A new morning arrived. Mash woke feeling refreshed, as if the world had changed.
Everything looked brighter. It was a beautiful morning.
Last night he had finally experienced intimacy with a beautiful girl—something that would have been impossible in his old world.
However, Fam, who should have been sleeping beside him, wasn't there. He began to panic. Was last night just a hallucination? Had the days since his transportation to another world been a grand dream?
When he sat up, he saw Fam praying as usual. He wondered how long she had been doing this. What was she praying for?
When Fam noticed he was awake, she stopped praying and stood up.
"Oh, good morning."
Her face was flushed. Her embarrassment was contagious, and he could feel his face warming too.
"Ahh... Good morning."
Fam closed her eyes and leaned in. He didn't immediately understand what she wanted, so he just stared at her blankly.
"Nothing!"
She had been expecting a morning kiss. Her lips were a fresh, soft cherry color.
He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. When they touched, Fam quickly pulled back.
"...It's embarrassing. I feel so shy."
He wanted to say something clever, but couldn't think of anything. His stomach growled as anxiety set in. Last night had been quite active.
"Shall we have breakfast?"
"R-Right."
He was still unclothed. The garments he had hastily removed last night were now folded and placed on a chair. He climbed out of bed and dressed. Until now, they had both changed clothes discreetly, hiding their bodies, but there was no need for that anymore.
"Let's go." "Yes."
As she started walking toward the door, Fam moved with an unusual, slightly bow-legged gait.
"Hmm? Is something wrong?"
"It hurts a little. I feel like... it's still there..."
After eating breakfast, they headed to the shrine where the dungeon was located.
Fam seemed to have grown accustomed to her discomfort and was walking more normally. Still, she occasionally walked with her legs slightly apart. He suggested trying a potion, but she insisted she was fine without it.
It would have been perfectly reasonable to just relax at the inn today, but if he stayed in their room, he knew he would just crave Fam's body again. Since Fam also wanted to go out, he decided they should venture forth.
The shrine resembled a stone fortress. What made it unique was that it wasn't designed to defend against outside enemies, but to contain threats from within. Guards stood at the entrance, checking visitors' character sheets. Others could see party name, adventurer rank, name, class, primary job, job level, race, and age on these sheets. With permission, they could view additional stats.
In his case, the party name was "Mash and Fam," adventurer rank "F," name "Mash," class "Free Folk," primary job "Adventurer," job level "15," race "Human," and his age was listed as 17. If a party didn't choose a name, the system simply joined the members' names. Leveling became progressively more difficult. Typically it took four months to advance from level 1 to 15. Fam's level was 13. Though his was higher, he would still lose in a fight against her. Numbers clearly weren't everything. Some strengths couldn't be measured on a character sheet. Magic was a prime example. Adventurers gained basic magic at level 10, but he had thought it useless until Aidan taught him practical applications.
"First time here?" a guard asked.
"Yes, I'm just observing today. I won't go far."
"They sell maps inside. The ones of higher floors have many uncertainties and aren't very useful, but the lower floor maps are quite detailed. I'd recommend buying one."
"Understood."
He thanked the guard and entered.
Inside was a cubic space. Several parties were already gathered. About twenty meters below, there was packed earth with a black circle approximately five meters in diameter at its center. Something like black flames rose from the circle—the entrance to the dungeon.
Looking around, he noticed a shop along the wall. The place had a tourist attraction feel.
Besides maps and monster encyclopedias, they sold potions, antidotes, dried meat, and other provisions. He had half-expected souvenir pennants or keychains, but none were available.
"I'd like a map of the first floor and a monster encyclopedia."
"The map costs one silver coin, and the encyclopedia is ten silver coins."
He received a map and illustrated guide printed on paper using woodblock printing. They seemed expensive compared to accommodation prices.
"How many floors does this dungeon have?"
He asked the clerk.
"It's been confirmed up to the fifty-second floor."
It seemed endless. He couldn't imagine exploring all that. The 3D dungeon game he'd played long ago had only ten floors.
"Have you ever been in a dungeon before, Fam?"
"No, never. I'm a little nervous."
"Today, we'll just look around. We'll go where we want and return when we want. Let's go."
"Yes."
As he approached the center of the black circle, his body sank as though being pulled into the ground. His vision darkened momentarily before recovering. What came into view wasn't the shrine's interior, but a stone-paved corridor.
Fam also looked around curiously.
He couldn't identify the light source, but visibility was good. There was no need for torches or lanterns. The corridor was spacious, about five meters wide and five meters high. It ended just ahead at a door, beyond which the true dungeon likely began.
There was a black circle beneath their feet—their return point to the shrine.
"Shall we continue?"
They started walking toward the door.
The enemies on the first floor were slimes. He defeated them without difficulty as they progressed.
Compared to fighting outdoors, the dungeon offered advantages: no obstacles like trees or uneven ground, making combat easier.
The enemies grew stronger with each floor. The first floor was essentially a tutorial.
They encountered other parties they would never have met in the field.
"If we continue this path, we'll reach the Area Guardian's room."
Fam checked the map. Initially, he had been navigating, but Fam had eagerly joined in and before he knew it, she had taken charge. She seemed to enjoy reading materials. He recalled how absorbed she had been in the "How to Travel the World" guidebook.
"Fam, you enjoy reading. Was that common in your village?"
"I was bedridden from illness, so I practiced reading and writing. Some villagers could recognize their names and simple words, but not many could read and write properly."
If he wasn't careful, he might forget she had been seriously ill and that her curse remained unlifted.
It seemed literacy wasn't widespread in this world.
"So, shall we proceed?"
"Let's go."
Considering the strength of first-floor enemies, he felt confident they could handle whatever came next. Even enemies that typically required six-person parties had exploitable weaknesses.
"The Area Guardian of the first floor is apparently the Slime King."
"King? Ugh, that brings back trauma..."
"It's okay. I'll support you properly this time!"
A massive door appeared before them.
Inside was a large, circular chamber. Another closed door was visible ahead. When they stepped inside, the entrance sealed behind them.
Particles of light poured into the room's center, coalescing into a monster's shape.
When the light dispersed, the Slime King stood before them, roughly human-sized.
"It's huge."
Fam and Mash readied their weapons. The Slime King charged. They split up to avoid it, then slashed from both sides. Their blades cut through the slime's body, but it felt like slicing through water.
The King Slime sprayed liquid at Fam, who dodged. The creature then leapt forward, attempting to crush her with its mass.
"Kyaa!"
Fam dodged again but lost her balance, falling onto her backside.
Mash fired a fireball to distract the enemy. Where it hit, the slime made a hissing sound and burst into bubbles.
Taking advantage of the momentary pause, Fam stood up.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes!"
"Good, let's continue."
Fam slashed at the slime again. Mash attacked from the opposite side. They kept moving to avoid being hit, continuing their assault.
The pair coordinated their strikes, careful not to leave openings.
Eventually, the Slime King's body began losing cohesion before disappearing entirely.
"Yes!" "We did it!"
They had defeated the Area Guardian, and the door ahead opened.
Where the Slime King had fallen, there was a small bottle.
"According to the monster encyclopedia, it's oil."
"What kind of oil?"
"Apparently slimes leave behind various oils, but the specifics aren't clear..."
"Let's bring it to the guild for identification."
He placed it in storage and proceeded through the now-open door.
There was another black circle there.
"Looks like we can access the second floor now."
Seeing nothing else to investigate, he stood on the circle. Just as at the entrance, his body sank as if being pulled downward. His vision darkened briefly before he found himself in a new location.
"Can we return easily? There's a path to the third floor, but it seems the only way back to the first floor is from here."
Fam studied the second-floor map. The Area Guardian's room was definitely one-way. He wondered if defeating it again would allow them to backtrack.
"Let's head back."
"Yes."
He stood in the black circle. When the darkness cleared, they were back at the shrine.
"I see."
If they returned now, would they need to start again from the first floor next time?
"Let's stop here for today. We'll come back tomorrow."
Their first dungeon exploration was complete.