The Reward for the World's Strongest Explorer's Perfect Dungeon Conquest is apparently Marriage to me, who is known as an S-rank Fraud - Chapter 8

“Mana Rebellion… what kind of skill is it?”

“Well, it’d be a waste to use it on these small fries. I’ll show you when we get to the 50th-floor boss.”

“Alright. Then stay close to me—it’s dangerous.”

Dangerous.

Without Mana Skin, my defensive power was practically zero—just a single layer of clothing and bare skin separating me from death.

Logically speaking, she was right.

But still—

I was an S-rank explorer, damn it!

“I refuse! Hahaha, Shia—let’s race! Ready, set—GO!”

With inhuman speed, I left both Shia and the scenery itself behind.

Physical ability scales with mana reserves, so when it comes to raw speed—I’m number one in the world.

Hah, take that!

“…………”

Flap, flap, flap… Whoosh!

A golden-haired beauty flapped her wings lightly—and effortlessly caught up.

“……Stop looking at me.”

Shia was casually flying beside me, staring at me with an unreadable expression.

If she had something to say, she should just say it already.

Because I sure do—

Flying is cheating.

“…………”

Without saying a word, Shia cut down a goblin in my path with a single swing of her white sword.

Well, how protective of her.

What a caring wife she is.

“That’s pretty cool, you know?”

The War Goddess Valkyria.

Gleaming full-body armor, pure white angelic wings, and a long sword strapped to her back—this was her Mana Form.

A living legend.

“Mm. Thanks. But Kuma is always cool.”

“…Even when I use Mana Skin?”

“Pfft—! Th-that’s not fair!”

Shia snorted, trying to hold back a laugh.

Damn it.

“Oh, mid-boss ahead.”

Before I knew it, we had reached the 5th floor.

In this dungeon, every five floors had a boss chamber—

5th was a mid-boss,
10th was a floor boss,
and so on.

“What’s the mid-boss?”

“Huh? Just a goblin—with a sword.”

“…Well, it is the 5th floor.”

Regular goblins were about the size of a first-grader and unarmed.

But the 5th-floor mid-boss?

It actually had a weapon.

And that’s where rookie explorers learned a painful lesson—

Weapons are terrifying.

Creak.

The doors swung open.

One by one, torches lit up inside the spacious chamber.

At the center stood a single goblin, sword raised high, illuminated by the flickering flames.

Thud!

The doors shut behind us.

No turning back.

Well, unless we used the return portal—if we could defend for 10 seconds, we could safely teleport out.

“Alright, goblin—let’s have a proper figh—”

“PIGYAAAAAAHHHHH!”

Before I could even finish my sentence, the angel beside me had swooped in and cut the goblin clean in half.

The exit portal activated immediately.

“? Hurry up.”

“Aye, aye.”

Shia was clearly in a rush to reach the 50th floor.

Did she really want to see Mana Rebellion that badly?

Honestly… I was starting to regret hyping it up.

10th Floor – Hobgoblin

A taller goblin, about the size of a middle schooler. Instant kill.

15th Floor – Three Mini-Orcs

About the size of elementary school wrestlers. Instant kill.

20th Floor – Orc

Big enough to take down a sumo champion. Instant kill.

25th Floor – Five High Goblins

Taller than adult men, stylish and somewhat cool-looking. Instant kill.

30th Floor – Knight Orc & Knight Goblin

Fully armored warriors. A B-rank explorer would be easily slaughtered.
A trauma-inducing nightmare for many. Instant kill.

35th Floor – Goblin King

A brutal goblin that mangles explorers’ faces beyond recognition. Instant kill.

40th Floor – Orc King

Massive. Everything about him was big.
A walking nightmare for female explorers. Instant kill.

45th Floor – Goblin Lord, Orc Lord, and their Army

A chaotic battlefield filled with dozens of elite goblins and orcs.

Most explorers immediately turned around and fled the moment the torches lit up.

Nickname: “The U-Turn Floor.” Instant kill.

50th Floor.

We had arrived in just two hours.

“Is it a Named Boss?”

Unlike the previous boss chambers, the door ahead was heavily ornate—

A clear warning that something dangerous awaited inside.

“Yeah. Its name is Zaramos. A goblin…”

The 50th-floor boss was—a goblin.

Identical to the ones from the first floor.

The only difference?

It had a name.

“……The 100th-floor boss was No-Name.”

“I see. So between here and the 100th floor, the only Named Boss is the 50th-floor boss.”

Shia’s gaze turned serious.

“…Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah. I’ve fought him countless times.”

“…If it gets dangerous, I’ll step in.”

“You worry too much. But… I’ll be careful.”

Her concern was understandable.

Because the difficulty spike at the 50th floor was ridiculous.

Compared to this boss, the 45th-floor army was just fodder.

This was going to be a real fight.

Creak.

The door groaned open.

Inside the dimly lit room, torches flared to life, revealing him at the center.

“Oh? Kuma, what a surprise! You’re actually wearing clothes today—what’s the occasion?

And you even brought a companion? Now, this must truly be a sign of the impending apocalypse.

A pleasure to meet you. I am Belgrimous—just a humble goblin.”

Named bosses could talk—that wasn’t new.

But this was completely different.

Before, they were more like: “Me, kill, you! Gehgehgeh!”—crude and primal.

And besides, “You’re wearing clothes today?”—shouldn’t I be saying that to him?

The last time I saw this guy, he was practically naked, wearing nothing but a filthy loincloth.

Now?

He was dressed like nobility, as if he were attending a high-society gala.

“I am Kusakabe Shia. Kuma, the Named Bosses in your dungeon are quite talkative.”

“…No, this is completely different. The one before him didn’t talk like this—hell, he didn’t even dress like this. He used to wear nothing but a dirty loincloth.”

“Image change?”

“No… I don’t think so. More importantly—his name is different.”

The previous goblin was Zaramos.

“Gehgeh, me Zaramos! You, food!”—that Zaramos.

But this guy?

Belgrimous.

“What happened to Zaramos? Are you his replacement?”

“Zaramos is on leave. And no, I am not his successor.”

“I see. Then who are you?”

“I normally reside on the 150th floor… but I grew impatient. Upon learning of your arrival, I decided to come down and greet you personally.”

150th floor.

If he was telling the truth, then this was a world event-level anomaly.

The final boss of the dungeon—the requirement for full clearance—had willingly descended to the 50th floor.

“So… does that mean if I defeat you here, the dungeon is cleared?”

“Yes. That would be correct.”

As far as I could tell, he didn’t feel threatening while talking.

But if he was the 150th-floor Named Boss…

He was without a doubt beyond monstrous.

“Shia, what do you think?”

“…I don’t know. But something tells me we should retreat.”

If **Shia—the strongest explorer in the world—**was saying that, it meant she couldn’t even read his presence properly.

That alone told me enough.

This wasn’t a fight we could win.

“Kuma, just so we’re clear—I didn’t come here to fight.

Unlike your companion, you haven’t even cleared the 100th floor yet.

Even if you were to suddenly experience a miraculous awakening, an unbelievable evolution, or a dramatic surge in power, it still wouldn’t be enough.

The gap between you and me is beyond miracles.

Even if the two of you teamed up, you wouldn’t stand a chance.

You mustn’t underestimate what it means to surpass a world level.”

Being called an idiot by a goblin was annoying, but…

He wasn’t wrong.

I had no real sense of what a “world level” even meant.

“Tell me—how many years did it take humanity to clear a World Level 1 dungeon?

Fifty years.

And even now, after all this time, only this girl beside you has reached the top. The rest of your explorers haven’t even reached the 90th floor.

They don’t even qualify to be in this conversation.”

“…Then why did you come to see me?”

“Boredom.

As the 150th-floor boss, I was stuck in place for 50 years—completely immobile.

*Now that I can finally move, I thought—*why not?

After watching this dungeon for so long, I’ve developed…

*A tiny bit of curiosity. Maybe even affection.

You, who struggle so pathetically every day yet refuse to give up… I wanted to see you up close.”

“…I’m not letting you have Kuma.”

Shia wrapped her arms around me tightly.

Listen, I have zero interest in a Goblin♂ route, so she didn’t need to worry.

Also, could we not make this a competition?

Belgrimous let out a small chuckle, then suddenly clapped his hands together as if remembering something.

He was far too refined for a goblin.

“Ah, that’s right—I had something I wanted to tell you two.

First—congratulations on clearing the dungeon. You’ve successfully raised the world level, and for that, I am grateful.

And I also heard a rumor…

You two got married, didn’t you?

I’m truly happy that Kuma found a worthy partner. Congratulations.

As a gift—”*

At that moment—

Belgrimous shifted into a combat stance.

An unimaginable killing intent flooded the room.

My body froze instantly, every instinct screaming at me to run.

“If you wish, I can let you die together as a happy couple.”

“Shia, RETREAT!!”

“… ”

She silently nodded, immediately ripping off her necklace and slamming it to the ground.

Return Portal: Activating in 10 seconds.

9 seconds…

“Hmph. Very well. As I said—I’ll let you go, this time.

Your gift is your lives. Cherish them well.

Kuma—I’ll be waiting for you on the 150th floor. I look forward to our next meeting.”

“…Tch. Fine. Wait for me. I’ll reach you—no matter what.”

I forced myself to suppress the trembling in my limbs, barely managing to spit out a last remark.

It felt hollow, but I couldn’t leave without saying something.

“Ah, don’t disappoint me.

I’ll be waiting.”

0 seconds.

The Return Portal activated, and in the blink of an eye—

Shia and I vanished from the dungeon, safely returning to the surface.