Chapter 15 - A Beautiful Morning, and the Dungeon
A new morning had arrived. I woke up feeling refreshed, as if the world had completely changed. Everything seemed to sparkle. It was a beautiful morning. Last night, I finally lost my virginity. And to a girl so beautiful it would have been unthinkable in my old world.
But Fam, who should have been sleeping next to me, was gone. I panicked. Was last night a dream? Have all these days since being transferred to another world been nothing more than one long, elaborate fantasy?
I sat up and saw Fam. She was praying, as she usually did. I wondered how long she'd been at it. And what, exactly, was she praying to?
When she noticed I was awake, Fam stopped her prayers and stood up.
"G-Good morning."
Her face was flushed. Her bashfulness was contagious, and I could feel my own face growing warm.
"Yeah… good morning."
Fam closed her eyes and leaned her face toward me. I didn't understand what she meant and just stared at her blankly.
"Hmph!"
She pouted, puckering her lips in a clear demand. They were a sakura-pink, looking fresh and soft.
I pressed my lips against hers. After a light touch, Fam pulled her head back.
"…This is embarrassing. So embarrassing."
I wanted to say something clever, but nothing came to mind. As I fumbled for words, my stomach rumbled. I had worked hard last night, after all.
"How about we get some food?"
"Y-Yes, let's."
I was naked. The clothes I had carelessly stripped off last night were now neatly folded on a chair. I crawled out of bed and got dressed. Until now, we had both changed our clothes while trying to hide from each other, but there was no need for that anymore.
"Let's go." "Yes."
As we started walking toward the door, I noticed Fam had a strange, slightly bow-legged waddle.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"It hurts a little. It still feels like… it's inside me…"
After breakfast, we headed for the shrine that housed the dungeon. Fam seemed to have gotten used to the discomfort in her groin, as she was walking normally again. Still, she would occasionally slip back into a slight waddle. I offered to see if a potion would heal it, but she said she was fine with it and refused to drink one.
We could have just relaxed at the inn today, but if we stayed cooped up in the room, I knew I'd keep wanting Fam's body. She wanted to go out too, so we forced ourselves to leave.
The shrine looked like a stone fortress. What was unusual about it was that it was built not to fend off enemies attacking from the outside, but to contain those that spawned from within. Guards stood at the entrance, asking to see our Character Sheets. The information on a Character Sheet visible to others included: Party Name, Adventurer Rank, Name, Class, Primary Job, Primary Job Level, Race, and Age. With the owner's permission, other stats could also be viewed.
In my case, it was: Party Name 'Mash, Fam', Adventurer Rank 'F', Name 'Mash', Class 'Freeperson', Primary Job 'Adventurer', Primary Job Level '15', Race 'Human', and age was forever seventeen. Apparently, if you didn't decide on a party name, the system would just list the members' names in a row. My level was starting to increase more slowly. Still, I heard it normally takes about four months to go from 1 to 15. All thanks to my special skills. Fam, by the way, was level 13. Mine was higher, but I'd lose if we fought. It seemed numbers weren't everything. There was a strength that couldn't be measured by a Character Sheet. A good example was magic. Adventurers could use basic magic at level 10, but until Aidan taught me how to apply it, I thought it was a useless skill.
"First time?" a guard asked.
"Yeah, we're just scouting it out today. We'll be back soon," I answered.
"They sell maps inside. The ones for the higher floors have a lot of unconfirmed areas and aren't very useful, but the ones for the lower floors have well-organized information. You should buy one."
"Got it."
I thanked him and we proceeded inside. The interior was a cube-shaped space. Several other parties were already there. Each side was about twenty meters long, and the ground beneath us was hard-packed earth. In the center of the floor was a black circle, about five meters in diameter. Something like a black flame was rising from it. That seemed to be the dungeon entrance.
Looking around, I saw a shop along the wall. What a tourist-trap setup. Along with maps and monster encyclopedias, they sold potions, antidotes, and food like dried meat. If they'd had pennants or keychains, I might have bought one as a souvenir, but they didn't.
"I'd like a map of the first ten floors and a monster encyclopedia."
"The map is one silver coin per floor, and the encyclopedia is ten silver coins."
I received the woodblock-printed map and encyclopedia. It felt expensive compared to our inn fee.
"How many floors does this dungeon have?"
I asked the clerk.
"It's been confirmed up to the 52nd floor."
It's endless. I can't be bothered. Even the 3D dungeon game I used to play only had ten floors.
"Fam, have you ever been in a dungeon?"
"No, never. I'm a little nervous."
"We're just checking it out today. We'll poke around a bit and head back. Well then, shall we?"
"Yes."
As we walked to the center of the black circle, my body sank as if being pulled into the ground. My vision went dark, but it quickly returned. However, the scene before my eyes was not the inside of the shrine, but a stone-paved corridor.
Fam was also looking around, bewildered. I couldn't tell where the light source was, but it was bright enough to see clearly. It seemed we wouldn't need torches or lanterns. The corridor was quite wide, about five meters in both width and height. It came to a dead end just ahead, where a door was visible. The real dungeon seemed to lie beyond it. The floor beneath our feet was a black circle. Returning here would take us back to the shrine.
"Let's go."
We started walking toward the door.
The enemies on the first floor were slimes. We defeated them with ease as we pushed forward. Compared to the open field, it was much easier to fight without trees, plants, rocks, or uneven ground to get in the way. The enemies in the dungeon grew stronger with each floor. The first floor was basically a tutorial. We also encountered other parties, something that rarely happened in the field.
"If we continue this way, we'll reach the Area Guardian's room," Fam said, checking the map. I had been looking at the map at first, but Fam wanted to see it too, and before I knew it, it had become her responsibility. She seemed to enjoy looking at books and written materials. Come to think of it, she had been reading 'A Walker's Guide to the World' very intently.
"You really like reading, don't you, Fam? Was everyone in your village like that?"
"I was sick and in bed a lot, so I practiced reading and writing. Some people know their own names and a few simple words, but I don't think many can read and write properly."
If I'm not careful, I'll forget that she was sick, and that her curse still isn't broken. It seems most people in this world are illiterate.
"So, shall we go?" Fam asked.
"Let's give it a shot."
Judging by the strength of the enemies on the first floor, I had a feeling we could handle it. Even if it was an enemy that normally required six people to defeat, I had my special skills.
"The Area Guardian on the first floor is supposedly a Slime King."
"A king? Ugh, my trauma is kicking in…"
"I-It's okay! I'll be sure to support you properly this time!"
A massive door appeared before us. Inside was a large, circular room. A closed door was visible at the far end. As we stepped into the room, the door behind us slammed shut. Particles of light rained down in the center of the room. A monster's form began to coalesce from the brilliance. When the light faded, a Slime King stood there. It was the size of a person.
"It's huge."
Fam and I readied our weapons. Just then, the Slime King charged at us with a body slam. We split to the left and right to dodge it. We then closed in for a pincer attack, slashing at it. Our blades cut through the slime's body, but it felt like cutting through water. The Slime King spat a solution at Fam. She dodged it. The Slime King then leaped, attempting to crush Fam with its entire body.
"Kya!"
Fam dodged that too, but she lost her balance and fell onto her butt. To draw its attention, I launched a fireball. The spot it hit sizzled and bubbled. Seeing the enemy pause, Fam got back to her feet.
"You okay?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, let's press the attack."
Fam charged the slime and slashed at it again. I attacked from the opposite side. We kept moving to avoid its body slams, constantly circling and cutting. We gave it no openings, hacking away at it relentlessly. Eventually, the Slime King's form began to collapse, and it vanished.
"Alright!" "We did it!"
We had defeated the Area Guardian. The door ahead of us opened. Where the Slime King had been, a small bottle lay on the ground.
"According to the monster encyclopedia, it's oil."
"What kind of oil?"
"It seems they can leave behind various types, but it's hard to say…"
"Let's take it to the guild and have them check it out."
I put it in my storage. Then we proceeded through the door in front of us. In the next room, there was a black circle.
"Looks like this will take us to the second floor."
There was nothing else to do, so we stood on the circle. Just like at the entrance, our bodies sank as if being absorbed by the ground, and after our vision went black, we found ourselves standing in a different place.
"I wonder if we can go back? There's a route to the third floor, but it looks like the only way back to the first is from here."
Fam said, staring at the map of the second floor. Indeed, the Area Guardian's room we had just passed through seemed to be a one-way path. I wondered if we could go back if we defeated it again.
"Let's try going back."
"Okay."
We stood on the black circle. Our vision went black, and we were back in the shrine.
"I see."
So if you turn back, you have to start over from the first floor.
"Let's call it a day. We can come back tomorrow."
Our exploration for the day was over.
Thank you for reading. To those who have bookmarked and rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me. I'll do my best. Thank you for pointing out the typos. That was a great help.