Chapter 19: Charlotte and Separation

After finishing our exploration of the third floor that night, I had a dream.

It was a strange dream. The scenery spreading before me was something I had never seen before, yet it carried a faint sense of déjà vu.

It looked like underground—there was no sunlight in the sky. But countless buildings stood tall, and people lived there. Everyone’s hair was the same translucent white color. They were probably of the same race or something like that.

I kept thinking that I’d seen that color somewhere before.

And just to be clear, it wasn’t the white hair of old age. Even the children had the same color.

…Something about it felt wrong. I couldn’t tell what exactly, but there was definitely something off.

The townspeople didn’t seem to notice me. Children ran straight through me as if my body wasn’t there. Apparently, I was like a ghost.

So I decided to stroll around the town for a while.

As I observed the town, I realized that an unsettling atmosphere hung in the air. There were so many people crying, so many with gloomy faces. Maybe there had been a funeral.

I tried eavesdropping on a nearby conversation.

Missing. Collapsed. Those were the words I caught.

Maybe there had been a landslide somewhere, and people had gone missing. That would be a disaster.

As I walked further into town, a particularly large building came into view. I’m no expert on architecture, but it looked like the kind of building you’d call a cathedral. At least, that’s what it seemed like.

I went inside.

Without a doubt, it was something religious. The same white-haired people I’d seen outside were gathered in the central hall, offering prayers to the statue standing there.

It was probably a statue of a god. I looked up to see the face of that statue—and then…

"Just when it was getting good."

I woke up.

Beside me, Alice-chan was sleeping soundly, her gentle breathing peaceful.

Her adorable sleeping face soothed me for a moment, and then I carefully got up so as not to wake her.

I needed to prepare for today. Exploration of the fourth floor—an environment far harsher than anything before.

Especially with that strange sensation from yesterday still on my mind, I had to stay sharper than ever.

"I’m fine, I can do this, I can do this… Alright!"

With my morning self-suggestion done, I switched into work mode.

Alright, time to get moving.

"Charlotte-chan, are you alright?"

"Yes, I’m fine now."

Since yesterday, Trishel has been unusually worried about me.

Well, I did act really strange, so… yeah, I should reflect on that.

If I set foot there again, maybe I’ll figure out what that was.

"Alright then, let’s go. To the fourth floor."

Today, without much preamble, we dove straight into the dungeon.

The fourth floor—where I had a feeling something would happen. How would our exploration turn out?

There was one bit of good fortune. When I stepped onto the fourth floor again, that abnormal terror didn’t attack me. If I had fallen into the same state again, I would’ve just been a burden. This was a relief.

At the same time, though, I still felt something. A presence, as if I were being called. That sensation hadn’t disappeared.

"…Yeah, the paralysis poison itself isn’t that concentrated. The real problem is the poor visibility."

"I can sense things, but the two in the front line should be careful."

"I’ll be fine too. If it’s close, I’ll sense it."

"And the walls are moving, so we’ll need to watch how the map changes."

There were many challenges unique to exploring the fourth floor.

Poor visibility made coordination harder, and there were issues with detecting enemies. But detection was covered thanks to Trishel’s senses, so that wasn’t a big problem.

The poisonous miasma wasn’t much stronger either. If we shortened the intervals between antidote potions, it would be manageable.

The biggest problem was the moving walls. A shifting map was the worst possible case.

Sudden movements could separate us. That was something we absolutely had to avoid.

We’d have to move closely packed together.

"Combat will be mainly handled by Trishel and Reven. Sorry, but I’ll be focusing on defense this time."

"That’s fine. Rest up and save your strength for the area boss."

"Haha, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that."

We still had enough energy left for light banter.

Thus began our exploration of the fourth floor.

As we advanced, I kept feeling it—that presence.

Even when Trishel was casting spells, even when Reven was cutting down monsters, I could still feel it.

Should I say something about it?

"Charlotte, are you okay? Is something bothering you?"

"…I’m fine, for now. Thank you."

"Alright. But if anything worries you, don’t hesitate to speak up."

Reynard kept checking on me. Since he wasn’t directly fighting, he was devoting his attention to watching our surroundings.

That’s probably why he noticed that I didn’t look so good.

As we pressed on, my heartbeat grew louder in my chest.

It wasn’t the paralysis poison. No, it was simply that I felt we were drawing closer to something.

I didn’t know what it was. But ever since stepping onto this floor, I’d felt it. And now, I was on the verge of discovering it.

"This isn’t as tough as I expected. There aren’t many monsters either."

"Maybe they were all concentrated in the upper floors."

"Yeah, there were more above."

Reven and Trishel still looked completely at ease.

That was probably because we hadn’t run into much combat since reaching the fourth floor.

"…The idea that the dungeon has a will of its own—maybe it isn’t just nonsense."

Meanwhile, Reynard seemed lost in thought about something.

But I didn’t have the energy to care.

Though not as bad as yesterday, the sensation of being called was getting stronger. If I let my guard down, I felt like I’d start walking toward that call on my own.

"…Hm."

"Huh? Was there always a wall here? Reynard, what do you think?"

"I don’t… think so. Maybe it’s the effect of the moving walls?"

Apparently, we had run into a dead end. Reynard and the others looked confused.

I had expected the map wouldn’t match up exactly—wait, no. To my eyes, nothing was there. Just an ordinary fleshy passage.

"A wall? Where is it?"

"What? Right here, look."

Trishel made a gesture like she was striking an invisible barrier, but I couldn’t see anything at all. No matter how hard I looked, there was nothing.

I decided to test it myself and reached out toward the spot where they said the wall was—

"Wh-what are you doing, Charlotte-chan!?"

"Hey, wait—"

"Huh?"

The voices behind me suddenly vanished. When I turned around, a wall of flesh loomed where they should have been.

…The fogginess clouding my mind instantly cleared, sharp and clear.

I’d been separated—alone.

What just happened in that instant?

"Wait, hold on! Everyone! Reven, Reynard, Trishel!?"

I pounded on the wall behind me, but there was no response. All I got was the same unpleasant, squishy sensation as the floor beneath my feet.

…This is bad. Very, very bad. Being isolated like this is the worst possible situation.

What can I do on my own? This isn’t some beginner’s dungeon. I don’t know what could happen, visibility is poor. Should I move? Breaking through the wall is impossible. None of us has an attack that could destroy this kind of flesh barrier.

What do I do? What’s the right move? Where should I even start? Was I careless? Should I not have tried touching a wall I couldn’t even see?

…No. First, I need to calm down.

I gulped down an antidote potion. I was getting used to the taste. A habit I could do without, honestly.

"Calm down. There weren’t many monsters on this floor. Nothing’s going to happen right away."

I spoke my thoughts aloud, forcing them into words to steady myself.

Losing my composure would be far worse. If I stayed calm, I could manage most things.

And if something utterly unreasonable did happen, well—then I’d deal with it when it came.

"I’m fine, I’m fine. I’ll manage, I’ll manage…"

The first decision was whether to stay here or move.

The rule when lost is to stay put, but in a dungeon, it doesn’t necessarily apply. Sometimes moving is better.

Especially since this was a dead end. No escape routes. If a monster came from ahead, I’d be finished.

I should at least move until I had a way out.

But moving too much had its risks. The more I wandered, the harder it would be for Reven and the others to find me. We could even pass each other without realizing it. That much was certain—I shouldn’t move around recklessly.

"One step at a time. It’s fine, it’s fine…"

Saying it aloud slowly calmed me down.

But there was a bigger problem: that “something” I’d been sensing ever since we entered this floor. It was close—far too close.

Should I go see it alone? No way. That risk was far too great.

I’d just have to avoid it while aiming to regroup. They’d be looking for me too, I was sure of it.

"My direction’s fine. After that, it’s just luck."

But luck was something I never had. If I had, I wouldn’t have been attacked by a random thug, or had my family assaulted by bandits.

What my unlucky life had taught me was that “why” can always come later. Why this happened, I could think about afterwards. For now, survival was the only thing that mattered.

"…Alright, let’s go."

I steadied my breathing for a while longer, until I was certain I’d calmed down, before I started moving again.

The worst thing would be losing faith in my own choices. I needed to be sure of myself.

Unlike Trishel, I couldn’t sense presences. So I had to be cautious at every corner, at every sound. Those flesh monsters didn’t make much noise, but they weren’t completely silent either. Holding my breath, I crept forward carefully.

The poor visibility was truly the worst. Even peeking around a corner gave me almost no information.

I tried back-calculating my current position from the map I’d memorized earlier. Whether that memory was reliable was questionable, but it was all I had.

To regroup, the best strategy was to stay relatively still, but in a place where they could easily find me. Ideally, somewhere with a landmark.

"Am I being guided? No… impossible…"

Cold sweat traced down my back.

I was getting closer and closer to that presence. Not because I wanted to, but because that’s how the paths kept leading me.

Every time I tried to move away, I hit a dead end. And even if I managed to pull away temporarily, the detours always circled me back.

It was as if the dungeon itself had a will, steering me toward it.

That’s impossible. There’s no way. A dungeon is a dungeon. It’s not alive.

One, two, three deep breaths.

…Alright. My resolve was set.

If the only choice was to pass through, then I’d just have to do it carefully.

It’s fine. I’ll take a quick look. If it seems dangerous, I’ll run.

I can do this. I can do this… Alright.

I swiftly turned the corner—toward where that “something” awaited.