[46] Dice, Dungeons, and Dawn's Descent

Since I don't need anything urgent, there's no real problem with not returning to Japan for the time being. I can focus on tackling the dungeon instead."

"Yet, dungeons in Japan? They must be quite different from the ones here, being cave-like and all. I've heard the Self-Defense Forces are investigating them; I hope there aren't any traps!"

"Tomorrow, let's check on Bunny first, then head down those stairs."

"It's a daily routine, so I'll keep practicing alchemy before bed, but at this rate, I can't sell any gold."

"I should probably get some sleep."

After turning off the living room lamp, I went upstairs to my room. Without turning on the bedside lamp, I lay down in bed, crafting my usual gold dice before drifting into a deep sleep.

The next morning, after finishing my morning chores, Lily and I donned our armor and teleported to Paradise. Our destination was the Sky area at the center of Paradise, where the stairway was located.

As soon as Lily and I arrived, we heard flapping wings; Bunny flew straight toward Lily, landing on her shoulder and nuzzling her black hair that peeked out from her helmet.

"Looks like you're quite popular. I'm jealous."

"Hehe, I'm so glad Bunny is doing well!"

"At this rate, I'd better take Bunny along. It wouldn't be good to leave him behind. I guess we'll explore the dungeon with him. We've never been in a pinch, so it should be fine. On the way back, let's swing by here and leave Bunny for a bit."

"Sure! Bunny, you're lucky to be with me on my shoulder!"

Coincidentally, it seemed like Bunny understood her words, as he bobbed his head and chirped twice in response.

"Where are we going today?"

"I wanted to explore this floor, but I have a feeling the Heroes will be showing up soon."

"That's true."

"So, I thought we could head down that staircase."

As I said this, I placed a large gold coin on the pedestal. With a click, the descending stairs appeared before us.

"I understand. Bunny, it might be a bit bright, so bear with it. Light!"

A magical light glimmered above Lily's head, shining a bit higher than usual.

"Alright, let's go."

"Yes."

Lily cast her detection spell towards the stairs to ensure there were no abnormalities, and as always, I took the lead down the stairs.

One, two, three... forty-seven.

Just as we had three steps left, Lily directed her spell towards the end of the staircase. I wasn't sure how broad the range was, but everything looked clear without any red flashes.

Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty.

"Looks like we made it to fifty steps this time. This is the real second layer. Truly, 'The True Second Layer!'"

"That's right. Climbing up and down three hundred steps would be tough, but fifty steps are manageable without needing stamina magic."

It seemed my joke didn't resonate with Lily. She did mention she doesn't read light novels or web stories after all.

"Absolutely."

"However, this layer is different; it's cave-like. This feels much more like a dungeon."

"Speaking of what feels like a dungeon, the stone-built ones we've seen until now seemed more like a prison cell."

"Wait. Upon reflection, Lily's right. My sense of it was off.

Well, that aside. Bunny is being calm, so we should be fine taking her along for about half a day."

"Yes.

Bunny, you did great!"

"Just do as you please."

At the bottom of the stairs was a straightforward cave path. If we kept going, we would eventually come across side passages.

"Lily, as you can see, this is a straight path, but I think side paths will appear eventually. When that happens, it's entirely possible monsters might come from behind, so let's stay vigilant."

"Understood.

I'll try to think of some magic that can help us keep an eye on our backs."

"If you can come up with such magic, it would be really useful. Keep creating new spells!"

"I'll do my best!"

Given Lily's studious nature, I'm sure she'll generate plenty of new spells. By the way, she always refers to magic as "mahou" (sorcery); I wonder if there's some peculiar reason for that?

After descending fifty steps from the first layer, we entered the real second layer, which was cave-like. The cave ahead was about four to five meters high and five to six meters wide, allowing me to swing my staff without issue.

The dungeons that appeared in Japan seemed to be cave-like, similar to this one. If the monsters I encounter are the same as those in Japan, there might be some connection. From the news on my smartphone, I saw there were wolf-type, slime, bat-type, and spider-type monsters.

I've already encountered the bat-type and spider-type in this dungeon. I haven't run into the wolf-type or slime yet, but they are typical monsters, so I might encounter them soon.

I pulled out my Ruyi Jingu Bang from my item box and moved forward, listening carefully to avoid being surprised. Behind me, I could hear Lily mumbling to herself, likely devising a new spell.

Curious about what kind of magic she was working on, I strained to hear her words:

"Bunny, I missed you during our half-day apart!"

Well, we haven't even passed the side trail yet, and as long as she finishes her spell eventually, that's fine. However, if she keeps talking like this, Bunny might learn to speak! Since Lily is speaking Japanese, it's possible for Bunny, who comes from another world, to learn the language. Although Bunny may not be able to respond appropriately and will likely just repeat random words, that would still be impressive.

In my childhood, I had a dog and once tried to teach it words, but it never spoke. Of course, that was to be expected.

At that time, I realized that dogs lack lips like humans do, which limits the sounds they can make. No matter how hard they might try, they can't articulate human language.

However, lyrebirds and parrots can mimic human speech perfectly, using their beaks. It's as if they're employing some kind of ventriloquism, resulting in those strange high-pitched tones. So, if Bunny ever manages to speak, it will likely sound the same way.

By the way, does Bunny have a gender? Male or female, it doesn't matter, but at least one more bunny would be required to start anything.

I reminded myself not to let my mind wander with trivial thoughts, so I slapped my cheek with one hand to refocus and continued deeper into the cave.

After about 100 meters down the stairs, I reached the first branch in the path. This side passage was slightly narrower than the cavern I was in, yet it still measured around four meters in height and five in width.

Lily activated her detection device towards the side path and then aimed it forward into the cavern ahead. So far, there were no red blips anywhere.

"Rockwell, which way should we go?"

"Let's go straight down this path," I suggested as we considered the cave we were currently in to be the main route. We proceeded about 100 meters further.

Bunny, who had been quiet until now, suddenly started to chirp.

I stopped and turned around to see Lily speaking to Bunny. "What's wrong, Bunny?"

Bunny continued to chirp. "There might be something strange ahead. We should be cautious."

Ahead, something was moving beyond a bulge in the wall. It wasn't fast, and its color blended almost perfectly with the surrounding rocks, making it hard to notice. Good job, Bunny!

"That's probably a slime," I said. "Lily, you should take care of it with a Fire Arrow. I think it will work."

"Okay! Fire Arrow!"

A white flame arrow shot from Lily's fingertips, striking the slime precisely. It sizzled and peeled away from the wall, crashing to the cave floor.

As I approached the slime's remains to examine it, I noticed its charred body starting to dissolve. Thinking it might come in handy later, I decided to store the slime's remains.

"Lily's Fire Arrow is amazing, isn't it?" I remarked.

"It's what I'm good at," she replied with a grin.

"If you master it, who knows what further evolution it might lead to?"

"That indeed sounds like a dream. In the beginning, Fire Arrow was orange, right? I thought a higher temperature would be better, but it gradually turned more white, leading to what it is now."

"That's true talent! Once you break through, it could become like a laser beam."

"I see, even if I can't achieve a laser beam, I'll try to focus on increasing the arrow's speed from what it is now."

"That sounds promising. Wasn't Lily a sage? It seems like a perfect fit for her."

"Hehehe. I'm really happy to hear that from you, Mr. Rockwell." Hearing that makes me quite happy too.

"Alright, let's move on. This time, Bunny and Lily really shone. I'm counting on you for the next one."

"Yes!" "Piyong, piyong!"

Bunny, do you understand every word we say?

On our first encounter with slimes in the true second layer, Bunny spotted them, and Lily effortlessly dispatched them with her Magic Arrow. My role was limited to stowing the remains of the dissolving slime in the item box.

If we cast Detect Life, we should easily find monsters that are hard to see and silent. Lily probably realizes this too, but just like last time, we started to see those green flickers appear, so we haven't used Detect Life. Of course, I'm not saying a word about it either.

We both adopted a mature approach. While it was probably better to use it for risk reduction, the simultaneous blinking of our green indicators weighed heavily on our minds. With this unspoken understanding, we pressed on along the main path.

After defeating a slime and advancing about fifty meters, another side path appeared, this time on the opposite side from the last one.

"There must be more side paths ahead. Seriously exploring this level seems like it could be quite a challenge," I noted.

"True," she replied. "But do you really think we can reach the deepest parts of a dungeon this vast, especially when we have no idea how many more levels there are?"

"If we were to explore it thoroughly, it could take years," I remarked.

"Right?"

"It could easily turn into a lifelong project for those two," I joked.

"Ha! Don't make me laugh!"

It wasn't really a laughing matter, yet it was clear from Lily's reaction that she felt some hidden resentment about the idea of those two growing old together in dungeon exploration. If their relationship soured, it was easy to imagine that they could turn their formidable skills against each other. So while there may not have been any overt bullying, Lily must have faced some psychological torment from them.

It struck me as odd that, on a day when I was playing classical music at home, Lily happened to pass by and suddenly decided to flee.

I mustn't let my thoughts wander and lose focus, so I slapped my cheek again to gather my determination.

After advancing about three kilometers along the main path of the cave dungeon, I spotted a rock wall ahead. "Dead end," I muttered.

Just then, Bunny, who had been quiet until now, began to chirp. I glanced over my shoulder, but sensed nothing amiss.

Then it's got to be ahead! About 70 to 80 meters in front of me was that dead end, and again, I felt no presence.

"Detect Anomaly!"

I heard Lily's voice from behind, and the rock wall in front of me started flashing red.

As we approached the pulsating light, we realized the flickering wasn't coming from the wall itself, but from the air just in front of it.

"It's a fluctuation! It's blinking red now, but it looks just like the anomaly we saw at the dungeon entrance," I said.