Chapter 143

Luemei Ruins Dungeon (2)
Today's goal, on our second day, was to clear the fourth floor and scout out the fifth.
Tomorrow would be our rest day, and the day after that we'd start staying overnight in the dungeon so we could continue exploring the forest floors from the sixth onward.
Dad had even said that if there weren't any enemies on the fifth floor at all, we'd take a quick peek at the sixth before heading back, so I was really looking forward to it.

The first three floors hadn't respawned yet, so we simply took the shortest route through them.
Slimes were scattered all over the place, but they were non-aggressive, so we didn't attack them.
Once we reached the fourth floor, the first thing I did was map it with Search.
Now that this was my sixth dungeon, the mana consumption was nothing compared to when I'd first started, and it was much faster too.
Getting used to it really does matter.
That said, since the floors from the sixth onward were supposed to be a forest, I wasn't sure how things would go there.
If it was too vast, it'd naturally use more mana, and unlike before, it didn't seem like there'd only be a few types of enemies.
Ah, no, that's not quite right. The monsters that appeared were somewhat predetermined, but since they spawned differently than before, it probably just felt like there were more kinds.
Well, that was only what the reference books had said, and I couldn't really picture it until I saw it for myself.

While I was thinking about that, Dad seemed to have finished using Search as well, and we proceeded through every corridor, even the ones that ended in dead ends.
Only three types of monsters appeared: Small Rats, Kobolds, and Goblins.
Every now and then a Small Rat would be getting hunted by a Goblin, but the moment it spotted me, it'd abandon the rat and charge straight at me instead.
I guess dungeon monsters really did prioritize adventurers.
The Goblins came charging while wildly flailing their arms, or rather, their claws, and before they could enter my personal space, I lopped off their heads with my mana-infused whip.

"Dad, the Small Rat that Goblin was eating disappeared when the Goblin vanished too. But the rat should've already been dead when the Goblin killed it, right? It didn't disappear then. That's weird."

The Goblin had probably been eating from the magic stone in its chest rather than the organs.
By the time I'd found it, its mouth had been covered in blood, and the Small Rat's chest and belly had already been torn open.
The rat had obviously been dead, but it hadn't turned into sparkles, and if I hadn't shown up, the Goblin probably would've eaten the whole thing.
When it noticed me, it threw aside the half-eaten Small Rat and came after me, but even then the rat's corpse had remained on the ground.
Then, when the Goblin died, the rat disappeared together with it.

"Ah... well... yeah... ah, that's it. It's like... with weapons."

"With weapons?"

"Yeah. Remember when a Goblin attacked us usin' a Horned Rabbit horn as a weapon? When we defeated the Goblin, the horn disappeared too. I told ya it was probably because the dungeon treated it as the Goblin's weapon, remember?"

Dad's words reminded me of the time a Goblin had stolen one of our dropped Horned Rabbit horns.
Ever since then, we'd made a point of collecting useful items as quickly as possible.

"Oh! That's right. So that Small Rat had become the Goblin's 'food.' And when its owner disappeared, it disappeared too.

I see, I see... dungeons really are fascinating."

"Well, I doubt many folks would bother thinkin' that deeply about it. You really do enjoy dungeons from the bottom of your heart, don't ya, Vio?"

Of course I did.
Even if this was just a beginner dungeon, it had different enemies and different treasures.
Sure, I'd been getting a little tired of nothing but cave dungeons, but this time it was ancient ruins.
There were still so many dungeons in the world.
If I started discovering all these dungeon mysteries now, it'd probably make it easier to notice differences later too.

I wrote down everything I noticed in my notebook every day.
I planned to show it to the Vice-Guildmaster, the Guildmaster, and Professor Doua.
The Guildmaster would probably wear a slightly exasperated expression.
But I was sure Professor Doua would be delighted, and I thought the Vice-Guildmaster would enjoy it too.

With another new discovery under my belt, we finished clearing the fourth floor and found the stairs leading down to the fifth, descending together.

Clack... Clack... Clack...

Unlike the cave dungeons, we'd been walking on stone-paved corridors up until now, but this was completely different.
There were no corridors at all.
Instead, an enormous dome-shaped chamber spread out before us.
Maybe because the entire room was so round, the sound of our footsteps echoed loudly as we descended the stairs.

"Woooow~ Dad, this place is amazing! It's way bigger than the Guild's training grounds!"

I couldn't help getting excited.
It was just... such an incredible space.
Maybe because the lake occupied about two-thirds of the room, the air felt pleasantly cool, and combined with the color of the walls, the whole chamber had a bluish tint.
The corridors before this had all been whitish, so the contrast was incredible.

"Don't go gettin' too close to the lake now."

I wonder if it's written into children's genes to want to run around whenever they see a huge open space.
The vast chamber didn't even have a single Slime in it, and before I knew it, I was running all over the place.
It wasn't until I heard Dad warning me that I realized I'd completely forgotten I was inside a dungeon.

That was close.
I was the sort of person who'd gone straight from a garbage dump into a river without hesitation before.
I slammed on the brakes about a meter before reaching the lake!
Time to head back to Dad.

"Hahaha! Seein' you act your age like that makes me happy, Vio.

Well, this is still a dungeon, so lettin' your guard down too much's dangerous, but every now and then's alright, ain't it?"

When I returned to him, he happily patted my head.
Well... I might've been five years old now, but inside I'd probably been an adult, so it was a little embarrassing.
This body that occasionally reverted to acting like a little kid really was frustrating.

"I got a little too excited. There really aren't any monsters on land here. They're all in the lake, right?"

"There oughta be plenty in the lake. Gettin' too close is dangerous, but you should be able to use Search on it from around here, Vio."

At Dad's suggestion, I stood well away from the lake and used Search toward the water.
I extended my mana...

Hm? When I extended it the way I usually did, it spread throughout the enormous chamber instead, and it wouldn't enter the water.

"Is it because I'm blending it into the air like always? Then maybe if I make it dissolve into the water where it touches..."

I already knew I could easily use Search underwater if I was physically touching the water, but that would obviously be dangerous, so I thought about another way.
Maybe I could do it from here without touching the water if I changed the mana that normally blended into the air so that it dissolved into the water instead, so I focused on the mana where it touched the lake.
It'd be a waste otherwise, so I redirected the mana that had spread all the way up near the ceiling into dissolving into the water.

The instant my mana touched the lake's surface, it created a dense patch like milk being poured into coffee, but gradually it dissolved and blended into the lake.
Until then it'd been mapping the open space, but suddenly my perception shifted underwater, and I could see countless living creatures beneath the surface.

"Wow! There are quite a lot. They're not just fish? Maybe insects? Oh, and there are snake-like ones too. Dad, aren't there any amphibians? Don't any of them come up onto land?"

"There shouldn't be any here that can stay active on land for long. But there are ones that'll drag you into the lake if you get careless and wander too close, so you gotta keep your wits about ya."

Seriously?

Still, at least there weren't any frogs.
Those things could move around on land just fine.

So we decided to stop for lunch well away from the lake.
The place that had felt pleasantly cool at first became a little chilly if you stayed still too long.
So I put my cloak back on, spread out our groundsheet, and ate my packed lunch.
Camping in a tent on this floor would definitely be safe, but it might be a little cold.
I'd ask Dad about it after we left.