Mountain Dungeon
Finally, the day has co to take on the mountain dungeon.
Our preparations are flawless.
Up until now, we’ve awakened our inner wildness amidst nature with Zunbibiubau-ba, undergone rigorous training at the Crab’s Hole elite training facility, and even offered incense at Granny’s altar before departure, praying for a safe return.
Mmm, truly perfect. With all that, there’s no way we’d have any weak points.
Well… except for one tiny problem: Massive Kangaroo, Masaru tagging along yet again.
Deep in the mountain path, Serai-san’s sigh echoes.
"Ugh, why does he keep following us…?"
"Bffh-hun!"
But even as Serai-san glares at him, Masaru remains utterly unbothered.
"Ah well. If he’s stubbornly followed us this far, guess there’s no helping it."
"Yeah. Besides, dude kept up with us even though we were going faster than Kei…"
If anything, Masaru—who’d been running on his own just to keep from being left behind—was now snorting indignantly, as if to say, "Why’d you try to ditch ?" I an… dude, do you even get teamwork? Group tactics? ‘Cause you sure don’t seem like it.
"Either way, now that we’re here, we’ve got no choice but to take him into the dungeon."
"True. We’ll just have to work around him and keep an eye on him."
"Ugh, Masaru… With that body, you can’t even move freely in a dungeon. What are we gonna do with you…?"
"Bffh-fuu!"
Hmm… Enthusiasm’s great and all, but Napoleon did say, "The worst kind of useless is the kind that’s eager." So, y’know… try not to be that, Masaru.
…….
The mountain, thick with green. The ravine where goblins were slaughtered.
There, in the shadowed depths of the valley where sunlight barely reached, lay the dungeon—a pitch-black maw. The kind of hidden mountain dungeon you’d never notice unless monsters were lurking around.
Honestly, if not for the goblins, we’d have missed it too.
Sure, if we’d gone all-out with aura dowsing or mana sensing, maybe we’d have found it sooner—but we’d been moving ninja-style most of the ti. Either way, cross-referencing the area with what we’d heard, this had to be the dungeon where Gramps and Taro disappeared.
With the surrounding monsters already cleared out, we stepped inside. The interior was a reddish-brown tunnel, dimly lit by a pale blue glow.
"Hmm… No changes from last ti."
The tunnel was circular, about four ters in diater.
The light ca from glowing moss-like growths and protruding luminescent stones. The dirt looked soft enough to scrape off, but as we’d already confird, the stuff wouldn’t budge. Probably the sa deal as the fridge dungeon’s indestructible iron door.
"You two, watch your step—just in case there are traps."
"Mmm… Forget traps, I’m more worried about the tunnel collapsing."
As Serai-san said, the tunnel looked like it’d been dug by a mole—zero supports in sight. One wrong move, and it could all co crashing down.
"Still, if we want to clear this dungeon, we’ve got no choice but to press forward."
"Aye. All we can do is move carefully…"
"But like… We’ve never run into traps before. Are they even a thing here?"
I’d never encountered dungeon traps either, and Serai-san seed equally skeptical.
"Well… According to Rua-san, so dungeons are packed with traps right from the start, while others have none at all."
"Huh, so that’s from your friend. Wasn’t she a Self-Defense Force mber?"
"Yeah. You two actually t her when we went to pick up Rua’s dad. Rember? At the courthouse? …Then again, everyone was in uniform and helts, so maybe not."
They tilted their heads, clearly not recalling Rua-san. Then again, that whole ordeal had been nonstop travel and monster attacks—hard to bla them for forgetting.
As we advanced, the tunnel walls were riddled with holes, through which beetle-larva-like monsters scuttled in and out like a subway system.
"Ughhh… Ew, gross. What are those?"
Whether you found this sight fascinating or downright creepy depended entirely on your sensibilities. Serai-san, clearly, leaned toward the latter.
"Don’t seem like aggressive monsters, at least…"
Nina-san, anwhile, calmly analyzed them. True, we were close enough that any hostile monsters would’ve attacked by now.
"Hmm… Seems like they’re about as non-aggressive as slis or giant pill bugs."
"Then we can just ignore ‘em."
Right—this was our first dungeon assault. Best to avoid unnecessary fights and focus on progressing.
"...They don’t look strong, either. Feels like this place is easier than the dungeon near the shop."
Now that she’d gotten over the ick factor, Serai-san was quick to dismiss them.
"Hard to say. Either way, let’s prioritize moving forward and avoid combat where we can."
"“Yeah~”"
Their responses were a little airheaded but relaxed. …Wait, isn’t that the sa thing? Well, at least they weren’t tense or forcing themselves.
Now then… I wonder what lies ahead in this dungeon?
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