The cave was a strange place.
Every now and then a massive tree root was exposed, and I was shocked when Professor Narcissus explained that what I thought were walls were actually tree roots.
It was the first time I’d ever seen a root so huge it made me look up.
And even though it’s called a cave, there were spots where the ceiling was open and light poured in.
Plants were growing there, making it a nice place to rest.
“…Hey, something’s coming from behind. Looks like a centipede or something.”
So this is a dungeon in Алзер, and, of course, monsters were everywhere.
When I turned around and raised my rifle, Jilk did the same.
Julius and Chris drew their swords and got ready,
while I slipped the smartphone‑like device into my pocket.
Peering through the rifle’s scope, I could see enemies clearly even in the darkness.
I pulled the trigger and a gunshot echoed through the cave, hitting a monster.
It turned into black smoke and vanished.
More kept popping out, so I readied the rifle again and fired.
Jilk, apparently seeing the same thing, sprayed three of them down in an instant.
“Nice work.”
“Thanks. I’m pretty good with a gun, you know.”
When the rifle fight was over, I pulled out the device and scanned the area.
“…All clear. Let’s move.”
Julius sheathed his sword and said,
“Leave at least one behind. You’ve been handling everything yourselves, haven’t you? If you think about ammo, you should be sharing it with us too.”
Chris looked annoyed.
“You haven’t even fought once since we got in.”
I, rifle slung over my shoulder, was baffled by the two of them.
“Just stay quiet and conserve your health. When it’s time for you to work, I’ll keep you on the job until you’re crying. Come on, let’s go.”
As we started moving again, Professor Narcissus wore a face that said he’d given up.
“If this were a place where you’d bring in more people, it’d be different. Are all Holfart adventurers this extreme?”
It’s not so much “extreme” as… adventurers here just have a different mindset.
“In Алзер, adventurers are mostly scholars who investigate, or simple miners, right?”
“Yeah. Sure, guards fight monsters too, but I don’t think there are many that aggressive. Most are after the magic stones you can mine from dungeons, though there are plenty of scholar‑type adventurers as well.”
I laughed.
“The kingdom’s adventurers are basically looters. They’re more about taking than studying.”
That seemed to irritate Professor Narcissus a bit.
The type who likes to explore ruins probably hates people like us.
Julius warned me.
“Bartfort, stop saying things that could be misunderstood. Professor, we try not to damage the ruins as much as possible.”
I snorted and asked Julius,
“Julius, what would you do if you found a door that hid treasure, but the door just wouldn’t open? What would you do?”
“Obviously…,” Narcissus gave him an expectant look.
“Right. If there’s a door like that, first you’d investigate—”
“Destroy it!”
Narcissus looked disappointed.
I chuckled.
“This is how kingdom adventurers are, Professor. They’re all brawn, so if you leave them alone they’ll just try to smash everything, so watch out.”
Chris gave me a suspicious glance.
“Trying to claim you’re the brainy type? Let me tell you, the brainy types never go into a dungeon alone. Didn’t you almost die on your own before you even came to the academy?”
My story caught Narcissus’s interest.
“That’s something I’d love to hear. You went into an ancient ruin? What was it like?”
I pulled out my notes and talked while we moved.
“It was an ancient human ruin. There was a airship parked there.”
Julius added,
“It was the dungeon where we found the partner ship. It sank during the war with the duchy, but it was a good ship.”
Narcissus shouted.
“What, it sank! You used a precious Lost Item airship in a war!?”
I laughed it off.
“Whoa, we need to climb this cliff.”
I took tools from my pack, and Narcissus grabbed my arm.
“Don’t you dare ignore me! Leon‑kun, why do you use ancient priceless artifacts for wars? Treat them with more respect!”
If Luxion were here, he’d probably say, “Yes, please take better care of them.”
I prepared a rope, Chris set down his gear, and we started climbing.
“Going ahead,” he called cheerfully as we watched him ascend.
“Please,” I said.
Chris kept setting up footholds and such while we followed slowly.
Narcissus watched us, exasperated.
“You’re tough. If it were me, I’d just use magic.”
Jilk kept his rifle ready, scanning the surroundings.
“This is a required skill. And keep your magic in reserve.”
Inside the cave, light shone from above the cliff—there must be a hole in the ceiling.
I muttered while looking at the device,
“…We’re almost at the destination.”
◇
Marie’s mansion.
Lelia arrived and was talking to Kara, who was holding an old dog.
“What? He’s not here!?”
Kara, cradling Noel, gave Lelia a skeptical look.
“We were just out in the garden, walking the pup… for a change of scenery.”
Lelia, a bit flustered, pressed on.
“Where did he go!”
“You said you were going to a dungeon. Um… a cave?”
Why was she heading to a dungeon instead of the academy?
Lelia kept grilling her.
“There are a ton of cave‑type dungeons. Which one? What’s its name?”
Kara narrowed her eyes.
“What’s it to you if I tell you?”
Lelia’s anxiety rose.
(Okay, this is bad. She’s on guard and won’t spill anything. I want to tell her we’re allies, but she’s not a reincarnated one.)
I tried using a keyword that would hook a reincarnated person, but Kara just tilted her head.
“…Fine. When I get back, tell them I visited.”
She decided to leave for the day.
(This is terrible. I can’t believe there’s another reincarnated person besides us—)
◇
The Republic’s library.
Marie was frantically researching.
“Damn! Another unread passage… Greg, help me.”
Greg, the one who always gets roped into this, looked like a delinquent but was actually a noble’s son.
He’d also been taught Republic language.
“Marie, this isn’t my strong suit… uh… the Sacred Tree… nope, it’s some specialist term I don’t get.”
All the books in the Republic library are written in Republic language, so research takes twice as long.
“It’s an important passage!”
Why was she digging into this?
She’d written down whatever game knowledge she could recall, thinking the only way to get more achievements was to find it herself.
Desperate not to be killed by Leon, Marie was devouring the books with a frantic intensity.
It wasn’t the “I’m so cool because I speak a foreign language!” vibe.
She’d die if she didn’t learn it!
Greg grew concerned.
“You’ve been in the library forever. Take a break.”
“No way. While I’m like this, the dungeon…”
Greg probably thought she was worried about everyone heading to the dungeon.
“Alright… I can’t let Marie outdo me. I’ll push myself too!”
But inside he felt otherwise.
(If my brother comes back from the dungeon empty‑handed, I’m screwed. My life’s over! I need to find something useful.)
Marie kept at it.
◇
The Respinas cave.
We kept moving forward, getting closer to our goal.
Chris swung his sword, cleaving monsters left and right.
Julius protected Professor Narcissus while shouting at me,
“Hey, this has to be the right way!”
I slipped the device back into my pocket, stuck the bayonet part of the rifle into the ground, drew the sword‑like thing at my waist, and hit the switch that makes the blade sharper.
“Sure enough. It’s ahead.”
Monsters kept pouring out, but we forced our way through.
When we cut down a charging monster, Jilk swapped the rifle’s magazine.
“Neverending, huh? Want to fall back?”
“No. Keep going, we’re almost there.”
The monsters seemed to be gathering as if guarding something.
Narcissus noticed too.
“This phenomenon… I read about it in a book. No way it’s here already?”
When Chris backed off a bit, he was breathing heavily.
Most of the monsters had vanished, and his odd reaction made sense.
“Good job.”
Chris wiped sweat from his face and replied.
“I’m really tired, but it was fulfilling. Training’s important, but real combat matters too.”
…He seemed to have enjoyed it.
Narcissus shouted at us,
“Everyone stay sharp! If the books are right, tougher monsters are coming!”
Chris tried to rally again, but I patted his shoulder and told him to step back.
“Not yet. Finish off the rest, then we’ll take a short break. …The really nasty ones are ahead.”
When I said that, Narcissus eyed me warily.
“Leon‑kun, do you know something?”
I pulled Marie’s notebook from my pack.
It listed how to obtain a Sacred Tree sapling.
Her knowledge might actually be useful.
“It’s a secret.”
I said that and charged the remaining monsters.
◇
We reached a dead end.
But the wide room with light pouring from the ceiling held a sapling glowing with divine light.
However, a huge monster stood in front of it.
It was bear‑shaped, but its face was something else—an elephant’s trunk and two horns. It rose on its hind legs and threatened us.
Narcissus panicked.
“What the heck is that? It’s a chimera beast—multiple traits, a real pain. Everyone, fall back—”
Before Narcissus could finish, Jilk’s rifle cracked.
He aimed straight for its eye and fired.
The chimera’s eye was blown out; it thrashed in pain.
Jilk grinned.
“Alright, folks. Let me handle the support.”
Chris, sword in hand and looking thrilled,
“This feels good. I’ve always wanted to fight something like this!”
He charged in happily.
A lagging Julius drew his sword and shouted,
“Chris! Don’t hog the spotlight!”
The three of them were practically bragging to Marie about how they loved a tough opponent.
I shook my head.
“Seriously, you’re all idiots. Professor, step back. You guys! Leave some for me too!”
I set my rifle down, switched to the shotgun I’d brought, slipped behind the chimera and pulled the trigger.
The beast turned, got shot in the back, then I hit its legs.
Surrounded, it roared.
Its eye, still bleeding, regenerated, and the creature dropped to all‑four and charged Julius.
“Your Highness!”
Jilk opened fire again, but the chimera ignored him, focusing on Julius.
“Did you pick me? — Well done!”
Julius raised a shield and conjured a magical wall, blocking the charge.
The chimera slammed its head into the wall, staggering.
Chris’s strike aimed for its neck landed.
“This is—eeeeeeee!”
Chris’s slash glowed with magical light, the crescent blade shimmering before dispersing into mist, spraying black blood.
Jilk tossed a grenade; I stepped back and fired the shotgun.
“Get out of the way, you guys!”
Julius moved close to Chris, raised his shield, and a magical barrier formed.
The grenade exploded, turning the chimera into black smoke that vanished.
When the smoke cleared, Narcissus opened his mouth and stared at us.
I brushed dust off my clothes.
“You guys make combat look flashy.”
Chris retorted,
“Bartfort, why don’t you use a sword? You could’ve been sliced from behind, then we wouldn’t have needed the grenade.”
“I prefer to fight from a safe distance.”
Julius slumped his shoulders.
“Damn! All I did was raise a shield.”
Jilk, who’d done his part, tried to comfort Julius, though it sounded a bit snarky.
“There’ll be another one, Your Highness.”
“You got to play hero because you survived, but I didn’t! Bartfort, next time, make sure you invite me in.”
We’re not going to keep re‑entering dungeons forever, though.
Narcissus muttered,
“…Kingdom adventurers are scary, huh?”