Chapter 56

The first level was a single path through the cave, and at the end was a staircase room that led directly to the second level.

Upon appraisal, the area around the stairs was a safety zone, measuring about 3 meters on each side.

“Hmm, this is a bit… off.”

In fact, the temporary base I had expanded using earth magic was larger and more comfortable. So, I decided to skip the safety area and head directly down to the second level.

“It’s strange that we’re going down to the second floor. Does that mean it’s technically the underground second floor?”

Relying on the faint, soft light from the glowing rock walls, I descended the stone staircase. The stairs continued through a landing, turning 180 degrees as they went.

“Huh, is it brighter here than the previous cave?”

Blueish-white light filled my vision, and I stepped forward, suppressing the excitement building within me.

The second level, like the first, was a cave area, but the ceiling and width were much higher, and large amounts of crystals resembling blue-glowing stones were embedded in the walls.

“Wow. Are these crystal-like stones glowing?”

Standing before the beautiful crystal rocks, I was mesmerized by the enchanting sight.

Upon appraising a glowing blue crystal, I discovered it was a rare mineral called Indigo Light Quartz.

I vaguely recalled that a crystal of the same name existed in Japan, but this one had a completely different color.

Indigo Light—quartz containing blue tourmaline—usually has a deep indigo hue, but the crystals in this cave emitted a bright and translucent blue light.

“These are natural light crystals in the cave. I wonder if they can be harvested?”

Upon further appraisal, I learned that while they could be mined, their light would fade within half a day of being extracted.

Some adventurers use these as temporary light sources in dungeons, but once the light fades, they turn into regular quartz, and lanterns last longer, so they aren’t very popular.

“Such a shame, they’re so beautiful. I might as well give mining a try.”

I took a nearby blue crystal and broke it off with my survival knife. The crystal, about the size of my thumb, glowed like a small penlight.

I stored it in my [Item Box] and decided to convert it into points as a test. It seemed to have been classified as a mined item and converted to 3000 points.

“A thumb-sized crystal is worth 3000 points? That’s pretty good.”

Since my survival knife, brought from Japan, had been blessed by a creator god and transformed into an indestructible item, I could mine ores without the need for a hammer or chisel.

Looking around, I saw that many other blue-glowing crystals grew throughout the cave.

“Alright, time to make some extra cash.”

The points from goblin and slime magic stones were pretty low. So, I wanted to make a little profit here in the second level.

“Maybe earth magic would be more efficient than the knife? Well, I’ll just try both.”

To keep monsters and magical beasts at bay, I pulled out a tent from my [Item Box] and set it up. With the magical barrier of the tent in place, I could focus on mining.

“Mining in a dungeon really feels like a game. It’s pretty fun.”

I didn’t want to mine the entire cave, as that would leave it pitch dark, so I left some light sources and dug out a large amount of Indigo Light Quartz.

“I can’t believe I’ve accumulated 200,000 points. That’s amazing.”

Grinning, I checked my points.

The thumb-sized crystals were worth a decent amount, but the larger, more luxurious clusters of crystals, almost like chandelier-sized formations, earned me even more.

“If they respawn, this could be very profitable. I want to stay here and rake in more points, but…”

Turning my gaze deeper into the cave, I noticed a small underground lake. The deep blue color was almost hypnotic.

“I want to see that beautiful sight up close, so I’ll move on. I want to find a good spot to set up my base too.”

While camping by the beautiful underground lake sounded nice, there was no safety area nearby, and frankly, I was starting to get tired of the cave scenery.

“I heard there’s an open sky in the dungeon, so I’d rather find a place where I can enjoy the blue sky or starry night.”

I stored the tent and ventured deeper into the second level.

Using my skills in [Sense Presence] and [Auto Map], I dealt with the goblins, slimes, and kobolds that appeared along the way.

As I followed the underground lake, I came to a dead-end room. Upon entering, I felt a sense of security, realizing this was a safety area, but the cave was humid and poorly lit.

“I’ll just pass through quickly.”

There were no stairs leading down, just a stone door, so I placed my palm on it.

The softly glowing teleportation door transported me.

Here I go, to the third level.

“Finally, open sky! The sunset is so refreshing!”

The third level seemed to have escaped the cave area, revealing a spacious grassland.

It seemed that time in the dungeon was synchronized with the outside world, and a reddish-purple sky stretched overhead, making me sigh in awe. I’d been stuck in either rainy skies or endless stone for so long that this sight was especially moving.

“Oh! A rabbit!”

A small magical presence caught my attention: it was a Horn Rabbit.

It had pure white fur, but was known to be a vicious magical beast. It would lunge with its sharp horns, aiming for critical hits, and was notorious among adventurers for being a “newbie killer.”

To me, having hunted plenty of them in the large forest, it was just a tasty meat source.

I easily dodged its sharp horns and swung my machete to decapitate it.

The drops were a magic stone and meat.

I gathered the meat, knowing it would always be useful, and stored the magic stone for point exchange.

“The time is probably around 5 PM. I need to hurry and find a safety area. If I can’t, I’ll just camp in the dungeon with the tent’s barrier.”

That idea was kind of fun, I thought.

The third level was still a shallow floor, so only weak magical beasts appeared.

Since it was a grassland, it was likely to be home to rabbits, mice, wolves, or foxes.

That made it similar to camping in a regular grassland.

“Right. I’ll just pitch my tent in a place with a good view, even if it’s not a safety area.”

Solo camping under the starry sky was something I hadn’t done in a while. I’d been avoiding BBQs in the cave due to smoke and smell, but now I could finally enjoy one again.

“Alright, time to find a spot and hunt for some meat. I’ll go for the Horn Rabbit, or any boa-type magical beasts.”

With machete in hand, I started searching the area.

I ran in the direction the [Auto Map] indicated, finding and annihilating a group of Wild Wolves with fire magic.

I carelessly picked up the fur, magic stones, and fangs, throwing them into my [Item Box].

“Looks like there are a lot of wolves in the grassland.”

I clicked my tongue and activated [Sense Presence] to track down the tasty meat or magical beasts.

Since the group likely consisted of carnivorous magical beasts, I focused on tracking down a single creature.

“Yes! There it is!”

I didn’t want to bother running all the way, so I carelessly threw a large fireball, setting the surrounding grass on fire.

In the end, I only managed to acquire Horn Rabbit meat, so I gave up on BBQ and enjoyed some skewered meat instead.