[TS] Surviving in a Yuri Visual Novel

The dungeon entrance, which closes on its own as prey enters, was notorious during the war due to its traps created by the Demon King.

‘No matter how many years pass, some things never change.’

At first, the thought of experiencing a dungeon that could only be encountered in computer games made me as excited as a child receiving a new toy.

But that didn’t last long. The entrance, which cannot be broken by a sword and traps created by the Demon King that prevent one from escaping until they completely clear it, has led me to get lost and wander many times due to the incessant attacks from Mazoku soldiers and monsters.

Just recalling that time makes me sigh.

I don’t know who likened dungeons to carnivorous plants, but it was indeed a clever comparison.

Once you step inside, the door closes on its own, preventing anyone from calling for support from outside or exiting.

Moreover, unlike games, there is no reward for clearing it.

Is this even logical? The lack of a reward for clearing it is outrageous.

It’s not for nothing that the Demon King is called the Demon King.

The structure of the dungeon, which is completely isolated to the point where requests for support cannot be made from outside, renders space magic ineffective. It seemed that mages were more than eager to uncover the dungeon’s structure because their magic did not work in it. One of those mages was Leticia.

“I thought there was a possibility it could be fake, but it seems that isn’t the case. Still, it looks like he can’t handle his abilities as well as the previous Demon King.”

There are several unstable aspects. While the structure may not seem fragile, Leticia smiled, acknowledging the level of the ability of the one who created this dungeon.

“If the level of dungeons generated around the world is like this, I think it will collapse before long.”

“…Fortunately, it seems like he is still inexperienced in using his abilities. If we find him and kill him….”

“If war occurs, we could gain a lot, and it might even serve as a hidden card to prevent the war.”

Of course, Leticia muttered that it would be better if no war happened, but unlike her, who seemed pleased at getting good information, my attention was focused elsewhere.

‘A new quest….’

The system, which had been quiet until now, seemed to have suddenly given a new quest due to the appearance of the dungeon.

I read the quest that appeared before me with anxious eyes.

[Main Quest: Uncover the Truth of the Suspicious Dungeon!]

[It seems a new ability user has emerged within the Mazoku army, which had believed it lost the ability to generate dungeons with the death of the previous Demon King. However, the human and Mazoku have formed a peace agreement and begun investigating the dungeon in question, unaware that even the Demon King does not know about it. Accordingly, you, the player, will enter the dungeon alongside the investigator Leticia Riciancia and start your investigation. Please note that the dungeon in question has a different structure compared to previous Demon Kings.]

[Reward: New skill release and clues regarding the organization to which Ryuren belongs.]

[Failure: You may never be able to exit the dungeon.]

Oh. A new skill and clues regarding Ryuren. Just as I thought this reward seemed quite fulfilling, I frowned at the penalty for failure.

It’s not that I would never be able to exit the dungeon, but it says I may not be able to. So, does that mean I could escape even if I failed? I had never failed a mission before, so I wasn’t worried about what would happen after a failure, but I had to obtain this reward.

I absolutely could not fail when it came to new skills and information about Ryuren. I had to succeed.

“Charlotte? What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“Uh… oh, right?”

“Since we can’t go outside the dungeon anymore, we have no choice but to move forward. I don’t sense any life force ahead, so whatever lies before us, we should move as quickly as possible. I don’t want to linger in this unpleasant place.”

Leticia’s mood, which clearly expressed her displeasure as she looked around, didn’t seem great.

After all, I had heard that abilities were the complete opposite of magical power. I could faintly see it myself—the alien energy that was different from magical power. Because of this, many mages had fallen during the early days of the war when they were ignorant of abilities, yet they could not gather information related to dungeons.

Well, I had knowledge about games, so clearing the dungeon wasn’t problematic for me at first, but I had heard Leticia say that there were dungeons designed to prevent the use of magic, which caused quite a bit of trouble.

Is it that even the same mystery is different?

When playing games on a computer, everything seemed similar, yet I had always found it strange that the game company had created a setting for abilities.

If they were similar, they could have combined the settings into one. Simply calling dungeons the unique magic of the Demon King would have made the setting much easier to understand, so I still had no idea why they made things so difficult even after being reincarnated for the second time.

Thinking about it, I remembered a friend had said that new functions were added to the subsequent dungeons compared to the originals.

As I pondered over my friend’s musing, which flitted through my memory like a small whisper, a sense of unease overcame me.

If this dungeon is different from the existing ones, then what lies ahead must be a complete unknown. In that case, the failure penalty of never being able to leave makes sense.

Humans are creatures that become frightened when faced with the unknown. Even if I am half Mazoku and have a bold nature, I cannot escape the fear of the unknown.

Yet, aside from the fear of the unknown, the excitement and sense of adventure about being able to explore something I don’t know fills me up.

Honestly, I am curious.

A dungeon that is completely different from the one I almost know by heart, a dungeon where I could potentially lose my life—it’s strange if I don’t feel thrilled at the prospect of an exhilarating exploration.

…Have I changed somewhat with the mixed blood of Mazoku? It feels like my bold traits have increased.

“You seem strangely excited?”

Having seen dungeons more than once, Leticia laughed as if she couldn’t help it while I looked around, acting excited.

“You’ve always been crazy about exploration and adventure. Truly, Charlotte, your appearance might have changed, but your essence remains the same.”

“Just because the exterior changes doesn’t mean the interior changes.”

And I added, adventures are always exciting.

“That’s true. Even if your gender has changed, I can still tell you’re Damian Redius.”

Leticia, with a gentle smile, said with half-closed eyes.

I didn’t ask how she could tell. The fact that Leticia recognized me as the same person as Damian was somewhat creepy, but I couldn’t say it was bad since it meant she cared for me that much.

Right?

As I was lost in thought, Leticia, with a playful smile, crossed her arms with me and continued.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a date together. A dungeon date—something that ordinary people can hardly experience.”

In a dungeon where we could never escape from, having a date with my partner was certainly something that ordinary people would never experience, but I refrained from voicing it.

There was no need to ruin the good atmosphere.

Unlike when I entered the dungeon with a frown, I smiled at Leticia, who was now linking arms with me.

Considering how busy I had been lately, it was understandable that Leticia would appreciate this time alone together.

Thinking about it, we hadn’t had a proper date in a while; it was no surprise that we were both feeling a bit frustrated.

Whether we needed to feel that way even in the dungeon is questionable, but since Leticia was wearing the happiest smile I had seen recently, I quietly remained silent.

I squinted my eyes and called out to Leticia.

“Leticia.”

“…Seems like we have some uninvited guests. Not just one or two, either. Where did they suddenly come from?”

“It’s a dungeon. Nothing strange about it. The energy is quite violent, similar to Mazoku, but it feels like raw energy that isn’t restrained, so they’re probably not Mazoku. Then….”

“Monsters?”

Suddenly feeling a presence before us and hearing the low growl of a beast echoed in our ears as we continued our conversation.

The rough breathing and the sound of pounding paws on the ground. From the darkness emerged several monsters resembling a lion’s head with the massive body of a tiger.

They were several times larger than the combined height of Leticia and me.

As I watched the beasts threatening us, I couldn’t help but let out a low gasp at the sight of these monsters I had never seen before.

“I’ve never seen monsters like that before. Leticia, how about you?”

“I’ve never seen them either; I didn’t know such monsters existed.”

Then, could they be monsters that appeared alongside the newly emerged dungeon? This was getting interesting. As the creatures revealed their teeth and sized us up, they lunged at us, dripping saliva as Leticia and I simultaneously planted our feet firmly into the ground.

And then I saw it.

Leticia smashing the head of a monster with her staff.

…How terrifying.

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