Volume 2 Chapter 8 The Deceptive Snowscape – A Dungeon’s Sudden Betrayal and Escalating Fantasy Thriller
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Wooooow!”
After that weird feeling, like dunkin’ your face in water, the group breathed in crisp, clean air that wasn’t like anything back in Japan. Then, a massive silver world stretched out before them. This was the Dungeon. Outside it was almost summer, but in here, it was a winter scene—yet, the temperature sat comfortably at twenty degrees or so. No clouds dotted the blue sky, and no new snow was falling, but about four inches of powder covered the ground. Looking further in, they could see a frozen lake and even snow-covered mountains. This Dungeon was just plain strange, where the climate and the scenery were totally at odds.
Hibiki and the others’ eyes were sparkling. They were mesmerized by the feel of the first Dungeon they’d ever stepped into. Of course, not every Dungeon was this pretty, but this tourist spot was exactly that kind of place.
(Hmm… This is supposed to be a C-Rank Dungeon… right?)
The second Mizuki entered, she felt a wrongness. Because of her skill, ‘Magic Vision,’ she was super sensitive to more than just the magic she could see with her eyes. She just knew something wasn’t normal, but the Adventurer Guild staff at the gate had checked everything. There was no way they could’ve made a mistake.
(I hope it’s just me bein’ paranoid… but I oughta tell Asumi and Haruka, just in case.)
Worried or not, she decided to share that weird feeling with her teammates.
”Everyone, we’re movin’ toward the lake first. If any monsters show up, you gotta follow our orders,” Mizuki directed, leading the participants slowly forward.
”Hey! We can actually scoop this snow with our hands! But… it’s not cold!” Hibiki exclaimed.
She tossed a handful of snow high up, and the fine powder scattered over Hirose’s head. Thanks to the strange lack of chill, he didn’t mind it at all.
”It’s really not cold… That’s so weird! Amazing… It’s nothin’ like Japan.” Hirose sounded thrilled. These kinds of impossible environments and phenomena were actually pretty normal inside Dungeons. Hirose had heard about it, sure, but experiencing it himself filled him with pure joy.
”Amazing… just amazing…”
He scooped up snow and threw it, just like Hibiki, following closely behind her.
”Hirose-kun looks like he’s havin’ fun,” Koharu observed warmly.
”Fufu. He does, doesn’t he? It looks totally different from the snow I make,” Kirino murmured politely.
”Wait, Kirino-chan, you can make snow too?” Hibiki asked, turning to her.
”Yes. Since I can create ice, makin’ snow is easy,” Kirino answered matter-of-factly.
”I don’t get the science behind it, but that’s pretty cool.”
Then Kirino demonstrated: she scooped up the ground snow with her left hand, then poof—she instantly created fresh snow in her empty right hand. When Koharu touched it, she gasped in awe. Now they had both cold snow and non-cold snow existing right there, adding to the already strange feeling of the place.
They pushed on and stopped at the frozen lake to have lunch. So far, not a single monster had appeared.
”
”The
Mizuki decided to share the strange feeling she had with them.
”Don’t you think this Dungeon… feels a bit off?” Mizuki questioned cautiously.
”What exactly makes you say that?” Maki Ryougo inquired, pausing his meal.
”Well… It’s been almost an hour, but not even one monster has shown up yet… Plus, for a C-Rank, this environment feels too unusual, don’t you think?” Mizuki pressed.
Usually, an environment that looked this visibly wrong would be at least a B-Rank or higher. Mizuki and her team knew which Dungeon they were entering from the guide maps, but the fact that it was snowy yet warm still felt wrong.
”True… but we’re just here on assignment, man. We don’t know Tokyo Dungeons that well. Yeah, it might feel a little off, but it ain’t impossible for C-Ranks to have spaces like this,” Maki reasoned.
”I guess that’s all I can say, then… Just, please, stay vigilant.” Mizuki urged.
”Yeah, you got it. Even C-Rank Dungeons can’t be underestimated. Thanks for the heads-up.” Maki responded honestly. Though he looked like a muscle-brain, Maki was known in Aichi as a smart, capable adventurer. He had the insight and the strength. He was only there on an expedition to see how Dungeons in other prefectures operated.
”You guys heard what he said. Keep your guard up.” Maki ordered his two teammates.
”Got it.”
”You betcha.”
Mizuki returned to her team after finishing her chat.
(…That’s A-Rank for ya. Never drops his guard over the little things. …Though, all that caution ain’t gonna matter for nothin’,) the man thought, watching Mizuki’s back as he ate his lunch.
* * *
”Now we’re starting the second part of the schedule. We’ll walk close to the snowy mountain. Stay near us, everyone—monsters might be hidin’ in the trees.”
Just like before, Mizuki and her team led the way, with the participants followin’ close behind.
After about fifteen minutes, the slope of the mountain came into view. They wouldn’t climb it, though. There was no way they could protect everyone if they entered the deep forest.
That was when they heard it. A rustlin’ sound from the shadows of the mountain trees.
”Everyone! Fall back!” Mizuki shouted.
Instantly, a wave of tension washed over the participants.
”Hirose-kun. I’ll protect everyone, so don’t worry, okay?” Kirino reassured him quietly.
”Thanks,” Hirose replied, his voice steady.
The gap in strength between an A-Rank Adventurer and a C-Rank monster was huge. The chance of anyone dying was less than one in ten thousand, but for the participants seeing a monster in person for the first time, the potential for death was still terrifying.
Mizuki pulled her sword and stepped forward. The creature that appeared was a ‘White Beard Claw,’ a bear-type monster. It was seven feet tall, covered in pure white fur that made it hard to see against the snow. Its red eyes and sharp, black claws stood out on its thick body, confirming its menacing presence.
”Asumi! Haruka! Support me!” Mizuki commanded.
”Got it!” Asumi affirmed confidently.
”Understood!” Haruka added.
Mizuki charged, and the White Beard Claw let out a roar, ready to attack. It swung its right arm, its massive claws aiming for Mizuki. But Mizuki dodged with an easy side-step and used her skill, ‘Vacuum Slash,’ to slice across its flank.
Blood sprayed, and the White Beard Claw screamed in pain, writhing on the ground. The fight was mostly over, but Asumi, waiting in the back, handled the finish.
”Here we go—”
Asumi held out both hands, and a massive ball of flame instantly formed. The sheer heat made the participants behind them gasp and stare. Asumi launched the three-foot-wide fire block at the White Beard Claw. It burned the monster completely, leaving not a speck of ash behind.
”Oooohh!”
Cheers and applause erupted from the participants. Their first monster fight and the overwhelming power of the A-Rank Adventurers brought them relief and excitement.
(A White Beard Claw, huh? It’s not unheard of in a C-Rank Dungeon… but it feels a little too strong for the first floor.) Mizuki felt that wrongness again.
Dungeons have floors, and while the exact structure changes, the first floor always has monsters weaker than the Dungeon’s rank. The monsters only reach the full rank strength on the deeper floors. The White Beard Claw, though, was a monster that showed up on the first floors of B-Rank, or even A-Rank, Dungeons. That’s why Mizuki was feeling uneasy.
Still, this monster was no match for them. Besides, they had the Emergency Escape Item provided by the JTD, a brilliant device that could pull every single participant out of the Dungeon in an emergency. That’s what let everyone feel safe enough for a sightseeing trip.
After taking photos near the snowy mountain, they headed to their final stop—a single, huge tree on a low hill. Yellow, fruit-like objects hung from its branches, mixing with the snow on the green leaves to create an eerie, beautiful, and fantastical look.
”This is so pretty! Let’s take a picture together, everyone!” Hibiki suggested excitedly.
”Sounds good,” Hirose agreed.
The four of them lined up, handing a phone to another participant to snap the photo. They all gave peace signs for the camera. Once they finished, it was time to leave the Dungeon.
”—Hirose. How was it?” Hibiki asked.
”Uh… It was fun. Like, indescribably fun.” Hirose admitted. Hibiki had been worried about his mental state. Hirose, having faced the Dungeon, felt a strange sense of clarity.
He had always avoided Dungeons, but coming here had felt like taking down a mental wall he’d built against adventurers and Dungeons. He knew he had to thank her.
”Hibiki, thank you for bringin’ me here—”
That was the moment it happened.
—BOOM!
A massive explosion thundered from somewhere, the roar shaking the ground where they all stood.
”What the heck?!” Mizuki roared, her eyes scanning the area three hundred sixty degrees. She quickly spotted the source of the disturbance: the middle slope of the snowy mountain.
”—Huh.”
Where the explosion had gone off, black smoke was rising, and the snow on the slope was slowly starting to move.
—An avalanche.
It was a bit far from where they were standing, so there was no direct danger. But—
”Our way back…” Mizuki breathed, horrified.
They could only watch as the path from the hill, their only way out, vanished beneath the crushing snow.
Minutes later, the avalanche ended, the fine powder settled, and the view cleared. They could now fully grasp their situation.
Their return path was blocked. It shouldn’t be an issue, though. With the escape item, it was impossible to be trapped inside a Dungeon.
The choice came down to two quick options: Asumi could burn away the piled-up snow with her Fire Magic, or they could use the escape item right now to bail out of the Dungeon.
Using Fire Magic risked causing a secondary avalanche. And the longer they stayed, the more anxious and panicked the participants would get. Mizuki’s decision was an easy one.
”Everyone, please calm down. It’s okay that the path is blocked. We have the Emergency Escape Item, so we can get outside safely,” Mizuki announced. But the participants were still freaked out.
”Hirose… I… I’m so scared!” Hibiki cried, tears welling up.
”It’s okay, Hibiki. It’s gonna be okay…” Hirose soothed. Hibiki was feeling regret. She brought Hirose to the Dungeon to help him, only for an unexpected crisis to happen right at the end.
But Hirose was feeling positive now. To reassure her, he took her hand and squeezed it.
They were on a low slope leading down from the hill. Forward, the avalanche had piled the snow several meters high, making passage impossible. Walking up the mountain was dangerous, with unknown depths of snow and potential monsters. The only clear route was across the frozen lake to their right, but there was no need, since they had the escape item.
”Everyone. We are using the item. Please gather close… near me,” Mizuki instructed.
About twenty participants huddled close to Mizuki, who pulled a scroll-like object from inside her coat.
Hirose and the others squeezed together, ready to escape. They had no idea how they would get out, but all they could do was trust Mizuki and her team.
”This will take us out in an instant. Now—”
Mizuki unrolled the scroll and poured magic power into it. The next second, a massive magic circle appeared on the ground, large enough to encompass every participant and adventurer.
”—Escape!” Mizuki chanted. The magic circle glowed intensely, and then—
”………What in the world?” Mizuki whispered, shocked.
The light simply faded. Nothing had activated.
”Huh, what?”
”What happened?”
”It was supposed to get us out, right?”
Confusion and worried voices rose from the crowd.
Just then,
”—Kukuku.”
A laugh echoed from somewhere.
”Inhibition magic is pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
Someone, who looked exactly like Mizuki, unrolled a scroll of their own.
Instantly, a gust of wind ripped through the area—a powerful wind strong enough to blow people away.
”Aaaahhh!” The participants screamed, their bodies pushed by the wind toward the frozen lake. The suddenness of the attack left Mizuki and her team, and the Black Wolf members, unable to react.
People were blown off the slope one after another. A few, however, managed to act in time.
”‘Aura of Mitigation’!” Koharu yelled. She unleashed her full magic power at once, casting a skill to reduce the pain across all the fallen participants and adventurers. Another quick thinker, Kirino, created four inches of snow on the frozen lake to soften the impact. No, she could only create four inches in that split second, which was the more accurate truth.
”—Ugh!”
The participants who were blown off the hill and onto the frozen lake landed on Kirino’s snow cushion. But falling from a height of about fifteen feet, four inches of snow couldn’t absorb the full shock.
Thanks to Koharu’s skill, they felt almost no pain, but the sheer impact on their bodies was still there. As a result, a few passed out, while the rest slowly picked themselves up.
”What… what happened?” Mizuki demanded, looking around furiously.
”Mizuki—look at that.” Haruka pointed a shaking finger at the slope of the hill.
Standing there, the only one who hadn’t been swept off the hill, was the Black Wolf Guild’s support magic user—Kirihara Shinji.
That Kirihara was smirking down at the participants, a look of utter contempt on his face.
”Shinji! What—what’s wrong with you!” Maki bellowed.
”Y-Yes! What are you… why are you doing this!” Hirakawa demanded of his comrade.
”—Kukuku… Who in the world is this ‘Kirihara’ fella, I wonder?” the figure cackled tauntingly.
”What?!”
Maki and his teammate were utterly confused by the non-answer. But the next moment, the truth became clear.
”Ah, I don’t gotta use that Kansai dialect anymore, I guess.”
”Y-You… who are you!” Maki shouted in fear.
The figure who had been Kirihara lightly touched his own face, and his features changed. Not just his face, but his hairstyle, hair color, and even his voice. His clothes and body looked the same, but from the neck up, he was a completely different person.
”My identity doesn’t matter, does it? After all—you guys won’t be seeing me again.”
”W-What are you—”
”Click.”
The black-haired man with medium hair and a snake-like, reptilian face—the former Kirihara—pressed something in his hand, and the frozen lake cracked.
The crack spread across the entire ground where the participants stood, splintering the surface.
”Ninety percent of you are just collateral damage…. But just think of bein’ here today, in this place, as your bad luck.”
The man’s words implied he was after someone specific. The next instant, the surface ice shattered with a loud CRACK, and the ground beneath their feet simply vanished.
”Don’t worry, it’s not water down there, you’ll be fine—it’s something much worse,” the imposter taunted.
A sudden feeling of falling hit all the participants. The A-Rank Adventurers, Mizuki and her team, were helpless, forced to drop into the darkness below.
”Aaaaaaahhh!”
”Hibiki! Everyone stick close!” Hirose shouted into the void.
”Kirino-chan!” Koharu screamed her friend’s name.
”—Ugh! Snow… more snow! Gather, snow!” Kirino cried, desperately trying to keep her magic going.
The participants plummeted into the deep, dark hole. It wasn’t water, as they’d thought, but the feeling of their guts lurching was just like being on a roller coaster.
”Oh, I forgot to mention one thing.”
And finally, the black-haired man who had been Kirihara looked down at the falling adventurers and participants, murmuring his last words.
”—This isn’t a C-Rank Dungeon after all. Kuhi.”
* * *
Summary:
The sightseeing tour inside the oddly warm, snowy C-Rank Dungeon takes a terrifying turn when A-Rank leader Mizuki’s cautious feelings are proven right. The group experiences a thrilling monster fight, but a massive avalanche soon traps them. Their final hope, the Emergency Escape Scroll, is mysteriously disabled, and a shocking betrayal by a member of the Black Wolf Guild is revealed. The imposter, a man with a reptilian face, then destroys the frozen lake, sending everyone plummeting into a deep abyss with the chilling final reveal: they are not in a safe C-Rank Dungeon at all.
* * *
Character Insight:
Mizuki’s A-Rank instincts for danger were incredibly sharp, showing her professional responsibility, but the speed and depth of the betrayal overwhelmed even her best plans. Hirose, despite the chaos, shows huge personal growth by comforting Hibiki, proving he has overcome his past fear of Dungeons. Kirino and Koharu demonstrate their value with quick thinking and life-saving support magic, even as the world literally falls out from under them.
* * *
Behind the Scene:
The setting was designed to be deceptive, with the beautiful, warm snow hiding the true, high-rank danger. The seemingly safe C-Rank Dungeon was a complete ruse. The tension was ramped up by having the escape mechanism fail, leaving the participants and their powerful A-Rank protectors totally vulnerable to the unknown enemy and the true dangers that lie beneath the surface. The reptilian-faced man is clearly a calculated threat targeting this specific group.
Notes:
• Kirino – Strikingly beautiful with blue long hair (F, 168cm), Kirino is gifted with ice magic and feels isolated because of her appearance. Hirose’s Beauty skill helps her improve her self-image and social comfort, directly affecting Kirino’s relationship with her family and classmates.
• Maki Ryougo – 26-year-old A-rank adventurer, physical enhancement, leader of Black Wolf Guild, wears red armor.
• Vacuum Slash – A skill used by Mizuki Housaka from her Gift ‘One-Thousand Blades’. It creates a powerful cleave of compressed air, effective against tough opponents like Volca-Haze, though it requires an opening to be fully effective.
• Kirihara Shinji – 24-year-old A-rank adventurer, ‘Barrier’ gift, defense role in Black Wolf Guild, kidnapped by another guild.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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