Chapter 36

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I took out my smartphone, played a video file, and handed it to Sae.

Since the location is what it is, I’ve cut the audio, though.

"This video is footage I recorded when I explored the dungeon. It might be a bit hard to see since it’s inside the dungeon, but please bear with it. Of course, it’s a bit shocking, so you don’t have to watch it if you don’t want to?"

"Footage from the dungeon? If that’s the case, I’ll watch it; I’m interested."

The overall view isn’t very clear due to the lack of light, but you can get a sense of the dungeon’s atmosphere.

This is footage I recorded with an action camera attached to my helmet during my third attempt, when I was a bit more prepared to enter the dungeon, for Mika to see.

"Big brother, is this...?"

"Mika has seen it before."

"Sae, is it okay to show her this on the spot? It’s pretty intense for a first-time viewer, you know?"

Mika, who peeked at the screen of the smartphone I handed to Sae, asked me with a worried look.

This is something I’ve shown Mika before. It’s a short, edited compilation of our actions in the dungeon: entering the dungeon through the gate, exploring inside, battling monsters, collecting dropped items, and retreating from the dungeon. The battle scenes with monsters are quite gory, as I intentionally edited them that way.

"Well, I’ll be there to support you."

"...Okay."

Mika was looking at Sae, who was intently watching the smartphone screen with great interest. I sipped my coffee, glanced at Sae, and recalled the third dungeon exploration I recorded the footage for.

We stepped into our third dungeon exploration. Our equipment was slightly different from the first time we entered the dungeon, as we encountered various issues during our actual exploration.

First, the helmet light was different. We used a super-bright type for its brightness, but in practice, the illumination time was too short, and the excessive brightness was a problem. When we tried to look at each other’s faces while talking, the helmet light would blind the other person, which was a bitter experience. Overall, the super-bright headlight was not user-friendly in the dungeon.

So, we switched to a light with moderate brightness that could last for half a day, and we installed a lantern-type light on the surface of the backpack to illuminate a wide area. We also prepared handheld lights and chemical lights for throwing. It was inevitable that we needed to add equipment after experiencing it firsthand, but the additional costs were significant. We hadn’t even finished exchanging the skill scrolls yet...

The appraisal was completed early this week, and the notification documents arrived at home, finalizing the sales process, but the money won’t be transferred to our account until the end of the month. We’ll be short on cash for a while.

"Yuuji, Hime. We’re planning to go down to the third floor today. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"I’m fine too."

"Then let’s go."

We quickly passed through the first floor, where monsters rarely appeared, and descended to the second floor using the spiral staircase. The scenery on the second floor was no different, with dimly lit stone corridors stretching endlessly.

As we cautiously moved forward, a crossroads appeared. While we were deciding which way to go, faint battle sounds, like shouts and roars, came from the right corridor.

"...What do you think? Should we go check it out for reference?"

"No, I think it’s better to avoid it."

I rejected Yuuji’s suggestion to avoid any trouble with other exploring groups in the middle of a battle. We decided not to go down the right corridor and instead chose the front or left corridor. Since we had no particular destination, we all pointed in the direction we wanted to go, and with a 2-1 vote, we chose the left corridor.

After walking for about 40 minutes, we encountered a monster.

"Meow!"

"...A cat?"

"A Hellcat."

"...Cute."

The monster illuminated by the light was a cute spotted cat about the size of a Shiba Inu. The Hellcat’s eyes, reflecting the light, clearly showed that it saw us as prey.

Mika, though... the monster is clearly hostile, so that comment is a bit...

"Daisuke, don’t use that... Here it comes."

As Yuuji gave a warning in a low voice, the Hellcat leaped at us. Yuuji drew a small sword with his right hand and struck the Hellcat’s nose, slamming it into the wall.

The Hellcat, which was slammed into the wall, stood up with trembling legs, blood dripping from its mouth. Yuuji drew his left small sword and took a natural stance.

"Yuuji?"

"I’ll finish it, so don’t interfere."

"Is that okay?"

"You can’t just stab a helpless monster. You need the appropriate combat experience."

The Hellcat leaped at us again. Yuuji dodged the jump and aimed for the neck with his left small sword.

However, the aim was slightly off, and the small sword embedded itself in the Hellcat’s back instead of its neck. Blood spurted from the Hellcat’s back, splattering the area. The Hellcat, lying on the ground, writhed in pain and groaned.

I frowned and called out to Yuuji, who was still in a ready stance with his small sword.

"...Shouldn’t you finish it off?"

"...Yeah."

Yuuji cautiously approached the Hellcat and aimed for the neck with his small sword. The moment the small sword pierced, the Hellcat let out a short groan, convulsed, and then stopped moving.

Looking at the motionless Hellcat, Yuuji muttered.

"...It’s different, after all."

"Huh?"

"I was going to decapitate it, but I hesitated for a moment and my aim was off."

Yuuji, who pulled the small sword out of the Hellcat, frowned slightly in regret. He took out kitchen paper and anhydrous ethanol from his backpack and began cleaning the blood from the small sword and his armor.

"There’s a big difference between cutting down a helpless monster in a prepared state and striking a moving monster during combat. I thought I was used to killing monsters, but it seems that butchering experience doesn’t count as combat experience. You two should gain combat experience with monsters before going deeper."

"Is it that different?"

"Yeah. Daisuke, you’ve killed a Horn Rabbit once, so you should understand. Hime, it’s better for you to experience it too."

"...I understand."

Yuuji put the blood-soaked kitchen paper in a ziplock bag and stored it with other tools in his backpack. Incidentally, the blood-soaked Hellcat disappeared after a while, but unfortunately, no drop items appeared, so there was no harvest. Despite being covered in blood, the zero income was quite disappointing.

We occasionally engaged in battles with monsters while searching the second floor again and eventually reached the spiral staircase leading to the third floor. After confirming with the others, we descended the stairs and entered the third floor.

"The interior doesn’t change much, does it?"

"Isn’t that normal? Maybe it changes deeper down?"

"Like in games, with terrain effects on certain floors? Like a fiery or icy floor?"

It’s a common setting in dungeon games, but I’d rather not have it in a real dungeon. I don’t want to think about battling monsters while crossing a desert or the Antarctic. Unlike in games, wearing heat-resistant and cold-resistant gear would make us bulky and slow. Fighting monsters in such a state would be a tough battle.

After confirming the time and seeing that we had been in the dungeon for three hours, we decided to limit our exploration of the third floor to one hour. We started our exploration. After wandering the third floor for 30 minutes, we finally encountered a monster. From our experience on the second floor, it seems that monsters that spawn near the entrance are quickly hunted by explorers who descend the stairs. It appears that you won’t encounter monsters unless you go deeper.

After defeating about two monsters, it was time to return, so we ended our exploration and headed back. It took us about three hours to return to the surface, and we cleaned our blood-soaked equipment and turned off the action camera.

The 20-minute edited video ended, and Sae gently returned the smartphone to me. She looked a bit pale, so I asked her if she was okay.

"Are you alright?"

"...Yes, I’m fine."

Sae, who was covering her mouth, answered in a low voice. Mika handed her a glass of water, which Sae drank half of in one go and then sighed.

"Showing the video on the spot was pretty intense. Maybe you got a bit dizzy from the blood?"

"...A bit."

"Well, it’s tough until you get used to it. It took me a while to get used to it too."

"Big brother, if you think so, you shouldn’t show such things to Sae on the spot!"

While gently rubbing Sae’s back, Mika scolded me. Sae, however, defended me.

"Mika, I said I wanted to see it, so don’t blame big brother."

"But..."

"Big brother warned me that I didn’t have to watch it if I didn’t want to. I thought I was used to horror movies, but I underestimated it."

"Sae..."

Sae insisted it was her fault, so Mika could only look at me with a resentful expression and couldn’t say anything more. After Sae finished the remaining water, I got up to fetch more water. When I returned, Sae’s complexion had improved a bit.

"So, Sae. From the video, you can see what it’s like inside the dungeon."

"...Yes."

"There are other things to talk about, like the explorers and the dungeon itself. What do you think? If you want to hear more now, I can tell you, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. You can choose to not hear more, or we can talk another day."

"Sae, I think it’s better to stop here for today. You look much better, but you’re still a bit pale. You can always hear big brother’s stories later."

"Mika... Yes, big brother, can I hear the other stories another day?"

"Of course, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to."

"Indeed, there are many tough stories, but I want to hear big brother’s stories. I’m very curious about the differences between the dungeons I’ve heard about and the ones big brother talks about."

Sae’s face was still a bit pale, but her eyes showed determination.

"Besides, Mika is listening to big brother’s stories, right? If she is, I should listen too."

"...Sae?"

"Recently, Mika has been different from before. She used to talk about dungeons with us, but now she listens from a distance. I was wondering why, and it seems it’s because of big brother’s stories, right?"

"...Is that so?"

Hearing Sae’s words, I turned to Mika. Mika looked surprised and was looking at Sae. Sae smiled at Mika and spoke.

"I was wondering why, but now I know. It must be hard to talk about dungeons with us after hearing such stories."

"Sae..."

It seems my stories have had a significant impact on Mika.

From Sae’s words, it seems Mika has been feeling out of place in her group of friends recently. She has been less enthusiastic about talking about dungeons. Indeed, it would be difficult to talk about dungeons with friends after hearing my stories.

I feel guilty for thinking about Mika’s feelings when talking about dungeons.

"To talk with Mika, I need to hear big brother’s stories too. So, big brother, can you tell me more about the dungeon another time?"

"Sure, I understand."

Mika has a good friend. Watching the two of them talk, I felt that way.

Since Sae was feeling better, we settled the bill at the family restaurant and went to a karaoke place. We found one nearby that was open even on New Year’s Day. After singing for about two hours, I dropped Sae off at her house, and Mika and I finished our long New Year’s visit and returned home.

This is the footage of the dungeon recorded by the protagonist. It’s probably R-15.