2 2-first exploration

　A labyrinth suddenly appeared in the basement of my home.

　I decided to explore it and went home for the time being.

　It is always said by parents that preparation is important for adventure.

　It is a foolish feat, such as stepping into an unknown area without any preparation.

"...OK"

　After preparation, stand at the entrance of the labyrinth.

　Leather gloves on the hands, tough boots with iron plates on the bottom of the feet, and clothes from the parents' safari jacket.

　And a small backpack with a survival knife on the waist and various tools on the back.

　The house is full of adventure gear, and it has become a full-fledged equipment.

(According to the book, there should be only monsters with low Lv in the first layer.... While watching the situation, the goal is to collect items in the first layer as much as possible and survive.)

　Reconfirm the goal in your head and step forward.

　My current Lv is zero, while the Lv of the first layer monster is 1-5.

　Let's try once to see how far we can do it, and check how much the difference in Lv affects the battle.

　And I want to get at least one "magic tool" that was written in the book.

　Of course it's not good to be too greedy, but you should know what your adventure rewards are.

"......"

　Going down the hallway, feeling your heart pounding.

　Eventually, I passed the place where I came earlier, and I arrived in front of the down stairs.

　From here, the area where monsters also appear.

(There are four types of enemies in the first layer: "Lamenting raccoon dog", "Marsh mouse", "Blue rose", "Void cypress"... There are no strange fighters.)

　Before going down the stairs, remember the notes.

　I've already read that book, and I've put the information from the first to fifth layers into my head.

　Sufficient knowledge.

"Foo....

　Exhale and calm down the stairs.

　Excitement is greater than anxiety.

　After all I look like an adventurer's child.

　I wonder if I went down about fifty steps.

　Eventually the stairs were over and I set foot on the first floor.

(It hasn't changed... It's made of stone. The wind is blowing toward the back. The smell is probably bubbling...)

　Carefully proceed down the aisle, keeping in mind that you are standing upwind.

　After all, it is a labyrinth, and the road is divided in a complicated way.

　The structure of the labyrinth was not mentioned in the book either, and I have no choice but to search by myself from here.

(For now, let's proceed along the wall on the right...)

　Nodd in my mind and slowly walk.

　The maze is that you can easily capture it by holding your hand on the right wall and proceeding along the wall.

　This is one of the typical solutions to the maze, called the right method.

　Of course, there are many cases where this does not solve the problem, but at least there is no fear of losing the way home.

　If you want to go home, all you have to do is face the opposite direction and walk along the wall again.

(.......OK)

　Whenever a turn comes, proceed carefully while listening to the situation.

　Forward, vigilance, turn, forward, vigilance, turn...

　The construction of the labyrinth is complicated, and if you explore the dark clouds, you will surely get lost.

　The next time you come, you may be mapping.

　Well, even if you get lost, it seems that if you receive damage above a certain level, it will be transferred to the entrance, so you can probably escape by self-harm.

"......"

　The exploration was fairly smooth, and it passed without any problems.

　The first layer seems to have a certain size, and if the feeling is correct, it is now about 300 meters away from the stairs in a straight line.

　Now that you haven't come across any monsters, the floor space may be bigger than you think.

(However, what kind of principle is this torch burning...?)

　When I look at torches hanging on the wall at regular intervals, such a question naturally arises.

　It is understandable that the combustion reaction occurs because of the air.

　The problem is that it keeps burning.

　It's been a long time since I discovered this labyrinth, and it's obviously strange that the flames are still rising.

　Surely the torch should last for about two hours at the longest...

(Well, you might lose...)

　Throw away doubts and concentrate on the search.

　This is an incomprehensible world with the concept of Lv.

　As it is, common sense should be abandoned.

　Eventually I reached a little open space, like a small room.

　Hold your breath and look inside from the entrance.

(The treasure chest in the center... but the one that doesn't move by the wall is the hollow cypress...)

　The size of the room is about 10 tatami mats.

　In the middle is a treasure chest made of wood and iron that seems to contain treasures.

　And in the corner of the room there was a tree about 2 meters high.

　There are no leaves, and the trunk of the tree has three cavities that look like human faces.

　The expression is "void".

　It looks exactly like the illustration in the memo, and it is definitely a hollow cypress.

(Your face is facing me... Are you aware of me...?)

　You can think about the appearance of the eerie hollow cypress.

　If you're aware of this, it may be difficult to sneak in and open the treasure box.

　Well, of course, I don't have that kind of courage, and I wanted to experience battle at least once, so I will not ignore it.

　I'm going to fight properly and catch the treasure chest openly.

　Just in case, I close one eye and check the Lv of the hollow cypress.

　The number 1 that comes to my sight.

　Lv1... Considering that the Lv here is 0, it may be a reasonable opponent.

　I made up my mind, left the knife and jumped into the room.

"UAAAAAAA..."

"Wow!"

　From the hollow cypress, a small moan like a cry comes out.

　Is it a threat to this?

　The hollow cypress goes straight to me.

　It's not quick, probably because the roots are dragged.

　It seems that half of me can't move too fast.

"This!"

　Aware of hits and aways, make a shot with a knife on the body and immediately release the distance.

　Feeling like hitting a decayed tree.

　It's more correct to say that it is crushed than to be cut.

(The attack goes through...!)

　While feeling the response, slash again.

　This time it's a branch that looks like an arm.

　I succeeded in cutting as I aimed, and I immediately took the distance again.

"UAA..."

　The movement of the hollow cypress seems to be overwhelmed by this attack.

　I slashed my torso again from the direction I was safe with my arms gone.

　This time, deeply with the power of the whole body.

　Hollow cypress scattered large pieces of wood in my attack.

"UA, A..."

　The body of the hollow cypress loses power and falls.

　The current blow seems to have worked pretty well.

　I don't seem to be attacking me anymore.

　And--

"...!"

　The body of the fallen hollow cypress turns into particles of light in an instant, and spreads like a pop.

　As it was, the particles of light were sucked into the ground and walls of the labyrinth, and after a few seconds they all disappeared.

　Only me and the treasure chest in the room.

　It seems that you have won the battle.

"Hahhhhh..."

　Relieve your shoulders and breathe heavily.

　It was my first battle and I was quite nervous, but apparently I was able to do it well.

　The number of attacks is only three.

　If it's an Lv1 monster, I might be able to win even more easily now.

(But I was really tired...)

　A great feeling of fatigue in the body.

��I am a normal student and today is my first time to fight.

　Since I was born, I have never had a quarrel, so it is my first experience to hurt others.

　Even though the fighting time was short, I was very nervous and tired.

(Take only the contents of this treasure box and go home today.)

　Put the knife in the sheath and approach the treasure chest.

　I wanted to explore as much as possible, but it would be better to return in this condition.

　You should catch this treasure box and end the search obediently.

　I slowly opened the treasure box, thinking that it might be difficult to search the dungeon in the future.

　What was inside was--

(Candle and paper...?)

　Inside the treasure box are the white candles and a piece of paper on which something is written.

　I picked up the paper and read the contents.

　The written letters are still Japanese.

　And the contents were like the explanation of this candle.

　""A candle that calls the night". Using this candle, men and women in the room will strongly seek each other and interact with each other. Cannot be used outdoors. Usable times: once"