Dungeon Exploration
Dungeon Exploration
"Shall we camp soon?"
"Hmm, I suppose we should, right...?"
It would take about a day to walk to our destination, so the suggestion was to depart in the afternoon the day before.
After walking for quite a while, darkness had already fallen.
Even if we were to move further from here, the arrival time wouldn't change much anyway.
So, we decided to stop walking for today and start setting up camp.
And if there was one thing different from before,
"Lunia-ssi, please hold that side for me."
"Okay."
It was that after traveling together for two weeks, they had become close enough to each other.
So, unlike our first meeting, I also sleep in the same tent and stand night watch.
Of course, that didn't change the fact that I still bickered with Reed.
"Lunia-ssi! What's for dinner tonight!"
"Hehe~ Today, it's a simple yet delicious mushroom stew."
"Wow! Mushroom stew!"
Joking around with Mari, I took out a pot from my Subspace Pouch.
I placed the pot over the small bonfire I had made and began adding the stew ingredients, including mushrooms.
Then, I just had to boil it vigorously until the stew bubbled up, and it would be complete.
Although I only knew how to cook things like fried eggs, ramen, and fried rice,
it was Mrs. Arisa who taught me how to make such dishes.
And at that time, I learned a piece of knowledge along with it,
which was that adventurers should eat light dinners.
It doesn't matter if it's a day off or an activity where you return home the same day.
However, if you're sleeping outdoors or camping, it's always better to eat a light dinner.
There are two reasons for this: the first reason is because you have to stand night watch.
Night watch is stood by setting rules and order to prevent anything from happening during the night, but if an urgent need to relieve oneself were to arise, the situation could become critical.
And the second reason was because of breakfast the next day.
If adventurer activities are done in parties, camping is almost an essential element.
And the very fact that a situation requiring camping arises means that you have to be active the next day, or for several more days.
Most adventurers exert the most energy in the morning and afternoon.
Therefore, in order to eat a very hearty breakfast and lunch, it's necessary to eat a light dinner the day before.
"It's delicious, Lunia-ssi!"
"Right?"
As expected, Mrs. Arisa was a jack-of-all-trades.
##
".....nia, Lunia."
"Ugh..."
"It's your turn now."
"Mmm..."
Ugh.
This night watch, it was surprisingly tough.
It felt like nightmares from my past life were coming back to haunt me...
I forced my constantly closing eyes open and woke up from sleep.
"H-hey, hurry up and get up."
"Mmm..."
I need to snap out of it quickly.
I don't remember being like this before, but ever since I possessed this body, I've been so weak to sleep.
But now that I think about it, I'm suddenly angry.
Why is this bastard Reed picking a fight with me again?
Once was enough to wake me up, why keep rushing me?
"I'll go when I'm ready, you virgin bastard."
"Wha—, you, you damn it...!"
As Reed, unable to contain his anger, was about to yell back,
"Ugh..."
Perhaps because of the noise, Mari seemed to be waking up.
Gah, I shouldn't wake up innocent Mari.
-Nyah!
I stuck out my tongue to tease Reed and quickly went out of the tent.
"Hehe."
To keep the fire Reed had maintained all night from going out, I added more firewood and wrapped a blanket around myself.
Actually, while observing Reed and Mari all this time, I noticed something.
Reed and Mari's relationship was like childhood friends, just like I'd seen in comics!
They were similar in age, and their parents were close, so they naturally became friends.
And it was natural for such a relationship to involve spending countless hours together, growing up side by side since childhood.
That's how Mari and Reed also became adventurers together.
And for me, who had thoroughly read countless light novels, anime, and manga!
I could somewhat predict their relationship!
Hehe.
It was obvious that the two inside that tent were on the 'childhood friends route', wasn't it!
You might ask if it's just a total otaku's delusion?
Knowing that, I even conducted some experiments.
My relationship with Reed, where we always bickered.
Then, just once, in front of Mari, I tidied Reed's clothes or subtly pretended to be close and stuck to his side.
Then, Mari flinched all over and looked at Reed and me with an uneasy gaze, and immediately started doing the exact same things I had done to Reed.
It was obvious she was anxious that Reed might actually take an interest in me.
Moreover, she was subtly jealous of me.
Of course, Mari, who liked me so much, hid her feelings from me.
Anyway, I did the same thing to Mari in reverse.
I would deliberately grope Mari's body where Reed was clearly watching, or loudly suggest we go bathe together so Reed could hear everything.
Every time, Reed would also flinch and subtly glance at Mari's body, wouldn't he?
From my perspective, they already like each other.
But it's clear they're both suppressing their true feelings, afraid that if they confess, their relationship might break, or they might no longer be able to maintain this relationship.
"It would all be over if one of them just made a move first."
Frustration?
No, not really.
Isn't the whole point of childhood friend stories to enjoy that very frustration?
Just being able to watch their progress right next to them was satisfying enough.
Reed, be glad I'm a woman.
If I were a man, you'd be NTR'd immediately.
Mari is subtly pretty, and her breasts are big, you know.
Not as big as mine, of course.
##
"Here it is!"
"This is... the Dungeon."
My first impression upon seeing the Dungeon was this:
It's damn ominous.
Of course, it wasn't my instincts or intuition ringing alarm bells.
It just looked inherently unsettling.
It was as if the cave wasn't a natural one, but rather had a gaping mouth.
Indeed, Dungeons aren't naturally formed; they are artificially created by the concentration of Magi, the core of a Dungeon Core.
"Everyone ready?"
"Yeah."
"Yes!"
With their replies heard, it was finally time to experience our first Dungeon.
.....
...
"Hiyah!"
A water sphere spell formed in front of my Magic Staff and immediately flew towards the Golem in front of me.
-Thwack!
Crumble...!
The Golem, hit by the spell right in the center, shattered into pieces.
However, as the pieces slowly began to gather around the Golem's core,
-Crunch!
Reed shattered the core with his sword, and it stopped moving as if dead.
No, it was dead. The Golem.
And at the same time,
[You have gained experience points!]
[Your Level has increased!]
'Yay!'
My Level increased.
"Phew, I've used up all my Mana. Let's rest for a bit."
"Yes! You worked hard, Lunia-ssi!"
Even though it was called a Dungeon, its interior was ultimately just a very large cave.
Moreover, luminous stones emitting light were embedded here and there, making it brighter than night but darker than day.
This meant we could rest in such a spacious place.
Besides, it wasn't just me who was tired; Mari and Reed also seemed a bit exhausted.
Although I only had to use Mana from the back, this also consumed a surprising amount of concentration.
So, it was fortunate that my resting time was similar to that of my party members.
It was better than someone wasting stamina while others rested.
However, the time it took for me to fully recover my Mana was about an hour.
But that didn't mean the entire party could rest for an hour just for me.
Therefore, I had to recover only the minimum Mana needed to use magic once or twice and then depart.
"Reed, you idiot!"
"Ugh!"
Of course, the Dungeon exploration, which I thought would end smoothly, wasn't that easy.
Perhaps real combat is truly real combat?
It was true that no matter how many plans you had, they became useless in real combat.
Reed, who had been distracted during the battle, allowed a Golem's attack.
Fortunately, the injury wasn't severe enough to incapacitate him.
Whether it was shocking to see a party member attacked right before my eyes, or simply that I disliked my comrade getting hurt,
I found myself rushing without realizing it, and did something that wasn't pre-arranged.
The plan to use a water sphere spell once or twice on a Golem and have Reed finish it off was nowhere to be seen,
and in the end, I used a Mana Recovery Potion, cast magic three times in a row, and defeated the Golem.
Then I immediately ran to Reed.
"Hey! I told you to be careful!"
"S-sorry."
"Let me see your wound."
I tried to check Reed's injury, but
"No, it's fine. It's nothing with just this..."
he tried to hide his arm, so I immediately grabbed it.
"Ugh...!"
"R-Reed!"
It seemed it wasn't just a simple bruise; Reed let out a groan mixed with pain,
and Mari, perhaps worried by Reed's groan, quickly rushed over.
"Damn, it's not a small wound either."
The injury was on his right arm.
He seemed to have taken a direct hit from the Golem's swinging arm.
Still, fortunately, it didn't look critical enough to be a broken bone.
I immediately began taking out the items I had bought beforehand from my Subspace Pouch.
What I took out were bandages and string.
Originally, such items weren't included from the start, but my Subspace Pouch had gradually accumulated more as I gained experience.
I tried to wrap a bandage around Reed's injured area, which was gradually turning dark purple with bruising and swelling.
So, to properly tie the bandage, I brought my head close to Reed's face,
"W-wait..."
Reed started to avoid me.
"What, do I smell?"
Reacting to Reed, I picked up a strand of my hair and sniffed it, and just in case, I slightly raised my shoulder and sniffed, but there was no smell at all.
Instead, a floral body scent wafted up.
"I don't smell anything."
"N-no, it's not that..., ugh."
Reed began to show a completely flustered expression, entirely different from when I teased him.
