Chapter 35 of 100
Chapter 35
12 min read2,967 words
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After taking a sip of coffee to calm myself, I first asked Sae this question.
"Talking is fine, but it's going to be a tough conversation in many ways... Do you still want to hear it?"
"Huh? A tough conversation?"
"Yeah. From gory stories to ones that might make you depressed."
I maintained as neutral a tone as possible while giving Sae the final confirmation. It would be great if she gave up at this point, but that's unlikely.
I don't want to ruin the pleasant atmosphere right at the beginning of the New Year.
"It's okay. I love horror and suspense movies, so I don't mind such stories."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. So, please tell me about the dungeon."
...
With that, I have no excuse to refuse. I turned to Mika and confirmed with a look if it was okay to talk. She nodded reluctantly. I had already told Mika about the dungeon the night we explored it, but she's not a fan of such stories.
"Alright. If Sae wants to hear it, I'll tell you a bit about the dungeon."
"Yay! Thank you, big brother!"
"But after we finish eating."
"Okay!"
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Since we decided to talk, it would be awkward to do so during the meal. After finishing our meal, we refilled our drinks from the drink bar and prepared to talk.
"Alright, where should I start? What do you want to know?"
"Hmm. What is a dungeon like? Recently, they've been featured on TV and in magazines, but it seems more like an attraction. What's it really like?"
"Good point."
Indeed, TV images and magazine photos alter the actual atmosphere of the dungeon with background music, sound effects, and subtitles. Scenes of defeating monsters are often faked with subtitles and sound effects, showing only the moment the monster disappears. It feels like a game.
"Right. One of the biggest differences from TV and magazines is the lack of sound."
"Sound?"
"Yeah, sound. There's no background music in the dungeon like in TV or games. I don't know if it's due to good soundproofing or good sound absorption, but the only sounds you hear in the dungeon are your own footsteps and breathing. When there are other explorers in the same level, you can hear the noise of their battles and conversations, but once you're a bit away from them, you only hear your own footsteps and breathing."
Walking through a dimly lit stone corridor with no sound is terrifying. It's much worse than walking through a forest at night, where you only hear insects and birds. It can drive you crazy.
When I explore the dungeon with Yuzi and Hime, we try to chat as much as possible to avoid the silence. When the conversation stops and we fall silent, all three of us get fidgety and act a bit strange.
There are no silent traps...
"I could never explore a dungeon alone. I think the pressure of the silence would drive me mad before I even faced a monster."
It might be a bit better if I brought a music player and played ambient sounds, but I'd rather not. In the shallow levels where monsters only appear individually, it might be okay, but in deeper levels, it could attract multiple monsters.
One reason I don't explore the dungeon alone during winter break is this.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. People often say that quiet spaces are relaxing, but there's a limit to that."
...
"Another difference between the real dungeon and what you see in photos and videos is the lighting. The dungeon has built-in lights, but they're quite dim. Think of them as night lights. TV shows use additional lighting to make it brighter, and magazine photos are taken with optimal lighting, so they don't seem as dark."
The built-in lights are not so dim that you can't see, but in a combat environment, they are definitely dim. The first time we explored the dungeon, we used high-intensity headlamps, but they were not very practical, so we changed and added more lights before our second exploration.
We switched the helmet lamp to a type that lasts half a day on a single battery and added a lantern-type LED light to our backpacks. We also prepared high-intensity handheld LED lights and throwable chemical lights. It feels like we're setting up a lighthouse or a moth trap, but visibility is crucial for safety.
"So far, that's what I know about the dungeon. Of course, this is about the shallow levels we've explored, so deeper levels might be different, and I don't know much about them."
"...
There are a lot of things you can't understand from photos and videos."
"Yeah. So, Sae, is there anything else you want to know?"
"Ah, yes. I'd like to know about the monsters and the items they drop!"
...
Of course, you'd ask about that. How should I explain it?
"Let's start with the monsters. Have you seen the journal published by the Dungeon Association? Or the website?"
"The website version."
"Then you probably have a good grasp of the types of monsters that appear in the dungeon?"
"Yes. I've looked into them out of interest."
"Great. I'll skip the details, then. Monsters basically attack anything that enters the dungeon indiscriminately, whether it's an explorer or a wild animal that wandered in."
Sae tilted her head at my explanation.
"Even wild animals?"
"Yeah. When the dungeon first appeared, there was a theory that wild animals that wandered in had mutated into monsters. However, experiments proved that monsters are created by the dungeon and are not mutated animals."
"Experiments?"
"They apparently kept various animals in cages in the dungeon for a long time. They also tested whether injured or killed animals would mutate into monsters when attacked by monsters."
Sae's face darkened a bit. It's not a pleasant topic, I know.
But thanks to these experiments, we learned that being injured by a monster doesn't cause you to mutate into one. I wouldn't want to explore a dungeon infested with monsters infected by a virus.
"Also, when monsters are killed, their bodies disappear after a short while, but the blood they spill remains for a while longer."
"...
It takes time to disappear?"
"Yeah. But considering that the blood on weapons and armor doesn't disappear while the blood on walls and floors does, it seems the dungeon recycles the materials of dead monsters to create new ones."
"Materials?"
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I'm telling a pretty gory story, but Sae just tilts her head in curiosity. Mika, sitting next to her, is drinking her cocoa with a look of disgust.
She said she likes horror and suspense, but this is quite different.
"There's a theory that monsters are pseudo-life forms created by the dungeon. It explains a lot."
"Like how their bodies disappear and they leave behind drop items?"
"Exactly. Normal creatures should leave behind bodies. In fact, the bodies of wild animals that wandered into the dungeon remained. But monsters..."
"Disappear?"
"Turn into particles of light. It's like the dungeon is breaking them down to their material level for reuse."
Breaking down to the material level. It's the basic principle of recycling, like with metal or paper.
"So, the drop items left by monsters..."
"Are probably materials that the dungeon doesn't recycle, restructured into drop items. The chance of getting a drop item is about 50-50, so it might be a selection process."
"Is it selecting something?"
"Maybe. There's a tendency for monsters that are killed more violently to leave fewer drop items."
It's like the more damaged a monster is, the easier it is to break down and recycle, compared to one that remains intact. It's true that processes like crushing and breaking can reduce costs...
But it feels cheap. Are explorers just being used as crushers?
If so, the more efficiently a monster is killed, the more likely it is to drop an item... Wait, if I think about it, the method I use to kill slimes by sprinkling salt on them might actually be overkill. That's why the drop rate is only 50%? Ugh... It makes sense.
On the other hand, the method we use now, where we stop the monster's movement and then strike its vital point, might be the best way to get drop items. I remember getting drop items from everything except the horn rabbit that was cut in half.
"Thinking about it, it makes sense that core crystals and minerals drop frequently. Core crystals are probably the concentrated and restructured materials that make up the monsters."
"So, minerals are simple reconstructions?"
"Probably. They're low-cost reconstructions, so they drop frequently. In contrast, magic items, which require complex reconstruction processes, are high-cost and drop less frequently."
Wow, that's a plausible theory.
So, the drop rate is determined by the damage to the monster, the quality of the drop item is determined by the quality of the monster, and the type is determined randomly. To get rare drop items, you'd have to kill high-rank monsters with minimal damage and hope for the best.
I hold my head. Isn't that too difficult?
...
I raised my head and apologized to Sae.
"Sorry, I got sidetracked talking about drop items instead of monsters."
"No, it was quite interesting."
"Hehe, thanks."
"By the way, big brother, what kind of drop items have you gotten?"
"? Are you curious?"
"Yes!"
I see... But apart from the items I got from the room dungeon, I've only explored a few times, so I don't have much.
"So far, mainly core crystals and minerals. I've also collected a few healing potions."
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I shouldn't mention the skill scrolls here. I don't want to attract unwanted attention. Core crystals and minerals have low buyback prices, and healing potions are not that rare or expensive.
I gave Mika a look to keep quiet when she seemed about to say something.
"Have you gotten any magic items?"
"Unfortunately, I haven't been lucky."
"That's a shame. I was hoping to see you use magic..."
"Hehe, sorry. But using magic outside the dungeon is strictly regulated. Even if you use it outside, you have to submit paperwork and use a designated area, or the police will come immediately."
"Really!?"
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Huh? You didn't know? I thought it was mentioned in a news special...
"Huh? You didn't know, Sae?"
"Ah, yes. Sorry."
"No need to apologize. I only learned about it recently from the association's bulletin board. But because of that, even if I could use magic, I couldn't show it to you right away."
Using a magic practice facility requires a reservation. Currently, new mages who have learned magic from purchased skill scrolls are flooding the practice fields, and reservations are booked a month in advance. It's impossible for ordinary people to use the facilities immediately without connections or special routes.
Of course, some people try out their magic in the dungeon without practice. They're brave (in a bad way)...
"I see... I understand."
She looks disappointed, but she seems to understand the situation and isn't throwing a tantrum.
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