Level Eater-Chapter 127: Entering the first dungeon

Despite their concerns, Jeanne and Nana were firmly on the right path without making any mistakes.

Tatsuro checked it out for a while using the map function, but decided it was safe to leave it to them, and now he and Ai were sitting in a chair indoors, discussing the dungeon together.

"What exactly does a dungeon look like?" (Ai)

"Well, some of my knowledge is just from books, so it's a little hazy, so don't take my word for it, okay?" (Tatsuro)

"I get it." (Ai)

"Let's see, first of all, we're heading to a level 1 dungeon right now." (Tatsuro)

Tatsuro then told Ai what he knew for now.

He says. The main reason why people in this world challenge dungeons is to wander through the field, which is also known as a different space, to obtain magic stones that only dungeon monsters have, to find treasures while sneaking through traps, and to defeat the boss of that dungeon.

The entrance is like a large, circular, glowing white lake, and it is said that by jumping into the lake, one is transported to the dungeon.

At the destination, finding the lake of white light, which is the same as the entrance, and jumping into it, will result in you will be sent to the next field.

By the way, level 1 dungeons are randomly selected from 3rd floor to 8th floor. Level 2 dungeons are randomly selected from 6th floor to 12th floor. Level 3 dungeons are randomly selected from 9th to 15th floor. If you are lucky, you can find the door to challenge the boss at the 3rd floor in the level 1 dungeon, but if you are unlucky, you cannot find the door until the 8th floor.

Also, note that if more than one person is attempting the same dungeon, they will be sent to different locations if they are not registered as a party.

Finally, as for the method of returning, it seemed that when one found a lake in the field to which one had been sent, which was the point to the next level, one could either jump into it, while wishing to return, or jump into the lake of white light that appeared after defeating that dungeon boss, which would lead to a room with an exit.

"Hey, hey. If you're going to talk about that, then you can go home halfway, right? I understand that collecting magic stones and hunting for treasure can make money, but is there any point in defeating bosses by putting yourself in danger? Is there any point in trying to earn experience points or test your skills? What?" (Ai)

"Ah, that's it. Actually, if you can find and defeat the boss, it seems that you will be given SP equal to the level of that dungeon." (Tatsuro)

"Oh, you mean you can get it other than by leveling up?" (Ai)

"That's how it works. However, it is only valid once per person in the same dungeon. But it works on everyone in the party, so maybe it's a pretty big deal." (Tatsuro)

In other words, if you form a party and defeat a level 1 dungeon boss, SP (1) will be added to your status.

Therefore, in example (1) it seems that adventurers, soldiers, and others who might find themselves in dangerous places tend to actively search for bosses to obtain valuable SP rather than treasure and magic stones.

"If so, that means that as long as we beat the bosses, Cardina-chan and I can get SP other than by leveling up. That certainly sounds appealing." (Ai)

"Right, and I also want to get as much (1) as possible, so let's conquer the three dungeons around here and make sure to get extra SP (5)." (Tatsuro)

"Oooh!" (Ai)

And so time passed as Tatsuro talked to Ai about other detailed precautions and discussed what to do after entering the dungeon.

"Dad, mom. We'll soon reach a four-way intersection." (Nana)

"Oh, thank you. Well then, please stop somewhere off the road." (Ai)

"Yes, ma'am. Jeanne onee-sama." (Nana)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

Jeanne, who had been listening to their conversation so closely, chirped a single sound as if she knew what she was talking about, and stopped the rhino cart without danger at a place a little off the road.

After making sure the rhino cart had stopped, they came outside and Nana, who had been in front of them for some time, jumped in.

Tatsuro caught her, replenishing her magical power while holding her, beckoned Cardina, who was resting on the rhino cart, to come over as well, and removed Jeanne's metal fittings as well.

"Okay, then let's take a break. Thank you for making me feel very comfortable." (Tatsuro)

"Thanks." (Ai)

While saying that, Cardina and the others were having fun replenishing their magic power.

During that magical replenishment, Tatsuro noticed that the amount of replenished magic was less for the three of us combined than it had been for Jeanne alone.

Here again, Tatsuro was impressed by the benefits of status.

Then, since the weather was so nice, Ai and Tatsuro took out the food they had put in their [Item Box] for lunch outside and started their lunch time together.

"Speaking of which, it looks like you passed another passerby a couple of times, how did that go?" (Tatsuro)

"Neigh?" (Jeanne)

"What do you mean?" (Nana)

Jeanne and Nana tilted their heads, unable to fully understand Tatsuro's intentions. Besides, Tatsuro explained again when he realized that his words were insufficient.

"No. Even when Jeanne was smaller, there were many people who were surprised, so I was suddenly curious about how they reacted to Jeanne, who was even bigger now." (Tatsuro)

"Oh, that's right. Certainly, people who saw Jeanne made funny faces, but when I waved my hand, some of them looked at me with a scowling face, and some even waved back." (Nana)

"Ah. If you see a cute little girl riding it gracefully, maybe you'll soon realize that it's not a creature to be scared of." (Tatsuro)

"Well, it might give a better image than just moving around." (Ai)

They patted Nana on the head, who had been active in unexpected places besides assisting Jeanne, and took the rest of their lunch to their mouths.

As the road became more complicated from here, Tatsuro and Ai sat on the driver's seat and gave directions to Jeanne, and before dusk they reached the area where the dungeon was located.

Tatsuro pulled the rhino cart back before the crowds began to gather in earnest, had Cardina and Jeanne go into [Child Form] and wore the armor they had purchased at Reginald's place, and had all three of them wear bracelet-type magical aids on their arms, legs, and tails, as he had bought all kinds of them.

When they were ready, they all walked together to the dungeon, except for Cardina, the baby bird on Jeanne's head.

When they reached the dungeon entrance area, many people were engaged in their own activities.

As they walked along, looking at the people passing by, they saw some simple inns and a few stalls, and they also saw many children.

"Since it's called a dungeon, I thought it would be a much dreary place, but it has a pretty bright atmosphere." (Ai)

"Well, Level 1 seems to be a place where even normal kids can try to earn some pocket money if they just explore, so it might be treated like a bit of a theme park." (Tatsuro)

With these impressions in mind, Tatsuro and the others arrived right in front of the entrance.

It's more like a reservoir than a shining white lake with a diameter of 10 meters, and it seems that you can enter the dungeon by jumping into it.

If you look, there were several people, both children and adults, going in and coming out of there.

"Is that the entrance? When I first heard the word dungeon, I had the image of a cave, but it's a fantastic and beautiful entrance." (Tatsuro)

"I see. I just want to take a picture." (Ai)

"Now that I say that, I also wanted to take a picture of Lake Obsul." (Tatsuro)

He squatted down in front of the entrance, which appeared to be nothing more than a giant white-lighted pool of liquid, and tried to scoop up some water, but he could not even touch anything, just like when he tried to grab a hologram.

But it is strange because the parts touched by those who jump in and those who come out are wavy.

As he was waiting in front of the entrance like that, he was unexpectedly approached from behind.

"Hey, Ni-chan. If you don't want to come in, could you please leave?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's unusual, so I just stopped." (Tatsuro)

The entrance is wide, so why don't you just go in from somewhere else? But it was true that they had stopped, so they apologized and turned around to see eight little kids standing there, wearing the heaviest-looking gear they could muster and striking poses that they probably thought were cool.(T/N: My chunni heart is stirring up… we all have that one memory we want to forget!!)

Tatsuro shifted to the side to get out of the way for now, thinking that when they grew up, they would be so embarrassed to be seen like this.

"Oh, thank you. But, how rare, are you guys new to dungeons?"

"......, you cheeky little brats." (Tatsuro)

"Shhhh. They're at that age, so it's mature to give them a warm reception." (Ai)

"Is that so? Then, I will follow your example and watch over you warmly." (Tatsuro)

The children who tried hard to talk to Tatsuro as if they were seasoned veterans are annoying, but Ai taught them adult manners, and Nana tried her best to learn while looking at Ai with warm and innocent eyes.

Unaware that Nana was trying to acquire such unnecessary skills, Tatsuro was working with the children who were cutely stretching themselves.

"That's right, I couldn't come because I was busy with other things." (Tatsuro)

"I see. Then you have to be careful. If someone who isn't used to it challenges it lightly, you'll get hurt... That's what a dungeon is."

The sight of a boy building meaningless hoards and searching for coolness brought back memories of when Tatsuro was younger than he is now, and his back felt itchy.

"Do you guys come here often?" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah. We come here twice a week. Our parents work here. And it looks like our party's earnings will reach 10,000 Shis soon? That's amazing!"

"Oh. That's amazing!" (Tatsuro)

"…Aren't you sad?" (Ai)

"Shh. You can't deny the efforts of those children. Besides, 10,000 is a lot of money for a child. It was also a lot of money for me when I was in our original world." (Tatsuro)

"That's how it works, isn't it?" (Ai)

Tatsuro couldn't help but smile at the big-nosed little kids who said they were amazing, so he complimented them on how amazing they were even when they were boasting about things they hadn't even heard.

Then, satisfied with the whole conversation, the little kids made like a long jump and jumped into the dungeon.

"Oto-sama. That story about that little boy wasn't amazing at all. Why did you praise him like that?" (Nana)

"It's nice to be innocent. Besides, those kids seem to be exploring the relatively shallow layers around the entrance, but they've been in here a lot, and the information about the dungeon here was mixed in with their bragging, so it wasn't like it was a totally worthless time." (Tatsuro)

"Ah. That's what it means." (Nana)

"Well then, let's go too! We can just jump in here, right?" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah." (Ai)

"All right, everyone, let's go for the first shot. Ready, go!" (Tatsuro)

And so, all at once, Tatsuro and the others jumped into the white-light lake.

Then, for a moment, Tatsuro felt as if his entire body had been touched by liquid, and a vast grassland spread out in front of him.

"So this is the dungeon. ...... Awesome, there's even a sun in the sky." (Tatsuro)

"It's true. And there's wind, too. It's as if we've just been thrown onto a meadow." (Ai)

"Yeah, but it's almost evening, and the sun is in that position just before noon. It's obviously not right." (Tatsuro)

"That's right. But it looks pretty good as a walking course." (Ai)

Ai took a deep breath right then and there, and the fresh air entered her lungs, making her feel refreshed.

As Tatsuro looked at them, he thought that the area was indeed perfect for a walk, surrounded by just the right amount of nature.

However, everyone here is new to dungeons. So, in order to proceed without being careless, they tightened the loose air.

"Okay, first of all, our objective is to defeat the boss. There must be an entrance to the next floor somewhere on this floor, so let's find it. Cardina, I ask you to "morph" and guard the surrounding area, Jeanne. In case the monsters come at any time, we'll ask for [Adult Form], Nana will support everyone behind us.'' (Tatsuro)

"Pewee" (Cardina)

"Neigh" (Jeanne)

"Yes." (Nana)

Thus began Tatsuro and his team's first dungeon exploration.

There were no paved roads, and the map function could only map where we walked, so we literally had no choice but to grope my way along.

However, their enthusiasm reached its limit within the first three minutes.

This was because young adventurers who seemed to be beginners and little children were everywhere, and they were making noise not because of the dungeon, but because they were scared of Tatsuro and the others - more precisely, Jeanne.

Apparently, the first floor of this dungeon is the same for everyone, and you'll find yourself in this vast grassland.

What was more: the SPs they were expecting it... and also the monsters, ran away as soon as they saw Jeanne.

"Ah, what is it? Is this an excursion spot?" (Ai)

"Hey, from what those little guys said, it seems like there aren't any traps in the shallow layer, so it's just a walk." (Tatsuro)

"I'm out of luck..." (Nana)

"Pewee..." (Cardina)

"Neigh" (Jeanne)

Perhaps feeling the same way as Nana, Cardina and Jeanne were also dissatisfied.

"We can't help it. Let's lower the alert level and hurry to find the entrance to the next layer." (Tatsuro)

"I agree." (Ai)

"Pewee" (Cardina)

"Neigh" (Jeanne)

"Desu-o" (Nana)

After they started walking with an emphasis on speed and continuing straight ahead through the meadow, the entrance to the destination finally came into view.

"Is that?" (Ai)

"Yeah." (Tatsuro)

They found a glowing reservoir that looked exactly like the one they entered the dungeon in, and they all dashed to it and jumped in again at once.

Then, I arrived at a new field, feeling as if my whole body was soaked with liquid.

The atmosphere was a little different from the previous place, and they came to a place lined with trees, more like a forest than a meadow.

"Is this a forest? It feels nostalgic." (Ai)

"I don't have very good memories though..." (Tatsuro)

And so the exploration of the forest began for the first time in a long time.