Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 6.1: The Blank Adventurer I - Part 1

【7th day】

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I walked through the mist-wrapped city.

My destination was the dungeon called the Odoriji spire that resembled a horn piercing the ground.

My adventure starts right here and now. Anxiety and expectations caused my heart to beat faster. Thus far, it had only been about a week, but I had lost and gained many things. I couldn't judge the extent of the difficulty, but I had overcome one trial. I could surely overcome the next one as well.

I was going to challenge the dungeon with that confidence. There was no basis or meaning behind it, but it was a confidence that was better than nothing.

The morning bell hadn't rang yet, so there were only a few people at the reception desk because it was still so early in the morning. It was dim and wrapped in the silence of the morning.

As there was I face that I recognized, I gave a greeting.

「Good morning, Evetta-san」

「Good morning, Souya」

I was greeted with a stiff expression even though it was the first in the morning.

「Although you’re a little early, it is an adventurer’s iron-clad rule to get prepared early. Splendid」

「Hahaha……」

I had merely been woken up by Makina at maximum volume. Also, I had gone to sleep early.

「These are the goods provided by the Guild」

She handed over a large leather bag.

「I don't think there will be anything wrong with the goods, but please check it just in case」

「Understood」

I opened it and looked inside. There was a thick belt with pouches for keeping small items, one lantern with ore-like objects inside it, one scroll with my history written on it, ten sheets of map paper, and two pieces of processed charcoal for filling in the map paper.

「What’s this?」

There was one thing that I was unsure about.

In a leather case, two glass containers resembling test tubes were secured side by side. I shook them. They were closed with a cork stopper and filled with clear liquid. When I looked closely, the glass containers had detailed gold decorations, and I could feel some unknown technology in them.

「For the regeneration point, Souya is a rearguard so please wear it near your heart. If you change jobs to a vanguard, put it at the back of your shield, or on your back. There is no specific rule, but always try to wear it in a position where your party members can see it」

Because I was wearing a poncho, it wouldn’t be visible if I sewed it onto my clothes. I took out a thin rubber cord from my backpack, threaded it through the case, and hung it from my neck.

「And, what’s the regeneration point?」

I asked a crucial question.

「Oh, that's right. I forgot」

Evetta took out a knife. She did it in a casual manner but I couldn’t see her movements at all.

「Please give me either your nails or hair」

「Hair then」

If I said nails, my fingers might get cut off along with it. She cut off two strands of hair. Evetta-san pulled out the cork stoppers and put one into each container. Keeping the knife, she took out a book.

「My name is Evetta, the Pulverizer. Borrowing the name of the esteemed Razva, I follow Vindoobunikuru. Garving, grant this man a fragment of a miracle, the leavings of the magic realm. Living props up knowledge, knowledge becomes faith. Faith becomes independent from the gods, and changes into magic, envelops people, and substitutes for life. Houma!」

Lights appeared, just like at the bar.

They danced like fireflies and converged on the book.

「Tiuros?Mea?Revaius!」

She hit my head with the shining book.

「Urgh!」

「Oh, sorry. Even though I didn’t need to hit you on the head, my strength, unconsciously……」

Please don’t hit me unconsciously. I thought I was going to die. My head was spinning. Oh, didn’t I lose some important memories? Who was I again?

「Next is to shake it until color appears in the containers」

「………Okay」

Why was the final step so plain?

I shook the containers vigorously. Evetta-san was checking something while flipping through some documents.

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While we were doing that, several other adventurers had started gathering into a crowd. They were probably greenhorns like me. They received their supplies from their person in charge the same way I did. By the way, unlike me, no one was hit by a book. My head was throbbing with pain.

「Oh, Evetta-san, the color has come out」

「Okay, I’ll check it」

Red and blue colors had appeared respectively in each container.

「Did it work?」

「Yes, I think it was successful. Look closely, Souya. The red color is inner magic, the blue color is outer magic」

As the colors settled at the bottom of the containers, the red color was about the length of the last section of my thumb, and the blue color was about the length of the last section of my little finger.

「Listen carefully, this red inner magic shows the capacity of your body to regenerate. As long as there is any of this left, even if your limbs are cut off and your entrails spill from your belly, it will automatically regenerate. This is the origin of Garving’s second name, Houma?Tiuros?Mea?Revaius(Regeneration Point)」

Oh, now that she mentioned it, my head didn’t hurt anymore. I felt my head and there was no swelling or bump. Then, I understood. That trio’s extraordinary regeneration ability was thanks to this.

「But you must never place too much confidence in this. If you are beheaded, you will die immediately. If you get skewered by a trap and cannot move, you will die. It cannot defend against poisons, diseases and parasites. Sometimes, you will be regenerated with foreign matter still left inside your body. In extremely tense situations, you can damage your body simply by swinging your sword. Make sure that you do not suffer a fatal wound because it had run out without you noticing as you neglected to check it just because you didn’t have any external wounds」

「Okay」

「Also, it’s only effective around the city and inside the dungeon. Adventurers who get carried away outside of these areas often die. The regeneration point is a powerful blessing, but it’s only a complement to your own strength. What you can rely on in the end, is your mind and your muscles. Please never forget this」

「Yes, I understand」

Her warning had been recorded and saved.

「So, what about the blue one?」

「This is an “incidental by-product”. External magic is the amount of magic that you can use. If Souya has the talent to be a mage, you will ascertain that before long」

Wasn’t this something like HP and MP in games? I wanted to try using magic. It was something that I had yearned for. Won’t it be amazing to have flames or lightning come out from a staff?

「Evetta-san, I have one question」

「Ask away」

The question had popped up in my head when I saw my regeneration point.

「Emm, my regeneration point, is it a lot? Or is it very little?」

「………………」

Silence.

I’ll say it again but my regeneration point’s red color was about the length of the last section of my thumb. It was about 1/15 of the container’s capacity.

She had an expression that looked like she was having an extremely hard time answering me straight to my face.

「It’s a lot……, is what I can’t say about it」

「Eh? Then, is it on the low end of the average?」

「High end, of the low range? Approximately? I think. Maybe. It’s about the same amount as a puppy that I had practiced the regeneration point on」

「I’m at the same level as a puppy?!」

「Not at all! When that puppy grew up, it came to have quite a sizeable regeneration point. If Souya also gets bigger, then surely, one day, you’ll be the same」

My growth period was over already though.

I put on the equipment provided. However, I already had pouches on my vest to put small items in, so I only tied the lantern to my waist. The other provided goods went into my backpack. Just as I was wondering what to do with the leather bag, Evetta-san took care of it.

The morning bell rang. I noticed that about twenty adventurers had gathered. There were adventurers who felt as green as I was, and a few others who did not.

Among them, there was one man, who looked to be in his prime, and gave off an air of being more capable than the others.

He had black hair and eyes, had stubble on his face, and wore an eyepatch over his left eye. Compared to the typically big and burly adventurers, he would probably be categorized as smaller-sized. But there were no weak spots in physique. On his leather armor, signs of repair could be seen everywhere, and there were fresh claw marks on the round shield on his back. The sword on his waist also looked well-used. He was a person that looked well-used in every aspect. But he didn’t look weary. That showed that he had experienced many battles.

He was similar to someone. Yojimbo, Shogun, Mifune……… Toshiro Mifune. In the fantasy genre? *(see below)

He spoke in a calm voice.

「The 2402nd new adventurer lecture is starting. I’m Medimu, the one in charge of those of the Hemu race. Do your best, you bunch of green rookies」

Hemu, he said. At that word, which refers to people of the so-called ordinary human race like me, I heard tongues clicking from the surroundings, or rather, from those ordinary humans.

From what I saw as I looked around, for some reason or another, the race of the adventurers and the person in charge were generally the same. Hemu for Hemu, Beast-men for Beast-men. The person in charge of the bird-like Beast-men was a cat-like Beast-man, but that was about it.

Speaking of which, was Evetta-san a Beast-woman? But she had horns. What kind of beast were those horns a part of? I wanted to see if she had a tail. Let’s put that question aside.

「I'm in charge of you, you, you, and the two young girls over there」

The people who were pointed to, including me, gathered.

A blonde-haired, blue-eyed young man wearing plate armor and had a sword and shield.

A lightly-dressed red-haired boy with a long sword.

Also lightly dressed was a young girl with short, boyish hair who held a spear.

In addition, there was a woman, slightly older than the others, who wore a witch hat. I could tell that she had a sexy body even through her black robe. She carried a staff as tall as she was, which might signify that she was a mage.

Lastly, me.

All five of us were Hemu.

Sure enough, this was how things turned out. Racial friction. Racial discrimination. It was a hassle, but I had to be careful that I didn’t forget to consider these and get myself embroiled in something weird.

「Alright, experience is everything for adventurers. We’re going exploring at once」

The experienced adventurer leading us started to go.

When I tried to follow, Evetta-san, who was behind me before I even realized it, grabbed my shoulders.

「Souya, be sure to definitely follow what Otou-san(father) says. Did you secure the lantern? Are you sure you haven't forgotten anything? If you want to go to the bathroom, do it now. Be sure to escape as soon as you feel that you're in danger, okay?」

「Okay」

Are you my mum?

「Ohー Evetta. So this is the guy you mentioned」

「Yes, Otou-san. Please look after him」

「He'll be troubled if I did that. I'll treat him no different from the others」

「Please look after him」

It's embarrassing so please stop it. The others were really staring at me. One of the girls was even giggling at me. Returning a small wave to Evetta-san, who was waving behind me, it was finally time to explore the dungeon.

I began descending the wide stairs. I gave a sideways glance at the portals as we passed by them. Were we not going to use them?

「Hey, you. What's your relationship with that horned Nee-chan from earlier?」

The boy, who was beside me, talked to me.

Hmm, I felt like I had seen him before. I couldn't remember. But it felt like it was right there at the tip of my tongue.

「Even if you ask me what's my relationship with her…… To me, she’s just my person in charge though」

「But it seems suspicious. Both of you were together when you took Gladvain-sama’s test, right? After that, I saw the two of you eating together at a bar and I also saw her crying on the roadside. You’re still going to say that she’s only a person in charge to you?」

All of a sudden, the memory came back to me.

「Oh, I remembered. Kid, you’re the guy who contracted with Gladvain-sama」

「What!」

Hearing that, the young, knight-like man behind me shouted abruptly.

「Young man! Did you form a contract with Gladvain-sama at that young age?!」

「Wow, that's amazing. It’s really up in the air whether even one person passes every six months」

The adventurer called Otou-san praised him.

「I also challenged her test before. But I was dealt with by a beast-man kid, who was referred to as the least capable among them, with just one hand. Young man, what kind of trial did you overcome to be allowed to form a contract?」

「Th, that’s…」

The boy, who was finding it hard to answer, tried to turn away.

「He pierced a pig with a sword～」

The girl answered easily.

「You, Bell! Stop it! Don't bring it up! What am I going to do if I get a weird nickname?!」

「Eh～, but Shuna-chan was the only one who was able to get contracted～ That’s amazing, isn’t it? You should get praised more」

「That's right. That pig was hard……」

As someone who had challenged it, that was my impression.

「That's right～, Onii-san. As for my spear, only the tip went in」

Hahaha, me and the girl, who formed the rejected group, laughed together.

「A pig, huh? So there are days when it’s like that」

The young man had an indescribable expression. The boy called Shuna realized that the topic had been changed, and he lashed out at me again.

「Never mind about me! I’m talking about you and that Nee-chan」

「No, she’s really just the person in charge of me. Well, I did cause her a lot of trouble」

「What kind of trouble?」

Wow, he’s really jumping down my throat.

「Shuna-chan. That kind of Onee-san is his type」

「It, it’s not anything like that!」

I see… Well… Evetta-san was a beauty.

「Boy, by any chance, do you not know about Horns?」

The mage-like woman, who had remained silent the entire time, spoke with a sexy voice.

「Horns?」

Shuna had a question mark floating above him. Or rather, I didn’t know what that was either.

「The woman with the horns from earlier. She’s been very well trained, but that's a monster from the dungeon. They are often confused with beast-women, but the thing that distinguishes them from beast-women is that they only have horns but no other differing features. Those horns also had a shape that I’ve never seen before, so I think I’m not mistaken.

Be careful, boy. If you meet an adult Horns in the dungeon, you will be torn from limb to limb. Oh, but it seems like the babies can be sold for a high price. If you're confident that you can train one, then you can put it in your party to increase your fighting strength, or if you prepare a sturdy chain, you can also have it act as a paramour. If you are interested, you can try going after her. But, it might be best to buy her from her owner」

「No, I..., that’s...」

Listening to her words, Shuna had an indescribable expression. There was also nothing I could say. Moreover, I had imagined Evetta-san being bound by chains.

「Evetta belongs to King Lemuria. Regardless of her origins, she was an adventurer who distinguished herself with her splendid achievements. Mocking her poorly might bring ruin upon yourself, young lady」

Otou-san was letting off a pretty intense air. Because of that, I felt like I sort of knew why he was called Otou-san.

「I’m very sorry」

The sexy woman apologized.

The foot of the stairs came into view.

I felt hot air and steam.

「It's the 2nd floor of the Odoriji spire from this point onwards. Technically, we’re inside the dungeon, but it’s as safe as it is upstairs」

The second floor was wrapped in steam. It was built of stone, same as the upper floor and the city, but it was strangely bright. The brightness was a wonder as there were no light fixtures to be found. It was also a mystery why there were pipes running along the ceiling.

Cloth was used to partition the open space into numerous rooms. Looking into one of the vacant rooms, I saw a stone bath, wooden tubs, soap, and loofah-like objects. There was something that looked like a pipe outlet above the bath.

Ermm, this is a bathhouse, isn’t it?

「The walls and ceiling here are made of Shogaku stone. Many attempts had been made to deplete all of them, but they’ve all failed. Due to its nature, it was not possible to leave it alone, so the dwarves were asked to lay these water pipes through them in order to cool them down. The hot water is a by-product of that. But, bathing is important. Don't be lazy. In the past, that was an incident where an adventurer that hated baths brought a pathogen into the city and it was a huge disaster. In addition, herbs are mixed into the hot water, so it has the effect of healing wounds and loosening up your muscles. Because it’s free, be sure to go take a bath after you’ve explored the dungeon.

Cheers were raised from the women.

「Normally, portals are placed every five floors only, but for some reason, they were placed here and the floor below. Make sure to do the validation. Validating the portal just once will allow you to enter and exit the portal freely」

The boy put his palm on the nearby portal. Looking at the other members, I imitated what they did. It felt as if the film of light changed colour slightly.

With this, would I be able to go into the portal safely? There won’t be a 40% chance of getting teleported to some weird place, will there?

「Excuse me. Otou-san, what’s a Shogaku stone?」

I said.

For some reason, I was curious about it.

「It is a light-emitting stone that is only found inside a dungeon. Upon impact, it emits light and heat. It's used in the lanterns we provided to you all and also in the street lamps. This floor has a particularly large amount of them, but they can be taken from other floors as well. The causal relationship between them is unknown, but outside of the effective range of the regeneration point, it becomes just a normal stone.

「Hmmー」

It seemed like a very convenient object. I’ll test it later to see if its heat could be used for cooking.

「You don't even know something like that?」

the woman said in surprise.

「Shogaku stones are always available in dungeons like this. And almost inexhaustibly. That's one of the reasons behind the theory that the dungeon is alive. In other words, Shogaku stones are the crystalization of the fluids secreted from the dungeon’s biological activities, or it could be the dungeon’s metabolic waste. The Odoriji spire in particular is said to be the horn of the giant who created the world. In other words, it's still alive! Can you imagine it? It has been alive from before the age of gods, and from before an even older age than that. And this is just one of its horns. Just what on earth is the original giant?! How big was the giant and what’s the reason it created and then disappeared from this world?!」

「You’re going to get left behindー」

I had left behind the woman, who had gotten fired up and was talking passionately to the wall. We were going down to the next floor.

「Wait for me, you guys!」

Onwards to the 3rd floor.

「This is, once again, somewhere you can call a safe place. There is also a portal here. As your adventuring progresses, you will probably have more opportunities to use this place」

It reeked with the smell of blood. Even though it was still early in the morning, men in leather aprons were carving huge pieces of meat. Occasionally, the death throes of a creature resounded through the air.

This was a slaughterhouse.

And maybe it also served as a processing workshop as there were craftsmen painting chemicals onto monster bones. There were some adventurers who were taking test swings of strange weapons, and others who were trying on bone armor. Overall, they gave off a different kind of atmosphere from the blacksmiths in the city.

「If you improve your ability to a certain degree and become able to defeat monsters of a decent level, you can bring the materials here and have them made into weapons or armor. However, the craftsmen here are eccentric people. They’re fickle and they’ll charge expensively」

Well, in other words, this was a place that didn't really matter to us today. But, I was concerned about the meat, I wondered if I could buy it directly from them. I wanted to buy some.

The boy and the girl were looking yearningly at the weapons. There was nothing in particular of note other than that, so we passed through this floor and went further down.

It was the 4th floor.

It would be a breeze if I could get down to 56th floor in this manner, but there’s no way, right?

The air was clearly different from the two floors above it. It smelt moldy. And it was dark. Lights were shining near the stairs, but darkness opened up ahead of the passage in front of us, which was about four meters wide..

It’s the dungeon.

It’s the real deal from here on out.

Note:

Toshiro Mifune (三船 敏郎, Mifune Toshirō, April 1, 1920 – December 24, 1997) was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–65) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood and Yojimbo. He also portrayed Miyamoto Musashi in Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samurai Trilogy, and one earlier Inagaki film, Lord Toranaga in the NBC television mini-series Shogun, and Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto in three different films. - Wikipedia

He acted in many genres, from samurai westerns to Yakuza, to comedy and modern dramas but despite his long and illustrious career, had never acted in the fantasy genre, as far as I could tell.