Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Dungeon
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Seeing human corpses wasn't anything new to me, so I first checked if there was anything worth taking. In RPG games, didn't players drop their items upon death? By the same logic, the belongings of unclaimed bodies became the property of the living.
Sure enough, as adventurers who had crawled all the way into the dungeon, their gear wasn't in terrible shape. They wore finely crafted leather clothes, but of course, most of it was torn and shredded from monster bites, so I couldn't expect much value from it. Rummaging through their pockets, I finally found a wallet, and nearby lay two knives with sleek designs. There was no sign of their main weapons. What kind of idiot comes into a dungeon armed with just knives?
The wallet contained about 80 coppers in copper coins, so we split them evenly at 20 each. I pocketed the knives to sell later and settle up. We were about to leave right then, but Elise grabbed me.
"Those who meet their end by monsters will enter purgatory."
"Purgatory?"
"Unless someone retrieves their bodies."
Everyone knew she was asking us to help recover the corpses. Honestly, touching those grotesquely sprawled bodies wasn't pleasant, but out of respect for the religious Elise, we agreed to do a simple burial.
"The method of recovery doesn't matter much as long as it's not a malicious desecration of the body. What's important is that human hands handle it—that alone saves the departed's soul."
"I see."
Was this even a proper recovery? We simply dragged the bodies to a corner, straightened their postures, and covered their faces with scraps from their torn clothes. That was courtesy enough for the dead.
"Guide this lost soul back to the rightful path..."
Elise offered a short prayer. Watching her, Kobson seemed to remember something and asked her about it. From what I overheard, he was hoping for some kind of blessing. In my opinion, a few words from a person wouldn't grant any real blessing. Elise apparently knew that too and expressed her regrets to him.
Anyway, we headed toward our original goal: the sound of running water.
"Sure enough, there's an underground stream."
"Yeah."
A well-constructed channel carried the water gushing along. Using my scabbard to gauge the depth, it seemed only knee-high. It looked shallow enough to wade through, but who knew what aquatic creatures might lurk within.
"Is that why monsters gather around water?"
"Probably. Even monsters need to drink."
"I really want to wash off this filth clinging to me..."
Sure enough, from the recent fierce battle, our bodies were covered in monster saliva, maggot bits, and chunks of flesh. Washing it off would surely benefit both our mental and physical health.
We took turns keeping watch while rinsing our bodies and clothes. We soaked cloths in the water to wipe down our outfits and washed our hair and faces. Don't forget to refill the canteens too.
While cleaning her shield, Meria spoke up.
"Hmm, thinking about it, water flows underground, right?"
"Probably."
"Then we don't need to backtrack—we can just follow this stream downward. It'll be easier to remember the way too."
"Good idea."
Sure enough, after freshening up, we followed the waterway.
Floor 3 seemed to have nothing noteworthy either. It was a layer where monsters that had wandered in from the darkness formed their own unpleasant ecosystem and lived. There wasn't even anything worth investigating as Elise had mentioned, and valuables were hard to find.
I wonder what floor 4 holds.
At the end of the waterway stood a massive stone door. Etched into it was a finely crafted human skull, huge and ominous. Skulls have always symbolized ill fortune, no matter the era or culture. Kobson whispered in my ear from three steps away.
"A skull door... feels ominous."
"A little? This shit's fucking creepy."
But it screamed "treasure inside." Dungeons typically promised bigger rewards the deeper you went. For a place called the Mausoleum, we'd barely seen any bones except on that recent corpse.
Seeing the skull on the door made me think floor 4 was where the remains were interred. And customarily, relics, valuables for the dead, and such were buried with them. To me, this was the money-making spot. Adventurers aren't called tomb raiders for nothing.
"Undead."
Remains and undead.
"Undead have been sighted, right?"
"Yes. There were reports of undead appearing in the dungeon. That's my main purpose for investigating."
Elise had formed the party to check that out. There was the kobold idol destruction too, but now the main event began. I shoved the door open with force, and thick dust billowed as it slowly creaked ajar.
"Cough, cough. Air here's bad. Feels like stepping into an old warehouse."
As Meria said, the inside air was stagnant, dust swirling everywhere. Discovering these were human bone dust would be horrifying. Whoa, calcium supplement just from breathing? I pulled out a cloth, wrapped it around the lower half of my face like a mask.
"Ah, the light... Barbarian, got more oil?"
"Already used up?"
"Still lasted a few hours, I guess."
We refilled the lantern's oil. Seeing the lantern, which was supposed to last hours, depleted made the time spent in the dungeon feel real. Kobson raised the restored lantern.
The formation reformed: Meria in front, then Kobson, Elise, and me. The passage was as wide as the door, and soon enough, another fork appeared without end.
"Left? Right?"
Meria at the front asked.
"..."
But no one answered hastily, tension gripping us. Choose wrong, enter, and enemies could swarm from both sides—could be a total party wipe.
"No choice. Let's go right."
"Since we know nothing, direction probably doesn't matter."
With that, we turned right.
Thud, thud.
Stone walls. Stone floors.
Relying solely on lantern light, we trudged through this dusty space. It truly felt like we'd entered a proper dungeon. And in dungeons, something always jumps out.
After walking a while, Meria suddenly halted.
Found something?
"Hey, Katt. Look over there."
Meria pointed ahead with her sword. The lantern light didn't reach that far, so it was hard to see clearly, but something was approaching.
Clatter, clatter.
Not crawling or on all fours. Stretching my neck and squinting, I made out the silhouette: it seemed to be walking upright on two legs.
"...Other adventurers?"
Gulp.
Could be other dungeon explorers.
Dungeons saw plenty of traffic, so meeting another party deeper in wasn't odd. Should we greet them? With our lantern light, they'd have spotted us already. Wondering if we should call out first to show no hostility.
I didn't want to think it, but they could attack suddenly.
In this narrow space, encountering murderer bandits posing as adventurers meant a brutal brawl—no other options. Dungeon killings without evidence were urban legends in taverns, but they happened for real.
Of course, the loot from killing them would be tempting, but fighting armed foes always meant casualties. Even with our four reliable fighters, same deal.
Tension mounted as it slowly approached.
"Slow gait..."
I muttered what I noticed... then it hit me.
"...Don't those fuckers have lanterns?"
Why no light from them?
Humans can't see in darkness without lanterns, torches, or equivalents—they're essential. Night-vision elves? I'd seen one elf once; as beautiful as they were mysterious.
"Same thought as me, huh, Barbarian."
"Agreed."
Kobson and Elise had realized the anomaly too.
Clatter, clatter.
Could be monsters. Bipedal ones.
Monsters that walked on two legs flashed through my mind. Goblins... kobolds... but size didn't match.
Finally, it entered our view.
Its form revealed.
"Oh, mommy."
It was an unbelievable sight. I recalled my mother's face, unseen for years, and called her dear name.
"Skeletons. This confirms the reports of undead in the dungeon."
Clatter, clatter.
That rattling was bones clacking as the skull walked! Skeletons moving on their own? What the fuck!
"Fuck! Skeletons are walking!"
I'd only heard of undead; seeing them for real was no joke—terrifying as hell. This mere pile of bones felt more fearsome than living people. Pure unreal horror. Dead rising and moving? Common sense has limits!
"Don't be so scared. They were once human."
"They?"
Clatter, clatter.
Clatter, clatter.
Not just one skeleton revived and approached. Ancient soldiers in rusted, decayed armor swarmed from ahead to eliminate intruders!
"Eh, better than zombies at least."
"Yeah~. Zombies popped up in our hometown sometimes, but these are less gross."
"What? What?"
But Kobson and Meria's reactions defied common sense. Unlike me, they weren't shocked or afraid. They seemed utterly casual, as if reanimated walking bones were perfectly normal.
"Low-grade undead are weak compared to living monsters, you know. Why so freaked out, Barbarian?"
"Weak? They're fucking reanimated!"
"You think those muscleless, rotting bone bastards look strong? Strength comes from muscles and bones—they got neither."
This was the difference between otherworlder Kobson and modern Earthling me. They saw fantasy world's things without preconceptions. Their experiences and lifestyles differed. Kobson's words made sense—spot on.
I looked again at the skeletons straight out of a horror flick.