I Was Mistaken as a Genius Mage in a Game-Chapter 36

Dungeon.

Once you step inside, you can never escape until you've explored its deepest depths.

A place where all kinds of monsters and traps lie in wait, hoping to catch the flesh of adventurers who come seeking treasure.

A place where a single mistake can lead to the annihilation of characters and parties that have been nurtured for months in the blink of an eye.

For survivalists or those who prefer safety, this horrific place is one to never step foot into—but we had to.

It wasn't because of the dungeon's treasures or riches. Money was abundant enough for me, and the "artifact" that the southern forest dungeon spits out as a clear reward was something that would only be of use to characters like barbarians—not at all useful to a mage like me.

This is really damn frustrating.

So, if I were going to undertake a dungeon-related quest, I had hoped the dungeon's rewards would help boost my specs... but that was a futile thought as I headed toward the southern end of the forest.

Our slow pace meant we didn't arrive at the entrance until nearly evening.

Before entering the dungeon, we set up a small campfire in front of it to restore our health and had dinner.

Around the fire were me, Lir, Rex, and Triane.

"Isn't the group too small? I think we could've brought along a couple more warriors."

"If we want to move discreetly, it's better with fewer people."

If the goal was to clear out all the monsters and clean up the dungeon, we might have recruited more people.

But the purpose this time was to eliminate the "mana mines" hidden somewhere in the dungeon.

Thus, we needed to explore with the minimum number of people to avoid unnecessary encounters with monsters still lurking in the dungeon.

Lir was indispensable to remove the mana mines, Triane was needed for his role as a guide, and Rex was necessary to buy time for the mages to cast their spells if a crisis arose.

...Looking at it, I seem to be the only one who isn't particularly useful here, but let's just overlook that detail.

"Do you think there are still monsters inside? It's so quiet in this forest."

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"There are definitely still monsters."

The reason no animals or monsters had appeared in the forest was because the demon race had used them as material for mutations.

However, according to Rex and other soldiers, there had never been sightings of mutated creatures that resembled the monsters in the southern forest dungeon.

Thus, it was logical not to expect that the demons had cleaned up the dungeon interior.

"You sound pretty sure of that. General Bin, have you ever explored a dungeon before?"

Rex, who had grown a pretty decent beard over the past two weeks of construction, asked me this while tearing into a tough loaf of bread. It must have been difficult to properly wash given the environment.

"...Yeah, well."

Although it was a story from beyond the monitor... still, pretending to know something would probably boost my teammates' morale more than unnecessary details.

"After I lost my parents when I was young... they say I survived by exploring dungeons and selling the loot..."

Lir unnecessarily added extra words.

I had once lied about exploring dungeons to explain how I acquired the "red crystal," but...

Did she just add some weird detail? I've never mentioned losing my parents, have I?

...One word and I’m suddenly an orphan?

No, I may be a street rat, but still, it feels a bit bad...

"When you were young..."

"Too young to even remember..."

"Ah, sounds like a tumultuous childhood."

"It wasn’t a pleasant memory. I shouldn't have brought it up."

The orc and elf, who had been listening to Lir's story, stared at me with pitying looks.

Though I hadn't said anything myself, being treated like a pathetic orphan didn’t sit well with me... but what could I do?

...I have no idea where to even begin clearing up this misunderstanding.

I might as well just live as a pitiful orphan.

"Let's get moving. It'll be a busy day tomorrow."

I decided not to try and ease the awkward atmosphere and simply laid down to sleep. Everyone agreed to rest early, perhaps aware that we needed to conserve energy for the dungeon exploration tomorrow.

The campfire quickly went out, but thanks to the humid and sweltering air typical of the Achilipus Forest, we didn’t have to endure a cold night.

The dungeon's entrance looked no different from any other cave.

Therefore, travelers often enter, thinking it’s just a normal cave to shelter from the rain, only to be sucked into the dungeon and disappear each year.

To avoid such accidents, it's important to always shine a lantern or torch inside when entering a cave.

Unlike ordinary caves, where the interior is revealed when light is shone, the dungeon never shows its dark depths.

Just like now.

"......"

The entrance to this seemingly ordinary cave showed only a deep, black void, not revealing what lay within, even in broad daylight, lantern light, or the bright flame of the torch.

We steeled ourselves in front of this bizarre phenomenon that defied the laws of physics.

As far as I remembered, to fully clear the southern ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ forest dungeon, you needed to be at least level 40, and to do it without much trouble, about level 50.

So, with my approximate level of 30, this dungeon was far beyond my reach... but our goal was not to "clear" the dungeon by defeating its leader, but to remove the "mana mines."

I vaguely remembered the structure of the dungeon, and we had a great guide in the group.

Although I didn’t know how deep the demons had penetrated to plant the mana mines, it was likely they were clustered near the entrance.

"The demons who entered this dungeon probably didn’t stray too far from the entrance before being eaten by the dungeon's monsters."

For ordinary demons, this dungeon was too dangerous.

Additionally, according to the spirit of lightning, Dajin, there were only "three" mana mines in the dungeon.

If we were lucky, we could finish the job in less than a day.

Of course, getting out of the dungeon safely would be a completely different story.

If I were an ordinary mage, I wouldn’t have to undertake such dangerous nonsense to gain the spirit’s favor...

"We’ll enter."

While I was lost in unnecessary regrets, Rex, who had been carrying a huge axe on his back, stepped into the black darkness, holding it with both hands.

The sharp sound of steel meeting his metal arm echoed as the axe's handle and his prosthetic arm made contact.

As Rex disappeared into the darkness, Triane followed.

Lir and I then moved in after them, and soon my sight was covered by total darkness.

It felt as if my senses had been paralyzed for a moment. My sight, touch, and even smell were numbed, and I wondered for a moment, "Am I breathing properly?"

"......"

How long did we wander in the darkness? Maybe it was only a few seconds, or maybe it was minutes.

We emerged from the pitch-black void, all of us looking around with dazed expressions.

On the outside, it appeared to be a small cave, no deeper than a few meters. But once inside, the dungeon was a massive labyrinth.

The walls and floors were made of ancient bricks, so old that we couldn’t even begin to analyze their construction with current technology. On the ceiling, there were murals whose meaning we

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.couldn’t grasp.

Although we had entered through the cave, the wall behind us was covered in moss, and the only exit in the large cube-shaped room was a small door right in front of us.

"If you’ve all come to your senses, let’s move out."

The numbness from the sensory overload soon faded away.

After confirming that no one had any abnormalities, we quickly reorganized ourselves and walked toward the only exit—the small door.

This time, it was Triane, not Rex, who took the lead. It was more efficient for the sharp-eyed archer to take point in case there were traps or mines ahead.

"......Stinks."

As soon as we opened the first door of the dungeon, we all had to hold our noses, grimacing. The stench of decaying corpses filled the air.

A huge spider corpse greeted us, almost as large as Rex. Its innards were spilled on the floor, and half of its head was missing.

"......"

Triane, with a grim expression, carefully approached the body. He kicked aside the rotting guts and discovered the floor beneath was corroded by venom.

"As soon as we opened the first door, there was a battle. The demons who entered here were injured. Judging by the amount of venomous blood scattered around, they must have used up quite a bit of their strength."

The sharp-eyed archer quickly deduced the extent of the injuries and the size of the demons' wounds based on the corrosive state of the floor.

I slowly looked around the room. Unlike the first room we entered, this one had doors on every wall.

Triane carefully approached each door, either testing the handles or listening closely for sounds from the other side. He then checked a faint corrosion between the western door’s frame and wall and told us which way we should go.

"......No battle here."

As we opened the door, the room revealed itself, with doors on all sides, but no signs of combat. However, there were corrosion marks on the floor. The demon blood trail continued straight toward the front door.

Triane carefully checked each door for any special clues and finally stood before the door with the trail of corrosion.

"......Hmm."

He hesitated before grabbing the doorknob.

Did he have a bad feeling?

"Not good. There’s a mana mine installed right in front of the door. It’s close enough that it’ll trigger as soon as we push the door."

Triane pressed his ear to the door, closed his eyes, and concentrated for a moment before speaking with a frown.

"Such a meticulous one. Looks like he heard the sounds of the battle in the previous room and was wary of other monsters coming."

"......This is troublesome."

Rex sighed as soon as he heard Triane’s words.

If Triane was right, we would trigger the mana mine’s sensor as soon as we opened the door. The person in front would be caught in the explosion before they even had a chance to disarm it.

Additionally, the explosion’s sound would attract the dungeon’s native monsters.

There were only four of us. We had no idea how many monsters might be lurking nearby, but creating a huge explosion and drawing attention was the worst possible decision.

"We’ll take the detour. Dungeons are often structured with interconnected rooms, so we should be able to find an alternate route quickly."

Triane immediately suggested a solution.

We returned to the room with the giant spider’s remains and deliberated on which room to enter—one with a door on the right wall or the one on the left.

From here, it was purely a matter of luck. No one could know the dungeon’s layout on the first try.

"We’ll go through the right door."

Except for me, of course.

"......And what’s the reason?"

Triane asked with a puzzled look at my firm tone.

"Instinct."

I replied confidently.

After all, I had been inside this dungeon countless times through the screen and had a general idea of the layout, but I couldn’t exactly explain that honestly.

"......I see."

Triane didn’t seem disappointed by my answer, not expecting much in the first place.

"Triane, which do you think is better?"

"I had no concrete evidence. But I didn’t hear any monster breathing from either door, nor did I sense any trap marks. So, it doesn’t matter which way we go. For now, it seems we’ll have to leave it entirely to luck."

"In that case, let’s trust the General’s instincts. Someone favored by spirits should also be favored by the goddess of luck, right?"

"......I don’t believe in gods, but well, if it doesn’t work out, we can always go back the way we came. It doesn’t matter."

The goddess of luck, huh.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Rex’s words.

For the first time since entering this world, I had an intense urge to show someone my stats screen.