by Fujino Omori
Pain in my arms and legs doesn’t matter. I will slay anything that moves. My feet take me deeper into the Dungeon.
A flat floor, smooth walls, and the ceiling are my guides.
I wander around aimlessly in the tasteless air of the Dungeon.
It’s colder than this afternoon and dead quiet. There is nothing around me—no monsters, no adventurers, just these walls and the chill.
My boots echo with each step. They’re keeping me company through these winding halls.
“……”
Feels like a ghost should come out at any second, that kind of echo. I look down at my body.
No armor, just my usual street clothes. Slashes and gashes from various claws and fangs are all over me. My clothes have been shredded. They look like something a criminal would wear while committing a felony.
My right hand grips a blade I keep on me just for emergencies. My arm drips with the blood of who knows how many monsters.
I’m a mess…
That’s not a problem. I can keep going, but I rest my eyes for a moment.
Run, run, run, how much did I run?
Through the crowds of Main Street, away from that bar, into the Dungeon.
I found monsters, slew them, ran to the next, slew them, too.
Slash, slice, stab… How many have I cut?
Just how weak am I? I lost myself for a while.
The thought of my own weakness fueled my rage enough to make it this far with just one knife.
I have to close the distance between me and her, no matter what. I have to get to her level as soon as possible.
A flame burns in my heart, and I let it consume my whole body.
… Where… am I?
What do I do now?
What happened after the bar? I only remember a few flashes here and there. I take a deep breath and rack my brain for clues. I hunted the monsters—I remember that much—but everything else is so cloudy…
I open my eyes and take a look around. The walls are different, kind of a mossy green. The corridor is really thin, too, with more paths breaking off than I remember.
I’ve never even seen a frog shooter before, come to think of it.
This is the fifth… no, lower sixth floor.
I came down six flights of stairs starting at the main gate. This has to be the lower sixth.
It seems I’m exploring a new floor.
I continue forward without fully grasping what I’m doing. The idea of turning around never crosses my mind, still numb from the night’s events.
I look around for my next target. Nothing is moving; it’s just me and the echoes now.
“Ha… ha… ha…”
My breathing is a bit rough. Maybe I’m pushing too hard?
How long have I been in the Dungeon?
Sure, the sparkling specks on the ceiling make it easy to see, but they don’t tell me the time of day. It could be noon. I have no idea. I don’t have a watch, either. Oh, well.
… What’s this?
I’ve been walking a while. This spot looks a lot like my room under the church.
Except it’s a full square, and there’s nothing in here. Light green walls, looks as bleak and deserted as the church…
I’m already halfway in, but I don’t see any other paths. Seems like there’s only one way in or out of here.
I should turn around; this is a dead end.
What is that?
Crack, crack
“—”
Getting louder…
There’s nothing here, no monster could hide behind anything… Such an eerie sound.
Nothing left, nothing right, I can’t see where it’s coming from!
It’s just me and that sound. My echoes are gone. It’s drilling into my ears!
Is it possible that my senses improved along with my status? That has to be the only explanation.
If that’s true, I should be able to follow my ears to the source of the noise.
The wall! It’s coming from that greenish wall!
Why would a wall be making noise? The walls aren’t alive…
A crack! Spreading! It’s right in front of me!
“……!”
Monsters are born from the Dungeon walls!
A new monster is being born, right here, right now, from inside this wall. Right in front of me. Monsters don’t emerge as babies. They are born as full-fledged, battle-ready adults!
The Dungeon, the only place in the world that gives birth to a threat to humanity…
A massive, three-fingered hand bursts through the crack. It’s flexing, grabbing at the air. A foot! The other hand now!! It’s coming out of the wall! Pieces of the Dungeon wall are breaking off and falling to the floor, adding even more echoes to this dead-end square.
The creature lands on the floor with a thud; the last pieces of the wall come crashing down around its feet.
There is only one word to describe it: shadow.
It’s probably about 160 celch. This monster is about as tall as me. Its entire body, head to toe, fingertip to fingertip, is pitch black. Shape-wise, it looks almost human. It has no skin pattern or hair, just smooth black shadow.
Its head looks like a pointed plus sign, with a big, silver, round part in the middle.
The freaky shadow straightens up and turns to face me.
This is the lower-sixth-floor monster, “Wall Shadow.”
“Ke……!”
Behind me! The wall is cracking! Don’t tell me another one is being born right here!
I’m caught in a pincer!
No, the room is wide enough, so I have room to move. Still, it’s two on one. Not good.
But this timing… Did I fall into a trap laid by the Dungeon itself? So this is the Dungeon’s true face.
“……”
The two Wall Shadows silently flex their bodies as they surround me, getting ready for battle.
Their silver “eyes” are flashing like dying magic stone lamps surrounded in fog. They are locked onto me, their “prey.”
“…… Haaa!”
A deep breath. My blood-stained knife is as ready as it’s going to get.
I’m probably too far gone, trapped in the lower sixth, no armor, no hope.
But the flames that ignited at the bar are still burning. Everything I heard that guy say, that’s all that I care about.
That pain is far worse than this. The fire within me will be more than enough to keep me going.
There is a voice in my head, telling me to run. But I say fight!
Wall Shadows have sharp “fingers.”
There are three of them sticking out of unusually long arms. They are knives, plain and simple. They’re on the move! These guys make kobolds and goblins look like child’s play. They’re fast!
It’s safe to say that Wall Shadows are the most dangerous Level Six monsters in terms of pure power.
Adventurers who stay in the upper dungeon, lower floors one to twelve, need to be extra careful when one of these things shows up. It may be the last thing they see.
“Gaha!”
I would agree with that assessment.
Slicing pain! I’m hit already!
Their attack patterns are shockingly strong and fast. Black arms flash in every direction; my skin and clothes are being sliced up like tissue paper.
Their reach is too long! I can’t get close enough to strike back! They aren’t letting me!
These monsters are on a whole other level!
I can’t counter, I can’t dodge, I can’t get away.
They’re just too damn strong.
“……”
“Gaaaa!!!”
These silent killers are aiming for my head.
I catch a glimpse of one of their black blades out of the corner of my eye. Dodging at the last second, it passes just past my ear. The other one! Coming straight for me! Dodge right.
Front, side, behind, their attacks are coming from everywhere.
These strikes just k
eep coming, like they’re swimming through the air.
I’m getting dizzy, barely avoiding fatal blows by spinning like a top.
My blood and sweat are flying everywhere. I’m engaged in a dance of death.
This is serious. I might really die down here.
Hang on, I’m breathing. Very heavily, but I’m breathing…
… Why?
I feel really impatient, but at the same time, something feels different…
Calm… I feel a stream of calm energy flowing through my body.
Despite this hopeless situation, my mind is clear. I look at my opponents with clear eyes for the first time.
—Why am I still alive?
Why didn’t I realize it before?
How did I make it to the lower sixth with my body still in one piece?
Why am I able to fight with the monsters around every corner on this floor as equals?
I don’t understand. How can someone who has only been an adventurer for two weeks survive on this floor on his own? I’ve encountered Wall Shadows! I shouldn’t be able to dodge their attacks!
The half-elf Eina told me as much. She warned me!
I remember she clearly said my status was far too low, low even for a newbie! She told me that my attacks wouldn’t make a scratch on these monsters!
—Sta… tus?
A light flips on in the back of my mind. My status went up way too much earlier this evening.
It can’t be…?
The hieroglyphs on my back, could they be the reason?
“Gaaaou!”
I need to focus, that last hit rocked my whole body.
The Wall Shadows took advantage of my wandering thoughts and found an opening.
The back of one of their hands slammed into my shoulder. Not only was I thrown onto my back, but my knife flew out of my hand.
I hear the metallic blade hit the stone floor. My only weapon is gone.
“!”
A shadow rises above me, striking to kill. I quickly roll to the right to dodge.
The other Wall Shadow is standing above me now, taking aim with its right arm.
Suddenly, my eyes narrow.
Time slows down. I see everything.
Memories flood in with breathtaking speed. Everything I’ve ever seen, heard, or done lights up behind my eyes.
There she is, my savior bathed in silver light.
“—”
The smile of a special person, the goddess who gave me this power.
“Kke!”
I can move! I feel strong, stronger than ever!
I jump up from the dungeon floor and punch the Wall Shadow in the face.
Long black arms fly by my cheek. I can feel the skin on my arm being scraped off as I plunge my fist deeper into the monster.
New echoes have joined me: the sounds of the Wall Shadow’s face being crushed.
“…………?”
My fist plows through the creature’s head. Throwing all my weight into a right counter worked!
A thick black liquid spurts out of the wound in the Wall Shadow’s head lodged around my arm. The creature’s arms cross where I was just a second ago, but they’ve gone limp. It falls to its knees as I burst through.
“Fm!!”
I’ve got momentum, can’t stop now!
The remaining Wall Shadow stares as I pull my black-blood-stained arm from its former comrade. The last monster squares its shoulders, preparing for my next move.
I make a break for my knife, snatching it off the floor before turning to face the beast one more time.
The animal man said I look like a “bunny”? I’ll prove him right!
Jump, pivot, step, roll, it can’t stop me! I get inside its reach before it can block.
The Wall Shadow’s muscles are firing, launching an attack. But I already have a step.
Slash.
My blade tears a clean slit through the Wall Shadow’s chest.
I catch a glimpse of a flash of light from deep within the open wound. The monster’s magic stone was severed.
“—!!”
The beast lets out a silent scream as its jet-black body turns to ash.
I stand there for a moment, my arms and knife still outstretched, and watch its figure dissipate. As the last pieces go up, I finally let myself breathe.
“Haa… hh… haaa… hh… ha!”
I lean back as my lungs suck in massive amounts of air.
The tension gone, my body is really screaming at me now. That was too close, but I’m still in one piece. My heart pounds in my ears; just keeping my eyes open is a pain.
I’m in bad shape, but how bad?
I wasn’t ready to fight any of those monsters: I shouldn’t have been, anyway. But I did, and I won. It has to be my status, that’s the only thing that could go against everything I’ve been taught. That’s the only way I could have grown enough to do this and survive.
What’s happening to me?
The first step to figuring all this out is getting out of the Dungeon alive. I’m on the verge of collapsing, hands on my knees and trying to inhale the city itself… I can’t take much more of this.
I need to get out of here, now.
I take one step toward the exit, and another, just trying to move forward.
“You shall not escape.”
Am I hearing things…? That wasn’t a voice…
“—!”
Oh shit… The walls are echoing, breaking, breathing! Left and right, there’s a spiderweb of cracks opening in every direction! Here come the Wall Shadows, lots of them.
… The first reason Eina told me not to come down here unprepared: the number of monsters born from the Dungeon walls dramatically increases from the lower sixth… no, lower fifth floor.
I’m stunned. I don’t think I can even speak right now. And more things are howling from beyond the exit door.
I can see their eyes reflecting the light from the ceiling.
“… haaaa.”
Here they come, one after another. Lower-sixth-floor monsters bar the only way out.
There goes my clean escape. I’m surrounded. Wall Shadows are on my left, right, and behind me. Various other beasties are in front. And they’re all coming for me.
But I’m calm. Seriously, my head is cool and clear.
“……”
I step into a defensive stance… Wait, what’s that on the ground?
A drop item? Must have come from one of the Wall Shadows… A finger blade!
One of the three must have been left behind. I can use this! There’s no grip, just the long blade itself. But what choice do I have?
It cuts into my left palm. My blood drips off the tip of the blade.
—Ah, whatever.
Armed with two knives, I stare down my enemies one by one.
Even in this hopeless situation, I don’t feel like my number’s up.
I have to reach the next level, get closer to her.
I don’t have time to play with the monsters down here.
I’m in the eye of a storm of howls and roars, but I’m different now.
The symbols on my back are pushing me forward. My blades are ready.
I charge headlong into their advancing ranks.
Chapter 4
THAT’S WHY I WANT TO HELP
Time-marking clicks echoed throughout the room.
The clock on the wall showed five in the morning.
Hestia paced back and forth around the room under the old church, her home.
He’s way too late…
She crossed her arms and scrunched up her eyebrows. Anxiety was pulsing through her veins.
She had lost her cool after seeing how much Bell’s “crush” on Aiz had caused him to grow last night.
She couldn’t even enjoy the drinking party with her coworkers. All that was there to greet her when she came back was silence. Bell wasn’t home.
She had told him to eat alone, but his not being back in time to welcome her ho
me just made her even angrier. She skipped taking a shower and jumped into bed with every intention of falling asleep. Ten o’clock, eleven o’clock, twelve o’clock passed, and he still hadn’t come back. That was when Hestia realized something was very wrong.
All her anger at Bell had kept her awake this long. Giving up on sleep entirely, she kicked off the bedcovers and left the room to look for him.
“Where did you go…?”
Her search bore no fruit.
There had been no sign of the boy’s signature white hair anywhere. Hestia’s last ray of hope was that Bell had returned while she was out. However, the room was still empty when she’d arrived.
All she’d gotten from her strenuous search was tired legs. Her nerves were starting to get to her as well. She was now officially a wreck.
Is it because of I said to him? But he’s the kind of guy who puts other people first; he wouldn’t make me worry just because he’s upset… Usually he’d be here with his head down apologizing by now…
Bell’s face had been like that of an abandoned baby bunny when she last saw him. She ran through their last conversation a few more times in her head.
The thought that it was her fault Bell was gone once again crept into her mind, but she shook it off.
She knew this wasn’t the time to be buried in her own misgivings. Taking a deep breath, she mulled over the possible reasons for the boy’s absence.
If I’m not the reason he hasn’t come back, then that means…!
Something bad had happened to him. She was sure of it.
Her forced calm fell apart like a sand castle. She broke out in a cold sweat. She couldn’t just stand here knowing that something had happened to him. She grabbed her cloak and headed to the door to go outside and look for him again.
“—Gyahhh!”
The moment she reached for the knob on the square door, it swung open.
And hit her smack in the face.
At the same moment, her personal pillows went squish as the door stopped on contact.
Hestia’s faith shot up 100 points!
She let out a high-pitched squeal as she grabbed her face and crouched down.
“G-Goddess? I-I’m sorry…”
Suffering from the agony of an unforeseen attack, Hestia looked up between her fingers at the figure standing in the doorway.
Realizing it was the boy that she had been worried about all this time, she jumped up to greet him.
