Chapter 4

"Big brother, the food is ready!"

A voice from above woke me up, and I lifted my body. It seems she made it while I was sleeping.

When I went upstairs to the living room, Haru was already sitting there, and on the table was stir-fried pork and mushrooms. It’s cheap and good.

"Let's eat."

We ate our meal while deciding what to do today.

"So, Haru, are we going into the dungeon tomorrow? It’s already 10 PM, so we can’t do it today."

"Umm, I’m pretty tired and sleepy today, so I won’t go in. I’ll just check it out a bit tomorrow."

"Got it. We’ll definitely wear work clothes and put on protectors over them. Your weapons are a crowbar and a machete, right?"

"Big brother, you’ll use a hoe and a machete, right? The machete will be our secondary weapon. What about the light?"

"Apparently, the dungeon is bright inside, so we don’t need it. Besides, electricity doesn’t work in the dungeon. We just need water bottles."

"Okay. I’ll prepare the water bottles. Big brother, get the weapons and armor ready."

"That’s a good idea. Got it. Thanks for the meal. I’m going for a run. Try to get some sleep after you finish eating."

"Okay, see you later."

As I was sent off by Haru and went outside, it was already cold and dark. It’s winter, so it’s cold all day. Since we sold our apartment and moved here, I feel like I’ve become more resistant to the cold.

We don’t have conveniences like air conditioners, not even a stove or a kotatsu. If it’s cold, we just wear more layers. Plus, I’ve been running every day since we moved here. Running in such cold weather should make me more resistant to the cold.

I ran through the rice fields and on the forest road, and as usual, I returned home at the same time. Even though I moved around all day, it was just walking, so I wasn’t physically exhausted.

When I entered the house, the lights were off, and it seemed Haru was already asleep. I took a quick shower and got into bed. At this age, I don’t get excited and can’t sleep, and it seems Haru was already asleep. I had to be on guard while sleeping, as I did yesterday, but I felt relieved that I didn’t have to do that anymore and fell asleep.

When the alarm went off and I woke up, Haru was already gone from the room. Looking around, I saw a rice ball on the desk.

"Hmm. ‘I woke up early, so eat this for breakfast and come to the basement. I’m preparing.’ She always wakes up earlier than usual even if she gets enough sleep."

Fortunately, I’m the type who can start activities immediately after waking up, so I quickly ate the rice ball, changed into thin jogging pants, and headed to the basement.

Haru was already there, taking off the clothes she had been wearing and about to put on work clothes.

"Haru, you might get hurt, so it’s better to wear a thin layer under the work clothes."

"Ah, right."

Haru nodded and went upstairs in her underwear. Since we only have the first floor and the basement, I’ve gotten used to seeing her in her underwear and don’t feel anything about it. If I saw her naked, I might be a bit surprised, but that’s about it. Probably in my mind, Haru is just a sister and not a girl.

I thought about this slightly impolite idea while putting on my work clothes. Since it’s a one-piece, I could put it on quickly. As I was putting on elbow and knee protectors, Haru came back. She was wearing a thin layer and holding two water bottles.

I took the water bottles from Haru and put them in the backpack I had prepared, took out the weapons from the bag, and attached the machete to my waist. It’s in a case, so it’s quite safe.

Since electronic devices don’t work inside the dungeon, I set the time on the battery-free watch I bought a while ago and wound it up. It’s supposed to last for more than a day, so it shouldn’t be a problem for our exploration. Smartphones won’t work anyway, so I don’t need them. I gave the grid paper and pen to Haru. I’m sure I’d get lost if I went into the dungeon without anything. Haru is better at judging distances and directions.

"Okay, big brother, let’s go."

Haru, equipped similarly to me, said this while holding the crowbar on her shoulder.

"Okay, our first dungeon exploration."

We opened the padlock, opened the door, and used it as a ladder to go down. We reached the point just before the color of the dungeon wall changed.

Haru opened her mouth wide.

"First exploration of the Kizaki Dungeon!"

We stepped into the dungeon at the same time.

(What!)

As soon as we stepped on the dungeon floor, the color disappeared from our vision, and everything stopped. It seemed like time had stopped.

However, considering that I couldn’t even move my eyes, it was probably not that the surroundings had stopped but that my thoughts had accelerated. As I was thinking about this, words suddenly appeared in my head. It was an indescribable feeling, like reading words that weren’t written anywhere.

‘Sword’ ‘Shield’ ‘Fist’ ‘Bow’ ‘Spear’ ‘Club’ ‘Trap’ ‘Hunter’ ‘Magic’ ‘Healing’ ‘Blessing’

These seemed to be like classes in a game. If that’s the case, I needed to carefully consider what Haru would choose.

I don’t think these are types of weapons. If that’s the case, my hoe and Haru’s crowbar wouldn’t work.

So, they must be methods. Sword is for cutting, shield for defending, fist for punching, bow for shooting, spear for stabbing, and so on.

(Ah...)

As I was making these assumptions, the details of the classes suddenly appeared. I was about to exclaim in surprise, but just like before, I couldn’t even open my mouth.

‘Sword’... Cutting Power Supported by Strength

‘Shield’... Defending Power Supported by Hardness

‘Fist’... Punching Power Supported by Speed

‘Bow’... Shooting Power Supported by Aim

‘Spear’... Stabbing Power Supported by Balance

‘Club’... Destroying Power Supported by Strength

‘Trap’... Concealing Power Supported by Hiding Objects and Moving Enemies

‘Hunter’... Finding Power Supported by Strength and Speed

‘Magic’... Casting Power Supported by Magic

‘Healing’... Healing Power Supported by Healing Wounds

‘Blessing’... Supporting Power Supported by Various Enhancements

The words were fragmented and hard to read. It’s not that they were hard to read because they weren’t written on paper, but rather hard to understand.

First, I needed to decide whether to be a front-liner or a back-liner. Haru seemed to want to fight with a crowbar, so she would probably choose a front-liner. Since a crowbar can’t cut, she would probably choose either a spear or a club. Considering the length, a club seemed more likely. In that case, I should be a back-liner. Even though the original physical strength doesn’t matter in the dungeon, I’m used to moving in reality, so I should be able to move to some extent even as a back-liner.

So, the options are bow, trap, magic, healing, and blessing. There’s also the hunter, but I don’t want to be something I don’t understand, and it probably means being good at hiding.

Since I don’t have any equipment for shooting, I’ll exclude the bow. I think traps also require equipment, so I’ll exclude that too.

So, the options are magic, healing, and blessing. I can attack with magic, heal with healing, or enhance with blessing. However, I don’t want to get hurt in the first place, so it’s probably magic or blessing.

Since I couldn’t decide, I chose the right side because I’m right-handed.

I chose blessing.

As I thought this in my head, the previous words disappeared, and new words appeared.

【You are a Blessing User】

As these words appeared, my body and vision started moving.

Naturally, Haru also started moving at the same time.

"So, Haru, what did you choose?"

I asked Haru, who was looking at me with sparkling eyes.

"I’m curious about big brother’s choice too, so let’s say it at the same time. Ready, go!"

"Magic!" "Blessing"

"‘Huh?’"

God, God. Our party ended up with two back-liners.

Please, please help us, such unlucky people.

～And this is what happened～

"First exploration of the Kizaki Dungeon!"

I declared this loudly to encourage myself and stepped into the dungeon with big brother.

The color disappeared from the scenery, and everything stopped. Considering that only my thoughts were moving, it seemed that only my thoughts were accelerating. If they tried to stop time, they would have to stop the world’s time while keeping my brain running. I don’t understand the concept of the dungeon, but if it’s possible, it must require an enormous amount of energy.

Hmm?

I could see some words. Or rather, my brain could understand them. It felt like the moment I was trying to memorize something. The words that appeared were:

‘Sword’ ‘Shield’ ‘Fist’ ‘Bow’ ‘Spear’ ‘Club’ ‘Trap’ ‘Hunter’ ‘Magic’ ‘Healing’ ‘Blessing’

These are like the classes in the RPG I played a few years ago.

I really want to slash enemies, but I’m not good at physical activities, so I’ll leave that to big brother. Big brother said he would protect me, so he’ll probably be the attacker. In that case, I should be the back-liner.

Yeah. It’s too much trouble to do anything fancy, so I’ll specialize in attacking.

Big brother will defeat enemies in front, and I’ll use magic to clear them from behind. That’s good. If we defeat a lot of enemies, big brother might praise me. I’ll do my best.

I decided my class would be magic.

As I made this decision, new words appeared.

【You are a Magic User】

The sudden acceleration of my thoughts stopped, and my vision started moving, making me stumble. But that didn’t matter now. I wondered what class big brother chose.

I smiled and looked at big brother, wanting to know.

"So, Haru, what did you choose?"

I, of course. Ah, right.

"I’m curious about big brother’s choice too, so let’s say it at the same time. Ready, go!"

"Blessing" "Magic!"

"‘Huh?’"

God, God. I couldn’t understand big brother’s thinking. If you’re going to bless me with something, please give me the ability to understand big brother’s thoughts.