Vol. 13 - Ch. 732 - Prankster Fairie's Hidden Room

The hidden room was dimly lit, with numerous bell-shaped lights hanging from the ceiling, casting a faint glow. The black stone walls gave it a ruin-like feel, yet also a sense of foreboding, as if something might pop out at any moment.

You would be hard pressed to think it was something within "Fairy" Dungeon. It was night and day difference from the spring we'd just witnessed, giving off a spooky sensation.

Of course, there was a reason why it was so different. The answer was... well, it should be about to present itself.

The moment we reached the bottom of the stairs, it happened. Karua, who had been bringing up the rear, suddenly yelped.

"Nya?! Eek!"

"W-w-what is it, Karua? Something wrong?"

I turned to see Karua, her fur bristling and ears perked, clinging to Sierra.

"S-something touched me. Something slimy."

"S-slimy?"

Karua kept fussing around the base of her tail as she spoke. It was bizarre. But, this was just the beginning. 

The next reaction came from Lana.

"Eek! I heard something!"

"Get behind me, Lana-sama!"

Ester quickly went on alert, shielding Lana in a panic. I strained my ears, and then I heard it.

«Hehehe.»

«They've come, they've come!»

«They've come trotting along, not knowing they're about to be eaten!»

These voices came from in front of Ester.

"Eeek!"

Who was it this time? Oh wait, I know that one—rather, I was made to. My left arm, which had been empty until now, was within Sierra's grasp. 

I turned to look at the situation, and noticed she was staring at the near-dark space ahead, her face rapidly losing blood. 

To put it short, Karua had glued to Sierra, and now Sierra was glued to me. 

Mhm-mm. I presume there was little to hide now. Time to reveal, eh? What appeared to be the  lair of evil was, in fact, the place where fairies played tricks.

Fairies and pranks were two words that would never be not together. Yet, in our exploration, we never had any fairy play pranks on us. Could you imagine fairies without their playful nature? That would be like visiting an aquarium with no fishes! 

Turns out, developers hadn't forgotten this as well, and hence this place, the hidden room. Or, as otherwise known as «Fairy's Prankroom».

The hidden rooms were a kind of safe area—the sort of places where no monsters would attack—so then, what do you think will be the reaction when such places become a playground for fairies? This must be the philosophy behind the room, as the players guessed.

In the game, «Fairy Spring» and the hidden room were two-in-one places, famous among players. 

Needless to say, when players heard about this place, they would surely visit it out. Then, in their attempt to map out the place, they would surely stumble on the strangely prominent square rock. Before long, they'd find the keyhole, unlock it, and then—bam! Fairy mischief would ensue. It would suddenly turn into a horror experience, eliciting screams here and there. That's what this fun spot was all about.

So, I decided to play along and keep mum. In the game, spoiling the surprise here was a no-go. Even in real life, it would be strange to know the secret of a hidden room from the get-go, so no problem there. None at all!

«Do not come~ Do not come here~»

«There's monsters ahead. You'll be eaten.»

«The famished monster is drooling, taking a taste of you~.»

"Nya?!"

Karua shrieked, practically jumping out of her skin at such menacing words. She must have been spooked, feeling that the earlier sliminess might have been the monster's tongue. 

Well, it was just a konjac jelly in the shape of a slime, suspended from the ceiling. 

Even without knowing that, hidden rooms were safe areas. As if there would be some ferocious monster lurking around. It was simply a fairy's prank. They must've loved spooking visitors.

I decided to watch for a bit. Seeing the reactions of new players who came here was one of the joys for veteran players. It really helped break the ice between them.

I narrowed my eyes to peer into the dim surrounding, and—ah, there it was. There was slime-shaped konjac jelly on the ceiling, dangling by a thread. It flew at Karua again, touching her thighs this time.

"Fnyaa?!"

"Kyaaah!!!?"

"What?!"

Karua screamed at the second slimy contact, and that spread to Sierra as she, too, screamed at the reaction. Sierra clinged even more tightly to my arm, trapping it in wonderful bliss!

"There's definitely something here, Zephyr-dono?! Please order to retreat!"

"Zephyr, hey Zephyr. What the hell is this place?! Just whatever is going on?!"

The lead, Ester, heightened her vigilance, while Lana screamed in panic. 

Mhm, that's how it should be. Perfect screams. 

Meanwhile, our usual vanguard, Sierra, had completely shut her eye, and tightly glued herself to me. 

Alas, with all the questions, it's about time for me to reveal the truth. 

Just as the konjac jelly was about to touch Karua again, I flipped it back using the flat part of the sword in my right hand. 

"No need to be scared, this isn't a monster. It's just slime konjac jelly."

"!?"

"Huh? Konjac jelly?"

My words shatter the thrilling suspense, causing both Karua and Sierra to rapidly blink their area, their gaze fixed on the konjac jelly hanging by the ceiling. Either of them had a blank expression. Perhaps, the revelation was just so hilariously simple that they'd yet to come out of their suspense vibe.

As they gradually tried to catch up with reality, Sierra freed my arm... that was sad. I bid thee farewell, O' blissful sensation~. 

"This is just child's play. The talk about being eaten by monsters is just a bluff as well. I'll take the helm as tank!"

"What are you..."

"Zephyr-dono!"

With a heavy heart, I detached myself from Sierra's hand and moved ahead of Ester, taking the role of vanguard. I vaguely felt Ester's respect for me just took a jump.

"Lana, calm down."

"Zephyr."

«Leave behind, leave behind! Leave the equipment, leave the snacks~!"

"There's no way anyone making such demands would be a vicious monster. Behold the culprit, here."

"This is... a megaphone?"

I pointed my sword at a corner of the ceiling. Ester's eyes widened when she saw it. In a dimly lit spot, there was something shaped like a megaphone, from which the voices were emanating.

"Oh, I see. Geez, don't scare me like that!"

Lana's shoulders visibly slumped when she saw the truth.

"What exactly is this? Why is there such a trap?"

"A trap? Well, now that you mention it, it does feel a bit like a trap, but it's not a trap."

"It's not?"

No, it wasn't. It was just fairies playing tricks, enjoying scaring intruders. The fairies at the spring were probably enjoying watching us right now—or, perhaps not, since I doused water on their play.

"Well, whatever. There shouldn't be any danger ahead. My «Intuition» skill tells me so. I'll take the lead from here, alright?"

"Take care, Zephyr."

"Sierra, if it gets too much, you can turn back, you know?"

"...I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Let me know if it's too much."

And so, like the saying goes, "the ghost's true form is a withered plume of grass," I forged ahead, leading the way. I dodged and sliced through the konjac that flew down from above just to scare us, using my «Intuition» and «Super-Reflex,» and soon we reached the dead end. 

There enshrined a golden chest, as it should be.

"See, there's nothing, right?"

It was a straight path, already at a dead end, and no monsters had appeared, so I had proven its safety.

"A gold chest! It's a gold chest! Everyone, there were no monsters here! Only the golden treasure!"

Lana immediately pounced, forgetting her earlier anxiety. But her voice echoed sonorously, and Sierram and Karua visibly relaxed, letting out sighs of relief. Karua had been completely on hyper alert after being hit by the konjac twice. As expected of Lana.

"Alright, Lana, you can open it."

"Really?! My words, a treasure chest placed in such deceptive place better have something good in it, or I won't forgive it!"

Grumbling playfully, Lana squatted in front of the chest with a smile. She clasped her hands, offering a prayer to the «Sachineko-sama,» and waited for everyone to gather before opening the chest with a *click* sound. Inside was—

"Oh! This! Isn't this the «Nature Adaptation Pendant»!?"

"Yep, Lana, you hit the jackpot. It's the same item Karua is wearing."

This was a SSR rarity item that could nullify environmental effects. No tension of cold or hot! 

This was one of the reasons why players would visit here at least once, and another reason that made this place famous. With this, we had a total of two «Nature Adaptation Pendant»!

Since Lana had opened this chest, the pendant turned to her for the time being, and we traced our path back to the «Fairy Spring». With the fairies frolicking in the background, we filled the barrels with spring water and set off.

After that, we found two more hidden doors similar to the «Fairy Spring» and successfully retrieved the treasure chests inside. However, Sierra and Karua adamantly refused to enter any hidden rooms after the first one.

And so, the party pushed through the dungeon, finally reaching the 50th and deepest floor, right before the boss room.