Chapter 167.2: Starting the Conquest of the Ancient Underground City (Part 2)
She was traveling in the air, which was fast, but also attracted a lot of attention, so birds and other flying types of monsters would often attack her. They were all easily defeated by Pegasus' lightning, so they did not slow her down too much, but the second floor's rules were still annoying.
「The next one is southwest of here, let's go.」
Mira told Pegasus in a low voice, and they took off again. They flew straight southwest, as Mira had ordered.
But the intermingling bridges and corridors were even more complex than on the first floor, impeding Pegasus from going too fast. Pegasus was nimble enough to evade obstacles even at higher speeds, but there was the danger Mira would fall off if that happened. She had actually already been launched into the air ten minutes after she entered the second floor.
That was why Pegasus was flying more safely now. But Pegasus was in a really good mood, knowing this meant spending more time together with Mira, carefully navigating through the dungeon.
「It seems I'll have to call it a day after clearing the second floor.」
She checked the current time, it would be 7pm soon. It would be 9pm by the time she was done gathering glyphs and at the temple.
Then again, it would take someone an entire week if they had to complete the second floor on foot, so Mira still had a fairly easy time flying around.
On a bit of a tangent, there were some people dedicated to picking up glyphs for others on the first and second floors, called proxies. They had discovered their own efficient routes like Mira's, or they had means to fly.
The first two floors offered very little of value to high ranking adventurer groups, and since they were all on a time limit due to their limited resources, they could seldom afford to spend time on those floors.
That was where those proxies came in handy. If they could manage their routes efficiently, they could earn plenty by selling their glyphs. That group of people who waved to Mira on the first floor had been those proxies.
「Alright, this is the last one. I've gained quite an appetite now.」
Eventually they reached the final tower, and after defeating the monsters lying in wait for anyone grabbing the glyph, Mira went to the top of the tower. From that high spot she looked at the floor again, shrouded in a thin veil of darkness, once again realizing just how big it was.
(I presume there was once a large number of people living here. This is quite large for a dungeon, but also quite large for a city.)
Mira wondered, just who had lived there once, how they had lived, and why they chose to live underground, instead of building a city on the surface. Not even the lore hunters Mira knew had been able to decipher the history of the Ancient Underground City.
She watched the scenery scroll past her as she flew on Pegasus, thinking that there had to be some secrets left to uncover about the Ancient Underground City. Somehow she was starting to understand the enthusiasm some of her friends had for lore and hidden stories.
A bit past 9pm Mira arrived on schedule at the temple in the center of the floor. Just like on the first floor, there was a large number of proxies waiting next to the doors. She had arrived on Pegasus, so they all seemed to assume she was new competition, throwing sharp glances at her.
(I wonder why they're glaring at me like that...)
She could not think of anything she had done to harm them, so she quickly went to the temple that would house her for the night, fleeing the angered stares.
Having a roof overhead always felt reassuring. There were many other adventurers that had the same plan as her, various groups of adventurers setting up camp inside the cathedral.
Everyone turned her way when the doors opened, which startled her after her recent experience, making her run into one of the corridors to the side.
Even though it was an ancient building, it was sturdy like a cathedral, and spacious, more than anything. There were also plenty of small rooms where one could rest at ease. The downside was that most of the doors had rotten through, offering very little protection against criminals.
Mira illuminated the dark corridor with a Concept Magic light and searched for a room she could use. After interrupting a couple that were vowing eternal love to each other, Mira finally reached a room that suited her, and she finally could rest.
She took out her special sleeping bag, which she used as a soft carpet to lie on top of, and she flicked the switch of the insect repellant built into the sleeping bag. A moment later a swarm of insects rushed out of the room. Just like anything from the Dinowal Store, the repellant was highly effective.
(Yuri huh... yuri is so nice after all...)
Mira paid little attention to the insects, instead grinning as she remembered something. The Concept Magic light illuminated Mira, her face contorted into a lewd grin.
「Alright, finally time to have some fun!」
Mira's thighs had felt extremely sore after riding Pegasus for so many hours, so after she rested for a while, she propped herself up and began taking out her tools from her Item Box, filled with excitement.
She took out her brand new and never used before cooking set for adventurers, and all sorts of ingredients. This all felt very adventurer-like, something she had been yearning for. Finally she could cook while camping. Just thinking of doing something so in-line with adventurers filled her with excitement.
Tonight's menu was Mira's special vegetable soup. She skillfully... or rather recklessly propped the cooking set, and began cutting the vegetables while dangerously handling a knife.
Carrots, cabbage, onions and mushrooms. Then beef, the star of the dish. Everything was cut in uneven chunks, so it would be impossible for everything to cook uniformly, but she did not care about that, she just threw everything into a pot as that was how adventurers do. Then she topped the pot with water, produced with Concept Magic, and she placed the pot on the small stove.
She turned the knob of the small stove and the fire was lit. Now she just had to taste for seasoning and wait until everything was cooked through.
「Mmmhm, that's a really good smell.」
Once the pot was boiling she threw in a few spices and continued tasting, the evolving scent filling her with anticipation. She drank yet another spoonful, muttering, 「A little more salt,」 with a smile.
She carefully stirred the pot after that, and continued tasting countless times. This was the first meal she prepared after becoming Mira.
Mira used a wooden spoon to scoop up some of her soup, carefully blowing on it to cool it down. Eventually she was able to put it in her mouth, chewing lightly before swallowing and smiling with satisfaction.
「Yes! My cooking sense is also quite incredible.」
The vegetables were soft and full of taste, while the beef had turned soft and tender. Most of the seasoning came from salt, but as it was mined salt which was rich in minerals, it gave the soup a rather complex flavor. Mira had also added some pepper and butter to it. That enriched the soup further, making it a rather successful soup for her first try.
In the grand scheme of things it was still a mid-low level soup, but the circumstances mattered more than the taste, becoming a rather memorable dinner for Mira.
Once she was done eating, Mira put away the cooking set, then took out a certain bag. That was something else she bought from the Dinowal Store, the magic washing bag that worked just by pouring water into it.
Mira quickly stripped down to her undergarments, which she also took off and threw into the bag together with all her clothes. She poured some water into the bag with Concept Magic and flicked the switch. The Magic Battery necessary to run the device was already in place.
The washing bag began to make splashing sounds. It made one wonder just how that gadget worked. No matter where or when it was used, it would always wash clothes clean.
Mira changed into a different pair of underwear, placed a Holy Knight on the room's entrance as guard, and went to lie down atop her sleeping bag again, listening to the pleasant sound of water sloshing around. There she began reading the Skill Encyclopedia Luminaria had given her. There were Skills she already met the requirements for and could learn right away, so she decided to add them to her repertoire immediately. That way Mira spent a rather relaxed time there, making it seem like she was not even inside a dungeon.
Creating water with Concept Magic was very useful, but in exchange it consumed far more mana than other middle level Arts.
Mira had used it without thinking twice, but that was only because she had tempered her mana reserves, and through various Divine Protections and Arts her mana pool and mana regeneration were so high that she quickly regained all the mana spent. Mira's way to camp was very different to that of other adventurers, and if she had done all that in the main hall of the cathedral where everyone could see, she would have been buried under invitations to join other adventurers.