First Assessment of the Situation (2)

“That was the plan, anyway…”

Jjaek?

For now, I’d decided to push myself and raise the dungeon to C-rank as fast as I could—but when it came right down to it, there was nothing I could actually do.

Well. No one was entering the dungeon. Seen that way, it really was a horribly passive job.

“Too quiet. Too damn quiet.”

Should I put up a sign outside the dungeon or something? Welcome to an F-rank dungeon, and—

Jjaek!

Huh?

“…What the hell. Why are you flying?”

Unlike when the overseer had come by, the little thing wasn’t supposed to be airborne at all, but now it was locking eyes with me, flapping those tiny wings as if to get my attention.

Come to think of it, could it understand what I was saying? It seemed to react to me, at least.

Jjaek!

“So why are you suddenly flying—”

“What?”

“Oh.”

So puppets could use skills too?

No, specifically, it seemed like only Jjaekjjaeki could. Well, I had used materials enough to make two puppets to create this one, after all.

Jjaek!

“Got it. You want me to look outside through you, right?”

Good. I’d already felt like I needed to scout the area at least once. It would be important to know what kind of place I was in.

Of course, with this frail body, I had no intention of going outside myself, so I’d been thinking I’d have to find another way—but…

“So this was possible too.”

Then there was no need for me to go out in person.

The moment I committed to using the skill, my vision was abruptly pulled away.

Whoa…

Everything went black for an instant, and then the forest began to reappear, though it looked a little different somehow.

It felt as though I’d been fused with something else, as though I’d become the bird myself. That had to be what this shared vision was, in a sense.

Wait a second.

Come to think of it, how was I supposed to tell it to move?

Whoooosh—

Kyaaah!?

I screamed inside my head. The speed had suddenly shot up, and the scenery changed in a blur.

The fruits and flowers that had been hanging heavy since I dealt with the last intruder flashed by in a streak of color. At that dizzying speed, I couldn’t even tell what was happening.

The ground wasn’t below me anymore; it was being shoved backward.

The field of vision was huge. So huge that I couldn’t even tell which direction I was facing.

S-slow down! This is way too fast—hyahk!?

And then.

Vwoooom—!

With the sensation of space rippling, an enormous mountain range soon filled my entire field of view.

Th-this is… outside?

A somewhat barren landscape, and yet one that still felt strangely crowded.

It was more like a vast plateau, with trees scattered across towering mountains here and there.

…It’s not as amazing as I imagined.

It was a little different from the fantastical scene I’d expected. Just ordinary nature, if a bit harsh and sparse.

Now and then animals wandered by, and birds would fly out only to suddenly veer away—though I had no idea why. In any case, it wasn’t the kind of place I could call beautiful at a glance.

And even in that space there was a low, flat expanse of wilderness.

There, the outline of a city came into view.

No wonder hardly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anyone came.

When I looked down, I saw an entrance hidden behind a boulder. That had to be my dungeon.

It was quite far from the city. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Far enough that unless someone came specifically to search for it, they’d have a hard time finding it.

…It’s small.

That must be why so few people were coming. Yep.

That doesn’t mean I can really put up a sign, though… but if it doesn’t get at least some exposure, I’ll never rank up.

Openly advertising a dungeon was absurd. How was that any different from blatantly asking people to come kill me?

Still, I couldn’t just sit around waiting forever either… hmm.

Jjaek!

What should I do…

Jjaek!

Hey, I’m thinking. Hold on a sec—huh?

Jjaekjjaeki shook its head and turned its gaze downward. Only then did I understand what it was reacting to.

Of course, I had wanted someone to come.

But…

…W-why are there so many?

I hadn’t been waiting for them to come in a group like that.

.

.

.

“Aah! Hah, hah.”

When Jjaekjjaeki flew back into the dungeon, the shared vision cut off. It hopped back onto my head as if nothing had happened.

“…How many was it? Three? Thirty? Forty?”

I searched my memory, replaying what I’d just seen.

At least thirty people.

And they’d brought supplies too. As if they didn’t plan to come only once.

“Tch.”

Goose bumps prickled my skin.

Until now, the numbers had been small, and the attacks had been so sudden I hadn’t even had the chance to feel like this—but…

“Hoo…”

Now I knew it clearly.

There were that many people coming to kill me.

“First, calm down.”

I steadied myself. As I slowly sorted through my thoughts, the alarm I’d been waiting for finally appeared.

Time was short. I needed to finish thinking fast.

“They probably won’t all come in at once.”

They’d brought supplies.

That meant something simple. Just like the last intruders, they weren’t planning to come once and be done with it.

So the whole group likely wouldn’t enter at once. They’d probably send in an advance party or something.

Then I didn’t need to expose everything all at once either. Of course, it wasn’t as if I had much to expose to begin with, but…

“…Um, just in case.”

Jjaek?

“Could you stay here until I tell you to move?”

Jjaek!

Jjaekjjaeki answered in the affirmative. It nodded, so that meant yes, right?

In any case, this thing probably had a trump card of its own. There was precedent now with the rabbit, so it was worth trusting it once.

And just in case.

I should prepare to use this too.

“Okay. Deep breath…”

Beep!

I stroked Rabbit No. 2, which had come over to me at some point.

Asking the gallery felt awkward now that time was so tight. More importantly, I couldn’t depend on the gallery forever.

If I kept clinging to the easy solution, I might not be able to respond properly when something truly important happened.

…And if it comes to that, I’ve still got insurance. For now, I’ll try doing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this myself.

I slowly inhaled, then focused on the situation at hand.

Because the enemies were already right at my doorstep.

“Hmm.”

Felix let out a sigh. He’d expected it, but the road here had been fairly rough.

David’s dungeon was in such a remote place that one had to wonder how he’d even found it. Or rather, perhaps it was his younger brother who had.

“Hey. James. Didn’t they say those bastards were F-rank?”

“Yes. That’s what they said.”

“And in such a short time, the rank went up… so they say.”

The flow of mana had definitely changed.

It was more dangerous now. At worst, it had only gone from F- to F, but still.

“Then that means they must’ve ground David up and drank him, one way or another.”

“I checked once more before we set out, but David’s nameplate was fine. There wasn’t even a crack in it.”

Humans could grow explosively stronger by conquering dungeons, by taking in demonic power.

But the reverse was true as well.

When someone died inside a dungeon, the dungeon itself grew stronger too.

“You’re sure? No one else went in after that?”

“No one besides David and his brother’s group. If you’d like, I can go back and check one more time.”

“Tch. Forget it. There’s no way the information would have leaked by now.”

The dungeon before them had unquestionably grown.

That meant it had fed on someone.

…A dungeon in the middle of growth couldn’t be entered for three days, right?

Felix’s raiding party had departed a day ago. Even if the dungeon had just opened now, the timing didn’t fit.

And David’s nameplate, they said, had been perfectly intact.

“Did it just steal his power or something?”

“There are dungeons like that, aren’t there? Ones that seal adventurers away, I mean. I’d guess it’s something similar.”

“Hah. For an F-rank, it’s got all kinds of fucked-up abilities.”

Which is why David got taken down in the first place.

Felix swallowed the thought. In any case, he’d prepared thoroughly because he’d seen this coming.

Adventurers regarded as some of the strongest in Winterbell.

And among them, himself—a man on the cusp of Gold Class.

Supplies and food enough to melt away fatigue.

Potions, magical tools, and even the precious escape scrolls.

“Even so, they still won’t beat us. With this much, we could even aim for D+ rank.”

“Still, we shouldn’t let our guard down. David didn’t get taken out for nothing.”

The supplies were excessive, perhaps, but they had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be certain.

It was only an F-rank dungeon, so the rewards probably wouldn’t be that great. But if they could recover David, that would change things.

He might be drained dry and useless, but that didn’t mean the value of his name would vanish into thin air.

“If we can lure that one out, we can recover at least some of our losses. If it’s Celine, she’ll definitely assume the two of us are working together. She’ll shrink back on her own.”

“Indeed. Then the damage will be easy to make up.”

They could take back part of the business, too, and seize whatever assets the bastard had hidden away.

“All right, send in the advance party soon. What about the magical tools?”

“No need to hand those out yet. Just send them for now. If they’re only checking the entrance, they should be able to get out somehow.”

“Understood! You there! Gather your gear and move in! Confirm how many are needed for the raid!”

“We’ll unpack the luggage first, then. If there’s nothing much here after all this, that’d be funny in its own way.”

Whatever happened, one thing was certain: they would make up for any loss completely.

After all the preparations they’d brought, conquering the dungeon was bound to succeed.

.

.

.

“…The entire party was wiped out?”

“Yes. Given the dungeon’s nature, they may not be dead, but they’ve definitely been neutralized.”

The advance party had been annihilated.

Two same-rank adventurers and one with a head-grading license.

He hadn’t expected them to clear it, but he’d thought they were cautious enough to come back alive at least.

Right from the start, Felix’s judgment had gone awry.

“You didn’t send in a bunch of rookies who’d never even seen a dungeon before, did you?”

“Yes, I sent only those with experience. I even gave them a watch, so they shouldn’t have lost track of time.”

There were two conditions for escaping a dungeon.

First, kill the boss.

Second, leave before one hour had passed since entry.

“It’s already been an hour and a half. And the dungeon entrance has opened again.”

If too many intruders entered, or if an hour passed after entry, the dungeon would close its door.

And if there were no intruders inside, it would open again.

“Total wipeout. Or, considering the dungeon’s special characteristics, they’ve fallen into a state equivalent to that.”

“Tch. A wipeout from the start.”

Which meant it was a bad sign.

There was something there so troublesome it could destroy everyone in only an hour.

“What should we do? Send the others in?”

“No need for that. If same-rank veterans ended up like this, then we’ll need to spend some resources.”

They needed information.

“Give me a communication magic tool.”

Even if it meant taking a little more loss.

For now, it was still manageable.