落とし穴４３堀：海でやる遊び (Part1)
**Dungeon Pit 43: Activities at the Sea**
Since the previous entry was quite popular, but ended up being just a showcase of swimsuits, I’ve decided to write about activities to do at the sea.
Come to think of it, what do you all do when you go to the beach?
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**Activities at the Sea**
**Side: Yuki**
So, I’ve come to the sea with my wives.
Well, an artificial sea, to be precise.
However, it is completely different from a pool with wave machines.
This Special Floor is quite small compared to other dungeons, measuring only 3km on each side.
It’s a place I’ve been tinkering with like it’s Minecr*ft, under the guise of "experiments."
*Can I build a castle in the sky? What’s the maximum output of my magical power? Can I summon a super-sized monster?* And so on.
My original plan was to create this sea and a snowy mountain.
While this special floor isn't very wide, its vertical space is larger than standard floors.
A normal floor is usually 20m high and 5m deep, adjusted for residential areas and tree heights.
However, this special zone is 50m high and 20m deep. I’ve used nearly 10% of the 1km depth limit I purchased for underground modifications just for this floor.
By the way, the dungeon itself has 8 floors.
Surface: Outer City.
B1: Grassland Zone.
B2: Military Department and Military Exercise Zone.
B3: Residential Zone, where the fake me and my wives’ homes are.
B4: Industrial and Agricultural Zone.
B5: Entertainment Zone, Adventurer Zone, and Dungeon Zone. (There are 7 dungeons here with many floors, but I don't count those.)
B6: Trading Port Zone.
B?: My and my wives’ actual home.
B?: Experimental Zone (The Special Floor).
As you can see, it’s designed to handle enemy forces whether they come from above or from the trading port below.
From above, they have to desperately enter the Grassland Zone through a narrow entrance, march for a kilometer, and then break through the military defense line equipped with modern weaponry on the second floor. (Note: The military exercise area has release-type skills and magic nullified, creating an environment similar to Earth. You can’t survive there unless you can use body-strengthening magic internally.)
The trading port below has a vast surface area. If they make it that far, they’ll be facing a massive force of adventurers and dungeon monsters. Well, if they invade from the trading port, Weed’s allied nations will rush in and catch them in a pincer attack from behind.
It’s an even more impregnable fortress than before. Any nation that would pick a fight with Weed head-on in this state is beyond saving. Or rather, the world would be a better place if they just disappeared.
By the way, the "?" floor isn't actually "below" in the traditional sense; it’s located elsewhere due to various circumstances that required isolation.
Well, my and my wives’ home is obviously there, since the Dungeon Core is located there.
Actually, that’s a dummy, too. If you really want to force this dungeon to shut down, you have to recover all 35 Dungeon Cores hidden throughout.
I’ve set it up so the core in my house acts as the main system, but in the unlikely event it’s taken or destroyed, the management of the main system is delegated to the next core with the highest defensive capability.
I’m not going to do something high-risk like having the whole system shut down just because one core is broken.
And finally, there’s the Special Floor—the Experimental/Special Zone.
I’ve been doing things here that I can’t show to anyone outside my inner circle, but I’ve been working bit by bit to recreate a realistic sea.
Well, "creating" it just means messing with the monitors.
Now, that was a long preamble, but what makes this artificial sea different from a wave pool?
It’s that an ecosystem has actually formed here.
Well, I’m just controlling the population with dungeon skills.
...But that population control is incredibly difficult. If the balance is even slightly off, the weaker fish and shellfish are instantly preyed upon by the ones higher up the food chain.
As someone aiming for a "natural" feel, I didn't want to force things too much, even though I have the skills to control the numbers.
So, every single day, I’ve been watching the fluctuations and making adjustments.
Man, it really makes you realize how great nature is.
In a limited environment, everything except for specific species eventually vanishes.
So, I decided to keep only the species that could adapt to this dungeon sea and gave up on the rest.
Well, I managed to keep the major seafood I wanted, at least.
As you can tell from this explanation, this is truly an artificial sea.
There are no dangerous sharks. No stingrays, no bluebottles.
I’ve excluded those and deployed plenty of aquatic monsters as a sea rescue team.
Oh, here’s a funny story.
Some monsters are divided into freshwater and saltwater types.
...When I threw them into the sea, they floated to the surface a few minutes later.
I felt bad.
Cause of death: Salt poisoning.
Well, technically it was about the rate of salt excretion, but that’s too complicated to explain.
I knew monsters weren't omnipotent, but I thought the fish-types would be fine.
Never get complacent.
Anyway, the monsters that survived and became the sea rescue team...
"Kyaa! A big octopus!"
"My, that looks like it would be quite filling. I see, so that’s why you called it an artificial sea. You’re thinking of other uses for this place, aren't you, dear?"
"Ratz, forget the commentary, let’s just take it down. If it’s this big, we can make tons of takoyaki."
"...I agree with Milly. We should turn it into takoyaki ingredients."
Looking at the cove where my wives were playing, a giant octopus, at least 3 meters tall, had wandered into the shallows.
Normally, such a massive water monster would require significant preparation to defeat, but since my wives’ abilities are already off the charts, it just looks like lunch to them.
Filia, Ratz, Milly, and Kaya were already in combat stance.
The other wives were watching them leisurely.
By the way, my wives probably don't know this, but the really big ones have high levels of ammonia and such, so they taste pretty bland or are sometimes inedible.
...Wait, no, no! That’s a member of the sea rescue team!
Don’t eat it!
It’s not even attacking! It’s backing away!
"Nnyu? Oh, everyone, stop! That octopus is a monster!"
" " "Eh?" " "
Before I could stop them, Aslin noticed and halted everyone.
Yeah, as expected of the princess of our house’s monsters.
The giant octopus immediately moved behind Aslin.
...I feel like it’s already been tamed.
"That’s right. As Aslin said, it’s a member of this sea’s security, the sea rescue team. Actually, all the monsters in this sea are."
Including the lifeguards, of course.
Monitoring the creatures in the sea is also for the sake of protecting the people playing in it.
This is truly a proper sea rescue team.
"...I understand. In that case, I’ll refrain from eating it."
"Wait a minute, didn't you say octopus legs grow back?"
"...So, can I eat it then?"
"Wait, wait! You, go catch a different octopus if you don’t want to be eaten!"
The giant octopus monster nodded immediately and fled into the sea.
" "Tch." "
You two, please, don’t eat them; they’re bland, I’m sure.
Still, in a way, it’s like telling someone to sacrifice their own relatives...
I’ll have Aslin give them some counseling later so they don't get traumatized.
"Say, dear. If that big octopus is a monster, does that mean there are things like dolphins, too?"
"Hm? Ah, yeah, there are."
When I answered Seraria’s question, my wives gathered around.
"R-really, Brother? I, I want to try riding a dolphin!"
"I want to ride one too! I’ve always wanted to try swimming with dolphins like I saw on TV!"
"May I join as well? Are there orcas?"
"Please calm down, Ria. And, I would like to ride a dolphin as well..."
And so, dolphins are a huge hit, while orcas are a disappointment.
Well, it’s a dream of sorts, isn't it? Riding on the back of a dolphin across the sea.
So, to make sure they don't get eaten, I decided to introduce the monsters to them.
Yes, not for playing, but for the sake of the sea rescue team’s lives—a self-introduction.
...I’ll have to make sure they show their "faces" properly when I open this to the public, or it’ll be a disaster.
"Kyaa, a dolphin! It’s a dolphin, Kirue!"
"P-please calm down. They have lovely eyes, but please don't lose your composure!"
Yeah, Kirue is just as happy as Shera.
By the way, I anticipated the demand for dolphins, so there are several of them.
"...Which ones are okay to eat?"
"...That fish looks delicious."
"Calm down, you two. This is just an introduction. These are monsters you aren't allowed to eat. The ones you can eat are being fetched by that octopus from earlier."
It seems Kaya and Milly are being ruled by their appetites.
The monsters seem to instinctively sense the danger, as they refuse to show their faces to those two.
"Husband, this squishy, transparent thing... is it a jellyfish?"
"Indeed. I believe it is a jellyfish monster."
"...What’s a jellyfish?"