Allrounders!! - Chapter 26: I'll Go Take a Look at a Dungeon! - Part 1

"Ah." Sword suddenly raised his voice. "I think you should take the rank-up exam in the next town. That said, let's dive into a dungeon."

He mentioned out of the blue.

Okay, but I know that he's rather abrupt in his words and actions.

"In other words, you're saying a dungeon is conveniently nearby?"

"Yep. It think it's goin' to be a breeze for you, but it'll be your first time in a dungeon, right? Let's go check it out."

Dude, you're saying it with a mood as if telling us to go check out a game center since it's right around the corner anyway.

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"So, what's a dungeon in the first place?"

Why did Sword's expression immediately screw up when hearing that?

"...You sure love theoretical stuff, don't you? No one thinks 'bout what a dungeon might be."

No, you should actually think about it.

"That means it's different from a simple cave which got infested by monsters?"

"Indeed. ...Well, how to say it...it's at least not that. Accordin' to one theory, dungeons seem to pop up at places where magic elements accumulate, but the details are unknown. A dungeon core exists in the deepest part of the dungeon, and if you break that, the dungeon is goin' to disappear, but that's forbidden."

"I get the reason more or less, so I'll pass on asking any further."

"As you've guessed, dungeons are quite profitable. A dungeon won't be destroyed unless it's an emergency. Breakin' it counts as a serious crime. Then again, you won't be able to return alive anyway."

Figures. If the dungeon collapses because the dungeon core has been destroyed in the deepest part, getting out sounds unrealistic.

"So, don't break the core, even by mistake."

"What should I do if I don't know what the dungeon core looks like?"

"That's why I'll come along as your navigator. Don't let go of my hand and do as I tell you, 'kay?"

"Got it. ...What about Ryoku?"

I wonder whether the dungeon is wide enough for him to enter.

"You've brought him with you, so just take him with you. He's your golem. Take him to the exam as well since he'll be counted as a weapon. ...That's only if you get him registered as golem, though."

I didn't mean it like that, but it sounds like he'll fit in the cave. In that case, I'll of course take him with me! I'll have him learn lots and lots of new stuff!

"...For heaven's sake, that thing is more like a tamed monster than a golem. He's been regularly strikin' up conversations with me."

"The same applies to you as well. Ryoku's learning function is doing its job. He's memorized a lot of things already, hasn't he?"

Sword turned red.

He always acts cold and indifferent towards Ryoku in front of me, but whenever I'm not looking, he's chatting away with Ryoku like an old granny. With a feel closer to teaching a mynah language than training a dog to shake hand.

I guess he must have been quite happy about Ryoku remembering and then doing or saying whatever Sword casually taught him.

"Come on, let's go!"

Yeah, yeah, good job at glossing over your embarrassment.

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"I think doin' a dungeon run yourself is quite a challenge. If a map of the place is bein' sold, you should get it, even if it's somewhat costly. I've got the map for this place, but this time we'll go without map, just as it's done durin' the exam."

Hmm, so they got the concept of mapping in this world, eh? It's that, isn't it? What I've done in a game a looong time ago...writing a map on a piece of paper!

When I tried to enter the dungeon, I got stopped.

"It's dark inside a dungeon."

Eh? Really?

"The dungeon core isn't tactful and provides illumination or something similar?"

"What do you take a dungeon core for? You won't receive the same hospitality in a dungeon as in a noble mansion, idiot."

...I see. What a bummer.

When I combined my otherworld knowledge and the stories I've heard, dungeons kinda sounded like attractions to draw in customers.

"Okay."

Since it couldn't be helped, I equipped a lamp on my head.

"...Hey, what's that?"

"It's a "Light" magic tool. With this shape, it'll allow me to use both my hands on top of illuminating the area ahead of my line of sight."

"Usin' light magic without a care, eh...? Usually you'd use a torch, you know?"

"Do you want to die?"

If you use fire in a cave with no ventilation, you're going to suffocate!

"Why would it turn out like that...?"

"Fire steals an element from the air while burning. Humans have to breathe in that element for their bodies to work."

"For real!?"

"...Before considering me to be too much of a theory nut, it'd be smarter for you to ask yourself how things work, you know? Certainly, it's not like the common sense of this world and the otherworld align in everything, but I've already proven that fire burns on that principle."

This world is based on magic elements. You can do anything as long as you've got magic elements. But, it's also true that other components are required as well.

Yet, the people here think that nothing else is needed as long as you have access to magic elements. Though my thinking is gradually getting infected by that ideology, too.

"Torches might be fine if there's an airflow, but I want to keep my hands free. Because of that, this way is more convenient. ...Has no one ever built anything like this? I mean torches might have a certain charm, but they lack user-friendliness, don't they?"

"You ain't usin' 'em for appearance sake. Also, I've never seen such a magic tool. Even if someone had created it before, I'm sure it'd cost exorbitantly. Or do you think sorcerers capable of usin' light magic grow on trees!?"

That's the problem? I mean this doesn't even use light magic to begin with, but whatever.

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While advancing through the cave, I explained what I've been thinking about.

"...In my eyes, you and other sorcerers are amazing. Once you chant a spell, fire takes the form of an arrow and flies off or similar, right? Things like golems move by simply ordering them to fight. I have absolutely no idea how that works."

"If you tell it to fight, it's got no choice but to do that, no? Moreover, golems do nothin' but plain swingin' their fists or tryin' to trample somethin'."

"But that's actually amazing. When I tried to build my golem, I had to first teach it what it means to "walk.""

"Hah?"

"No need to get so surprised. People will walk if you tell them to do it because they know what kind of action it is. It's impossible to expect that something that doesn't know the concept of walking would be able to walk just because you tell it to do so, right? It could only walk after learning to understand that walking means 『Lift your right foot, and lower it frontwards. Lift your left foot and lower it further frontward than your right foot』. And yet even that becomes completely unnecessary by just telling a golem to 『Fight』... Making it actually understand all the motions included in that action is super, super difficult, you know?"

Sword was lost for words.

"...How are you makin' Ryoku move then?"

"The basic movements have been handled through ［Programming］. In short, he can do them even without having to learn them first." I smirked broadly, or at least intended to do so.

"I got it that your proud of it, but don't give me that gross smile while linin' up an array of incomprehensible terms." Sword commented, and pulled on my cheeks.

"But, please teach Ryoku a lot more things. By just teaching him what you can, he'll memorize it and become smarter."

After all, it's possible that a soul might form in an AI when it comes to this world!

I gently caressed Ryoku.

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