“Oh, so this is a dungeon…”
I couldn't help but let a grin spread across my face as I stared at the dark hole yawning open before me.
Dungeons were home to all sorts of monsters and treasures, such as magic tools. No one really understood why they existed in the first place, and because their interiors were so treacherous, no proper research had ever been conducted.
That was exactly why I’d always wanted to step foot inside one.
As I was buzzing with excitement, Tao finally caught up to me.
“Hah… hah… R-Roberto, you’re… you’re way too fast, you know?!”
She was gasping for air, struggling to catch her breath. Ah, right. I’d completely forgotten I was using magic to move.
“Phew… huff… whew…”
Tao regained her composure in an instant. To keep up with my ‘Gale’ without using magic—so that was the power of ‘Ki.’ Naturally, I was fascinated by the ‘Ki’ she possessed as well. Honestly, being able to see so many new things right from the start made me glad I’d decided to come outside.
“Wait, is this a dungeon?!” she asked.
“Yeah. I saw those goblins from earlier flee in here for a split second. I’m going inside, but what about you, Tao?”
Tao fell into thought at my question.
“A dungeon… Honestly, it’s dangerous,” she muttered to herself. “But since the risk is high, it should be easy to raise Roberto’s affection level. From what I’ve seen, Roberto is quite dense. Unless I save him a hundred times, it’ll be hard to make him fall for me…”
After mumbling for a while longer, she gave a firm nod.
“Alright. If Roberto is going, then I’m going too.”
“Great. It’s settled, then.”
And so, we stepped into the dungeon.
The interior was a cave surrounded by jagged rock. There were no torches, but it wasn't as if we couldn't see anything at all. Glowing stones were embedded in various spots, acting as natural light sources.
“…If I recall, these are Light Stones. It’s wonderful that they emit this much light without even needing a spell formula.”
They looked like they could be useful for my magical experiments, so I decided to take a few back with me. Tao watched me with an exasperated expression.
“What are you going to do with those? Light Stones turn into ordinary pebbles once you take them out of a dungeon, you know.”
“It’s fine. I just want to understand the logic behind them.”
“Hmm, you’re an odd one.”
I stuffed the stones I’d gathered into my bag. I had cast the Spatial System magic ‘Domain Expansion’ on this bag. It could only be applied to sealed containers like pouches or bags, but it allowed the space inside to be expanded at will. Thanks to that, this bag had dozens of times its original capacity.
That said, besides this, I could only use one or two other spells from the Spatial System. It was an extremely difficult branch of magic; there were practically no users, and thus, very few documents on the subject existed.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s head further in.”
While the Light Stones were interesting, I didn't have time to spend all day on them. I continued deeper into the dungeon.
“Stop, Roberto! A monster!”
Tao suddenly came to a halt. Moving with the lithe grace of a cat, she turned toward the wall and closed the distance in a single bound. Then, she slammed her palm into the rock.
Just what was she doing? The moment that thought crossed my mind—
“Gi…?!”
With a muffled groan, a section of the wall crumbled. Looking closer, I saw the rock had turned into a mud-like substance and was melting away.
“What was that…?”
“A Stone Slime. They hide in the rocks to launch ambushes. It would’ve been dangerous if we’d kept going like that.”
“Heh. Interesting.”
A monster that used mimicry, huh? And a very well-made one at that. I hadn't noticed it at all, not even at the moment Tao’s attack connected. I should take a bit of this guy’s body home, too. It might be useful for something.
I secretly slipped a fragment of the shattered Stone Slime into my bag.
“Still, you’re amazing, Tao. It just looked like a rock to me. They say practitioners of ‘Ki’ possess mysterious powers; was that one of them?”
“Oh? So Roberto knows about ‘Ki.’ Not many people on this continent know about it. You’re quite the scholar.”
“I just like reading books. Though this is my first time seeing it in person.”
“That’s a very good thing. Knowledge is power, just like martial arts.”
Tao gave a sunny smile and began walking deeper into the dungeon again. After that, goblins, orcs, and various other monsters appeared, but they were no match for her. Despite having such slender arms, she produced incredible power.
…‘Ki,’ huh? I might be able to apply that to magic.
Tao’s breathing technique was… something like this?
“Inhale, exhale…”
As I walked, I took deep breaths in and long breaths out. In a way, it felt similar to the training done by fledgling mages who couldn't yet perceive mana. Unifying the mind, concentrating all senses on breathing, and becoming aware of the flow of energy circulating through the body…
It was the very first step of a mage’s training, a practice that talented mages didn't even require. In my previous life, since I had no talent for magic, I had done this constantly in the beginning.
Yes, it was just a crude imitation, but I felt a sensation of power swelling within my body. I knew it because I could perceive mana perfectly. A power felt deep within the core of my being… This must be what they call ‘Ki.’
I could sense not just my own, but Tao’s breathing, and even the faint presence of breathing from various parts of the dungeon.
“Hm, is there something up ahead…?”
I felt a thick presence from around the next corner. At my words, Tao’s eyes widened in surprise.
“…I’m shocked. You can use ‘Ki’ too, Roberto?”
“I’ve done similar training before. I just tried to mimic what you were doing. It seemed interesting.”
“Inte… I mean, usually it takes five years of training just to acquire Presence Detection! To be able to use it just by watching… what incredible talent.”
Tao let out an exasperated sigh.
“But your reason being ‘because it seemed interesting’ is very good. What one likes, one does well. In that case, I’ll show you something special. You should watch closely.”
Saying so, Tao moved her body in a circular motion. The ‘Ki’ generated from Tao’s navel circulated throughout her entire body, flowing and gathering in her arms.
“Hah!”
With a shout, she unleashed the mass of ‘Ki’ she had gathered. It flew forward, toward the direction of the enemy’s presence. Immediately after, a heavy thud echoed through the cave, and the monster’s presence vanished.
“Heh-heh, this is the ‘Ki Blast.’ I shot it slowly just now so you could see, but of course, it’s possible to fire it at high speed too.”
“Ohh, that’s amazing, Tao.”
“Well, you know.”
Tao let out a proud huff and turned her back to me.
“To think he can even use ‘Ki,’ this boy is quite a find,” she muttered quietly. “On top of that, Roberto is intensely interested in it… Under the pretext of teaching him, I can expect a lovely master-and-disciple romance! Moreover, if I raise him into a fine martial artist, even my grumpy old grandfather will have to accept him as my fiancé… Fuhihi, he’s quite a find indeed…”
Tao was muttering all sorts of things while laughing creepily to herself.
…She’s getting a bit scary, so I think I’ll just leave her be and head on ahead.