It’s the morning of the fourth day of the third floor exploration.
We’re looking at the mountain from the entrance. There are clouds near the top, and I don’t know what’s beyond that. The clouds look like a shampoo hat, and every time I see that I wonder if there isn’t wind there. Is there something that makes them not move?
“So Shouta, what are we gonna do today?”
“Start by going straight ahead. Once we enter the bear area, we’ll adjust depending on what it’s like and how strong the bears are.”
“Okay!”
“Understood!”
“Also, at the start of the way there, we are going to find snakes and boars. I only have map information from before, but it looks like they’re pretty packed together. I think we should walk so Enki can move freely.”
Everyone nods.
“Ah, but I think Iris would have a hard time going up, so can you hold it, Ayane?”
“Yes!”
‘Pururu.’
“What should be done about the monsters along the way?”
“Of course, since we’re not going for their rare monsters, you can fight them as you like.”
“Very well.”
“I’m itching to fight!”
“We’re off then!”
Enril goes in front, and I have it be my mapping eyes. Enki follows not too far behind, and then me with Aki and Maki to my left, and Ayane and Aira to my right.
It’s like a pentagon formation with me in the center. Being in a forest and mountain means we should be attacked sporadically, which would normally disturb a formation. But Enki stands out in front of us, so we can keep advancing like this.
We go up the gentle slope, dispatching snakes and boars along the way, and Enril’s vision opens up.
“Fwee!”
‘Popopo!’
I give a command by whistling, and Enril turns to come back. I raise my arm, and after flapping its wings a little, it stops. I feel like a bird handler.
We maintain formation, and Aki turns to me with caution.
“Did something happen?”
“The forest continues until close to the top of the mountain, right?”
“Yes, that should be the case.”
…What I just saw and what I saw before we left… Don’t match.
“Just to check, when this dungeon first appeared, the association investigated it, right? What kind of information did they collect?”
“Hm, there were snakes and boars near the mountain, and bears in the center. All had peculiar traits, and the environment made it hard to fight here, so they didn’t think this floor had much value.”
“And a few days later, they discovered a roundabout but safe route to the next floor. And since the fourth floor was seen as a good hunting ground, not much investigation was done here… At this point, it’s believed that there’s no danger of a stampede even without regular hunts. For safety reasons, this floor was left alone.”
“So there’s no information about the area near the mountain in the center?”
Aki and Maki look at each other and nod.
“Yes.”
“Like sending a drone…”
““Ah.””
Both look at each other awkwardly.
What?
“…Beginners hear this when they first enter this dungeon, but you were exempted because you were on your third year. Drones are typically not allowed in dungeons.”
“Eh? Why!?”
Cameras, cooking equipment, and even container houses are allowed and work properly. I don’t think machines are the problem.
“There are dungeons that have floors with really harsh altitude differences. Someone was using a drone for map information, and it crashed against a monster while investigating.”
“Crashed against a drone… So a flying monster?”
“Yep. I don’t know if it hit a bad spot or what, but every monster of the same type howled. Rumors say that they all gathered to attack the pilot. It’s been taboo to use drones in dungeons ever since. I didn’t tell you ’cause you always explore on foot anyway.”
“I see… But isn’t Enril pretty much doing the same thing?”
““Uu…””
I guess they didn’t think of that. That’s probably why they exclaimed ah before.
“I’m not mad. When was that anyway?”
“Ten years ago, when dungeons were unleashed on the world. Well, we know more about them now, so I don’t agree with keeping that banned without looking into why.”
All monsters around. But that means drawing a lot of the same kind. Wouldn’t that be great for hitting a hundred? But does that go for flying types, or all monsters? Just drones? Only that one type of monster? I won’t know unless I investigate.
“Where was that, and what monster was it?”
“Geez, Shouta’s all raring to test stuff.”
“Fufu, it was a harpy in the number 45 Four Seasons dungeon.”
“Eh… I want to go there.”
Harpy… That came up recently too, so it could be our next destination. For now, I’ll try sending Enril ahead with a bird attack.
“I know you’re all hyped, but I wouldn’t recommend that one.”
“Eh? Why?”
“It’s one of the OG dungeons, and it’s hard across the board. It took some time for the association to get up and running in the first year, so they were always lagging behind. They only kicked off investigations when the hundredth one appeared. And when you add stuff like the high rank dungeon, it resulted in a stampede. It was hectic.”
“And so, the deeper floors of dungeons such as the high rank and Four Seasons dungeon haven’t been investigated. We don’t even know how many there are.”
“Seriously…”
I knew that was the case for the high rank dungeon, but the Four Seasons too… Is it that hard…
It’s worth conquering, but if I’m collecting keys, dungeons that take a long time to conquer should be avoided, right?
If there aren’t any dungeons nearby with few floors, I’ll either have to find new ones or persevere through those other ones.
…Hn? New?
“Come to think of it, it’s been ten years since dungeons appeared.”
“Yes.”
“Then the thousandth dungeon should have appeared. Did it appear in Japan?”
“Hm. That’s Sakuya’s area of expertise, but I don’t think so. But it’s hard to find new dungeons.”
“If they appear in an unexplored region, that pretty much guarantees a stampede.”
“My mother told me… That eighty percent are found two weeks after they appear. It’s been a month since then, so I assume they have all been found.”
“I see…”
Then I have to visit known dungeons.
“Getting back on track, why did we start talking about drones?”
“Ah, yes.”
I borrow Enril’s vision, and tell the others what I see.
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