Chapter 10: Companion

I fill my rucksack with food, water, and many others then as soon as I packed it, I rush out of the hideout. If I can go to the ground, my current circumstances will change drastically. There are a lot of things I want to know such as what time is it now, is it in the morning? Or evening?, where this is, what kind of place it is and I want to know about the true nature of the monster-like creatures here.

I miss people more than anything. I’m homeless, but I do feel lonely if there is no one to talk to!This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com).

Once I find the stairs to go up, I pull out my sword. Previously, there was an orc above this, it’s unlikely that there is only one. I should be prepared to fight Orcs again. When I went up the stairs, the dome-shaped room was empty.

Was it my unfounded worry?　

I leave the sword as it is and proceed further. The nineteenth floor has brick walls and floors as before. If there are no monsters, it would be a good place. As I think of that, my ears suddenly pick up the sounds of multiple footsteps, it’s the sound of a dog-like beast running on the hard floor. They are approaching here rapidly.

Perhaps it’s the group of brown wolves. I grasp my sword with the intention of greeting them with an attack.

“Awooooo!”

The owner of those footsteps appears in my field of view. As expected, the five wolves are sprinting towards me. They’re ferocious looking because of their bared fangs. I appraise the wolves.

【Appraisal Result: Killer Wolf: Always act in a flock, and if it finds a prey, they will call a friend and attack in a group. Its nature is extremely ferocious.】

“I see, it doesn’t even look like a wolf?”

One of the wolves that came up to a close distance jumps to the side.

“Ha! Slow!”This is translated by Yume Neiji

I cut down from the bottom while evading the wolf’s fangs. While I’m at it, I cut off all the wolves that jumped one after another.

It’s much slower than the beasts in the miniature garden. Perhaps, the strength of the monsters may change for each level. I do not eat dog breeds, so I leave the wolves as it is, I proceed steadily. At crossroads, I walked straight on.

“There is a mark. This is the place where I appeared…”

I discovered the place marked with a cross on the floor, I observe the area. This is the place where I appeared in the dungeon and my starting point. The skeleton that should have been nearby has already disappeared.

“Hnnn? Bones?…”

I notice the incompatibility. When the creatures die here, they will be taken to the disposal site after a while. It cannot be skeletonized…

But it’s a fact that there was a human skeleton near me… I even took its possessions and equipment. However, I am pondering if it was really a bone with its strange whiteness.

“Now this is a problem, seems like this is really a mysterious place. It’s okay to know it later, but I don’t wanna live while the truth is in the darkness.”

When I check the map, there seems to be a hidden door ahead. So I start walking after burning the starting point in my eyes.

After walking for a few minutes, I reach a dead end. I don’t feel like I can go far beyond this, but I think there’s a trick somewhere considering what I’ve done so far.

While thinking about such things I push the wall and it surprisingly opens with a light force. I couldn’t feel a monster’s presence when I look a little beyond the door. After I step out gently into the aisle, the hidden door closed by itself.

At last, I stepped from the hidden area to the real area. From here on, it’s time to tighten up my spirit. The place where I am is a brick-like passage as before. There is a dim road everywhere, and sometimes a crystal light is installed on the wall, which makes me feel at ease.This is translated by Yume Neiji.

That said, I have improved my eyesight, and now I am getting even better with the effect of the balm fruit. It doesn’t look like daytime, but it’s quite visible. From the front of the hidden door, I try to press forward.

“If I don’t know how to enter the hidden area, I can’t return to the hideout.”

When I push the hidden door from the aisle’s side, it opens easily. It doesn’t seem like there’s much of a trick here. However, it truly looks like the other walls. It will be a difficult task to find this place without a mark. I decided to scratch a part of the wall with a knife as a mark.

“This should be fine. Well then….Let’s go to the ground.”

This time, after I stepped out, I look for stairs relying on the map. The nineteenth floor is difficult to understand on a map, but it is quite large. Considering the reduction ratio, it seems that a small town can fit in perfectly.

Nevertheless, I would like to pay tribute to this detailed map. Just thinking about how much time and effort it takes is scary.

I think I had walked about 100 meters when my senses feel a reaction that seems to be a living thing. I can hear the sound like it’s the breathing of a human being. My heart jumped. I can finally meet the long-awaited living human beings!

I lost myself and I start running. About another 100 metres, I can hear a scream. A beast like cry echoed out then an unpleasant sound like that of a flesh being torn followed. Judging that multiple humans are fighting the monster, I sprint with all my might.

The place I arrived at was in a terrible situation. Blood were vividly attached to the walls and ceiling and is still dripping. A brown giant body is chewing within the mess, it is sitting crossed leg at the center of the scattered corpse.

It appears that it’s not aware of me, it’s obsessed with eating with its back facing me. I immediately guess that it was an orc. Unfortunately, the humans here may have been found by this orc.

Anger rise inside me. I thought I could finally talk to a living person. This hog crushed that hope!

Immediately after using the pressure point, two dots appear on the back of the orc –around its shoulder blade and flank. I gently pull out the knife with my left hand and approach from behind quietly. As I get closer, I stab the knife on its back without hesitation.

“Guaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?”

It let go of the meat it was holding and violently rampaged. It couldn’t even stand as it’s assaulted with the intense pain. I cut it further into its flank with the sword in my right hand, I then hold the handmade handle of the magic sword, instantly shooting an electric shock.

The orc convulsed and shook its body, it fell to the floor powerlessly. I immediately cut off its neck with a knife to finish it. Right now, the terrifying orc didn’t seem to be my match at all.

 “Sigh… My long awaited humans…”

Seeing their corpse brings out vexation. If I came here a little earlier, they might not have died!This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com).

Even with that thought in my mind, I still collect their things that have monetary value. I’m saddened by their death but this is a different story. They are already dead. But I’m still alive.

If so, let me use it for my daily living. After I collected swords and precious metals, I put my hands on them. I pray that they can reincarnate with memory like I did.

 “Now, what should I do with the orc? I have some resistance in the part where the beasts eat humans but I’ve already eaten it… For the time being, I should just collect the legs.”

I position the blade on the foot of the oak, cut it, and peel it off with a knife. After that, I wrap the pieces of meat into the large leaves that I brought with me.

It’s not that there’s no ethical resistance, once they got inside my stomach, it will all be the same. It’s important to know what kind of creature you eat, but unless it’s not palatable, there’s no reason not to eat it. Even more in a situation like this. For the meat alone, I should be grateful.

Once I have packed my luggage, I check the map and restart the exploration. I’m sure I’ll be able to meet a living person soon. I start walking with that in mind then I soon find something that interests me.

There’s a rucksack that is filled to bursting.

“Perhaps… there are other people here…”

Looking inside the thrown rucksack, a large amount of fur and meat are packed. I can even see things I don’t know what’s the use –such as nails and fangs.

I am completely convinced. Those people who died were hunting for monsters. Well, since many of the corpses I’ve seen so far have weapons such as swords and spears, I expected that there would be such people. Or maybe, all of them.

I smiled. This is because I am convinced that the material of the monster would be money here.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com).

“Hunting monsters to make a living may not be bad. Then I can get a lot of seasonings by looting out the corpses.”

Rock salt is still in stock, but not much sugar or pepper. Speaking of luxury, I want soy sauce and miso, but I don’t know if they have it. The rest is rice and eggs. As a Japanese, rice is indispensable. If there is, I want to buy it.

Oops, I got hooked in my thoughts, there might be some people who are still alive.

Should I search for the time being?

I enter the aisle where the owner of the rucksack would have escaped. After I continue walking for dozens of minutes, I finally find a figure. The person is sitting in the floor while the back is leaning against the wall, the person’s face is buried between the knees.

On the wall, there are small crystals on top of a candle stand giving faint light that illuminates the surrounding, indicating that the person is a woman. I can hear her breathing and I confirmed that she is alive.

I finally met a living human! I am more excited than ever.

I approach her and try to wake her up, a voice leaked from the person in front of me.

“Uuuuuh… Zzzz.”This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com).

My hand that is trying to wake her up stopped. This person is sleeping deeply in such a dangerous place. I am more and more impressed. I’m sure she has a big nerve.

That’s maybe why she escaped from the orc and survived like this. She looks very interesting to me. For the time being, I grab her shoulder and rock it to wake her up, the woman finally raises her face.

I am even more surprised when I see her face. Her appearance is of a breathtaking beauty. A beautiful blonde hair flows smoothly on her shoulders and back, sharp ears can be seen from the gap.

My eyes landed on her soft pink lips…. But… saliva is dripping from her mouth.

“………”

Her clear, golden eyes look at my face unblinkingly. The eyelids, which were half-closed, gradually opened up and she hugged me as though I would disappear.

“＊ΨΛΦ！！　ΛΨξΣ！！”

She speak unfamiliar words repeatedly and hugs me strongly. I thought she is scared, but she hug me and rub my back. Then I feel the soft feeling of her chest. It feels very supple. Oh, this is…

“ξΨΔ？”

The woman suddenly realizes something and separates herself from me. It seems like that part of me reacted to the woman’s body, which I hadn’t felt in a long time. Although my soul is that of a 56 years old, my body is still young. I decided to apologize meekly.

“Sorry, you are so beautiful that I reacted.”

“＊ΘΨ”This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com).

She nodded and smiled. Apparently she has a big heart. I offer her the other rucksack that I am carrying. It’s a pretty big rucksack, but it’s probably hers.

“ΣΨ＊！　＊ΦξΛ！？”

She is surprised to see her rucksack and speaks in a language I don’t really understand. I’m sure it’s a question because the ending has been raised, but I could only display confusion.

She tilted her head, as if thinking. She struck her fist against her palm, then she begin to make gestures. She makes a sound like “Guga-guga” and acts like a bear. The gesture of eating something next, then finally, she pointed at the rucksack.

“Are you talking about Orc?”

“Orc!”

I finally understood and I’m convinced.

There should have been an orc near the rucksack, so she’s wondering what happened. This time I make a gesture. I did the gesture of swinging the sword, next I make a fallen gesture and finally, I pointed the rucksack.

“Orc ΛξΣ！？　ξΘ＊！”

The only thing I could understand is the word orc, but she still showed me a big smile. Apparently, it was transmitted. I’m glad it got thru, I nodded a few times and I tried to leave.

“Θ＊Λ！　ΛΦΨΣ！？”

However, I am immediately stopped. She shook her head and grab my arm. Repeatedly, I point myself and point to the top.

“Do you want to go to the ground together?”

I thought that she has her own means to return. There were some transfer points, and I am thinking about the convenience of magically flying with a swish, but apparently it’s not the case. If I think about it carefully, she could have escaped immediately…

 “Okay, Okay. You and I will go up.”

When I returned that gesture, she hugs me. Again, that part of me reacts, I need to hold it in! I want to fully enjoy being young.

She nods with a smile and carry her luggage. It seems to say that we could now leave.

However, when I look again, she’s really gorgeous. Beautiful golden straight hair that extends to the chest. Long limbs, fine white skin, and leather pants that fit snugly on her white clothes which accentuated her appeal. The first thing to note is the size of her breast that can be seen even when wearing light equipment. Because of her slim body, her large chest is noticeable.

Err, this is not good. It’s rude to look at it too much. I avert my eyes immediately.

“Λξ＊, Erna Frederia. ΦΨΛ？”

She pointed at herself and said something like a name. I guess the last word means “What’s your name?”This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com).

“Shinichi Tanaka”

“Tanaka Shinichi?”

“Shinichi is fine”

Erna immediately yells, “Shinichi!”. She really is an interesting companion. I and Erna walk towards the ground.

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