Time Passed

That’s how we keep moving forward.

On the way, we encountered monsters like the Citrus Jelly and Slate Green Bat.

Thanks to Shouko and Sheryl, we’ve made good progress.

In some places, we found spots that looked like the walls could be drilled through.

「I wonder how deep this is?」

「Who knows…」

「Ah, there are stairs!」

「Let’s go.」

And so we went down the stairs. The dungeon interior was rather cramped, I suppose.

That’s what I was thinking as we descended, but after going down about 7 floors…we started struggling against the enemies.

Shouko took a fighting stance with her fan and unleashed an attack.

「Wild Dance First Stance – Rapid Strike!」

Shouko’s preemptive strike hit a group of Citrus Jelly.

But the Citrus Jelly didn’t even flinch.

「They seem quite sturdy!」

Shouko parried the furious attacks of the Citrus Jelly lunging at her as she answered.

「Bomber Lancer」

Sheryl also didn’t hold back, stabbing Citrus Jelly with an explosive lance.

I couldn’t fall behind either.

「Cleaver!」

Using our respective skills, we somehow managed to defeat them. We kept fighting like that, but…

After going down to around the 10th floor below, we were charged by Citrus Jelly of the same name.

Ow! Their attack power is high!

Their movement is sluggish, but their attacks hurt way more than on the 1st floor.

A few minutes later, after finishing off the Citrus Jelly, we were a bit exhausted and took a break.

「They looked the same but were much stronger opponents. It was a good challenge.」

「Yeah. The energy is tasty but it was a bit tough for me.」

The Citrus Jelly around the 10th floor below were sluggish in their movement, which was fine… but when they suddenly elongated their bodies like pinballs to charge at us, I couldn’t react in time.

I could see their movements to some extent, but there were times I just had to endure it.

It seems Shouko was in the black, but I was a bit in the red.

We haven’t really been fighting much lately, and while I’ve been training, actual combat is a different story.

「Tasty.」

It seems Sheryl also benefited from gaining experience.

「Perhaps this is the farthest point that has been explored so far.」

「Ah, you think so?」

「Yes.」

If Shouko says so, it must be true.

「Come to think of it, there were treasure chests lying around randomly.」

「Yeah.」

When we checked inside, we found building blueprints.

There were even blueprints for Peckles-exclusive accessories.

It may also contain island-exclusive materials and ores.

In MMOs, it’s rare to obtain items from treasure chests like in normal RPGs.

Sometimes there are games where you defeat a treasure chest monster and it drops items.

And like this time, there are treasure chests in instant dungeons.

Still, it’s not often that good items appear.

At least, that was the case in the games I’ve played so far.

「I’m afraid there might be traps on the deeper floors.」

「We advanced smoothly up to the 10th floor… could this be the entrance?」

「I don’t know. We can’t see the end around here unless we explore it properly… but there’s probably no endgame content, right?」

Anyway, we finally reached the 15th floor.

There was a treasure chest in what looked like a rest area.

When we checked inside…

「Pen!」

As usual, a Peckle was found.

This time, it was a bespectacled Peckle that looked a bit intellectual.

I gave it some appropriate instructions.

「Hey…」

「Hm?」

Sheryl called out to us with a somewhat troubled expression.

「It’s too difficult now.」

「You mean the dungeon exploration is impossible?」

「Yes.」

「I still think I can fight, but…」

「The truth is, it’s tough for me too…」

I had built up a decent amount of energy since coming to the island, but I was running low and feeling drained.

As for Sheryl, it seemed the recovery items she brought were running precariously low.

「In that case, it might be better to withdraw early rather than venturing too deep and getting into trouble.」

「Should we bring more recovery items?」

「Well… aside from Shouko, none of us are really combat-oriented.」

I was originally a laid-back fisherman, Sheryl is a shipwright, and Shouko is the combat type.

Even if we brought Romina along, I don’t think it would dramatically change things.

We somehow managed up to the 10th floor.

However, going beyond that would be difficult without a proper party or someone with high combat sense.

Even Shouko isn’t really suited for extended battles.

Spirits are fundamentally geared towards short, decisive battles.

We might be able to manage by fully stocking up on recovery items.

But that would place a huge burden on Shouko, and if a boss or different type of monster appeared, that wouldn’t cut it.

Hmm… instinctively speaking, it seems unlikely that we would be so heavily forced into combat with monsters on this island where their presence is almost nonexistent outside.

Or rather… since we can call someone if the situation becomes too much for us to handle, depending on the circumstances, there may not actually be that many elements that would leave us completely stuck in exploration.

Considering Karma Pengu strength, Shouko alone could defeat it, and with some people it would be manageable.

But this dungeon is too difficult for Shouko alone.

In that case, it’s quite possible that full exploration isn’t necessary for development, and this dungeon is just an optional extra.

Even if we had the Peckles explore it, we could probably complete it given enough time.

For players exploring, it would just shorten that period.

Otherwise, it may be a type where you steadily delve deeper to gain experience and such.

「Either way, we should head back for now. Just learning about the interior of the dungeon is a good harvest in itself. To seriously explore it, we’ll need to prepare ourselves.」

「Yes… the current situation is indeed too difficult. Let’s consult with Romina first.」

And so, we extinguished the lamp’s light and escaped from the dungeon.

†

「I see… if you can update your equipment with materials found on the island, you might barely manage, but…」

When we consulted Romina, she came up with equipment we could create from materials found on the island.

It’s not a hack-and-slash, but leveling up and improving equipment is the classic path in RPGs to clearing them.

Well, in my and Shouko’s case, it’s energy rather than levels.

「It will be difficult to produce dramatically powerful items… Also, could you tell me precisely how long you were underground?」

「Eh?」

「We were gone for about three hours, I think.」

「Hmm… the truth is, a full day has passed since you left.」

Romina answered with a somewhat perplexed expression.

「Eh!?」

No way, that makes no sense at all.

The timeline doesn’t add up.

「I suppose when you go exploring, your perception of time gets manipulated. It’s treated as if you’ve spent an entire day exploring.」

Come to think of it, Dimension Wave is a game that uses equipment to make a day feel like several years.

There was also a waiting period right before the game started, so time adjustments must exist.

In other words, time progression can probably be adjusted for individual players and locations.

Now that I think about it, if you use the facilities for sleeping, you get incredibly sleepy at an accelerated rate.

That must be an application of this system as well.

So this level of time manipulation is probably not a big deal.

「Pioneering is progressing smoothly one way or another. Even if we thoroughly explored the dungeon… from what I can tell, it’s not a place we can simply brute force our way through by creating recovery items and reinforcing our equipment.」

「Because there’s a high chance it’s at the forefront of the current update range?」

Romina nodded at my response.

「To put it bluntly, in many other games, dungeon exploration often becomes an endgame type of content. There’s a high possibility that what we’re exploring is such a place.」

Yeah, that’s right. I had the same thought.

Hmm… but now that I think about it, when did we start aiming to tackle the cutting edge content here?

Before coming here, I was just a castaway at sea.

「Maybe we should let the Peckles continue exploring while we work on other tasks.」

To be honest, I’m not really the type of laidback fisherman to have the leisure for tackling endgame content like that.

If I keep getting worn down each time I attempt it, it won’t end well, and a slow life is my motto.

I don’t want to forget my original intention to go fishing.