Witches must be eradicated. This was the consensus of the world.

The origin of witches lay in black magic, and its roots could be traced back to the second-ranked dungeon, Abyssal Decadence, where black magic was secretly introduced. Though this happened over a century ago, humanity’s hostility toward witches had not faded.

To learn black magic, one had to meet a specific and unusual condition: the practitioner needed to be a woman pregnant with a daughter.
Enchanted by the allure of black magic, female magicians went so far as to choose pregnancy just to gain its power.

Given the secrecy of the magic and its strict requirements, the number of those who succeeded remained in the single digits. Yet strangely, the number of black magic practitioners continued to grow.
The reason was that a mother’s magic passed on to her offspring.

As long as the offspring lived and bore children of their own, black magic could, in theory, persist indefinitely.
When humanity learned of this belatedly, they unanimously declared black magic to be a vile scheme originating from Abyssal Decadence.
Those who mastered black magic were labeled witches, and mass witch burnings became common throughout the empire.

Charlotte, a fourth-generation witch, had lived her life hiding from humanity.
In her years of fleeing, she had witnessed friends, her grandmother, and her mother burned alive. She had no choice but to run.

Her past was an accumulation of hatred and a thirst for vengeance, hardened by years of oppression.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," as they said.
Charlotte’s vow to slaughter millions of humans, just as they had done to her family, seemed inevitable.

However, the world was vast, and humanity was numerous.
With half the continent now under human control, Charlotte’s hiding places were limited. There was the Demon Realm, which divided the continent, but its toxic air posed a severe risk to her human physiology.

Charlotte thought to herself:
A place where she could remain unseen by humans.
A place that guaranteed her safety, allowed her to quench her thirst for vengeance, and helped her gather allies for her cause.

"Dungeons."

After forming this plan, Charlotte had spent years serving as a dungeon lieutenant and keeper.
Yet, she was often expelled after being exposed as a human.

Despite repeated failures, Charlotte pressed on with her ambitions.
Now, while resting at an inn in a small village nestled between mountain passes, she overheard something intriguing.

"Miss, have you heard the news?"
"I’m not interested."
"Oh, come on! You're always so cold. A lady ought to show some curiosity! Anyway, don’t you care about dungeons?"

The moment dungeons were mentioned, Charlotte flinched ever so slightly.
Dungeons—humanity’s declared enemies, particularly the 72 Dungeons—had always felt like kindred spirits to her.

It wasn’t just camaraderie; as someone who had once worked in dungeons, she found herself instinctively drawn to the topic.

"What news are you referring to?"
"A dungeon appeared in the mountains behind our village. And not just any—oh, heavens, what am I saying?"

The innkeeper shook her head, cutting herself off mid-sentence.
Charlotte frowned and flicked a coin across the table.
The innkeeper caught it and gasped as she realized it was gold.

"Please, explain in more detail."
"Oh, absolutely!"

The innkeeper, her excitement palpable, eagerly spilled everything she knew.
Charlotte’s initial curiosity turned into growing anticipation.

"Surely, this can't be true," she murmured.

Charlotte had already heard of the recent conquest of Abyssal Decadence, the second-ranked dungeon of the Mugan Seven Palaces. As with all dungeons, its fall would soon be followed by the emergence of a new seventh-ranked dungeon.

But for that new dungeon to appear in the mountains behind this village?
If it was indeed true, both the human empire and the Demon Realm would be in an uproar.

"...Isn’t this just a rumor?"
"I’m telling you, I heard it directly from the subjugation team that went there! They mentioned seeing a True Ancestor Vampire and even a Death Knight. Some sort of irregular, they said. Sure, they were drunk, but they didn’t seem like they were lying."

Drunken talk wasn’t the most reliable source of information.
Humans had a knack for exaggeration under the influence.

"But if it is true..."

If the new seventh-ranked dungeon had indeed appeared in these mountains, it would be a perfect haven.
Though uncertain whether she’d be accepted there, Charlotte believed it was worth a try.

"Do you know where that subjugation team is staying?"
"Oh my, are you interested? They’re lodging upstairs in the largest room. I heard they’re leaving tomorrow morning—"

Before the innkeeper could finish, Charlotte was already heading up the stairs.
Behind her, she heard the innkeeper muttering, "Such manners..." but she ignored it.

Knock, knock.

"What now? Huh?"

Before the door fully opened, Charlotte scattered a fine dust of mana powder into the room.
The first man who had opened the door collapsed instantly, followed by several other large men inside, falling like dominos.

Charlotte crouched down to meet the eye level of one of the unconscious men.

"Tell me everything you know about the dungeon in the mountains."

Her voice carried the weight of magic—a combination of sleep and mental manipulation spells.
Under their influence, the men began to murmur incoherently.

"The... mountain dungeon..."

Through cross-verification, Charlotte extracted a single truth:
A new seventh-ranked dungeon had indeed appeared in the mountains behind this village.

It wasn’t yet confirmed, but the likelihood was high.
If this dungeon could become her sanctuary, it would mark the first step in her plan.

Without wasting another moment, Charlotte slipped into the night, heading for the mountain.

***

"Things are really spiraling out of control."

Charlotte had originally planned to make her way to Abyssal Decadence, but here she was, trying to settle down in this place.
Why? Because she believed this was the new Mugan Seventh Palace.
From the way she spoke with such conviction about it, it was clear this was a point in her past timeline.

In the background story I knew of Charlotte, she sought to join the Mugan Seventh Palace to exact her revenge on humanity.

"I was born a witch before I was ever human. I even have experience serving as a lieutenant in the 72 Dungeons. This dungeon, being newly formed, is incomplete. If you accept me, I could prove to be of great assistance."

Her tone was rigid, her expression mechanical.
This woman was like a heartless sociopath.
Honestly, even having a conversation with her was making me incredibly nervous.

Whether she was human or a witch who hated humans didn’t matter.
The main point was that this wasn’t a dungeon, to begin with.

"I’ll say it once. This isn’t the Mugan Seventh Palace. I’m not its boss."
"Understood."

Despite her words, it was clear she didn’t believe me at all.
Why the hell did she think I was the boss of the Mugan Seventh Palace? This wasn’t even a dungeon! Seriously, get lost already!
If I could, I’d love to scream my frustrations right at her.

But there it was.

[Lv. 72]

That damn level.

Swallowing my frustration, I kept my mouth shut.

I couldn’t afford to act rashly in front of Charlotte.
Was it because I was a spineless coward? Sure. But also because this lunatic was an emotionless killing machine.
She was a witch whose hobby was skinning humans alive. Beneath her calm exterior was a psychopath who smashed everything in sight whenever it suited her mood. Nobody could predict what this woman might do next.

Even if I cleared up her misunderstanding and proved this wasn’t a dungeon, how would Charlotte react?

"I see. So this isn’t the Mugan Seventh Palace. You dared deceive me? You’ll atone for this with your life."

If she said that, I’d be dead before I could resist.

And what if I told her I wouldn’t accept her?

"You don’t trust me, do you? Then let me demonstrate my power. (Boom! Magic barrage!)"

No matter how I looked at it, every option led to my death.

After a long internal debate, I made my choice.

"Welcome aboard. I’ll accept you as the dungeon’s lieutenant."

I extended my hand, and Charlotte hesitated before grasping it with a trembling hand.
Her expression remained blank, but her actions betrayed her true feelings.

"Thank you for accepting me."
"Work hard from now on."
"I’ll do my utmost to contribute."

Yeah, sure. Do whatever you want.

Behind her, the vampires clapped their hands. Damn annoying bloodsuckers.

"I’ll need to step out for a moment."
"Where are you going?"
"Now that I have a lieutenant, I have some business to attend to outside. Don’t ask further."
"I understand."

What business could I possibly have outside now that I had a lieutenant? None at all.
Screw it. I was planning to run.
Living in the Demon Realm was starting to seem like a better option than staying here.

"This is the first time I’ve seen a dungeon boss leave for an errand," Charlotte muttered, glancing sideways at the vampires. Her expression seemed to ask, "Does your boss normally act like this?"

Isabella shrugged.
"We’re not sure either. We haven’t known him for very long."
"What do you mean?"
"Well… honestly, we’re not part of this dungeon. We just stumbled in yesterday, and he graciously let us stay. We didn’t even know this was the Mugan Seventh Palace. Now it all makes sense."
"Makes sense? What does?"
"Oh, nothing. Or maybe something big? The boss saved me when I was dying and, uh… turned me into this."

Charlotte tilted her head in confusion at Isabella’s rambling. If Isabella hadn’t reached up to touch her horns, fangs, and crimson hair, Charlotte might not have understood.

"You mean the boss evolved you?"
"Oh, evolution! Yes, that’s it. He didn’t explain how, but it’s real."

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. She was clearly questioning the truth of Isabella’s words.

Having lived among non-humans in dungeons for years, Charlotte knew more about them than she did about humans.
For a monster to evolve, it had to awaken on its own. Never had there been a recorded instance of someone forcing such a change.

If what Isabella said was true, it was an unfathomable ability.
Charlotte’s mind replayed the subjugation team’s drunken words from the inn: they had claimed their weapons vanished with a single gesture from the boss.

"It’s true. That really happened," Isabella added, her tone almost giddy.
"Well, it makes sense. After all, the boss of the Mugan Seventh Palace would be someone special."

No wonder she seemed excited. For non-humans, the Mugan Seventh Palace was both a legend and an object of reverence.

A dungeon boss with inexplicable abilities who didn’t hesitate to leave his dungeon.
Charlotte decided it wasn’t worth trying to understand him. Bosses of the Mugan Seventh Palace were incomprehensible beings.

"That’s probably why it’s called the Mugan Seventh Palace," she mused.

Charlotte glanced around.

"I should explore while the boss is away."

Since this was a new dungeon, she needed to understand its internal structure before making improvements and reinforcements.
As the boss’s appointed lieutenant, this was a natural duty.

In a dungeon hierarchy, the roles were as follows:
Boss → Mid-boss → Gatekeeper → Lesser Monsters.

There was also a separate branch for lieutenants.
Dungeon lieutenants bore even greater responsibilities than their human-world counterparts.

They supported the boss, gathered intelligence from human society, managed expansions, recruited monsters, set traps, supplied water and food, established mining bases, tended to labyrinth flora, updated maps based on shifting terrains, prepared countermeasures for invaders, and maintained emergency contact networks with dungeon merchants.

In essence, a lieutenant was entrusted with the entirety of the dungeon’s management.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to call them the second-in-command.

Thus, lieutenants needed to be more "competent" than physically strong.

As Charlotte wandered through the area, she calmly examined the dungeon.
Even though the boss had accepted her, she was well aware he likely distrusted her because she was human. She had grown accustomed to such suspicion.

Her solution? Prove her worth and change his mind through her competence.

"When he returns, he’ll be amazed," she muttered to herself.