Dungeon Exploration
Early morning, as the sun began to rise, the last watch started waking the rest of the party.
The forest’s muggy climate had barely changed with the dawn, so the adventurers had to wipe sweat from their bodies the moment they rose. Of course, I stood a step removed from that oppressive heat. The new Mana Circle I had formed in my heart the night before—after nearly killing myself in the process—was quietly drawing the surrounding warmth away and letting it flow past me. With the scorching pressure gone from my skin, my body felt markedly lighter. I checked myself over while already packed and ready, a stark contrast to the limp, sluggish adventurers around me.
“All right. Let’s move out!”
At Luna’s call, everyone began to stir. The moment of stepping into the unknown world of a dungeon had finally arrived. Clutching my racing heart, I followed the party down the stairs.
The deeper we descended, the darker it grew. Luna lit the large lamp she had brought along.
Fwoosh—!
It was only a small flame, yet it was more than enough to light our way. Relying on that modest glow, the party continued downward into the depths.
After a long stretch of walking, one of the rangers suddenly bolted ahead and brought the group to a halt. Narrowing his eyes and studying a particular spot with care, he had clearly found a trap.
“Trap.”
What kind of trap could it be, to make him move so cautiously? The ranger approached, examined the stairs closely, then pulled a stick of charcoal from his pocket and marked the step in a way no one behind him could miss.
“Do not step on this stair.”
I was curious what the trap actually was, but I had no desire to find out by stepping on it myself. The party carefully avoided the marked stair and continued down. Having to dodge traps made our progress through the dungeon inevitably slow. By the time we finally reached the bottom of the stairs, a full thirty minutes had passed since we entered the dungeon.
Perhaps because they felt they had cleared one hurdle, the adventurers let out sighs of relief. Of course, that did not mean the dungeon itself was finished. Mountains of obstacles still waited for us.
Beyond the stairs stretched a long corridor. Or perhaps the corridor itself was short—we simply could not see its end through the deep darkness. The adventurers swallowed dryly as they stared into that pitch-black void.
“Let’s go…”
As expected, the two rangers took the lead. Holding the lamp Luna had handed them, they advanced with stiff faces. We had been walking for some time when a sound drifted from the far end of the corridor—clack… clack…
Neither loud nor soft, it was clear enough for everyone to hear. The party’s footsteps stopped of their own accord.
Clack…
Something was moving in the darkness. Gradually revealed by the faint light were pure white bones. Yes—bones. Human-shaped white skeletons, each gripping a rusted sword, were shambling toward us.
The moment I saw them I let out a silent scream. Their lifeless, swaying gait looked exactly like the ghosts in cheap horror films. In other words, they looked terrifying.
“Skeletons… so this is a black mage’s dungeon…”
I never caught who said it. While I was still reeling, the adventurers calmly raised their weapons and finished preparing for battle as if this were routine. Five skeletons in total. I had no idea how strong they were, but the way the adventurers took their stances without panic suggested they would not be especially difficult.
One of the swordsmen, watching the skeletons sway closer, stepped forward and asked, “Hey… is it all right to move? Any traps nearby?”
“It’s fine. No dangerous traps around here.”
That was the signal. The three swordsmen who had been waiting with blades drawn charged the skeletons without hesitation. Watching them swing their swords by the faint light, I felt as though they might be swallowed by the darkness itself. I glanced up at Isolin. She stood a step back with her arms crossed, as if there was no need to waste effort on something like this. Her expression was perfectly calm—proof that these foes were easy enough that there was no cause for worry.
I exhaled quietly and sprinted forward.
Clack…
How could skeletons without a single muscle move like that? The answer lay in the black mana dwelling in their bodies. The faint mana they carried spread through their frames and took the place of muscle fibers. Still running, I swung my sword. The blow, heavy with weight and speed, was more than enough to shove the skeleton’s flimsy body aside.
Crack—! The skeleton shattered completely, white bones scattering across the floor. An absurdly pathetic opponent. The goblins I had met in the Karum Mountains had been stronger.
I had to take that thought back at once. The white bones tumbling on the ground floated into the air and began reassembling into their original form. Even in that unstable state the creature swung its rusted sword.
Whoosh—!
A sluggish attack. I stepped back and checked on the other swordsmen. Rather than cleanly cutting the skeletons down, they were smashing them to pieces. When one swordsman stomped the scattered white bones into powder, the mana clinging to the skeleton vanished. I understood the method.
Without hesitation I ducked low and smashed the skeleton’s waist. The wide slash shattered its midsection, sending white bones tumbling to the floor. I darted forward and crushed them underfoot.
“Hah…”
Since the skeletons themselves were not difficult opponents, the fight ended quickly. The swordsmen shoved the scattered bone dust into a corner as if they could not stand the sight of it. That was when a sudden rumble—ku-gu-gu-gung—echoed through the dungeon and the entire place began to shake. Apparently the swordsmen’s actions had triggered some mechanism.
“W-what?!”
“What the hell…!”
Everyone panicked at the sudden phenomenon—even Isolin, who had been watching with her usual composure. I sprinted to her side at once. It was the natural thing to do: protect the party’s strongest asset.
In that same instant a black wall erupted from the floor. The massive barrier that shot up from beneath our feet split the party cleanly into two groups.
“Damn it…!”
“Hey! You all right over there?!”
The swordsmen’s voices from the far side of the wall mixed with Luna’s scream.
“We’re fine!”
I answered the call from the other side and narrowed my eyes. With the party divided, the light that had been illuminating our surroundings was gone. We could not see an inch ahead. Then a faint flame bloomed right beside me—Isolin had cast a spell to light the dark.
“Looks like it’s just the two of us left…”
Isolin muttered, glancing around. Another voice came from the far side.
“We can’t see the way back! We’re thinking of pushing forward—what about you?”
It was Luna. I looked at Isolin.
“What should we do…?”
“Hmm…”
She considered for a long moment before answering.
“Go on ahead!”
While Isolin spoke with the others, I used the light of her flame to examine our surroundings. The massive wall blocking the corridor looked impervious to ordinary attacks. Even the path back was sealed. I ran a hand over the solid surface and asked her,
“Can you break through this?”
“That would be far too dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”
“The whole dungeon could collapse. And I can’t cast magic that powerful anyway…”
“Ah…”
So we would have to wait until the rest of the party came to rescue us. I let out a heavy sigh and slumped against the wall. The instant my back touched it, the surface gave way with a soft thump, followed by a deep rumble—ku-gu-gu-gung—!
“H-huh…!”
Startled, I gripped my sword and leveled it at the wall. With a tremendous noise the wall slid straight down, revealing a new path—not the straight corridor we had been following, but a passage that turned sharply to the side.
A trap? Or a secret passage? I swallowed dryly and looked at Isolin.
“W-what do we do?”
“This is the only way, isn’t it?”
“Should we take it?”
“Better than waiting around forever. Who knows if those people will even come back for us?”
“They wouldn’t just leave us…”
“An adventurer’s meeting is spontaneous, and parting is light. Once they turn their backs they’re people you’ll never see again—they won’t feel any guilt.”
With that, Isolin started walking. Her attitude made it clear she did not care whether I followed or not. The farther she went, the closer the darkness pressed in. Swallowing hard, I hurried to her side. When she saw me catch up she gave a light smile, as if she had expected me to follow all along.
We walked the new path exchanging idle conversation.
“Do you have a lot of dungeon experience, Isolin?”
“Do I look like I do?”
“Mm… yes.”
“Not really. About twice.”
We were still talking as we moved down the corridor when a new sound reached us from the far end—clank… clank… It carried a heavier weight than a skeleton’s footsteps.
Clank…
Clank…
With every passing second the footsteps drew nearer. Isolin and I stopped of our own accord.
“That doesn’t sound like a skeleton, does it?”
“No. Too heavy for a skeleton. More like…”
Clank…
As the footsteps closed in, the faint light finally revealed the figure: battered iron boots, long faded iron greaves, and above them a thoroughly dented plate mail.
Clank…
It took another step. Isolin’s flame fully illuminated the thing standing before us—a knight clad in ancient, ruined armor.
“A Death Knight…?”
The moment Isolin’s words ended, a violet light flashed from within the crushed helm.