07. Dungeon Experience: Hope Edition
07. Dungeon Experience: Hope Edition
At the entrance of the dungeon,
Mars took the lead first, striding forward with bold steps.
"So this is a dungeon, the Abyss. The air really is different."
"It's a pseudo-dungeon, so the air shouldn't be any different, though?"
"....Shut up! If I feel like it's different, then it's different!"
"Well... sure."
Actually, rather than air, it was more accurate to call it 'karma.'
The karma of the Abyss.
Based on the motto that those who gaze into the abyss find the abyss also gazing back into them, the deeper one delved into the Abyss, the more each character manifested unique traits.
For example, in the case of Jupiter, who was the Protagonist, his arousal level rose moment by moment, making it difficult to focus on combat.
For example, in Yuno's case, her fear and anxiety stats rose, so she could only stabilize if someone with a high bond was nearby.
And as far as I remembered, Mars's case was...
"Ah, aah! That! Isn't that a monster?!"
"Mars. Don't go too far ahead──"
"──Die!"
".....Ugh."
Probably a deficiency in self-control, from what I recalled.
If this grew severe, it led to Madness.
Later, the only means to suppress it was either raising Mars's protection rank itself to eliminate the penalty, or having someone with a high bond stat stay by her side and hold her back.
The fact that the holding-back method involved subduing her by force, or—this being an eroge—just fucking her, was very much in true NTR Academy fashion, but anyway.
In any case, to suppress Mars, we needed to find the person among us with the highest bond stat with her...
'Me?'
And of all people, it had to be me.
What a disaster. This seemed impossible.
I was fairly confident I'd die instantly from her grip strength alone.
"Hahahap! Weak! Just disgustingly weak! Way weaker than that cowardly bastard back there!"
"Aow."
Before I knew it, Mars had torn a monster to shreds and was bathing in its blood.
Since the monsters were artificially created, the marks disappeared quickly, but if she pulled this kind of stunt in a real dungeon, the durability of her clothes would shred rapidly.
When that happened, by the time we returned, she'd be staggering around drenched in blood in clothes half-turned to rags... so-called service CGs were prepared for such moments, but while those were nice from the player's perspective, seeing it in person just made her look like a crazy bitch.
'This is why she takes penalties to her bond level.'
No one wanted to form a good relationship with an insane berserker.
"Wait, Mars. No matter how impatient you are, a girl shouldn't act like that!"
"Huh? Are you discriminating based on gender right now?"
"Even before being a girl, it's something a person shouldn't do!"
"Uht!....Gruuuugh.."
Well, except for Yuno over there, that is.
As expected of the primary wife heroine and main heroine.
She was one of the few people who could cast 'Are you out of your mind?' at a berserker who was bisecting monsters and scattering their blood everywhere.
I probably wasn't one of them.
I slowly placed my hand against the wall, searching for anything that felt off.
"Huuuum...."
"Chrono, what are you doing over there? Aren't you coming up front quickly?"
"Just a moment."
When playing it as a game, the top-down 2D view let me know exactly where treasure chests were hidden.
But actually playing from a first-person perspective, I had nooo idea where anything was—ah, was this the spot?
"Well... I'll know once I shoot."
I pulled out Cronus's scythe and pulled the trigger toward the wall.
Taang!........Puseok!
"It's here."
I had clearly fired directly at the wall, yet the impact sound came long after.
I slowly reached my hand into the wall, and gradually, my hand slipped inside.
It went in without hindrance, as if the space had been empty from the start.
I turned my head and shouted toward the party.
"Mars, Yuno! There's an empty space here─"
"──Uwaaaaaaaahk!!"
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
Mars came charging toward me nearly shattering the ground underfoot.
Soon she grabbed my shoulders and started trembling as she stared at my hand disappearing into the secret passage.
"You... you, your arm... your arm...!!"
"This is actually a secret right now─"
"──If you got caught in a trap, you should've said so beforehand! Kht... what do we do? I, I don't know anything about traps...!!"
"..........."
Did she seriously think my arm had been severed just now?
Certainly, seeing an arm extending beyond a wall could create that kind of misconception...
...No matter how I thought about it, that was a stretch.
In the first place, if I had truly fallen into a trap and lost my arm, wouldn't I have at least screamed in pain?
Seeming to have realized that contradiction, Yuno, who had followed behind, asked me.
"Is that, by any chance, something like a barrier?"
"Beyond here, it was completely empty."
To show proof, I went ahead and slipped my whole body into the secret passage.
"Oh. I can see it at the end there."
A small wooden chest sitting at the end of a long corridor.
[----....!!----!!!!]
[---,-----. -----,--]
"It's still noisy outside."
I debated whether to bring the kids in or go alone and come back, but I decided to bring everyone along.
Because if later, looking at me, rumors started swirling about whether I'd skimmed something off the top, that would be a headache in its own way.
I poked just my head back out of the barrier and looked around outside.
"Chrono is... Chronoooo!!!"
"That's what I'm telling you, Chrono isn't dead yet!"
"He fell into a trap. He fell into the damn Abyss, into the depths...!"
"Mars! Can you even hear me??"
"Heumi..."
The situation outside was complete and utter chaos.
I discreetly reached out my hand and tapped Mars on the shoulder.
"Don't! This is... this is my fault. So don't offer me some half-assed consolation that won't even work─Chrono?"
"Stop overreacting. Yuno's on the verge of tears."
".....Ah!"
Having been ignored repeatedly, Yuno had gotten irritated to the point where tears had formed in her eyes.
Mars, flustered and unsure what to do, bowed her head in apology, but Yuno just said she didn't know anymore, turned her body, and entered the passage where I was.
"...Unexpectedly, the inside is clean?"
"............."
"Hm? What's wrong? Your face is totally stiff."
"Uh-uh... it's nothing."
Because I felt like I'd just heard something incredibly terrifying for a moment.
I led Yuno and walked to the end of the corridor.
"──Urgh, aaaah! Aaah.....aaah?"
"Mars. What are you doing over there? Hurry up and follow."
"....I was going to go even without you saying so!"
Partway through, Mars came in screaming, and Ultimately, all of us together opened the first treasure chest.
"Be careful, Chrono. It might be a mimic."
"Yeah, yeah."
Later on, there were indeed more mimics, but at the very least, none existed in the tutorial dungeon.
I opened the chest without worry and showed them the contents.
"Inside... is that a jewel?"
"Not a jewel, it looks like a magic stone."
To be precise, it was a magic stone.
Three lowest-grade magic stones. One lowest-grade potion.
I gave each of them one magic stone, and as for the potion...
"Mars, you use it."
"Me? Why me? Do I look weak enough to need a potion?"
"Would it kill you to just shut up and say thank you?"
".....Thanks."
"Uh... yeah. Sure."
Still, I hadn't expected her to actually say thank you.
Just in case she got the wrong idea, I spoke to Mars.
"You're the vanguard, after all. Since you're at the front, you'll have more use for it than me or Yuno."
"..........."
Without a word, Mars placed the potion into the pouch slung over her shoulder.
Her sniffling a few times and looking bashful—once again, I had to say—was cute when viewed on a screen, but seeing it in person was nothing short of bizarre.
Sway, sway.
"Hnk....Keuhum! Khuhm-hm...!"
'Like seriously, what is up with that hair.'
Sure, the tail of a ponytail was a tail, but could hair that had no nerves whatsoever sway like that?
I wondered if it was a mystery of the human body, but then again, considering gods existed in this world, was there any reason hair couldn't move?
'I should just ignore it.'
We exited the secret passage and resumed our dungeon assault.
...
..
.
Kwadeudeudeuk!
"Easy. So easy. Is it really okay for it to be this easy?"
Most of the monsters that appeared ahead were sliced apart by a single slash from Mars.
"Mars, to the side!"
"Huh? Uh, ah, uwahk?!"
Along the way, for the few monsters Mars missed, Yuno and I took them down.
Both melee and ranged, the damage output was more than sufficient.
Although it was a bit worrying in terms of sustainability since there wasn't a single healer, being a tutorial dungeon, we could go comfortably except for the boss room.
"Ah──here, found a secret passage."
Along the way, I traced my memory and found two more secret chests.
The items inside were, Sure enough, five lowest-grade magic stones, two potions, and one mana potion.
"First, let's divide the potions."
One potion went to Mars, one to me.
The mana potion went to Yuno.
"Is it... really okay for me to take this?"
"Because right now, Yuno is the only person who can use holy magic."
"Huh? How did you know? That I can use holy magic."
"Well, that's obviously..."
I couldn't exactly answer, "How could I not know after seeing your skill tree so many times?"
I quickly racked my brain and recalled the previous test.
"I noticed back when we did the power test on the scarecrows."
"Hmm.... still, wouldn't it be better for you to use this?"
"Chrono, you were the only one who got an S during the power test."
Of course, I stopped her when she tried to hand the mana potion back, insisting I should use it.
"Even if I drink a mana potion, it's useless. My holy magic is a charge-limit type."
"Aha...."
To be precise, it was a time-cooldown type, but it was practically the same thing.
Only then did Yuno say she understood and placed the potion into her pouch.
That left only the magic stones...
"I'll give you one of mine."
"I'll give you one too!"
"....Why?"
Mars and Yuno each yielded one magic stone to me.
Thanks to that, Mars and Yuno ended up with one each, while I obtained a total of three magic stones.
"Because I already received the potion."
Mars grumbled that she was repaying the potion's value.
"A mana potion is simply more expensive than a regular potion, right? I'm giving it as change."
Yuno said that since the mana potion had higher value, she'd concede the magic stones.
"Uh.... thanks."
To be honest, it didn't really mean much.
Even if I could sell the magic stones, being lowest-grade, I couldn't buy a single proper potion with them.
Maybe just enough money to barely buy a sword or not even that. One without any magical treatment whatsoever.
'Anyway, if I just save them up, they'll be useful for plenty of things.'
If nothing else, I could sell them for money and use it to enjoy some work-life balance.
In the game, I was blocked by the system and had no choice, but now that I was inside the game world, my freedom was 100% guaranteed.
"Next week, maybe I'll go out for some meat...."
I placed the magic stones into my pouch as I muttered quietly.
"You're treating, right? We're going together, definitely?"
"Ah."
My damn mouth.
Why did it do that.
"Wah! Meat! I prefer beef over pork, actually!"
".....Wait, no?"
The only remaining conscience.
When I shot Yuno a pointed look,
"But since it might be a bit burdensome for you, I've decided—unlimited buffet restaurant!"
"If it's a buffet, I know a good place! Let's go there!"
"Shit."
She thoroughly trampled right over it and went.
Trying to squeeze the liver out of a flea that had nothing to begin with....