Chapter 263: Entering the Dungeon
The Labyrinth City is located to the southeast of the Royal Capital of the Arclight Kingdom. It lies south of the Trade City Zain, and further south leads into the Commercial Nation of Aresgute.
True to its name, the Labyrinth City did not originally exist as a settlement. It is said that only the dungeon was there at first, and as adventurers gathered, merchants began to flock around, forming a settlement. Now, it has grown to be one of the largest cities in the kingdom, ranking among the top five.
“Well then, shall we head out?”
The morning after gathering information, we pretended to take on a few simple requests at the Adventurer’s Guild and set off toward the dungeon located in the heart of the city, filled with enthusiasm. Normally, low-ranked requests are only those that no one wants to take on, often referred to as “salted requests.” So, we peeled one off the request board and brought it to the counter, pretending to accept it before returning the request slip to the staff.
“Let’s go!”
Phonia cheerfully waved her hand, and Nil responded with a joyful “Woof!” Both of them were wagging their tails, clearly in high spirits.
“It’s my first time here; I wonder what it’s like?”
“I’ve heard that dungeons vary, but this one is supposed to be a natural environment type.”
“I’ve heard stories, but it feels so unreal.”
“Like, they say there are sunlit grasslands and forests underground—it’s hard to believe.”
As I walked alongside Rio, discussing what we had heard from the staff, a thick wall appeared before us, matching the outer walls of the city.
“Whoa, that’s an impressive wall.”
This was said to be a barrier for stampedes, forming a sort of maze. There was another wall further inside, indicating that measures were firmly in place to deal with any monsters that might overflow from the dungeon.
It seemed many adventurers were heading into the dungeon this morning, as people dressed similarly were streaming toward the city center. We moved along with the crowd, and so far, there didn’t seem to be any suspicious individuals.
“Hey, wait!”
Just as we were about to proceed with the entrance procedures for the dungeon, a guard who had been monitoring us stopped us.
“What is it?”
“This isn’t a place for children. What are you thinking, bringing a toddler into a dungeon?”
The guard pointed at Phonia, delivering a perfectly reasonable objection. Well, it was true; this wasn’t a place for a young girl.
“It’s alright.”
I lifted Phonia up so that only the guard could see the glowing tag around her neck, hidden from the other adventurers.
“Hmm? Ah, I see. Then you may pass.”
Relieved that the guard recognized the tamed monster tag, I resumed the entrance procedures. When I showed my Adventurer’s Certificate, the guard made a strained face, but I gestured for him to be quiet by placing a finger to my lips.
Basically, as long as I wrote my name and showed my ID, we were good to go. We began to walk down the sloped path leading to the dungeon. The passageway, about ten meters wide, gently descended underground, and soon it transformed into a tunnel.
“Wow, it’s so dark.”
Phonia, still in my arms, was looking around curiously.
“But it looks bright over there.”
When Rio pointed toward the end of the passage, I could indeed see light spilling through.
After a while, we could make out what lay beyond the light. It appeared to be a grassy area, and I could see what looked like street stalls.
“…What is this? It looks just like a regular town.”
“There are so many shops!”
“Yeah.”
As we stepped into the first layer of the dungeon, the atmosphere changed. Looking up, I could see the sky, bright and clear. Turning around, it seemed as if there was a gaping hole in the space, with grasslands stretching out on either side of the entrance.
“What’s going on?”
The area around the entrance was crowded with street stalls. The prices were quite inflated, but there must be customers willing to pay. We had no need for them at the moment.
“Let’s move on for now.”
As we passed through the stall area and entered a wider space, I took a moment to survey our surroundings. The grasslands stretched endlessly, with trees and rocks jutting out here and there.
“There’s nothing here.”
I focused on my skills, activating my detection skills to their fullest extent. Perhaps because I had a clearer understanding of what my skills could do, I felt their effectiveness increase. At the same time, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the dungeon map being constructed by my skills.
“Seriously, there’s nothing at all…”
There were some life signs here and there, but without any magical responses, they were likely just animals. It was surprising to think that animals could inhabit a dungeon.
“Woof!”
Nil, who had been sniffing around, let out a bored whine.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Rio responded to my involuntary exclamation.
“Well, I noticed that the map from my Map Skill cuts off at the dungeon entrance…”
“Really? Is that so?”
When I turned back to look at the entrance, I focused my attention there.
“What does this mean…?”
“This is quite the new discovery.”
Thanks to my newfound ability to wield Dimensional Magic, I realized that the dungeon seemed to exist in a separate dimension.
“Let’s proceed with caution.”
“Agreed.”
“Okay! Got it!”
Whether she truly understood or not, Phonia clenched her fists, brimming with determination. Regardless of it being a separate dimension, for us who could Teleport, conquering the dungeon might be relatively easy. For a while, we would need to come and go from the entrance to avoid being hunted by newcomers.
Thus, we began our exploration of the dungeon.