We register in the landing area, and step into the fourth floor.
The field on the fourth floor is like a grassy field, and the fifth is like a forest. The fifth floor has more monsters, and monsters like orcs only appear there.
Apparently the fourth floor is used as a training area for adventurers not used to fighting monsters.
“It’s a strange place.”
Whispers Chris as she hears all that, and Sera and Rurika nod.
“Why do you think so?”
I think dungeons are strange in general, so I thought that was a given.
“Well, how the dungeon environment has become a convenient thing for people here…”
Now that she mentions it, it does feel like this place is pretty easy on people.
Between the environment that’s suitable for farming, and the edible monsters, I feel like the more I think about it, the more I feel like this dungeon contains things people need.
We keep walking while I think that, and a few wolves appear. They’ve noticed us too, and are moving in.
“Wolves. Stand back…”
I step forward in front of Dutina and hold up my sword, but something runs by me like a gust of wind.
Hikari gets close to the wolves in an instant, and mows them down in one strike.
This isn’t all that surprising to us, because we know how strong she is, but Dutina is shocked.
“S-she’s strong.”
She struggles to say, while standing in front of the corpses of the wolves.
I just collect the corpses and prompt her to keep going.
Unlike labyrinth style dungeons, the staircases are always in the same places, so we won’t get lost.
And there are even pillars that serve as marks in every important spot, just in case someone happens to get lost. These pillars have signs that say things like the direction where the staircase is.
I use Map just to check our surroundings, and see groups of people moving around.
“Ah, how about we have lunch? The dungeon gets wider on the fifth floor, so it should take a while for us to get through it.”
“We have packed lunches, so we could eat here, but you didn’t bring anything, did you Dutina?”
When we reach the landing area leading to the fifth floor, Dutina recommends that we have lunch.
That’s a fair point, floors do get bigger the further down we go.
Should we go back to the city and eat there? We’ve been walking this whole time, so we should probably take a break.
Actually, it’s more like we were so curious about this place that we kept walking and forgot to rest.
I ask the others if they’re fine with resting now, and I’m relieved when they say yes. And after we talk about it, Dutina apologizes.
And so, we go back to the surface to eat, and go to something like a dining hall that Dutina and her colleagues use.
We can have a nice quiet lunch here, because it’s past the time when people usually have lunch, meaning there are few people around. We attract a lot of attention here, probably mostly due to curiosity.
“Dutina. I know the fifth floor is bigger than the fourth, but if we go there now, can we make it to the sixth floor before dark?”
“It might be a little hard, the fifth floor really is big… Even if we walk straight forward, we are going to pass through a forest, where it’s hard to walk, and each monster we come across just means more time.”
“So do the people going there to hunt hang around near the staircase? Or do they camp there?”
Asks Rurika.
Yes, it sounds like it’d be hard to explore that floor and come back on the same day.
“A lot of people stay there. There are a few bases, so they hunt in shifts. We participate from time to time to train too.”
If they have bases, is that where they sleep?
It sounds dangerous, but if they have monster repellent and build simple fortifications, maybe that’s not the case.
“By the way, what do we do with the wolves we just hunted?”
“You can sell them in the guild.”
“Really? If that’s not a problem, I’ll just leave them there.”
I was thinking maybe they’d demand we hand them over because we’re outsiders or something, but I guess not.
“So we’d have to stay the night there… Should we go back to the inn then?”
Not that I have a problem camping there, because all my stuff is in the Item Box.
“I think that’s a good idea. I can tell from how you handled the wolves that you’re strong, but you should prepare.”
Dutina doesn’t know that, so it makes sense for her to say we should stop for now.
I can feel everyone’s eyes on me. It looks like I’m the one who gets to have the final say.
I guess it’s true that I’m the one who wants laurel tree fruit the most.
“Let’s prepare and continue tomorrow. And if possible, I’d like to learn more about the sixth and seventh floors. Is that all right?”
Dutina puffs out her chest, and says ‘leave it to me’.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
I guess we will find out next week. Got a busy weekend ahead
Thanks for the treat.