Isekaied Into An Eroge, Time To Have Fun!-Chapter 108: Dungeon (1)
"I don’t want to say that size matters here, but I cannot help but feel that you would be better off wielding a sword over a dagger... at the very least a short sword. This just doesn’t feel... adequate for you."
My eyes shifted between the dagger in my hands and the Draconian that stood beside me, a wry smile tugging at my lips as I replied "I don’t know if my skill level would allow for a difference to be made between the two. If anything the heavier yet longer weapons might actually be a ’detriment’ to me in this first taste of real combat."
"That’s nonsense. You are more than capable enough to wield a heavier weapon, as seen during our training and that of the Physical Combat Class, while- never mind. What matters is that you maintain that level of skill with the dagger as you did the sword, which will be more than enough for what we are in here to face.
We are ONLY in here to face a handful of Spirits, by the way. In and out, maximum an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Anything more and you’ll owe me big time, alright Natalie? You already owe me, but just some good sex won’t cut it..."
I nodded sincerely and turned my attention towards the Dungeon Gate, which loomed over us both, showing off the destination and sending a slight shiver down my spine as I realized that this was really about to happen.
The ’first’ Dungeon of the game was obviously located inside of a cave, and to add to that wonderful fantasy atmosphere there were giant glowing crystals that illuminated everything, ensuring vision in most places but not guaranteeing perfect visibility everywhere, which allowed for some mysterious nooks and crannies to remain hidden and capable of holding some treasures.
That was what I was looking at through a shimmering, translucent sheet of mana that connected the Academy to the location of this Dungeon, which was within one of the nearby mountains that surrounded Mythia.
On either side of the Gate stood heavily armed Golems, protecting the entrance of the Gate and ensuring no one entered accidentally as well as preventing anything from coming into the Academy from the Dungeon.
All of the Gates were guarded by Golems, allowing for just two real people to walk around and keep track of everything while also having the security needed for a place like this; walking back over to us with a crystal medallion and a scroll - which was unfurled immediately and presented to us - was one of the two ’Guardians’.
This one was the tall, lithe Catkin woman who had a forever dour expression, her blue and green eyes filled with a sort of acceptance that didn’t carry a good sort of weight for those of us she looked at... and the wicked, jagged blade on her hip certainly didn’t help either.
"Sign this, both of you. If you end up perishing within the Dungeon it is your fault and your fault alone; if you break the medallion we shall come searching for you, but it can take anywhere between five minutes to an hour to reach you. Enter at your own risk, and be responsible for yourselves as well as one another."
Her dry tone was really just the cherry on top too, not providing any confidence whatsoever and making my wry smile return as I just nodded and quickly skimmed the scroll, taking note of the terms and finding them more than agreeable.
Signing it and handing the quill over to Kha’Miero, I watched as the Draconian signed it as well before she walked up to the Gate, not wanting to waste another second if she didn’t have to; I didn’t feel rushed since I understood we were working with a timer right now, and if anything the confidence she exuded as she did this helped calm my nerves a little.
"Good luck, don’t die. It would be a shame to lose students so early in the year..."
With that cheery message the Catkin just waved us goodbye and returned to her desk, not looking back and just leaving us be at the precipice of this Gate; I barely was able to take a breath and adjust the minimal gear I had before Kha’Miero stepped through, the Draconian leaving the Academy behind and traveling to the Dungeon.
It was far more anticlimactic than I had thought - and somewhat wanted - it to be because of that, but it was still a cool experience to step into that fascinating mana pool and emerge into a whole new area, one that was filled with random opportunity.
An identical ovular Gate was constructed within the Dungeon to connect these two locations together, and just like its ’sister’ Gate back at the Academy it had two heavily armed Golems guarding it to ensure it wouldn’t get destroyed or tampered with.
It was a heavily enchanted piece of stonework that allowed for transportation between two completely separate areas, which was mindbogglingly awesome and extremely difficult to do... especially multiple times.
The area that we found ourselves in was a simple stone cavern that had a few of those giant blue and green crystals that cast a cool glow over everything, especially us; visually the place was already quite stunning, but the feeling on my skin was something incredible.
The mana in the air was thick, seeping itself into my body and making me feel like there was energy being fed to me constantly, which had me humming after barely thirty seconds of being here.
As for the smells and sounds, it was like a typical cave; moist, dingy, echoey and somewhat eery because it was seemingly empty, though that had its own charm as we stepped down from the dais and took our first steps into this Dungeon.
It certainly wouldn’t be our last time here either, and as I looked around I felt a bit of nostalgia as I recalled my first time ’here’, way back when I had been a noob who had just picked the game up because I wanted to flick the bean...
So much had changed since then... and now I was actually here... flicking a cock around instead of a ’bean’...
