“How could there be a place like this and nobody knew about it?”
Claire said, gazing at the entrance of the dungeon.
As Claire pointed out, the dungeon entrance was quite large. It was literally an ancient ruin.
There were remnants of a decrepit shrine, but it had mostly collapsed, and its original form was unrecognizable. What should have been a simple floor was thick with overgrown grass, making walking difficult, and the shrine, resembling a shrunken Parthenon, was entirely overtaken by ivy.
However, just because it wasn’t conspicuous didn’t mean it was invisible. Being in the middle of the forest must have made it look like an open area, and even from a short distance away, it was clear that this place had been artificially built.
No matter how much wild beasts wandered in the forest, it was hard to believe that the hunters of Northwood didn’t know about this location.
“It’s probably the effect of the relic,”
Alice said seriously.
The light emanating from the relic was brighter than before. Besides that, there were no special effects visible. There were no magic circles around the relic, nor did any hidden inscriptions appear…
In fact, just having a single mana stone could easily create an object that radiated such a mysterious light.
The relic looked like a broken tablet. There were patterns engraved on it, but we could only recognize it as part of a larger image—what that image depicted was hard to decipher. It resembled pieces of a stone tablet that you need to find to open a door in a horror game.
Whether this tablet was the central part or if it had broken off, creating an unclear overall shape—square, triangular, or circular—was anyone’s guess.
But this was something I remembered.
In the original story, it was an item obtained after defeating Verati.
Verati became a prisoner of the imperial family, serving as a negotiation tool between the Papal State and the Empire.
…She’s not the heroine. The heroine from the Papal State appears later on.
Well, that’s a matter for another time.
“There must be some kind of magical cognitive impairment. It’s a forgotten place even by imperial standards, but it would have been a very important location in the previous civilization.”
“Magical cognitive impairment? Is there such a thing?”
“It might have existed in an era when everything was solved by magic.”
Claire looked surprised at my words, while Alice nodded in agreement with an expression of understanding.
“Then it means they didn’t just bring this relic here, right? At the very least, it indicates that the Papal State knew that places like this existed all around the world.”
“Is there no relic in the Empire?”
“But they didn’t know how to utilize the relic or if there were any maps recording its location. It was just ‘treasures in storage,’ nothing more.”
Listening to Claire and Alice’s continued conversation, I slowly approached the ruins.
As I got closer, the blue light emanating from the relic grew stronger.
When I boldly moved forward, I heard hurried footsteps following me from behind.
“Do you know something we don’t?”
Bella, who was sticking close to my side, asked.
“……”
I chose not to answer.
Well, if there’s anything I know, it’s not much.
For instance, I remembered the structure of this dungeon. I can’t say it was completely accurate, but once I entered and saw the layout, everything would slowly come back to me—just like when I entered the Sewers of the Imperial Capital.
Also, this dungeon wasn’t that difficult. It was the second part of the six-part area where the true dungeon first appeared.
The graphics hadn’t been optimized, so the grass was a bit sparse and the ivy didn’t move as naturally, but as I wandered around, illuminated by the faint light from the relic, the layout of the ruins resembled what I remembered.
“From here on, I’ll take the lead.”
“But what about the risks…?”
“The only danger is the monsters inside.”
I simply responded to Alice’s concern and passed the relic back to Bella.
“Looks like we won’t need the relic inside?”
“It’ll be necessary at the end.”
I pulled out the shotgun I had prepared in advance.
The fire attribute ammunition would definitely help. There were plenty of slimes inside, after all.
This was the first time in a dungeon that actually resembled a ‘dungeon.’ Before, even if the paths twisted like in a dungeon, it didn’t openly mirror the appearance of an underground ruin.
The paths twisted and turned, and there were mechanisms that blocked the way, but there were no traps that would threaten our lives.
It was just that there were a bit too many enemies inside.
As I pumped the shotgun to load a shell, my party exchanged glances. Even Bella met Alice’s gaze.
Alice had seen me calmly navigating through the Sewers of the Imperial Capital, but still, the sewers and an ancient dungeon were completely different. At the very least, there should be a map inside the Empire.
After confirming their expressions, I turned around and smiled slightly.
It was a smile of pride.
After all, I still had a distinct character trait left.
*
The dark and gloomy dungeon was made up of similar stone paths.
In the game, it had been depicted somewhat brightly for player convenience, but once inside, the dungeon was incredibly dark. Even with the full moon outside, it felt like not a single ray of light was coming in. Was this also due to magical reasons?
Conversely, the light emitting from the relic that Bella held was much more intense, brightly illuminating our surroundings. It was a description very similar to what I had seen in the game.
I contemplated telling everyone to stick closely behind me but decided against it. My party members were all more skilled in combat than I was, so there was no reason for them to struggle to keep up.
Following the light from the relic, I moved deeper into the dungeon.
And not long after,
“Enemies—”
Bang!
Before Claire could react to the slime that appeared in front of us, I immediately pulled the trigger.
I hardly aimed, but the intense flame spewing from the gun was more than enough to evaporate the slime.
“……”
Until the sound of me leisurely taking out and reloading a shell into my waist gun reached their ears, everyone just stared at me with their mouths slightly agape.
Well, I prepared for this, after all.
At the very least, I knew what kind of attribute monsters would mainly pop out here.
Feeling a small sense of pride deep within me, I slowly stepped forward.
*
“Sis, you’re amazing…”
…Hmm.
Maybe I went a bit overboard?
The traps were almost non-existent, and the monsters were too easy to handle thanks to my over-the-top preparations. I had only brought along a handgun and shotgun, but slimes were weak to heat and mana, so…
Mia Crowfield might have been of great help, but dragging her out of the casino, where she clearly didn’t want to leave, was not feasible. Honestly, even if I had brought her out, showing her this wouldn’t be right either. I’d have likely kept her near Charlotte instead.
“Heh.”
As we finally reached what seemed to be the deepest part of the dungeon, Bella, who had been following me, sniffed in interest. The mask she wore was blacked out around her eyes, making it hard to read her expression, but I could tell her gaze towards me had shifted slightly.
“……What’s this device?”
The deepest part of the dungeon—the room in front of the boss monster.
In front of it stood an automatic recovery device.
This was, after all, a game mechanics concession. Maybe the developers thought it would make no sense for a merchant to still be around right before a boss fight, so they placed a mysterious device powered by ancient magic in front of the boss rooms. This kind of device appeared not only here but in various places, but it was the first one I had seen since coming to this world.
“It’s still operational.”
Alice said as she approached it.
A strangely spiraled column wrapped with brightly shining colorful lights.
Naturally, it seemed like this device wasn’t equipped with the functionalities of a shop.
“……What could this device be?”
Seeing Leo approach, frowning at the device and examining it closely, I realized.
Ah, we hadn’t taken a single hit on the way here.
In a world where getting shot by a gun meant death, the same fairness applied to other beasts and monsters. If it had the piercing power to pierce through skin, a bear could kill a person.
…Of course, I didn’t need to mention slimes.
Thanks to my thorough preparations, there had been almost no injuries.
So, there was no reason for us to recover here, and it was as if we felt nothing.
…Did I really go too far?
For a moment, that thought crossed my mind.
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