Daily Life in a Dungeon Part 1
After the incident regarding the Boss, we managed to return back to our base without much incident, although the mental turmoil I got from the experience was by no means light.
From the incident, I’ve been left with several things to think over.
For one, the actions I did and the decisions I made- no matter how I look at it, they were overly rash and stupidly reckless. Each and every step was riddled with danger and the possibility of death was constantly present. It wouldn’t be surprising if I had died then and there.
In retrospect, I guess I’ve always been somewhat reckless, more so ever since the apocalypse started.
Although I try to be rational, by nature, I’m a headstrong type of individual. Jumping into danger and getting myself into disadvantageous situations just come naturally for me. Take for example, the things I managed to accomplish - battling a whole pack of goblins, locking myself into a room full of werewolves, risking the life of someone I just met in order to acquire some boar meat - they aren’t as calculated as I first made them out to be.
In the future, it might be better to be a bit more cautious, you know, rely more on my brain rather than instinct. I mean, every one of those incidents possessed a high chance of failure. The only real reason I’ve survived up until this point is because of some stupid dumb luck that isn’t reflected in my [Luck Stat]...
Honestly speaking though, Despite my intentions for the future, I can’t promise myself that I’ll never commit any heedless actions like before, but at the very least… I’ll try and think things through more thoroughly …
The next subject that I’ve been racking my brain around involves the Boss.
It is strong. Crazily so.
I completely underestimated its strength. I mean, if that thing is already that bothersome with only a part of its body, then fighting the real thing…. no, I can’t. I simply can’t imagine it.
Isn’t that thing on par with the monster that sleeps in the School’s front gates? The thing I saw from out the window on the first day was something I couldn’t even imagine beating at my current state… the Dungeon Boss might be something on par with such a ridiculous creature, if not stronger…
Thinking about the vast gap in strength, I could only grimace in annoyance. I knew that without a doubt that at my current level, I’d be nothing more than cannon fodder for that thing… if so, then why am I even trying anymore? Isn’t the difficulty setting of this game way too high? Maybe I should just give up.
No. That’s not like me. That type of talk is uncharacteristic. I decisively shook my head.
If the Boss really is that strong… if that’s the case, then my prior plans will need to undergo drastic change. The original plan which consisted of using the Cafeteria group for assistance has become unviable. The level difference between them and the Boss is simply too great. One of the Boss’s flamethrower attacks could possibly wipe out the majority of those guys in a heartbeat… Having a higher death count isn’t going to be much help… although the President and his party might be useful though… but that is if they get stronger.
The original plan of non-intervention isn’t going to work. If I don’t actively step in, then forget about beating the boss, we’ll probably end up starving in here the moment we run out of Boars to hunt. While I can’t do much, at the very least, furnishing them with weapons will undoubtedly improve their current situation. It will also accelerate their grinding speed. And I’ll also need to ask about the skill user that they have in the cafeteria… they might end up having a conveniently useful skill against that Dungeon Boss…
In addition to that, strengthening my own group comes as a priority as well.
Cher, Hina, and Cielle. They all have useful skills. Cielle’s [Dark Gemini] was effective against that tentacle, and Hina… undoubtedly against a fire type like the Boss, her water based magic will be extremely useful. As for Cher… Her role as a vanguard and tank needs to be solidified, due to the level difference last time, she could not do anything against it, but that needs to change.
I need to strengthen all three of them in order to stand a chance against the Dungeon Boss.
There are two ways to do this: Level grinding and Skill grinding. There’s also the possibility of raising a person’s stats outside of leveling up or defeating Elites, but I’ve never personally experienced such a phenomenon so I don’t know if that method even exists. As for the girls, I’ve never really asked whether their stats grow outside of leveling, so I’ll need to confirm this later.
Like with new stat acquisition, It might be the case where everybody’s stat growth is different. If that’s the case, then the me whose stats have never increased outside of leveling up or defeating Elites... Well, let’s not think about it. Otherwise, I’ll get depressed.
There’s also another possibility, which is for me to rely on my Crafting skill.
Even in normal rpgs, weapons and equipment are essential. Creating weapons, crafting armor, these things are indispensable, after all, a good piece of equipment can bridge the gap created by levels and stats.
While weapons and armor can help out my teammates, as for me personally… honestly speaking, there are a lot of options available. Most of these options are due to the synergistic effect of [Equip] and [All-Purpose Crafting]. Weapon bonuses and the familiarity stat are my greatest advantage in this world. I’ll also need to get into leatherworking or tailoring. If I can somehow wear several layers of clothing all with that severely overpowered [Familiarity] bonus… And there’s also the need to dabble in some Alchemy. While I don’t have any real experience, I have readily available ingredients in the form of monster corpses.
For now, my immediate goal is to acquire the strength in order to beat the Boss. To do that, I’ll need to;
Strengthen the President and his group
Increase my skill mastery and level
Grind my crafting skills and create new equipment
“...”
Thinking things over, the end goal seems quite far away, but still, it’s a bit too early to give up. As I mulled these things over in my mind, I finally decided to open my previously shut eyes.
The first thing I noticed was that it was dark. Looking out the window, I could see the night sky, with its innumerable amount of stars and jade like moon looming in the horizon.
“It’s still night, huh…”
I went to sleep around 3 AM after we returned. Then, I woke up at 7 AM in order to take up my shift on watch duty, before someone else took over and I fell back to sleep at around 11 am. Ever since then, I’ve been asleep. I’ve been asleep for a whole day, and while my stamina bar reached max a while ago, the mental fatigue from last night was still running strong.
Finally waking up and looking out at the sky, I had no clue what time it was. Just that, it was once again night.
I groggily got up, trying to make as little noise as possible. While my bed was still separated a fair distance away from the girls’, I was still cautions. I didn’t want to wake the others, considering they were probably equally as tired, if not more so than me.
Getting into a sitting position in bed, I quickly surveyed the room. My gaze landed on a silent silhouette who sat at a chair. From her position, she had clear view of both me and the door.
That girl was obviously Cielle.
Without much hesitation, I got up and walked over. I moved over towards the table next to her in order to get at the pan of day old meat that stood on its surface.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” I idly spoke in a low whisper while I grabbed a piece and quietly chewed.
She looked up at me for a second before she replied, shaking her head. “...No, not really... I was on watch duty, so I was already awake…” Like usual, her voice was uttered in a soft murmur, but maybe due to the quiet atmosphere around us, her voice reverberated louder than usual.
“I see…” I replied back.
My eyes which had been nonchalantly scanning the room, eventually fell down towards the raven haired girl before me. I looked over at her upturned face, our eyes connecting. For a few seconds, we simply just wordlessly stared at her. From my perspective, I had nothing to really say, so I kept my mouth shut. As for Cielle, well… unless prompted, she was usually quiet, so this was natural for her.
This exchange only lasted for but a moment, before I finally broke contact, spurred on by an indescribably force to look away.
My eyes once again swept past the room, until they found themselves staring out at the window once more. In me, was a faint sort of longing to leave this place. It seemed all so easy. Just open the window, or smash through the wall, and I’d be outside, but I knew, that this dungeon wasn’t that simple.
That ominous warning… If I don’t defeat the Boss before hand, leaving becomes impossible.
Even if I were to try, the risk of immediate death existed, and in this world where ridiculous gaming mechanics existed, not following the rules was far too dangerous.
My “conversation” with Cielle abruptly ended, seeing as how both us stopped talking. In the end, after minutes of ensuing silence where the only auditory noise was the sound of my subdued chewing, I finally spoke up.
“... You can go back to sleep now. I’ll take up night watch.”
“But, it’s still my-”
“No, it’s fine. I’m not tired anymore so…”
I quickly interrupted her protests and further urged her off to bed. While Cielle had a seemingly eternal expression of tiredness, being around her these past few weeks has given me the ability to distinguish between her lackluster facial expressions. Like right now, while she didn’t show it, she was indeed very tired.
She was strangely incessant over staying up though, but after I coaxed her with a few words, she finally reluctantly gave in, and hopped off to bed next to her sister who was still sleeping soundly.
Like this, from late in the night until the morning, I maintained a vigilant watch, although as expected, nothing, be it person or monster, came to disturb us.
****
In the morning, I went with Cher to once again drop off the newly acquired boar meat.
Not surprisingly, the president and his party were there by the library entrance, waiting for us.
“Yo,” I lightly greeted, “How’d they like the meat?”
The president, who had on a strangely worried look, immediately brightened the moment I called out to him. He glanced over and saw us approaching, before he took the initiative and walked a few paces forward in order to meet us.
“Hide,” He began in an urgent, yet strangely relieved tone of voice. “You weren’t here yesterday, so I was worried whether or not…”
Hearing that, I connected two and two together, and figured out why he was so relieved. “Ah… well, a few things happened, but don’t worry. It’s not like I’ll just stop giving you food. More importantly, I have something I need to talk to you about.”
While his expression momentarily brightened upon my assurance, his expression immediately furrowed upon hearing the rest of my words. His neck creaked to the side while he asked, “Something important?”
I nodded brusquely, “Yeah. I’ll cut to the chase, it’s regarding the Dungeon Boss.”
His eyes widened, but before he could interrupt, I continued.
“I made a miscalculation. The Boss was stronger than I expected. At our current rate… escape will be impossible.”
My monotonous tone brought a heavy sense of dread to the atmosphere. The people behind the President all uncomfortably writhed in their spot while Cher’s expression, upon reminder, instantly darkened while a mocking smile floated to her face.
The silence persisted for a while before the President spoke up once more. “The Boss… Did- did you meet him?”
Hearing this, I gave a vague nod. “Well, something like that. It was strong. Terribly strong. And before you ask, I never got the chance to read its level, only the name - Reeflech.”
“...” The President fell into silence as he quietly pondered. From behind him, I could hear the worried murmurs of his party as they glanced at one another.
Not waiting for him to respond, I immediately continued. “That’s why, at the very least, your “group” needs to get stronger.” I indicated towards the President and the cohorts behind them, which caused them to jump back a bit in surprise. “You know, the rest of the cafeteria is already a lost cause at this point, but I’m a pragmatic type of guy. My fighting force is limited, but you guys… well, you wouldn’t be my first pick, but at least you have potential.
“I’ll supply you with some weapons and maybe some armor later, but start hunting stronger monsters. And if possible, I’d like to go leveling with your group. Before we actually confront the Boss, building up teamwork will be vital.”
In my string of words, the President’s face shifted between varying emotions. Quiet murmurs and hushed comments like “Weapons?” or “Teaming up with you?”, escaped his and the others’ throats as I continued to speak.
Eventually, after my tirade, the President managed to interject as he asked, “Didn’t you propose non intervention the last time you were here? Could the Boss really be so strong that he changed your mind upon first contact?”
I nodded without hesitation. “Fighting alone is impossible. You guys… I’ll be honest, I had no real expectations from you all, at most, maybe as movable meat shields, but now… Meat Shields are useless if the boss can blow them away along with everyone behind them in a single blast.”
Hearing this, the President's expression twisted into a bitter smile. “Meat Shields huh… I expected that you never saw us as much use before, but… ha ha ha..”
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He self-mockingly laughed for a while before he finally managed to regain control of himself. He once again looked up at me, a hint of resignation in his troubled irises. “Well, at this point in time, I have no more real control, so it's not like I can object... Plus, I would never turn down free weapons or help.”
“So, I’ll take that as an agreement?”
He looked back over at the people behind them. Each and every one of them had a troubled look, each masked thinly with worry and insecurity. As if finding the answer in their quiet exchange, the President turned back towards and said, “Yes. Let’s survive and get along from now on.”
He bowed respectfully before extending out a hand. Instead of receiving the handshake, I ignored it and instead handed him the reigns to the meat sled I brought.
“Good,” I continued. “Then, firstly, I’ll need information…”
Before I returned, I asked the president about the condition of the Cafeteria group and also about the Skill User, which I had forgotten about the last time I came here. He explained thoroughly, going into as much detail as he could remember.
The cafeteria group was, as expected, useless. Although they were seemingly a bit more energetic than before, now that they received some food, in the end, they held no desire to get stronger. Apparently, in their hearts, they’ve either given up, or have resigned themselves into believing that someone else will save them. Whether that someone be the President, or someone from the outside, it matters not for people who show no sign of adjusting to this new world.
In the future battle against the Dungeon Boss, they wouldn’t be able nor willing to assist, so I erased all thoughts of enlisting them into the future fighting force. As for the skill user, well, that was a bit more complicated. He was a bit vague, and had on a cramped smile as he began to talk about them. The Skill user was apparently a 1st year female high schooler who somehow acquired a rather dangerous skill.
To keep things short, her skill fell in line with combustion or more accurately, explosions.
The president only ever saw the girl use her skill once, so he wasn’t quite as positive, but it was definitely a dangerous skill. That one time she used it left a considerable impact on him.
Hearing the basic nature of her skill, I was instantly reminded of the damage that existed within the East Wing Building. The traces of obvious destruction that lingered there, like the giant hole in the floor, or the crumbling walls… it was an easy enough task to connect the dots.
Aside from her skill, the person in question was also quite a troublesome individual. She didn’t really listen to him, nor did she contribute when it came to scavenging and defeating the monsters. At most, she acted as a last line of defense against Satou, but her skill itself is double edged.
If she were to use it, then it wouldn’t be a surprise if both sides suffered casualties.
Luckily, Satou was around when she did use skill, so he knew the dangers. Her very presence was a deterrent.
While I listened, I realized that something in regarding the girl bugged me.. If she really did come from the East Building, as evident by the rampant destruction left behind, then how did she acquire her skill? Going by how none of the monsters on the East building had any sort of “explosive” characteristics, she more than likely acquired her skill outside of monster drops. Plus, the explosion I saw on the first day… that was definitely the result of her skill, but how in the world did she acquire it so easily?
If she managed to acquire her skill like how I acquired [Equip], by meeting a few special conditions established by the system, then I could understand, but… for some reason, I had my doubts.
Regardless, her skill will undoubtedly be useful. If she were to be added to our initial fighting force, then it would greatly increase our chances against the Boss.
In addition to the information he shared, I also asked about the current situation regarding Satou, but he only shook his head. “Satou, he’s been quiet lately. No doubts he noticed the smell of the cooked meat, but he hasn’t made a move… I don’t really know what’s quite going on with him.”
After the President finished talking, with no other business at hand, I prepared to leave, but as I made my exit, he abruptly stopped me.
He looked over at me with a serious expression before he asked in a somewhat low voice, “I… I know what you said last time, about how Hina and Cielle weren’t combat ready… but…. but that’s a lie right?”
“...”
I met his inquiry with a quiet stare.
Regardless of my nonresponsive behavior, he pressed further. “Considering what type of guy you are Hide, I doubt you’d keep useless individuals around. Hina and Cielle… probably even that girl over there too… they can fight, right?”
“....Haven’t I told you before, looks can be quite deceiving. Hina and Cielle, they-”
“I know you’re lying, so stop before you say anything else.”
“But I’m not. Hina and Cielle, their fighting potential is not-”
“Enough bullshit.” He interjected, his voice turning cold, as he glared at me. “If we’re going to be working together, then at the very least, answer my damn question.”
“If you’re going to go that far, then tell me, what have you been doing, President?”
In the face of my question, he blinked once, while his head tilted to the side. “What do you…What have I been doing…?... I don’t- I’ve been-”
As he stammered, I gave off a dry laugh, while I moved to lean against the wall. “You know, Prez, you’re a bit too secretive of an individual. That’s not a necessarily bad thing, after all, I like keeping secrets too, but if you expect me to tell you my secret, then at the very least, tell me yours.”
“....” He stared fixedly at me. His hands clenched tightly while his teeth bit down harshly onto his lower lip. After a few seconds of ensuing silence, he let loose a tired sigh. “Damn it… all I wanted to know was whether or not…. *sigh* Fine, I hated keeping secrets anyways, so ask away.
What do you want to know?”
Hearing this, I immediately asked, “Then, first off, how many people have you killed?
No, was that too straightforward? But, going by your reaction, it seems like I was right though.”
“Guh….” He grimaced, while the people behind him casted their gazes downwards.
Noticing this, my eyes widened. “Oh? What’s this, did those guys also kill-”
“No.” He immediately spoke. “No, they didn’t it was only me. Only I….”
His hands shook, while his voice trembled. The current president, with his skin pale, and his shoulders shaking, looked somewhat vulnerable. Despite that though, his eyes bore directly into mine, unyielding, as if he wanted to spill out all the varying emotions and secrets he kept up until this point.
After a bit more silence, he finally spoke up again. “I’ll tell you… but… please,” He shot a quick glance over to Cher, before turning back to me. “D-don’t tell Hina… please…”
Not even waiting for a response, the President immediately began to talk. Once he started, there was no stopping him. He rambled, on and on. Somehow, he began recounting the events he experienced ever since the start of the apocalypse. From when they first formed the cafeteria group, to when they hunted the slimes, when Satou betrayed him, he was a constant flow of information, with no signs of stopping anytime soon.
Eventually though, he got to the part that really mattered. The reason why he was so secretive. The reason why he was so regretful.
“After Satou stole our food and killed dozens of people, everyone… a lot of us fell into despair.
There were two things I did that I regret.
One of them was… mercy killing.
In a world like this, in a dungeon where the hopes of escape are practically zero, a world where the people you love could be dead on the otherside of these walls… a lot of people just gave up… No, it was more than that. They wanted to die. They wanted to run away, to hide, to leave this twisted world filled with death and even more death.
So what I did was simple. In order to get stronger, in order to protect everyone here, I killed the ones who wanted to die.
At first, I comforted myself with the fact that the ones I killed were willing. They wanted to die… it was a sort of euthanasia… a twisted, fucked up version, but still… I was fine for the most part when I did it, but… that’s when I… that’s when the second thing I regret happened.
My party and I, we regularly look for supplies within the school. Sometimes, we’d be lucky, you know, a granola bar hidden away in a person’s backpack, or a bag of candy a teacher stashed away… we’d be lucky sometimes, but… a few times, we’d meet survivors.
People who survived by hiding out in lockers, cowering in desks, too afraid to move. There were only a few of those, but still, they existed. When I met them, they’d usually show joy filled expressions. After all, I’m the Student Council President. The person that everybody relies on.
People are supposed to respect me. to look up at me. When I thought about this, when I thought about the possibility of expanding the Cafeteria group… It was after Miki- the Skill User joined when I realized how truly dire our situation was.
One thing led to another and, well… the ones we met, the ones who had happy expressions when they saw us, even the ones who almost stumbled into the cafeteria… they died. I killed them.”
“....”
Sometime during his story, the President legs had buckled, and now he was on the floor, his legs bent underneath him, while his head looked downward, a forlorn expression on his face.
From behind, his friend all held equally as depressed looks. Quiet murmurs such as “Even though I knew it was bad, even though…” “I’m a teacher, I’m a teacher, yet,” or “I should have… we could have…” ran rampant. They didn’t voice it out loud outright, but I knew that they felt equally as guilty as the President.
Cher, who was also a witness to the President's story, had a somewhat complicated expression on her face. She looked vaguely shocked, but aside from that… an expression of understanding, of a pitying understanding was written on her face.
“....”
Meanwhile, I stayed silent, not bothering to respond, just simply, looking down at the President’s slumped posture.
This sort of scene persisted for a while. Nobody bothered moving, as we all stood, transfixed onto the floor. After a while though, this transient silence was broken, interrupted by the man who caused this.
“I… I don’t really care what you think.” The President went on. “I don’t care, heh, after all, I already feel bad enough, but, now that I’ve told you my portion, then it’s your turn to answer my question.”
Without missing a beat, I immediately replied. “Yes. Cielle, Hina, even Cher over there, they can fight. In a sense, I trained them to fight.”
“Trained?”
“Well, it was the only way to survive.”
“...”
“....”
“Does that mean, that, those two- Hina, everyday, they’ve been…”
“That’s right, everyday, they risk their lives, fighting against the monsters in this dungeon.”
“You… you know how dangerous that sort of thing is?”
“Of course.” In a cold voice, I nodded simply while I stared back.
“...”
“....”
“They… there’s no risk of Hina dying, is there?” He asked, in a somewhat hopeful tone.
“What are you saying? Of course there’s a risk. There’s always risk”
‘Just last night, we almost lost our lives.’ I wanted to add this part in, but I let the additional commentary die down in my head.
For a minute, the President stayed silent. He continued looking down at his slightly opened palms, while his shoulders drooped downward. Eventually, he gnashed his teeth, and bolted upright. In a flash, that once lifeless husk was filled with vigor, as he stood up, and stalked over towards me.
His throat leaked out a somewhat threatening, yet all too obviously desperate voice, “If… I-if Hina Dies because you…. If she dies because of you, I’ll-”
“Stop.” I quickly interrupted. With equally as cold eyes, I stared down at the man in front of me. “In order to survive, in order to have a chance at escaping, then risking your life is natural.
It’s not like I’m forcing her (at least, I don’t think), Hina fights on her own accord. Your worry is unnecessary, especially when she’s much stronger than you.”
He blinked once, and looked at me with an absent minded expression. “Hina… that childish Hina is…?”
“I’ll only repeat this once, but at your current level, Hina is much stronger than you. While you were over here, worrying and stagnating, Hina was leveling, getting stronger, killing monsters. Both mentally and physically, Hina is stronger.”
“....”
The president’s shoulders once again drooped as his once clenched fists quickly lost their strength. He stared absentmindedly for a while, and did not respond.
This silence persisted, his eyes, in an almost half glazed state, continued to unblinkingly stare. He ignored his gathered friends, who had all began to group up around him. Their worried stares were left ignored, all the while he stared at me, an indescribable emotion welling up beneath that expression of his. Eventually, I left.
Taking Cher along, we began walking away, leaving behind the still brooding President, along with the his part members, who watched our receding figures from a distance.
As we left, I turned back around once more, before I abruptly continued walking, leaving behind the parting words,
“Get stronger, Hokusei.”