CHAPTER "383"

Riddle

[Groooowl… glug… glug…!!]

[(THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD…)]

The stone stage had stopped moving. And then, meaningfully, a stone lantern sprouted from its center. In such a situation, we held our breaths and exchanged glances.

"It… stopped, huh…"

"Yeah."

"And, uh… something grew there…"

"Mmm…"

I mean, I know this kind of thing.

It’s a common setup in RPG games and stuff. But when you’re actually thrown into a situation like this yourself, you kinda freeze up, unsure what to do.

"Hey, you two, look around. It’s good that it stopped and got a little brighter, but I don’t see anything that looks like an exit anywhere?"

figcaptionattachment__caption""But Nina-san, the first to shift her attention from the suspicious stone lantern to our surroundings, informs us that there doesn’t seem to be any exit in this space. Hearing that, Serai-san and I also turn our gazes around.

What we see is a structure somewhat similar to the large dome above, but way more compact.

The area around the stone stage was a space where the walls stood just about a meter away. Above us, the dark void still stretched upward, the ceiling not having closed, but escaping from here didn’t seem realistic.

And even if we did go back up, there was no exit there either.

But, well, as a sort of consolation—no monsters, no signs of traps. So if I had to compare it to something with a similar vibe, the stone stage was like an elevator… or maybe a tower-style parking garage?

"So that means… if we do something about this stone lantern, a path forward might open? Some kind of puzzle…"

As I mutter that, the two of them turn their eyes toward what I’m holding. The newly expanded spatial storage is filled to the brim with giant aphid fluids, so I’ve just been carrying it around.

"Then… is it that thing in your hand?"

"Uh, yeah, it’s definitely that, right?"

Yep. Just as they said, the stone lantern sprouting from the floor had a hole that looked just the right size for the crystal in my hand.

"Wait, hold on, you two! I’ve been trying to read this thing’s properties with [Item Memory Appraisal], but I’ve got nothing. So let’s investigate a bit more first!"

At that, the two of them peer curiously at the basketball-sized orange crystal in my hands.

"Huh? Even Egetsu-san’s powers can’t tell what this is?"

"Nope. [Appraisal]’s completely failing."

"Then we’ve got no chance, huh~. I did get a little better at aura sight from mountain training, but I’m still nowhere near that level yet."

"Hmm… I think just inserting it would be the fastest way…"

As for what this is—sure, we could make guesses, but given how many mistakes we’ve made lately due to preconceptions and assumptions, that’d be risky. We have to be more careful.

"Oh, right—Queen. Queen, do you know what this is?"

I turn the crystal toward Pixie Queen and ask. But in response, she makes a deeply disgusted face, flaps her wings, and puts a lot of distance between us.

(What…? That reaction just now…?)

"Hey, Coach. This lantern—it’s another one of those dungeon things we can’t break, right? I’ll try checking it with aura."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, probably. Like the iron door in the Fridge Dungeon—even if the ground looks like you could dig through it, you can only scrape the surface."

We even tested it in the layer where the giant beetle larvae were, but the result was the same.

"Then I’ll use aura sight too and check the walls for hidden doors."

"Right. Be careful, Serai-san. Don’t recklessly touch the walls or anything."

"I know. After nearly getting crushed by a boulder? I’m not that stupid."As she says that and walks away, Pixie Queen follows along.

Good, if Queen’s with her, it should be fine. Alright, then I’ll start checking the walls from the opposite side—but just as I take a step, Nina-san’s startled voice rings out behind me.

"Eek?!"

"Wh-what’s wrong, Nina-san?!"

"I—I didn’t even do anything yet?!"

As Nina-san frantically replies, the stone lantern—for some reason—begins sinking back into the floor at the same speed it had emerged.