Three days later.
We explored the dungeon.
This was the final third floor.
Nothing about it looked any different from before.
I checked our route on the scroll's map.
We took out slimes and skeletons that attacked us.
The occasional treant, too.
Then we checked our route on the scroll's map again.
Over and over.
At first glance, it seemed like there wasn't a problem.
In truth, the exploration was progressing smoothly.
But the air and atmosphere hanging over us—
It was heavier and more suffocating than anything compared to yesterday.
That said, it wasn't like there was zero conversation.
Axe and Mineha weren't ignoring each other, either.
They even made small talk, not just the bare minimum.
But their indifference toward each other hadn't changed.
Because while they talked, neither one had looked the other in the face or eyes even once.
Oh right. In my past life, this was called polite conversation or something like that.
Axe was slashing at skeletons and hammering white stakes into their bones.
Holy stakes. Apparently if you don't drive them in, the skeletons will resurrect.
First I'd heard of that. What a hassle.
With an elixir knife, you wouldn't need to bother with any of that.
I brought one just in case, though. Probably won't end up using it.
And with that, we took our second break of the day.
We'd propped ourselves on a toppled, cracked stone pillar and were shooting the breeze.
In between, we ate some jerky and drank water.
"Still, skeletons really do have the souls of people who couldn't pass on, don't they?"
I pictured them in their crumbling state and thought wistfully about that forest from before.
All four of them blinked, staring blankly.
Their almost identical reactions made me flinch.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
"Huh?"
"Skeletons don't have human souls in them."
"But they're made of human bones."
"Skeletons are dungeon monsters. Those aren't human bones."
"Wait—they're not human bones?"
"Look, Wof. Sure, they're skeletons. And yeah, some people do use the bones of humans who died in dungeons. But think about it. Nobody's died in this dungeon."
"Oh."
Right.
This dungeon had only recently been created and was under guild management, so nobody should have set foot inside it.
Thinking about it that way, having skeletons in this dungeon was strange.
"But I can't say for certain. There are folks who break the rules, like my seventh sister."
"Broke 'em, did they? But even if those people died, there wouldn't be that many. They've only taken out a few dozen of us skeletons."
"Now that you mention it, that's true."
Even if there had been fools, it was hard to imagine there being dozens of them.
Axe asked, looking contemplative.
"Wof, do you know what dungeon monsters actually are?"
"Not really... I don't know the specifics."
"Dungeon monsters are monsters born from the dungeon. They exist only inside the dungeon, roam its halls, and without exception attack any delvers or people who enter."
"...They only exist inside dungeons?"
"That's right. You've never seen a skeleton outside a dungeon, have you?"
"Now that you say that..."
I had indeed never seen one out in the wild.
"So Wof. Those aren't human bones. Don't worry about it."
"Y-yes."
Skeletons exist only inside dungeons... so what about that forest?
That forest... there had been many strange things about it.
But that didn't mean I could just call it a dungeon.
But that was a forest. It was outside.
There were no floors, no entrance.
Mineha, perched on my shoulder as I pondered, spoke up.
"Remember this. Every monster called an undead is a dungeon monster."
"So if there are undead, that means it's a dungeon?"
"That's right. What's with the careful tone?"
"No, it's just educational."
It really was educational.
That forest was probably a dungeon.
But questions remained.
It might be worth learning more about dungeons.
"...Souls, huh. A sea of souls."
"What was that, Axe? Some kind of poem about your sixteenth sister?"
"Ah, no, I was just remembering a story about OOPArts that hold souls."
"There's stuff like that, y'know."
"Souls?"
"A legendary OOPArt. I've heard someone among the 1st-class delvers has one."
"Hm. Something like that, sure. If you're 1st-class, owning one wouldn't be strange."
"Speaking of 1st-class, Axe. You said before you'd met one."
"Yeah, well..."
"Oh, is that so?"
Wow. Meeting one of only twenty-seven Delver Kings in the world — that's something else.
Huh? Axe? Why is he looking at me like that with a confused expression?
"What do you mean, 'is that so'?"
"What?"
"R-Right. No… sorry. It's nothing."
It didn't look like nothing at all. What was that about?
Just as the break ended and I stood up — the ground shook.
It was a subtle tremor.
"What was that?"
"Oh my. An earthquake?"
"It shook, didn't it."
"What is this, some kind of bad omen?"
"…Huh?"
I activated Danger Discernment on instinct and went cold.
Everything was pitch black. I couldn't see a thing.
An instant later. A tremendous shock and vibration engulfed everything.
Screams and shouts erupted, and the sound of collisions echoed through the air.
I don't remember anything after that.
I heard the sound of water.
The sound of water droplets falling.
"...Cold..."
I slowly sat up.
The cold came from a thin layer of water covering the floor.
When I sat up, the rocky ceiling faintly glimmered.
"...Where is this..."
The floor was paved with stone, and the ceiling looked like a cave.
And rubble. A wide, semicircular water-filled corridor.
I had no memory of this place at all.
"............"
I activated my Relic [Danger Discernment].
"—?!"
I drew my knife with my left hand and summoned [Banish] to my right.
Three red light points appeared. They were moving toward me.
"Shrr... shrr-shrr..."
"Shurruu..."
"Shururu... shhaa..."
I could hear it. Alongside the sound of water... what was that noise?
Like serpents—the enemy revealed itself, and I groaned.
"...Lizard...man"
What stood before me was a green, humanoid lizard.
The moment it spotted me, its snake-like pupils contracted in that distinctly reptilian way.
That reptilian reaction. I didn't like it.