Chapter 16

“See, this door is definitely trapped.” Taku beamed over the fact as he tapped the pressure plate in front of Teri and Yayoi with his stick. “You know, I’ve been worried this entire time. I thought I was paranoid. Since, you know, I’ve been checking everything like an idiot, thinking that it’s trapped but not really.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “This is niiiiiiice.”

“Yeah, this is veeeeryyy dangerous,” Yayoi said with a dead, dragged tone. “It would’ve been terrible if it was activated by mistake, no?”

Teri almost teared up at the thought of his friends. They were about to murder each other about half an hour ago. Yayoi tried to deny her otaku allegations, threatening to shred them like cheese. It was a heartfelt moment. But Taku slipped and called her a basic bitch, also a cheat because she was just copying her favorite anime. Then, Yayoi pointed at Taku, calling him a dumbass and telling him that it was just a skill issue. Teri had to close his eyes with a relaxed smile, zoning out and concentrating until he was forced to step in when they were throwing hands at each other.

Everyone got a bit stronger. Teri was definitely not speaking for the both of them, but the air now made it seem like everyone was itching for a fight. For the first time ever since they woke up in this dungeon, they felt confident about braving the unknown.

Following their decision to avoid exploring further north, they decided to take the door on the southern side of the starting area. As usual, Taku checked the door for traps and moved on. That smell of ink, flesh, and roses, made itself known once again, but they marched forward like nothing was wrong. Taku took the lead, poking at anything and everything along the stone-cold paper corridor. Teri was behind him with his shield up and weapon ready, able to go to the front at any moment’s notice—he was here because Taku refused to let him borrow his staff and would rather check for traps himself. Yayoi, on the other hand, watched their backs. The path led them south, had them go through a considerable distance eastward, and then north, where they were at this moment.

“Pretty much. This would’ve definitely killed someone,” Taku continued, his innocent smile still shining bright. “You see, some people find traps unfair, calling them unnecessary when it comes to dungeons.”

Yayoi rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because they’re dead—”

“Exactly!” Taku shed his positive vibes again. “Sure, it offers nothing. At some point, it punishes you for relaxing or having too much fun exploring. But that’s the beauty of it! It’s indiscriminate. If the dungeon is weird, its traps may very well be a very constant thing. Then it kills you, either with a minor inconvenience, a slow painful death, or an instant trip to heaven.”

“Seriously…” Yayoi flatly replied.

Teri moved forward, smiling at her. “Means you gotta think nothing else and immerse yourself in the dungeon. Once you do, it’s going to be fun soon enough. I think that’s what Taku is getting at. I’m finding it hard to do it myself.”

“MEaNS YoU goTtA tHiNK NOthIng eLSE anD iMMerse yoURSelf IN the DuNGeON.” Yayoi scoffed. “ONcE YOU Do, iT’s going to Be fUN sOoN enOugh.”

Teri chuckled, stepping over the pressure plate and taking a few more to position himself by the room’s entrance. “Taku, is this unlocked?”

“Yep. The door itself is not trapped either.” Taku readied his staff, pressing his back against the wall at their side and asking Yayoi to do the same. “We didn’t step on the pressure plate… and assuming that it’s necessary for the trap to trigger, nothing should activate. But the fun thing is, I can be wrong. We should at least be wary of something like a spear or spikes shooting out the moment we open this door.”

“Fun… huh?” Yayoi scoffed again as she hid behind Taku’s shadow. She did a final check if there were enemies lurking behind them and faced forward, clapping Taku’s shoulder. “Ready when you are.”

Teri opened the door, having it creak as he slowly pushed it inward. There were no clicks. There were no traps. There were no enemies so far. Thankfully, there were no moans either. The air changed as well, welcoming them with a scent of candles and burnt paper. From what Teri could see, the room was more or less clear. Taku extended his stick to touch around the door as it opened and let everyone know that there were no pressure plates at the room’s entrance or somewhere near it. It seems likely that the mechanism needed someone to unknowingly step on the pressure plate and open the door. That, or the door needed to be closed.

Taku held up one finger to Teri. That was the signal. Teri nodded and stepped inside the room, crouching with his shield raised and weapon ready. And about five steps in, the other two followed closely after making sure that the door would be kept open. They soon noticed the smell of burnt meat lingering around them.

“So…” Yayoi sighed, her breath leading to a chuckle. “Is this a slow painful death or an instant one?”

“Yoooo…” Taku grimaced, finding it within himself to laugh a moment later. “I’m hoping that it’s the instant one.”

It was the usual, at first. Four, paper-like, stone walls surrounded them. A part of the bottom, especially the floor, were blackened with smoke and ash. Above them is a high and glowing pink ceiling that occasionally drizzles them with torn sheets of paper. The main attraction, however, are six bodies on the ground, burnt to their bones.

Taku broke the silence and pointed them to the northern side of the room. “I… I’ll go check the door—”

“Right,” Teri replied. “I’ll see if I can move the bodies to the side. Maybe they have some stuff we can use.”

“What do I do?” Yayoi asked.

“Please make sure we don’t get stabbed in the back,” Taku replied as he tapped around the door. “That’s plenty.”

Teri grabbed the hand of a dead body and was surprised that only its arm went with him. He groaned, figuring out that the best way to do it is to pick their body limb from limb like dried sticks. He found himself looking at Yayoi. “I mean if you want, then…”

“I’ll watch the corridor and make sure you guys don’t get stabbed in the back.” Yayoi looked at Teri up human bones. She turned away. It was understandable. “Actually, let me do one more thing and check the floor. Maybe for drops?”

Teri shrugged and went back to his honest work. A few minutes later, Yayoi told them to be careful after seeing some small pipes on the floor. Keeping that in mind, Teri spent the next ten minutes or so, with Taku’s help, relocating the bodies into a corner. He offered them a prayer, wishing them well, for their soul to return to where it truly belongs, and for them to wish them forward as they clear this dungeon. A part of Teri thought about who these people could be, what kind of lives they led, and what kind of stuff ran through their mind, knowing that they were going to die once again. And remembering what the room was like, it painfully reminded him that they probably had a lot of room to process it.

“Six adults.” Teri glanced at Yayoi and placed his eyes back on the pile. “Likely from early to mid twenties. Maybe older?”

“I see.” Yayoi breathed, still keeping her eyes on the corridor. “Thanks.”

“And since when were you an expert on bones?” Taku commented. He smiled at Teri and clapped a few times to finish his prayer. “We can go. The northern door is trapped; the mechanism is probably tied to me opening it. And considering that the wall around us is somewhat warm, it’s probably the thing that set the whole room on fire.

“I used a special ability, called eyesight.” Teri smiled back. “Judging by their legs, I think… Most of them are as tall or taller than us.”

“Is that your tender way of calling me short?” Yayoi asked as she moved to Teri’s side and offered her prayers the same way Taku did.

“Nah.” Teri replied as soon as she finished. “You’d know. Also, Taku—” Teri showed them the loot he salved from the bodies: some metal plates, probably the remains of a burnt out plated gloves or boots; a helm caked with soot; a handful of arrowheads; and four throwing daggers, their hilts burned out.

Taku cupped his chin. “I can probably do something with them, yeah. We can definitely give the throwing daggers to Yayoi for good measure. Dunno about the arrowheads tho.”

“And also, I got something special for you two.” Yayoi raised her voice. “Taaaaaddaaaaaaa!” She flashed them a proud smile as she held up a black metallic ring with her fingers. “It tells me that it’s maaaaaagic.”