This world was incomparably harsher than my past life, and human life was worth less here.
It didn't matter that I was a reincarnator with memories of that past life.
That said, it was handy being able to understand things my current age couldn't.
But my memories couldn't do anything to actually change this world...
I didn't even know how to make mayonnaise.
How come nothing around here ever goes rotten?
"Well then, time to get going. I'm off."
The bed was just an old wooden frame stuffed with straw. It was hard, and my back and joints ached from time to time.
I really needed to do something about that.
Also, I had to replace the straw soon, or bugs would start breeding.
It'd be nice if I could make insecticide, but I didn't have that kind of knowledge either.
For now, I washed my face with water collected in a barrel and looked at myself in the cracked mirror.
"...No matter how many times I see it, I can't get used to it."
A wry smile. Blue hair, silver eyes. A young face.
Young, because I was actually thirteen.
I looked at it every morning, but it felt more like gazing at some distant boy than seeing myself.
Maybe that was because I was a reincarnator.
Still, this face was mine.
I wiped it with a cloth and ate my morning bread-bean.
It was a big bean, soft and chewy like bread.
When baked, it had a mild, plain taste, but it filled my stomach well enough.
I washed it down with water, forcing it through, and finished eating.
After that came my daily training. Once that was done, I equipped my knife and left my den.
It was clear today. Not a single cloud, the sky a vivid blue, and the sunlight was dazzling.
The white buildings of the city glowed faintly, with a dull sheen.
The materials of this city's walls and buildings had monster-warding properties.
That was why the city still existed today, despite having multiple dungeons in and around it.
The city's name was Hydrangea. Apparently it meant "vessel for water."
It was true that the city had abundant groundwater and never lacked for water.
The square in Hydrangea's western district. Next to the bell tower.
A gaping hole, like the mouth of some enormous monster, had suddenly appeared.
This was the dungeon's entrance.
I greeted the gatekeeper first.
"Good morning. Gauro."
"Yo. Again today, huh."
Gauro was a veteran gatekeeper with scars on his face, looking as fearsome as a bandit.
He used to be a delver, but there was a story behind how he'd ended up as a gatekeeper after taking a scar to the face.
"Here. Three hundred oro."
"Right. I know I say this every time, but only up to the second floor. If monsters show up, you run. Got it?"
"Understood. I'm heading out."
"Don't be late. The time limit is until evening. You can hear the bell, right?"
"Yes."
His face is scary, but he's a kind person who looks out for me like this.
Hydrangea has several bell towers.
Whether they're accurate or not, the time between one bell and the next is roughly one hour.
The bell rings twice by the next bell, then three times by the one after that, increasing by one each time, until it stops in the evening.
Then it rings just once at midnight. That's how the day ends.
The evening bell rings twelve times. When it does, that's the end of the time limit.
There are two ways to enter the dungeon. Become a delver, or pay the admission fee.
The admission fee is three hundred oro. Oro is the continental currency unit.
For reference, the smallest coin is one impure copper coin, worth one oro.
The copper content is low, so they're called impure coins, and there are silver and gold ones too.
At three hundred oro, you'd need three hundred impure copper coins.
That's why there are small copper coins. Each one is worth fifty oro. With those, six will do.
Incidentally, becoming a delver lets you enter for free.
You can't register as a delver unless you're an adult.
Around here, adulthood is fourteen years old.
I'm thirteen, so I can register as a delver next year.
But the registration fee is a whopping forty-two thousand oro.
I could take out a loan, but according to Gauro, the interest rates are brutal and he doesn't recommend it.
So I've got no choice but to earn it the hard way.
I pass through the entrance — a rocky opening shaped like the maw of some enormous beast.
Abruptly, the passage shifts to artificial stonework.
Clearly built by human hands.
But dungeons are mysteries beyond human understanding, so no one really knows the truth.
I'm plenty curious about what dungeons really are, but I'm not about to make that my life's calling.
I advance cautiously through the stone corridor, using my Relic, Danger Discernment.
I walk past the stairs leading down to the second floor.
Keeping straight ahead to the dead end, then turning right, I arrive at a place that suddenly opens up.
Piles upon piles of garbage are heaped everywhere.
Junk expelled from the dungeon.
This is my workplace.
The dungeon's Junkyard.