"You know what, it's getting late. Let's workout, and we'll go first thing tomorrow. How's that sound?" I turn to Shinobu, and she nods her head slowly. "We aren't going very far into the dungeon, and Inari has offered to guide us."
"I have?" The leader of the fairies looks over at the expectant gazes of the children. "Um, yes. I have."
"Yay!" Sakura jumps up in excitement while Inari glares daggers at me. I shrug and walk over to a bench.
Our workouts have been getting steadily more intense. I doubt we'd have the energy to get a good lift in if we went to the dungeon, so I think this is a good call on Shinobu's part. The kids are even more enthusiastic than normal. We focus on squats until we can barely stand and call it a night.
"Are you okay, Josh?" Sakura asks as we walk through the forest. The morning light seeps through the leaves above our heads as we make our way toward the dungeon. Josh has the heaviest armor, so I am concerned about how well he can move through this kind of terrain, but it doesn't seem to bother him.
"I'm okay." He responds without much effort.
Our load out hasn't changed too much since we started. The biggest difference is the use of the magic bag to hold rations which I throw on my back. Additionally, we each carry a spell rod in case of emergencies. There is a loop on the back of our belts to hold them so we can keep our hands free. Shinobu has yet to get a belt of her own, so she just holds her spell rod in her hand. I make sure to keep a wide variety of spells on hand for our journey, so I have Josh take a Lightning rod, Sakura takes a Force rod, Shinobu takes an Ice rod, and I hold a Fireball rod. We have fully charged all these spell rods after they were depleted during the Metapardus attack. I made sure to watch Josh as he restored them so I could learn how to do it myself. The whole process comes down to pressing the monster core onto the spell rod's orb, where it is absorbed. Seeing the normally solid Monster Core act as a liquid was an absolutely bizarre sight. I picked one up for myself to check; sure enough, the core is just as solid as I remember. I make a mental note to look into that process later. After we're loaded up with enough firepower to take down a small army, we follow Inari outside. I'm feeling very prepared for our venture, and it seems the newlyweds feel the same way. Sakura is running around excitedly as we make our way through the dense undergrowth, and Josh is sporting an uncharacteristic grin. Despite all of the measures we've taken, Shinobu still looks uncomfortable. I slow down until I'm walking beside her and strike up a conversation.
"If you don't want to go into the dungeon, you can always wait outside. I don't want to make you do anything you're uncomfortable with."
"Ah, no, it's just..." Shinobu is startled by my offer and stumbles over her words. I quietly wait for her to compose herself. After a brief pause, she takes a deep breath and tightens her grasp on her spell rod. "I've heard a lot of stories about adventurer parties that died during their first dungeon exploration. My two guards were the only survivors of a party that was lost in a dungeon. I guess I'm just worried that you three are too confident and will get yourselves injured or killed. I've never had any friends before..."
Shinobu's voice trails off, but I get the gist of what she's saying. It's a strange statement considering all the equipment we've brought; I think it's clear I'm not confident of our abilities alone. The only thing I'm really concerned about is our ability to run away if anything goes wrong. It also sounds like this is the first time Shinobu's had to worry about people like this. The life of a noble must be very lonely.
"Hmmm..." I frown as I formulate my thoughts. "What are the spell rods for?"
"What?"
"The spell rod that you're holding, what is it for?" She tilts her head to the side and looks at me like I'm an idiot. It's an expression I've received many times in my life. I can't help but laugh as she answers me.
"To kill monsters."
"Not exactly. When we're fighting against enemies at or below our level, we'll be using only our natural abilities; Josh will take the front, I'll back him up, you'll provide support from the middle, and Sakura will secure our rear. On the off chance, we encounter anything above our level, the spell rods and potions will be used to help us escape. I'm sure there are monsters in the dungeon that we can't defeat, but I doubt they can prevent us from escaping while being bombarded with spells." Shinobu thinks for a minute before responding.
"So, we will leave as soon as things get dangerous?"
"Of course, there's nothing in this dungeon that we need. We're just here for the experience."
"Okay." She calms down after hearing my explanation, and we soon arrive at the mouth of the dungeon. I see a large hole carved out of a Mammoth tree.
"This is it," Inari says flatly.
[I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.]
The hole in the tree is pitch black, save for a faint light rising from within. I move closer and see a sloping path downwards. Oddly enough, there are lights hung periodically along the walls to illuminate the trail. Various foot and paw prints overlap each other and fan out from the entrance.
"Do a lot of adventurers come to this dungeon?" I direct my question to the leader of the fairies.
"Not that I'm aware of. One party from your town visited this dungeon a few years ago, but that's about it."
"Then why are there so many footprints if there aren't any people around?" Inari covers her mouth with her hand and laughs at me condescendingly.
"Fufufu, there are more creatures that make use of these dungeons than just humans, my child."
[I really hate it when she talks to me like this.]
"Is this a riddle? Why do you have to say it like that? Why not just explain to me what's going on?" A migraine is rising up the back of my scalp, and I'm becoming ill-tempered. Even the dim light coming from the leaves above is too much, and I have to squint my eyes.
"You seem a bit impatient today. That will only get you killed in the dungeon." I can feel anxiety and contempt swirl around my chest.