Deep Dungeon: I’ve been thrown into a game-like world with a class system. Armed with a mediocre ability and no allies, I’ll take it easy and progress at my own pace
There was a staircase leading from the first floor to the ground level, but the exit was blocked by a wall, so I couldn’t go outside. I just wanted to confirm whether or not I could get out, and after completing the map of the first floor, I decided to head back. I took a shower, then drank an ice-cold, pitch-black carbonated drink while completely naked.
“Phew. Feels like I’m coming back to life.”
I bought that pitch-black soda for 10 galds. Roughly speaking, 1 gald is worth about 10 yen, give or take.
I earned around 3,000 galds exploring the first floor today, so it’s equivalent to earning 30,000 yen a day. Not bad at all. If I keep exploring the first floor every day, I should be able to live comfortably without any issues.
Of course, while I can survive like this, it won’t help me clear the game…
If someone else clears the game, there’s a chance I might return to Japan from this world, but it’s not guaranteed. It’s possible that one day I’ll wake up and find that everyone else has disappeared… Given that I’m the only one exploring during the night, I have no idea what’s happened to my classmates. But hey, it can’t be helped. Exploring together with someone else while laughing and having fun? That’s impossible for me unless absolutely necessary.
When Dolphin said solo play wouldn’t work, I considered teaming up, but for now, I plan to keep going solo.
“My stomach’s growling…”
When I pulled up the food menu on the display, I was surprised by how well-stocked it was.
It had everything from fresh groceries you’d find in a supermarket to instant ramen, prepackaged rice, bento boxes, and even onigiri (rice balls).
There were also restaurant-style dishes, including recipes you’d see on recipe websites.
Cooking meals myself would require ordering cooking utensils, which feels like too much effort. Maybe I’ll stick to ordering fruits or something simple.
But in the end, the item I chose was…
“A gyudon (beef bowl), obviously.”
I splurged and went for the extra-large portion. I added extra beni shoga (red pickled ginger) and chili peppers, and dug in.
“This is delicious. Moving around all day makes it taste even better.”
The pairing with the pitch-black soda was perfect. Man, it almost feels like I’m living just for moments like this.
By the time I finished eating, the sun had come out, and its brightness made me squint.
With fatigue catching up to me and the fullness hitting hard, drowsiness quickly overtook me.
“Guess I’ll sleep first…”
But before that, there’s one thing I want to check.
Over in the corner of the room is a trash bin. It looks like a laundry basket, but it’s about the size of a 50-liter trash can — decently sized.
Every time I eat, garbage will pile up. There’s no explanation about garbage collection days, but the bin clearly says “Trash Can.”
As a test, I threw in the container from my gyudon.
‘Delicious.’
“Whoa!”
The container vanished instantly!
At this point, questions like “Why does it physically disappear?” don’t even cross my mind anymore. In game logic, once you throw something away, it’s gone.
Alright, let’s toss in some items I brought back from treasure chests.
‘Delicious.’
‘Such a good item…’
‘I could use some salt too.’
What a versatile trash can with multiple lines.
I thought I might earn a bit of gald from throwing in treasure chest items, but alas, nothing came of it. From now on, I’ll stop bringing those items back.
In a way, it’s not a bad system since I can give up on them easily.
◇◇◇
“Yaaaawn.”
Slept like a log. The time is now 9:30 PM. That was quite a long nap, but I shouldn’t dwell on it.
Since I was starving, I ordered a bread-based breakfast menu and paired it with vegetable juice.
After finishing my meal, I sipped on some tea while asking Dolphin about the game mechanics.
“…And that’s how it works.”
“Hmm, got it.”
Apparently, players have two main growth systems: levels and skills.
Levels are pretty standard — they increase by defeating monsters, which boosts stats like stamina and strength.
Whether these are just abstract numerical values or if my actual body becomes tougher as I level up remains unclear. Guess I’ll find out as I progress.
Skills, on the other hand, are separate abilities.
For example, having lock-picking or trap-disarming skills allows you to open trapped treasure chests.
Skills can be learned by using specific items, but there’s also a proficiency element. For instance, disarming traps in deeper dungeon floors requires higher skill levels.
There are two key notes when learning skills. First, you need the corresponding item to learn them. Second, you must be in a non-combat area. Inside the dungeon, this means the sanctuary, and outside, it refers to places like the mansion.
Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have noticed these details without Dolphin’s info… though maybe I would’ve figured it out eventually.
Take this, for example:
I grabbed a pearl and swung it around vigorously.
≪Blunt Weapon Skill Acquired≫
Something like this could be discovered just by testing weapons in your room.
However, finding skill-learning items is another story. While obvious things like a pearl weapon are easy to understand, many items are obscure and nearly impossible to identify without hints.
Let me show you an example. Standing in front of the display, I searched for relevant items. Yep, here they are.
≪Wisdom Puzzle Purchased≫
And another one:
≪Tabi Boots Purchased≫
These are the tabi boots worn at construction sites. I wonder if they really fit the game’s aesthetic… Apparently, tattered robes could also work instead of the boots.
Anyway, let’s try them out.
“This puzzle’s trickier than I thought.”
After fiddling with the wisdom puzzle for a while, I finally solved it.
≪Trap Disarming Skill Acquired≫
Alright, next.
I put on the tabi boots and walked around.
≪Stealth Skill Acquired≫
Trap Disarming, as the name suggests, includes lock-picking capabilities. Meanwhile, Stealth reduces the chances of monsters detecting you.
They say walking around with Stealth equipped increases its proficiency, so it seems pretty handy.
You can have up to four skills initially, with an additional slot opening up every ten levels. Since I’m currently Level 1, I can only have four skills for now.
Hmm, what should my fourth skill be? Shield mastery, acrobatics, or item appraisal sound promising…