Chapter 122 Volume III - Chapter 43: A World Painted White
"You said we'd be there in five minutes."
I paused and looked around, trying to find the place in my memory, while Alexander was whining at me.
"So?"
"It's been thirteen minutes since you said that."
I clicked my tongue and continued to look around.
"The dungeon is in a cave, and I remember the area around the cave, it should be somewhere near here, but I couldn't find it."
"So we got lost?"
"No, of cou- Aha!"
I smiled as a group of trees and rocks caught my eye.
"I found it!"
I walked through the trees and rocks, put my back against a rock, and then started walking fast. About six minutes later Alexander frowned again, he was about to say something but I ran and started to walk around the side of a hill we had come to.
Seeing me speeding up, Alexander picked up his pace and we ran to the other side of the hill. Then we slowly reached a section of rocks.
"There! This is the cave."
When we came to the front of the rocks, we came across a cave that led into the hill.
The cave seemed to go deeper. The cave itself, its surroundings, its uncanny appearance, its darkness that seemed to go on forever... It was exactly as I remembered it from the game.
I lowered the backpack on my back, took out a flashlight, and turned to Alexander.
"I ask you again, are you ready?"
Alexander nodded at me without saying anything with a determined look in his eyes. I took a lantern out of his own bag and returned to the cave with a smile on my face. We had already equipped our armor and weapons when we first entered the area, all we had to do was move forward.
"Here we go, then."
I slowly took a step into the cave, Alexander followed behind me, and by the light of our flashlights, we made our way deeper into the cave.
One thing I realized as we went deeper into the cave was how... plain it was.
There was almost no moss in it, no trace of life. I hadn't noticed this much in the game, but now, looking at it through the glasses of reality, it felt completely unnatural. It was just rocks and us, nothing but the sound of our footsteps, breathing, and the straight rocks stretching out as we walked.
"We've been walking for almost five minutes."
I frowned at Alexander's comment behind my back. In the game, it didn't take this long to enter the dungeon. And nothing had changed in the cave so far.
"Let's walk a litt-"
<<------------------------------ You are about to enter an unexplored dungeon!
Dungeon Type: Recta Dungeon Grade: E-D
Attention! You are below the qualification for the dungeon! ------------------------------>>
"Did it come to you?"
Alexander's voice echoed through the cave after my question.
"Yes."
I shone the flashlight toward the end of the cave, but all I could see was darkness stretching into infinity. There was a limit to the light of the flashlight.
"Let's keep walking."
We kept walking like that, and after a while every step I took started to make me nervous. I found it strange that the moment we passed quickly in the game was so slow and intense in reality. Moreover, the unnatural appearance of the cave added to this tension.
When I didn't hear Alexander's voice for a long time, I turned around, and when I saw him behind me, I breathed a sigh of relief and refocused on what was in front of me, and at that very moment, a beam of light suddenly entered the darkness of the cave.
The light was coming from the endless darkness of the cave.
I quickened my pace and walked toward the light. The cave became brighter and brighter, the air, colder than even in the northern hemisphere of Lunerra, where it was winter, began to hit my face, and then I stepped outside.
<<------------------------------
You have entered an E-D grade Recta-type dungeon!
Congratulations, you have discovered a dungeon! You are the first person to enter this dungeon! The reward for successfully clearing the dungeon has increased!
------------------------------>>
It was snowing, I could even say there was a light blizzard, but it didn't matter.
In front of me was a world that was almost gigantic. Trees hiding under the snow, a huge plain, a valley that stretched on and on, and ruins...
It was as if I had stepped into a world that had come to an end because of the ice age. In the game I wasn't so impressed by this image, I wasn't so focused on it because it was a game world, but what I was seeing with my eyes now really mesmerized me.
I didn't think it would be so... beautiful.
<<------------------------------
It has been discovered that you entered the dungeon in a group! Do you agree to form a party?
------------------------------>>
I answered 'yes' to the notification that appeared in front of me, but I couldn't focus on it. I couldn't take my eyes off the view in front of me.
<<------------------------------
You have formed a party with Alexander Callidas! After clearing the dungeon, the rewards you receive will be distributed according to your share.
Since your party is smaller than the recommended team for the dungeon, the rewards you receive from the dungeon will increase!
------------------------------>>
"It's colder than I thought."
Alexander came over to me and tightened the armor a little bit, and then he activated the heat runes by lightly transferring mana to it. The moment I saw him do this, I noticed the cold too.
I activated the heat runes as he did, and then I felt a comforting warmth spreading through my body. It was a nice feeling, even if I couldn't really feel the cold because I was a wiera.
"Ah..."
I became too loose... I am in a dungeon right now.
I was so mesmerized that even the Absolute Mind worked spontaneously to clear my mind, I was too distracted.
"We will start moving forward now. We will take turns keeping watch at night and move as stealthily as possible. If you see a creature, tell me immediately and stay alert at all times. If we come across a group we will flee, if we come across some lone creatures we can fight them if we can, but our goal is to get out of here as fast as possible. So we won't rest much. The conditions may be a bit harsh for you, but I don't think you'll complain anyway."
Alexander didn't say a word, the determination in his eyes said everything he wanted to say.
I smiled and took a deep breath, looking at the vast, cold world in front of me.
"The real thing begins now..."
*******
We had been in the dungeon for quite some time. We were moving through the trees as much as possible, approaching every corner with caution. Thanks to the color-changing properties of the armor and the camouflage design, I was pretty sure we wouldn't have much of a problem with stealth, but there was another problem.
My watch told me that we had been walking for about two hours. And the problem was that we hadn't come across a single creature during that time.
That was strange. It was so strange that I couldn't help wondering if I was taking the wrong route.
No... I know this dungeon by heart, there can't be a problem with my memory. It just feels strange to me because there is a difference between reality and the game.
I focused on my surroundings and tried to figure out where I was.
For example, there will be a frozen lake somewhere ahead, we should be close to it.
Just as I thought, after a three-minute walk we came across a very large lake.
It was completely frozen over, and if it hadn't been snowing and the trees weren't swaying slightly because of the wind, I would have thought that time had frozen just by looking at this lake.
It was too calm, too quiet.
"Hey, it's on the right."
The moment I heard Alexander's low voice, I looked to the right.
I felt my heartbeat quicken, my blood began to boil. It was the first time I had ever seen a creature in this world outside the preliminaries, but there was not the slightest shred of fear in my mind.
I was calm, thanks to the Absolute Mind. I couldn't easily feel a negative emotion like fear.
The creature resembled a troll. It had white fur, was almost two meters tall, and had long arms. Its face was ugly, its ears wide. Its pupils didn't glow red in the way I was familiar with from video games, but they felt their own weight as a creature's eyes.
This creature was an E grade ice troll.
It had an enviable healing speed as a troll. It was quite strong but was also a slow creature. So someone with enough speed and heavy attacks would have little trouble dealing with it.
"It's not aware of us, we'll keep moving through the trees. We need to go around the lake."
Alexander nodded, keeping his eyes on the troll. He looked pensive, his usual ego had lost a little of its power. He was a little more timid, nervous, and excited. After all, it was perhaps the first time in his life that he had seen a creature with his own eyes.
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