by Hiro Ainana
“I-I’m so, so sorry, master!!” Frantic, Liza scrambled to pick up the bag again. Her hands were shaking.
Come to think of it, Pochi’s and Tama’s throwing accuracy was pretty bad in that last fight.
“Are you tired?”
“I’m so sorry! I spilled your precious water… I’ll accept whatever punishment you decide on.”
She was making a big deal of this—it looked like she really did believe she’d failed horribly. Did I not mention that it produces infinite water? You’d think they’d have noticed that by now, to be honest.
More important, I should check on how they’re doing.
“Don’t worry, Liza. We can get more water. Are you not feeling well?”
“I’m terribly sorry. My body has felt heavy for a while now… I can’t move as well as I’d like.”
Tama and Pochi, too, had flopped down on the ground, apparently too unwell to even drink some water. I checked their statuses, but nothing was out of the ordinary. Their stamina seemed low, though, so they must just be tired.
“Maybe instead of a short break, we should take a rest for a while.”
I gathered Pochi and Tama into my arms and took turns giving them water. I didn’t have any more pastries, so I got some sliced jerky out of Storage instead, picking out whatever looked best from the preserved goods in my original loot. It was made from the meat of something called a “sky deer,” which I had never heard of but was probably fine (judging by the “deer” part).
All three of them looked tired and defeated, but their hunger must have won out, because when I held the meat under their noses, they opened their mouths to chew as if by instinct.
“So, so yummy!”
“It’s delicious, sir!”
“Ah, jerky… The more I chew it, the more the flavor fills my mouth. Truly divine.”
Uh, I don’t know if it’s that good.
“Jerky? It’s yummy!”
“Delicious, sir! Meat is the best, sir!”
Liza was still chewing away blissfully on her first piece. Just how much do you guys love meat?
I had dozens of pounds of jerky, so I handed out several pieces to each of them. “When you’re done eating, go ahead and sleep for three hours or so.”
Pochi and Tama happily curled up beside me and fell asleep at once, and Liza sat down to look after them. “I can keep watch,” she said, but her face said otherwise—she was practically asleep already. After I insisted a second time, she finally lay down to rest.
While the three dozed, I checked on their statuses.
About a half hour after we’d stopped, the gray skills changed to white.
Maybe the level-up had been applied now that they were resting? This was just like that dungeon-crawler Older Scrolls. Was I going to start aging because I wasn’t in a stable?
At any rate, why did these three gain skills when they leveled up? Was it not normal, how I acquired skills as a result of my actions?
After the break, we proceeded through even more rooms. When we’d rested, the girls had been at the point of exhaustion after gaining about three levels, so it would probably be best to rest after another two areas.
“Stop!” Tama cried. It was unusual for her to shout so seriously.
But there aren’t any enemies in front of us…
“What’s wrong?”
“The floor is…weird?” she said uncertainly, almost like a question. So something was off, but she wasn’t sure what? When I stopped and stared at the floor, its texture did look strange.
Before I could figure it out with my own eyes, an AR pop-up offered the answer. Trap: Life Drainer. This is a dungeon, so I guess it makes sense it’d be rigged. We hadn’t encountered anything so far, so it hadn’t crossed my mind.
“Well done, Tama! It looks like there’s a trap there. Be careful.”
“’kay!”
I petted Tama’s head, scratching behind her cat ears. The latter part of my statement was directed toward Pochi and Liza. I had the three of them stand back and experimentally tossed a rock into the treacherous area, but nothing happened. Judging by the name, it would probably take a living being to activate it.
Unfortunately, the AR didn’t show where the hazard began and ended, so I didn’t know if edging along the side of the room would be safe. And I certainly wasn’t going to have one of the beastfolk test it out for me.
Checking the map, I didn’t see any detours around it, though. If we need a live creature to activate it, maybe we can guide a monster there?
Luckily enough, there were a few rat demons in the next room not far away. Maybe if I chucked a rock down the hall, the noise would attract them? I got a few stones from Tama and threw three of them in rapid succession.
“Rats are heeere!” Tama reported. I had the three girls back up even farther. The monsters were weak, only level 10, but three or four of them had come at the same time. It was possible some would get through, so we needed to keep our distance.
When they passed over the trap, the rats were ensnared in some kind of black flame. It looked like all three had been caught separately. So at least three life drainers had been set on this path.
> Skill Acquired: “Trap Disarming”
> Skill Acquired: “Trap Setting”
> Skill Acquired: “Trap Detection”
These trap-related skills seemed helpful, so I added skill points and activated them right away.
Liza thrust her spear forward with all her might into the mouth of the giant frog.
Pochi jumped out and whacked its side with a stick to distract it, and Tama leaped in on the other side with her short sword, stabbing its enormous eye to finish it off.
“You did it! Great job!”
“Thank you!”
“Yay!”
“Yes, sir!”
This was their first time defeating a monster all on their own, so I was pleased. The opponent had been a simple level 10 frog demon whose special attack held its victim in place with its tongue, so I thought it might make a good trial for them, but it was hardly a challenge at all. I guess beastfolk are stronger in a fight than humans of the same level.
This room was about three times the size of the others we’d seen so far. You’d think there would be more enemies in a place this big, but no red dots appeared on the radar.
At the end of the room was a house. More specifically, half a house that had been cut neatly down the middle. It must have gotten pulled in when the labyrinth was made. Unfortunately, my radar showed no sign of any humans.
Liza took apart the giant frog while Pochi and Tama kept watch at the door. So Liza’s on disassembly duty this time? Since she had the skill for it, I kept the three-girl-rotation lineup.
“Pochi, Tama, come with me. I’m going to investigate this house.”
According to the map, there weren’t any enemies nearby, so there should be no need to worry. Together with the two girls, I headed inside.
There was nobody living or dead in the building, but there were a lot of other items to be found. This seemed to have been a wealthy person’s secret storehouse.
Once we entered, some lights automatically turned on. Some kind of magical device? They looked easily detachable, so I tried taking one from the wall, but it faded almost immediately. They must work only where they’d been installed.
The first thing that caught my eye was the pair of decorative short swords hanging on the wall. Checking the AR display, I was surprised to find that they actually had decent attack power. They were a convenient size, too, so I decided to give them to Tama and Pochi.
In a truly clichéd move, there was a safe behind one of the paintings, so I shot off the lock with the Magic Gun and looked inside. There was a pouch of gold coins, a few jewels, and a small bottle of a magic material labeled DRAGON SCALE POWDER.
Was the owner an alchemist?
Sure enough, I found some magic potions for recovery in another room, so I must have been right. I also found several boo
ks on magic and a magic scroll on a bookshelf. I didn’t know how to use the scroll, but my guess was that one of the nearby books would explain it. I could read through them while the kids were napping and figure it out.
We collected some small things like jewelry, but larger objects like artwork we left in place. I could theoretically hold an infinite amount of items in Storage, but if I just grabbed everything in sight, it’d be a pain to sort through.
Among the artwork, there were two pedestals for mounting preserved animals. Not that it matters, but are they out for repair or something? I would’ve liked to see some fantasy creatures up close.
> Skill Acquired: “Excavation”
> Skill Acquired: “Treasure Hunting”
> Skill Acquired: “Treasure Box Unlocking”
I found a Tinder Rod in the kitchen. That was the only Magic Item around, but I also picked up a frying pan, a small pot, and four sets of tableware, which I put into the jute bag. There was a full water jug, too, so I poured some into an ordinary water pouch from Storage in case we ran into other people.
A lot of small bottles were in the kitchen as well, so I filled a few with oil and put them in Storage in case I needed an impromptu Molotov cocktail.
“I smell jerky over here! Sir!” Pochi announced in a voice that sounded ready to break into song. On the other side of some crumbling furniture was a food stock, and Pochi and Tama were practically scraping their faces trying to climb through.
It looked dangerous, so I had them stay back while I moved the obstruction aside one piece at a time to clear enough space for us to enter.
Inside, we found three big pieces of rye bread, plus cheese wheels and smoked meat. There was a cask of some fine-looking wine, too, so I snuck it into Storage while meat distracted the other two.
“Pochi, Tama, want to do some taste testing?”
“Yeah!”
“Yes, sir!”
I checked on the AR to make sure none of it was spoiled, then gave Pochi and Tama each a slice of cheese and meat.
“Yummy, yummy!”
“Awoo, it’s so tasty! I’m so happy, sir!”
Shaking their tails alone was apparently not enough to express their joy, so the girls were waggling their clenched fists as well.
I tasted a piece of the cheese for myself. It was good, with a rich flavor like strong cheddar.
“Let’s eat the rest with Liza, okay?”
“She’ll be so happy!”
“Good idea, sir! Let’s bring Liza some, sir!”
I gave the bag of weapons and small items to Pochi and the bag of food to Tama, while I carried the water jug and a washbasin as we returned to the chamber where Liza was waiting. When we came outside, she had finished retrieving the core and was just on her way toward the house.
“Master, I have a request…,” she murmured timidly. “Would it be all right if I started a fire?”
“A fire, underground? What for?” I asked.
“I thought it might be nice to grill the frog meat and eat it… Um. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. Is it edible, though?”
“Yes, it’s perfectly safe. I dissected and ate a giant frog just like this one a long time ago. There’s toxins in the intestines, but as long as you avoid those, it’s fine. But it has to be cooked, or there is a danger of poisoning…”
Liza trailed off after her halting explanation. Despite being underground, there seemed to be good airflow, and we’d come a ways up now, so lack of oxygen probably wouldn’t be a problem.
“Sure, go ahead.”
Liza asked Pochi and Tama to butcher the frog legs, then pulled a wood block and some wood chips out of her bag, arranging them on the ground. So that’s why she’s been collecting those as we go along.
Liza started to use flint to spark the fire, but I stopped her and instead used the Tinder Rod I’d found. I have no idea how this thing is made, but it’s really easy to use.
I handed off to Liza the cooking supplies and tableware I’d found inside.
Before long, Pochi and Tama came over with the frog-leg meat carried high above their heads.
“Meat!”
“It’s meat, sir!”
They seemed even happier about this than the smoked meat from earlier. Maybe this was their animal instinct at work?
Liza sliced the flesh into pieces and lined them up in the frying pan to cook. First she cooked up the fatty parts in oil and set those aside on a plate. Then she started to cook the best parts. An aroma like grilled chicken wafted into the air. Based solely on the smell, I’d say it might actually taste pretty good. Looking impatient, Pochi and Tama closed their eyes and sniffed deeply.
When the frog was cooked through, Liza stabbed each piece onto a wooden skewer and held out the first helping to me.
I probably have to eat this, huh? Yeah, I guess I do.
“Thank you, Liza.” Preparing myself for the worst, I took a bite—it tasted a bit like chicken, but for the most part the flavor was pretty sparse. All I had for seasoning was salt, so there wasn’t much I could do about it. I didn’t feel like going into the house to look for other spices, either. I checked in Storage briefly, but I didn’t have pepper or anything.
The three of them watched intently as I ate. Oh, were they waiting for permission?
“Don’t just sit there watching me—eat up! If you don’t eat and rest properly, we won’t make it out of the labyrinth!”
As soon as I granted them permission, Pochi and Tama dug into the grilled meat straight from the frying pan. Liza, too, stopped cooking long enough to partake. Once in a while I heard a dreadful crunching noise, like one of them had gotten a piece with some bone in it, but all three looked like they were enjoying the meal immensely.
Watching them out of the corner of my eye, I snuck bites of rye bread, cheese, and smoked meat. Even if it tasted all right, frog wasn’t really my thing.
After that, the cycle of dissecting the frog, cooking the meat, and eating it continued for about a half an hour; the feast came to an end around the time when the fire ran out of fuel. At Liza’s suggestion, we wrapped some of the meat in cloth to bring it with us.
Based on our journey so far, the girls would be getting worn out after another two or three battles, so I decided they should rest now while they were full. This was the third break so far.
Before they slept, I had them clean up in the washbasin I’d brought from the house and change into new clothes I’d found there. They’d probably get dirty right away in the next battle, but it feels better to sleep in clean clothes, right?
Apparently, they were getting used to me, because Pochi and Tama fell asleep using my lap as a pillow; Liza didn’t lean on me, but she did curl up right by my side.
Oh, while they’re sleeping, I should take a look at the magic books I got. When I searched through the ones in my Storage, a new option, “Inspect,” was available for them, so I selected that. Just like in a game, it seemed like I could read a book without actually taking it out of Storage.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t given it a thought until now, but I was able to see the menu interface clearly even in dark places like this. Was it being projected directly onto my retinas, or maybe composited in my head?
Wait, I wonder— Sure enough, I discovered that I was able to search the contents of the open books, just like in a game. How convenient! No OCR needed!
There were only a few lines about magic scrolls in one of the books, but it gave a sufficient explanation. It explained that you could use a magic scroll just by opening it and reading the name of the spell. The scroll I found contained a Fire Magic spell called Fire Shot, an offensive spell that was apparently the first one new Fire users learned.
Thanks to this discovery, I could now pass the time by reading while everyone was asleep.
After another break, we’d made it almost 80 percent of the way to the exit of the labyrinth. Pochi and Tama were now using the ornamental short swords from that
storehouse and small shields. That was the only change to the party’s equipment, but all three of them had reached level 13. Pochi’s skills were “One-Handed Sword,” “Throwing,” “Enemy Detection,” and “Disassembly”; Tama’s were “One-Handed Sword,” “Throwing,” “Collecting,” and “Disassembly”; and Liza’s were “Spear,” “Spear Thrust,” “Cooking,” and “Disassembly.”
There was a world of difference in their combat ability from when we started to now. In their current state, as long as an enemy didn’t have any special attacks, the girls could beat one up to five levels higher than themselves by working together. Since none of them was a shield user who could serve as a tank, things got trickier if there were multiple higher-level monsters, but I was still impressed.
Farther down the passageway, we found a slime. It wasn’t the cute water-droplet kind from Japan’s favorite RPGs, though—more of a classic amoeba-like mucous creature.
This seemed as good a chance as any to try out my fire spell. I used the magic scroll for Fire Shot just as the book had directed. A fiery bullet only the size of my fingertip appeared, and it shot at the slime as slow as a ball tossed by a child.
Hitting its target, the little fireball toasted the surface of the slime only a little before disappearing. I checked the slime’s HP gauge, and sure enough, it had gone down only the tiniest bit. So Fire Shot was no use, not even against a level 10 slime.
But I had gained the “Fire Magic” skill by using the spell, so I guess I could still call it a success.
When I checked my enabled magic, Fire Shot had appeared there, too. But really, from an MP-efficiency standpoint alone, the Magic Gun was way more useful, so there was no point in using my new ability. I guess it could be useful if I was ever without a fire-starting tool, though.
Perhaps misinterpreting my disappointment, Liza offered me some advice. “Master, forgive my insolence, but the best way to defeat a slime is to aim at its nucleus.”
“Oh? Where is that?”
“The area where the coloring is slightly different.”
