Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 173: Entering the Dungeon
After finishing their meal and taking a short rest, the group passed through the second gate.
Beyond it, the atmosphere changed dramatically. There were no houses, only soldiers training beneath an air of tension.
“This is the central facility that guards and monitors the Babylon dungeon,” Taichi explained.
“So once we pass through that gate, we’ll be inside the dungeon?”
Tauro pointed to another gate farther ahead.
“No. There’s one more gate beyond that one, and past it’s a temple containing the dungeon entrance.”
While Taichi spoke, Captain Tsuyoku went over to the gate and completed the necessary formalities. Once he was finished, he beckoned the others forward.
“Let’s go,” Taichi urged.
The group passed through another gate. After undergoing one final inspection at the next gate, they entered the innermost enclosure, where a single large temple stood at the center. Cobblestones covered the entire area around it, with not a blade of grass in sight.
“When was this temple built?”
“No one knows. I’ve heard it’s more than a thousand years old. Actually, the temple wasn’t built by humans. Apparently, it’s part of Babylon itself.”
“Really?”
“That’s why it hasn’t weathered at all despite all those years,” Aeris added.
“Are the cobblestones part of it too?”
Curious about the paving surrounding the temple, Tauro directed the question to Taichi.
“No, those were laid by people. Long ago, when plant-type monsters overflowed from the dungeon, they attacked people by controlling the vegetation growing around the temple. After that, the entire area was paved with stone.”
Taichi laughed, apparently amused that this was what had caught Tauro’s attention.
Tauro had wondered whether the dungeon might also be spreading into the surrounding ground, but his fears seemed unfounded.
“Let’s enter the dungeon.”
Captain Tsuyoku led the way up the temple steps. Tauro and the others followed him inside.
The building already felt like part of the dungeon. Its entire interior glowed faintly—the walls, ceiling, and floor—just like the first dungeon Tauro had entered.
Farther in, soldiers stood guard beside an open doorway and a staircase leading downward.
“Be careful from here on. There are monsters below,” Taichi warned Tauro and Aeris.
They nodded and descended the stairs.
At the bottom, they found themselves in a maze of unknown size. Narrow passages opened into broad chambers before splitting again and again.
Captain Tsuyoku led the group from the front without the slightest hesitation. He appeared to have memorized the route perfectly.
“Oh, there are monsters ahead,” Tauro said, noticing them first.
“That’s [Presence Detection], isn’t it? You’re quite skilled.”
Captain Tsuyoku sounded impressed, though he didn’t look back at Tauro.
He quickly stepped forward and swept aside the three approaching skeletons with his magic-infused spear. His movements were precise and completely free of wasted motion.
Tauro watched in admiration, certain there would be no need for him to intervene.
They continued through the maze, and every skeleton they encountered was easily dispatched by the escorting knights.
Tauro felt almost unnecessary as he simply walked along, but he kept [Presence Detection] active just in case.
Suddenly, he sensed a sinister presence beyond the wall.
Is that another skeleton? I’ve never felt anything like this before…
As he wondered what it was, a translucent black shadow emerged through the wall. It approached one of the knights guarding the group’s flank, touched him, and then slipped back through the wall.
“Watch out! It’s a ghost!”
Taichi pointed his sword toward the place where the ghost had vanished.
“Damn it! It cursed me!”
The knight who had been touched clicked his tongue.
A status-reduction curse could be cured with [Purification] or broken by spending time in a church or another holy place. Until then, however, the sudden drop in status caused temporary weakness and other symptoms.
“No one in our party can use [Purification] this time, so you’ll have to head back for treatment,” Taichi told the afflicted knight.
Tauro hurried over and cast [Purification].
A pale light washed over the knight, and the curse faded away.
“What?!”
Everyone stared in astonishment.
The boy they were supposed to be escorting had just cast [Purification], a high-level spell. No wonder they were stunned.
Then Tauro moved alongside the wall and suddenly slashed at a ghost emerging through it with his shortsword.
“He’s incredible!”
The escorting knights finally realized that Tauro was no ordinary boy.