Chapter 15:
Nightmare
"Mmmmmmmmm~"
["Ja! Cha-cha-cha! Ja!"]
I was nimbly shaking a frying pan while making chicken rice, a recipe I had researched on the Internet. My kitchen was equipped with an old-fashioned electric stove, not an induction stove. So there was no point in shaking the frying pan so much. But that was just a matter of my mood.
The recipe uses ice, eggs, chicken, and mixed vegetables. Salt, pepper, and ketchup are the seasonings. It's a recipe I can make with only what I have at home, which is a big help.
"Okay, it's ready. Let's eat. Itadakimas."
I eat the chicken rice straight from the frying pan, not on a plate.
Yes, it is easier to clean up afterward. I put the pan on the table and put the chicken rice in my mouth while listening to the TV and looking over the contents displayed on the communication terminal. This way, information is input from three channels simultaneously: the ears, the eyes, and the mouth.
I can examine the information entered into each channel without any problem, probably because I have grown in the dungeon. So maybe Prince Shotoku was a dungeon explorer.
Well, anyway, the world was moving without my knowledge.
"Wow, opening some dungeons to the public? That's quite a bold measure they've taken."
That was the news that reported the national policy. There were many conflicting opinions about dungeons.
There are a variety of opinions, but the extreme ones are those who support burying dungeons and those who say, let's bury the unexplainable things for now. Surprisingly, many people hold this kind of opinion. It is mainly older people who support this.
Next are those who support opening the dungeons, which is the exact opposite, and overwhelmingly young people support this. And everyone who advocates this seems to think they can become heroes. That's what I'm thinking, but if I were to ask where I belong, it would be that. I'm already diving.
The rest is really up for grabs.
Some say, "Let the Self-Defense Forces exterminate them all," others say, "Let it be a private enterprise". Anyway, one thing they all have in common is that they are all thinking only of their convenience. When I watch TV shows, I hear people talking about issues with no answers.
When I see this kind of thing, I feel how fragile human beings are.
There is no way we can understand something we haven't touched or seen firsthand, and it is also strange to talk about it, but we just put it on the shelf. It seems that everyone is trying to maintain their opinion as the correct one.
There is no way to know why dungeons are popping up all over the planet. So, we should dive into the dungeons and look for the answer, right?
I think so, but I don't insist. I'm having fun in my secret dungeon.
"Whew, thanks for the food. I made it myself, but it was delicious. Hmmm, maybe it's because I've become more dexterous? Well then, let's have a fun time improving my skills!"
I had gotten one more skill orb from the giant slug from the last time I had attacked the dungeon. That is the first time I've used a skill orb outside of a dungeon, but I'm taking it out like this, so it shouldn't be a problem.
"Come on! My [Mucus]-chan!"
["Squeal~…pah~!"]
Skills.
[Strong Acid], [Super Agility], [Disease Resistance 5], [Snatch], [Mucus 2]
"Mm, a great success. I can use the skill orbs on the ground with no problem."
I should have tried it with [Acid], which is easy to acquire in case of failure, but since I could take the magic stone out of the dungeon, I decided it would not be a problem.
After lunch, I took my time to watch a recorded video, while using a smartphone to gather information about the dungeon. I can search for more information if I start up my PC. But many community apps start with information on the smartphone, so I find that new information is quicker on the communication terminal.
(Oh, the purchase price of magic stones has gone up again. I wonder how much it will go up.)
It's confusing because different people say different things, like now is the time to sell, or I should hold on to them for now. Well, I have a lot of magic stones, so maybe it's time for me to sell some of them.
I also want to pick up some stories from people who have dived into the dungeon hole themselves. Whether it is a lie or not. It's a test of authenticity, but in any case, it is impossible to tell without seeing the real thing.
For example, if they said that goblins flew in the sky, it is difficult to judge whether it is true or false by simply comparing it with the common beliefs of fantasy settings. A person with little knowledge of fantasy might see a flying goblin, but if they're familiar with fantasy settings, they'd know it was a gargoyle.
Similarly, if a goblin breathes fire, I, as a geek, can at least guess it is some small demon imp.
The important thing is to have a general idea of what kind of monsters are in the dungeon. That way, when I encounter them in the dungeon, I won't panic.
I was about to post on the internet that the crawling, half-melted, human-like monster was a giant slug, but decided against it. I was in the middle of writing it when I realized that it smelled so fake. It is a shock that people won't understand unless they see it.
"Ummmmmmm…go, go, go…the cockroaches are coming at me! Ha! (Boom!)"
I woke from my nightmare in the middle of the night. My whole body was drenched in sweat.
"Huh…what a dream."
I dreamed I was fighting in a dungeon and was attacked by an impossibly giant cockroach. I went to the kitchen, drank some water, and came to bed, but I'm so scared, that I couldn't sleep. Then it occurred to me to search for "Cockroach Dreams" on the internet.
It says that cockroaches represent your stress, and the bigger they are, the more stressful it is.
"Mmmm, stress. Certainly, the mental load in the dungeon is great. But I have more mental strength because of it. But there is more to the story. What if a cockroach escapes in a dream, it means that the stress is not relieved, and if I can kill a big cockroach, it means that the stress is also relieved?"
I don't like cockroaches to begin with. That's why I had this weird dream. The first thing that comes to mind if I'm stressed out if my dream is about a giant slug, which is the creepiest monster of them all.
"Mmm, but thinking about it made me feel less and less sleepy. It's too hot to sleep, so I think I'll go to the front room of the dungeon and lie down."
I went to the refrigerator, opened the door, and stuck my head inside. Then the pitch blackness rippled, and the view of the front room of the dungeon spread out before my eyes. I crawled out of the pitch blackness and went to the simple base with just a cardboard floor with my bare feet.
["Blew! Blew!"]
I grabbed the baseball bat I had set up on the ground and swung it twice. The sound of the wind gave me a sense of certainty about its power and made me feel a little safer.
(Yes, I'm getting stronger. I'm not going to let some dungeon monster beat me.)
I lay down on the cardboard box with the bat under my arm and my arms crossed and just closed my eyes until sleepiness overtook me.