Chapter 45: From Inside the Treasure Chest…
A month has passed since the Monster Extermination Festival ended and my Uncle came out to me. I’ve spent this time peacefully, without any particular problems.
Well, maybe I can’t say it was completely peaceful.
It’s just that there was absolutely no danger to my life.
Things were good in some respects: Raku passed his familiar exam, I managed to stock up on a large amount of Potions, I had a new black Coat made from ape hide to replace the one I lost in the great subjugation, and the payment for the Monsters I defeated during the Monster Extermination Festival was quite substantial.
However, there were also some difficulties, like too many people flocking to me wanting to form a Party after the Monster Extermination Festival incident, and persistent individuals trying to use me somehow.
One reason for this was that I created multiple of those light Magic Tools and lent them to Hiroki and the others.
Thanks to that, everyone’s hunting Floors rapidly descended, and that’s the result of rumors spreading.
Well, even though they included Riana-san and Kyouko-chan, they’ve managed to reach the twenty-fifth Floor, so their growth is very fast.
Lately, they seem to be training with Mr. Owen, so they’re showing signs of even further growth.
Inspired by that, I also spent the past month even more energetically holed up in the Dungeon.
The bottom Floor of the pit had stabilized, and just dinosaurs and Apes weren’t enough for me anymore. However, Golems are a terrible match for my hunting style, so I decided to go even lower.
Of course, I was fully prepared.
My Magical Power, including what was in my Backpack, was completely full.
Magic Tools and Potions were also perfectly ready.
With the Laser Gun, there’s nothing to fear.
It’s not like it works on every Monster, but it deals enough damage to most that I’d like to assume it has a special attack bonus.
It wasn’t effective against a Golem’s body, but it was a one-shot kill if I hit its Magic Stone.
Incidentally, it turned out that Light Magic doesn’t harm the human body.
However, it’s not completely harmless; it drains Magical Power.
It can’t kill an opponent in interpersonal combat, but if you want to neutralize them without killing, it’s quite useful.
Holding such a Monster-specialized Laser Gun, I descended the stairs, step by step.
There was no sound from below.
It was just like the Golem Floor.
This was also the reason I hadn’t felt like descending further until now.
But, even if I were to give up, I wanted to at least confirm one.
If they’re drawn by sound, there are ways to deal with them.
With that in mind, I proceeded to clear the room.
There was a passage at the back of the room, and in front of it, a large, Treasure Chest-like object was placed.
The appearance of the box was that of a luxurious Treasure Chest, as if to say “look at me,” studded with jewels.
Below the keyhole in the center was a jet-black gemstone.
“Whoa. This is definitely a trap… And that’s a Magic Stone…”
For now, should I try shooting it? Confirming if I can defeat it is the first priority.
Naturally, I had also prepared my cannon to kill it before it could get close, and I’d also created a barrier.
There shouldn’t be any lack of preparation.
And so, from a distance, I sliced the box with the Laser Gun.
With the Laser Gun, it tends to vaporize things, so if possible, I don’t want to aim for the Magic Stone.
If safety is the top priority, I should aim for the Magic Stone first, but if I can’t retrieve the Magic Stone, the necessity of coming here drastically decreases.
That’s why I decided to stay as far back as possible and aim for the box part.
It was a slash made while feeling a touch of such anxiety, but it seemed to have worked properly.
As expected of the magic that even sliced through the Ogre King.
The moment it was split in two with a single strike, the box started thrashing about, opening and closing.
Just as I thought, it’s a Monster. While thinking that, I put all my effort into creating a barrier and showed my vigilance, but it just writhed around for a while and then stopped moving.
“Did it die?”
The moment I thought so and stepped forward to check, a Magic Circle glowed beneath the box Monster.
It was a Magic Circle that I could tell at a glance was terrifyingly complex and possessed an incredible effect.
It was directed upwards from the ground, and there was some distance, but since I didn’t know its effect, there was no guarantee of safety.
“This is bad!!”
Breaking out in a cold sweat, I jumped back a large distance again, but no attack came.
But it wasn’t that nothing happened.
Suddenly, around the box, the corpses of Ape Monsters, rocks, and the wreckage of broken boxes were scattered.
“Haha, Storage Magic, just because it’s a box?”
Looking at the surrounding situation, that was about the only answer I could deduce, but if this is true, it’s an amazing magic.
If it’s as I expect, I definitely want it.
I want it too much…
Damn it, I should have watched the previous one carefully.
There’s no way this is the only one, right?
It was when I thought that and turned towards the passage.
Further down the passage, a box that had been walking with a clattering sound stopped.
That’s right. The box was comically walking with table-like legs extended.
It was at the end of the passage, so it was quite far, but it was definitely moving.
“No, wait, wait. I saw you, you know?”
I quickly pointed my Laser Gun at it to convey that I had noticed its mimicry, but the opponent was a Monster that didn’t understand words.
Naturally, it continued its mimicry.
No, yeah. I’m just grateful for that, I thought, as I sliced the box again.
When it thrashed about and then stopped moving, the Magic Circle beneath the box once again emitted a red light.
If I hurried closer, this time I was able to imitate it a little.
A few more times, and with some fine-tuning, the copy would be complete. Full of enthusiasm, I sliced the boxes and copied the Magic Circles.
It was more complex than expected, and since the Monster was on top of the circle, it was hard to see. I finally managed to completely imitate it on the seventh try.
Thinking it should activate with this, I started it up and threw the wreckage of a box into the Magic Circle.
But, nothing particular happened.
“Huh… Did I make a mistake somewhere?”
Thinking so, I walked around looking for a new Monster to check.
And each time I found and defeated one, I checked, but I hadn’t made any mistakes anywhere.
Is it a magic that humans can’t use?
No, it is activating, so I don’t think that’s the case…
Hmm, wait a minute.
I’ve only seen things coming out of that Magic Circle, right?
Magic basically can only perform one action, so isn’t this magic for things that were stored to come out?
There’s also the possibility that a Magic Circle for putting things in is necessary.
Thinking that, I threw an Ape’s corpse near a box, then moved far away and peered through a telescope.
It seemed like it was storing anything and everything, so I figured there was a chance I could see it this way.
I was also worried that if I threw a corpse at it, it might attack, but perhaps because it didn’t hit, it didn’t move.
After waiting for a while as expected, another highly complex Magic Circle appeared, and the Ape Monster was swallowed up.
That Magic Circle was slightly different from the one that appeared when it died.
Wanting to see a bit more, I threw objects nearby several times and thoroughly copied the Magic Circle.
Nearly half of it was the same, so I was able to learn it relatively easily.
If I can’t do it with this, then I’m out of ideas. But before that, the materials I want to take back… So this time, I tried shooting out only the Magic Stone with my Gun, defeating it while leaving the box intact.
Then, as usual, a Magic Circle appeared, but this time its behavior was a little different.
The box popped open, becoming like a prize for defeating it.
Conversely, it was too suspicious for me to approach.
Isn’t this a trap?
Unable to shake off such suspicions, I poked and prodded it with an extended stick, but it was just a box.
While thinking what a ridiculous Monster this was, I tried the Magic Circle with an Ape’s corpse, and this time it seemed to store it properly.
The Ape vanished as if it had smoothly sunk into the ground.
Next, to see if I could release it, I manifested the Magic Circle that appears upon death, and the Ape corpse I had put in properly came out.
This is another insane magic.
I don’t need a Cart anymore.
From the feel of using it, it seems to only use Magical Power when putting things in and taking them out, and the consumption isn’t that large.
Also, it probably doesn’t allow time to pass inside.
I learned the reason for this when I saw the contents of another Treasure Chest I defeated.
In the worst possible way…
The contents were the corpses of several young girls who seemed to have died not long ago.
If they were academy students, I should have recognized them from the Monster Extermination Festival.
In the first place, a situation where blood is still dripping is impossible.
Even so… was this some kind of spiteful retaliation for being defeated?
For the contents of an opened Treasure Chest to be that is disgusting beyond measure.
Among them, one young woman appeared to be of quite noble birth.
Obviously expensive-looking accessories. Clothes that were likely finer than those of noble brats.
She was probably a princess of Royalty or the daughter of a high-ranking noble.
There’s no way someone like that would come to a place like this on their own.
She was probably pushed or fell into the pit.
To have reached this far at such a young age without a Gun, it’s highly probable that flower Monsters were spawning.
It’s thought that she came to this Floor, which she considered relatively safe, using Petals.
The Floor above has dinosaurs, after all.
Everyone was cleanly bisected from the stomach, so this must be the box Monster’s method.
And the moment they died, they were stored in the Magic Circle…
Wait a minute… The moment they died…?
If time was stopped, is there still a possibility?
I mean, Monsters are such incredibly resilient things, some can even survive having their heads blown off…
With that in mind, I took out a Potion and poured it into the mouth of the girl who seemed to be a princess.
As expected, her body began to regenerate.
Her lower half was completely bare, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.
I quickly gave Potions to the others as well.
And after I finished giving them the Potions, it was good that their bodies regenerated, but I realized that not a single one of them was breathing.
I see… so the usual rule of Storage Magic still applies.
They were stored because they died, right?
Thinking that, I almost lost all strength, but I performed artificial respiration and cardiac massage, thinking there was still something I could do.
Since I could only do it for one person, I chose the princess-like girl who was most likely to have been alive the longest.
I alternated between artificial respiration and cardiac massage.
Since any broken bones would heal with a Potion anyway, I didn’t worry too much about holding back and tried to resuscitate her by applying as much stimulation as possible.
A few minutes later, the princess’s heart began to beat on its own again.
Confirming that, I gave her a little more Potion and hurriedly performed CPR on the other woman, who seemed to be a guard Knight.
Then, after several tens of minutes, I stopped trying to resuscitate any more.
Out of four, two were saved.
No, even then, I didn’t know how long their brains had been deprived of oxygen.
Even in a fantasy world, the chances of them not being okay were probably higher.
Right now, their hearts were just beating and they were breathing.
If possible, I wanted them to regain consciousness with their memories intact.
I couldn’t take care of them if they were in a vegetative state or like a baby, so I was incredibly anxious.
“Kyaaaaaaaah!!!”
While I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard a scream, and I jerked my head up, aiming my Laser Gun.
Even with enhanced hearing, I couldn’t sense any Monsters moving.
Relieved by this, I lowered my weapon and looked at the girl, but she was glaring at me with murderous intent while covering her bare lower half.
She must be a guard Knight, after all.
She tried to summon her Maso, but it seemed she didn’t have enough Magical Power.
I quickly took off my Coat and tossed it to her.
“First, I want you to listen to me. Do you know where you are?”
She felt shame about her attire, so her memories should be fine… I looked at her, hoping so.
She quickly put on the Coat and, after backing away, slowly nodded.
“So, you fell from that hole after all?”
“Ah… were you also… cast into the Abyss…?”
“Ah, yeah. I was initially dropped here…”
When I replied, she looked around again, then her gaze fixed on a certain point and she froze.
“N-n-nooooooo!!!”
I was greatly relieved to finally hear her voice, but her loud scream made my shoulders jump again.
When I looked at her, wishing she’d stop because it was startling, she was frantically trying to cover the lower half of the girl who seemed to be of noble birth.
“Y-you, how can you be so calm in this situation!!”
“Hold on. First, let me explain your current situation.”
She put the Coat I gave her on the princess-like girl, and then I had her, who was covering herself with her hands again, create and put on a skirt with her Maso.
Then, once she had calmed down a bit, I told her about the two who had died and how everyone had lost their lower halves.
She seemed to remember being attacked by Monsters and knew about the effects of the flower Monster, so she accepted that it wasn’t impossible.
“So, it wasn’t a situation where I could worry about being naked or anything.
And I didn’t have the guts to undress them from that grotesque lower half either.”
“Ugh… Do I have to… take those off…?”
“If someone’s going to, it’d have to be you, right? It’s out of the question for me to touch them.
Besides, even if I got permission, I honestly wouldn’t want to.”
When I answered honestly, she said, “I suppose so,” her expression softening a little.
She must have realized that they had been in that grotesque state, and it wasn’t a situation where she’d be looked at strangely.
“So, who are you guys and where are you from?
Since you’re in this school’s Dungeon, you must be students of the Hunter Academy, right?”
Even as I asked, I was convinced they definitely weren’t.
Because everything about their appearance felt clearly different.
Looking at their attire, one was a noble young lady, the other in a military uniform.
“I am from the Kingdom of Belfast, an officer cadet, Chinatsu.
You may call me Chinatsu. May I ask your name?”
“Um, I’m Rui. I’m from Oldam, but… it really seems like we’re from different eras.”
“Eh? What do you mean, different eras?”
I explained it was just a guess, starting with the Monster’s magic, and told her that a country called Belfast hadn’t existed for over ten years.
“E-even if you saved our lives, that’s too much of a joke!
Belfast may have a small territory, but it’s a renowned powerful nation!?
Even if time has truly passed, it’s impossible for it to have been destroyed!!”
To Chinatsu, who was shouting again, I told her, ‘You’ll have to find out about that yourself. I’ve only told you the information I know,’ conveying that I had no intention of deceiving her.
“How am I supposed to find out… when all we can do is wait to rot away here.”
“Oh, there’s a way out. I figured it out myself.
Let’s get out once she wakes up.”
“N-no way… We’re… going to be saved…?”
Hmm. I wonder if it’s okay to say they’ll be “saved.”
I’ve never even heard of an era when Belfast was prosperous enough to be called a powerful nation.
I thought a considerable amount of time must have passed, but when I checked, it wasn’t that much.
If what she said was correct, it was about twenty-something years.
“Your Highness! Please, wake up! We might be saved!”
Ah, I thought her clothes and accessories were high-quality, but she’s a princess, huh…
What should I do after we get out?
Should I consult Viscount Oldam?
No, even if I told him, he wouldn’t believe it, would he?
But still. Just abandoning them outside the Dungeon after getting out feels too cruel.
Besides, can they even enter the town?
No, the checks there are lax, and they could probably get through easily if I hid them in a Maso Cart.
If I did that, it would become my responsibility later. Or rather, that’s obviously a crime, so no good.
Whatever I do, I guess I have no choice but to talk to them and figure it out.
That said, if the other one doesn’t wake up… I thought, and when I looked, she seemed to have been awake for a while, whispering with Chinatsu.
“So you were awake. For now, I’m glad you seem to be okay.”
“I heard we can get out, but… ‘for now’?”
“Yeah. You can leave getting out of the Dungeon to me. But honestly, I don’t know what happens after that.”
I glanced at Chinatsu, wondering if she hadn’t heard, but the princess replied that she had heard from her.
“If that story is true, then so much time has passed that it seems unlikely I would be captured, wouldn’t it?”
“Well, I don’t think you’ll be captured, probably.
But you don’t have identification, right? It’s a question of whether you can even enter a town.
And if you want to rely on someone, wouldn’t it be tough unless you go all the way to Razbel?”
Since she didn’t seem to understand, I told her that Belfast was renamed Razbel after being annexed.
“I see. So, present-day Belfast is Razbel… Is that so. The Shogun’s family…”
Now that Belfast has been annexed, I wonder if such people even exist anymore.
“I… see. Then, I can’t afford to say it’s creepy, can I.
Chinatsu, undress everyone and gather their clothes.
If we cannot enter the town, you and I will have to share and wear them from now on.”
“Understood.”
Looking a little pale, she went around collecting the clothes.
I suggested carrying the bodies, but I was a bit taken aback when she said to leave them here.
But when she said, “If your story is true, then there is no land where we can mourn them,” I realized.
That I couldn’t provide such a place for them either.
“So… was resuscitating you a bother…?”
“No. If we couldn’t get out of here, I might have thought so, but if you are getting us out, then you are our great benefactor.”
“Hmm… Well then, let’s get out of here for now.”
Unsure of how much I should look after them, I led the two of them up to the upper Floor and reached the room at the bottom of the hole.