Chapter Seventy-two: The True Nature of the Gimmick, Is It More Ordinary That It Appears?
The last mana spring wasn’t too far away. It took about 30 minutes on foot.
Proceeding through the degraded illusion, its resolution diminished to the point of occasionally overlapping with glimpses of the original scenery, a sinister red-black glowing vortex.
Since I couldn’t deal with any potential threats alone outside the barrier, I too entered the mana vortex’s boundary and quickly took refuge in the Camping Car. As usual, some shadows emerged from the vortex. This time… maybe three? Around my height or shorter… two armed with tattered swords and shields, and one in a ragged robe wielding a staff-like object. According to Survival, they seem to be "goblin soldiers" and a "goblin mage," both listed as "inedible.”
…Oh wow, more fantastical species! While judged inedible, well, even if they were edible, I can’t say I’d want to eat them…
Their grating voices, like nails on a chalkboard, and the high-pitched sound of metal scraping against metal, hurt my ears. This sound is really harsh…
“Let’s finish this quickly and move to the next floor! Don’t get in our way!”
“…Hn. Move aside!”
Mr. Ville drew his sword and closed the distance in one stride, sweeping away the two labeled goblin soldiers with his greatsword. Despite their shabby appearance, the goblins wore metal armor and held shields, but Mr. Ville’s tempest-like blow turned them into black dust, vanishing in an instant.
Ms. Aria’s thread wrapped around the goblin mage in the rear, suspending it… I couldn’t help but think of background music of some period drama with assassins in my mind. It, too, turned into black dust and scattered in the wind.
…I can understand Mr. Ville, a vanguard, dominating the vanguard goblin soldiers. Vanguard versus vanguard, after all. But for Ms. Aria’s vanguard attack to even reach the rearguard goblin mage…! Just how far can those wires extend?
The Gourmands is truly an exceptional party…
As the goblins vanished, the swirling red-black light on the floor also faded… and the surrounding projected illusion dissipated as well.
“…Whoa… So spacious! Or rather, there was really nothing here at all…!”
“Of course not, once the illusion disappeared.”
What spread out before me after exiting Campy was simply a vast, open space. Let’s see, it’s about the size of a suburban shopping center with a parking lot… I suppose?
That’s roughly how expansive this walled-in, featureless space is.
Even without illusions, forced warps, or space loops to get lost in, it’s naturally vast… just one lap around would cover a decent distance.
…Still, it’s not like a shopping mall where you’d need to stay overnight partway through. Puts into perspective just how much ground we must have covered.
As I scanned around, Survival gave a little ping reaction. The entrance to the next floor is… probably over there?
The downward path is situated in an utterly unremarkable spot within the room. With illusions in place, I can see how finding it would be quite the challenge…!
Then again, I have a feeling that the Gourmands could probably locate the entrance even with the illusions still active. Well, it is the Gourmands! It’s not surprising they could manage that.
“The first floor was a cavern, the second like a plains or indoor area… I wonder what the next floor will be like?”
“Hard to say. To be honest, it’s rare to encounter a dungeon where the spaces change randomly as you progress. Difficult to predict.”
“It is a rather strange dungeon. The gimmicks are troublesome, but the enemies aren’t particularly strong…”
“Should we assume… a lack of malicious intent?”
I peered into the gaping hole of the staircase in the ground. Beyond the first few steps, it was pitch black and hard to see.
…Is there no lighting down there?
As I furrowed my brow pondering this, Mr. Ville must have picked up on my murmur, coming over to peer down the hole as well.
His strawberry-hued eyes seem to scan the lower depths. I wonder what scenery those eyes perceive.
As I was lost in such idle thoughts, the others soon gathered around too, turning it into an observation session. Behind Mr. Ed’s soft laughter, Mr. Xenon tilted his head inquisitively.
“I’d like… to scout ahead down below for a bit, if I may?”
“Very well… Since we’ve just had a battle, let’s check our equipment while Aria does so.”
“Ah, then I’ll go ahead and start prepping for the next meal!”
As Ms. Aria, who had let her thread crawl down the stairs, turned back to us, Mr. Ville nodded, and the men began inspecting their weapons, armor, and belongings.
I suppose I’ll get a head start on the meal preparations in the meantime.
…What should I make for dinner? We have plenty of meat, so maybe something simple?
Hamburger steak… ginger pork… chicken teriyaki… So many options…
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