Chapter 6. The Dungeon Jump!
Chapter 6. The Dungeon Jump!
Ah, Mother. Are you at peace?
Today, for some reason, my thoughts turned to you — hanged on a cross and burned alive as the choir sang their hymns.
I was a faithless son who did nothing but watch you that day, and in the end it seems I'll be following after you without having accomplished a thing worth mentioning.
I'm sorry for being such a worthless son. Mother, I love you!
"Dave isn't that kind of person!"
At that moment, a sharp voice rang out. Berdia flinched and turned her head to find Serika glaring at her — directly challenging the woman who had been bearing down on me.
"D-Dave, he...."
Her characteristic timidity began to falter as if it might crumble under Berdia's gaze, but only for an instant.
As though she had made up her mind about something, Serika clenched her fists tightly and shouted at her with all her might.
"Dave was the kindest person I've ever met! The whole time we were together, nothing — n-nothing... nothing happened!"
"...Is that true?"
"Y-yes! It's the truth! So please don't press him so harshly. I'm sure Dave will be an asset to the party!"
Her bright, unwavering eyes fixed on Berdia.
The sight of her trembling yet doing everything she could to hold her ground was genuinely admirable. Seeing that, Berdia reluctantly withdrew her gaze, quietly turning her back on us.
"Now that you mention it, Serika — there was a test I had in mind for you today."
"A... test?"
"Seeing once with your own eyes will do more for trust than a hundred words. I've already arranged the necessary tools and equipment, so the two of you should come to the city's western gate as soon as you're mentally prepared."
Leaving those words behind, Berdia departed.
By the time the surroundings had grown quiet again — as they do after a storm has passed — Serika finally let out a deep breath and sank down onto the spot.
"A-are you all right?"
"Y-yes. As long as Dave is unhurt, I'm fine."
No, I was asking about you.
"...Um, please don't take it the wrong way."
Even so, Serika made little of her own state, merely staring at the place Berdia had left.
"Berdia was only acting out of concern for me. She doesn't bear any particular ill will."
"Y-yes. I understand that too." Well, when someone who ranks among the Ten Strongest tells you to do something, you do it.
Whatever the case, I'd dodged suspicion thanks to Serika. But the crisis wasn't over yet.
What I had to do now was avoid drawing any further doubt in front of one of the Ten Strongest while proving I could properly support this hopeless girl.
"Then let's follow after her right— uwaah!?"
"Are you okay?"
"Y-yes. My... legs just gave out."
"...Would you like a hand?"
Right. A truly hopeless girl.
Though they say every hero starts out like this.
***
The Demon King.
He is calamity incarnate — a being whose sole aim is to bring ruin upon this world.
The overwhelming power he wields from birth draws in everything that harbors negativity toward the world, and the result is that he inevitably rises as a threat to all humanity.
Countering such an existence is impossible even for those ranked among the Ten Strongest. That is precisely why the Hero's existence is regarded as humanity's hope.
Even if the power the Hero begins with is infinitesimally small, the strength that awakens after enduring such trials is the one thing in this world that holds the possibility of surpassing the Demon King.
...Well, that's all just hearsay to me, so I can't say I truly grasp what that possibility feels like.
But since I've ended up meeting the Hero anyway, confirming it firsthand wouldn't be so bad.
"We've arrived. This is where you'll be carrying out your training, Serika."
The place we reached after following Berdia lay beyond the hills to the west of the city where we were staying. It was something like a cave, gaping wide open in the mountainside.
But it was no natural cave. The defensive magic stones and signage arranged near the entrance made that clear.
"An artificial dungeon...."
"Indeed — exactly as it says here."
Berdia placed a hand on the signboard planted in front of the cave — the dungeon information placard — and turned back toward Serika.
"Serika, I assume you've never actually entered a dungeon before?"
"Ah, no. Until now I've only trained in my hometown."
A fledgling hero just starting her adventure.
That was probably the best way to sum up this beautiful and woefully inexperienced young lady I'd suddenly ended up accompanying.
"Dave. What about you?"
"Well, there were a few dungeons near my hometown as well. I scraped by doing odd jobs for the adventurers who came through from time to time."
That wasn't a lie.
The organization I actually belonged to operated directly under the Demon King's army. Naturally, I'd encountered countless dungeons — places where space and time warp around the Demon King's presence — and I'd crossed paths with more than a few adventurers who came seeking rewards there.
Besides, dungeons weren't something created intentionally. They were more like 'byproducts generated by the Demon King's uncontrollable power.'
It's a fact unknown to humans, but unconquered dungeons inevitably become a nuisance even for the Demon King's forces stationed nearby.
So rather than clear them ourselves, it was far more profitable to leave them for adventurers to conquer and then wage a power struggle to exploit the cleared dungeon afterward.
I myself had more than a few experiences of helping adventurers while hiding my true identity.
"The documents Serika submitted note that you have little aptitude for combat — yet you managed to survive well enough."
"All I ever did was odd jobs... and since those dungeons had already been cleared, things like handing out information to adventurers and hiding somewhere safe came easily enough."
"If you have that much experience, an artificial dungeon should pose no great obstacle."
Soon Berdia faced the entrance and addressed both Serika and me.
"Now then, allow me to explain what the two of you will be doing from here on. Serika, in particular — listen carefully."
"Y-you don't have to put it that way... I'll be paying close attention."
Even as her voice came out plaintive, Serika sharply straightened her posture. It was almost hard to believe this was the same person who had stood up to defend me earlier.
Well, I suppose that just showed how much Berdia had been raking her over the coals. Though Berdia herself simply continued speaking in a dispassionate tone, as if none of it concerned her.
"This dungeon is one of the projects the Magic Tower's mages poured their efforts into creating. It naturally draws energy from the vein of magic stones running through this mountain, producing effects similar to a naturally occurring dungeon."
An artificial dungeon....
I'd come across them in intelligence reports, but this was my first time actually entering one.
In truth, the Demon King's army considered dungeons troublesome baggage, but precisely because they stoked the adventurers' eagerness to conquer them, we never took clearing them all that seriously.
Moreover, since this one was artificially constructed, it wouldn't provide the 'reward' that is the main purpose of conquering a dungeon. People enter dungeons to obtain resources; pouring vast resources into something like 'training in a dungeon-like environment' can only be seen as wasteful.
"As it is a dungeon, the interior is filled not only with golems modeled after demon beasts but also with traps in abundance. It's dangerous to that extent, but since a function that monitors the entrants' condition also exists inside, there is no risk of death whatsoever."
"So it's a dungeon... created purely for training."
"Correct. Should things become dangerous, the functions will automatically stop, so there is no need to worry."
Having said that, Berdia stepped smoothly aside.
"This time is nothing more than training, so I will merely follow behind and assess the two of you. I sincerely hope you both manage to clear the dungeon safely."
"O-okay! I'll do my best!"
Serika pumped herself up vigorously, clenching her fist.
After that, her vividly bright eyes turned toward the dungeon entrance, and she began nodding as though she'd steeled herself for something.
"Then I'll take the lead, Dave, so please follow behind me slowly."
"Y-yes. I understand that, but...."
I'd barely begun to answer and move to follow when something caught my eye.
She was standing at the dungeon entrance, lowering her stance.
"Serika? What are you trying to do right now?"
"Ah, this? I heard somewhere that adventurers have a custom called 'jump at dungeon entry.'"
"...Jump?"
"Entering a dungeon with a jump! Hehe, actually, this was something I really wanted to try once I got to a dungeon! Since we're doing it anyway, wouldn't it be good to really get ourselves psyched up?"
"H-huh? W-wait, Serika!"
What the hell is that idiot trying to do.
"Jump at dungeon entry!"
Before my attempt to stop her could even take effect, Serika launched herself toward the dungeon entrance.
But then the entry block her feet landed on was pressed down by her weight.
—Kreeek!
Along with the sound of a mechanism activating, the wall at the side of the entrance split open and something shot out.
A heavy log suspended on ropes.
"Gahk!"
Her body was struck squarely and sent flying backward.
And there she was, crumpled pathetically on the ground and groaning. As I stared blankly at the spectacle, Berdia quietly walked up beside me.
"...You noticed it beforehand?"
"No, I just happen to know that when you first set foot in a dungeon, you must never run unless it's an emergency."
A dungeon's layout changes with every entry. Obviously, there's no way to know where traps might be set up, so the fundamentals dictate exercising extreme caution anywhere that isn't a previously traversed path.
And yet here she was — jumping through the entrance of such a dungeon. Just who the hell spread a piece of idiotic advice like that?
And is the woman who followed it to the letter a complete moron?
"I apologize. I was too slow to stop her."
"No, don't trouble yourself over it. Serika is clueless about the ways of the world — far too clueless. This is a good opportunity for her to suffer a little."
Berdia answered quietly, looking down at Serika groaning on the ground as though she found her utterly pathetic.
To think the day would come when I — a member of the Demon King's army — would find common ground with one of humanity's mightiest. You really do live long enough to see everything.