A few days after Kumai-kun asked us for dating advice. It was very nearly the end of June when I traveled to a farther than usual dungeon.
It was for another request by Togo-san though. He had helped me out many times before, after all. Moreover, while the dungeon this time was a C rank one, it was rather compatible with our group. As such, I had no trouble saying yes right away. The reward for completion was 300,000 yen.
The request this time was once again the culling of the monster population over a 2-days, 1-night period. If I could complete it within a day’s time though—as was the case in the previous request—I was thinking of going to the city on the way home. Because I would have to pass through somewhere near the prefectural capital on my return trip, I was hoping we could go on a date. A proper one unlike the last time. With Layla and Yukine with me, I would have a flower in each arm. I was twice as excited.
They both had clothes and shoes ready inside my Item Bag, and if they wanted, we could just go to clothing stores mid-date. Rather than a precisely planned date like last time, it would have to be an impromptu date this time, but not much I could do about that. Besides, we knew each other well enough already, so just the act of walking around the city would be fun in itself…should be, at least.
Agh, now I’m getting anxious. I mean, I’m a guy with zero dating experience. Could I really give 2 girls a truly fun time? No, no, I’m getting it wrong. A date is something both parties should enjoy. If I back down now because of this worry, then when will I ever go on a date with them!?
…but, well, thinning the dungeon’s monster population was important work, so seeing that accomplished should take first priority. Forcing myself to fight at an unreasonable pace would just lead to so many mistakes. I couldn’t take that unnecessary risk all so that I could finish early and be able to go on a date.
And so, in case I couldn’t find the time for a date on the second day, it was absolutely not because I chickened out! As an adventurer, my hands were simply tied!
While I was thinking of that, the train stopped. It seemed like I had arrived at my stop today. I passed through the ticket gates and went down to the bus stop. It hit me that I had gotten awfully used to using public transportation. The distance between my junior high and my home was well within biking distance, so I didn’t have many opportunities to use things like buses and trains back then.
Soon enough, it would be 3 months since I became an adventurer. In that short span of time, it would seem I had gotten used to life as adventurer.
* * *
The dungeon this time was relatively closer to a city than dungeons I had visited before. But the Dungeon Store for it still only had a few parked cars and people. That wasn’t surprising, of course. This dungeon was unpopular, though the reason for it wasn’t the presence of Orcs or Ghouls.
Like usual, I got ready in the locker room, passed through the reception desk, and crossed the dungeon’s entrance gate. On the other side of the gate was an underground tunnel with a rather humid atmosphere.
This dungeon was called the [Snake Pit Dungeon].
There was a similarly named place in the Nara prefecture, but that had naturally nothing to do with this dungeon. And as the name of the dungeon might imply, snake-like monsters appeared here.
“Layla, Yukine”
“Yes, master”
“Here”
As I summoned the two, I kept a watchful eye on the surroundings and drew out my sword. I had the light attached to my helmet to Illuminate some of the surroundings, but I felt uneasy with just that.
The ground and the walls were bare rock surfaces. There were wood here and there acting like supports. The pathways zigzagged with gentle turns. Due to the similar appearance and dim lighting, it looked like a cheap knockoff of an already substandard labyrinth.
“Layla, sorry but can I trouble you with the mapping, the marking, and also the lighting?”
“Please leave it all to me.”
I entrusted the chalk, notebook, and pen over Layla. I was now focusing on enemy detection. After all, despite being compatible with the monsters of this dungeon, it was still a C rank dungeon. Getting careless could result to serious injury.
The pathways were wide enough, but I chose to halfsword—holding it like a short spear, with my left hand was on my sword’s ricasso—anyway so that I could react quickly.
“[Torch]”
When Layla waved her wand and chanted so, a red sphere appeared and rose above our heads. There was almost no heat coming from it but the light it supplied was more than enough. At least, it illuminated more of the surroundings than the flashlight on my helm.
“Okay, let’s advance. We’ll follow the routine we discussed before.”
“Yes.”
“Understood”
Myself, Layla, and Yukine advanced in that order.
This was a dungeon for which a culling request was made, so it naturally had an increased number of monsters waiting for explorers just around the corner. And just five minutes since we started walking, my Magic Eye activated.
Above!
I immediately thrust my sword upward. The tip pierced through the throat of a monster intending to launch an ambush from the ceiling. As I twisted the still-lodged blade, I threw the monster down to the ground and pinned it down.
“Gi,iiii….!?”
The monster gave a hoarse cry and died. To describe the form illuminated before me, I would say it was a cross between a snake, a human, and a goat.
This was called a [Lamia].
I had heard of that name before the Return of the Age of Myths, and from what I could recall, it was a monster which had the form of a seductive woman for its upper body and the form of a snake for its lower body.
However, the form they took on in reality, here in the modern age was vastly different.
Its lower body remained to be a large snake’s. Its upper body nearly resembled the form of a human woman too. However, for its head, it had a goat’s head. Black goat’s fur also covered its upper half. Its eyes shined yellow, but it was more snake-like in that it had vertical slit pupils. And even though its mouth should be that of a herbivore’s, strangely highly-developed canines were protruding out.
Even though it was close to death, it still tried to wrap its tail around me. So, I twisted my sword more. I then stepped on it and pulled out my sword.
If I wasn’t mistaken, this monster was closer to the Lamia described in English legends.
Either way though, I was thankful that its form didn’t make me hesitate over killing it. After all, there would be no end to it if every little thing tormented me with guilt.
I held my sword at the ready again, but I then noticed the 3 sets of eyes ahead of me, hiding in the darkness. These yellow eyes glowed bewitchingly, almost like they were showing some illusion.
Lamias. While these monsters didn’t have considerable strength and durability, it could use magic to give the illusion that it was a beautiful woman. It was a fairly strong magic, and even an Awakened One needed a high Resistance stat to combat it. This magic only worked on men, but that only made it all the more stronger. Supposedly.
The reason I said we were compatible to fight against monsters in this dungeon including the Lamias was because we were specialized against this magic.
Layla and Yukine, being women, were a given.
It also didn’t work on Awakened Ones with a Magic Eye, like me. In fact almost all Superpowers that were eye-related wouldn’t work on those with Magic Eye. If something did work, there would have to a massive gap in the Magic stat between the individuals involved. Alternatively, it would have to be something beyond common sense, like Distinctive Superpowers.
In other words, it was beyond reckless to use a magic that meddled with one’s vision against me who had a Magic Eye AND high Magic and Resistance stats. It should be, at least.
Unfortunately, it has only been a little over 2 years since the world Returned to the Age of Myths and even less time has passed since I became an adventurer, so it was to be expected that I haven’t experienced it personally and only assumed that I would be able to resist the Lamia’s magic properly. Thankfully, I turned out to be correct. Even if I was wrong though, I was expecting my Distinctive Superpower to protect me.
“Kisyaaaa!!”
The 3 Lamias grew flustered when I did not fall to their attempt at seduction and attacked. They were quite fast. If they were only traversing on the ground, they would have gotten in the way of each other, but thanks to their snake-like lower bodies, they had more freedom of movement. They charged at almost the same time, crawling even on the wall and the ceiling.
“[Glacial Wind Wall]”
There was another reason our group was compatible with this dungeon though.
A wall of bizarrely cold wind formed in front of me. Mixed in that wall were multiple lumps of hail the size of a pinball. Before long, those lumps raced toward the Lamias like those from a shotgun shell.
One might think that because Lamias were like snakes, they were weak to the cold, but, well, not really. Even so, in a straight path like this, most creatures would find those lumps of hail to be a threat. Moreover, Lamias’ Endurance and Resistance stats weren’t high. The damage might be mitigated by a little bit, but the Lamias’s bodies would nonetheless be gouged, their flesh and blood scattered all over this pathway.
“Gi, aaa!?”
“Giii!”
The Lamias cried so and stopped in their tracks. At the same time, I approached them. In one leap, I closed the distance between us and got into striking distance. I stabbed the face of the one in middle and then swung my sword horizontally to take down the Lamia next to that one. In an attempt to keep the remaining Lamia in check, I kicked it at its abdomen. Unexpectedly, however, I sent the Lamia flying. I could feel its crushed viscera through my sole.
As per usual, I confirmed that the Lamias were turning into particles of magic power while I kept watch of our surroundings. It was then that I noticed the manhole-cover-sized hole in the ceiling some distance in front of me. This dungeon had many holes like this on its floors and ceilings. These holes were connected by tunnels, and monsters used those to go to and fro places. By hiding in holes in their targets’ blind spots, they could appear seemingly out of thin air, drag their victims down the holes, and disappear just as suddenly as they appeared.
I had my Magic Eye to spot such ambushes, but we should proceed with caution nonetheless.
I readied my sword once again.
“All right, we’re good to go. Are you two unharmed?”
“Yes, no problems here.”
“Same here.”
“Ok. Then, let’s go.”
““Yes””
We advanced carefully. In some places, the meandering path slightly sloped or had a sharper turn than usual. As we reached one of those slopes, I saw something crawl out from the ceiling at the top of the slope. Being the only one at the front, I made eye contact with whatever crawled out. Yellow eyes stared back at me. They were the same color, but I could tell these eyes didn’t belong to a Lamia’s. After all, their sizes were too different.
What was staring at me was a gigantic snake. Its body was so thick it probably had a diameter of 24 centimeters. Its body also had a deep-green color. But on its head and only on its head was a yellow speckled pattern, which depending on the angle one was looking from, could look like a crown.
This monster was a [Basilisk].
It had a Magic Eye that could petrify others and the breathe it exhaled contained deadly poison. It was also said that no one has ever survived being bitten by its fangs.
It was reputed to be the king of snakes.
It was designated a rank of C+ but some adventurers would go so far as to say that it posed a greater danger than that. And though some legends described Basilisks to have small bodies, its modern-day appearance was unquestionably that of a giant snake.
But either way, we were compatible with this monster too.
While having a strong jaw, sturdy scales, and a dreadful Magic Eye ability made Basilisks intimidating, these things also made it slow. It didn’t have much strength to move its large body. After all, such strength was unnecessary if it had eyes that could take down even a bird soaring in the sky.
Consequently though, against someone like me who could render its Magic Eye and poison breath useless, it was more of a sitting duck than a snake.
Leaving Layla and Yukine where they were, I charged forward without hesitation. The Basilisk unsurprisingly tried to intercept by opening its large mouth. With the light attached to my helmet, I saw how dagger-like the Basilisk’s fangs were. But so what? As long as it didn’t hit me, those fangs weren’t anything special. And if it did somehow manage to hit me, it wasn’t like it would be enough to inflict a lethal wound on me.
I thrust my sword at the Basilisk’s open mouth. I lifted my left from the blade and instead lunged one step forward. The blade passed through the monster’s upper jaw, the top of its skull, and all the way through the crown-like pattern it had.
“Shaa…!?”
The monster’s eyes widened with surprise.
And then, as I used my left hand to hold down its lower jaw and prevent it from closing its mouth, I wiggled my sword to exacerbate the wound.
The monster banged its gigantic body against the walls and the ceiling but no matter how flexible a snake’s body might be, it was just too difficult for the monster to wrap itself around me from this position.
After a while of digging around, I dragged my sword until it exited through the tip of the monster’s nose, tearing through everything in-between. Strength quickly left the Basilisk’s body.
As usual, I watched our surroundings while I waited for the Basilisk to turn into particles and eventually vanish.
I didn’t find any other monsters nearby. But I also didn’t find any Item Drops.
At any rate, the monsters of this dungeons—Lamias and Basilisks—were all devoted to inflicting abnormal status effects. Coupled with the fact that this was a C rank dungeon and it was more than understandable why not enough adventurers came here.
I was fortunately quite compatible with it, but I heard there weren’t that many Awakened Ones who could nullify the effects of the Basilisk’s poison. That said, I didn’t think this would necessarily expose my Distinctive Superpower. I could just lie to the relevant government offices and say that I was able to neutralize the poison by having absurd levels of regenerative power. Self-healing Superpowers often came with poison and illness resistance, after all. I fully believed that explanation would be enough to those in the Dungeon Store and Togo-san.
But yeah, we were really a good fit for this dungeon. Ability-wise, at least.
“We still have a long way to go, huh…”
I unintentionally whispered so as I looked at the bending path.
Yes, we were a good fit for this dungeon ability-wise. But personality-wise? I would say not too much. I mean, it was great that enemies here had no way to kill me, but that aside, I found this dungeon tiresome.
The dark, zigzagging pathways. The holes found here and there. And above all, the snake monsters.
Like, how should I put it? Just being here is so depressing already! I’m not even that good with snakes, to begin with. Alright, it’s decided. I’d fight and kill all the enemies I encounter until we find the exit gate. The sooner I get that kill quota satisfied, the less I need to stay in this dungeon. And then tomorrow, I’ll spend the whole day going on a date with Layla and Yukine! And once we get home, we’re gonna make love a whole lot! It’s that or nothing at all!
“Layla, Yukine, please keep watching the rear.”
“Consider it done.”
“Certainly, dear!”
* * *
It took us another 3 hours until we found the exit. Before then, we encountered over 150 Lamias and over 70 Basilisks. We fought each of them, of course.
Whenever monsters appeared both ahead and behind, I had Layla and Yukine make a wall with magic to block the monsters in our rear as we dealt with those in front. It should go without saying that this resulted in me being constricted by the snakes here and there.
Yup, I’m never going back to this dungeon!
We got one of 2 types of Item Drops. One Basilisk Venom—which as its name would imply was an ingredient for poison—and one Lamia Scale which apparently was being used in performance-enhancing medicines. Thanks to those, our pockets were sufficiently stuffed.
In exchange though, my heart was about to break after feeling—even through my armor—the sensations of having scales pressed against me as the snake bodies coiled and slithered around my body. My dislike for snakes might just have grown more intense, seriously.
Tomorrow, definitely! I’ll go on a fun date with Layla and Yukine…! And then, afterwards…I’ll have them comfort me!
Holding that firm resolve in my heart, I took a rest at the hotel Togo-san got for me. There was still time before bedtime, so I took out my phone and fiddled with it.
“Gah…”
I learned on an online news site that dungeons in the Kanto area underwent dungeon overflow.
Moreover, other places in Japan too…are you serious right now? 3 dungeons so far have been confirmed to have overflowed?
I felt my face twitch upon reading that. I couldn’t help but wonder if another mass dungeon overflow—like the one that happened half a year after the world Returned to the Age of Myths—was happening right now.
…after some reconsideration, I decided to head straight home tomorrow instead. I had already fulfilled the quota of the request, anyway. I was sure we would find another time for a date, and I could just ask them to comfort me in our Otherworld like usual.
Yeah, my so-called firm resolve was shattered in an instant. I mean, it was scary at the moment. Life was the most important thing, that was my motto.
I messaged my mom about what time I estimated I would be back home. It seemed like she was planning on messaging me about the news as well, so she sent a reply right away. To be honest, I was more worried about my parents than I was worried about my own safety.
But well, since I didn’t have to stop over at any station, I should be back home fairly quickly.
In the first place, there wasn’t any dungeon near our home. The closest was the Salamander Dungeon which was about 3 kilometers away. I told myself that, but…for some reason, I felt uneasy. So, just to be safe, I messaged my mom that if push came to shove, they should go to my room and evacuate to the Otherworld there. They usually couldn’t enter the Otherworld, but I had it configured that if they recited the password correctly, both of my parents would have access.
With that, there should be even less of a problem over on their side. Yet, my sense of unease wasn’t dying down…
Wait, does that mean this bad feeling is toward my own safety? Like am I gonna get caught up in another dungeon overflow just a month after being caught up in the Crete Dungeon incident? What even are the odds of that happening?
At any rate, as long as I wasn’t the unluckiest guy and I took no detours on the way home tomorrow, I should be safe from being caught up in a dungeon overflow again.
As I told myself that, I began preparing to go to sleep even though it was a bit earlier than usual.
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