Chapter 134: Let's Explore the Dungeon

"Information 16"... Some of the information available for purchase at Gilgamesh's tavern isn't particularly useful.

"Information 17"... At the end of each floor, there is a "Boss Room." Inside the "Boss Room" is the "Floor Boss." Defeating the "Floor Boss" allows you to advance to the next floor.

"Information 18"... The "Floor Boss" is played by the "Player."

"Information 19"... To defeat the "Floor Boss," you must meet specific conditions and force them to admit defeat.

"Information 20"... Like you, the "Player," the "Floor Boss" cannot die. If you were to kill the "Floor Boss," the door to the next floor would not open, and you'd have to clear this floor again from the beginning.

▼

"Then, let's do this!"

With a lackluster remark from the "Gambler," the dungeon exploration begins.

And that wasn't surprising.

This expedition was mostly just a reconnaissance.

If anything went wrong, we planned to immediately use the "Return Crystal."

With our backpacks stuffed full of chocolate and calorie bars, we confidently took the first step into the exploration.

"...So, how do we proceed?"

"First, head east. If we hit a wall, turn south and keep exploring along the outer perimeter. If we're lucky, we'll be able to determine the full size of this floor."

Of course, this strategy assumes the maze has an eastern endpoint.

There's no guarantee the entire "dungeon" is shaped like a rectangle, and that's exactly what we're here to verify.

Well, if the path keeps changing randomly and the pattern can't be predicted at all, it's almost impossible to do anything about it.

"So it all comes down to real luck...?"

After that, we kept walking endlessly down the monotonous corridor.

Walking for one hour.

Walking for two hours.

Taking breaks, but always pushing forward, forward.

No matter how long we walked, we still seemed no closer to reaching the eastern endpoint.

...Still, I had somewhat prepared myself for this.

The "player" who came here before us wandered through this space for over a year before giving up.

In other words, it was proof of just how grueling it is to clear this "dungeon."

Also, we're planning to just breeze past the slimes we encounter along the way.

They move too slowly, so it's faster to just avoid them.

I'll handle them only when they're truly in the way.

▼

And after continuing to walk for about twenty hours.

Instead of the white walls we've seen so far, we discover gray walls.

Following along this wall for a while,

"Probably... this is the end, right?"

The "Gambling Master" checks the compass (5 gold), saying,

"It's been like this for a while—no path going east... I just hope that's the case."

In reality, there was simply too little information to determine that spot as the eastern end.

For instance, if this entire floor were divided into several mazes, this could just as easily be a corner of a massive iceberg.

"Still, this gray wall serves as a reliable reference point. Let's continue circling around the outer perimeter."

Then, the "Gambling Master" sighed deeply,

"You're a real lifesaver—someone whose spirit doesn't break easily."

"Just... well, how about taking a short break before that?"

"Sounds good."

We decided to take our first real rest right there.

We planned to nap for a few hours, but, as I'd vaguely sensed, we barely managed to fall asleep at all.

Just as we were finally starting to drift off, a wobbling, squishy "slime" appeared, spoiling our peace and disrupting our rest.

Of course, every time they show up, we have to fight back with magic.

By the time our scheduled rest period ended, we were thoroughly sick of every gelatinous substance on this planet.

"...Damn it. If only there were some kind of safe zone..."

"Didn't the 'information' you bought from Gilgamesh mention anything like that?"

"No. If it had, I'd have told you already."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

I've already purchased Gilgamesh-san's "information" in full, from numbers 1 to 100.

However, only the "gambler" who paid in gold truly understands its contents.

That's why I'm currently receiving only useful information from the "gambler."

To be honest, the second half of that 'information' was mostly garbage—like details about the 'Dungeon Master's' family members, or the name of his classmate. There was even something about how tasty pickled bamboo shoots and cucumbers are when eaten with soy sauce and mayonnaise....Honestly, who cares about that stuff?

It seems the reliability of that Gilgamesh fellow's "information" gradually decreases the further it goes.

Rather devious design, wouldn't you say?

▼

After that, we stagger on for about ten hours, dazed and unsteady.

"...Man, I'm starting to get sick of this..."

The "gambler" begins to complain.

Yet even so, we don't stop our march.

Turning back now and heading to the Adventurer's Inn would have been easy, but I felt that doing so would mean surrendering something within myself.

At this point, I no longer even felt like fighting slimes.

Any gold that occasionally dropped when we defeated them was completely ignored—of course.

It would only weigh me down, and it’d be far easier to focus my efforts elsewhere for better rewards.

Then, twenty hours later.

"Ah. A gray wall..."

"...That means...?"

「ここが南端みたいです」

「……やっとかぁ」

”賭博師”さんは、ばたーんとその場に倒れて、

「ここ無駄にでけぇーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーっ」

それまで、あえて口には出してこなかった台詞を大声で叫びます。

「……この後、どーする？」

「うーん……」

私は、リュックの中にある食糧を吟味しつつ、

"It seems there won't be much magical energy left for using the 'Dream Dice Roll' at this rate."

"Ah... Even if I get all the remaining food, I doubt I could manage more than five rolls."

"Then, shall we give the luck-based gamble a try soon?"

"Yeah... I'm starting to think the presence of 'Gold Slimes' around here won't count as a lucky break anymore."

"Indeed..."

Though our journey has been filled with hardships, we've learned a few things along the way.

For instance, the fact that the appearance rate of "Gold Slimes" increases the farther you are from the Adventurer's Inn.

But under these circumstances, "Gold Slimes" are nothing more than annoying distractions.

I see. "Gold Slimes" are monsters that allow you to easily gather large amounts of gold by defeating them. And once you know their weaknesses, they're simple to defeat.

...However, while you're in the middle of the "Dungeon," there's no way to bring the gold back with you.

Of course, in this "Master Dungeon," gold is a precious resource. An ordinary person would undoubtedly try to carry as much back as possible.

As a result, they end up needlessly increasing their load, accelerating fatigue accumulation... that's the situation.

It just felt to me like this was an arbitrary trap set by the "Dungeon Master."

"If we run out of magic, we'll definitely have to stop at the Adventurer's Inn."

"Yeah."

"I'm going to eat curry rice until I can't eat anymore. I'm completely done with block-style foods."

"I... well, I'd like spaghetti. Carbonara with eggs and cheese, and a Napoli-tan packed with sausages."

"Nice one. —《Dream Dice Roll》!"

The ten-sided die rolls.

An angel symbol appears.

"...If only we could move forward now."

Unfortunately, things don't go as planned.

After walking for about an hour,

"Looks like it's no good. Nothing's happening."

That's what the "Gambler" says.

"You understand, huh?"

"Well, yeah. There's a rule with《Dream Dice Roll》—luck or misfortune usually manifests within about an hour."

"Huh. So there are cases where nothing happens, too?"

"To be precise, nothing really happened... It's just that, instead of tripping and falling like usual, I managed to avoid stumbling altogether—sort of like a lucky break, I guess."

So that's what you meant by "we can't precisely choose what will happen."

You can't attract luck like that, where a random path just happens to lead to the goal.

"…Yeah, it seems like this one's just up to luck, huh."

"Yeah. It's not something you can reason your way through. I knew that the moment the 'Left Hand Rule' stopped working."

A shared sigh from both of them.

Even so, we still believe in miracles and keep using the , walking for about an hour over and over.

"…It's no use. I think we're just searching in the wrong area."

The result.

This time, we were unable to discover the "Boss Room."

▼

"Information 21"... "Dungeon Master" had a classmate in middle school who shared the same surname and name as Takaya Kimura.

"Information 22"... "Dungeon Master" believes the snack that goes best with beer might just be cheese crackers.

"Information 23"... In "Master Dungeon," certain skills are unavailable for use.

"Information 24"... A mixture of mayonnaise and ketchup in equal parts is called aurora sauce (surprisingly tasty).

"Information 25"... "Master Dungeon" consists of five floors, and there are set conditions for reaching the "boss room" on each floor.