Part 3
I don't know how long I walked on the stairs that extended from the dungeon entrance.
After descending down the rather long flight of stairs in the dark, there was still no passageway in sight.
It was a dungeon for novice, so I thought it would be small. The exploration time would probably be longer than expected.
That might be so, but the purpose of this dungeon run was to test if the thieving skills were useful here.
To be honest, my method was wrong in the eyes of the people who explored dungeons properly.
As I felt the aura of ease from Aqua behind me, I continued descending the stairs.
"Nah, Kazuma, are your night vision fine? My divine eyes can see the ugly posture of Kazuma walking timidly down the stairs. Tell me if your night vision isn't working well, okay."
Aqua said something where it was hard to discern if she was worried about me or picking on me.
"I can see clearly, your useless posture that hesitates every time you take a step down is shown plainly before me. Treat this as my request, please don't fall down."
I turned back and saw Aqua smiling without a care in the world.
"Really, my field of vision is so clear I can run away if there is any danger. Do tell me if any monster approaches us. I will watch our backs, so don't touch my butt alright."
"Don't worry, I don't care about your butt. Let me tell you what I am thinking– I am seriously considering the ways to abandon you in the deepest parts of the dungeon."
Aqua and I stood still and looked at each other's face.
"How mean~ Kazuma keep making jokes like this! Hehehe!"
"How stupid Aqua, I was serious just now. We had been together for so long, you should understand that~ hahaha!"
As we chat, we finally reached the end of the stairs.
It was pitch black, but thanks to the night vision skill, the walls and layout of the dungeon were clearly visible.
The objects in the darkness had a green and white outline, it was like seeing a thermography.
After the stairs, there was a left and right route.
And I noticed something immediately after getting down the stairs.
"… What is this?"
Although I had night vision, I could only see a green Silhouette, and couldn't tell the original colour of the object.
Right, the outline looked like a decomposing human body…
...
"Wahhh!!"
It was the decomposing corpse of an adventurer.
Was it someone who attempted to challenge the dungeon alone, or a person who had been abandoned by his companions after dying?
I didn't know what happened to it, but it was definitely the remains of a person.
Aqua came to the side of the corpse.
"… This corpse is about to become an undead monster. Kazuma, wait for a moment."
After saying that, Aqua started mumbling something like a prayer, and the corpse emitted a faint light.
She was probably guiding the lost spirit to the afterlife, and preventing it from turning into an undead.
If she acted properly like this usually, she would probably have more believers.
But to think we would encounter a corpse right after the stairs. My heart wouldn't be able to take it if this went on.
If Aqua wasn't here, I probably would have turned back.
"But, puhehe! This is too stupid, pushing himself to challenge a dungeon alone– Puhah! Hahaha!"
After hearing that, I decided to give her some 'alone time' after reaching the deepest part.
… Something seemed to be coming this way.
With my enemy detection skill, I sensed hostiles approaching me and stopped.
It was probably the sound of us talking or the light from Aqua purifying the corpse that attracted them here.
I looked at Aqua and pointed in the direction where the enemy is coming from, then pointed my thumb in the other way, gesturing her to escape.
"What, what? Why are you making weird gesture suddenly? Want me to perform hand shadows? Then give me a light. Foxes and bunnies are out of fashion, let me show you the shadow of the mobile fortress Destroyer."
"No! And what is this Destroyer?! I am just signaling to you that the enemy is coming, so we should run this way! Damn it, they spotted us! Hey, help me fight them!"
I felt awkward for retorting so loudly.
I drew my sword in the darkness and slashed at the small humanoid monster that came at us after detecting our presence!
"… Hmmm, I don't know what this is. I can see the shape, but not the color, so I can't tell. Hey, you know what this is?"
The corpse of a small humanoid monster was on the ground.
Aqua looked at it and said:
"This is a low tier demon called Gremlin. The magic in dungeons are thicker than the surface, so weak demons like this appears sometimes."
I see, there was this name in the list of monsters I might encounter, given to me by the guys at the guild.
… I suddenly noticed something.
"Nah, let me ask you, can you see really clearly in the dark?"
Hearing my question, Aqua said with an 'obviously' expression.
"My vision now is no different in broad daylight. What is it?"
...
"So when we were sleeping in the stables together, you saw everything?"
"I didn't see anything. Because when I hear the sound of fap fap fap, your back was facing me."
"… Thank you for your mercy Aqua-sama."
The scent of the Gremlin might have attracted other monsters.
And so, we left that place.
Part 4
The Aqua today was different from her usual self.
Yes, totally unlike the arch-priest (lol) she was.
She wasn't the goddess of banquet or indebtedness either.
"Lost souls wandering the cold dungeons, rest in peace. Turn Undead!"
Right now she was just like a holy goddess as she was purifying the undead with wide area spells.
— As for me, I underestimated the dungeon.
The combination of night vision and hide was useful during dangerous times.
And they were effective towards most monsters.
But, as Aqua said, for the undead that had been wandering the cold dungeon for a long time, living beings shone very brightly.
Since just moments ago, we had purified a lot of undead.
If I was alone, I would had been surrounded and beaten to death by the mobs of undead.
I really didn't know we would encounter so many undead type monster in dungeons.
I could only reflect on my naivety.
Aqua who finished the purification breathed out in relief.
"Thank you for your hard work. Eh, you had been a great help, it would had been dangerous if I had came alone."
Aqua who heard my praise wasn't humble at all.
"Hmm? You are finally seeing me in a new light?… Anyway, where are the treasures? But this dungeon had been explored so many times, so I am not expecting much too."
We had reached a rather deep part of the dungeon.
It was deep, but this dungeon only had one floor, so it didn't mean depth as in further underground.
But, this was quite vast.
Aqua who claimed to be able to see as clear as day in the darkness, marked the wall with a chalk whenever she reached a corner.
Normal adventurers making a dungeon run would be tensely watching for traps, lighting torches, and marking the way as they proceeded cautiously.
But for us who could move easily in the dark, we could reach deeper with me at the front scouting for enemies.
We could have retreated after confirming this exploration method was feasible. But since we came all the way here, we still wanted to get some treasure or something valuable before leaving.
After ensuring the room ahead didn't have traps or the presence of an enemy, I entered cautiously as if I was walking on thin ice.
Looking around the room…
"… Tch, there's nothing good here."
"Nah, Kazuma, the way you were exploring and that line you said gave me the illusion that we are thieves."
Don't say it, I had this feeling too.
I felt a bit guilty when I thought about the people who challenged the dungeon head on.
"…? Nah, Kazuma, that way, there seems to be something there."
Aqua found something in the corner of the room.
Aqua and I went to the corner of the room together and found…
"Hey, that's a treasure chest! That's great Kazuma, we were right to explore the dungeon!"
I hastily restrained Aqua who was charging towards the treasure chest happily.
"Hey, wait wait. Don't you think it is weird for a treasure chest to appear in the dungeon where tons of people had explored?… Hmmm, as I suspected, the detect enemy skill is responding."
And of course, the response was coming from the treasure chest before us.
I see, so this was the legendary fake treasure chest?
"Ah… so this is a mimic monster. It's regrettable, but there's no other way…"
Aqua threw something at the chest as she spoke.
It was the empty bottle of the scent remover I used earlier.
The bottle drew an arc in the air and fell towards the ground near the treasure chest.
The moment the bottle hit the ground, the walls and floor around started shaking, and the treasure chest opened a gigantic mouth to swallow the bottle whole.
The walls and floor that appeared to be part of the dungeon were squirming. It seemed to be chewing the bottle it just swallowed.
"How, how disgusting! What is that!"
I think she said 'dungeon mimic monster'?
"As the name of the monster implies, it cannot move, but part of its body can mimic the form of treasure chest or money, luring the prey to take the bait. It will sometimes take the form of a human, and hunt the monsters that prey on men."
It even eat monsters, how terrible!
Speaking of which, the guys at the guild did mention the dungeon mimic monster.
I heard you could detect it easily with detect enemy skill, but this is too…
Anyway, the struggle of survival applies to the creatures in dungeons too.
It's not easy to live in this world.