Chapter 12: The Dungeon (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 12: The Dungeon (1)
A dungeon had appeared in Delphine.
We stood before it, along with other adventurers.
To summarize what dungeons are like in games, it's something like this:
Monsters appear.
You go kill them.
You get rewards.
An endless grind.
From what I'd gathered, it wasn't much different now. You could make money by going into the dungeon and selling the magic stones or other materials dropped by monsters.
The profession of "adventurer," who made a living hunting monsters, existed, and you had to join the Adventurer’s Guild to sell your finds.
I already signed up, of course.
It goes without saying, but I can't use magic, nor do I know how to handle a sword. If I were to fight a life-or-death battle with a single baby goblin, I might just barely win.
Nevertheless, the reason I registered as an adventurer was to enter the dungeon. Unlike in the game, you had to be qualified as one of four things to enter a dungeon: a knight, a mage, an adventurer, or a cleric.
Besides, this wasn't a game anymore where I could just let my slaves handle the auto-battles.
One wrong move, and I could get seriously hurt or even die.
Unlike in the past, where you'd fully recover with time or treatment, you could suffer permanent damage here. In the worst case, you could die. How could I send my cute slaves into a place like that all by themselves?
I had to join them and make use of every tool at my disposal, like information and the item shop.
“The danger rating for this dungeon is F to G. Everyone is permitted to enter.”
A guild employee announced the rating after measuring the dungeon's danger level with a magic tool. As expected of the first story dungeon, the difficulty was rock-bottom.
Low difficulty meant weak monsters. Which also meant it wasn't easy to make good money. Perhaps for that reason, the adventurers who were hoping to score big left, leaving only the newbies.
What a relief.
It would've been a headache if I had to compete with them. If someone snatched the reward I was after, I'd have to buy it from them at a premium.
Of course, it was too early to relax. There were still some adventurers left.
“Mirabelle, let's head in.”
“Yes.”
We stepped into the dungeon, and a sensation of floating instantly enveloped us.
When I came to my senses, we were no longer in the field overlooking the city, but in a pitch-black cave without a single ray of light. The way back was blocked by a solid wall.
To escape, we had to either find a teleportation stone somewhere in the dungeon or use the one that appears after defeating the boss.
I switched on the portable magic stone lantern I'd bought earlier, illuminating our surroundings.
“I can do that with magic.”
“No, I'll handle this. Mirabelle, you just focus on combat.”
I had to be considered completely outside our combat strength. Mirabelle was the only one capable of a proper fight. I had to create an environment where she could pour all her focus into battle.
If you want to get carried, you have to at least do this much.
“Let's get moving.”
We started making our way through the dark cave.
The dungeon's structure was a maze.
Since it had just appeared today, it was completely uncharted.
For the record, I didn't know the layout either. This wasn't an RPG, after all; a tycoon game would never describe a dungeon's geography in detail.
Exploration had been a turn-based 2D side-scroller. My experience of running auto-battle thousands of times was utterly useless.
If there was one silver lining, however…
“Let's turn right.”
…it was the one truly useful feature besides the characters being real: the item shop.
A shop that sold not only items for raising slaves but also useful things for all sorts of situations. I had purchased an item before entering the dungeon.
[Dungeon Map]
This is a dungeon map.
A very simple description.
Upon entering a dungeon, its structure and geography are drawn onto the parchment.
It was only a 500-point item, but it was incredibly useful in a situation like this. Because it meant I was the only one who could know the way through the dungeon.
For the record, I couldn't sell it. Most shop items were single-use.
“That's amazing, Master.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Mirabelle gave me a rare look of respect. I'm always happy to receive such a look. She should do it more often.
Aided by the map, we pressed onward without ever hitting a dead end. Then, Mirabelle signaled for me to stop.
“Just a moment. There's a demonic beast ahead.”
Our first monster encounter since entering the dungeon.
Kereuk.
It was a short, green monster—a goblin. In fantasy settings like games and webnovels, it's the kind of monster that always shows up first, right alongside slimes.
“Can you handle it?”
“Of course.”
Mirabelle replied confidently and aimed her Heavenly Covenant. An indigo magic arrow, infused with Mirabelle's mana, blew the goblin's head apart.
Ugh.
A grotesque scene of blood and chunks of flesh splattering everywhere.
Fortunately, while it was disgusting, I didn't feel like throwing up. At times like this, I was grateful for being synchronized with Karami's soul.
We encountered a few more goblins after that, and each time, Mirabelle disintegrated them with her magic.
We couldn't collect any magic stones.
Mirabelle still had trouble with fine control, so she ended up shattering the magic stones along with the monsters.
Well, it didn't really matter. I wasn't desperate for money, and selling goblin magic stones wouldn't fetch much anyway. I'd be better off raising and liberating a slave.
As expected, this is a smooth ride.
I mean, of course it is. It's like using an SSR character on the first stage. It'd be weirder if it was difficult.
After walking for a while, we came to a small cavern.
It was a rest area.
“Mirabelle, do you need a rest?”
“I'm fine, so don't worry, Master. Let's keep going.”
“No. I'm tired. Let's rest for a bit.”
“…”
What, what is it?
You think it's easy walking through a cave with thin air in this frail body of mine?
In the end, we decided to rest.
I was glad I was the master.
If I were the slave, I might have been beaten with a staff.
A clean-looking stream was trickling by, but there was no need to drink from it. Our party had a mage, after all.
I quenched my thirst and washed my grimy hands with water conjured by Mirabelle.
Before we moved on after a short break, I shared some information with Mirabelle.
“I predict this dungeon is only filled with goblins. It's probably a goblin den.”
Mirabelle nodded.
As if to say she already knew that.
But she won't know this, I thought. Just as I was about to add more, Mirabelle beat me to it.
“I can feel a sinister power from deep within the cave. I think there's something that uses magic.”
Oh?
She can sense that?
I was surprised for a moment. Just as Mirabelle guessed, the dungeon boss was a spell-casting goblin. A Goblin Shaman. My goal was the skill book that had a low chance of dropping when you killed it.
“I see. That's very useful information.”
Pleased by the praise, Mirabelle smiled faintly.
Just then, another party entered the rest area from a different path than the one we had taken.
“I told you not to get scared, you're the vanguard! We almost all died!”
“You were the one screaming! Of course I got startled!”
Sharp words flew back and forth.
It was a mixed party of two men and two women, newbie adventurers who looked to be around Mirabelle's age.
The group, bickering loud enough to make the cavern echo, soon met my gaze.
“What, there's another party here? I thought we were the first.”
“That's because you were dragging your feet!”
“Why have you been picking a fight with me this whole time? Is it that time of the month?”
“What?!”
Ugh, so noisy.
This isn't good for a child's emotional development. I should only show Mirabelle good things.
“Haha, you all seem to get along so well. Mirabelle, let's give them their space so we're not in the way.”
“Yes.”
We were about to be on our way, but…
“Wait! Take me with you!”
The boy with a wooden shield and a shortsword on his back approached us, spouting sudden nonsense.
Wary of his approach, Mirabelle aimed her staff at him. The adventurer boy flinched and kept his distance, unable to get any closer.
“What do you mean, 'take you with us'?”
“Looks like you have a mage and a scout…? Anyway, you don't seem to have a vanguard, so let me join. I'll be your front line.”
After saying his piece, the boy stared at Mirabelle, then quickly averted his gaze. Then he glanced at her again, his cheeks turning red.
How dare this country bumpkin lay his eyes on my daughter?
Just as I was about to say something, the girl who seemed to be the party's leader shouted instead.
“Hey! What kind of nonsense is that? What are we supposed to do if our vanguard leaves?”
“All you guys do is complain. This is a chance for you to realize how precious I am.”
Uh, we have no intention of taking you with us.
He's putting on a one-man show.
Mirabelle looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask, 'Should I take care of him, Master?'Don't even think about it.
I gave the boy, who was facing off with his own companion, a hard shove in the back.
“Huh?”
The boy stumbled, teetering on the verge of falling, before finally collapsing with a thud in front of the girl. He stared at us with the eyes of someone who had just been betrayed.
An earthen wall shot up between us and the boy, blocking our view. It was Mirabelle's magic.
“You're so dead!”
“H-Hey! W-Wait!”
Then came the sounds of a beating.
That's the punishment for trying to abandon your party in a life-or-death dungeon. You deserve it.
“Let's go.”
I had Mirabelle block all the paths leading to the boss room. This was a precaution against anyone stealing the spellbook.
We encountered various other groups of goblins afterward, but as expected, the fights were too one-sided to be called battles.
At last, we reached the boss room.
Inside, just as I'd predicted, was a Goblin Shaman.
A few regular goblins.
And…
Huh?
…two Hobgoblins.