Chapter 85

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 85

Chapter Title: Chapter 85

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 85

Chapter Title: Dungeon Experience (2)

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"......"

"......"

In one corner of the dungeon room, we stood side by side.

"......"

"......"

We had nothing to say to each other.

"......"

"......"

Neither me nor her.

Ah, I wonder if the theater practice is going well.

"Is the theater practice going well?"

"How would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you know? You haven't even shown up."

"......"

I looked away again. Elise crossed her arms too.

"......But why are you the guard? You're a bit too small for a guard."

"Even if I'm small, I can still be a guard, you know? Don't you know about shift guards?"

Guards are divided into shift guards, masher guards, and so on. Mashers refer to guys like Kain, while shift guards are the nimble types like me right now.

"Fine. Do whatever you want."

I tapped my wrist twice. My ID info popped up in front of my eyes.

"Your ID is ElizeEEM? Wow, real classy."

I picked a fight for no reason.

"You little monkey!"

She suddenly flipped out. I flinched in surprise.

"Whoa, you scared me."

"......"

Elise mumbled with her lips. After glaring at me for a moment, she cleared her throat and composed her expression. She elegantly brushed her hair back.

"......Look at your own ID first. Before pointing fingers at others."

"What's wrong with mine?"

It's a random ID.

"What's wrong with 5,092? It's like a license plate—nice and simple."

Elise let out a sigh.

"That's exactly why you won't make it. Starting from the smallest things—"

"It's still better than ElizeEEM? If it's Elise'm, it's Elise'm, but what's EEM? A typo? Can't you change typos?"

"......"

A vein popped on her forehead. She cracked her neck side to side.

─Alright. We're about to enter.

Thankfully, the warden spoke up.

A loose tension seeped in just as things were getting tense.

─Before entering, have you all chosen your weapons?

I wiggled the real sword in my hand. It was a broadsword issued by the office. Elise, on the other hand, was empty-handed.

─There will be ten administrators including myself, plus College Board staff, monitoring inside the dungeon, so don't worry. I'll open the portal now.

Whoosh—portals appeared here and there in the dungeon room. One opened right near us. I nodded toward it.

"You first."

"......Shouldn't the guard go first?"

"You said I'm too small for a guard."

"You really have no manners."

Elise sighed and stepped inside. I followed right behind.

The dungeon landscape that appeared with the info window was... crumbling buildings, roads missing chunks of pavement, and massive moss and vines overtaking them like an invasion.

Just like a world after the apocalypse.

Ding—

"Voice support too, huh."

I swiped my hand to dismiss the alert window. Elise glanced over.

"Looks like you know how to use the system somewhat."

"Eh."

It's simple. Tap your wrist twice, and the status window appears. You can actually tap any body part, but my old master did it this way.

If you don't like status windows cluttering your vision, you can use the [Dungeon System] app on your smartphone or smartwatch.

Like Elise here with her smartwatch.

"Let's hunt a bunch for now."

I rolled my shoulders in a stretch. Crack! Pain shot through my joints again.

"......Hey. But I can't really do much."

Elise narrowed her eyes as I quickly changed the subject.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Not feeling great. But I can find the mobs for you."

Even before regression, I didn't really have a position.

More like a guide, porter, scout, pathfinder—those kinds of odd jobs, rather than guard, forward, or supporter.

Elise tilted her head and squinted one eye.

"Shirking duties again?"

"What shirking? The goal is to hunt as many as possible anyway. So a guide like me is important too, right?"

"......"

While Elise looked exasperated, I activated the SZX-9500 Mana Optics Microscope. My vision stretched out instantly. I spotted one mob inside a crumbling building.

A fire-breathing lizard monster. About the size of an adult crocodile.

"Salamander. Can you handle it?"

"......Where is it?"

Elise peered in the direction I was looking.

"Just follow me."

I ran toward it. Or tried to.

Stumbling. My knee kept buckling, so I slowed down subtly. Still maintaining alert speed, but Elise walked behind me.

Click-clack—walking like a princess, she asked.

"What, caterpillar?"

"Shut up. There."

I pointed at the crumbling building. The salamander was in that window.

"......It really is there."

Elise looked slightly surprised.

"What should I do? Pull aggro?"

"No need."

Elise drew up her mana. A mana technique pattern lit up on her arm like a tattoo. Of course, not a real tattoo—it's Mana Body, utilizing One Belt Four Lines.

Twisting the 'lines' completed inside the body into a mana technique pattern and triggering it immediately.

The mana technique she was deploying now was...

Kwa-dududuk—!

The salamander was crushed. Overwhelming telekinesis had squashed it from all sides.

The hunt ended in 3 seconds.

I approached.

No corpse left. Instead, there was a colorless orb.

This is part of the dungeon system too. Familiar names: [Inventory] and [Drop Item].

Back when there was no system, butchering corpses and hauling them out was all manual labor.

I picked up the orb. It was gray.

"Hey."

I turned to Elise. She stood there, lost in her own admiration.

"No need to be im—"

"Tone it down next time. No loot left."

"......What?"

In the dungeon system, monster corpses turn into 'orbs' based on rank.

The tougher the monster, the more vibrant the color, and the more usable parts on the body, the higher the grade.

So if this salamander had been hunted in perfect condition, we'd have gotten maybe a [High-Grade Gray Orb].

These orbs are the only way to take dungeon items out to the outside world, so they're crucial.

"See."

I dropped the orb on the ground. The salamander corpse reappeared. Mangled horribly, bones jutting out between skin and flesh like mush. Elise quickly looked away.

"......Got it, so pick it up quick."

"Once you take it out, you can't put it back."

Dropping the orb reverts it to the corpse, but you can't inventory it again.

"Then why'd you take it out? Idiot."

"This one's trash anyway. Let's go for something else. Follow me."

I led Elise. She followed with a pout.

Elise dove into hunting. In just 3 hours, she took down 20. Salamanders, asphalt golems, half-moon bears, harpies, and more... It was pretty fun thanks to her.

Truth be told, when she first experienced dungeons, it wasn't this arcadey. Finding mobs was a chore. Two per hour was lucky.

"Gotta admit it. You find them like a dolphin."

"......No radar or high-tech stuff? Why dolphin."

"Sorry."

"Yeah."

"Sorry to the dolphin."

"You're crazy."

Maybe because she was so focused ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on hunting, Elise's stomach growled fiercely.

Grrrrowl—

I flinched. Thought it was hers, but luckily it was Sion.

He poked his belly and muttered.

"Man, I'm hungry."

"Hmph."

Elise snorted, pretending it wasn't her.

Groooowl—!

The stomach rumble grew louder. Elise's gaze drifted down awkwardly. What's in that guy's gut? How is the sound so gross and crude?

"Ah, can't take it."

Suddenly, Sion pulled an orb from his inventory. Dropping it turned it into a half-moon bear corpse.

"......Planning to eat monster meat?"

"These are beasts. Beasts are edible. And tasty too."

Self-sufficiency is the rule in dungeons. You can only bring in what clings to your body from outside.

That 'carryable area' is strictly defined like a hitbox, so even big backpacks get clipped if they exceed it. That's why dungeon bag sizes are so strict.

It's not for nothing that knight orders and mercenary corps use 'porters' covered in wide bags.

"Gonna butcher, so look away if you don't wanna see."

Sion raised his sword.

Stab! He plunged the blade into the half-moon bear corpse.

Then sloooowly sliced. Wedging the knife under the exposed hide, he skillfully separated skin and flesh—shwick-shwick-shwick.

Next, scraaaape! Scraping the bone surface to cleanly remove the meat.

Elise watched blankly before snapping to.

"......Right. You were a butcher shop part-timer. It's like your calling—why not switch careers?"

"Light a fire. Gonna grill it."

Elise started a fire. Sion sharpened the bear bones into skewers and threaded the meat on six of them, then set them over the campfire.

Sizzle—

Watching the meat cook, Elise licked her lips. Sion asked.

"You gonna eat too?"

"It's meat I hunted. Of course I'm eating."

She didn't play coy. She tried to maintain dignity in daily life despite the hassle, but no need in a dungeon.

"......Ow, my shoulder."

Suddenly, Sion clutched his shoulder. He gritted his teeth, face twisting. Elise watched him quietly.

Something's off.

No, really off.

He's been dragging one leg since earlier, and sweating cold too.

Weird.

[Aden Medical Center] keeps coming to mind.

"......Hey. You got something wrong with you?"

Elise finally asked. But her expression was ambiguous. One corner of her mouth quirked up, eyes calmly settled—hard to read.

Sion shot back.

"What, mocking me or worried?"

"If you think I'm worried about you, you've completely lost the ability to read expressions and empathy—you psycho—"

"Whatever. Wouldn't some salt make it tastier?"

Sion muttered, eyeing the skewers.

"Got it."

Elise pulled salt from her inventory. Sion's eyes widened.

"......What. Where'd you get that?"

"Guide from last dungeon had some. Stashed it in inventory just in case. Pepper too."

She pulled out pepper with her other hand.

Like this, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠[Dungeon System] inventory is shared across all dungeons. Items from one can be used in another.

Sion took the salt and pepper and sprinkled them on the skewers.

"Your inventory okay? You're 3x3, right? Wastes two slots on salt and pepper."

"Mine's 4x4~"

"What? How?"

Sion looked mildly surprised. Elise puffed up proudly.

"I got an upgrade scroll once."

The base dungeon system inventory is 3x3—9 slots total. But you can upgrade with 'upgrade scrolls' that drop rarely from mobs.

Elise luckily got one and upgraded to 4x4.

She was over the moon back then.

"Me? ...Wait, mine's 5x5?"

But then Sion said something weird. Elise snorted.

"What delusion is that? For a first-timer."

"......"

He went quiet. Staring blankly into space like he was seeing a system window...

In fact, his inventory, visible only to him, was a bit unusual.

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