Chapter 37: Adventure in the Red Zone

Original: Chapter 37: Adventure in the Red Zone

It took me an hour to walk through Passage 1. I should already be in the dangerous area known as the Red Zone.

“The Red Zone of trauma…”

I can’t help but remember the terrible time right after entering high school when I was chased by a huge frog…

I’ll never forgive those classmates who mocked me and left me behind back then. Even now, whenever I remember it, I feel my blood boiling.

Since then, I started coming to the Dungeon alone and gained various experiences. There were many hardships, but thanks to them, I think I’ve become a bit stronger.

If I encounter that huge frog again, I’m definitely going to crush it. I need to have that revenge match.

I walk through the Red Zone while staying alert to my surroundings. The ground is soft and easy to walk on.

The Red Zone in Passage 1 is a Woodland Zone with many trees, right? I can’t see very far ahead… Monsters could be hiding anywhere in the shadows of trees or on branches, so I need to be extra cautious.

There’s plenty of dappled sunlight, making it quite bright, but there’s no actual sun here. I could clearly see the earthen walls of the high ceiling above.

“It feels like being in a mountain or forest, but this is still a Dungeon after all.”

“Ribbit.”

It sounded like something was responding to my muttering. From near the tree trunk on the right.

Ah, found it.

The source of the sound was leaning against a tree trunk, showing only its eyes as it observed me.

It was an enormous frog. A frog at least one size larger than my body. Its skin was green. It looked like a tree frog made bipedal and enlarged.

Drool dripped from the corner of that frog’s mouth.

Fear shot through me. I would definitely be eaten—

And I intuitively knew. I absolutely couldn’t defeat that thing yet—

So I decided to forget about the revenge match. The moment I intuited I couldn’t win, I fled like a startled hare.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, run with all my might—!

I ran and ran and kept running. This was definitely a situation where running was the only option.

Wait, come to think of it, if I run deeper into the Dungeon to escape, wouldn’t that be even more dangerous? Normally, the deeper you go, the more powerful Monsters there would be.

My heart pounding, I glanced back.

…… …… …… Nothing.

Thank goodness. It seemed it wasn’t hungry enough to bother chasing me.

Still, it might be following me while hiding its presence, so I decided not to let my guard down.

I kept glancing back and to the sides. The tension was steadily wearing me out.

“I need to get to the Quest soon.”

Ignoring Monsters unrelated to the Quest and focusing on the job is best.

I’ll enjoy the thrills in moderation and plan to just take back the experience of adventuring in the Red Zone this time.

“So, let’s look for the target mineral, Ocean Metal.”

It’s a simple job—collect five and I’m done.

I think it grows sprouting from tree roots, right? But from which tree’s roots…

Looking around, all the trees looked the same.

“Seems like I’ll just have to keep checking roots.”

While staying alert for Monsters, I check tree roots. Hmm… Not finding it so easily, huh?

I check behind a tree. Still nothing. Nothing at the next tree either.

…… …… …… I feel various gazes. From the shadows of trees a bit farther away, or from branches overhead, even from within the ground—I feel watched.

Maybe my fear is creating illusions. I check my surroundings but see nothing.

Sweat trickles down my temple. It felt like cold sweat.

I think my fear is increasing tremendously. Probably because I’m the weakest creature around here. My danger-sensing instinct, which I hardly ever use normally, must be going haywire.

“Screech, screech, screech, screech!”

I heard the sound of birds crying as they flapped away.

I almost let out a huge scream—Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! But I managed to hold it back. If I made a loud noise here, it would be like telling the Monsters I’m here.

“Seriously. What annoying birds.”

If they’re going to fly off somewhere, they should do it quietly. They scared me half to death.

I let out a sigh.

Leaning against a tree trunk, I check the roots at its base.

“Ah.”

There’s something like a pretty stone. A deep blue with transparency. A stone like the sea. It looks like it could be a gem.

“Huh? A sea-like stone?”

It’s sprouting from the tree roots. About 20 centimeters with a pointed tip. Right next to it, two more of the same stones about 10 centimeters long are lined up. They’re probably connected underground.

“Could this be Ocean Metal?”

It looked like a stone, but it’s actually a mineral.

I tap it lightly with my middle knuckle—knock, knock—it makes a hard sound. It felt metallic, so this must be the target item.

“Alright, let’s dig it up.”

I take the Shovel in hand. Then I start digging the soil around the Ocean Metal. I dig carefully, trying not to damage it with the Shovel.

“Surprisingly shallow.”

It seems to grow almost parasitically on the tree’s thick roots. I couldn’t dig further with the Shovel, so I tried pulling it by hand. It came off quite easily.

“Got it—”

I store it in my Item Space. The name was Ocean Metal. Checking the Quest progress shows “4 remaining.”

“I’m glad I found one relatively quickly—”

I felt quite relieved. It seems I can complete this Quest.

“Four more to go. Let’s do this.”