"This place reeks of blood and shit."
I silently agreed to Touji's comments as we traveled through the narrow corridors of the dungeons we now found ourselves in, the smell was abhorrent and it really made me want to vomit. After eating some soup that Haruto had made, which was honestly disgusting, we touched the stone slab in the middle of that dark room and suddenly, we were inside this place in the same way we got into that ruined city.
Nayuta and Haruto were walking at the front with their weapons in hand so I had to help Touji walk. He wasn't exactly injured anymore as all that was left of his wound was a really nasty scar but he still was weak. We were all walking slowly, scared at the thought that some monster would appear out of nowhere...except for Nayuta who was happily humming a song. She really is fearless.
Most of the rooms we found were just full of garbage, rubble or rotting corpses. All of them had no doors or anything to block the entrance so the smell coming from these rooms filled the air and made it hard to breathe. Eventually though we found a closed wooden door, Haruto tried to open it but it was locked, it looked sturdy too so breaking it would probably not be possible and there is no other path for us to go.
"What do we do now-?"
"Get back"
As I was asking a question Nayuta quickly shut me up and stepped forward. Haruto stepped away and she immediately pulled her right behind. The shift in weight was notorious as her leg tensed right before kicking the door. The wood cracked easily and her leg created a hole in the middle of the door without much trouble to my astonishment. Kicking down a door is not that hard as far as I know, but kicking a hole in one certainly is.
"So I was right."
"What the fuck was that?"
Haruto was the first one to react. He has always been the strongest one of us but even he shouldn't be able to do that, much less Nayuta...I mean she has always been incredible skilled and strong but this is outright superhuman, well maybe not superhuman but not something a schoolgirl should be able to do.
"Is just something that has been crossing my mind since earlier. After killing that monster i have been feeling notably lighter, as my body weights less, so since i dont think i've lost too much weight it can only mean that my strength increased"
"That's...not how it works"
Touji was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say. Well her explanation makes sense to me though, especially after seeing her make a hole in that sturdy looking door. Actually, I think my body feels lighter too somehow, but I definitely can't do something like that. I left Touji for a moment since he didn't need help to stand and approached the broken door and tried to rip off a piece. I didn't expect to succeed but after some effort the wood broke apart and I got a large chunk of thick wood in my hands.
I looked at Touji and Haruto who were looking back at me with astonishment. Haruto was the next one to try. He didn't try to rip off some wood like I did he just punched it with all his strength and pretty much like what Nayuta did he made a hole in it before the door fell with two big holes and a chunk ripped off its side.
"It's like a game except it's not fun at all. Maybe killing monsters makes us stronger?...no maybe not. I didn't feel anything different after killing those zombies."
Yep, I was thinking the same. Touji and Nayuta don't play video games so they didn't get to that conclusion but both Haruto and I love RPG's. It certainly feels like that moment when you level up in a game and your character gets more powerful, except here the ones who get more powerful are us.
"You guys can't be seriously comparing this to a game. We could die here you know?"
Ugh Touji will simply not let me have some fun. I mean yeah i know that i cant treat this place as some kind of videogame...i don't think i could even if i wanted to after what ive seen here, but atleast it would be nice to think of myself as a game protagonist...actually maybe not, rpgs with this kind of dark atmosphere are never kind to the protagonist.
After that we kept on walking. The dungeons past the wooden door were different, filled with multiple different rooms. The first we found was a storage room so we immediately began searching for anything useful.
"Most of it is either rotten or in a really bad estate"
I was able to find some food but not much more. There were weapons like knives and swords but they were so badly damaged that it would be better to use a stick instead. They were either covered in rust or practically shattered.
Among the foods that I found were vegetables like cabbages and onions. I even found some eggs that still looked good to eat. Other than food, I did find something useful, a leather vest. It is not like those modern vests that cowboys use but instead one of those old armor that is so common in games and movies. This is so cool!
I tried to put it on but there was a problem. It was a little big for me but it would still be usable if it wasn't for one simple detail. It didn't close because there were two certain obstacles in its way, my breasts... why did I have to inherit my mother's good genetics?
Well, I may not be capable of wearing it but Nayuta or Touji certainly can. Nayuta isn't small in that area by any means but I think she could fit inside it. It may be a little big for her though. Touji most certainly can wear it and as for Haruto...nope, he is too big.
"Hey, I found alcohol!"
Suddenly Haruto screamed excited about what looked like a bottle of wine. Now that I think about it wasn't Haruto's father a fan of fancy alcohol?...wait has he been drinking with his father while being underage or something?
As soon as that thought crossed my mind Nayuta leaped from who knows where and snatched the bottle from Haruto's hands in a swift motion. Yeah that's what I would expect from her. She wouldn't allow any of us to get in contact with things like alcohol, drugs or dangerous substances. I still remember that one time Touji wanted to try a cigarette when he was little and Nayuta kicked it out of his mouth.
"what are you so happy about? you're a minor, you can't drink"
"That's... yes"
His sad expression just made it obvious he had drank alcohol before. Nayuta took the bottle into her bag. I thought she would break it...
"She probably wants to keep it just in case we run out of liquid."
As if reading my mind Touji said that. It makes sense, after all we only have a little amount of water left and some milk. We have been drinking just a small amount every day so we are all a bit dehydrated.
"Wait a minute doesn't alcohol make us dehydrate faster?"
I know that because our teacher told us. I usually don't pay attention to chemistry class but I was failing so I had no other option.
"Yes, but there are various ways of erasing the alcohol in wine"
Can you really still call that wine though? That sounds more like grape juice to me. Well regardless, I just keep on searching the barrels and boxes in the storage room. I will give Nayuta or Touji the vest later.
"This place is creepy but a bit interesting. I'm sure I can find something fun eventually"
I may be scared, but im a fan of rpgs because i like adventures so ill make sure to at least get something fun out of this whole situation-...wait, are those steps?.
I started hearing steps, but they weren't normal...No, they were heavy, really heavy. I looked around and judging by their faces both Touji and Nayuta noticed them too and were taking out their swords.
All of a sudden, I heard a loud sound, almost like a small explosion on my right side. I saw rubble flying past me and I felt something wrapping itself around my head...eh-?
"Help-"
I felt a sharp pain as I was pulled forcefully by something and I started losing consciousness...I'm scared.