Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 067: The Trapped Adventurer IV

Translator: Solo

A dream?

I had a dream.

It felt like a dream.

It was a forest I remembered.

I had become someone from somewhere.

A pain that ravaged my intestines, and blood.

It smelled of blood and gunpowder. I heard a distant scream.

From the gaps between the trees, I caught a glimpse of horrifying creatures.

They were huge, misshaped and ravenous.

In the direction I was looking, there was an elf and a gray cat. Both were faces that I knew.

A whisper, a prayer and a contract.

There was an elf and a black-haired girl.

The elf's pupils turned golden like the full moon.

A giant beast howled at the moon.

Like tears from the moon, red flames fell onto the forest.

When I woke up,

Chestnut brown eyes were looking at me.

「Dear, did you have a nightmare?」

We had kept our distance for about two days, so my heart skipped a beat at how close she was.

「Sorry, Rana. I had a bit of a bad dream」

Pain like I had taken a lead ball in the abdomen.

It was something like phantom pain. It disappeared immediately once I gulped.

It appeared that I was the only one who had slept until now.

Everyone in the party had finished their preparations and looked ready to move at a moment’s notice.

I took a sip of water.

Rana was still by my side. She was looking at me with a worried look.

「I'm sorry, Rana. It’s an unrelated topic, but were your eyes not gold in color?」

I should have seen them many times, but she had chestnut brown eyes.

But when I first met her, her eyes were golden. I had forgotten about it until now.

Did I see it wrong?

「No, my eyes have been the color of nuts ever since I was born. Do you like green eyes too?」

「No, it’s not that kind of thing」

My preferences for people don’t change just because of eye color.

「Onee-chan, your eye color changes sometimes, you know? Onii-chan’s does too though. Is it some kind of magic? Cast it on me too」

「Huh? This is the first I'm hearing of it. My eyes change color?」

Rana was surprised when she was told that by my sister.

「Souya has gotten up, I see. Let's go. Hey you, you slept too much」

My question was interrupted by Otou-san.

I’ll hash this matter out with her too once we’re out of the dungeon. When this adventure is over………I guess I better stop. It’s bad luck.

Perhaps it was because I had slept, but my regeneration point was full. It had the same capacity as a puppy, so it filled up quickly.

I stretched.

And resumed exploring the dungeon.

「Souya, I have a suggestion」

At Otou-san’s suggestion, we changed our party’s formation.

The formation was a countermeasure for the 19th floor, which was the focal point of the adventure.

In the front row, Otou-san, Shuna, and me.

In the center, Frey, Rana, Ea, and Lys.

In the back row, Lazarissa, and Gashuraku-san.

However, Gashuraku-san had the role of the flying column1, so he had the freedom to move to the center and the front row.

The people chosen to be in the center were those who had a high chance of being abducted on the 19th floor.

That enemy only abducted one person. So, rather than splitting them up, they were gathered in one place and protected.

Until we reached the 20th floor, we would go with this tight formation.

We started moving and encountered an enemy right away.

「Eye」

In accordance to what Otou-san said, I shot the monster in the eye.

The enemy that I had shot was one with well-developed legs. Its form resembled that of an ostrich’s, but it had no hair. Its head was flat like a frog’s. For some reason or other, it looked like a processed chicken to me.

After being shot in the eye, the chicken lost its balance, fell and fluttered its legs wildly. The enemies were no longer dying easily from simply being shot in the head.

「Shuna, attack it from the left. I’ll attack from the right」

「Okay」

Shuna and Otou-san ran forward.

Their blades flashed through the air. Its head and torso were cut off.

「Souya, dispose of it」

「Understood」

I pulled it into a corner, poured oil over it, and then set it on fire using a lighter. It also smelled like chicken. This guy seemed like it could be eaten normally.

「Next」

We resumed moving.

「Leg」

Following what he said, I shot the monster in the leg.

The one I had shot in the leg was a monster with countless eyes. It had an ungodly form, and was a large lump of flesh with many eyes and innumerable sharp tentacles. It was supported by thin legs.

I shot the arrow with a feint so that it wouldn't be deflected by the tentacles.

Naturally, it lost its balance and the monster fell. Because it was lying down on the ground, the movement of its tentacles was restricted.

「Shuna. Bend over and hide behind my back」

「Okay!」

Otou-san held his shield up and bent over, and Shuna also bent over behind him.

Both of them advanced carefully and surely.

The round shield deflected the countless tentacles. With precise movements, it turned the attacks aside at an angle.

「Shuna, at my signal, jump to the left」

「Okay!」

Shuna was all fired up.

Fighting shoulder to shoulder with the father of adventurers would surely be a good experience for him.

「Now!」

Otou-san pushed a bunch of tentacles down on the ground with his shield.

Shuna jumped towards the enemy and stabbed the monster through. Without a moment’s delay, Otou-san also charged forward while stepping on the tentacles.

The monster died from being pierced through by two longswords.

「Disposal」

「Understood」

I poured oil over it, and then set it on fire.

We moved. Another battle.

「Arm」

I shot as instructed.

It lost its balance and the two of them finished it off. I disposed of it and we resumed moving.

「After showing you three examples, you must have noticed」

「Oh, yes」

「?」

At Otou-san’s question, a question mark floated above Shuna’s head.

I voiced what I had sensed.

「Don’t aim for the well-developed parts of the monsters. Aim for places that are unguarded, right?」

「That's right. Monsters instinctively take countermeasures against attacks on their characteristic features. So aim somewhere else. If it goes well, you can break their posture with one arrow or one knife. After you’ve done that, calmly aim for its vitals and attack. Using this method, you’ll be able to deal with the less intelligent enemies somehow」

「By what criteria do you choose where to target」

There are some enemies who normally have no limbs though.

「Well, you’ll have to accumulate such experiences. It's trial and error」

That's the most difficult way though.

「Shuna, your sword techniques are pretty good. There’s likely no one in the same age group as you who is your equal in Lemuria」

「Thank you very much!」

His glittering eyes were like a different person’s.

I want you to turn that kind of face towards me too, but that’s impossible, I guess.

「That’s why, don't be too eager. It probably can’t be helped because of your youth, but it shows in your sword. Sometimes, it's a good idea to take a breath before slashing at the enemy」

「Understood!」

And then, we came to a stop.

「Otou-san, which part of “that thing” that’s approaching us should I target?」

「Hmm」

There was a big tortoise at the end of the passage.

It was munching on the wall of the dungeon.

It was a monster called the rock-eating tortoise.

We had fought a large variant of this before. By comparison, the one in front of us was really small. But it still took up about 70% of the passageway.

「Think about it by yourself. Don’t think that I’ll give you the answers to everything easily」

「………Understood」

I went ahead by myself.

According to my limited experience, this type of monster……

「Dear, it’s dangerous」

When Rana called out, I waved my hand in answer.

I drew closer until I was beside the tortoise, and then used my hunting knife to chip at the wall. It was sturdy, but once the tip of the blade went in, it broke apart easily. The pieces of the wall that had broken off were speckled with luminescent substances. They were low-purity Shogaku stones.

I chipped at the wall until I had made about six fist-sized lumps. Rather than eating directly from the wall, it should to be easier to eat these. Placing them on the ground one by one, I lured the tortoise away, opening up the passageway.

「Let's press on」

I led everyone past the tortoise.

We passed by it without a hitch.

「Is something like that alright?」

It wasn’t as if everything that lived inside the dungeon was violent.

Enemies that showed no reaction when I met their eyes wouldn’t proactively attack.

Such was my experience.

In future, enemies that rendered this knowledge obsolete would likely appear, but like Otou-san said, it’s experience as well as trial and error.

「It’s so-so, I suppose」

Aren't you being harsh on me?

「Getting past it without causalities is praiseworthy, but that tortoise’s shell can be sold for a lot, you know? If it's that size, it should be worth around 20 gold coins」

「Nutria-san! Let’s go back!」

The Brave was the first to take the bait.

「Ojou-sama, that’s really embarrassing, so please stop. It’s really off-putting」

「How embarrassing~」

「It’s unbecoming of someone with the name of Gastolfo」

Frey was close to tears after being denounced by Lazarissa, Gashuraku-san, and Rana.

「The money, the money is……」

「Alright, Ojou-sama, let’s get going」

Frey was pushed in the back by Lazarissa as she was disrupting the formation.

「It's pretty difficult to defeat. It’ll also take a long time. Let it go this time」

Even though Otou-san said that, Frey looked like she couldn’t quite give up on it.

If I were to summarize dungeon exploration in a few words, they would be moving, exploring, fighting, butchering, and resting.

Rinsed and repeated.

Since it was a rush exploration this time, “butchering” had been omitted. We were disregarding all of the materials.

I should have explained this to you when we met up in the morning, dear Brave-sama.

According to the map displayed on the LCD, the stairs on this floor were 30 meters ahead of us. No enemies appeared near the stairs. I let out a small sigh.

There was nothing but to take the stairs down.

Speaking only of the process, we were able to clear the 18th floor with the most ease.

The types of enemies were the same as those on the 17th floor. Otou-san took the lead, gave orders and spearheaded the attacks.

Otou-san took care of everything.

This was the easiest exploration of the dungeon we had ever done.

There were people that could allow us to not have to think for ourselves and were dependable on top of it. It really brought home to me that I wasn’t cut out to be a leader.

The party was in better condition than when we started exploring the dungeon.

We were accustomed to the exploration, and were feeling the exhilaration from battle and a sense of security from having a capable leader. Our fatigue was about the same as if we had taken a short walk. Our magic power was completely full and there were no injuries.

We descended to the 19th floor in the best condition possible.

The 19th floor also looked no different from the other floors.

But somehow……

「?」

It looked like Shuna also felt that something was off.

The air was different.

I felt a sort of tension in the air. Everyone seemed to think that it was the atmosphere of the 19th floor, but I had noticed it right then.

It was the air that Otou-san was giving off that was different.

The profile of his face, which I had caught a brief glimpse of, was blood-curdling.

In this darkness, he had spent over 30 years searching for his missing party member. Chasing an invisible enemy.

All by himself.

It was a will unfathomable to ordinary people. It was beyond the realm of humans.

「Now」

Otou-san took a formal tone and turned to the party.

「I’ll introduce you guys to the guardian of this floor」

He pointed to himself with his thumb.

「It's me」

『Huhh?』

That reaction was echoed by everyone in the party.

「I'm not asking you guys to defeat me or anything. Reach the 20th floor with me. That is the last trial for greenhorn adventurers. The moment you guys accomplish that, you guys will be recognized as "real adventurers" by Lemuria’s Adventurers’ Guild. The Guild will also let you take those quests that they hadn’t given out to the greenhorns. The rewards and dangers will be in a different league compared to the quests for greenhorns」

Does that mean that we’ve been fake adventurers till now?

「And one more thing, there have been more than a few people who have gone missing on this floor. Elves and those with considerable talent in magic. That applies to the four people over there」

He looked at Rana, Ea, Lys, and Frey.

Two guides of the final flame of the Hohens School, one elven archer, and one divine medium(already possessed by something). Someone among them might become a sacrifice.

If possible, that sacrifice――

I’ll stop. That’s contemptible.

「This 19th floor is inhabited by a demon. It’s most likely the cause of the disappearances. I’ve told Souya this as well, but I’ve been chasing it for over 30 years.

………I have zero leads.

There were 29 parties that searched desperately for their party member who had gone missing. They searched every nook and cranny of this floor.

But they couldn't find anything.

That’s why, I’ll keep looking for it until the day I die.

For that reason, even if anyone here goes missing, you guys shouldn’t search for that person.

I'll do it.

Over the last 30 years, I haven't been able to save even one of the party members, but I’m able to keep searching in you guys’ place. One of these days, without fail, I’ll find it.

So, you guys, don't stop here.

Don't get trapped by the madness of this floor.

Once you guys clear the 20th floor, that will be the moment all of you become adventurers who are superior to me.

Adventuring is a profession where results are everything.

There is nothing an inferior person can say to people superior to him. Starting tomorrow, you guys are better adventurers than me. Bear that in mind, and pay no attention to me.

I'm a pitiful old man.

A trapped adventurer.

An adventurer who has been left behind.

That’s why, look at me and engrave it in your heart that you don’t want to turn out like this. That is my――」

Otou-san’s words caught in his throat.

「No, it’s fine. Let's go, you greenhorns. This is your final lesson」

Am I the only one who understands the words that were caught in his throat, I wonder?

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