Descent into the Ancient Vault
As I plummeted straight down, it felt somewhat like riding a waterslide. The gravity around me shifted dramatically, and soon I could feel the water vanish completely, replaced by air pressing against every inch of my body.
The moment my breathing grew much freer was probably around the midpoint of the hole.
I descended through the dark passage that seemed to lead into an underground world for several dozen seconds. Just as anxiety began to creep in over when it might end, an open space appeared before me.
A massive cave resembling Magi’s lair awaited. And I was falling from the ceiling toward the floor with zero protection whatsoever.
If I was unlucky, this was where I could die.
“Undain.”
Yesterday I had twisted my back from the sudden drop, but today I had kept Undain on standby. He caught me smoothly, and I landed on the ground without any trouble.
The end of the passage was perfectly designed to send anyone who let their guard down crashing face-first into the dirt.
I looked up at the ceiling again and let out a genuine sigh of admiration.
“Incredible……”
The more I stared, the more astonishing it became.
Magics guarding this space for over eight thousand years were still perfectly intact.
The illusory rocks, the barrier preventing the lake water from flooding in—every last detail was magic.
Only the ancients could have pulled off something like this. Modern mages could never hope to match it.
“Adore, light the area for me.”
With a single call of his name, I summoned Adore back to my side after leaving him above.
The spot where the men had been was now surely swallowed in thick darkness.
As if they couldn’t stand it any longer and had begun descending by force, a thick, drawn-out scream traveled down the passage and reached all the way here.
The scream grew louder and louder.
Judging by that husky voice… the first victim was Chad!
“Uwaaaaack!”
Oh, he’s falling right above me.
I took one casual step to the side. I had no interest in starring in a murder case where Chad landed on top of me and crushed me to death.
Chad landed on both feet with a heavy thud that shook the ground. He rubbed his knee for a brief moment before immediately snarling at me.
“Hey! What the hell were you thinking, killing the light like that!”
“Whether it’s dark over there or not has nothing to do with me. As long as I’m standing in the light, that’s good enough.”
“You… you selfish woman! After you left, the shield kept shrinking! You did that on purpose, didn’t you!”
“You caught me? If I left it alone, it looked like you’d never come down, even after a thousand years. I just applied a little pressure.”
“Are you insane?!”
“How tragic that you don’t appreciate my deep affection… I was only acting with the heart of a mother lion who wants her cubs to grow up strong—”
Mid-sentence, Chad suddenly grabbed me and slammed me against the wall.
For a second I thought the guy had finally grown a spine, but I quickly realized why he’d done it.
Enk was falling exactly where we had been standing.
“Whoop!”
Enk landed safely with a far lighter motion than Chad and even had the leisure to lift his head and look around for us.
At our frantic gestures, he quickly stepped aside. Right after, Rai dropped into the spot, followed immediately by Gail.
Everyone landed without issue.
Unlike me yesterday, no one flailed around in panic. And Ash’s landing was so flawless I felt like awarding him a perfect ten, a gold medal, and a standing ovation.
What a shame.
“Tch. I was hoping at least one of them would land on their ass.”
Master?
“What?”
You literally just said that out loud. Those filthy inner thoughts of yours…
“It’s fine. It’s not exactly a secret. Wait, but calling them filthy is a little annoying, don’t you think?”
Kyahaha! Hang in there! Our hope, Lox, is still up there!
“Oh, right? Rai, you’re a genius!”
Kyaa.
That’s right! That guy was still left.
The cowardly scholar who refused to come down until the very end. I really hoped he would tumble down in a spectacular, roll-around-on-the-ground kind of way so I could tease him about it forever.
This kind of fluttering excitement was the first I’d felt since Ash kissed the back of my hand.
“Gwaaaaaaaaah!”
At the long, drawn-out scream coming from above, I felt my heart pound violently.
With the absolute faith that he alone would not disappoint me, my eyes sparkled with anticipation.
This was surely the first and last time in my life I would wait for Lox with such eager delight.
Clasping my hands together, I looked up at the ceiling with a heart full of swelling expectation.
He’s coming!
“He’s here!”
My mood stayed excellent right up until Lox finished his long scream and dropped right in front of me.
It would have stayed that way if Ash, who happened to be standing nearby, hadn’t caught him as casually as if he were picking up a pebble while walking by.
What a disappointment! Ash! You don’t understand anything! Tch, you fool! Points deducted!
I completely agreed.
Catching him like that—and in a princess carry, no less…!
What is this? Why do I feel so annoyed? Is it because I didn’t get to see Lox fall flat on his face?
Apparently unaware of the displeased stares Rai and I were shooting him, Lox clung tightly to Ash as if he had suffered some terrible tragedy, babbling about how he had nearly died and other pathetic nonsense.
Ash comforting him, Lox clinging to him—it was so nauseating I could barely stand to watch.
Falling from there might actually kill him… but would it kill you to just fall properly?
“What? Are those two dating?”
“They do stick together all the time.”
When I grumbled, my insides strangely twisted, Chad—who was standing right behind me—answered.
With his chin resting on top of my head, no less.
“I heard they’ve been friends for ten years?”
“Hmph. So they’re besties, huh?”
“You sound jealous.”
“Me? Of who?”
“Of Lox, obviously.”
“…Maybe? Ash is mine, after all.”
I crossed my arms and pouted. When the weight on my head disappeared, I looked up.
Chad had pulled back and was staring down at me with a meaningful look. The guy was easily two heads taller than me.
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I meant he’s my slave.”
“That sounds even worse.”
“Should I change it to servant for a milder version?”
“Are all Spirit Masters as weird as you?”
“Considering I constantly hear that people have never met anyone like me, I’d say no.”
“Ah… I see.”
What? First time seeing such a shameless person?
How can anyone be perfect?
With talent and beauty so incredible it makes the gods jealous, if I were humble on top of that it would be outright fraudulent.
That would be impossible. Even I am overflowing with human charm, after all.
“Hey! Everyone get over here! Hurry!”
“You have to see this!”
It seemed Enk and Gail had also discovered what I found yesterday.
Their excited voices calling to us, still standing beneath the hole, echoed loudly through the cave.
The space had originally been pitch black without a single ray of light, but now Adore was illuminating every corner so brightly it felt like daytime.
I gave Chad a light shove and started walking first.
“Let’s go.”
“This is amazing. How can something like this exist beneath a lake?”
“That’s what magic does.”
“It’s unbelievable……”
The ceiling was so high even Chad had to crane his neck for a long time, yet compared to the sheer scale of the door, the cave itself felt almost insignificant.
A single enormous double door of deep blue stood firmly shut, radiating overwhelming presence.
And if there was anything of value, it would definitely be behind that door.
Everyone seemed to share the same thought as we stood facing the giant door. The group looked tense, and no one dared lay a hand on it carelessly.
I, of course, had already finished testing it with attacks yesterday.
“This is what I saw yesterday.”
“Doesn’t look like an ordinary door at all.”
“You said you attacked it, but there isn’t even a scratch?”
“Exactly. It definitely won’t open with brute force. It doesn’t seem like a push-to-open type, and dismantling magic probably won’t work either.”
Then the only remaining option was to fulfill some specific condition—just like Lox had nagged us about until our ears developed calluses.
There had to be a separate key that could open this door. Discovering what it was became our remaining task.
The more I looked at it, the more the door seemed far too large for ordinary people to use. A thought suddenly occurred to me.
“But doesn’t this door look like it was made for a dragon? The size is exactly…”
“Gyaaaaah!”
“Don’t jinx us!”
“Stop talking like that!”
If Magi’s lair had a door, it would probably be about this size.
While I was teasing the men, Lox stepped in with a serious expression.
“No. This door follows the exact architectural style used by ancient nobles. Back then, it was quite fashionable to create enormous doors that could only be opened with magic. This is a classic example.”
“Thank goodness… I really thought it was a dragon door because of you!”
“Heh heh. Only an idiot would fall for that.”
“To think I’m on the same team as someone who laughs like that.”
“Of course, such things were only possible in the ancient era when magic was part of everyday life. In modern times when mages have become rare, they’ve mostly disappeared, though traces still remain. You can still find doors larger than necessary in the imperial and royal palaces. They are the ultimate symbols of immense power.”
When had he been sobbing in Ash’s arms? Now he was suddenly acting like an expert.
Lox gazed at the door as if it were something sacred. His eyes were filled with a mixture of rapture and admiration, and I thought, Yep, this guy is a hardcore history nerd.
“The owner of this place was undoubtedly someone with enormous wealth and authority. A high-ranking noble… regardless, they must have been exceptionally capable. The odds are high they were a mage. And assuming this is the entrance, the structure suggests there are likely no monsters or additional traps.”
“Well, just getting here was already a trial in itself.”
“No. For most dungeons, simply locating them is difficult, but overcoming traps to find the entrance is even harder.”
“…Listening to you— Hey! We got here easily because I’m here! It’s not that there are no traps—the act of crossing that lake itself is the trap! Why don’t you just admit I’m a blessing to all of you!”
“Dungeons without traps are actually quite rare. The owner of this place hid it, but it doesn’t seem they intended to harm or block those who tried to enter.”
This bastard had naturally ignored what I said again.
“Considering all those factors, this appears to be a dungeon created by an individual. Dungeons filled with traps are usually made by large organizations. What we’ve found is most likely a personal treasure vault.”
“So? How do we open the door? Enough with the know-it-all act—why don’t you actually show us something useful?”
If it feels like I’ve been especially prickly toward Lox today, that’s not a misunderstanding. It’s the correct observation.
“That was my intention. I want to prove to you that I am not merely a burden. My specialty is not combat but precisely this field.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Please abandon the delusion that competence only comes from physical strength.”
“Why? Because it’s true.”
“Being weak is not a sin. Yet you make it feel like one. What a nasty person. I may lack power, but I am someone who thinks properly.”
As expected, my true rival was Lox.
Even though we were on the same side, we frequently glared at each other, opposed one another on every little thing, and mainly fought over Ash. We also competed over who could act more pretentious.
I crossed my arms and watched Lox with the sharp eyes of a hawk.
You talked so big about dungeons, so show us something already!
If you’re actually useful, then prove it!