Oh my me, I just hope I don't have to do another DDR minigame on the goddamn way...

After leaving that mess behind, we climb the stairs toward the next floor but for some reason, this set of stairs is much longer than usual. Other times it is maybe two or three dozen steps short but this time it just goes on and on.

In boredom, I check my menu, "Hey, Ephran, is it just me or is the time wrong? It says 11:45 but I could swear it was 11:42 last time I checked."

"Is it?", Ephran checks his menu, "Not sure, I honestly didn't pay attention to that but it says 11:45 for me, too. But the time is clearly frozen, none of the hands are not moving at all. Maybe you're just misremembering? We have been here a long time after all."

I've my doubts about that, "Not sure, but it is possible", I sigh, "A lot has happened after all. Wait, your clock has hands? I have a digital time display."

He looks at me confused, "What is this... 'dijitel'? I've never heard that word before..."

"Nevermind..."

So much for everyone having the same setup in the menu.

But am I really misremembering the time? I'm more certain about that than of any memories I have from my last life... But I've also no idea how that should even be possible in the first place. That time is frozen is a well-researched fact of the dungeons' functionality, they are behaving like instanced dungeons in an MMO, even if time moved no one else could enter anyway...

Yeah, it is more likely that I'm just going mad from this place. We really need to get out of here soon...

To distract myself, I check if Lucia has written anything new. No, nothing, the paper in my inventory is just more small talk. Still no signs of any of our other comrades.

...she wouldn't have found someone else and secretly disposed of them, would she? She might unwittingly hold resentment toward Iris for her time at the church

No, it still seems like everyone is safe, the party and familiar menus still list everyone.

After another moment of contemplating, the stairs finally end, welcome to the fourth floor. At this pace, beating this dungeon will take years but the avatar will have found us in the next couple of days...

"I see cramped caves covered in almost transparent, green gas. Do you have any idea what that could be, Ephran?"

He shakes his head, "Not really. But I don't think we have an option but to find out..."

I agree, "Seems like it", and shoot a fire spell into it but nothing happens. It doesn't burn or explode, so there's that at least. No danger of sudden game over through using the wrong element.

"You go first. I want to check your status if the gas does something to it."

Ephran frowns, "You got it, boss."

A moment after he enters the greenish fog, a status appears on his status screen: narcotic poison (0.1 HP/s). A moment later it disappears and then reappears again. Seems like his regeneration from [Sleepless] keeps it mostly in check.

"It appears to be some kind of sleep-inducing poison. How do you feel?"

Ephran shrugs it off, "Mostly fine. The sleep deprivation before was worse."

"Good, then let's pick up the pace, but when something comes up give me an immediate heads up."

He agrees, "Sure."

I enter the gas as well and check my status, the poison doesn't seem to affect me at all. [Undead] gives me some resistance to poison, so that's probably the reason. So the only one at risk is Ephran and even he isn't affected much thanks to the regeneration from [Sleepless].

It is almost unfair how a single skill can turn a death sentence of a floor into a seeming cakewalk.

While running through the cave system we barely encounter any monsters. Just a single viper, scorpion or other poison-themed creature here and there. I can take out most of them with a single spell thanks to my wide range of available elements so Ephran doesn't get to do much. Not that he could, we have no weapon left he could use and Lucia's [Create Weapon] can't produce a temporary weapon that can be passed through the inventory to him. So for now, Ephran's stuck with untrained hand-to-hand combat. I hope this changes before we run into a tougher enemy.

Speaking of my wife, she wrote that the one-week downtime for Elly and Maria is over, so she could call them back. Couldn't you leave at least one of them for me, Lucia? Well, I'm not even sure if I could've summoned one of them since they rested in Lucia and she's too far away.

The poison cave just goes on. A few branches here and there, but so far we can always see right from the start that one of the paths ends in a dead end. They don't even contain a monster that lies in ambush, they are just seemingly empty for no reason.

A while later, we find a bigger room, and there lie four bodies on the floor.

I recognize none of them. One of them is already dead, [Appraise] doesn't react to them.

The others only seem to be knocked out, they appear to still be breathing at least.

They have a clearly different armor design than the people in my fortress. How can there even anyone be here in the first place? Supposedly, time stands still while we're inside a dungeon, so no one from the outside has the time to enter.

This must be a trap.

Name Kael Status unconscious, poisoned (0.1 HP/s) Age 19 Classes Axe Knight 19, Great Knight 16 Race Stoneborn (Dwarf) 13 Extra none HP 1428/3561 MP 264/264 SP 857/2977 STR 562+222 DEX 153-30 VIT 555+192 MAG 49 FTH 159 WIL 263+36 CHA 198 Equipment Great Axe, Full Plate, Iron Helm Skills Armored Strike 16, Axe Training 19

Armor Mastery 16, Armor Training 19, Earth Resistance 13, Fire Resistance 13, Hard Worker 13, Iron Wall 16, Will of Steel 19 Weakness Wind

Looks suspiciously normal. Just a slightly short human-like person in full armor with a full grey-brown beard, classic dwarven style. Status doesn't look out of place either.

But... there shouldn't be other real people here. What is going on?

What's with the others? Maybe there's a hint there.

Name Ren Jagen Status unconscious, poisoned (0.3 HP/s) Age 18 Classes Swordmaster 100, Battle Guru 100 Race Human 100 Extra none HP 6392/12820 MP 2140/2140 SP 10810/15040 STR 1869+526 DEX 2331+210 VIT 1660+215 MAG 320 FTH 680+60 WIL 1240+115 CHA 1440+15 Equipment Judgment Blade, Enchanted Tunic, Headband, Blessed Cloak, Saint Ring, Engraved Ring Skills - Offense none Skills - Support Flash Step 100, Mentorship 100 Skills - Passive Critical Exploitation 100, Hard Worker 100, Luck Boost 100, Skilled Fighter 100, Sword Focus 100, Weapon Intuition 100 Weakness Poison

Someone call the light novel industry, their main character template has run away. Seriously, this person couldn't look more ridiculously average if you tried.

Anyway, the levels and stats are insanely high, even overdressed to the hilt. This seems very suspicious...

Even if I accepted the premise that someone could reach such high levels in this world at such a young age - which I don't - if someone really was that strong it would make no sense for them to succumb to this weak poison fog.

Yeah, the status is most likely fake. Elly won't like to hear that someone bested the enhanced [Appraise] skill she granted me.

And what about the last one?

Name N/A Age N/A Classes Corpse Mimic 8 Race Generic Monster 8 Extra Monster 8 HP 5908/5908 MP 420/420 SP 1848/1848 STR 588 DEX 532 VIT 364 MAG 196 FTH 364 WIL 168 CHA 56 Skills NO EXP Weakness Light

Level 8? So far all monsters were level 1, does that mean we're making progress?

Ephran mutters, "Is that...?"

"Yeah, quite a nasty trap. First, weaken them with the poison until they are too tired to think clearly and then lure them in with what looks like a wounded ally. Add some real unconscious people around to reduce the chance of [Appraise] revealing the trap thanks to its 300 MP price tag... you get the idea."

He agrees, "Yeah, I understand. Can we beat it?"

"Quite likely. I'll keep it stunned with lightning spells, you punch it while it can't move. Should it break out, we'll retreat."

Ephran asks, "Would you really abandon those two?"

"If I have to. I know neither of them and according to their uniforms, they don't belong to us anyway. While I would really like to know how they can be here, the answers aren't worth it to risk my life. So, are you ready?"

He nods, "Yeah, give the signal."

While charging my spell, I look around one final time to check for another trap but [Appraise] finds nothing. A moment later, my spell is ready and I let it loose, a stream of lightning rams into the false body on the floor.

Your Lightning Shot has inflicted 1315 damage and a status effect to Corpse Mimic.

It is stunned as expected, so I start casting the next spell and Ephran rushes toward the target.

Despite the stun, it can still move, albeit slowly. Ephran is not out of danger.

The corpse mimic grows out its tongue until it is 3 meters long and swings it slowly at Ephran who dodges the attack and hits it back a couple of times for 80 damage per punch. He really needs a real form of offense.

I throw the second lightning bolt at the mimic and hit it again.

Your Lightning Shot has inflicted 1315 damage and a status effect to Corpse Mimic.

Ephran dances a bit more around the creature, throwing some punches and dodging the mimic's tongue attacks, punches and kicks.

Suddenly, the mimic rips out its left arm and literally throws it at Ephran, hitting him for 387 damage.

Over the course of the next few seconds, I shoot two more spells and take the monster out.

Your Lightning Shot has inflicted 1315 damage to Corpse Mimic and defeated it.

I would really like to heal either of the three wounded before me but thanks to [Undead] I can't use my [Cure Magic] spell.

Ephran breathes a sigh of relief, "I'm glad that this is over."

"Yeah, what now? Thanks to the dungeon effect our two rescuees won't recover from the poison, we need to get them out of the poison fog but how much further would that be in either direction?"

He points out another option, "Can't you do the same you did for me and make them your familiars?"

I shake my head, "No, they would need to agree, at least in some minor fashion. And they are too unconscious to consent."

Hmm... maybe I can slap them awake?

You've inflicted 110 damage to Kael.

You've inflicted 228 damage to Ren Jagen.

...big nope. They're still out and if I repeat that a few more times I would kill them before I get them back to the land of the conscious...

What, he has 692/12820 HP left? Shit, isn't that too many HP lost? That is... not good. Not good at all...

This just reinforces my suspicion that Ren's status is faked. If it was real I should've dealt no damage at all.

"Ephran, come, grab the other guy, we'll try to get them out of here, fast."

I throw Ren over my shoulder and we run on.

Really, me, a low-level mage, carrying a fully geared warrior, what's the world come to...