Into the Dungeon
Alchemy Department. Liana. A first-year student at the Academy, just like me. In this game, potion crafting and magic enchanting demand delicate mana control—a field I can barely glance at with my abysmal magic stat. The character with the greatest potential in alchemy within the story stands right before me.
She looked utterly exhausted. Her light-green hair was dry and frizzy, and fatigue clouded her eyes. …To think someone could still look this beautiful even when completely drained. Her skin was pale from lack of sunlight, her chest modestly pronounced, framed by long lashes and a refined nose. For a moment, I was entranced by how perfectly she matched her in-game illustration.
…Get a grip.
I activated [Insight] to view Liana's status window.
All potions are born from these hands. Greatly increases the success rate of potion crafting. When successfully crafting a high-grade potion, there is a chance to slightly increase the Magic stat.
One who breathes life into tools. Grants a high probability of bestowing high-grade effects on artifacts. Also greatly reduces failure rate.
Her magic stat was still pitiful because she hadn't grown yet. However, thanks to her traits, Liana's magic would rise with each successful craft, placing her growth speed among the faster ones—provided she had enough materials to keep making potions.
"Why are you staring at me like that…? I told you it's dangerous here."
Liana, misunderstanding my gaze, spoke up.
"…You. I need you to make me a potion."
"Huh? Why would I…?"
Liana stared at me in disbelief. Fair enough—if someone suddenly showed up and demanded I craft something, I'd react the same way.
"You're short on money right now, aren't you?"
As a commoner, Liana had been admitted to the Academy but was struggling financially. Every material must have been precious to her.
"…How do you know that?"
"…No need to know. I'll be blunt. I'll sponsor you. In return, you'll make potions and items for me."
Liana eyed me suspiciously. "Why me, of all people? …My grades aren't even that good…"
"I saw your potential. You stay in this workshop every day after class experimenting, don't you?"
In the game, meeting Liana was as simple as visiting the lab after school—she was always there.
"…I saw possibility in that passion. I can trust you."
"Ugh… Thank you…"
Liana blushed and lowered her head, clearly embarrassed. Her current grades weren't worth praising, even as empty flattery. This was probably the first time she'd heard such words.
"What do you think…? Think it over. This is an advance payment."
I held out the ten gold coins I'd extorted from Luden earlier.
Goodbye… my meat skewers…
One gold equaled a hundred silver, so this was a full thousand silver. Academy cafeteria meals cost one silver each, meaning I'd just handed over nearly a year's worth of food expenses as an advance. Feeling the lightness in my now-thinner pouch, a hollow emptiness threatened to settle in.
"…This much money…! With this, I can make as many potions or enchantments as I want…!"
Liana was barely holding back a smile.
"I'm just here to talk for now. I'm in Class B. Think it over and come find me."
I finished speaking and left the workshop immediately. Liana seemed about to say something, but I walked out anyway.
That was cooler, right?
. . .
After meeting with the professor and Liana, I returned to the dorm.
Now, what other hidden pieces can I get…
Just one necklace didn't feel like enough. Two major events would occur in the second semester of the first year: the demon attack and the homunculus incident. I needed hidden pieces useful for both.
The homunculus incident happens near the end of the semester, while the demon attack occurs around the middle… So the urgent matter right now is preparing for the demon attack.
The demon attack. A student makes a contract with a demon, triggering the incident. In it, my childhood friend Serein dies. At least in the game, there was no way to save her. The protagonist always discovered the scene after her death, and the characters around Serein at the time lacked the power to stop the demon.
…Should I give her this necklace in advance?
I fiddled with the reverse-cross necklace on my chest. …Give it as a gift? It'd be lucky if she didn't throw it away on the spot. Especially since my favorability with her was already rock bottom.
That's a no.
…Huh? Why didn't I think of this earlier? My offensive stats like Strength, Agility, and Magic have terrible efficiency anyway. That means I should aim to be a tank. It's useful for survival too.
And this game has an artifact made for tanks.
Goliath's Shield. An item that grants additional stats based on the wearer's Constitution stat. …It was a tank-exclusive piece, but because the game was filled with instant-death patterns, tanks weren't in high demand, so few people used it.
To obtain this item, I had to clear a dungeon outside the Academy.
But it's a dungeon with a recommended level of 25… I need someone to go with me…
It would be too harsh for me at level 18 with all my points dumped into Constitution. The place was crawling with insane skeletons. I'd last maybe three minutes before dying.
The real problem was finding someone willing to go. It was a hidden dungeon, so almost no information existed about it.
Huh? There is someone. Someone who could go with me.
I thought of one person. Someone whose individual strength wasn't much, but who could easily handle skeletons in large numbers.
. . .
"…Luden. Stay after class."
The next day at the Academy, I approached Luden after arriving.
"…W-Why! I already gave you the money like you wanted!"
He looked tense, probably because I had overwhelmingly beaten him the day before. To Luden, I must have seemed like an insurmountable wall.
"There's a place we need to go. You still owe me, don't you?"
I whispered to him.
"I gave you all the money you asked for! What debt are you talking about?!"
"I never said that was the price. …I only 'asked' for a favor."
Luden stared at me in disbelief, then quickly looked away.
"You said it was payment… F-Fine! I get it!"
Luden agreed.
Bones that will not break. Grants strong resistance to status ailments such as fractures and dislocations. Provides slight immunity to physical damage.
Thanks to his trait, Luden could partially ignore physical damage, which would be extremely effective against skeletons. Their weak attacks wouldn't be enough to take him down.
Now all I had to do was wait for class to end.
Class ended. I couldn't understand the long-winded theories—whether they were game settings or not—so I just kept my eyes open and slept through it.
What even is mana sensitivity, and what's a magic function…
Once everyone had left, Luden approached me.
"Let's go."
"…Yeah."
As Luden and I stepped out of the classroom, a girl approached me.
Liana?
Only then did I remember telling Liana to come find me the next day.
"H-Hey! How could you leave without even telling me your name! I waited forever…!"
Come to think of it, I hadn't told Liana my name. Since she was in the Alchemy Department, her building was quite far from here, so she might not have known it.
"My name is Logue. I'm a bit busy right now, so come find me tomorrow."
"W-What?"
Just as I was about to leave with Luden, leaving behind Liana's dumbfounded expression—
"No. You can't just say what you want and leave!"
Liana stuck close to me.
…Should I bring Liana along too? The dungeon we're heading to drops a ring that increases magic power. It would be a pretty good artifact for her.
"…You come too."
"…Are you and I speaking different languages? Hey, big guy next to him? Is this person always like this?"
"I don't know either. Just accept it."
Luden spoke in a resigned tone.
…You haven't talked to me much either.
Luden, Liana, and I left the Academy together and headed toward the forest on the outskirts.
. . .
"…Why are we here again…?"
Upon arriving at the forest, the dense trees blocked the sunlight, making the surroundings dark despite it being early evening. I lightly ignored Liana's words and pushed through the woods.
After going a bit farther, I found a gravestone.
Looks exactly like it did in the game.
I poured a holy potion I'd bought from the general store onto the gravestone.
"Is this someone's gravestone…?"
The gravestone began to glow and vibrate. Then the soil around it started rising upward. Eventually, it formed an entrance.
Luden and Liana's eyes widened in surprise.
"We're going in."
"In here…?", "In here…?"
The presentation was flashy, but the dungeon wasn't actually that difficult. It was supposedly an old secret laboratory built by a necromancer for research.
"Lead the way, Luden."
"Me?!"
Obviously. There's no way I'd go first when it might be dangerous.
We entered the dungeon with Luden at the front.