Yeah, Yeah, Another World, Another World
“Stop just looking and help me out, will you?”
“Nothing seems to be working.”
“If I use a greatsword, I think I can do it!”
“I’d rather not risk bending the sword.”
Finally, before us, having reached the 8th basement floor, appeared the monster Golem.
Contrary to my preconceived image of a chubby clay figure shaped like a human or a robot made of bricks, the real Golem resembled a comical statue with short limbs protruding from what looked like a washing machine.
Its movements were as sluggish as its appearance suggested, so we had plenty of time to greet it.
“Hello there! Are you being controlled by someone?”
“A doll probably won’t talk back, don’t you think?”
“Just in case, you know, just in case.”
The Golem noticed us, closed the distance, and attempted to attack using its short limbs. However, as expected, those stubby arms weren’t suited for attacking and couldn’t keep up with our movements.
Its main method of attack seemed to be body-slamming with its heavy frame. Getting crushed by that would certainly be disastrous.
“Magic incoming!”
I heard Aoi’s voice from behind and leaped out of the way.
A fireball struck and exploded on the Golem, but it didn’t seem to cause any damage.
“Next one coming!”
The next spell was a heat ray. It was aimed at the Golem for several seconds, but aside from its surface glowing red-hot, its movements remained unchanged.
“This isn’t working. Let’s try the hammer.”
After confirming that fire magic had no effect, I started attacking with the sledgehammer. With all my might, I struck the stone Golem’s torso, causing cracks to appear on its surface. I repeated the process. After about five full-power strikes, the Golem’s torso finally collapsed.
“Isn’t this exhausting?”
“Six more to go.”
An unsympathetic cheer reached my ears from behind.
◇◇◇◇◇
Since coming to this world, my stamina had skyrocketed, and I hadn’t felt any fatigue—until now, when I finally found myself breathing heavily, shoulders heaving.
“This is tough.”
I sat down on the floor to catch my breath.
“Good work,” Matsushita said, offering me a canteen.
“Thanks.”
I took a sip from the canteen to moisten my throat and then lay flat on my back on the floor.
“I’m done with Golems!”
“How about we just destroy their legs and move on? If the drops aren’t good, that works too.”
“True. Anything good dropped?” I asked Okuda , who was inspecting the Golem’s remains.
“Hmm, there are a few bars that look like iron.”
“Iron? Great! Let’s just break the legs and move on! That’s the plan!”
After encountering Golems multiple times afterward, we confirmed that breaking one leg and knocking them over rendered them unable to get back up. So, we left them be and advanced without finishing them off.
◇◇◇◇◇
We were progressing smoothly through the 9th basement floor. Since most of the monsters here were Golems, we continued advancing swiftly using the leg-breaking bypass strategy we’d developed earlier.
As we were making good progress through the labyrinth, a fork in the path appeared before us. Rocco , who was leading the way, turned right, and everyone followed suit.
At that moment, something caught my eye to the left. Peering down the corridor, I spotted an opulent set of golden double doors that seemed out of place in this dungeon. They were slightly ajar.
“Hey, Rocco , what’s with the golden doors?”
Everyone stopped and turned to look at me.
“You shouldn’t go near those. According to the map, vampires supposedly appear beyond them.”
“Vampires, huh…?”
The quintessential fantasy vampire. For a fleeting moment, I felt an urge to peek inside.
“Would it be dangerous to take a quick peek through the crack?”
“Well, I dunno. I’ve never been to this floor before. But I’ve heard plenty of stories about parties challenging vampires and getting wiped out.”
“Fire and holy attributes are effective against the undead.”
The mysterious “Otherworld Teacher” offered some tactical advice.
“No way, I don’t want to fight. It’s scary.”
Still, judging by the extravagance of the doors, there was likely a treasure trove inside.
“Alright, I’ll just take a quick peek through the gap. If it looks dangerous, I’ll pull back immediately.”
“Leave the hammer here so you can fire a fireball quickly, and hold your staff while you go.”
I decided to follow Okuda ’s advice.
Crouching slightly, I slowly approached the door and peered inside, much like when I had glimpsed the temple through a hole before.
Beyond the door was a long, luxurious room—or rather, a hall fit for an audience. Stone pillars lined the space, and a red carpet stretched toward the back of the room.
At the end of the carpet was a raised platform, where a majestic chair resembling a throne stood.
Someone was seated on the throne. Surely, that was the vampire.
The next moment, the doors swung wide open, and I was pulled into the room against my will. Everyone else from the corridor was also sucked in, and we all found ourselves standing on the crimson carpet.
I looked at the vampire on the throne.
“!!!!!!”
The vampire wore a black formal suit, legs crossed, sitting regally on the throne. His silver hair was long and straight, reaching down to his chest.
His beauty was terrifying, and he turned his face toward us with a cold smile.
(What do we do?)
(Everyone, prepare for battle.)
Each of us gripped our weapons, glaring at the vampire as we prepared for the impending fight.
Alright.
I took a deep breath.
“Hello there! Are you a resident of this labyrinth?”
“……”
“Hmm, indeed I am.”
“HE SPOKE!!!!”
To our surprise, the vampire responded. This was the first monster I’d encountered since coming to this world that could speak.
◇◇◇◇◇
“Of course.”
“M-My apologies. We’ve never gotten a response when talking to monsters before.”
“Are there other vampires besides me?”
“No, we tried talking to Golems and such on the upper floors, but they never responded.”
“Obviously! And why would you compare me to a Golem?!”
“We were thinking of all monsters in the labyrinth as a category…”
“Hmm, monsters, you say…”
Just as the vampire began pondering, Rocco spoke up.
“M-Master, have you been talking to the vampire this whole time?”
“Huh? Can’t you hear him?”
“I can tell he’s saying something, but I can’t understand the words.”
“Ah, the translation bracelet.”
It seemed the vampire was speaking a different language. Thus, neither Rocco nor Osato could understand what was being said.
“If we categorize you as a monster born in the same labyrinth, then yes, I suppose that’s accurate.”
“So you were born here?”
“I’ve been here since I became aware of my own consciousness.”
So he was indeed a kind of monster created by the labyrinth.
“Have you stayed in this room all along?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever gone outside?”
“The thought of leaving here never occurred to me.”
This vampire seemed to lead a rather lonely existence.
“Haven’t adventurers come to this room to defeat you?”
“Many times. They all attacked without speaking, so I fought them. Most ended up defeated, though occasionally I lost as well.”
The vampire looked slightly embarrassed, which was oddly endearing. So there were adventurers capable of defeating a vampire.
“When you say you lost, does that mean you were killed? Then why are you here now?”
“When I come to, I find myself seated here again.”
So he respawned after being defeated.
“Will you fight us next?”
“Are you going to attack me?”
“No, of course not. We can have a normal conversation.”
Good. It looked like we wouldn’t have to fight. Let’s escape while we can.
“We’re heading to the underground lake on the lower floor, so we’ll be leaving now.”
“Hmm, understood.”
As I turned to open the golden doors, the vampire suddenly called out.
“Wait a moment. I’ll come with you.”
“??????”
“Is it okay for you to leave here?”
“I don’t know.”
He really didn’t know.
“Then will you join us?”
“Yes.”
And so, the vampire decided to accompany us.
“Is that alright?” Okuda whispered cautiously.
“I’m not sure, but I figured it must be boring staying here all the time.”
“Well, yeah, but I don’t want to get my blood sucked out of nowhere.”
“Why don’t you ask him directly?”
“U-Um, Mr. Vampire, will you naturally suck our blood?”
You’re actually asking him.
“Of course not. I don’t need sustenance like food. Also, my name is Luciti.”
“Luciti, got it. Understood.”
With our new companion Luciti joining us, we resumed our journey toward the underground lake on the 10th basement floor.
◇◇◇◇◇
“Can you turn into mist?”
“Yes.”
“Can you transform into a bat?”
“Yes, I can.”
Luciti was bombarded with questions from everyone. Once we realized he bore no ill intent, we warmed up to him almost instantly.
“Weren’t you bored staying in that room all the time?” Aoi asked.
“Hmm. I knew the word ‘boredom,’ but I never considered whether I was bored or not. Walking through the labyrinth like this has made me realize how monotonous my previous environment was.”
“Then it’s good you came out, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Aoi’s carefree smile was dazzling. I worried if the holy magic aura around her would make Luciti melt or something.
As we talked, the stairs leading to the 10th basement floor came into view.
“It’d be great if you could come down with us,” Okuda said to Luciti. However, she had already mentioned the general rule that “dungeon monsters can’t cross floors,” so Luciti grew visibly worried.
“If I’m not restricted by such rules, that would be fine, but I’ve never even left the room before, so I have no idea what will happen.”
We finally reached the stairs, and everyone began descending. When I turned to check on Luciti, he was standing still, staring at his feet. Could it be that he couldn’t move?
“Alright.”
Luciti steeled himself and began descending the stairs.
◇◇◇◇◇
“We did it! You can move freely here!”
Luciti stood triumphantly on the 10th basement floor.
“Yes, thank you all. I worried you.”
Luciti was all smiles.
“By the way, this 10th floor is completely different from the others.”
Rocco was right. Unlike the previous floors, the 10th basement resembled a natural cave. The ground was muddy, and stalactites hung from the ceiling. Extra caution would be required here.
“The underground lake should be close,” Rocco said, starting to move forward.
◇◇◇◇◇
“Enemies incoming.”
Upon hearing Hayato’s warning, everyone prepared for battle. Three giant crabs, each about a meter tall, appeared ahead.
“Firing!”
The moment the crabs came into view, Aoi launched a fireball. It flew straight toward the crab, exploding on impact and blowing off half its body.
“Good, we can defeat them!”
Matsushita approached the crab on the far right and cut off all the limbs on one side. Once immobilized, Okuda climbed onto its back and plunged a greatsword from its back to its abdomen, finishing it off.
Luciti picked up the middle crab with one hand and hurled it against the cave wall, causing it to burst.
“Whoa!”
Everyone was stunned by his strength.
“What kind of adventurers beat a vampire like Luciti…?”
Rocco voiced exactly what I was thinking.
“That was long ago, and we didn’t exchange names, so I don’t know who they were.”
The battle ended in an instant, and drop items scattered everywhere.
“Ah!!! Crab meat!!!” Okuda exclaimed upon seeing the drops.
“What?! Crab meat?!”
“Senpai, let’s take a break and boil some, shall we?”
“Sure, sounds good!”
Okuda detached a pot hanging from her backpack, poured water from a magical canteen, and gathered stones to create a makeshift stove. Using a salmon rod, she lit a flame beneath the pot and waited for the crabs to boil.
“Um, Misaki, can I ask you something?” Rocco said.
“Aren’t centipedes and crabs pretty much the same?”
“What are you saying?! They’re completely different!”
Rocco had clearly stepped on a landmine.
“Centipedes are creepy crawlies hiding in damp places! Crabs are different—they live in happy, sunny spots!”
Technically, crabs live in dark underwater environments, so by that definition, they’d be “creepy crawlies” too.
“But both centipedes and crabs make that kasa kasa sound, right?”
“Don’t lump them together! Crabs make a shaka shaka sound, not kasa kasa !”
I wondered if Japanese onomatopoeia was accurately translated in this world.
In the meantime, the crabs finished boiling, so I took a bite.
“Oh, this is delicious.”
Everyone else began eating too.
“This is good!”
“I could eat this endlessly.”
“It tastes just like real crab!”
Behind everyone happily devouring the crab, Luciti stood frozen, still holding a piece.
“Aren’t you eating? Do you have an allergy?” Okuda asked.
“No, I’m fine… I think. I’ve just never eaten anything before.”
“So this is your first solid food! Your first meal!”
Luciti closed his eyes for a moment to focus, then bit into the crab with determination.
“…Hmm. This is… yes, very good!”
Luciti beamed, and everyone else couldn’t help but smile along.
“There’s not much left, so everyone dig in!”
The crab was quite tasty, but it seemed like a lot of effort to come all the way to the 10th basement for it.
When we return to town, I’ll ask Rio if there are any restaurants serving crab dishes.