After descending more stairs than we ever had before, transitioning from the 29th floor to the 30th, we instinctively froze. We caught our breath, paralyzed by the sight unfolding before us. What was it that left us so speechless?
It was...
"A... meadow?"
"Yeah... a grassland, I guess."
"It’s a prairie."
Sparse, low-lying trees and lush, verdant grass that reached up to our waists. For some reason, a clear blue sky was projected onto the... ceiling? To put it simply, the place looked like a temperate savanna.
Furthermore, unlike the cavernous environments we had grown used to, it was as bright as high noon....Yeah, even I didn't quite understand what I was saying.
"Wait... this place is underground, right?"
"Yeah. It’s definitely underground... I think."
"It's supposed to be inside the dungeon... probably."
We continued to stare with hollow eyes, our expressions vacant. If we seemed underwhelmed, it was only because we had exceeded our capacity to process the absurdity.
"That's right... it's supposed to be underground."
"Yeah, underground... despite the grass."
"Even with the blue sky right there..."
"..." "..." "..."
We had known about this through the official data published by the Dungeon Association, but actually seeing it was a different story. It was overwhelming. Truly, seeing was believing.
However, we couldn't stand there dazed forever.
"!? You two, snap out of it."
"「!?」"
I was the first to regain my senses. I slapped my cheeks hard to wake myself up and called out to the other two. They jumped at my voice, looking startled for a moment before shaking their heads quickly to clear the fog from their minds.
"My bad, Daiki. I let my guard down a bit too much."
"Thank you, Kokonoe-kun. If you hadn't spoken up, I might still be standing here in a trance."
"No, don't worry about it. I was just as out of it..."
We looked away from each other with sheepish expressions, exchanging awkward apologies.
After a few seconds of silence, we pulled ourselves together and looked ahead.
"There's no point in standing around in shock... we have to face reality eventually."
"You're right... we have to face... this."
As he spoke, Yuji looked up at the clear blue sky. Yeah, I understood that feeling perfectly.
But...
"It’s a dungeon—nothing for it. I think that's the only way to look at it."
"Yeah, you're right. If we don't think like that, we'll just get lost in the contradictions..."
Hiiragi-san had suggested those magic words for acceptance—"It's a dungeon, nothing for it"—and I agreed with all my heart. If I didn't adopt that mindset, I wouldn't be able to cope.
And so, we muttered those words under our breath several times to convince ourselves.
Once we had managed to reach a point of acceptance, we began to observe and analyze the 30th floor with fresh eyes.
Shrubs and tall grass... the sparse trees were one thing, but the grass obscuring our footing and creating blind spots was going to be a problem.
"It might be a bit troublesome if monsters approach while hidden in that grass."
"Detecting an approach would be hard enough, but since visibility is blocked, ambushes are going to be a nightmare too."
"True. If an enemy is moving, the grass might sway and give them away, but if they're just lying in wait... it’ll be difficult unless we're observing extremely closely."
We discussed countermeasures while imagining the combat scenarios likely to occur in this environment. Compared to the cave corridors, the surroundings were bright and visibility was high, but the fact that the ground was hidden by tall grass meant that detecting traps would be nearly impossible.
Even so...
"To get to the lower floor, we have to find the stairs, right? In this place that looks like a plain old meadow, we have to find a hole in the ground."
"Yeah. They're probably in the floor, just like before."
"Right. But they're underneath all this thick grass..."
"..." "..."
We instinctively looked at each other, then turned back toward the grassland with stilted movements, like joints that had run out of oil. Navigating maze-like caves had been a chore, but searching for stairs in a featureless grassland felt equally daunting.
Well, once we found the stairs, being able to move in a straight line toward our goal would be an advantage.
"Sigh. Mapping this is going to be a struggle."
"True. But well, we just have to do it."
"I guess so."
Letting out light sighs, we steeled ourselves for the tedious task of searching for the exit.
However, as we were psyching ourselves up, Hiiragi-san spoke to us with a slightly exasperated tone.
"Hey, you two? I know you want to start the search, but why don't we take a break first? We haven't had a proper rest since we got here, so this is a good stopping point. Besides, I think it's better to cool our heads for a bit before exploring uncharted territory."
Hiiragi-san's words were a bucket of cold water, but she was right—it was dangerous to explore the dungeon while feeling restless. Yuji and I both agreed that we needed to calm down.
We spread out a groundsheet and folding chairs in the open staircase plaza, where the ground was reddish-brown earth. We sat down, keeping a sharp eye on the surroundings for any approaching monsters.
I pulled plastic bottles of sports drink out of my Spatial Storage and handed them to the two sitting across from me. Once they started drinking, I took a sip of my own.
It tasted incredibly good; my body had been craving hydration more than I realized.
"Phew... okay, I’m feeling a bit more settled now."
The breather allowed the tension and excitement that had stiffened our faces to relax. Once our expressions softened, the conversation naturally became more casual.
"Yeah, me too."
"Good....Oh, by the way? Our goal for this expedition was scouting the 30th floor and beyond... but what’s the plan? Now that I've seen this for myself, even if we find the stairs to the next floor right away, I think we should stay on this floor for now. We need to get used to fighting in this environment."
Yuji and I considered Hiiragi-san's proposal, weighing the pros and cons. The merit was obviously increased safety. We could also test various theories in advance. The downsides were a delay in exploration and a lower haul of drop items, but for us, those weren't significant concerns.
In that case...
"Yeah, I agree. Prioritizing acclimation will probably make future exploration a lot smoother... What do you think, Yuji?"
"I'm in. There are plenty of things we need to verify besides combat, so I'm fine with staying on this floor for this trip."
Yuji and I both voiced our support. Since there were no major disadvantages, there was no reason to object.
Though I figured most parties wouldn't make such a cautious choice.
"Alright. Then, where should we start?"
"Let's see... I think the first thing should be this."
I stood up and grabbed a handful of the tall grass growing at the edge of the plaza. The grass was lush and vibrant, looking perfectly fresh.
"First, I want to see if this burns. We need to know exactly how flammable it is. If it catches from just a lighter, we can't use Fire Magic here. If it burns that easily, the fire would spread through the grass instantly and we'd be trapped in an inferno."
"Good point. It’s not dry, so it shouldn't spread like wildfire... but I doubt it's fire-resistant either."
"Exactly."
I pulled a lighter and a cheap BBQ grill from my Spatial Storage. I could have just put the grass on the ground, but if it stayed lit and scattered, it would be a disaster. I didn't want our experiment to turn into a life-or-death situation.
After putting the grass in the grill, I flicked the lighter and touched the flame to the blades. Then...
"..." "..." "..."
"It caught," I noted.
"It really caught."
"It did. And quite easily, too."
The moment the flame touched the grass, it flared up inside the grill, burning vigorously. The grass must have been rich in oils; it burned much more intensely than we had expected. Despite looking fresh and green, it burned with the intensity of dry hay.
Knowing early on that this was a strict "no fire" zone was a stroke of luck. If we had used Fire Magic or flammable tools without knowing this, a catastrophe would have been inevitable.
"...Yeah. As I thought, let's stay here and run some tests before we move out. It's too dangerous to wander around blindly."
"Agreed. After seeing that, moving without gathering more info is reckless."
"True. If we had tried to be clever and burn the grass away to clear a path, we would have been engulfed in seconds and died."
"Yeah. And here’s a theory: I think this grass is actually a trap. That's probably why it isn't brown and dry-looking. It’s vibrant green to trick people into thinking it's safe."
I voiced my suspicion while watching the grass turn to ash in the grill. If this was a trap, it was a lethal "newbie killer" design. I looked around.
Until a moment ago, I had seen a savanna. Now, all I saw was a vast, open powder keg.
"You might be right. Even if an explorer knew about the fire hazard, they might reflexively use Fire Magic if a monster jumped them. If that happened..."
"It wouldn't just be the party. At worst, everyone on the floor would be caught in the blaze. In this case, the lack of walls and the open visibility actually work against us. In the upper floors, the maze walls might have acted as a firebreak."
"Everyone on the floor dies together, huh..."
"..." "..." "..."
At that moment, we all shared the same thought: as soon as our tests were over, we needed to get the hell out of this death trap. Exploring while worrying that a single spark could end us was not my idea of a good time.
Once we finished our break, we began our verification work in earnest. We made sure to keep our retreat—the stairs to the 29th floor—clear so we could bolt the second we saw smoke.
Having finished most of our tests aside from monster combat, we set up a camp screen on the reddish-brown earth of the staircase plaza. We had considered staying in the boss room on the 29th floor where the ogre had been, but we weren't sure what would happen if another party tried to enter while we were asleep. Would they be dragged into a fight? Would the door refuse to open? Not wanting to find out the hard way, we reluctantly settled for the 30th floor, setting up camp with one eye over our shoulders.
Just in case, I used Wind Magic to mow down the grass around the plaza, doubling the size of the cleared space. For a normal explorer, doing this would have drained their EP before they were even halfway done. This should buy us a few extra seconds to escape in an emergency.
"This is definitely the most tense dungeon stay we've ever had."
"Well, yeah. But as long as we're careful with fire, we'll be okay... hopefully."
"Right. If we overthink it, we'll never sleep, so let's just keep it in the back of our minds. But the real problem is..."
Hiiragi-san looked up at the sky. That clear, brilliant blue sky.
"The clock says it's past 21:00, but it’s still this bright. I think it's safe to assume the sun never sets here."
"Unless it's like a midnight sun situation."
While the previous floors had always been dim, it seemed this floor was perpetual day. If we stayed here too long, our internal clocks were going to be completely wrecked. Between the fire hazard and the lack of darkness, this floor seemed designed to exert a heavy psychological burden on anyone who entered.
Listening to Yuji and Hiiragi-san talk, I stared up at the blue sky and felt a chill despite the warmth.