Stepping through the entrance gate, a wide stone corridor roughly five meters wide and four meters high appeared before us. The dungeon seemed to have been constructed with plenty of space; we wouldn't have any trouble swinging our weapons around in combat.
The walls were embedded with lamps at intervals of several meters, ensuring a basic source of light. However, for those of us accustomed to fluorescent and LED lighting, the lamplight felt quite dim. Since we were still near the entrance, light from the gate’s illumination spilled inside, so the corridor didn't feel too dark just yet.
We switched on the high-intensity LED lights attached to our helmets to secure our field of vision.
"Since it’s our first try today, and the batteries only last about four hours, should we head back after about two hours of progress?"
"Sounds good. It is our first time, after all; that seems about right."
"I agree. There's no need to push ourselves while we're still getting used to things."
Yuji and Hiiragi-san agreed to my proposal without any particular objection.
Our policy for this expedition was 'safety first.' Since it was our first day, simply getting a feel for the atmosphere would be enough. We weren't in some foolish, gung-ho mood to go charging in blindly.
I had leveled up at my house, so I should be able to easily repel any monsters that appeared on the surface floors. Regardless, we lacked actual combat experience. Massacring slimes with salt from a safe distance could hardly be counted toward our real-world experience.
I placed my hand on the hilt of the gunto hanging from my left hip and let out a shout to psyche myself up.
"Alright, we're all prepared. Let’s move out!"
"Yeah!"
"Yes, let's go."
Our formation consisted of Yuji in the lead, then Hiiragi-san, and finally me. Lined up in our roles as front, middle, and rear guard, we began our exploration.
To start, I activated my Appraisal Analysis skill to check for traps. This revealed a rather interesting result, causing me to look up at the ceiling as my face twitched. Having managed to recover from the shock of the discovery, I stopped the other two and gathered them at the edge of the corridor, hiding us from the following explorers.
If possible, I didn't want the others to overhear this.
"What's wrong all of a sudden, Daiki?"
"Wait, just... lean in, you two."
The two of them wore puzzled expressions at my behavior, but they leaned in as instructed. I gave them a warning before explaining the situation in a low voice.
"Don't be surprised, okay? According to my skill, there’s a hidden room inside the wall behind the gatepost to the right of the entrance."
" "!!!!!! " "
Despite my warning, they were about to shout in surprise, so I reflexively covered their mouths with my hands.
Well, I suppose it's only natural to react that way after hearing something like that so suddenly.
"Keep it down."
"...Sorry."
"...I'm sorry."
When I removed my hands, they apologized in whispers. I didn't really need an apology, though. Once they had regained their composure, I whispered the details.
"It looks like that hidden room is a transfer room. It has a warp device for freely moving between each floor."
" "Warp... transfer..." "
They both looked stunned. Well, that's to be expected. I gave a wry smile at their reaction.
Honestly, why do I have to shoulder such a troublesome matter on the very first step of our first day of dungeon conquest?
It wasn't anyone's fault, but I stomped firmly on the stone paving to vent my irritation. The unnecessarily loud sound echoed through the corridor, and the noise snapped the two of them back to their senses.
"Hey, Daiki. Is that for real?"
"Yeah. Unfortunately."
"But Kokonoe-kun, I've never heard of anything like that. Not on the news, not on the internet, and not even in the bulletins from the Association..."
Exactly. That was why they were so shell-shocked.
At present, within the scope of public knowledge, not a single mention of floor warps or transfer rooms existed. Occasionally, there were reports of being dropped to lower floors by pitfall traps, but those were strictly environmental hazards, not a means of transportation that allowed for free movement to any floor at will.
That was precisely why deep-zone exploration was currently limited to a handful of elite groups, like military special forces units capable of maintaining long-term logistics. Finding a transfer room in such a situation...
Man, I can't smell anything but trouble.
"What should we do?"
"I mean, even if you ask me that..."
"...Should we report it? This just reeks of hassle."
"..."
Yuji fell silent. Well, there was no way to give an immediate answer to a problem of this magnitude. While Yuji and I were holding our heads, Hiiragi-san asked a question.
"Kokonoe-kun, can we actually enter that room?"
"...Wait a second, Hiiragi-san. I'll check again."
I directed my Appraisal Analysis skill toward the wall again. I had looked away toward the ceiling too quickly out of shock to confirm the details earlier. This time, I reviewed the results calmly.
Ah, I see. So that's why no one knows about it.
"...It seems we can't enter the transfer room right now. It’s set up so that you can't use it unless you unlock the transfer system at the very bottom of the dungeon."
"You mean it's like a reward for clearing the dungeon?"
"Probably. It looks like once you activate it, you'll be able to move to any floor you want."
"I see. In that case, wouldn't it be fine to just leave it alone for now?"
The utility of a transfer room went without saying. If one could conquer a vast dungeon with a minimal logistics route, the benefits would be immeasurable.
However, reporting something that couldn't even be used yet would be a waste of effort. Worse, the authorities might mess with the device in the name of 'investigation' and break it forever. Given the circumstances, the transfer device was more than we could handle.
"Right. Shall we forget about the transfer room for now?"
"That would be for the best."
"Yeah."
Since the two of them agreed, we decided to put the matter of the transfer room out of our minds, at least temporarily.
Even so, what was this? We hadn't even been inside for five minutes and I already felt exhausted. I honestly wanted to just call it a day and go home.
While we were chatting at the edge of the corridor, several groups of explorers headed deeper into the dungeon while casting suspicious glances at us. Well, if people are just standing around at the entrance, it's bound to be noticeable.
Having finished our discussion, we talked about our next move.
"So... shall we go home?"
"Yeah, that's a very tempting offer."
"Indeed. I feel like agreeing unconditionally as well."
We were tired to the core. Honestly, I wanted to just turn around and walk out, but we couldn't really do that. If we left now, we wouldn't know what we came all this way for.
Sigh...
"Then... shall we?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
The vigor we had at the start was gone from our voices.
Shaking our tired heads, we started walking with heavy steps. While using Appraisal Analysis to check for traps, we cautiously advanced deeper into the dungeon.
"Daiki, any traps?"
"Nothing so far. Just like we learned in the seminar, it looks like there aren't any traps on the first floor."
According to the training, traps didn't appear until the fourth floor. We also learned that up to the third floor, monsters only appeared individually. In a way, it was a user-friendly dungeon, complete with tutorial floors.
Because of that, the full-scale exploration would only start from the third floor onward.
"Well, I'll keep checking for traps just in case. How about you, Hiiragi-san? Any monsters?"
"...I don't sense anything approaching us yet."
Hiiragi-san, who had been narrowing her eyes to scan the area, shook her head.
Perhaps because so many explorers had already entered, we hadn't encountered a single monster despite searching for over thirty minutes. Is that why everyone tries to get in so early in the morning?
"What should we do? Should we head down a floor?"
Yuji looked at us, seemingly at a loss. Originally, our goal was just to patrol the first floor and get used to the environment. But at this rate...
It seemed the monster distribution on the first floor was low to begin with, and the respawn speed wasn't keeping up with how fast the explorers were clearing them out.
"I'd like to, but I'm against going to the lower floors before we're used to combat," Hiiragi-san said.
"I agree."
I understood Yuji's frustration, but I sided with Hiiragi-san. Until we got used to fighting, it was better to stay on a floor where we could withdraw immediately. Today was our first day; there was no guarantee we wouldn't panic once we actually had to kill a monster with our weapons.
If we went too deep just because monsters weren't appearing, something could go wrong during the retreat. I wanted to avoid that risk.
"But if we can't even find one..."
"Yuji..."
"Hirose-kun..."
Faced with Yuji's lingering gaze, I almost wanted to cave and go down.
Certainly, if we didn't fight anything, it would feel incredibly unproductive. At the very least, I wanted us to experience one battle.
While thinking such things, we continued to wander the first floor. Ten minutes later, finally...
"Wait! Be careful, I sense something approaching! It’s not... a human presence. It’s likely a monster!"
At Hiiragi-san's warning, Yuji and I drew our swords and took our stances. Hiiragi-san leveled her spear with a sharp gaze, staring ahead.
About ten seconds later, the monster finally showed itself.
"It's here."
"Is that... a hound dog?"
"...It’s pretty big."
The monster that appeared about ten meters ahead was a large, four-legged beast covered in black fur. Saliva dripped from a mouth filled with sharp fangs, and its bloodshot red eyes were locked onto us. To put it mildly, it looked like a ferocious large dog that was ready to kill. If it were outside the dungeon, it would have prompted an extermination order rather than a capture request.
First, I used Analysis and Appraisal on it. The creature's level and stats were revealed. They weren't particularly high, but it looked much more threatening than its numbers suggested. I knew we were higher level, but my throat went dry from tension.
However, we couldn't just stare at it forever.
"Alright, as planned. First, Hiiragi-san will use magic to pin it down. Then I'll try out 'that thing,' and Yuji will finish it off."
I took a breath and spoke firmly to commit us to our strategy.
"G-got it!"
"U-understood. T-then... here I go!"
They both replied in tense, stiff voices. Yeah, me too, but those two were definitely being swallowed by the atmosphere of actual combat. I shuddered to think what would have happened if we had gone to the lower floors in this state.
As I was reflecting on our decision to stay put, Hiiragi-san's wind magic activated.
"Air Ball!"
She called out the name of the spell, and a sphere of compressed air about the size of a baseball shot from her right hand. It flew toward the hound dog as fast as a professional pitcher's fastball. It reached the monster in less than a second and released its kinetic force.
"Gyan!"
The Air Ball struck the hound dog and released its compressed air with directional force, easily blowing the large dog back several meters. The hound dog stood up unsteadily, its eyes bloodshot with hostility as it glared at Hiiragi-san.
The Air Ball... the damage seemed light, but for a beginner-level spell, it seemed quite useful as a deterrent. It looked perfect for when we needed to put distance between ourselves and a monster.
"Alright, I'm next. Yuji, if it doesn't work, give me some backup."
"Leave it to me!"
Watching the hound dog, I detached the item I had hanging on the side of my backpack. I pumped the lever and held the nozzle with my free hand. Damaged by the magic, the hound dog let out a howl and lunged. I took aim and waited until it was close enough before pulling the trigger.
A crimson liquid shot from the nozzle, hitting the hound dog directly in the face mid-charge.
"Gyaooo!?!?"
It was super effective. With its momentum unchecked, the hound dog collapsed pathetically onto the stone floor. It began slamming its face into the paving repeatedly, desperately trying to shake off the crimson liquid, but it was no use. The sight of the creature writhing and spraying all sorts of fluids from its face was almost pitiful.
And then...
" " "Ugh..." " "
Because the effect was so overwhelming, we were all completely disgusted.