[World Announcement: Players Rena and Hannes have reached the Origin Dungeon for the first time.]
[World Announcement: This will add the Origin Dungeon item to the Help section.]
As I entered the dungeon called the Ice Wolf's Mouth, this announcement came on and I stopped in my tracks. Hannes and I exchanged a look, then opened the menu screen and confirmed that the Origin Dungeon item had been added, just as announced. I read the brief description provided there and wondered if more would be added to that brief text as we continued to explore, but in the end I didn't know.
"In short, it's an important dungeon that is related to the main story, and if you clear it, you can get luxurious equipment and items." (Rena)
"Well, the way it's written makes me think that's the only way――Ichijou!!" (Hannes)
In the middle of the conversation, Hannes suddenly let out a desperate cry, grabbed me by the arm, and leaned forward into me, pulling me into a hug. Wondering what on earth was going on, I fidgeted in Hannes' arms and turned my body to check where I had been just a moment ago.
"Hmm... this again." (Rena)
Icicles stretched out from the ceiling and floor, blocking the way we came, blocking the dungeon's only entrance and exit.
"It looks like we're trapped, huh" (Rena)
"Ahh, it feels so creepy, like I've been eaten." (Hannes)
I see, looking towards the entrance from inside, it really does look like we're inside the mouth of an animal...It looked as if it was gritting its teeth to keep the food that had been thrown into the mouth from dropping. If an announcement like that was played immediately after entering the game, people with no strategy information would likely check the help page on the spot rather than proceeding any further. The way this game was run was really perverse, as it set off instant death traps that killed players on their first encounter as if they were a baptism for these players.
"Oh no, Hannes, if you don't move quickly, you're going to freeze." (Rena)
"Hmm? ...Ohhh?!" (Hannes)
Leaving Hannes behind as he hastily moved away from me as if he had noticed something else, I forcefully peeled off the things that were slowly freezing from the ground up. I placed my foot in a different spot and saw how many seconds it took to start freezing again.
"...It looks like if we don't do anything it will start freezing in about ten seconds, you see" (Rena)
"Ah, ah..." (Hannes)
"What's wrong?" (Rena)
"No, nothing... it's cold, so let's light a fire and carry on." (Hannes)
It seemed that Hannes was cold just like me, as his face was red all the way up to his ears... I'm a bit worried about the MP consumption here, but should I try lighting a fire with magic or something? Apparently, Hanako-san and Takeo-san were weak to the cold, and they refused to come out of the shadows at all, plus I wanted to avoid having one hand occupied with a torch just in case, so it couldn't be helped.
"——‹Lantern Light›." (Rena)
For now, would it be okay if I float two around me and Hannes?
"Come on, let's go." (Rena)
"Oh, thanks." (Hannes)
I continued walking further into the passageway, unable to see what lied ahead—
"——Uooooooohhhh!!!!!!" (Hannes)
Hannes and I ran across the frozen, slippery floor, unable to keep our footing—right behind us, a sticky iron ball was approaching, apparently an indestructible object. Furthermore, monsters called Winter's Kin attacked me from almost all directions, above, below, left, right, front and back, as if to block my path. These winter creatures were very weak and could be easily defeated by just swinging a weapon... but the problem was that when they were defeated, they released a burst of cold air, causing us bad status effects such as frostbite and freezing.
"Hannes, you're too noisy." (Rena)
"Shut up! Unlike you, my AGI is low!" (Hannes)
Ah, if you left the Winter's Kin without defeating it, it would bite you and froze you, but even if you defeated it, it would give you a bad status effect that would reduce your speed. Hannes, who had a low AGI value to begin with, was probably overwhelmed just by that... If things continued like this, it was probably only a matter of time before he was swallowed up by the iron ball. Unlike me, he seemed to be able to avoid slipping by using his abundant STR to push through the floor, but if his joints were frozen, it would be difficult to exert force.
"! We're just around the corner, Hannes, are you okay?" (Rena)
"Ahh?! A corner? ...Don't slip and die the moment you turn!" (Hannes)
Well, when you turned while running on normal ground, your body axis became tilted...and if you kept going like that, you were likely to slip and get crushed by the iron ball.
"There's no other way...Hannes, please hold on to my waist." (Rena)
"Huh?" (Hannes)
"It's fine, just hurry up." (Rena)
"Oh, yeah." (Hannes)
I shot out a string at an icicle hanging from the ceiling around a corner, attached it, and then jumped up in one go...and then moved like a pendulum, using the icicle to which the string was attached as an axis. With Hannes hanging from me, I swung around the corner with great force, casting fire magic in all directions in the air and blowing away its subordinates.
"It looks like a staircase going down. Let's go down." (Rena)
"It's not that it's going down, it's like it's falling?" (Hannes)
Although I was a little surprised to find that just around the corner there was a staircase leading down, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, thinking that it was convenient.
"Hannes, when the iron ball comes, please cast basic offensive magic three times." (Rena)
"Huh?" (Hannes)
As soon as we landed, I kicked off the side of the stairs instead of the top, running down the stairs while conveying the necessary steps to Hannes. "What on earth are you planning to do again?" he frowned, blatantly asking, as I urged him on, while I got myself ready.
"——Here it comes!" (Rena)
"—‹Stone Bullet› x3" (Hannes)
We all turned around at once as we heard a loud noise behind us. As Hannes unleashed three basic offensive spells, I aimed Steal at the iron ball about five times. Immediately afterwards, as instructed, Hannes swung his axe down three times on the spot, then swung it diagonally five times.
"——Jun-san, if you miss, you'll be punished" (Rena)
Finally, I tied myself to Hannes' back with a thread, and as I fell, I turned towards the iron ball behind me —— and fired multiple shots at the spot that had been tainted by the first basic offensive magic.
——Eeeeeeek!!!
"Eeek...?!" (Hannes)
Unlike me, Hannes seemed to be concentrating on falling down the stairs at the end, then screamed at the sudden sharp noise... but it seemed he succeeded safely.
"What did you do?!" (Hannes)
"I just destroyed an indestructible object." (Rena)
"You?!" (Hannes)
"Don't you know? Indestructible objects can be destroyed." (Rena)
"It's an indestructible object because it can't be destroyed, you idiot!" (Hannes)
I smiled back at Hannes, who was laughing and insulting me in a somewhat desperate manner, but... Yuu-san's information was really helpful. Apparently, an indestructible object could be destroyed by casting beginner level attack magic spells three times while falling, activating a steal-type skill five times on the spot, then swinging your weapon down three times and cross-swiping it five times on the spot, and then landing a long-range physical attack exactly in the same place as the beginner level attack magic spells.
"——That's what Yuu-san said." (Rena)
"That mushy hair?!" (Hannes)
Oh my, did Hannes also know Yuu-san?
"Well, for now, this will give me a break." (Hannes)
"...It's a complicated dungeon strategy." (Rena)
While shaking my head at the dejected Hannes, I decided not to worry about it and figured it would be okay if we took a break.
Author's Note (Preface)
Sorry for the slight delay in updates as I had to make some urgent revisions!
Author's Note (Afterword)
Indestructible objects can be destroyed... right?
Maria-chan's character design is really cute, so I'll definitely be preordering volume 3 (stealth marketing)