Chapter 10

“Now, then! This dungeon, the Twilight Temple, is where we will hold the exam.” A short while after Lorna arrived to take the adventurers exam, she and the other examinees were led to the beginner dungeon just outside town by Elmina, the exam’s proctor. “All of you will be exploring this dungeon alone. If you can complete the task written on the piece of paper I handed to each of you, you pass. However, if you use a Wings of Return item to warp back to the dungeon entrance, you will be immediately disqualified. Do keep that in mind.” Each examinee looked at the slip of paper in their hand. Relief seemed to wash over the group. “Seriously? This is it? Doesn’t look like this exam’s gonna be so tough,” one of them said. “All we gotta do is go into a beginner dungeon? This is way easier than last time.” “I was worried it was going to be something like a mock battle against an A-Rank skill wielder again…” Based on everyone’s reactions, it seemed like the examination wouldn’t be particularly difficult. Feeling relieved, Lorna looked down at the piece of paper she had been given. TASK: RETRIEVE THE LABYRINTH CORE FROM THE DEEPEST LEVEL OF THE DUNGEON “……………………Hmm?” That sounded plenty difficult to Lorna. Do people really think this…is easy? Lorna wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about dungeons, but getting to the bottom level did not sound easy to her. However, since Elmina was the examiner, Lorna thought there must be some reason behind the choice. Someone like her would never give out an unreasonably difficult task. “The examination must be just and fair, you fool!!!” Lorna hadn’t sensed so much as an ounce of deceit in that soulful cry. So the obvious conclusion was that everyone had been given a more or less equal trial. This is a beginner dungeon, right? Maybe it really will be easy, thought Lorna. “Lorna Hermit… It’s your turn.” “Oh! Okay!” She stepped up when her name was called and took her turn entering the dungeon. Once inside, she carefully descended the stairs into the underground temple. “Whoa…” From out of the darkness, a golden structure appeared. Lorna looked up and saw that the cave ceiling was covered with crystallized gems that shone with a bright golden light. They looked like stars and lit the path into the temple. “It’s so pretty,” said Lorna, feeling just like a tourist on vacation. “…Oh!” Then she remembered that this was an examination and quickly snapped back to her senses. I really need to focus on the exam. Do you think…it would be cheating if I used the internet? She thought this over for a moment. Yeah… this seems like a bit of a pain. I should just look it up. Internet was one of the skills at her disposal, after all. So without further ado, she looked up the dungeon. Map: The Twilight Temple A beginner dungeon west of Aiphoné. The dungeon was created long ago by the Twilight Dragon Cult. The magic power of the dragon sealed within has, over millennia, crystallized to form gems that line the walls and ceiling of the dungeon. The temple is primarily used as a tutorial for dungeon puzzles during the starting hours of the main story. But once you have finished part one and obtained the key words, you can get to the bottom floor of the dungeon to fight the boss. “All right. Looks like there’s a map here as well. First, I’d better get to the bottom floor. It’s nine levels down, huh? I guess if I can get there, I’ll find the Labyrinth Core.” Lorna was a bit nervous. This was her first time in a dungeon. But thankfully, she had the internet on her side. With its help, she could see the map for every floor all the way to the bottom. She even knew where to expect traps, how to solve the puzzles, and where monsters would spawn. She knew it all. All she had to do was follow along. “Okay, so… There should be a trap here,” said Lorna, as she hopped over a spot on the floor to avoid it. “This chest here is a Mimic, and…it looks like there’s an item on the ground in this small room over here.” She searched for a small indentation in the floor and a glittering medal. This was an item called an Ancient Medal. They could be traded to people called Medal Collectors for rare items. Or at least, that was what it said on the internet. “And it looks like monsters show up right around this corner.” Before proceeding, Lorna tapped her staff against the ground. According to the map, she was just close enough to be in range of the monsters. “All right—Terra Drain!” She cast her MP-absorbing area of effect spell. Gyaaaah! The monsters cried out, and green-colored light flowed from around the corner and into the jewel adorning Lorna’s staff. She peeked her head around to see the effects of her spell. The bat monsters were incapacitated now that their MP had been reduced to zero. They had fallen to the ground and lay motionless. Lorna pointed her staff toward them. “Giant Bats are weak to Ice, so… Petit Ice!” Crack-crickle-crackk! A wave of ice shot from her staff, freezing the bats, the traps, and the entire hallway along with them. Giant Bat swarm defeated! You gained 202 EXP! “All right, looking good! ” Lorna had been a little nervous entering a dungeon for the first time, but it seemed like it wouldn’t be so difficult after all. “Is every dungeon going to be this easy? I feel kind of guilty…,” she muttered. She felt bad for all the adventurers of the world who had to struggle their way through dungeons. The scenery here is so beautiful. It feels like I’m on a nice little hike. It might be pretty fun to play tourist and visit all the dungeons around the world. Lorna skipped along, humming as she went. It almost felt like this place was designed to be fun. Just walking around it was strangely pleasant. “It looks like getting to the bottom floor’s going to be a piece of cake!” “…The bottom floor of the dungeon?! Mistress Elmina, did you really give that girl such a dangerous task?” “Yes… I did.” Meanwhile, Elmina and the middle-aged examiner were speaking in hushed voices near the dungeon’s entrance. “And as you’re no doubt aware, no one’s ever even made it past the second floor of the Twilight Temple,” Elmina continued. “You know why, don’t you?” “Because of the puzzle found there, right?” “Yes, exactly.” Most dungeons were built around puzzles. There was no proceeding past a certain point without solving them. The Twilight Temple was no different. The instant an adventurer descended the stairs to the second floor, a trap would be sprung and the adventurer would be stuck. The only way to escape the room was to solve the puzzle. “Heh-heh… Solving the puzzle on the second floor is impossible. To succeed, you’d have to know what the puzzle was!” Many an adventurer had tried their hand at the second floor’s puzzle. But none of them had ever been able to crack it. And the reason was simple: The instructions to solve the puzzle were written in a language that no one alive knew how to read. The theory was that the words were written in a long-forgotten language from an ancient civilization of magic…and all who had tried to decipher its meaning had failed. How could one solve a puzzle without knowing what the puzzle was in the first place? Even worse, every time someone put forth an incorrect answer, monsters would appear. In other words, guessing at random wouldn’t work, either. “The only way back is to use a Wings of Return item to warp to the entrance. But the one I gave to Lorna Hermit was fake. Get it? She will surely be trapped on the second floor forever.” “Y-yes, but…was it truly necessary to go to such lengths to fail the girl?” “Excuse me? Is a peasant like you with a garbage skill really complaining about the decision that I, Elmina Manaflame, retainer to the Guugelheit family, personally made?” “I, um, seem to recall you besmirching the Guugelheit name very recently…” “Wh-whatever! This will be the end of Lorna Hermit!” If Elmina succeeded in sealing away a monster like that girl, she was certain to be commended by the Guugelheits. And that meant that Elmina would get to continue living the elite life after all. “Ah-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha! As if I would ever fear the likes of Lorna Hermit! After all, I was born to be an elite!” Elmina cackled villainously. But as she laughed… Rmmmmbbbbb! Rmmmmmbbb! …the earth began to tremble violently. It was as though an enormous monster was on a rampage deep in the depths of the dungeon. “………………” “Wh-what in the world?! Mistress Elmina, what do you suppose is—? M-Mistress Elmina?” “…I hate this! I’m scared! I want to go home!” “Mistress Elmina?!” Meanwhile… Lorna had already reached the fourth floor of the dungeon. The entrance to the room had been sealed off with iron bars. But this proved no problem for Lorna. “Uh, let’s see. ‘Touch the two crystals in the following order to open the door: Right, left, right, right, right, left.’ And…there!” Rmmmmmbbb! A stone door parted, revealing a set of stairs leading down to the next level. “Okay! It was just like the internet said! ” And with that, Lorna had cleared the fourth floor. Since each level only had a single puzzle to solve, making her way through the dungeon wasn’t taking that much time at all. The fact that this dungeon was likely meant as a test of one’s wisdom was of little concern to Lorna. The puzzles aren’t very challenging if you already know the answer. Dealing with simple puzzles was much better than having to defeat a bunch of monsters. I feel kinda bad, though… Sorry, everyone who made this dungeon! Lorna apologized earnestly in the depths of her heart as she made her way to the next floor.