Yuuto's eyes snapped open.
His body shot upright before his mind could catch up.
Before he could recognize what was happening, a sharp pain stabbed through the back of his head.
"Ugh—!"
He clutched his skull and sucked in a deep breath. His agonizing mumbles reverberated. The world spun for a moment, darkness swimming across his vision. Slowly, the pain faded into a dulled throb.
Only when the pain was gone did Yuuto look around.
The familiar walls were already gone.
Instead, the cavern around him shimmered with a strange glow.
Mana crystals of every size grew everywhere—Large ones, small ones, jagged clusters, and smooth pillars. They spread like a moss; their faint glow illuminated the passage, just enough for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
The air itself in here is different.
Cold.
Heavier.
The crystals hummed faintly, releasing a quiet vibration that buzzed against his skin.
Yuuto looked around again, this time more carefully.
The mana crystals were enormous.
Some rose in the ground like natural pillars, while others burst from the walls in thick clusters. Even the smaller ones were larger than the crystal he had seen sold in town.
Maybe it was because of their sheer size, but the cavern felt strangely charged, as if the air itself was thick with condensed mana.
For a moment, Yuuto held his breath.
The quiet glow of the crystals reminded him of a distant memory.
Back in the village, once every few years, the sky would fill with falling stars during the star festival—a night when people gathered to watch the meteor shower streak across the darkness.
Standing here now, surrounded by scattered lights in the cavern, the memory surfaced without warning.
Back then, he had watched the meteor shower from the forge window.
While everyone else gathered outside for the festival, he stayed inside as usual, hammering metal beside the surface.
Yuuto couldn't help but regret not joining them.
It was a long time ago, but if he had gone… maybe it would have felt something like this.
Lights revealed pieces of the world while the rest remained swallowed in shadow.
Quiet.
Mysterious.
If not for the fact that he is still inside the dungeon.
The beauty of the scene instantly lost its charm.
Reality returned like a bucket of cold water.
Yuuto spun around, his eyes scanning the cavern frantically.
"My bag…!"
Panic surged through him as he searched the ground.
The dim glow of the crystals did little to help. They were more decorative than useful and barely illuminated the shadows around him.
A few seconds later, relief washed over him. His bag lay there just a short distance away, untouched.
No tears.
No holes.
None of the jagged crystals had pierced it.
Without hesitation, he snatched it up and pulled out a silver rectangular object.
Raising it high, he held it up like a trophy as if he had just won a smithing competition.
Yuuto opened it and tapped the screen.
A soft hum answered him before, and a pocket-sized holographic map sprang to life.
Lights unfolded above the device, forming a floating map grid.
One of the small miracles of magitech.
The map works by sending out faint mana signatures across the nearby area and receiving them back, allowing it to display a rough layout of the terrain a few meters ahead.
Not perfect.
But incredibly useful.
From this fact alone, maps like this had become essential for adventurers, merchants, and others, despite their quite steep price.
Since its rise in popularity, stores and guilds even offered a bundle promo that included the map, a light torch, and a guidebook titled "How to Survive Your First Day in the Dungeon and How to NOT Die!"
In his opinion, those last words from the title give a rather dark tone.
Still…
Right now, he could have done anything for whoever invented this device.
His chest tightened with relief.
'I will thank whoever made this map a thousand times…'
But then—
"—?"
Yuuto blinked.
Something was wrong.
The projection flickered violently.
The image warped.
Lines twisted and overlapped like tangled threads.
Instead of a clear layout, the hologram displayed a corrupted, distorted mess.
He tilted the device.
Nothing changed.
He rotated it.
Still nothing.
He rebooted it.
The screen flickered again.
And once more—
The same broken projection appeared.
"…No"
He stared at the map.
His face slowly drained of color.
For a moment, the world seemed to crumble beneath him.
Images flashed across his mind
The sudden collapse.
The ground suddenly disappeared beneath his feet.
The endless fall into the abyss.
He had survived.
Miraculously.
Impossible luck.
And now—
Now the only thing left that could guide him out…
Was broken.
Cold sweat broke out across his body.
His breathing quickened.
His shirt clung to his back, soaking within seconds.
Strength drained from his limbs.
His heart pounded against his chest.
Every bit of hope he had clung to was shattered in an instant.
"Ha… Haa…."
His breath came out ragged.
"Why… why is this happening?"
His voice trembled.
"Can… I… still escape…?"
Yuuto clutched his chest.
His vision blurred.
The glowing crystals smeared into streak light.
His body refused to obey him.
Every breath shook him.
His legs trembled uncontrollably beneath him.
He slammed his fist into his thighs.
"Move!"
Nothing.
They wouldn't listen.
This was beyond him.
He wasn't a hero.
He wasn't a sage.
He wasn't some legendary adventurer with years of experience under his belt.
He was just Yuuto.
An average human.
Even surviving that fall had been a miracle.
A fluke.
This floor…
This entire area…
He had never seen anything like it before.
And without a map—
The chance of him escaping dropped to zero.
His thoughts spiraled deeper into despair.
Faster.
Darker.
At this rate…
He would die here.
Alone.
His body would probably be found by a random adventurer party
Or maybe not all.
Just another skeleton in the dungeon's endless depths.
His breathing grew heavier.
His mind threatened to collapse under the pressure.
Something inside him felt like it might snap.
No.
No… wait.
This wasn't right.
Yuuto shut his eyes.
Force air into his lungs.
Again.
And again.
"No…"
His fingers clenched.
"… this isn't the end yet."
He forced the words out.
"Calm down."
His voice is quieter this time.
Steadier.
Panic would only kill him faster.
The dungeon was a dangerous place. In a house full of monsters, he was nothing more than a cockroach.
Yuuto slowly pushed himself to his feet.
His legs trembled—but they held.
Good enough.
"Think," he muttered.
Staying here would only make things worse.
Monsters could appear at any moment.
And if they did…
He'd be a sitting duck.
His only chance was movement.
Maybe… just maybe… he could stumble upon the exit.
Or run into an adventurer's party.
He shook his head.
Both are unlikely, but unlike was still better than zero.
Yuuto grabbed his bag and tightly wore it.
Then he pulled his short sword.
The blade was one of his many creations.
Its steady weight and unchanging appearance helped steady his nerve.
He took one step forward.
Then another.
The glow of the crystals shifted as he moved deeper.
Shadows stretched along the walls.
The hum of mana echoed faintly around him.
The dungeon was quiet.
Too quiet
Yuuto tightened his grip on his sword.
"...Alright"
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Let's see if I can survive this."
And with that—
Yuuto began walking into the unknown.