NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33
“Ugh, I can’t take it anymore… so salty…”
“Just wait until you finish what’s in your mouth.”
I looked at Millia, who was crying as she stuffed her face with the hydra pickled meat, with pity.
It was so pathetic that she was sobbing while eating that it tugged at my heartstrings.
Maybe I should throw it a bit more gently next time.
“Hey, Millia?”
“It’s Millia!”
“Right, Millia. But I’m curious… where does it all go when you eat?”
“Of course it goes to my body!”
What kind of structure does she have? Is it like a warp to the stomach when she eats? We exchanged glances, pondering how Millia’s body managed to connect all that while she was munching on the pickled meat like it was some high-class steak.
It felt like we were hitting a strange riddle. A useless riddle, but still.
After finishing our salty meal atop the camp, we sat around, and of course, Millia was in the center.
“I’m absolutely not telling you anything about the dungeon!”
“But we gave you food!”
“Do you want to get purified?”
“Sounds like you want to be smacked into the dungeon wall again.”
“…What should I start with?”
Convinced by our peaceful dialogue, Millia lowered her tail like a scared puppy.
What should I ask first?
“Who’s that guy?”
“Uh…!@*$#!&”
“What did you say?”
“It’s !@(&$(!&(#! You rotten scoundrel! A traitor! A pervert! Can’t even uncork a wine bottle by himself!”
“Did anyone catch that?”
As I glanced between the two, everyone shook their heads. Is it some kind of security measure? To prevent information leaks? This defeats the purpose of bringing her along and feeding her.
“What’s underneath that dungeon?”
“Underneath, there’s (!*@()!#$&(!@$ㅛ(!#!”
“Did anyone understand that?”
So, everything related to the dungeon gets filtered? Then what about the passages… Ah, I got it through a glance. Should I use it like a portable GPS? It was incredibly frustrating that I couldn’t gather information despite having an informant.
In the end, the most crucial thing for survival is information, and the one delivering information can’t discharge any. I felt like I had hit another obstacle. In this case…
“I guess I have to crash my way through.”
“Since I provided some info, just one more! Just one more!”
“I couldn’t understand a single word you said. Hey, did that guy do anything to you?”
“I don’t know! That guy just !@*!#)(! and then I slammed into a wall!”
That guy’s censorship. I can’t tell who he is, but he clearly has stringent security. Those kinds of opponents are the most annoying. In this case, the only option seems to be going down one layer at a time. But first, I need to stock up more supplies at home.
That chatterbox is devouring our food like there’s no tomorrow.
“I’ll go grab supplies for a bit. You two stay here and rest.”
“Can you handle it on your own? I also…”
I reached out to stop Renny, who was trying to stand. I silently pointed at Karina and Millia with my finger. Thankfully, Renny caught my message and immediately sat back down, looking up at me.
“Have a safe trip. If it gets dangerous, scream or something.”
“I doubt that’ll happen.”
It shouldn’t be that easy to get into trouble on a deserted island, as long as I don’t foolishly walk into my own trap.
“Be careful.”
“Make sure to bring back lots of food!”
Did I leave supplies behind? I gave Millia’s head a playful smack and opened the camp door. The forest, which had been reeking just a while ago, now filled the air with the refreshing scent unique to forests.
I stuck my head out to check the ground and placed my foot on the ladder.
———————–
“Today, we’re going to explore the second floor. Did you pack everything properly?”
“Yes! I’ve got everything!”
Karina answered brightly, nodding her head. She’s adorable no matter how many times I see her. I turned my gaze straight to Renny. Renny was staring at me with a bag almost the same size as herself, as if asking when we would depart.
“Wait, are you going like that?”
“Is there a problem?”
“It’s just… you’re going up there without wearing anything above? Isn’t that a bit… off?”
“Yeah, that’s right! Why aren’t you wearing a top? There are three women here!”
This was probably the nth time I’ve been pointed out. It’s not strange for her to say that. We don’t know what kind of dangers lurk inside the dungeon, so even a minimum level of protection, like wearing leather clothing, would be the right move.
“Got it.”
I put on the leather clothes I had made previously from the bear leader’s family, so at least I’d have some protection. When I looked back at Renny after putting it on, she stared at me with a shocked expression.
“Wait, you really wore it?”
“Who do you think I am, a barbarian?”
“Well, but… you always said you wouldn’t wear it, even when I asked…”
Did I really? I can’t remember well.
It’s not a big deal, and I need to hurry down anyway.
“Is there anything else to gather? If not, I’m setting off.”
We soon left the camp and walked toward the dungeon. The only sounds were an occasional bird chirping and the rustling of bushes in the wind. The weather was so nice it felt like a picnic.
Even though we’re heading to a dungeon.
The dungeon entrance was closed again, just like yesterday. It seemed the door hadn’t broken while we were asleep. It felt strange to see a dungeon that was usually noisy now silent.
Is the structure such that zombies don’t spawn after clearing the first room?
Just in case, I decided not to open the door immediately and knocked on it with my knuckles.
knock knock knock.
“It’s quiet.”
Looks like zombies don’t regenerate. Speaking of which, how do zombies actually come into being? I lifted Millia, who was gnawing on some dried meat, to meet her eyes.
“Millia, how do zombies come into being?”
“I don’t know either!”
…Well, that’s no help at all.
I hung Millia back at my waist and opened the door. As the hinges screeched, the same dark path from yesterday revealed itself. Holding my shovel, I peered into the darkness. There was no sign of life. I immediately turned around to signal the others that it was safe.
Then, three lamps illuminated the dungeon.
“Let’s take a lap around the first floor before heading down to the second.”
The cave had retained its appearance from just after I destroyed the lighting yesterday. It’s only been a day, so it’s natural, but this isn’t a place governed by logic. This area was a trap that could lead to wandering due to bizarre illusions. After taking a dull lap, we descended the stairs to the second floor.
The staircase down was quite long. I lost track of how long we’d walked in the darkness when the light from the lamps hit a wall.
No, it’s a door.
I grabbed the doorknob reflecting the lamp light and turned it.
And we instinctively covered our eyes.
“It’s so bright…”
“Here…”
The ceiling light blinded us. The amount of light here was on a whole different level compared to the first floor’s corridor.
And…
“There are undead swarming.”
“What’s this…”
Undead here, undead there. Zombies, skeletons, and spooky-looking ghosts wandered among the cemetery tombstones. It seemed this was where zombies and skeletons came to life. Thankfully, we had emerged from a spot quite far from the graveyard, atop a hill. When I turned around after exiting the door, I saw a door floating in the void.
I think I’ve seen something like this in an old cartoon.
“This place seems bigger than this island, doesn’t it? Wow, how can such space even exist…”
“I’ve heard dungeons are completely separate spaces from the world we live in. That’s why their sizes and shapes can be unrealistic.”
Since we have a status window, and skills, there’s nothing strange about the dungeon being an instance dungeon, just like in an RPG game. So it wouldn’t be weird to view that dungeon as a separate space from the outside.
“Millia. Spout off what you know about the second floor.”
“!@&!(#$”
“Just shut up.”
Of course, she couldn’t be understood. I thought she might be helpful to bring along, but if this keeps up, I’ll seriously consider leaving her somewhere. Or cleanse her, as Karina said.
“Why?”
“Don’t you realize how your voice sounds to others?”
“What are you talking about? You’re saying weird things again. Anyway, since I said it, give me food!”
Millia genuinely seemed clueless. It was going to be tough to gather information through words. I ignored Millia’s demands and crouched on the hill, scanning the view of the second floor once more.
I have no idea what happened here, but rows of tombstones, with hands popping up like a scene from a movie. Zombies rising from the ground, pushing off dirt. It was a layer filled with classic zombies. Even with just a rough glance, it seemed like the number of zombies exceeded three digits, wandering the graveyard in high spirits.
Hmm.
Where’s the way down to the third floor?
I looked around, but there was nothing resembling a door in sight.
It seems like I have to solve some gimmick to make a door appear.
I lifted Millia’s head to meet her eyes. Millia stared at me with a question in her eyes and opened her mouth.
“Why? Are you going to give me food?”
“Where’s the door to the third floor?”
“Hmm~!@&#$(!$!”
As expected. And Millia was also as expected. I didn’t miss the moment her eyes darted to the right. She’s pointing that way.
I turned my head to look right. The land filled with tombstones looked no different from the front. But since Millia was looking that way, there’s probably a door that way.
She might be pulling a high-level psychological trick, but seeing Millia drooling while looking at me like I wasn’t giving her food made those thoughts melt away.
I should be suspicious somewhere else.
She seems to have the intelligence of a neighborhood mutt, so psychology is really out of the question.
“What, what? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…It’s nothing.”
I shoved some dried meat into Millia’s mouth.
“What will you do now?”
“I don’t think sweeping them all would be a good idea.”
“First, we need to find our way down. But for now, we should hide.”
Is there another passage for zombies to come up besides this one?
If there is, that would be great, but sadly, it seems that’s not the case.
I pointed to the zombies and skeletons suddenly walking this way.
“They’re coming.”