Even as I accepted the despairing truth alone, the conversation continued.
“Still, if the dungeon’s danger level is low, it might be fine.”
“It could be high, though.”
“···.”
“And if it is···?”
The dwarf glanced meaningfully at the soldiers and said,
“If you’re thinking of running, you’d better stop.”
“What?”
“Once you’ve become a dungeon dog, it means the lord himself has taken on the commission, at the very least. And you want to run?”
“Still, if we run first and somehow hide ourselves away···”
At the dwarf’s words, the mercenary jerked his chin toward the soldiers sitting far off.
The soldiers were snickering, as if someone had told a funny joke.
“If you’re confident you can beat them without weapons, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try.”
“Still, if there are four of us—”
“Why do you think I’d help? I have no intention of helping.”
“Damn it···.”
Whether he had trusted in the mercenary’s bulk, or had some hidden plan of his own,
the dwarf had tried to escape, only to be blocked by the mercenary’s refusal.
After huffing and puffing for a long while, the dwarf seemed to give up and plopped down on the ground.
“Right, not every dungeon is dangerous······.”
The seated dwarf muttered to himself.
So he hadn’t given up, but was running his optimism circuit instead.
Perhaps the time had come, because the soldiers who had been sitting rose to their feet and stood at attention.
From afar came the sound of a carriage approaching.
The one driving the carriage was the soldier who had left earlier.
As soon as he arrived, he asked the group,
“Who is Liv?”
Liv. It was a name I had heard before.
It must have been the owner of the diary I had read in the thatched cottage.
When no one answered, the soldier beside him said,
“Captain, they said that fellow has black hair and blue eyes.”
At those words, the captain swept his gaze over the group before stopping on me.
“Then it can only be you. Why didn’t you answer?”
······I’m Liv?
No way··· I knew this was a fantasy world, but had I even been transmigrated into someone’s body?
Damn it, no wonder there had been so many strange things···.
The moment I froze at the shocking truth—
Thud!
“Guh—”
Crash!
A sudden, sharp pain struck my abdomen, and I was shoved backward and collapsed.
Clutching my stomach, I raised my head. Before me stood a soldier with a cold expression.
“Next time, answer at once. Ah, of course, there won’t be a next time.”
“···.”
The soldier said this while dusting off the foot he had kicked me with.
For a moment, anger surged up in me, but remembering the difference in our positions, I lowered my gaze.
Thump—
He tossed something at my feet as I lay there.
It was a shabby leather backpack.
As if they were personal belongings, the others beside me were each given one as well.
“You know how to use a detection stone, at least, don’t you?”
“Pardon?”
Was he talking to me?
“Tsk, this is why Magic Tower folk are like this.”
“···.”
“You push mana into the hole on the back. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Magic Tower folk? Mana?
I couldn’t understand what he meant, but since I couldn’t afford to get hit again, I answered immediately.
What on earth was he talking about··· Ah, if I was Liv, then surely···.
The body I had possessed had originally belonged to a mage. Only then did his words make sense.
While that question was being resolved, it seemed the preparations for departure had finished.
“Start moving.”
“Are we going straight to the watch post?”
“Yes. We can’t let criminals into the city.”
The watch post.
The place they called the watch post was not far away.
After walking a little farther from the clearing, we arrived at a wide open space below a hill.
Around it stood a round wooden palisade.
Between the wooden stakes, flags emblazoned with an unknown crest fluttered,
and right beside those flags, several spear shafts stood in a row, each impaling a round object.
At first I thought they were simple structures, but as I drew closer, I realized they were not.
What had been impaled on the ends of the spears were “human heads.”
“Uuugh—!”
It was a horrific sight I had never seen before.
I hadn’t realized from far away, but even breathing in was nauseating.
Though my stomach was empty, dry heaves rose in my throat.
Even as I suffered, the soldiers conversed calmly.
“More pathetic bastards crawled in during that time, I see.”
“Yes, there were two, but one fled.”
“Fled? With the prohibition about to be lifted, things are getting restless.”
The soldiers paid me no mind and passed by me, crossing through the palisade entrance.
Urged on by the soldier behind me, I had no choice but to follow before I could even compose myself.
Inside the watch post were tents.
One tent on each side, centered around the entrance.
Perhaps there were not many people stationed there, because the tents were not large.
The soldiers left us standing in the clearing before the tents and went inside.
Once again, we were left stranded in the open as if abandoned.
It might have been our last chance to escape.
But no one paid attention to such a thing.
Because everyone’s gaze had been stolen by one place.
The thing visible straight ahead the moment we entered.
It was a massive door the color of ink.
A door jutting diagonally from the hill like the entrance to a cave.
The cracked earth around it seemed to show that this was no natural phenomenon.
Unable to tear my eyes away from the indescribable sensation emanating from the door···.
Tap.
!!
“So you really are a mage.”
The sensation on my shoulder snapped me back to my senses.
When I turned around, I saw the mercenary wearing an intrigued expression.
“They say mages get bewitched by dungeons. Guess it wasn’t just a baseless rumor.”
“And he’s from the Magic Tower, too···.”
The thief added a word to the mercenary’s comment.
Only then did I remember that the people who had come with me were there.
By the way, dungeon? Was that door I had seen the entrance to the dungeon?
But why was that person acting like that?
The dwarf, standing quietly in the corner, bothered me.
As if he had something that pricked his conscience, the dwarf avoided my gaze.
“He must be minding you. Unexpected. Were you the type to care about such things?”
“Ah.”
The mercenary, apparently realizing it, spoke.
Minding me?
“If he’s from the Magic Tower, he’s still a quasi-noble···.”
Perhaps those words were correct, because only then did the dwarf speak in a voice that crawled into itself.
By the way, I was a quasi-noble?
Then what on earth had happened for me to become a prisoner?
It seemed to be something that had happened during the blank period, content not written in the book.
“What use is any of that when the gates of hell are right in front of us?”
The mercenary said with an expression that showed he didn’t care at all.
Perhaps thanks to that indifferent face, the dwarf’s attitude soon returned as well.
“Right, exactly! We’re fellow prisoners. I got scared for no reason.”
“Tsk— I should have just left it alone.”
At those words, I had no choice but to nod as well.
“Since it’s come to this, let’s introduce ourselves. I’m ‘Drek.’ Like I said earlier, I worked as a mercenary.”
At the words of the mercenary—no, Drek—the others began introducing themselves one by one.
“I am ‘Baldik’ of the Red Rock tribe.”
The second to introduce himself was the dwarf.
“Red Rock··· I’ve worked with dwarves before, but that’s a tribe I’ve never heard of.”
“Are you looking down on our tribe!?”
Surprisingly, Baldik was a dwarf. So it really was true.
“But why haven’t you said what you did before?”
At Drek’s sharp question, Baldik shut his mouth.
“We’re all criminals here, so there’s no need to hide—”
“···Priest.”
“······What?”
A faint mutter sounded in the silence.
“Damn it, I said I was a priest! Shit···.”
“Good heavens···.”
At the shocking statement, everyone in the group was left speechless.
Someone with that appearance and personality was clergy.
It was not a fact one could easily believe.
“You’re not committing blasphemy, are you··· No, you’re already a criminal, so I suppose it doesn’t matter?”
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who found it hard to believe, because Drek offered a fairly reasonable inference.
“Stop paying attention to me!”
“Hm··· fine.”
At Baldik’s prickly attitude, everyone eventually let it pass in silence.
And then the introductions began again.
“I’m called ‘Cowin.’”
The thief’s introduction followed.
“Before this, I worked in a guild.”
“A guild? What guild was it?”
Perhaps Drek had some connection to guilds as well, because he asked with a strangely eager attitude.
After hesitating for a moment, he answered.
“The··· Thieves’ Guild···.”
“What!? A thief?”
At Baldik’s reaction, Cowin shrank back.
That aside, did physiognomy exist in this world too?
Every one of them had something that matched their appearance.
I had wondered, but to think he really was a thief.
As the atmosphere grew strange, Drek stepped in to mediate.
“Have you already forgotten what I said earlier? We’re in the same boat now. Don’t create needless reasons to be at odds.”
“No, but still, he says he’s a thief.”
“If he’s from a guild, it’s probably not what you’re thinking.”
Thanks to Drek’s mediation, the atmosphere that had been turning cold calmed somewhat.
In that calmer mood, everyone’s gaze gathered on me, the last one remaining.
“Uh··· I’m Liv.”
“For a mage, you’re polite. Good.”
I paused for a moment, choosing my words at the dwarf who spoke so shamelessly, as if unaware of his own rudeness.
“My profession is ma···ge.”
I decided to be shameless too.
“It’s my first time seeing a mage from the Magic Tower.”
“Now that I think about it, if there’s a mage, maybe they’re not abandoning us?”
“···Maybe.”
Were mages precious here, too?
The group looked at me with expressions as if they had found hope.
Had they forgotten how the soldier treated me earlier?
Or were they clinging to even the thinnest thread of hope despite knowing?
Hm. I’d better not reveal that I didn’t know how to use magic.
Perhaps having finished their business, the soldiers came out of the tents one by one.
“It’s about time.”
A soldier spoke as if gauging it while looking up at the sky.
Rumble—
At that moment, a heavy vibration suddenly rose from the ground.
The soldiers braced themselves as if used to it, while I lost my balance and fell.
I was the only one who had collapsed. Damn this body.
Creak— Creeeeak—
······The dungeon was opening.
The source of the vibration was the dungeon. More precisely, it was the vibration made by the firmly shut door pushing the earth aside.
Creeeeak—
Boom!
With a loud noise, the vibration that had continued for quite some time came to an end.
The dungeon revealed the dark interior it had been hiding.
Deep and dark like a tunnel, its appearance stirred a strange feeling in me.
But had I grown used to it?
Unlike before, I was able to tear my gaze away quickly and stand up.
The captain silently gestured to the soldiers with his chin.
At that gesture, the soldiers went to the door and checked something.
“No changes!”
A moment later, as if the inspection was finished, a soldier reported at once.
At those words, the captain scribbled on a piece of paper and said,
“Ah, right. I forgot to explain your mission. From now on, you’ll enter the dungeon and retrieve an artifact.”
“······.”
“How about that? A very simple errand, isn’t it?”
At his plainly mocking tone, no one answered.
“···Time for farewells, then. Go in. Or would you like us to push you from behind?”
Perhaps displeased that no one had answered, the soldier immediately ordered us to enter.
As we hesitated, I sensed the soldiers waiting behind us approaching.
In the end, like cattle heading to the slaughterhouse, we moved our heavy feet toward the dungeon entrance.
“Damn it··· Damn it··· Damn it······!”
Faced with the reality before him, the dwarf, who had been quiet until now, began muttering again as if having a fit.
Maybe the sight infected me as well. I found myself feeling uneasy too.
Despite our heavy steps, we eventually reached the very front of the dungeon.
Perhaps because we were closer, those strange energies could be felt even more clearly.
Was this really because I was a mage?
Drek entered the dungeon without any sign of concern.
Seeing him, I swallowed hard and eventually crossed the threshold.
‘There’s no particular feeling.’
Contrary to my expectation that some change would occur, nothing much happened.
Only the dampness unique to caves could be clearly felt.
Baldik and Cowin entered belatedly, pushed along by the soldiers.
As soon as we crossed the threshold, the sound of something heavy being dragged came from behind us.
The source of the sound was a barricade. The soldiers dragged a wooden barricade over and blocked the entrance.
Ha, now I really can’t go back. That was what I thought, but if I considered it carefully, even if I left, I had nowhere to return to.
Because it was dark, I couldn’t tell where it ended, but the tunnel I saw after entering was deeper than I had expected.
While everyone stopped walking and sank into thought, Drek, who had been rummaging through his backpack alone, said,
“Let’s go in.”
“What? You want to go in there?”
At those words, Baldik, who had been staring blankly, jumped in surprise and spoke.
"Then what do you want to do?"
"Holding out here is..."
"We don't have enough food to hold out."
He shook out his backpack and showed us its contents.
There weren't many items that came out of the bag.
One loaf of bread.
Three strips of jerky made from some unknown ingredient.
One leather waterskin.
Four torches.
One short dagger.
One blanket.
It certainly looked like too little to call it enough to hold out.
"Besides, do you think they'll welcome us back if we return without accomplishing anything?"
"......"
At his logical words, everyone resigned themselves and resumed the steps they had stopped.
As we went a little deeper in, the hanging darkness hid even one another's faces.
Click—! Click—!
Whoosh—
With the sound of stones striking together, the interior suddenly brightened.
It was the light of the torch Drek had taken out.
It seemed he had taken it from the backpack earlier.
At the sight, I rummaged through my own backpack as if entranced.
Inside my bag was one stone that Drek hadn't had.
The black stone reflecting the light looked like a polished gem.
"That's a detection stone."
"Ah, this is."
As I was peering at the stone, Baldik spoke as though he recognized it.
Had he already recovered mentally? No, judging by his expression, it seemed he was simply quick to give up.
Anyway, so this was a detection stone. I was sure I'd heard there was a hole on the back.
When I felt around with my hand, I really could feel a hole.
It was a tiny hole, as if pierced by a needle.
After that, it was definitely mana... mana?
'How am I supposed to use mana?'
That's right. I was an otherworlder who had entered a magician's body.
I had never used anything like magic before. And now, mana?
Just in case, I tried every action that seemed like gathering energy, but all that happened was my face turned red. Nothing changed.
"......Status window."
As a last resort, I quietly called out for a status window.
As expected, there was no response.
'Fuck...'
So had I been dropped into another world without any abilities at all?
Only then did the fear I had been putting off begin to seep out.
"Did something go wrong?"
As I was muttering to myself, Drek spoke to me this time.
"Ah, no."
"Well, I suppose discussing problems is pointless when our very being here is the problem."
I stammered like a thief with a guilty conscience, but Drek seemed not to notice as he continued.
"If we have a detection stone, at least we won't lose our way."
"R-really?"
"Ah, you said you didn't know what a detection stone was, didn't you?"
Drek, who strangely had the makings of a teacher, explained it to me.
"To put it simply, it's a magic tool that helps you find the way."
"The way?"
"Yes. If you use a detection stone, it points you to the entrance to the next floor."
The next floor.
It seemed the dungeon was divided into multiple floors.
It was a fairly familiar cliché.
If there was a problem...
"Looks like we're about to enter the first floor."
"Then shouldn't we use the detection stone now?"
It was that I had no idea how to use the detection stone.
'What do I do...?'