The next day, the group arrived at the entrance of the dungeon.
All the braves were fully prepared. The moment they stepped inside, they found a staircase leading downward. At the bottom was a long corridor built entirely of brick.
A monster appeared before them. The Handsome Boy defeated it with just a few swift strikes of his sword.
The other braves took down several monsters as well, and the group descended deeper.
As they went further down, the dungeon paths became increasingly confusing.
Henry tried using his detection magic to search for the shortest route—and it worked.
He subtly guided the braves toward the lower level.
When they reached the Level 11, the environment completely changed.
They found themselves standing on a vast green plain under warm sunlight.
Every ten level, the ecosystem changed—plain, forest, cave, desert, ocean, snowfield, ore vein, mountain range, and city.
Eventually, they arrived at the Level 69 — snowfield.
A single tiger there overwhelmed the braves completely. Their brave powers were useless against the beast.
Seeing the situation deteriorate, the Shy Girl shouted for everyone to retreat.
Each floor had a teleportation magic circle somewhere, returning one person at a time to the dungeon entrance.
Thankfully, the circle was nearby.
The Revealing Girl cast defensive magic to buy time so that everyone could reach the circle.
Henry joined her, strengthening the barrier with his own spells.
But as soon as the eighth person was teleported away, the tiger shattered the barrier.
Henry urged the last two to hurry and teleport themselves out.
Then he ran in the opposite direction, drawing the tiger toward him.
Henry stayed behind on purpose—he wanted to know whether ancient magic could harm the tiger.
After making sure the last two escaped, Henry stopped running and faced the tiger.
The tiger also halted, staring at him.
Henry fired a blast of light magic, the tiger died instantly.
Henry was stunned. The power granted by God to him was far stronger than that of the other braves.
But he could never let anyone know—because in their eyes, he was just an ordinary person.
Henry kept count of every level he descended.
Level 91 to 99 were unlike anything in the world—filled with bizarre architecture, colorful cities, and not a single living creature.
Then he reached the Level 100.
As he stepped off the final staircase, a colossal stone statue stood before him.
Henry recognized the face instantly—it was God who had granted him power.
He looked around.
There wasn't a single monster.
Then, suddenly, a voice echoed in his ears.
Henry looked left and right, but no one was there.
Yet the voice felt oddly familiar.
The voice spoke once more, revealing to Henry that she was the deity who had bestowed her power upon him.
She was Fatelis, the Goddess of Fate.
Then the Goddess told Henry that he was to help the ten braves become kings.
Henry was confused.
How could a country have ten kings?
The goddess replied calmly,
"Then simply build ten countries."
Henry finally understood.
Goddess wanted him to help create kingdoms across the world—with each king being a brave.
Then Goddess smiled and granted Henry permission to ask questions.
His first question was about the dungeon's appearance and why the braves had lost their special abilities.
The goddess answered:
"When the Braves defeated the Demon King, I reclaimed their powers, leaving only light magic. After that, I created ten dungeons across the world. Their lost powers are stored as the reward for reaching the final level."
Goddess continued explaining the dungeon's system—each dungeon had one hundred levels, and the environment changed every ten levels.
Then Goddess added,
"Only braves can reach the Level 100. And those ten who fled on the Level 69… are no longer braves."
In other words, Henry was the true Brave, but not a Brave of defeat the Demon King, was the Brave meant to guide the others.
The goddess revealed that her original instruction—telling Henry to defeat the demon king—was only to ensure Henry would encounter the braves.
She added another mission:
The braves must build their kingdoms around the dungeons, using them as capital.
Henry's second question was why his special ability had not been reclaimed and why his all-element magic had been taken instead.
The Goddess answered that it was because Henry still needed this power, and it would not be taken back until his death.
As for the all-element magic, it had been removed so that Henry would not reveal himself.
Goddess reminded Henry of how the Revealing Girl had him chant four magics to determine his magic attribute—if all four had succeeded, the braves would have become suspicious of him.
The Goddess also said that after Henry's death, an eleventh dungeon would appear, located at the far eastern edge of the world, in the territory of the Merfolk.
Inside that dungeon would be the knowledge of the ancient language, magic creation, and all-element magic.
Henry's third question was about the first thing the goddess had ever told him—
that she saw hope within him.
What did she mean?
But the Goddess refused to answer that question, telling Henry that he didn't need to know. So Henry moved on to his next question.
Henry's fourth question was how he should guide the braves to become kings.
In response, Goddess bestowed a new ability upon him—
the Knowledge of the Era of Prosperity.
An immense amount of information flooded into Henry's mind—writing, culture, systems, and countless memories of a long-lost golden age.
The overwhelming knowledge made Henry collapse to his knees, clutching his head in agony.
After a while, the pain faded.
Henry slowly stood up.
Henry realized that this power was the Goddess's answer, and he thanked her. Having asked all his questions, the Goddess departed, finally teleporting Henry back to the entrance of the dungeon.
Henry saw the ten braves standing at the dungeon entrance, each wearing an anxious expression. At that moment, the Shy Girl spotted Henry, shouted his name, and ran toward him, clutching his clothes as she burst into tears.
The other nine braves also approached, continuously asking about Henry's situation. Having stayed in the dungeon for a long time, Henry could not help but feel a bit worried. He explained that he had run for a long while before finally finding the chance to use teleportation circle.
Although Henry's excuse was far-fetched, none of them doubted his words and all felt reassured, returning to their temporary lodgings.
A few days later, Henry proposed to the braves that they establish kingdoms across the world, with the braves themselves as kings.
At first, the braves all refused to become kings. However, Henry, using the knowledge from the Era of Prosperity, explained the various benefits, emphasizing that their status as braves would make it easy for people to accept them. With his silver tongue, he eventually persuaded all of them to agree.
Yet, the depth of Henry's knowledge made the braves somewhat suspicious of his identity. Thinking quickly, Henry claimed that he had once worked among high-ranking demons. Convinced by his explanation, the braves accepted his words.
Henry's first step was to teach them how to manage kingdoms, but literacy was a prerequisite. Based on the names of the world, he created a writing system called Melbusoda script.
The braves were a bit clumsy at learning, taking a long time to master all the characters. Once they had, Henry could finally begin teaching them the knowledge needed to govern a kingdom.
Henry recalled that the braves had previously split into five groups to fight the demon race, so he opened a map and directed them to establish their kingdoms in the regions they had visited before.