Chapter 5

Mercedes entered the pet shop, Half Moon Hall, and what she saw was unexpectedly clean inside.

In the glass cases were baby animals, much cuter than she had imagined.

Their sizes were about the same as adult cats or dogs on Earth. The largest was about the size of a large dog.

Thinking, "This is the size of a baby," she realized that this was a manageable size to take care of.

However, as expected, the animals being sold were all monsters.

A black puppy with red eyes was labeled as a Hellhound, and the puppy in the next case had three heads, which seemed to be a Cerberus.

The one with two heads and a snake for a tail was an Orthrus.

A dog that looked normal except for its dark green color was apparently a Coo-hoo.

All of these names were familiar from mythology, but even the terrifying monsters were cute at this size.

Many Seekers apparently used such pets as companions on their quests.

Mercedes, thinking that she might consider getting one if she had the money, left the shop.

The Stalque Dungeon she was heading to was 36 kilometers away.

Vampires don't walk much faster than humans, so her walking speed was about 7 km per hour.

The receptionist had said it would take about five hours, which matched the calculation.

If she took a carriage, it would travel at about 10 km per hour, so it would take about three and a half hours.

It felt slow, but that was the best she could do without a fast carriage.

However, if she did that, it would take more than six hours round trip and it would be noon.

So Mercedes decided to cover the distance on her own.

After leaving the city, she did some light stretching to loosen up and checked the direction on the map.

She put the map away, kicked off the ground with all her might, and ran.

She accelerated as if a gust of wind had blown her away from the spot.

The scenery rushed by, and she leaped over rocks and trees that appeared on her path.

When there were many obstacles, she activated Bevraien to float and then dash in the air.

Enjoying the sensation as if she were the protagonist of an action game, Mercedes maintained her maximum speed and headed for the dungeon.

Mercedes' current top speed was about 1,150 km per hour.

If she went any faster, the shock would rebound and cause unnecessary damage.

This was probably the sound barrier. Mercedes had not yet learned how to surpass it without risk, so this was her current limit.

Still, a speed that could cover over 1,000 km in an hour was more than sufficient.

Just 120 seconds after she started running, Mercedes reached the Stalque Dungeon.

If she could reduce the time lost to obstacles a bit more, she might be able to get there even faster, but for now, this was a good result.

"Well..."

Upon arriving at the dungeon, she took a moment to look around.

This seemed to be a grassland, a place where a nap would be comfortable.

A settlement could be seen a little distance away, but it was probably a relay point for Seekers.

Books had mentioned that such rest spots were created near dungeons to allow for breaks during exploration.

However, Mercedes was not tired, so there was no need to stop.

Next, she looked at the dungeon. The stone entrance standing alone in the grassland felt out of place, but that was what dungeons were like.

It seemed that only the entrance was exposed, and the rest was underground.

After observing the entrance, Mercedes took out the sheepskin and pen given to her by the guild and stepped inside.

The inside of the dungeon was a stone-built labyrinth, as one would expect.

Her footsteps echoed with each step, creating an eerie resonance.

There was no light source, and only the light from the entrance faintly illuminated the area. It would be pitch black after a few turns.

"Oh, I forgot," Mercedes thought. She resolved to bring a lantern next time.

Even as a vampire, she couldn't see in complete darkness.

So she turned back, broke off a few sturdy branches from a tree outside the dungeon, and went back in.

She crossed two branches and rapidly rubbed her left hand to create friction heat.

At first, it didn't work, but after a few tries, the wood heated up and eventually caught fire.

"Alright, let's go."

This provided a temporary light source.

It wouldn't last long, but as long as there were branches left, she could continue exploring.

However, mapping while holding a flame in one hand was more troublesome than she thought.

She made the flame float in a weightless state to write, but it wasn't efficient.

If she were to buy a lantern, it would be better to get one that could be hung from her arm.

While thinking this, the branch burned out before she had written much.

"Trouble. What should I do?"

She needed to change her exploration method. Mercedes already felt the necessity.

She closed her eyes and thought in the darkness, but no good ideas came to mind.

If only her magic was fire, she wouldn't have had this problem, but unfortunately, it was earth. Wishing for something she didn't have was pointless.

"...Attribute, huh."

She remembered that her attributes were written on the card she received when she became a Seeker.

One was earth, and the other was wind.

It was fortunate to know her attributes. Could she use the wind attribute for something?

As she thought, she heard a sound like a stone falling from somewhere far away.

Vampires had much better hearing than humans. She could pick up even the slightest sounds when focused.

At that moment, a clever idea came to Mercedes.

"Let's try it."

Now that she was aware that her attribute was wind, she felt she could sense the power of the wind more strongly.

Mercedes took a deep breath and gathered magic in her throat.

She imagined sound. The sound coming from her mouth would travel through the air like wind, race through the dungeon, and return after reflecting.

"――――!"

She emitted a sound wave inaudible to human ears and focused all her senses on her ears.

By receiving the direction and time of the returning sound waves, the structure of the dungeon appeared in Mercedes' mind.

After creating a map in her mind, she quickly started a fire and drew the map on the sheepskin.

She couldn't know everything at once, but it was much easier.

Repeating this process a few times would allow her to map the entire dungeon.

◆

After thirty minutes, Mercedes had successfully drawn a nearly perfect map on the first sheet of sheepskin by moving around and repeating the sound reflections.

She had already discovered a staircase leading down but decided not to go down yet. Mapping came first.

She performed the final sound reflection for the first floor, receiving the returning sound.

At that moment, she sensed the presence of a 2-meter-tall object approaching her.

The creature that appeared, making footsteps, was a bipedal mole with a scar over its left eye. It was nearly 2 meters tall.

It didn't seem to be there for a friendly chat. It bared its fangs and fiercely threatened her.

For Mercedes, who was only 130 cm tall, this monster was towering.

In her previous life as a Japanese person, she had only seen animals much larger than herself in zoos, where safety was guaranteed.

Normally, she would be intimidated, but Mercedes felt surprisingly unthreatened.

"Ah, this is truly a fantasy world.

Well, I knew I would have to fight someday as a Seeker.

...Come. I will test my strength with you."

"Grrrraaah!"

The giant mole responded to Mercedes' beckoning with a roar.

She watched the claw coming down with an oddly calm mind and grabbed one of the claws to stop the attack.

A strength contest ensued, but the mole couldn't move its arm at all.

No matter how hard it tried, it couldn't escape Mercedes' slender arm and trembled.

On the other hand, Mercedes tightened her grip with ease, causing the mole's claw to crack.

She then gently pushed the claw down, forcing the mole to kneel.

"Gah!"

The mole's free arm attacked Mercedes, but she caught it easily.

The mole opened its mouth and bit her shoulder.

In response, Mercedes tensed her shoulder, deliberately allowing the bite.

The result... the mole's sharp fangs couldn't even pierce her skin, let alone her flesh.

No matter how hard it tried, it felt like biting iron, and it couldn't break through.

Mercedes, understanding the power difference between them, decided to end it, considering it just bullying the weak.

...For a moment, her arm hesitated. Even if it was a vicious monster, it was still a life. She couldn't help but hesitate to take a life.

But that was all.

Mercedes kicked the mole's unprotected abdomen with her knee.

The mole, with its abdomen crushed by the tremendous force, spat blood and released Mercedes' shoulder.

At the same time, Mercedes released her right hand and clenched her fist.

The sound of bones cracking echoed, and veins bulged on her arm.

—Punch.

The floor cracked under her step, and the mole's fangs flew through the air with blood.

The mole was thrown through the wall into the opposite passage, then through another wall into the next passage.

It finally stopped after hitting the third wall, falling to the ground with its eyes rolled back.

The mole no longer moved.

"...Is it dead?

No, did I kill it..."

Mercedes had killed a living being.

Recognizing this fact, she closed her eyes and silently prayed.

Then, she looked at her slightly trembling hand and couldn't help but laugh.

It was good. She was slightly shaken by the act of killing a living being.

This cold heart still retained a bit of humanity.

"Eventually, I'll get used to it and feel nothing..."

She laughed at herself and wiped her sweat.

This was what it meant to live in this world. This was what it meant to kill.

Her heart would eventually become numb, and the humanity that was already thin from her previous life would fade even more.

But it was all her choice. She had no intention of turning back on the path she had chosen.

Forward, just forward.

She had no intention of stopping. The path continued.

After completing the mapping of the first floor, Mercedes descended the stairs to the second floor without stopping.

Mole: "As long as you don't stop... the path continues...

So... don't stop..."

Mercedes: (…? Was it in such a strange pose when it died?)