Inside storage, along with the deadly horn’s materials, was something strange: a treasure chest and a yellow crystal. It seemed the chest and its contents had been inside the deadly horn’s body and got stored along with it. I pulled out the crystal, which indeed had a yellow hue, just as the name suggested.
“Myah! Look!”
“A crystaaal.”
It was definitely one of the colored crystals—key items for conquering the dungeon. We had already found three types before. Milène had discovered the black crystal, but she’d given it to us, believing it necessary for our exploration. That one had been hidden underground, and the others were only obtainable by defeating powerful magical beasts like the deadly horn, tortoise treant, and metal golem.
Your average mercenary would’ve run, and few could have beaten those beasts. We would’ve been toast too, if it weren’t for our magic. No wonder it’s taken this long for someone to start finding crystals.
My sharp intuition told me this crystal was special. Let me line them all up.
“This makes four, but— Huh?”
“Myah!”
“Arf!”
I hadn’t given it much thought when I pulled out our green, blue, and black crystals, but the crystals in my hand began to shine intensely. The lights blended together, enveloping our surroundings. I hurriedly put the black crystal back into storage, but the glowing didn’t stop.
“Shiro! Kuro! Gimme your hands!”
“Thor!”
“Haaand.”
I immediately grabbed Shiro’s and Kuro’s hands. A blinding light flashed, forcing my eyes shut—
“Where are we...?” I muttered.
We’d been deep in the forest, but now, we were standing inside a room built from stone.
“What is this place?” said Shiro.
“We got teleporrrted.”
It was like Kuro said: It seemed we’d been forcibly teleported. We were in what looked like a transfer room, only bigger. And there was no magic circle underfoot, meaning we couldn’t go back from this point.
“A one-way trip?! It’s just one thing after another...”
Apparently, anyone who gathered the crystals got teleported here automatically. As I looked around, the room itself seemed empty, with just a single corridor leading out.
“Looks like there’s no going back, so we’ll have to move forward... I don’t sense any strong mana. How about you guys?”
“I don’t think there’s anything here.”
“Dittooo.”
So we advanced cautiously, keeping an eye out for traps. At the end of the dark, narrow passage, there was bright light spilling in. What we saw beyond it made my jaw drop.
“A g-garden...?”
“Wheeew.”
“Meooow.”
We froze. It was full of greenery, just like the forest, but this area had clearly been maintained—brick flower beds, clean water flowing through channels, and all sorts of trees planted evenly apart. Next to the flower beds bursting with blossoms sat a fancy wooden bench.
“What is this place?”
“There’s fruit growing!” said Shiro.
“And water toooo.”
The trees were heavy with ripe produce. As if that weren’t surprising enough, in the center of the area was a fountain bubbling with clear water. The sight of the strangely well-kept garden triggered something in my memory.
“Is this a safe zone...? Oh yeah, that’s right...!”
I remembered the info Milène had told me and scanned the garden. Near the entrance we’d come through, I spotted it: a strange, half-transparent hourglass. Its presence confirmed this garden was indeed a safe zone where no magical beasts appeared.
The hourglass showed different sand levels depending on who looked at it, calculating time individually. When the sand ran out, you’d be forcibly teleported out, making the hourglass the timer for how long you could stay. Since we’d all entered together, we were probably seeing nearly identical amounts of sand.
Safe zones didn’t exist in every dungeon. Some appeared right before the bottom area, others midway. I hadn’t expected one in Erunst’s dungeon at all. In fact, there was no information about such a place—maybe we were the first to reach it.
In any case, all safe zones allowed a maximum of twenty-four hours of use, and lots of mercenaries used them as a rest stop. Although, there were stories of mercenary bands monopolizing them and beginners getting attacked, so it wasn’t one hundred percent safe. At least there were no traps or monsters to worry about.
And with just us here, it was definitely safe.
“I think this is a safe place.”
“Then let’s eat!”
“Eaaat.”
“All right, all right.”
Thrown suddenly from battlefield to sanctuary, Shiro and Kuro relaxed at once, tension melting away into smiles as they pleaded for a meal. We’d had snacks along the way, so I was pretty sure they weren’t starving. It had probably become a habit for them to eat since I’d kept saying that, in the dungeon, you had to eat whenever you had the chance. Of course, they’d burned through a lot of mana finishing off the deadly horn, so they weren’t exactly full either.
“All right, I guess we can eat.”
“Myah!”
“Wuffu.”
Since we’re in a safe zone, I don’t want to dip into our meal reserve. I’d rather cook here and add to the stockpile.
“I’m gonna try using the deadly horn meat,” I said. “I wonder what rhino meat tastes like.”
“Ohh, we’re eating that huge beast?”
“Can’t waaait.”
“Go pick some fruit while I cook. There’s lots of different kinds here.”
“Got it!”
“Okaaay.”
With that kind of enthusiasm, they’d bring back plenty. I turned my attention toward cooking.
“Let’s explore!” said Shiro.
“Treasure huuunt.”
“Just don’t let your guards down.”
“Myah!”
“Arf.”
I wonder if it’s true that no monsters or traps appear here. The air does feel clean... Either way, we’re heading into unknown territory after this. Best to recover while we can—mana back to full if possible.
While I thought about what might be ahead, I kept my hands busy, and before long the first dish was ready.
“Yeah. Looks pretty good.”
“Large-horned deadly venom rhinoceros steak, isekai style.” Magical effects: medium life recovery, medium stamina recovery, small mana recovery, small life boost, small stamina boost, slight mana boost.
An appetizing steam rose from the thick slab of golden-brown steak topped with garlic look-alike slices. The aroma of meat, oil, and garlic was irresistible, and the magical effects weren’t bad either. Shiro and Kuro would be thrilled.
“There’s red fruit over there!” said Shiro.
“Over there toooo.”
Their cheerful voices rang out while I cooked. Thirty minutes passed without a single attack or trap. Instead, the comfortably temperate, pure atmosphere had us more relaxed than we’d ever been since entering the dungeon.
“We found lots of fruit!”
“This one looks taaasty.”
“Oh yeah?” I said. “You’re right, you really did get a lot.”
The apple-like mellum and mulberry-like nanal, I’d already seen in the dungeon, but they also had eglo, which resembled a mandarin orange; olem, which resembled an oriental melon but tasted like a pear; and igai, which looked like a cherry tomato but tasted like a persimmon.
According to my knowledge, each of these has a different place of origin and production area, so for them to be growing together in the same garden is impossible... Even the harvest seasons and climate are being ignored. That’s the dungeon for you.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed the fruits had faint traces of mana. It seemed safe-zone fruit carried slight purification and detox effects. You wouldn’t notice it unless you could tell just by looking at it like I could, but with the right prep, the effects should be enhanced.
“There were fish too!” said Shiro.
“Biiig fish. Kuro caught one!”
“Myah, I lost this time!”
There were freshwater fish swimming in the fountain. Kuro had one clutched in her grasp, proudly holding it overhead as it tried to wriggle free.
I get that you’re happy, but it’s splashing water everywhere! And your hands are gonna smell fishy—I can smell it already!