The Torch Mounted on a Dungeon Wall

"Gooood morning, Goddess-sama!"

'You're awfully familiar.'

"That was close. I was a hair's breadth from instant death."

'If you don't die instantly, the pain lingers.'

"I feel like I've gotten reasonably strong after reincarnating in other worlds so many times."

'There's still a vast gulf between a goddess and a human. Though even I, a goddess, find your complete lack of mental change astonishing.'

"Maybe the trick is never to forget why I started."

'Mentally, you seem to surpass the gods around here.'

"Anyway, I feel like the countdown to my next reincarnation is almost up, so let's play."

'Indeed, it should be about time. You can draw from the suggestion box first, if you'd like.'

"No, if you rush at a time like this, you won't draw anything good."

'I doubt there are any good ones in there. I'll indulge you a little, but what do you have in mind?'

"Let's play Twister."

'It's time for your reincarnation in another world.'

"I admire how quickly you shut that down. Too bad. Now, let's see what's in the suggestion box... rummage, rummage. From Amaki Tomoaki-san: 'A torch mounted on a dungeon wall.'"

'That's a little lacking in impact.'

"But isn't it kind of cool?"

'Cool, yes. I can't deny there are people who see it that way.'

"I'm not getting as much support as I expected. Torches in dungeons have a certain atmosphere, don't they?"

'For starters, I've never used a torch.'

"Then maybe I'll bring one back as a souvenir."

'I don't need a souvenir from your reincarnation.'

"This is going to set the bar for souvenirs pretty high. Now, I need to choose my options... What color should the flame be?"

'The color changes depending on the substances in it, so choose whatever you like.'

"Black flames look cool, don't they?"

'You could recreate them with magic, but scientifically speaking, you'd need a lamp of the same kind in the background.'

※ If you view sodium's flame test through a sodium lamp, the color is absorbed, making the flame appear black.

"Of course I'm going for a fantasy setting. After all, I'm reincarnating in another world."

'Your words and actions are in remarkable disagreement with what I remember of you.'

※ Surprisingly, this is an isekai fantasy.

"I think those options will do. All right, I'm off."

'Have a good trip.'

◇

'Hmm, playing Twister alone is pretty good exercise. Next, my right hand—'

"I'm back."

'—uppercut!'

"I get back and immediately take an uppercut to the jaw."

'I thought I'd try striking first for once.'

"My knees buckled. I feel like I'm the one getting attacked first every time."

'You're imagining things.'

"Oh, right. Surprisingly, it didn't go well."

'At this point, I feel like I should be surprised by the way you think. You were a torch mounted on a dungeon wall, right?'

"That's right. I was a torch mounted on the wall of a super-high-difficulty dungeon where the Hero's Sword, the Hero's ultimate weapon, was sealed away."

'That's a pretty first-rate setting.'

"By the way, here's a photo of me."

'It's a torch. The flame is a normal color, too.'

"Don't I look good in this photo?"

'It's just a photo of a torch.'

"Here are the second and third ones."

'They're all just the same torch. Oh? Is it my imagination, or is the scenery around you different?'

"I didn't take them in the same place."

'So you were moving around again.'

"I added an option that lets me slide freely along the wall as long as I'm mounted on it."

'Why can't you understand that an object moving like that is horrifying?'

"But this time I don't grow legs. So I don't think it's horror."

'That's called surreal.'

"Still, you'd want to explore a dungeon, wouldn't you?"

'I can at least understand that feeling.'

"You'd want to know the whole map, wouldn't you?"

'There are adventurers like that, aren't there? They can't rest until they've searched every last corner.'

※ The author is the type who explores every corner of the map.

"But this was a super-high-difficulty dungeon, so it took me a year to finish mapping it."

'This may be a small thing, but as a torch, didn't you burn out?'

"I looked like an ordinary torch, but I was actually a semi-permanent one that burned by absorbing the magic overflowing inside the cave."

'I see. That would let you stay there for quite a long time.'

"After wandering around for a year and learning the whole map, I became the torch that knew the most about the dungeon."

'I'm not sure how much honor that title carries when you're a torch.'

"By the way, here's a photo of me with Hero's Sword-san."

'Hero's Sword-san? You say that as if it were alive...'

"It was an otherworldly reincarnator."

'So it was an otherworldly reincarnator.'

"Hero's Sword-san was so powerful that it started out in a super-high-difficulty dungeon, but apparently it was incredibly bored waiting for the Hero to show up."

'Did you talk to it? Well, it wouldn't be strange for the Hero's Sword to speak.'

"Not having a way to move around is a rookie mistake. They don't know the ins and outs of reincarnating as an inanimate object."

'I think you're handling reincarnation as an inanimate object better than anyone.'

"Hero's Sword-san told me, 'Could you guide the Hero when they arrive? This place is boring.'"

'That should be easy for someone who knows the map inside out.'

"Of course, I readily agreed. Until the Hero arrived, I chatted with Hero's Sword-san."

'The monsters nearby must have been pretty terrified to hear a torch and a sword talking.'

"There was also a guardian who protected the Hero's Sword. It was a white knight spirit, a summoned beast left behind by the previous Hero. Here's a picture."

'A knight's ghost, then. It looks pretty strong.'

"It was weak."

'Did you beat it?'

"It asked me to spare it the final blow, since it wouldn't make for much of a trial for the Hero."

'I suppose the Hero's Sword couldn't accept the final trial protecting it being defeated by a torch in the dungeon.'

"Well, once I'd beaten it, it became completely docile. But it couldn't speak or communicate, so it was a boring conversational partner."

'It looks much more capable of speech than a torch. Still, how did you defeat the opponent for the final trial when all you did was map the place?'

"I spent a year wiping out the monsters in the dungeon and leveling up."

'If you cleared out the monsters, the trial would be much easier.'

"They'd be born again after a while. In that world, monsters appeared in areas with dense magic."

'Well, if that's how it works.'

"Then the day finally came when the Hero's party challenged the dungeon."

'They came, did they?'

"By the way, this dungeon had many floors—one hundred in all."

'That's pretty brutal, even for a super-high-difficulty dungeon. And you clearing it in a year is something else.'

"The Hero fell on their first attempt, on the first floor."

'Suspiciously low level.'

"It was the world's most dangerous dungeon, after all."

'And a torch cleared it solo.'

"But the Hero was a Hero, and immediately tried again without giving up."

'A stubborn Hero, then. That's a perfectly classic setup.'

"But they fell on the second floor the next time."

'Maybe they tried too soon.'

"The Hero was level ten, while the monsters were around level ninety."

'So it wasn't just a suspicion. What level were you, by the way?'

"Ninety-nine."

'I expected as much. I'm more surprised you weren't over the level cap.'

"There was an option to break the level cap, but unfortunately, you get little experience from enemies much weaker than you."

'If you made it to level ninety-nine despite that, you must have defeated a lot of monsters.'

"The spirit for the final trial was pretty good for grinding."

'So you reused the final trial as a leveling spot.'

"The Hero kept trying, but it was the same cycle: they'd get defeated and retreat. I'd been asked to guide them, but there was nothing I could do when they were this weak, so I went to consult Hero's Sword-san."

'You were watching the Hero's progress, weren't you?'

"Yes."

'So you moved from the first floor to the final floor as if it were nothing.'

"It was like my own backyard."

'I wouldn't want to see the despair on the Hero's face if they found out.'

"Hero's Sword-san was troubled. It wanted the Hero to get it soon, but it was also worried that the Hero was too inexperienced."

'Especially since there was a spirit waiting as the final trial.'

"So Hero's Sword-san asked me to train the Hero."

'It asked a torch for help?'

"I readily agreed and headed straight for the Hero, who was near death on the first floor."

'The Hero was having a rough time.'

"I explained the situation and told the Hero I'd train them so they could reach the final floor on their own. They attacked me."

'A moving, talking torch looks like nothing but a monster.'

"First, I dealt with them peacefully, then tried talking to the Hero again when they came back."

'Didn't you beat them and force them to retreat the first time?'

"By the way, the Hero's party consisted of the Hero, a warrior, a martial artist, and a knight."

'A party of muscleheads.'

"So I had the knight, whose role overlapped with the warrior's, change Jobs to Priest."

'Maybe they were trying to become a fine knight.'

"Apparently, they were assigned the Knight Job at the Job Center because they had a knightly face."

'Priest is fine, then.'

"With a way to recover their health, the Hero's party tried to make steady progress through the dungeon. But they were far too low-level, so I had them work on leveling up."

'It's rather systematic, but training is important.'

"At that point, we needed magic attacks, so I had the warrior change Jobs to Mage."

'Maybe the warrior had been looking for a fierce battle.'

"Apparently, they'd accidentally enrolled in the magic academy instead of the warrior academy."

'Mage sounds like their calling. Why did the Hero recruit such people into the party?'

"They were childhood friends, apparently."

'A harem setup?'

"They're all men."

'Hmm. Not bad. Go on.'

"It seems something's been switched on. The Hero's party leveled up steadily and gradually began reaching deeper floors."

'With the strongest torch overseeing their training, things went smoothly.'

"Yes. And eventually, the Hero's party reached the final floor safe and sound."

'They made it there without incident, and without much excitement.'

"The Hero, the Priest, and the Mage celebrated together."

'Did the martial artist disappear?'

"We got separated. Pathetic, I know."

'You need to keep a better eye on them.'

"Well, it wasn't a big problem, so we kept going."

'The martial artist was a childhood friend who'd come all this way into a super-high-difficulty dungeon with the Hero, right?'

"Then came the battle against the spirit of the final trial. The spirit was stronger than expected, but the Hero's party had grown, and they fought it evenly with perfect teamwork."

'It's kind of sad to hear about perfect teamwork when the martial artist isn't even there.'

"The Hero defeated the spirit and was able to take the Hero's Sword."

'It sounds like they had it pretty easy, though your training might have been tougher than it seemed.'

"Here's a picture of the Hero's party at the beginning."

'Hmm, they look so fresh-faced. Their eyes are nervous, but full of determination.'

"And here's a picture of the Hero's party after they got the Hero's Sword."

'They all look like completely different people. Their eyes look like they could kill monsters.'

"I trained them."

'I wonder why they're all over two meters tall and built like bodybuilders.'

"I trained them."

'I can't deny that you've pushed them beyond the limits of humanity. I understand now that you're quite the musclehead yourself.'

"Hero's Sword-san was satisfied and said, 'You took that frail Hero and brought them this far. No, wait—is this even a Hero anymore?'"

'Even the Hero's Sword has its doubts.'

"Well, we managed to pull out Hero's Sword-san, so that's good enough."

'Could only the Hero pull it out?'

"Yes. It's made so that no one but the Hero can pull it out—or even touch it."

'After going that far, the Hero's Sword has no choice but to accept it.'

"The Hero's party started back the way they'd come, but then they encountered a truly astonishing enemy."

'It's pretty common to have a fateful showdown right after getting the ultimate weapon.'

"It was the martial artist."

'Wasn't that person part of the party?'

"By the way, here's a picture from that moment."

'They've gotten muscular, too. Personally, I prefer a lean, toned build.'

"I'm pretty lean and toned myself. Want me to take my clothes off and show you?"

'Choose between dying and continuing the story.'

"The martial artist said, 'How dare you use me as bait!'"

'You did use them as bait?'

"They were reluctant to change Jobs, and there wasn't much else they could do."

'Sometimes your way of thinking is just scummy. I wonder whose influence that is.'

"I have a lot of suspects, so it's hard to say."

'It's undeniably your own fault. So did the martial artist become an enemy?'

"Yes. Even after being used as bait, the martial artist survived in the dungeon for a whole year."

'Quite the survivor. How many years had passed since the Hero first arrived?'

"Ten years."

'I see. Ten years is enough to change someone that much—no, it isn't.'

"The martial artist shouted, 'Anyone who abandons their companions isn't a Hero!' and attacked the Hero's party."

'That's so obviously right they can't even argue.'

"The Hero's party fought back, but the martial artist, who'd survived alone in the dungeon, was stronger than the entire party."

'What a tough martial artist. Why didn't they just leave the dungeon?'

"Every floor was a giant labyrinth. Anyone but the Hero, who could receive divine guidance on which way to go, would get lost and never escape."

'How did you learn your way through all one hundred floors of that labyrinth in a year?'

"I'm confident in my memory."

'Right, of course.'

"The Hero, who could revive after being killed by a monster but not after being killed by a human, was driven into a corner."

'What a contrived bit of late-added lore.'

"Even Hero's Sword-san, their last hope, was knocked away. They were truly at death's door."

'The power of revenge is terrifying. So what happened?'

"I didn't want to feel guilty if they died right in front of me, so I picked up Hero's Sword-san and blocked the martial artist's attack."

'Did you grow a hand? The Hero's Sword couldn't be touched by anyone but the Hero.'

"It said it couldn't be touched by any other human."

'Oh, right. You were a torch.'

"The martial artist unleashed a fierce assault on me, pouring out some inexplicable anger."

'There's nothing inexplicable about it. You're the one who decided to use them as bait.'

"But once I'd picked up Hero's Sword-san, I had no enemies. Even the martial artist had reached a level close to mine, but there was a fundamental difference between us."

'The difference between a living thing and an inanimate object. A truly fundamental difference.'

"Then my right uppercut struck the martial artist in the jaw."

'You didn't use the Hero's Sword?'

"I'd fought barehanded all the way to level ninety-nine. It felt strange to start using a sword then."

'What did you mean when you said you had no enemies once you picked up the Hero's Sword?'

"Oh, holding Hero's Sword-san doubles my level."

'So you had one of those cheat options unique to otherworldly reincarnators. Level 198 would certainly let you dominate.'

"After the martial artist fell, they rejoined the Hero's party, perhaps thanks to the Hero convincing them."

'I'm glad they didn't have to worry about killing their childhood friend.'

"Then the Hero's party returned to the dungeon entrance. They wept and embraced each other, overjoyed at accomplishing the feat of obtaining Hero's Sword-san."

'It was a turbulent adventure, searching for the ultimate weapon for ten years.'

"At the end, the Hero said to me, 'Come with us and defeat the Demon King!'"

'A level-ninety-nine torch—of course they'd want to recruit you.'

"No, I was level one hundred by then."

'Did you level up when you defeated the martial artist?'

"I told them, 'Don't be ridiculous. What kind of fool thinks a torch can fight?'"

'That torch just denied everything it did up to this point.'

"I'm a torch mounted on a dungeon wall. If I became the Hero's property, I'd be the Hero's torch."

'So what? Though in your case, that could mean your reincarnation in another world ends.'

"The Hero's party called me Master and set off on their journey, promising to come back and report after defeating the Demon King."

'I wouldn't want to call a torch who radically transformed a bunch of innocent-looking Heroes and used one of their companions as bait “Master.”'

"After that, the Hero's party went on a series of adventures with overwhelming strength and defeated the Demon King in no time."

'That's what happens when they have the help of two otherworldly reincarnators.'

"Then my final moment arrived."

'You don't seem likely to die. What kind of end did you meet?'

"One day, I suddenly thought, 'If I can grow arms and move around, am I really a torch mounted on a wall?' And then I began to self-destruct."

'You denied your own identity, and it was enough to make you self-destruct.'

"Well, once I get an idea in my head, I'm pretty single-minded."

'I know that all too well.'

"In the end, I couldn't hear the Hero's party's report, and I couldn't say goodbye to Hero's Sword-san, either. We had some pretty lively conversations, so I regretted that a little."

'Well, you can at least see what happened to that world afterward, so make do with that.'

"I'll do that. Oh, right, for a souvenir, here's the Hero's armor. It was left in the same dungeon and forgotten."

'There was armor, too? The Demon King has been defeated, and it won't fit you anyway, so let's display it as decoration.'