222-199 Work resumed

Now, we're going to go to work today, but Mary and the others will stay home, okay?

Yes!

The day after the welcome party, Mary gave a good answer to Haruka's question.

It might be a long time, a few months.

Of course.　Do adventurers go away from home that long?

She was about to nod her head of course, but the unexpected information contained in Yuki's words made her nod her head curiously.

It depends. Last time, I was trapped in a dungeon for about a month.

"Trapped in a ......?　A dungeon ......1 months ......?

Mary was confused by the additional information given to her.

I'm sure you're not familiar with dungeons around here, but it's probably hard for you to imagine being trapped for a month.

In fact, we would have almost died if we didn't have our magic bags and preparations.

It happens, doesn't it? Adventurers. ...... Oh, are you sick of being an adventurer?

I don't mean sick of it. I mean, I can't imagine ......

I see. Yeah, well, that's just the way it is.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.

You can't really feel it until you experience it, and that's about it for now.

I'll be back in about a week this time.

The problem is that sometimes things don't go as planned.

The problem is that things don't always go according to plan." Yuki's words were meant to reassure, but Toya mixed them up.

Haruka slapped Toya on the head and followed up.

If you have any problems, talk to Tommy, the blacksmith who was at the welcome party yesterday, or Diora from the adventurer's guild. I'm sure they won't be too hard on you.

I understand.

Here's your living money. I've put in a lot of money, but use it in case we don't come back for a long time, okay?

Yes.

Mary took the small bag that Haruka had given her, looking a little nervous.

There are about 100 gold coins in the bag, so if they don't spend extravagantly, they can live for a while - if Mary and the others live at the same level as in the past, they can live for a year.

And they don't have to pay rent.

--To be honest, leaving a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old alone for days at a time would be considered neglect in Japan.

However, Mary seems to have been doing the housework by herself even when her father was around, which is not so strange in our common sense.

There are children who go out to work even at the age of nine, so it may be better to give them enough money.

I don't think thieves will come here very often, but ...... if they do, lock yourself up and stay indoors. It's probably safer than running away.

Yes.

It's a nearly lethal trap.

No thief will be able to get in without it.

Feel free to use the potions if you need to. You know where they are, don't you?

Yes.

While we're gone, you're free to spend as much time as you like in the garden, as long as you take care of it. The rest can be found at .......

Mary smiled at Haruka's attention to detail.

I'm fine. It's okay. Please go.

"Really?　Is it okay?

Haruka is more worried than you think.

Yes. I'm not a small child.

Mary puffed out her chest and thumped her chest, but to us, she was a small child no matter how we looked at her.

I'm sure she's very strong considering her age, but...

"Well, Haruka. I don't know.　Mitya can help her sister too, right?

Of course I can!

In the event that you've got a lot of time, you'll be able to take a look at this kind of a lot more.

It's a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your vacation.

I'm not sure if you've noticed this, but Haruka's cheeks turn a little red.

I'm sure you'll understand. Then let's go.

I'm not sure what to say.

I'm sure you'll agree that it's a great idea to have a good time.

This is the first time we've done this job in a long time.

This time, we were going to challenge the third level of the dungeon.

As usual, we chose this job because of the lack of good jobs in Rafan's adventurer's guild, and also because of the coolness of the dungeon.

It's probably not the most lucrative, but it's a lot better than wandering around the depths of the forest in a sweat.

Another purpose is to try out the "transfer point".

Having learned our lesson from the last time, I - and Yuki - practiced our space-time magic very hard.

As a result, we were able to use "area teleportation" reasonably well, but we were a little worried about the distance and the amount of transfer.

By setting up a transfer point, it becomes a little easier, but even so, if the entire party is transferred, it may not be able to reach one kilometer. So my magic power is almost depleted.

Yuki is a bit inferior to me in terms of magical power due to her race, but she is also able to use it to some extent.

If Yuki can bring one of them with her, even if he's not on the same level as me, the number of people I have to transfer will be drastically reduced from five to three, and even if that's not possible, the burden will be lightened if Yuki herself can travel by "teleportation".

This would allow us to travel more than a kilometer, but according to the map, it's impossible to travel to the entrance from anywhere in the dungeon.

The only realistic way to do this would be to set up transfer points above places where the level is likely to change, or to take shortcuts through places where there are likely to be detours, so that you can come back even if there is a collapse like the last time.

If you have a transfer point, you can transfer without worry.

On the other hand, if you don't have them, it is dangerous to move far away.

The spell itself has a certain amount of correction function, and if you are in a dangerous place, the result will be the failure of the transfer, but in rare cases, if you are very unlucky, you may find yourself in a stone.

According to the grimoire of space-time magic.

According to the grimoire of space-time magic, unless you're a beginner and have very bad luck, it's almost impossible, but it's quite scary.

Given this, it is essential to set up a transfer point.

Incidentally, I have made five of these transfer points.

Since they are like beacons, they need to be replaced from time to time.

It is supposed to last for about a year, but after that, it will be completely useless. Of course, it can be revived by changing the magic stone, but it can also be used as a little help even when the so-called "so-called" battery is dead, so it is not useless.

I've already installed one at home, and I'm planning to install the other three at the entrance of the dungeon, on the slope that collapsed last time, and on the stairs leading to the third level, so I'll only have one spare.

If there is a staircase to the fourth level, I plan to place it there, but I don't know if I can reach it this time.

I don't even know if there is a fourth level or not.

It's so hot, I'm tempted to ask for a transfer to the dungeon entrance.

"Don't be absurd, Toya. I'll get stuck and it's too far away.

As I headed towards the dungeon, Toya complained about this, and while I agreed with her on the inside, I denied it with my mouth.

Even if I were the only one who could "teleport," and even if I had already set up a transfer point, I probably wouldn't succeed.

Besides, the game we hunt along the way is important, right?

It supports our income and our food.

We had quite a bit of meat in our magic bag, but with all the time we've been out pinning, the time we've been stuck in the dungeon, and the fact that we haven't been killing many orcs lately, it's not exactly a plentiful supply.

Because of this, the meat I've been supplying to Aella has been a mixture of various kinds other than task boars and orcs.

Basically, they use the meat for their early morning meat poste and lunch, and it's good that they can eat a variety of meat without getting bored.

Of course, this is only possible thanks to Aella's skill in cooking all kinds of meat.

By the way, what are the chances that you can travel from your house to the dungeon?

Hmmm, when my level doubles, it might be possible.

That would take years, wouldn't it?

I haven't improved much lately.

I've been going to the temple as a matter of habit, but I haven't fought many strong demons lately, so my leveling up has slowed down.

I've been doing some training and mock battles, and I'm up to 20, but ......40 is a long way off.

Fortunately, I have a long lifespan, so it's not impossible if I continue to be a serious adventurer. ...... When Natsuki and the others retire, Haruka and I will probably retire too.

"Well, what can't be done, can't be done. Here, Toya. The meat is here. Go get it.

"Here we go.

Toya responds lightly, draws her sword, and heads off to deal with the orcs.

Come to think of it, we've grown up quite a bit.

We're no longer nervous of orcs.

"So where is the transfer point?

Now, where to set up the transfer point: ......

We came to the entrance of the dungeon while killing demons at random.

Yuki and I walked around the area looking for a place to put the transfer point we took out of the magic bag.

The one at home is randomly placed in the middle of a spare room, but that's not the case here.

The size of the transfer point itself is a board about 50 centimeters long and wide and 3 centimeters thick.

You can step on it a little, but if you hit it with a weapon or a stone, it will break.

Considering that there are demons roaming around, you can't put it in a bad place, and if it's not on a somewhat flat surface, you might lose your balance and get hurt when it comes back.

Hmmm, should we bury it?　If we bury it here, and harden it with earth magic, and then lightly cover it with dirt, it will be safe and look natural, don't you think?

Yuki then showed me a large square in front of the dungeon entrance.

This is a place where skeletons used to hang out.

The transfer point itself doesn't have to be on the ground, so it's possible.

...... No, is it a pretty good idea?

"Yeah, that's a good idea. There's no good place for it.

I don't like the idea of it being destroyed, but it would be fatal if it were moved to a strange place. If it's thrown in the river, it could drown the moment it's transferred.

"Right.

I immediately dug out about 50 centimeters in the center of the square and set up a transfer point at the bottom. Cover it with soil and harden it with earth magic. Cover it with more soil.

You won't even know it's there in a few days.

It's summer. It's summer. The grass will be greener in a week.

Now you can see where it's been dug up, but I don't think anyone's going to come here and dig it up.

Are you done?

Yeah. Thanks for waiting. Let's go in.

Haruka and the others had been waiting in the dungeon where there was no sunlight, but they seemed to have come out when they saw that we were done.

It's too hot to just do a little work.

Yuki wiped off her sweat, drank some cold tea from her magic bag, and handed it to me.

I took it, drank it, and moved into the dungeon where there was no sunlight.

I'm using magic, so it's not so bad.

I used Ground Control to dig and fill the hole, but it was hot enough just to be in the sun.

If we were in the forest, the trees would have blocked some of the sunlight, but since the area in front of the dungeon was a square, we were completely exposed to direct sunlight.

"Okay, our destination is the slope to the second level. Let's make it quick.

"Right. There aren't many good demons in the first level.

We followed Toya, who had started running, and headed for the small room where the slope to the second level was located.

Perhaps because we hadn't been here for a while, the number of demons had increased significantly, but we ignored the ones we could ignore and pushed on, arriving at the room a little past noon, earlier than expected.

When I looked into the slope that had been blocked by the collapse, there was no sign of the collapse.

I suppose I should say, "...... is indeed a dungeon.

I'm not sure if it's going to be blocked again when we get down there.

What do you think?　I don't know how much it costs to run a dungeon, but it seems like it would cost a lot of money, don't you think?

If we assume that dungeons are operated by magic power or dungeon points or something like that, then Natsuki is right, this path or trap?　If we assume that dungeons are operated with things like magic power or dungeon points, then as Natsuki says, this path or trap?

Moreover, if the system works every time a party descends to the second layer, and returns to the original state when they go outside, then only one party can enter at a time, and the system seems to be inefficient.

...... Should we set up a transfer point first?

Yes. That way, we can come back quickly.

It's not far from the bottom of the hill to this room, so even if I use Area Teleportation by myself, it won't be enough to get stuck.

"Well, let's dig a hole. It's a bit tricky.

"Magic doesn't work that well.

As you would expect in a dungeon, there is not much impact on the surface, but if you try to use the "Ground Control" to control the depths, the amount of magic power consumed will increase.

This may be because the dungeon doesn't want you to take shortcuts by digging through walls, but it's a bit troublesome.

Digging by hand is not a problem, but the ground and walls of the dungeon, except for the shallow areas, are like solid rock, so it's quite a challenge.

Well, I can get by with a little bit of brute force, whether it's magic or brute force.

With Yuki's help, I made a hole just barely big enough for the transfer point, and placed it at the bottom.

Fill it with excavated soil and harden it.

...... Yeah, it's working fine.

I was a little worried about whether it would be a problem to bury it in the dungeon, but the transfer point responded properly.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for and what you can do to help.