“How could a place like this go unnoticed?”

Claire spoke as she looked at the dungeon entrance.

True to her words, the entrance was substantial—a ruin in every sense.

A dilapidated temple lay before us, mostly crumbled beyond recognition. The ground that had once been a floor was now overgrown with thick vegetation, making it difficult to walk, while the temple itself, resembling a miniature Parthenon, was completely overtaken by ivy.

Still, it wasn’t exactly hidden. In the middle of the forest, it stood out like a clearing, and anyone approaching would immediately notice it had been constructed rather than naturally formed.

Even with the forest teeming with wild animals, it seemed unlikely that Northwood’s hunters wouldn’t be aware of its existence.

“Probably because of the relic’s power,” Alice remarked thoughtfully.

The relic’s glow had grown even brighter. There were no other obvious effects—no magical inscriptions or hidden symbols around it.

The relic itself looked like a fractured stone tablet. Etched with partial symbols, it seemed to be only a piece of a larger picture, though the nature of that image was unclear. It reminded me of the broken stone tablets often seen in horror games, where each piece was needed to unlock a door.

Given its position, it might have originally been the central fragment, but whether the complete tablet was meant to be square, triangular, or circular was impossible to tell.

I had seen this before.

In the original story, this was an item you obtained after defeating Verati.

Verati would become a prisoner of the Empire, serving as a bargaining chip between the kingdom and the Empire.

...Not a heroine. The heroine from the kingdom would make an appearance later.

But that aside…

“It likely has some form of perception-dampening magic. Even if it’s a forgotten place by the Empire’s standards, it would have been a significant site in past civilizations.”

“Perception-dampening magic? Does such a thing exist?”

“In an age when everything was solved with magic, it might have,” I replied.

Claire’s eyes widened in surprise, while Alice nodded, seeming convinced.

“That’s why the kingdom brought this relic here. At the very least, it suggests they know these sites are scattered across the world.”

“Doesn’t the Empire have relics, too?” Claire asked.

“Yes, but they don’t know how to use them or have maps marking their locations. They’re merely ‘treasured artifacts’ and nothing more.”

As Claire and Alice continued discussing, I approached the ruins slowly.

The closer I got, the brighter the blue light from the relic became.

As I moved forward on my own, I heard hurried footsteps following me.

“Do you know something we don’t?”

Bella asked as she caught up to me.

“…”

I didn’t answer.

Yes, I knew quite a bit.

For instance, I remembered the layout of this dungeon. Not in perfect detail, but seeing the structures inside would likely jog my memory, much like when I’d entered the capital’s sewers.

Moreover, this dungeon wasn’t especially challenging. It was the first “real” dungeon introduced in Chapter 2 out of the six chapters, a relatively straightforward one.

In the game, the graphics hadn’t been polished enough to depict all the dense vegetation, and the ivy didn’t move as naturally as it did here, but the faint glow from the relic and the ruins looked almost identical to what I recalled.

“From here, I’ll take the lead,” I said.

“But isn’t it dangerous…?”

“The only danger would be the monsters inside.”

I dismissed Alice’s concern with a quick response and handed the relic back to Bella.

“We don’t need the relic inside?”

“We’ll need it at the end.”

I drew the shotgun I’d prepared.

The fire-enhanced rounds would undoubtedly come in handy, given the abundance of slimes inside.

This was the first “true” dungeon, structured like an actual dungeon. The previous forest, while maze-like, hadn’t featured an underground ruin.

There were no life-threatening traps, though the paths twisted and turned, sometimes blocked by specific mechanisms.

There were simply more monsters inside.

As I pumped a shell into the shotgun’s chamber, the others exchanged glances. Even Bella shared a look with Alice.

Alice had seen me confidently navigating the sewers in the capital, but the sewers and an ancient dungeon were worlds apart. At least in the sewers, there were maps available within the Empire.

Noting their expressions, I turned back with a slight smile.

It was a smile of satisfaction.

After all, I still had a distinctive edge in this world.

---

Inside the dungeon, dimly lit stone corridors stretched in all directions.

In the game, it had been illustrated brightly enough for player convenience, but in reality, the interior was far darker. Though there was a full moon outside, it felt as though no light reached inside. Another magical effect, perhaps?

In contrast, the light from the relic Bella held was much brighter now, illuminating our surroundings in stark detail. It resembled the way it was depicted in the game.

I considered telling them to stick close behind me but held back. Everyone here had greater combat skills than I did, so there was no reason they wouldn’t be able to keep up.

We proceeded through the dungeon, guided by the relic’s light.

And before long…

“Enemy—”

Bang!

Before Claire could fully react to the slime in front of us, I pulled the trigger.

Though my aim was hasty, the powerful blast of fire from the gun was more than enough to vaporize the slime on impact.

“…”

The others stared at me, slightly open-mouthed, as I casually reloaded a shell.

Well, I’d come prepared, after all.

At least I knew what types of creatures inhabited this place.

With a small sense of pride, I moved forward slowly.

---

“Sis, you’re amazing…”

…Hmm.

Perhaps I’d overdone it a bit?

The lack of traps, coupled with the creatures inside… I’d over-prepared to such an extent that we could deal with them effortlessly. Though I only carried a handgun and shotgun, slimes were weak to heat and magic.

Mia Crowfield would’ve been a big help, but she’d adamantly refused to come to the casino. Even if she had, bringing her down here wouldn’t have felt right. If anything, I’d likely have assigned her to support Charlotte’s side.

“Hm.”

Following closely behind, Bella let out a small hum of interest as we finally reached what seemed to be the deepest part of the dungeon. Her mask’s eyeholes were darkened, making her gaze unreadable, but I could sense a shift in the way she looked at me.

“This device…”

At the deepest point in the dungeon, in front of the room housing the boss monster, was an auto-healing device.

It was a design feature in the game. To avoid the absurdity of placing a merchant right before a boss fight, the developers had opted for an ancient, magical healing device instead. It wasn’t unique to this spot but appeared in various locations throughout the game. Still, it was the first time I’d encountered one in this world.

“It’s still active,” Alice said as she approached.

The strange, spiral-shaped pillar, wrapped in vividly glowing lights, illuminated the area.

Not surprisingly, it didn’t seem to offer any shop functions.

“What exactly is this device?”

Leo frowned as he examined it closely, and only then did I realize…

Ah, we hadn’t taken any damage.

In a world where being shot was fatal, this principle applied equally to animals and monsters. With enough penetration to pierce skin, a bear would die just as a person would.

…And slimes stood no chance.

Thanks to my thorough preparation, the others had taken little to no damage.

So there was no need to heal here, and they felt nothing from the device.

…Perhaps I had overdone it after all.

For a moment, I pondered that thought.