“I had heard that the weather in the mountains is unpredictable, but the rain in the dense forest was just as capricious.
One moment, it would rain heavily, pounding the ground like a downpour, and the next, fine mist would cover the greenery.
During the brief clear spells, I would carefully slip out of the cave and gather resources or hunt to earn points.
The rain would stop for no longer than two hours at a time, and then it would start pouring again, so I had to return to my base before getting drenched.
Fortunately, it seemed the high elf body was naturally in tune with the environment, and I could somehow read the weather, so I had yet to get completely soaked.
On all-day rainy days, I would pass the time with reading or cooking. Since I could finish a comic book quickly, I had started reading novels more often lately.
When I got tired of novels, I would kill time with puzzle books like Sudoku or crosswords from the 100-yen shop.
“I never thought there would be books at the 100-yen store. I had no idea.”
The books at the 100-yen store were mostly children’s picture books. There were also world maps, coloring books, and quiz books.
“The coloring books for adults were surprisingly fun. I ended up collecting colored pencils.”
Since they were for adults, the designs were quite detailed, and it was hard to color in the lines. However, the sense of accomplishment when finishing them was exceptional. I especially liked coloring flower and bird designs, and I became hooked on the activity of matching color schemes—something I kept secret from my younger cousins.
There were also practice books for penmanship, math, and kanji drills.
I was surprised when I saw a practice book for the Heart Sutra, but it was unexpectedly fun, and by the time I finished one, my brush pen writing had improved a lot, which made me laugh.
Puzzle books, Sudoku, and crosswords were perfect for passing the time.
That’s how I managed to cope with life in the cave, but…
“I’m bored…”
It was the fifth day of the rainy season, and I was already tired of living in the cave base.
Since reincarnating into this world, I had been constantly moving my body, so the cramped space of the cave was becoming unbearable.
I had worked hard on leveling up, but I felt like my body was getting sluggish, and I couldn’t stand that.
So, as a new way to pass the time and get some exercise, I started expanding the cave.
“The living-dining area and bedroom are too small, I might as well dig further in.”
The torrential rain didn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon.
If I expanded the base, I could get some light exercise by stretching, so I began digging deeper into the cave with that lighthearted thought in mind. Surprisingly, it was quite fun.
As part of my magic training, I also tried using Water Cutter, a water blade magic, to cut through rocks, in addition to using earth magic to transform the sand and store it.
The sand and rocks I mined were considered gathered materials, so they also helped me earn points bit by bit.
Since I was afraid of cave-ins, I used the [Appraisal] skill frequently to check and carefully progressed with digging.
After about three days of digging, I felt something different. The rock wall was much harder than usual. According to the appraisal, the concentration of magical energy was quite high.
This sparked my interest, and with all my magical power, I used the Water Cutter to grind away at the rocks. After some effort, I managed to make a hole.
The rock with a high magical energy concentration awarded more than double the usual points, so I focused intently on digging. Then, with a sound of something giving way, I broke through.
“Did this connect to another cave?”
It seemed I had accidentally opened a horizontal hole in the rock passage, which was nearly two meters wide.
Driven by curiosity, I stepped into the passage. Despite having forgotten my lantern in the cave, it was strangely bright. It seemed the moss covering the rock walls of the passage was emitting a faint glow.
“It’s nice to have natural lighting. The footing looks easy, but could this be a man-made structure…?”
The passage was cool and comfortable. With the convenient moss around, I thought that maybe I could move my base here. Absently, I used the [Appraisal] skill.
And the result was quite surprising.
“Huh? A dungeon…?”
As I stood there in a daze, I sensed something approaching from behind. Turning around, I saw about three goblins with clubs.
As soon as they noticed me, they let out a roar and charged.
“Seriously? It’s really a dungeon!”
I managed to defeat the three goblins with a quick fire spell.
Though I thought they would leave behind charred remains, after the flames died down, three magic stones and a single club remained.
I marveled at this dungeon’s drop system as I picked up the magic stones.
I didn’t want to touch the filthy club, but since it seemed to be a drop item, I purified it and stored it.
“The club… 10 points? That’s a bit underwhelming.”
Still, it was a drop item. Even though the goblin magic stones didn’t give many points, a little here and there adds up.
“Still, I can’t believe my base connects to a dungeon. I knew there were dungeons in the Demon Mountains, but…”
I had originally planned to challenge a dungeon. I intended to level up, earn points, and hunt for rare drops, planning to search for a dungeon once the rainy season ended.
“Since I’ll be bored during the rainy season anyway, this is perfect. Let’s tackle the dungeon.”
For now, I decided to leave my base as is and explore the dungeon.
Just to be safe, I left my tent set up at the base. With the barrier blessed by the Creator God, this place wouldn’t be invaded.
“Then, I’ll put a folding table here, so the hole leading to the dungeon doesn’t get blocked.”
According to the magic book, dungeons have a restoration feature. No matter how much they’re destroyed during combat, they will return to normal after some time.
It seems that if inorganic objects are left in the dungeon, outside the safety area, they get absorbed and disappear.
“If it were an ordinary table, it would probably be destroyed or absorbed during the dungeon’s restoration process. But this folding table is blessed by the Creator God, so it’s indestructible.”
If I leave it in the hole I just opened, the opening should remain about as wide as the table.
I was hesitant to move my entire base, not knowing what the dungeon inside would be like.
“If I find a good safety area, I can move there.”
The base inside the cave was safe and comfortable, so I wanted to keep it. It was also convenient for gathering and hunting.
“It would be nice to have a folding chair for breaks in the safety area.”
I stored a few camping supplies I had set up at the base in the [Item Box] and began preparing for my dungeon exploration.
I already had plenty of food and water stored, and if necessary, I could always get more supplies from online magic shopping.
“I’m confident in my agility.”
With a bow on my back and a machete-like blade in my right hand, which I had gotten from a hobgoblin, I decided to dive into the dungeon without much hesitation.
“Taking care of myself is my motto. For now, I’ll check this floor. I’ll decide whether to move my base after doing some investigation.”
I thought I should at least make a map so I wouldn’t get lost. I stuffed a notebook and pen in my pocket and stepped over the table.
The faintly glowing, unnatural cave was vastly different from my base in terms of magical energy concentration.
“So this is a dungeon… Those guys must be doing their best, huh? I can’t fall behind, I need to earn too.”
With the [Presence Detection] skill, I could sense the number of monsters nearby. I whistled lightly.
It seemed like there were plenty of points and experience to be earned here.
