233-209 Grasslands in Dungeons

It looks like an ordinary meadow. It doesn't look like it has an end.

The front is normal, but the back is a little freaky.

Behind you is a huge rock wall.

The staircase we came down has a hole in the rock wall that stretches to the left, right, and above until it becomes hazy and invisible.

We can't tell if the wall actually extends that far, or if it just looks like that.

There's some kind of invisible wall at the edge, right?　That's what I call fantasy.

"If you think of it as a biosphere and a high performance monitor, it could be achieved with advanced science and technology. Didn't they have an experiment to live in space?

It failed, though.

It seems that it is not so easy to reproduce the natural environment scientifically, and the experiment failed easily despite the large amount of money poured into it.

It may be different if we simply want to live sustainably in a closed space, but it seems that further development of science and technology will be needed to create nature.

...... I wonder if it rains in this hierarchy.

"If the plants here are normal, it must rain.

When I tore off the grass under my feet, I couldn't tell the difference between it and the normal grass that grows around Raffan, though I didn't know its name.

Strangely enough, the demons in the dungeon seem to be able to survive without food, so there is no possibility that the weeds in this area can also grow without water. .......

The wind is blowing. You can even see something that looks like the sun. ...... When convection occurs, wind and clouds are generated. ...... No, but it must be very wide. ......

It's okay, let's go with fantasy banzai.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

But in fact, it is true. You can't scientifically explain how dungeons work, so there's no point in talking about this hierarchy alone.

...... Well, it's useless to think about it, isn't it?

Yes, yes. You just have to accept what you see, because it's a different world.

It's the truth. We do magic and stuff, don't we?

Well, I can't say anything if you don't. What is magic?　What is magic?

Our scientific knowledge is useful in this world, but it's not a panacea, since there's a factor called "magic".

No, to be more precise, I should say "magic".

The thing in our body that becomes the energy for magic is magic power, and the phenomenon that manifests is magic.

The thing that floats in the air and is believed to be the cause of the occurrence of magic is the magic element, and the thing obtained from magic is the magic stone.

The magic stones produce magic power, and the objects that operate using magic power as energy are magical tools.

These terms are not very precise, and ordinary people, including us, do not use them accurately.

In Japan, radiation, radioactivity, and radioactive materials are all collectively called "radioactivity".

However, the difference between this and "radioactivity" is that there are still many unknowns in the field of magic power, and no definite theories have been established yet.

For example, the effects of magic tools.

Is this magic or not?

There has been a fierce debate between the "it's magic" faction and the "it's not magic" faction, and while the "it's magic" faction seems to be somewhat dominant at the moment, the overwhelming majority is the "it doesn't matter as long as it works" faction.

By the way, we're more of a "not magic" faction.

If you define magic as something that consumes magic power to produce an effect, then according to Haruka and the others, the math doesn't add up.

To put it simply without going into details, sometimes the output is greater than the input.

Haruka and his team seem to have assumed that this is due to the intervention of magical elements, but if you use magical elements instead of magical power, is it magic?

What is a "magical element" in the first place?

What is magic in the first place?

In general, I don't really understand it.

You can't deny that even if you can't explain it, it's an undeniable fact that magical power exists and causes phenomena.

"Yes. In fact, even scientific civilization does not change this fact. Even if gravitons are not found, gravity still exists, and even if the Higgs boson is found, mass will not change.

Maybe a few thousand years in the future, magic particles or something like that will be proven, but with or without them, magic is still possible.

For now, we'll just have to accept this magical environment.

So, what are we going to do?　"So, what are you going to do?" "It's harder to know where to go when there's no path.

There is a wall behind you, but you are free to turn 180 degrees in any direction.

But where the stairs to the next level are is a mystery.

Is there any enemy response?

There is some, but it's not very threatening. With such good visibility, I wouldn't be surprised if we could see them. ......

Mmm, [eagle eyes] activated!

...... is always in effect, even if you don't activate it.

It's a good idea to take a look at it carefully.

What?　That's it!　Wow, great mimicry. ......

What's going on?

I'm not sure what to make of it.

The enemy is a small, wolf-like animal. It's got green fur and it's approaching slowly. Can you see it?

I point to the closest one, the one I can see even without the [Hawk Eyes], but everyone except me just nods their heads.

Being able to see it and being able to find it are two different things, as they say.

I guess it's like a ghillie suit in the army.

The color of their body hair and the grass around them is very similar, so you can't notice them unless you know where they are and observe carefully.

It hides its dark snout in the grass and gradually approaches as the grass sways in the wind.

...... Oh, I see it. That's it!

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

Haruka immediately took up her bow and quickly fired an arrow at it.

The distance between us was probably about 40 meters.

The arrow flew precisely towards it, but the distance was too great.

The enemy, who must have noticed us, jumped and dodged the arrow before it could pierce him.

"Ah!　There it is!

Wow, I can't see that one coming. ......

You can't see it coming. It's scary when you don't have a lookout.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

But it's thinner than I thought. ......?

I couldn't tell when it was in the grass, but when I saw it flying in the air, it was much slimmer than I had imagined.

Compared to the howling wolf I encountered on the second level, it's about a size or two smaller.

But for now, I'm going to kill it!　It's approaching at once!

I'm not sure if Haruka's attack was the trigger, but the enemies that were scattered around the area, including the one that had just dodged the arrow, rushed towards us.

It's hard to tell!　How many of them are there?

"12......, no, 13! They're approaching in a semicircle!

There's a wall behind us, so they're approaching us from somewhere else.

It's hard to tell in real life, although the search results show it perfectly.

That's pretty nasty!

But Haruka is still able to hit the arrow.

It's just that they're hard to find, but they don't seem to be that strong, and the enemy is losing the battle just from that.

It's hard to tell where they are!

Yes, you might get hurt if you're taken by surprise.

You'll be able to find a lot more information on the web, and you'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I think it's a good idea.

What the hell?　I'm not sure if this is a chain reaction or not.　There's more coming.

In addition to the first thirteen, there are already a few left, but there are over twenty more approaching from further away.

They weren't strong enough to make me feel threatened, though.

Hey, can I go in there?

Suit yourself.

Yes!

I watched as Toya ran off with her sword at the ready, and I readied my small sword.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that.

I'm not sure what to make of this.

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

Once you know, it's not worth using magic.

Each of us cut them down quickly, and in less than 10 minutes, we had a pile of about 40 corpses around us.

"Okay, that's it.

"Okay, that's the last of them. In a way, collecting the bodies was more trouble than it was worth, right?

A third of the corpses were scattered far away, thanks to Toya's single-handed rush.

We split them up and threw them into the magic bag.

However, the few that were hit by Yuki's fireball were reduced to pieces of meat, so only the magic stones were collected.

On the other hand, the ones that were clean were the ones that Haruka killed with her bow and the ones that were beaten to death with Toya's sword.

The fur was almost unscathed, so it could be sold at a high price.

"It's a pretty color. A little strange. ......

I've never seen fur this color on Earth, have you?

It's not very fluffy, but the color itself is beautiful.

I've never seen furs of this color in town, and I wonder if I could sell them for a good price?

Unless it's a mutation, I don't think this color is possible. Not like birds.

Unlike birds. "...... Come to think of it, birds come in a wide variety of colors. There are even birds with extreme colors. Why is that?

Toya twisted her head and said, "Why?" I thought about it again.

Yeah, it's kind of strange. Most of the beasts are brown, and the rest are black and white.

It's so plain compared to the colorfulness of birds.

It may be a protective color, but if colorful birds can survive, why can't colorful mammals?

It seems to be a matter of evolution. ....... If the color is conspicuous, herbivores can easily be spotted by their enemies, and carnivores find it difficult to hunt.

What about birds?

I think it's because birds eat a lot of fruits, nuts and insects.　On the other hand, there are no birds of prey that have colorful feathers, right?

I'm not sure what to make of that. That's Natsuki.

Yuki nodded her head as she listened to Natsuki's explanation.

I don't know if it's right or not. I don't know if it's right or not, but demons are creatures that exist separately from their surroundings, so this kind of body hair is probably possible.

It's a demon that can live without food.

In dungeons, there is no need to worry about being preyed upon, and even outside of dungeons, demons are not often attacked for predation.

However, it seems that demons sometimes kill each other in territorial disputes, so it does not mean that demons get along with each other.

By the way, Toya, what do we know about this creature?

"Glass Coyote. It lives in the grasslands. It's not very strong, but it attacks in groups. The fur is valuable, but the meat doesn't sell very well. The magic stone is 1,100 rare. That's cheap, right?

At my question, Toya's gaze wanders through the air as she reads a description of the beast, a glass coyote.

She has already read through the encyclopedia of demons that she purchased from the Adventurer's Guild, so if it's a known demon in the encyclopedia, she can answer right away, which is pretty convenient.

It is a walking encyclopedia of demons.

I've read it, too, but I haven't read it enough to be able to remember it immediately because of Toya's presence.

It's not so bad if you're making money per hour, but since the number of monsters decreases all at once, it's not so great in total.

"That's right. According to my search range, there's no one left.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

Well, let's put aside the profitability of this level for the moment. Which direction should we go?

"Which direction, the meadow or the forest?

If your current view is 0 degrees to the left and 180 degrees to the right, you can see a forest about 120 degrees, more than a kilometer away, and everything else is grassland. There are no ups and downs, so you can observe the horizon.

Yes, the horizon.

The horizon ...... is a wonder in the dungeon.

Considering the hierarchy of the dungeons and the size of the dungeons so far, it would not be abnormal to have a vastness where you can see the horizon, but such a large space exists without any pillars. ...... Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that.

I'm not sure if I want to go to the forest or not.　Grasslands seem boring, don't they?

I agree with you. Glass coyotes are a pain in the ass.

They're small fry, but there's not enough of them.

Like Toya, they're a pain in the ass.

It's mostly work, so you won't get much combat experience, and you probably won't get much experience either.

I see no reason to object. Let's head for the forest then. Nao, keep an eye on the enemy. Even if you're not strong, it's dangerous to be taken by surprise.

Copy that. Glass coyote mimicry is not foolproof.

It's not unlikely that we would have been taken by surprise if not for the spotters.

I paid renewed attention to the search and started walking towards the forest.