Introverted Archer 23

Test

23. Rational Skeleton!

After school. As usual, dungeon exploration.

With an expanded detection range, today is smoother than usual.

"All right, defeated the Golem...!"

With far fewer arrows than last time, I could easily defeat the Golem.

――

You have reached level 16.

――

As expected, since golems are formidable foes, leveling up seems easier.

Defeating Golems for a while might make me stronger. But I won't just sit back.

"Further level up! For rational growth, let's go to the 11th floor!"

Passing through where the Golem was, I descended the stairs leading to the 11th floor.

Finally, I've come this far...! I'm looking around. The walls seem bluer compared to the 10th floor.

The Golem was the floor boss. Surely, monsters beyond this point won't be stronger than Golems, right?

"Just in case, let's check the surroundings with <Observer>."

The 11th floor for the first time. Monsters? Oh, there they are.

Certainly, they are stronger than the 9th-floor monsters. It won't be an easy conquest.

But are they stronger than the Golem? The answer is no. Each one doesn't feel as imposing.

"I should be able to handle this... huh?"

At that moment, <Observer> detected something.

"What's this, a room...?"

About 100 meters ahead. There's an unnatural reaction on the dungeon wall.

It looks like an ordinary wall, but there might be a room beyond it...?

The idea of a room is just a vague intuition. It feels like only this place is hazy as if covered in mist.

"What should I do? It's quite suspicious, but..."

This reaction is the first time. I don't know what will happen if I thoroughly investigate this wall. 

Whether it's beneficial for me or potentially dangerous is unpredictable.

Being careless might lead to instant death or something.

"But, there's no choice but to proceed here."

Stopping here is not rational.

I move toward the target wall while concealing my presence.

"Umm, it's just a normal wall after all..."

Visually, it looks like an ordinary wall. However, through <Observer>, there's undoubtedly a sense of incongruity.

I try touching it, and indeed, there's a sensation of a wall. It doesn't seem to be a fake wall.

"Hmm...? What's this?"

Staring at the wall for a while, I discovered a small crack in the middle.

"Why is there a crack in a place like this...?"

Reaching towards the crack, the moment I felt the cold wall.

"!? Wait, where is this!?"

Realizing it, I had moved to a different place!

"What is this place...? Could it be instantaneous movement or something...?"

There's nothing around, a closed space. It's not too narrow, but I can see the edges.

Is this the room I saw earlier? If so, did I cross the wall when I touched it...?

Questions abound. As I desperately try to understand the current situation,

"Hahahaha! Welcome, young one!"

At that moment, a voice is heard from behind. A man's hearty laughter.

"Who's there!?"

Turning around, there's no human figure. What was there was—

"Welcome. To my room!"

A skull adorned with bluish flames.

"It talks!?"

"Don't be so surprised! I'm delighted to meet a person after such a long time!"

"I'm not thrilled though!?"

Calm down, me. 

From a different perspective, it's not much different from the monsters likely on the 1st floor.

The danger level is low because we can communicate.

"So, who are you? Even monsters have names, right?"

"I'm not a monster! I am a genuine human. My name is Volken."

He has an unusual name. Perhaps he's from a foreign land?

"Even if you say you're human... you really look like a ghost."

"I can't blame you for thinking that. After all, I've already departed from this world. I don't even know when I wandered into this room. It's been at least several decades."

Seems like there's a story, but the impact of his appearance is too strong to muster the energy to question it.

I've only seen something like this in haunted houses. Or are you telling me to believe that story?

"Hey, young one. Entering this room must be fate. Would you mind hearing how I ended up like this?"

"I don't mind... but please keep it as rational as possible. Just the fact that you're a floating skeletal ghost is enough to freak me out."

Volken sits—or at least it seems like he's sitting—on the spot and begins to speak.

"I used to be an adventurer. As an Archer, I secretly moved through the dungeon every day. Hiding with <Stealth>, I shot arrows from behind to level up."

So he did something similar to me. So we can find people with similar thoughts anywhere.

"One day, as I was exploring the dungeon as usual, I noticed something odd about the wall. Realizing this room was meant to conceal treasure. I thoroughly touched the wall—"

"And got sent here, right?"

The situation is the same as mine.

—"The result was finding only the skill scroll of <Manifestation>."

Huh...? A skill scroll?

Where Volken is gazing, there are 2 scrolls.