Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Dungeon
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The heavy scent of rotten fallen leaves clung to my face like a spiderweb. The dusty old Dungeon was enough to make even seasoned adventurers hesitate at the entrance, the sensation like bugs crawling across their skin just from stepping inside.
"Let's go in."
With resolute Elise taking the lead, we entered the dungeon. A chill wind blew from deeper within. That deathly coolness had me tensing up right from the start. My grip tightened on my sword hilt without thinking.
"Can't see a damn thing. Time to light the lantern."
"Where's the oil go?"
"Hold on... in here, I guess."
The dungeon's interior was pitch black—no light whatsoever. Fucking dark. No flames, nothing. Not even twenty seconds in, and Kobson had already pulled out the lantern. Might as well have come down in the dead of night; morning or midday made no difference.
Underground, with no sunlight penetrating, visibility depended entirely on the lantern.
"There. Now to get it lit."
I poured in the oil, snapped the fire starter, and used the spark to ignite the lantern. The orange flame flickered to life, casting a neat medieval glow.
"Ooh, orange light! Orange! You see it? Barbarian shake! The light's orange!"
"C-calm down."
Kobson let out a bizarre yell of excitement for reasons I couldn't fathom. This guy's not right in the head. Maybe the dungeon's ominous magic had already driven him mad.
Anyway, we pressed on downward, relying on that feeble glow. Endless stone stairs into the depths. Not knowing what lurked beyond the darkness...
That's when it happened.
"Kyaa!"
"Fuck!"
Meria, following behind me, suddenly screamed and grabbed my shoulder, scaring the shit out of me! A primal curse exploded from my lips. Ambush?! I whipped around, seized her shoulder, and yanked her behind me.
"Which fucking bitch!"
I thrust my sword threateningly toward where an enemy might lurk. At the sight, Kobson and Elise rushed over, faces grim, weapons drawn.
"Barbarian shake? What happened?"
"Enemy attack?"
But there was nothing back there. Flying monster? Dark-colored beast? I scanned the surroundings slowly. Searched until my eyes nearly popped out—still nothing.
I turned to Meria.
"W-what? Meria. What was that... there's nothing? Don't tell me ghost."
Ghosts terrified me most in the world. Claiming it was because you couldn't hit them sounded badass, but truth was, I was just a chickenshit scared of spooks. My arms and legs started trembling. Undead were supposed to show up—did that include ghosts? Ghosts counted as undead monsters, sure.
"Ah... sorry."
"Huh?"
"Tripped on my foot..."
"Oh."
Meria mumbled, embarrassed.
Guess I'd overreacted from being wound too tight. If anything, I felt more ashamed. I'd yelled like a maniac to intimidate a nonexistent foe...
"Kukuku, that battle cry had some real spirit. Barbarian shake. You're reliable."
"Damn it."
"If it's no big deal, let's keep descending."
We continued down the stairs. No watch, so no clue how far, but it felt deep. Tension easing a bit, Meria spoke up from behind.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"That... thanks for just now."
She thanked me out of nowhere. What the hell for? All I'd done was scream curses and swing at thin air.
"You reacted the second I screamed and pulled me back. If it'd been a real enemy, you'd have saved my neck."
Meria seemed grateful for my instant reaction, yanking her to safety. Protecting wounded comrades in battle was just common sense. Half-reflex—I hadn't expected thanks.
"Ah, that? No biggie. Heard the scream, thought ambush, pulled you rearward. Wounded go back."
"Thanks anyway."
Chatting idly as we descended, the stairs finally ended. Underground first floor at last? They weren't kidding about the scale. Insane depth—tens of meters easy.
"Looks like underground first floor."
"Seems so."
The first floor was massive. Lantern sweeping around revealed a vast cavern. Big enough for a bustling market. Unreal scale for such depths.
"Other adventurers' traces?"
A bit overwhelmed, I searched the floor. Scattered used consumables—clear signs of prior parties. Fresh enough that we might run into others exploring.
Anyway, nothing reusable or valuable among the junk. All trash. Shame.
"Hmm... ton of branches?"
"Yeah."
Circular layout, by my count: fourteen other downward entrances. A staging area, basically. Rest stop before the real dungeon.
"Fourteen goddamn entrances."
"Which way down? Barbarian shake. Let your savage instincts guide us."
"This fucker's at it again."
"Fourteen total, so probably doesn't matter which."
We had no intel—poking into one at random seemed fine. Traps possible, but clueless otherwise. No choice but to dive in.
"Sister Elise. Which looks best?"
"...Dunno."
Still, I asked Elise—she had to be the most experienced. No clever plan from her, though.
"Our order's lucky number is four, so fourth from the left? Feels right to me."
Lucky four? No way in hell. Back home, four meant death. Isekai or not, that Korean superstition stuck with me. Kobson didn't care; Meria counted them off.
"Should be fine. Let's go that way."
"One, two, three, four. This one?"
We took the fourth entrance as Elise suggested and headed deeper. Shorter drop this time—soon hit underground second floor. Not a big room; corridors stretched left and right.
"Branch again. Left or right."
Time to start mapping the path. Branches everywhere—any corner and it'd turn full maze. Dungeons were mazes, after all.
"Anyone good at maps? Need a simple path sketch."
"I'll handle it. Leave that to me."
"Ah, thanks."
Elise's map looked iffy, but if she could read it...
No lefties in the group, so we agreed on right. Trekked onward—another split soon enough. Three ways: straight, left, right.
"Whoa, another branch."
"Total maze."
"We're screwed, aren't we?"
I sensed doom. This place was a proper labyrinth.
Three options. Odd one: straight led deeper underground. Third floor already? Where the hell did it end?
"No monsters on this floor—we'd have spotted 'em. Better head down."
Elise had a point. No monster signs on first or second. Earlier parties probably cleared the entry-level mobs.
"Down we go. Yo, Kobson. Lantern good?"
"How much you think we've used? Oil lasts hours yet."
We pushed to the third floor. Greeting us: a stone door. Party members exchanged glances and nodded. Took all four of us shoving to crack it open. No way one person does that without superhuman strength.
"Huh... rooms? A bunch of 'em."
Inside: rooms lining both sides of the passage.
Ancient love hotel or what? Maybe barracks for soldiers. Tiny individual cells, traces of rotted furniture and crates scattered about.
"Ooh, better than my usual inn room."
"What kinda pigsty you crashing in?"
"Been skimping on lodging with all the recent gigs."
Me and Kobson, both cheap on housing. Party tossed out comments. Meria peeked into rooms; Elise felt the walls and eyed the ceiling.
"Hmm, what was this place for?"
"Smells like folks lived here... not a prison, though."
"Like our church dorms. Ancients weren't so different. Living quarters, all singles... wonder what rank people."
Dozens of rooms along the hall. People lived here—bound to be stray books or gear. Could fetch a nice payout.
"Let's search room by room."
"Got it. Barbarian shake."
"Understood."
Started with the first on the left. Could've split into teams, but only one lantern. Holy Light spell was for emergencies.
"Nada."
"No useful traces."
As expected: jack shit valuable. Just rotted wood. No loot. Others probably stripped it clean already.
That's when the tedium broke.
"Holy fuck, what the hell is this!"
I yelped! Nearly jumped out of my skin!
"Found something?"
Kobson asked. I pointed with a trembling hand at what lay before me.
It was a weathered treasure chest.