Chapter 82 - Chapter 82: To an Unknown Floor
Iroha's younger sister had gone missing in the dungeon, so we came to search for her and rescue her.
The younger sister is not an adventurer; she makes her living as a "Mole," someone who digs holes in dungeons.
We dove into the dungeon and arrived at Floor 6. According to Iroha's information, the Moles seemed to have been working here.
We searched for the entrance but couldn't find it, so I decided to rely on the Harpies' abilities.
As planned, the Harpies found a hole that the Moles seemed to have opened.
We decided to descend into that hole.
With the Princess leading the way, we carefully proceeded into the deep, dark hole.
The descent angle was about 20 degrees, sloping gently downward, appearing to continue endlessly like a bottomless pit.
The interior was shrouded in darkness so thick nothing could be seen; the air was cold and damp, and the smell of earth and mold stung our noses.
The Princess led from the front, taking careful steps.
Her pale skin faintly glowed in the darkness, serving as a guide for those following behind.
The ground underfoot was slippery, and with every step, small gravel and soil grains rolled down, their sound echoing in the silence.
"Don't drop any big rocks from above."
"I'll be careful."
Iroha's voice came from above.
"I'm scared."
That must be Koeda's voice.
In this state, she shouldn't be able to cling to Iroha.
"Places like this are supposed to be visited after they've been renovated with stairs, you know?"
"Absolutely."
The line of people closed the distance between them while calmly and carefully placing their feet.
We had already descended about 200 meters, but it didn't look like we could see the bottom.
How far does this rope go?
As I began to worry slightly, the Princess leading the descent called out.
"Darling, the rope has ended!"
"Eh?!"
At this angle, we might manage even without the rope...
If the Moles descended straight down, we should be reaching the bottom soon.
No, what's going on?
I don't really understand, but I'm sure they are down there in this hole...
"I'll pull out a rope from my Item Box."
Taking the lesson from our return from Hell, I had stored a large amount of rope and ladders in my Item Box.
"Understood."
I pulled out the rope from the Item Box and tied it to the severed end.
I pulled hard to test it, and there was no problem.
I dropped the bundle of rope down.
"The Princess will descend with the rope, but shall I do it?"
"It's fine. We can just kick it down as we go, right?"
"That's right."
After descending a little, the Princess kicked the bundle of rope down.
Doing this for about 10 minutes...
"Huh?! Is the hole cut off?"
"Indeed."
Though "cut off" isn't quite right; it's not a dead end.
The hole illuminated by magical light simply ended, turning into a black void.
There must be space below this.
"Darling."
"I'll go check the hole."
I need to confirm what's below. If we can descend, I'll have to pull out a ladder from my Item Box.
Arriving at the place where the hole is cut off, a black circle floated there, gaping open.
It looked like a black hole sucking in the light, but something strange was right in front of it.
A rock had been carved, with a rope tied to it, and the extended rope hung straight down into the hole.
—That means this hole has reached the ceiling of the next floor.
They must have used the rope to descend here, which is why the hole seemed cut off in the middle.
I grabbed the rope and peered into the hole.
"Can you see anything?"
"I can see where the rope hangs, but I can't make it out well."
Right—I should try using the light attached to the camera.
I took out the camera from my Item Box and shone it into the hole.
Light reached the destination, revealing a stone-paved floor.
I took a chemical light out of my Item Box and threw it down.
The green light fell and stopped midway.
"About 10 meters?"
"If it's that, we should be able to descend!"
I heard Iroha's voice but stopped her.
"The ceiling might be thin, so please don't come too close. The ceiling might collapse."
"Oh!"
"Well—how should we descend..."
"The rope is attached to the floor, right?"
"Yes, but—Kaorulko, Koeda, and Sana are here too..."
I pondered for a moment.
"I'll use that."
It was the scaffolding rubble that had been sitting in my Item Box.
I had made custom single-pipe scaffolding to conquer the high-ground entrance of Floor 7, but it had been turned into junk during the Labyrinth Cult's ambush.
Since it had no other use and I was troubled by how to dispose of it, I thought I could just leave it here.
Yuuki's magic has prevented it from being absorbed by the dungeon, so if it can be used as scaffolding, it's perfect.
"Darling, what are you doing? Shall I descend first?"
"No, I'll try to manage with what's in the Item Box, so I'll descend."
"Understood."
"Here I go."
I peered into the hole, grabbed the rope, and threw my body into the darkness.
"Whoa."
Landing near where the green light was, I checked the surroundings—no problems.
This is a dungeon, so it wouldn't be strange for monsters to pop out at any time.
If this is a safe zone, it's fine, but it hasn't been confirmed yet.
"Darling."
The Princess's voice came from above.
"It's fine."
I summoned the scaffolding from my Item Box.
The scaffolding appeared in mid-air, fell onto the dungeon floor, and made a loud noise.
Since the surroundings were rocky, the sound echoed sharply.
"!"
I became alert to the surroundings.
Monsters might gather because of that noise.
Looking at what I had taken out—the damaged scaffolding was lying on its side.
"This won't do."
I stored it once again and placed it outside the room.
I'll leave this one here. I intended to throw it away anyway.
When we were ambushed by the Chimera created by the Labyrinth Cult, the scaffolding was destroyed, but some slightly better ones must have remained.
"Scaffolding Summon!"
A vertically standing scaffolding appeared.
This one is slightly distorted, but it's usable.
I made minor adjustments to its position and brought it directly under the hole.
"Good! I've placed the scaffolding right below, so you should be able to descend safely."
"Understood."
As soon as the voice came, the Princess descended.
She looked up, seemingly urging us to come down.
There was still about 1 meter of height left, so we had to be careful or it would be dangerous.
"We have a stepladder too, shall we bring it out?"
"It's fine! No problem."
"Kyaa!"
Kaorulko descended, caught by the Princess.
Her skirt lifted, revealing her thick, firm thighs.
"Hey! Kaorulko, can you put out some magical light here? It's dark underfoot."
Even though everyone can see in the darkness, the resolution is different with even a little light.
"Y-yes—Light! [Light]."
The light created by the magic she cast shaped the appearance of the scaffolding with light and shadow.
The view inside the dungeon had opened up considerably.
It seemed we had descended into a somewhat large room.
"N-next, it's my turn!"
Koeda's body appeared.
"I'm going!"
Next was Sana.
"Alright!"
Finally, Iroha descended.
She came down roughly, causing the scaffolding to make a loud noise.
The Princess and Iroha jumped off the scaffolding, while the mage girls descended using the stairs attached to the scaffolding.
It's safer to use stairs than to hang from a rope.
Besides, climbing up using a rope when escaping is difficult.
The Princess and Iroha might be fine, but I think it's a bit much for the mage team.
"As expected of Darling! With this, we'll have plenty of room to escape, right?"
"I knew you'd be concerned about that."
"Yes."
Iroha looked up at the hole above.
"Yuuki's magic is cast on this, so I think it will hold for a while."
I don't know how long the magic effect will last.
Now that everyone is gathered, I check the surroundings.
It's a large stone room, but it's empty with nothing in it.
The only thing there is a hole that looks like an open exit.
There's no way this is a dead end.
Or did we all get wiped out here and get absorbed by the dungeon?
I almost spoke that thought aloud, but thinking of Iroha, of course, I can't do that.
Speaking of which, corpses and equipment brought from outside would be absorbed by the dungeon, but what happens to items taken out of the dungeon?
They were originally dungeon items anyway.
While everyone was pondering our next move, Sana pulled my clothes.
"Daisuke-san, isn't it cold?"
"Cold? —Now that you mention it..."
Sana's breath was white.
Suddenly, the air in the room took on a chilling weight, as if invisible cold air had crept in through the cracks.
The air touching my skin grew colder, and my shoulders naturally hunched.
My own breath turned white.
It felt as if something unidentifiable was stretching across the entire room like an invisible shadow.
I have a feeling about this atmosphere.
Suddenly, white things began to dance in the air.
As I thought—
"Hee hee hee hee."
The white flickering took shape and let out a creepy voice.
"It's a Wraith!"
"Hii!"
Sana's face, who was near me, twisted.
Could it be that she's the type who dislikes ghosts?
Speaking of which—this thing is a ghost, isn't it?
I had just accepted it normally as a monster.
Could it be that I thought of this dungeon as a game or something?
More importantly, Sana.
Her body was stiffening, trembling with a rattling sound.
Could this be—some kind of status abnormality?
In games, there are status abnormalities like confusion, fear, and panic.
I started recording video.
"Sana!"
I waved my hand and slapped her butt.
I'm sorry, but this is an emergency.
"Hyaaa!"
"Snap out of it!"
"Y-yes."
"If you're like this, you won't catch up to the Princess."
"Hmph."
The Princess looked at us and grinned.
"I'll do it!"
"It seems she's fine, but please stop casting magic. These guys already have a counter-strategy."
"Eh?! Is that so?"
"Hey, Koeda."
"Yes!"
Since she participated in the previous Wraith battle, she knows Wraiths are now just experience farming characters.
"As Darling says! Koeda, we don't need buffs either."
"Yes."
The Princess's weapons were in Kaorulko's Item Box, and Iroha's weapons were in my Item Box.
The two were handed their weapons.
Of course—weapons enchanted with magic that is effective against Wraiths.
I also took out my weapon.
A weapon for Wraiths with a magic stone tied to the end of a string.
I realized this was effective, so I made a few spare ones when I had free time.
I have plenty of Magic Stones.
I have money, and even if I exchange small Magic Stones, it won't amount to much gold.
Holding a Magic Stone and charging it with mana makes the inside of the stone glow blue.
Thinking about it, I've become quite a nouveau riche.
There's no meaning to me being an adventurer anymore, but the excitement of entering an unknown world still remains.
And I still have my relationship with the Princess.
The day the Princess gets tired of adventure will be the day I retire.
"Does this become a weapon?"
Sana seemed a bit skeptical.
"Wraiths and monsters like that can only be affected by magic or weapons enchanted with magic."
"Y-yes."
"In other words, a Magic Stone filled with mana becomes a weapon itself."
"..."
"You don't believe me?"
"N-no—that's not..."
But that's the look on your face.
Just then, a single Wraith approached us.
I swung the string with the Magic Stone with a growl and struck it toward the approaching white visage.
"Gyaah!"
Letting out a scream, the white mist scattered—making a high-pitched sound as the Magic Stone rolled onto the ground.
"See?"
"S-sorry!"
"Hahaha."
Well, my fighting style seems to be unconventional.
"It's fine. I didn't believe it at first either."
Koeda covered for me.
"Haha—though it seems we won't have a chance to fight..."
While we watched, the battle between the Princess and Iroha began.
"Yaaaa!" "Oryaaaa!"
The two used their magic-enchanted swords to chop up the Wraiths.
One by one, they screamed, and the white mist scattered with expressions of agony.
In that case, we won't have a chance to fight.
As I thought that, Kaorulko came over.
"You two, come here."
She called Sana and Koeda.
The three gathered and were discussing something.
Probably, she told them to teach the two her magic, so she's giving a lecture.
Thanks to Sana's earlier comment, I'm glad Kaorulko didn't get offended.
"Daisuke-san, is something wrong?"
The Empress turned toward us.
"Are you teaching them that magic?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
"It's better to have more combat power. Sakurako-sama said she would participate, so I'm accompanying her, but honestly, I think it's dangerous."
She must have been being tossed around by the Princess like this.
Oh, forget that. I have to guard the mages.
I strike the approaching Wraith with the swinging Magic Stone.
"Gyaah!"
It scatters in one hit.
Is it really this easy?
Could it be the difference in the mana poured into the Magic Stones?
If the Magic Stone is enchanted with mana, surely the one with more mana and higher concentration will have greater power.
There are large Magic Stones in my Item Box—after this battle, I should try making a bigger weapon.
While thinking about Magic Stones, a Wraith approached, so I knocked it down with a Magic Stone.
"Gyaah!"
Everyone lets out a scream and disappears, but they don't seem to have much individuality.
They should have more interesting reactions...
After defeating the Wraiths, I looked behind, and blue light was gathering around the three mages.
"Compressed Light Bullet!" "Compressed Light Bullet!" "Ah, Compressed... gugu."
Kaorulko had no problem, of course, and Sana seemed to be casting magic too.
Koeda's light was swaying and looked quite unstable.
"Strike our enemy! [Magic Missile]."
Three arrows of light headed toward the floating Wraiths.
Kaorulko and Sana's magic looked the same as the magic Yuuki showed before, but Koeda's was a normal Light Bullet.
The three mages' magic hit the Wraiths—they let out a dying scream and scattered.
With Compressed Light Bullets against Wraiths, the power seems too high.
"Ah!"
Looking at Sana at her voice, her body was glowing white.
Level up.
She had just turned 31 before this, so this must be a floor higher than her current level.
While she is frozen from the level up, I can't do anything, so I guard the surroundings.
"I never thought it would succeed in one shot..."
Kaorulko was a bit shocked by Sana's magic.
She said she would teach, but maybe she thought it wouldn't go well.
"I'm useless..."
Koeda looked dejected.
"Maybe your level isn't high enough—or rather, succeeding in one shot is probably the irregular one."
"So—Sana might have talent."
"Jealous, but that possibility..."
Kaorulko looked truly regretful.
She probably didn't want to teach, but given the situation, she taught it pragmatically.
"Sorry. I asked you to teach me against your will."
"That's not the issue..."
What's bothering her?
I can't ask that.
Is it just pride as a mage?
She's usually calm, but she has a surprisingly tenacious personality.
"Anyway, it's good that our combat power increased. I was worried Kaorulko got offended from our earlier conversation."
"That and this are separate—but I remember the insults you said."
She spoke with a blank expression, but her eyes were scary.
"Kaorulko, are you the type to hold grudges surprisingly well?"
"I remember all the insults said to me when I was in elementary school."
Oh, this is serious.
While talking, it seems Sana's level up has finished.
I ended the recording and went to her.
"Sana, stop badmouthing the Empress. Angering that kind of person is dangerous."
"Y-yes."
"..."
Kaorulko's smile was scary.
"Darling!"
While the four of us were talking, the Princess came over.
Looking over, the Wraiths were all wiped out, but in a slightly distant spot, Iroha was glowing white.
Level up.
She should be quite high level.
How much did she reach?
Thinking about Iroha, the Princess jumped in.
"Oh, Princess, good work."
"I worked hard, you know!"
"Oh—yes, yes, sorry."
"Boo."
I hugged her and patted her head.
"..."
"What's wrong?"
"...Kiss me."
"Huh?"
"Kiss me!"
"Oh—yes, yes."
Feeling her unyielding determination, I kissed her.
"Hehe~"
"Daisuke-san! I worked hard too! My level reached 32!"
Now Sana, whose level up had finished, came over.
"Great! You even succeeded with magic in one shot~"
"Yes."
She crept up to me.
"...So?"
"Kiss me too."
"Yes, yes, a kiss on the cheek."
I kissed her red, soft cheek.
"Why is it just my cheek!"
"Isn't that fine?"
"Hehehe."
Watching Sana, the Princess looked triumphant.
"Is it okay to laugh? I've already reached level 32, you know?"
"Haha, still a ways to go!"
"Gnnn..."
As the Princess and Sana glared at each other, Iroha's level up seemed to finish.
"Iroha leveled up too, huh?"
"Darling!"
"Whoa!"
She hugged me and kissed me.
Since she is taller than me, she took advantage of the fact that I can't do anything when lifted, giving me a very deep kiss.
"I worked hard too, so you can kiss me too, right?"
"Oh, come on, this is the Princess's fault."
"I'm not at fault!"
Iroha put me down and laughed at the Princess.
"Hahaha, if the Cherry Princess saw you like this, her fans would be shocked."
"I never asked anyone to become my fan!"
"Well, that's true."
Iroha probably hadn't seen a Princess like this before, so she lowered her hips.
It was a winking style.
"What's wrong?"
"Phew, after the last expedition, I couldn't level up for a while, but I finally did."
She answered my question lazily.
If she couldn't level up easily, it means her level might have hit a ceiling around Floor 6.
"Since the conquest of Floor 7 has stopped, my level has been stuck too."
As the Princess said, it seems that's why the top rankers' levels are roughly the same.
There are many things you can't know until you actually try being an adventurer.
"Oh, I see. So to go to higher levels, we needed floors beyond Floor 7."
"That's right. It was unfortunate to be sent to the depths by the Labyrinth Cult guys, but meeting Darling there was a stroke of luck."
I guarded the surroundings as usual, but nothing happened.
I collected the Magic Stones and items dropped from the battle.
There was nothing notable.
"If there are Wraiths, does that mean this is equivalent to Floor 6?"
As I stored the picked-up Magic Stones in my Item Box, Koeda reacted.
"Digging a hole from Floor 6 and ending up back in Floor 6 is a waste of effort..."
That's what she said, but where did the Moles who descended here go?
There's no point staying here.
As I tried to move, I discovered something lying near the corner of the room.
"It's not a trap, right?"
I took out rubble from my Item Box and threw it.
As the rubble fell in a parabola to the floor—clink, a high-pitched sound echoed in the room.
—Nothing happened.
"Darling."
"Are you okay?"
Approaching the fallen object, it was a sword and a staff.