Episode 62

Dungeon.

A place created by the distortion of space, transforming specific areas. The number of dungeons tends to increase exponentially as the world plunges into chaos.

Ironically, these fragments of chaos were considered the main activity grounds for adventurers because the dungeons themselves served as a sort of ‘mine’.

This was due to the magical stones that could be harvested from vanquished monsters, and often, precious items could be collected from investigating the interior structures (objects).

“Wow, this dungeon is a real treasure trove, huh? Hey, spear-wielder brother, try searching over there. You might find something big!”

There was a room underground, surrounded by bricks, resembling ruins.

Upon rummaging through the old furniture inside, a handful of extraordinary ornaments were presented to the party members, grasped in both hands.

The faint aura and vibration on their surfaces indicated that each of these ornaments was infused with magical power.

“Hmm, with this many gathered, there might be some artifacts we can use right away. Shall we try wearing a few to test them out?”

“It’s better to avoid doing that. Artifacts found in dungeons aren’t verified and don’t always have beneficial effects for the user.”

The monk gently dissuaded the curious vanguard.

As he said, using artifacts obtained from dungeons right away was taboo among adventurers.

One couldn’t know the functionality of these items until they were appraised.

For instance, a hero I once served carelessly wore a necklace found in a dungeon, and as soon as they used magic, it exploded, decapitating them.

Even though they were repeatedly warned, they stubbornly wore it, believing beauty excuses all, but looking back, it was such a foolish way to die.

“But even if we return to the city to get these appraised, it’s not feasible to carry everything. We should only take what looks valuable and leave the rest here.”

“How about hiding it somewhere inconspicuous?”

“It’s not a great idea. The structure of the dungeon changes slowly, except for the main paths.”

As the monk responded to the vanguard, no matter how limited our capacity to carry items was, hiding collectibles in the dungeon was inefficient.

Even if they remained intact by chance, it was common for the same paths to be refilled with traps or magical beasts.

It would be utterly futile if, after dealing with all that and reaching our destination, the specific structure of the dungeon changed, burying the spot where we hid the items.

“Sigh, had I known this, I would have brought along a porter.”

The mage sighed deeply upon hearing the party members’ conversation.

Feeling somewhat guilty, I, wearing a mask, suppressed those feelings and spoke in a sharp tone.

“…After all, isn’t our objective to explore the dungeon and survive?”

It wasn’t that I was displeased with the constant talk of needing a porter.

In fact, having learned from being a porter, it was more about teaching what should be prioritized right now.

“In a dungeon where it’s hard enough to keep one’s life, focusing on greed can ruin everything. Since we are still in the early stages of exploration, I recommend focusing on gathering information needed for the report…”

“Exactly! It’s better to return alive than with treasures!”

The sniper immediately agreed with me.

Initially, I thought him to be the most greedy due to his role as a scout focused on exploration, but he actually showed restraint in his desires and made appropriate decisions at every moment.

“Indeed, those who have ventured deeper than the front lines and survived must be cautious.”

“Alright then, let’s finish searching this room and move on to the next location…”

As we were about to leave the room and step into the corridor, the sniper suddenly stopped in surprise.

Then, with a tense face, he turned to me and quietly said,

“…Spearman, have you noticed?”

“Yes.”

Immediately, I thrust the spear in my hand forward and gestured to the party members behind me.

In response, the party members nodded and took their positions.

It was then that we sensed something from the opposite side of the corridor.

Growl.

The thrill of the attack came with just the movement.

The sense of weight indicated that the enemies were quite heavy.

As if their bodies were made of stone.

Grooowl.

And that expectation was spot on.

A bipedal monster with a body made entirely of stone.

Its grotesque face and wings sprouting from its back might make it look like a demon, but in reality, it was a common dungeon monster with its entire body, including its interior, made of stone.

Kiiiieeek…!

Gargoyles.

True to their name, these were monsters transformed from the statues in the dungeon, boasting strong durability that negated most physical attacks.

Their role was to eliminate intruders in the dungeon, so they harbored intense hostility toward anyone who entered.

Such creatures coming in groups meant that even the most experienced party couldn’t afford to let their guard down.

“I don’t think arrows will kill them. Can we leave the sweeping to the mage?”

“It’s fine; just buy some time. It takes a while to cast a spell powerful enough to blow them away.”

The scout pretended to load his crossbow to the mage’s low murmuring.

Then the monk raised his fist to guard their side, while the vanguard and I took positions in front with a shield and spear.

The party took a standard position, working together to respond from all directions.

Normally, we would have to fight while maintaining such a formation against the approaching horde of monsters.

Unless an extraordinary entity intervened.

Kiiieeek!

Soon after, the dungeon structures, lifted by a strange force, flew through the air, striking the gargoyles.

The gargoyles, made of stone, were massively crushed by the overwhelming mass, twitching for a moment before collapsing motionless.

The disappearance of their unique eye glow indicated that their lives had been completely extinguished.

Realizing this, the party members’ hardened gazes soon turned towards the girl standing behind the group, her hand extended.

“Uh… umm… That…”

Yes, I had forgotten, seeing only her timid appearance for a moment.

The girl’s ‘Object Control’ ability allowed her to lift and throw anything within her line of sight.

She could also throw objects weighing tons with ease, and if the object was not a living being with a will, she could grab and throw anything.

In fact, while others fought with cold weapons, this girl was essentially throwing siege weapons as if they were nothing.

“The instructor told me to do this when monsters appear… Uh, was I not supposed to do it this way?”

“Oh, no way~ You did very well~”

Despite her anxiety, the scout and other party members began to relax, expressing their admiration for Ga-ram’s actions.

After all, landing the final blow didn’t necessarily mean gaining more experience.

It was just a matter of sweeping away the nuisance.

After that, the dungeon exploration went quite smoothly.

Although the dungeon, based on a royal tomb, had many traps, skillfully navigating them made it possible to collect treasures from anywhere.

Of course, most had to be left behind in the dungeon, but just picking up a few valuable items made our pockets significantly heavier in real-time.

Even the monsters appearing in this veritable treasure trove were crushed under Ga-ram’s overwhelming power, making the place seem more like a gold mine than a dungeon.

The party members, each a fighter, were so at ease that they could yawn and chat behind Ga-ram.

“It’s getting late. Shall we call it a day and rest?”

“Agreed~ Let’s take a rest today~”

The exploration of the dungeon continued in this manner for several hours.

When fatigue began to accumulate, the monk suggested to rest, and the mage, followed by the other party members, began to prepare for camping in one of the dungeon’s rooms.

Since we didn’t bring a porter, we had to sleep on thin cloaks with our backpacks as pillows, but such rough sleeping was familiar to adventurers.

“Did everyone bring food? Though it’s just tasteless preserved food, I guess.”

“In other dungeons, we could have foraged for food, but here, there are only gems and stones, so self-sufficiency seems difficult.”

“Given the environment where food foraging is impossible, long-term operations are difficult. For deeper exploration, we need to be careful when establishing supply routes and creating base camps… This is how I’ll summarize it in the report.”

“Damn… The spices I brought are useless now.”

“Let’s save the feast for when we return. If the report is detailed, we’ll get a good reward. Oh, we need to set up barricades for camp defense. Anyone want to help?”

The sniper gestured towards the corridor connected to the room, leaving the grumbling mage behind.

The monk and the vanguard were about to step forward, but at that moment, someone eagerly raised their hand and dashed to her side.

“I’ll do it!!”

“What? The Hero is…”

Thump, thud.

Immediately, Ga-ram used her ability to gather nearby structures and bricks to block the passage.

The amount she lifted at once was faster than several strong men could, and the speed of her work was also very fast.

“Wow, indeed. Hero, you easily accomplished what we couldn’t!”

“Can you block this side as well?”

“Oh, yes! Leave it to me!”

Although the finer details of the adjustment were lacking, it was a matter of simply stacking them up and then adjusting from our side.

As the vanguard and the monk admired her work, the chuckling sniper began to approach me, who was standing guard.

Was he going to help?

“Wow, things have really become easier thanks to the Hero~”

No, that wasn’t it.

The way he swaggered without drawing a weapon suggested he had some business with me.

“That aside, now that we have a moment, I have something on my mind. May I ask you something?”

“…What is it?”

“Your name. I haven’t heard it since you joined the party. Isn’t it a bit odd to only call you Spearman when we’re fighting side by side?”

…It was just what I was concerned about. He pinpointed the most sensitive issue.

At that, I quietly fiddled with the spear in my hand and said,

“Coincidentally, I can’t reveal that right now. That was one of my conditions for joining the party.”

“Hiding my face with a mask doesn’t diminish my abilities, so it’s fine to move together, but revealing my name is a different matter.”

“Once that name is known to others, it becomes imprinted in their memories, making all associated memories clearer and altering their perception of me.”

“Especially since victims related to that name are present.”

“Heh, it’s something. In a situation where we need to trust each other, there’s so much to hide.”

“…Any complaints?”

“Of course not, as long as we cooperate well. Let’s join forces to ensure we all return alive.”

Saying this, the sniper patted my shoulder and stepped away.

He stepped back after a brief probing, but it was evident to anyone that he was suspicious of me.

After all, it was understandable to be suspicious of someone who joined the party under the condition of hiding their face and not revealing their name.

Conversely, recruiting such a suspicious person into the party implied that the title of ‘Fallen Hero’ was not highly regarded among adventurers.

This was evident from the way the mage, who was preparing the meal, gestured to Ga-ram, who had just finished setting up the barricade.

“Hero~ If it’s not too much trouble, could you help light a fire here?”

“Fire, you say?”

“Yes~ Just assemble this kit and spark the flint~ Oh, and I could use some help preparing the preserved food here~”

“Ah, yes. I’ll help you.”

The mage assigned the task not to another party member but to the Hero.

Another hero might have exploded in anger at such a request, but Ga-ram, unbothered, stepped forward to assist the mage.

Despite the cold sweat on her forehead indicating her physical exertion from setting up the barricade…

“There are a lot of dishes piled up; could you help with washing them at the fountain over there?”

But such unreasonable requests extended not only to meal preparation but also to the subsequent cleanup.

“Ehehe~ I guess because I’m a mage, I don’t have much physical strength… Could you, maybe, help?”

“Ah, yes. I’ll do it. Washing dishes is…”

…Yes, I had anticipated this ever since we agreed to split the reward money equally.

It was evident that adventurers who teamed up with a fallen hero wouldn’t approach things with a normal mindset.