You’re a Candle in the Window on a Cold, Dark Winter’s Night (1)

The entrance to the nearest dungeon, the one he visited most often simply for that reason, bore no portent of the horrors that lay within. It was a simple wooden door.

The only thing that jumped out was that it was in the middle of a meadow.

Not connected to a building, nothing like that. A door on its own, with nothing behind it. At least not until someone turned the knob. Then that someone would encounter the dungeon.

“Have you ever been in a dungeon before?"

“No."

Since she knew magic, he thought her answer would be different. But maybe she had learned it out of curiosity or whimsy. She didn't look like a rich girl, but war could change a lot of things. Leave even the stupid rich without land, without a home, without resources.

Did he want to assume she had been a rich girl just to make it easier to keep his distance?

“Okay."

“I thought you were going to give me this talk earlier. You know, ahead of time."

Shuji rolled his eyes.

He wasn't a good teacher. And if he talked too much maybe she'd change her mind about setting foot in that place.

But he didn't want her to convince herself that he was worried about her. Her arrogant smile would annoy him too much.

“You'll learn as you go along. If you're not up to the task, that's your business. That's what you said, isn't it?

Politeness, which was not necessarily kindness, was practically ingrained in his culture. But this world had made him cold and hard.

Maybe not as much as it should, but sometimes he didn't recognize himself.

“Yes." She didn't seem upset at all. Well, he'd only returned her own words, she had no right to be.

“Well, that's fine with me. Let's go."

Shuji opened the door to the dungeon.

Nothing special happened. No shaking, no bright lights, nothing like that. It opened like a normal door. On the other side was nothing but darkness, not even illuminated by torchlight.

To him, the difference between lit and dark could be very subtle. But he had been here before he acquired the power to see in the dark. He knew what to expect.

They went deeper into the dungeon. He wished he could say fearless, but of course he was afraid. He didn't think anyone sane could ever get used to risking their life. The shadow of fear always walked behind them.

He didn't need any light. Luna, however, lit a small flame again, like the demonstration she had given him in the house. That might attract the attention of the monsters that roamed the dungeon. Of, perhaps even worse, other human beings.

But if he was going to tell her to stop, he better turn around and get her out of here. Leaving her blind in this place was the same as sending her to her death.

He didn't care if she lived or died. But that didn't mean he wanted to be guilty of her death. She could be irritating, but she had done nothing to deserve to die in a place like this.

“Stay behind me. Be careful."

Not far from the entrance he saw bones.

Bones scattered on the ground. It would be less disturbing if they were the bones of adventurers who had tried to overcome the labyrinth and had failed in the attempt. The bones began to shake. To gnash like teeth.

Then they came together. They formed a skeleton warrior. The only thing that wasn't bone was the curved sword it held, a sword that reminded him of Persia or something, or at least from what he saw in movies and games.

He had been a dumb kid who didn't pay much attention in class, like most. There was nothing strange about it, but now he wished he had. Anyway.

Shuji shouted. There was no trace of fear in that scream. He screamed as if to intimidate that bag of bones, that killing machine that couldn't feel anything.

He pushed it against the wall. But not with the weight of his whole body, but with the shield in his left hand. Left it between the shield and the wall, in other words. That wasn't the saying, but he didn't have any sword.

The skeleton soldier tried to reach him with the sword. His mouth opened and closed, as if he had teeth to sink into his neck in the first place.

Another one of those soldiers came at him. He vaguely registered that Luna hadn't even warned him, not that she needed to. He easily dodged the blade, though in the eyes of others it might have been just a flash of steel.

The other skeleton soldier's sword separated his companion's skull from his shoulders. It rolled further into the darkness.

Shuji spun on his heels. The axe also swung around with him as its pivot. With a single mighty blow, he scattered the sack of bones in front of him all over the cold stone hall.

But the first one grabbed him from behind. It was able, head or no head. It's not like it ever had eyes to see in the first place, just dark empty sockets. So it was no wonder. Nor was it the first time it had caught him off guard.

It hadn't been a mistake to turn his back on it, though. Nothing had changed.

Shuji backed up, slamming it against the wall. Again and again, like a battering ram of sorts, until he had returned it to its original form.

Meanwhile, the second one had been recovering, all the bones snapping back into place.

He finished it off on the floor. Before he could get up.

They didn't get up again. Neither of them.

Luna was out of breath, even though she hadn't done anything.

"That was... "

"Fast?"

"Yes."

“You'll have to get used to it, if you really want to do this." She had insisted, so it would be her fault alone, but Shuji didn't want to feel responsible for anyone's death. He already had enough of his own burdens and regrets. "Let's move on. This has only just begun."

After that they didn't encounter problems for a long time. For too long, usually the dungeons were overcrowded with all kinds of monsters. But then things changed.

At least Shuji was convinced of that, from experience.

They found themselves in front of huge double doors, guarded by seemingly (which didn't mean much) inanimate statues, crossing some spears in the center.

That could only mean trouble. Even if it was only on the other side of the door.

“What do you think will be in there?"

“A great treasure, I hope. We're here for a reason."

“Treasure is what you expect. But what do you think you'll find?"

“Danger, but it's the same thing. There's no treasure that isn't protected by a powerful enemy."

Like in video games, dungeons weren't that simple. It had all the look of the door to a boss. Unlike a game, he didn't have a party. It was just him and a mage whose skills he didn't know.

They had managed to survive so far. There shouldn't be a problem.

And if he died, well...

The month would end prematurely. It was that simple.

He had nothing to lose.

Once again, he walked through a door without fear. Though he did glance suspiciously at the statues to the side. Living statues were as common as skeleton soldiers. It turned out he was wrong, however.

They didn't move outside, but inside.

As soon as the door closed behind them, the statues in the chamber came to life, stepping forward as they held their weapons of equally gargantuan size.

Great.

He would have actually preferred only one final boss instead of a bunch of annoying bugs, even if they weren't that strong. Yeah, a real pain in the ass. And he hadn't anticipated getting into such a dangerous situation during Luna's first time in a dungeon. But now that the door had closed, it was fight or die.

Half a dozen statues, no more, no less.