness that Kazzim had been its boss until just now, so that wasn't new per se, just that it was now me rather than him.

  I also became aware of what Beginner I does.

  It was similar to the dungeon's effect.

  【Beginner I: Upon dying, you will return to the last safe checkpoint to begin again.】

  Somehow, I also understood that the dungeon portal was that last safe checkpoint. Merely having this Skill let me know where it was, apparently.

  If I had a way to change that checkpoint, I wasn't sure how, though.

  Also... I had no idea what becoming a dungeon boss meant. Even Kazzim hadn't really given me any hints there.

  Apparently I was chosen to be this world's ruler, but without any means to rule, it felt like an empty title.

  I tried using my flashlight and remaining mana shards to escape, but a couple hours later, I found confirmation of my fears.

  The path the old king had suggested... had totally caved in.

  "Well... I'm now thrice immortal, not counting this dungeon..."

  'I might as well test it...'

  ***

  Van was the first senior member of the Azure Dragons to reach the Lost after the juniors reached out about it.

  Said juniors gave him a briefing on that they knew.

  "So, there was a girl named Kid who helped map the dungeon a few years back... and now someone named Kid cleared it," he summarized what little they knew so far.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "It could be unrelated, but that's the gist of things."

  "Hopefully the new boss is just a kid. If it's a monster with the same name, this dungeon could go from stable to volatile very quickly."

  "Why would it go volatile? It's still a beginner dungeon, isn't it?"

  "Yeah, but beginner dungeons aren't foolproof. The forest itself is roughly only E ranked, but the desert and plains are said to be at least C or B ranked, and who knows what's past those."

  The ranking system wasn't arbitrary. Every major guild had at least one person with the Scan skill, which always gave details in graded ranks. Smaller guilds relied on contractors and public services.

  Van was the Azure Dragons's Scanner.

  He was there primarily to locate and evaluate the dungeon's new boss, so a decision could be made.

  This seemed like it could be a big deal, but dealing with these things was literally the guild's job, so in a sense, it was just business as usual.

  The imperial government might be upset if they lost one of their beginner dungeons, but if a top guild couldn't handle it, there wasn't anyone who could.

  "Hey, Van... someone just respawned!"

  ***

  "Hey, Van... someone just respawned!"

  Those were the first words I heard as I returned to the portal, knife still in hand.

  As the trio of men in suits turned to face me, it was probably obvious what I'd done with it.

  It was also probably obvious that I was now the dungeon's boss, whether they got the initial messages, or they were just realizing it upon seeing me like I had with Kazzim.

  "It really is a kid," the one said with a sigh of relief.

  Oh, right.

  Dungeon bosses, myself notwithstanding, are usually a big deal. If these were the guild officials in charge now, I probably accidentally gave them quite a fright.

  Still... now I was the one frightened.

  'Why does it have to announce it?'

  It wasn't as though I had allusions of wanting to live a normal life. I was quite happy to live in the wilderness, entirely on my own, like a feral child if need be...

  But I definitely didn't enjoy having a giant target on me like that, especially after gaining a whole new form of immortality to suffer through if people decided they didn't like me.

  ***

  Van confirmed that the kid who'd respawned nearby was the dungeon's boss, and was therefore aptly named Kid.

  He also confirmed that Kid was, well... a mostly ordinary kid.

  Mostly.

  The Scan skill might seem mechanical, but it was more organic, like a third eye that could read from the Akashic records themselves, but specifically only about those in front of him, like mystical report cards that everyone possessed.

  The organic part is that he still had to search and read through it, an effort that was oddly tiring.

  It was his only magic-type Skill, but others explained that feeling was just the feeling of expending his own personal mana.

  For a scrawny thing, Kid had a fairly high constitution score. It wasn't anything special, but a child having an adult level attribute was always a bit noteworthy.

  If it had been in intellect instead, she'd be a prodigy. As it stood, she was gifted, but not prodigious.

  She had a single Skill, which was the reported Skill that wasn't in any of the national catalogues.

  Beginner.

  Although he had Scan, it would take Appraise, an even rarer version, to determine what Beginner meant. Since it was a new skill, the Empire would be footing the bill for that, though.

  Aside from that, her attributes were mostly normal for a girl her age...

  And he knew she was a girl, even though she wore loose clothes to probably try and hide it, as if her long hair didn't make it obvious. Scan told him her age and gender. Ten year old girl.

  Except...

  He couldn't read her willpower.

  The cost of scanning the kid's profile otherwise was minute. It wasn't free, but he could seriously do it all day if he wanted to.

  He never asked to have the Scan Skill, so he ended up a senior in the Azure Dragons instead, using it in combat and other tactical situations, but he could be a professional Scanner if he ever got too old.

  But even trying to read this kid's willpower made his mana burn.

  ***

  "Hey there," the man who'd sighed in relief spoke up, suddenly talking to me after... wincing? "Sorry. I'm guessing you're Kid. I'm Van of the Azure Dragons."

  'Yup, they definitely got to hear that broadcast too earlier.'

  To be honest, I wanted to run, but... where would I?

  So, I just nodded.

  "There was a girl a couple years back named Kid. Was that you too?"

  I wondered why it chose that name, only to realize that was the only name I'd ever used since reincarnating into the world.

  Though I had no way of knowing any of this would happen, I regretted not asking Kazzim to give me a name, or something like that.

  "Maybe. Does it matter?"

  "Well, I guess it doesn't, but we're the guild in charge of this dungeon, and you're now its boss. I was hoping we could form a good relationship."

  "Won't you just try to kill me?" I asked.

  After all, most adventurers did exactly that to dungeon bosses.

  And since I was a demon in most worlds, most so-called heroes did that to me, sooner or later.

  "Huh? We're not going to hurt you. There isn't a single senior member in the Azure Dragons who would. Do you think so because you've become a boss? Don't worry about that either. Imperial law protects dungeon natives as long as they're not dangerous, bosses included."

  "If I'm just a kid, why do you want a good relationship with me?"

  "You might be a kid, but you are still the dungeon's boss. Even if you weren't though, you're still a native. As the presiding guild, we have a responsibility toward any dungeon natives."

  "Huh... you do?"

  I was so confused.

  The last time I was out here, the guild was mostly just in charge of watching over people train.

  "Of course we do."

  'Ah.'

  Just then, I realized why this man was so frightening.

  There's nothing scarier than an authority figure pretending to care.

  ***

  And so, before I knew it, I was swiftly kidnapped.

  They took me through the portal and into a vehicle, driving off.

  "Hey Kid, are you hungry?"

  "Huh?" Actually, I was, so I nodded.

  "Alright. We'll stop and eat on the way. They'll probably need time to get ready anyway."

  'Ready for what?' I wondered dourly.

  I expected some cheap meal along the way, like prisoner rations or something, but we actually stopped at a restaurant.

  I could feel everyone's eyes on me in there. It was very evident that I didn't belong.

  "What, um... would you like?" A waitress asked.

  I pointed at the cheapest thing on the menu. I knew it was under the kid's section, so it was bound to be appropriate, whatever it was.

  Fortunately, I had some money with me, even though I hadn't needed any for the past few years.

  When she returned with the food, I asked, "Can I pay now?"

  "You don't have to pay," the guy spoke up, before telling the waitress, "Don't worry about her. She just got out of a dungeon, so she's a bit confused."

  I glowered a bit.

  He wasn't wrong. I was very confused, and I did just get out of a dungeon.

  But why wasn't he letting me pay for my own food?!