Kays Translations

Chapter 179

The next day, I woke up in the hotel to find Melt just about to wake me.

“Ah, you’re awake!”

“And what exactly were you about to do?”

“I was just thinking—if I press this stick against your stomach and grind it around, I wonder what’ll come out!”

“There’s not going to be any worms coming out of me… probably just some pained groaning.”

“But you’d definitely wake up that way!”

Apparently, she’s grown even more attached to that “worm stick” than I thought.
Maybe it’ll come in handy for digging up shrimp food back at her pond.

“Alright… once we’ve had breakfast, let’s head to this island’s Explorer’s Guild.”

“Yeah! You know, I got an explorer’s pass once but never actually used it.”

“I had one signed by the Queen, but it’s expired now, so I had to get a new one. Seems like explorers have ranks too.”

It’s similar to adventurer or mercenary ranks—named after gemstones.
But here, they also add a number showing how many dungeons you’ve cleared.

In Melt’s case, she’s officially recognized as someone who conquered the Scorched Valley, so she’s the First Ruby Rank Explorer to clear it.

As for me, I’m not formally an adventurer, so my rank was assigned at the guild’s discretion: First-Cleared Emerald Rank.

Normally, clearing an artificial dungeon doesn’t count toward that total—
but that one went berserk and became abnormally difficult, so they made an exception.

We had breakfast from a street vendor in town—some tortilla-like wraps filled generously with shrimp.
Melt kept saying, “This island is amazing. I wish Lindblum had seawater too.”

…I’d really rather not have her farming sea shrimp in the garden. That would smell awful.

“How strong are you now, Shizuma? You might actually be able to clear a dungeon before Killcrawler even gets here.”

“In terms of power, maybe. About the same as Silent… or maybe stronger. But real, natural dungeons aren’t that simple to beat.”

In the Scorched Valley, we always chose the correct route thanks to Hishida-san’s power, so we made it straight to the deepest point.

Sure, my own magic can show dungeon maps, but honestly, I can’t trust it completely.

That artificial dungeon—the berserk one—its deepest level probably shouldn’t have even existed.
And while my power seems to show every detail of a dungeon’s structure, it actually hides the most crucial information.

That eerie presence sleeping in the depths… it was definitely an enemy, yet my map didn’t mark it at all.

It had to be the boss, since it dropped the Dungeon Core when we defeated it.
But the map didn’t display it—meaning some dungeons can exceed even my mapping ability.

So no, I won’t take things lightly.

Deep in thought, we arrived at the Explorer’s Guild.
Melt seemed preoccupied too, glancing at me thoughtfully while muttering to herself.

Maybe she was already planning out how we should fight together, evaluating my strength and potential formations.

“Hey, Shizuma, can I ask you something?”

“Hmm? About my combat style? I usually—”

“No, not that. Back at the food stall—you bought all five kinds of those wraps, right?
I was just wondering how you could eat that much… and which one was your favorite?”

Ah. Not what I expected—but fair question.

I know it’s a lot, but I never get full to the point of pain. I just… enjoy it.

My skill, [Food Connector], only activates after I’ve eaten at least a kilogram of food.
Because of that, my appetite’s grown a lot lately.

“The shrimp-and-spice one was the best, and the second was the shellfish wrap—great texture.”

“Shellfish? Like those spiral ones that live in rivers? Oh, but there are other shapes too… Are they tasty?”

“Sea shellfish are delicious—scallops, turban shells, abalone, clams…”

I still remember visiting my grandfather’s place in the countryside—his neighbor brought some over once, and we grilled them at a barbecue.
That taste left a mark on me.

…I wonder if it’s possible to harvest seafood from dungeons.

“I want to try some! Then tonight’s dinner is decided!”

“Sounds good. Then we’d better wrap up the dungeon at a good stopping point.”

And so, we headed to the reception desk of Yasha Island’s Explorer’s Guild, submitted our activity registration for the island, and signed up for an introductory seminar on the ‘Dead Sea that Devours the Earth.’

“Nice to meet you both. We’ll now begin the briefing session for ‘The Dead Sea that Devours the Earth.’ There are two participants today, correct?”

The orientation was held in a small conference room on the second floor of the guild.

Natural dungeons generally have their own unique systems and rules.
One of the Explorer’s Guild’s main duties is to gather and share such information so explorers can operate as safely as possible.

Come to think of it, there was no Explorer’s Guild on the Golda side—so no system for information sharing either.
Maybe there was one closer to the Scorched Valley on the Lendia side?

“Now then, let me begin with the basic overview of ‘The Dead Sea that Devours the Earth.’
First of all, this is one of the few dungeons where you can’t really get lost. In that sense, it’s relatively safe.”

According to the speaker, the dungeon is a massive spiral-shaped corridor— a vast, winding passage that descends endlessly toward the seabed.

It’s impossible to skip ahead by jumping down through the central hollow—
anyone who tries is immediately considered to have “dropped out.”

“If you jump into the hollow void in the middle of the spiral, you’ll be ejected into the shallow waters outside the dungeon. So returning is easy. However, since this isn’t an artificial dungeon, you can’t resume partway through.”

“I see… Is there any penalty for returning that way?”

“Yes. You’ll lose some of the items you obtained inside, and in some cases, your vessel of growth—your personal progress—may be reset entirely.”

I see… so, you can escape at a cost.

“However, throwing a corpse into the hollow won’t revive it, nor will it return to the shallows.
The dead are consumed by the dungeon. Roughly ten percent of those who enter die there.
That’s not a small number—because it means people die even though they should be able to return easily.”

From beside me came the sound of Melt swallowing nervously.

“So you’re saying there are sudden, unavoidable deaths—hazards that prevent even retreat?”

“Exactly. Each loop of the spiral counts as one floor, and with every rotation, the environment completely changes.
Ecosystems, terrain, even the air itself shifts.
There was once a report where, the moment an advance team entered the next floor, they all dropped dead instantly.
Those who barely escaped believed the air composition itself had changed.
Since then, the standard procedure has been to send small animals ahead whenever transitioning to a new floor, to ensure safety.”

…That’s terrifying.
Even though it’s one continuous corridor, one turn of the spiral can mean instant death from toxic gas or lack of oxygen.

For a dungeon with an easy return path, it makes sense that no one’s ever fully cleared it.
So in the end—it’s a game of luck.

“The furthest confirmed record is Floor 81. That party reported that they could just barely see the bottom. But seven years later, another team reached Floor 80 and reported that they couldn’t see any bottom at all. From this, it’s believed the dungeon continues to grow deeper over time. Normally, dungeons exist as pocket dimensions that ignore natural geography.
Yet somehow, the sea level around this one has been dropping, and the currents have changed— suggesting that the dungeon is physically eroding the seabed.”

“So that’s when its current name was given?”

“Yes. It was originally called ‘The Spiral Corridor of Sea’s Roar.’ Over time, the conditions inside have worsened—not only instant-death zones, but extreme environments in general.
People report intense heat and humidity draining their stamina, or the floors being eroded by seawater, allowing aquatic monsters to attack. That’s why anyone attempting to reach the deeper layers must prepare for absolutely anything.”

…So that’s why Killcrawler wanted my help.
I have decent survival skills, agility, and sharp observation—all things I’d shown in battle.
And with fewer people, there’s less baggage to carry. They want a small, elite team.

“That concludes the overview and detailed information on ‘The Dead Sea that Devours the Earth.’ I’ve heard that both of you are already capable of clearing dungeons. May fortune be with you.”

“Thank you very much for the explanation.”
“Yes, thank you.”

After the explanation ended, we left the room.

This island—with its resort-like atmosphere, delicious food, and luxury hotels—had felt almost like a vacation until now.
But what we’d just learned about its dungeon shattered that illusion completely.

Both Melt and I fell silent, a mix of unease and tension hanging between us.

“…We’ll need to take this seriously. Maybe we should prepare some small animals, like they suggested.”

“B-but that’s so cruel…! What if the little birds or mice die after we send them ahead?”

“Well, it’s still better than letting a teammate die, isn’t it?”

“Th-then… let’s pick animals we can eat if they die! Like shrimp!”

“…Hmm. Shrimp would already suffer just from being out of the water. Whether the air changes or not, it wouldn’t tell us much.”

“Uuugh… then maybe birds. Edible ones. I’ll take mine as spicy dàzhàpái style!”

…You say “poor thing,” and then immediately place an order?!
That’s Melt for you—always consistent. Well, I do have some cooking skills now… I can probably butcher a bird if needed.

“All right then. Once we’ve bought the birds, we’ll head into the dungeon.”

“G-got it! But, um… what if there are shrimp monsters inside the dungeon?”

“Dungeon monsters disappear when they’re defeated, so we can’t eat them.”

“R-right! Mmm… sounds like this challenge is going to be tougher than I thought!”

I honestly couldn’t tell where her idea of “tough” began or ended.

And so, after gathering birds and other supplies we might need, the two of us set out toward the dungeon lying beneath the shallow sea—
“The Dead Sea that Devours the Earth.”

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