We decided to head for the dungeon, but we woke up very early that morning as well.

　Since it was already full-blown summer, we would have exhausted our strength on the way to the dungeon if we were active at the same time as before.

　Even though we were relatively lightly dressed, we were still wearing underwear, shirts, pants, armor, chainmail, jackets, and leather armor. It's quite hot.

　And the biggest problem is the under armor. Other clothes can be made thinner, but the armor, which is designed to absorb shocks, is useless if made thin.

　In the winter, it is very good as a warm clothing, but in the summer, it is terrible.

　Even in the modern age, there are thin, stab-resistant materials, but shock absorption is not so easy, and there is nothing we can do about it.

Well, we were lucky to find the dungeon, weren't we?
"Yes. Compared to other adventurers, that is.

　It's a bit chilly in the dungeon with light clothing. My normal gear is just fine.
　It's very good for exploring in the summer.

There's not much work in Rafan in the summer, is there?

No, because the lumberjacks don't cut down many trees. The lumberjacks don't cut much wood. ...... To be precise, it's not that they don't have any, it's that they don't want to.

　One reason is that it's hot, but the main reason is that it's not the best time of year to cut wood. Wood cut down in the summer, when trees are growing well, is not of good quality.

　Therefore, the main work in the summer is to maintain the forest by cutting the underbrush. This town manages the forest in a humble way from a long-term perspective.

　This work is not popular among lumberjacks or adventurers hired as guards, because they are forced to do it.

　Well, I can understand how they feel, but whether or not they take it seriously will affect their credibility.

　The adventurers who take such troublesome work seriously will be the ones who can take on jobs even in the winter when there are few requests.


　I hadn't been to the dungeon in a while, but it hadn't changed much, except for a slight recovery in the number of undead.

　However, unlike the undead we had killed in the past, they did not have weapons, so perhaps the undead this time were purely demons created by the dungeon.

　Or maybe they were in the forest when we last visited, and came back from the outside after that.

　It would have been nice to see a skeleton knight with a white iron sword every now and then, but unfortunately, until we reached the place where we killed the skeleton king last time, all we saw were ordinary skeletons and zombies.

There's no change in .......

The Skeleton King is not back, and the corridors are still the same. I guess it's not like a boss room or anything.

　If it was a game, you could enter a boss room and not be able to leave until you killed the boss, or the boss would repop after a while. But here, there was no repop, not even a normal skeleton, and there was no change in the path leading down.

But I still have a bad feeling about this. It's hard to say for sure. ......
No change. ......

　It was Natsuki who looked into the path leading down and said something ominous.

　After returning from the dungeon last time, Natsuki had already told me that he didn't know what was in there, but there was a good chance that there would be a trap.

　So, I've made preparations for that.

　First, food.

　Considering the possibility of common traps such as 'rocks falling down and blocking the passage' or 'walls collapsing or pitfalls making it impossible to return', I brought as much as possible, including food I had bought, harvested, and cooked.

　In concrete terms, I have enough to keep me in the dungeon for a year.
　Even if something unforeseen happens, I have the spirit of "if I'm not in a hurry, I can handle it.


　Next, tools.

　In addition to the shovels and hoes I already had, I bought additional pickaxes, ropes, and other things I thought I could use.

　I think I can manage to dig a hole by magic, but it is better to be careful.

　I've gathered these things without thinking that they would be a burden, referring to books and the like, so there should be a lot I can do even if something happens.

Okay, well, let's get off.

"Wait a minute. Before that, let's camp around here. It's still early in the evening.

It's early in the morning.

　Haruka and Yuki stopped Toya, who had said this casually, perhaps because he was prepared.

　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.

　It was hard to notice since we were in the dungeon, but looking at Haruka's watch, it was definitely time for us to take a break.

"Oh, well, what can I do? I don't know, it's killing me.
We're going somewhere new. We're going to a new place, we should be prepared.

　He was a little disgruntled, but he knew that Haruka and the others were right, so he sighed and began to prepare the camp.

　　　　I'm not sure what to say.

　The passage leading down was so narrow that it was difficult for two people to stand side by side, and it was less than two meters high.

　The slow but sure path to deeper levels was longer than we expected, and we walked for more than three minutes.

　And then we arrived at a cave that was no different from any other.

　It was like a rather large room, with only one passage, the one we had come down, and one more.
　There is no enemy response.

　As a dungeon, I was expecting something a little more dramatic, but alas, it was not to be.

The lack of change makes me wonder if it's really a dungeon.

But you don't want to be in an unusually hot or unusually cold environment, do you?

That's true. If it's comfortable, I'll be happy.

　In the dungeons that have been found so far, as Haruka mentioned, there are some insane environments where you descend the stairs and suddenly find yourself in a scorching hot space.

　There are also unusually large spaces, brightly lit spaces for some reason, and spaces that reproduce the natural environment outside.

　According to one theory, the levels in the dungeon are connected to other worlds.

　I'm not sure how accurate this theory is, as it was introduced in a book I bought the other day, but it seems to be a common occurrence that the area of the dungeon does not match the size or terrain of the ground.

　However, there is also space-time magic that allows you to create magic bags, so it seems a bit excessive to make a sudden leap from there to the 'other world'.

But there was no trap, was there? I was pretty nervous about it. ......

　I'm not sure what to make of this, but I think it's a good idea.

I'm sorry. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea. ......



"If it's not there, it's not there. There's no need for civil engineering.

　To be honest, the passage was much longer than I expected.
　I don't want to have to dig this up.

　I'm a little concerned about the inaccuracy of Natsuki's trap detection, but I'd rather say I'm glad it's not here.

"Well, of course. Well, let's move on. Yuki, I know this is a lot of work, but can you do the mapping again?

"Okay. Thanks to your skills, it's much easier now, so don't worry about it.

　After confirming that Yuki had taken out the mapping tools, we were about to leave the room when...

　ZDODODOD!!!!

　A dull, heavy sound echoed from behind us.

What?

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but it's a good idea.

Time difference. ......

I'm glad I won. ......

　It's hard to say that I'm happy to have won," said Natsuki with a subtle expression.

　This is a great way to get the most out of your business.

No, no, no. It's completely buried.

　I approached after the noise subsided, but the situation was clear even before I looked in.

　I didn't even need to look in to see what was going on, because the collapsed earth was right there.

　I asked Haruka to send the light into the corridor, but after about ten meters it was completely buried to the ceiling and there was no gap.

　We've been down the passage for several hundred meters, and it's too convenient to think that the collapse is only a small part of it.

A trap to block the passage. It's within the realm of possibility, though. ......

　Yuki also looks up at the passage and sighs in annoyance at the unexpectedly wide area of the collapse.

It's a pain in the ass, but should we dig it up?
"No, ......, why don't we just keep exploring?

　I thought about Toya's suggestion for a moment, and when I shook my head, he looked a little surprised.

"Are you sure?

We have plenty of food. We can produce water with Create Water. There may be another way out. Considering that, isn't it a bit of a waste of time?

"That's true. If it were a normal cave, we would be worried about the air, but if we think of it as a dungeon, we can eliminate the possibility of suffocation.

　I see, in a cave there is the problem of air.
　If it's a dungeon, there's no problem with that.　Maybe.

　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure you'll be able to do it. I can't use this magic because I haven't practiced it.

　Also, unfortunately, I can't take a bath, but I can endure that with Purify Air, and I have a toilet.

　In other words, as long as you can endure the environment of the dungeon, there is no immediate danger to your life.

Well, we have enough food left after a few months of exploration, so let's let Nao do her best until then.

Me?

After a year of training day and night, you should be able to make the transition, right?

What an absurd request!

　Of course, there is a spell called "teleportation" in space-time magic.

　This spell itself is classified as a level 6 spell and is not that difficult to learn, but there is a limit of only one person who can be transferred with this spell.

　In order to transfer all the members of your party, you need to learn "Area Teleportation," which is one level higher.

　As I've already raised my 【Time and Space Magic】to level 5, it would certainly be possible for me to learn it after a few months of training. It's fortunate that I have enough time to watch over the camp.

　However, it is more difficult to be able to transfer far away than to be able to use transfer magic.

　Even if you can use "teleportation", at first you can only fly within your field of vision.

　With other types of magic, such as fire magic, any level of magic can be used to a certain extent once it becomes available, but space-time magic is completely different, and most of the time, just being able to use it is almost useless. It's a long way from there.

　In a sense, it is different from other magic because it is said to be "rare" or "difficult".

I'm not sure what to do, but I'll try. ...... I'll try.

You're sure about this?　If we can't dig up this passage, Nao's magic will be our lifeline. ...... Is there any way to make it easier to use?

There is a transfer point, .......

　It's a kind of grimoire, an item that makes it a little easier to transfer to it by placing a transfer point filled with my magic power.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

In other words, it's useless in the current situation.
Because it's not in place.

　The teleportation itself was still in the practice stage, not yet at a practical level, so I hadn't thought about the transfer point.

　Now that I think about it, I probably should have asked Haruka to help me set one up at home.

　...... No, my home is too far away, so it would be pointless.

You'll be fine, Nao.
Yes. I'm sure Nao can do it.
Hang in there, Nao!　I'm rooting for you!

　I'm rooting for you!" Haruka said matter-of-factly, and Natsuki believed me with a gentle smile.
　Natsuki gives me a thumbs up and smiles at me.

　I'm glad that you trust me, but...

But the expectations are heavy!　--But you're on my side, Yuki!



"Hahaha, how can a space-time predisposition be a match for elven Nao?

　I'm not sure what you're talking about. I'm not sure what you're talking about.

　I'm sure you're right if you're only looking at the status aspect, but Yuki is a lot more to the point than you might think, and she has the same qualities as you. And above all, it's mentally tough for me to train alone.

　I'm stuck in a dungeon right now. I can afford it, but I have limited food. The pressure of whether or not I can get out of there is on my shoulders alone.

　Wouldn't it be nice to have a little company?

　No, I think you should.

　In fact, you should.

　With this feeling in my eyes, I clenched my fists and smiled.

"You'll go along with my training, right?

Yes.

　Good.

　It seems that my sincerity has been understood.

　--I'm sure it was just my imagination that Yuki's gaze was on my fist instead of on my eyes.