Chapter 8: Let's Go To the Dungeon
A dungeonāa trail left behind by a past shrouded in countless mysteries.
A dungeonāa symbol of adventure, and the one place in the world where even those at the bottom can rise to greatness with nothing but their own strength.
A dungeonāhope standing shoulder-to-shoulder with danger.
Ah, why are people so drawn to dungeons, I wonder?
And so, here we are at the Peteshe Dungeon! Master taught me attack magic, so Iām fully prepped and ready!
āYouāre really hyped up, senpai.ā
āOf course I am! My blood is boiling! This is the perfect chance to blow off some daily stress!ā
Iāve got two dependable frontline fighters with me, so I can freely unleash attacks from the safety zone! This is super easy mode!
āYeah, yeah⦠Just watch the ceiling and your six.ā
āYessir!ā
And thatās how we ended up hereāat the dungeon near the Peteshe guild. Since itās beginner-friendly, the monsters donāt spawn very aggressively, and theyāre not very strong, so itās supposedly great for building up experience.
On the flip side, that also makes it pretty crowded and not that profitable, but every now and then a rare piece of gear drops, so itās still got that romantic adventurer appeal.
By the way, the origin of dungeons is unknown. Theyāve been around since ancient times, and no one knows who made them or why.
When living beings die inside, their bodies vanish after a while but leave behind their belongings. Monsters are auto-generated by some kind of system up to a certain number. Equipment is also generated automatically, so defeating monsters gets you gear and such.
Because of this, many scholars believe these dungeons were training facilities built during the era of ultra-advanced magical civilization.
In fact, if you go about conquering them in the proper order, youāre guaranteed to grow stronger.
In the shallow levels, the items created are low-grade, so you donāt earn much. But the deeper you go, the more income you can earnāenough to live off of, supposedly.
As for why we came to the dungeon todayārumor has it that the mid-boss class monsters here drop those gacha medals.
With our new slave Lulul now in the party, we figured this was a good time to gather medals and power up the team. I havenāt given up on getting stronger either, and if we plan to go exploring even more dangerous places, then increasing our combat power is absolutely necessary.
Even if Master is a cheat-type protagonist, that doesnāt mean heās invincible. I need to at least be able to protect myself. You never know when some other yandere might come after us. Thatās why he brought me alongāfor combat training too.
āO fire of the origin, become a blazing stone and scorch my enemy!ā
As I chant, a fireball the size of my palm launches from the magic circle in front of me. It strikes the face of a goblin that Lulul was holding off, bursting on impact and burning its body away in a flash.
Itās the lowest-tier fire magic, but since I apparently have high magical power, it hits pretty hard as long as it connects. Though Master says I have no real talent for magicāhe told me that even with an affinity for the element, Iād only be able to learn low-tier spells at best. That was kind of a downer⦠But Iāll just make up for what I lack in talent with raw power!
Oh right, there are also proper ranks for magic and adventurers. From what Iāve heard, the hierarchy goes: lowest, low, mid, high, top-tier, and legendary. Master is a mid-ranked adventurer, just on the cusp of high rank. Thatās apparently super fast progression.
High-rank is where you start to be called first-class. Heās gotten this far in under half a year since coming here. Totally cheat-tier. Normally it takes at least two years to reach mid-rank.
That cheat is now off soloing this floorās mid-bossāa Knight Goblin. Normally, nobody could take something like that down alone, but heās exuding this effortless air, like itās no big deal, with all his versatile magic and the power of Levantine.
With nothing better to do, Lulul and I were picking off goblins that wandered too close. At this point, risking our lives in battle or whatever doesnāt even faze me. I saw more than enough splatter and senseless killing back when I was with that toad-faced freak!
Besides, the monsters in dungeons arenāt technically alive. Theyāre more like magically constructed organic puppets, so hesitating only puts you in danger.
āSora, Lulul, letās move out.ā
Just as I was tossing a rusted, battered knife a goblin had dropped into the loot bag, Master called out to us. Sounds like he already finished the fight. At this level, even a mid-boss isnāt a challenge for him anymore.
āLetās go.ā
āRight behind you, senpai.ā
I waited for Lulul to reposition her gear, then followed behind Master, keeping close enough not to get separated.
Weāre now on the 20th floor. This dungeon has a total of 24 floors, with a mid-boss waiting on every fifth floor. The Knight Goblin was the fifth-floor boss. Right now, Master is fighting a huge monster in full armor that looks kind of like a centaur.
āāYou can do it!!āā
I tried firing off a spell, but it didnāt do anythingāand actually just made the thing target me instead, which was extra dangerous. So now Lulul and I are staying put, quietly cheering him on from behind a pillar. Lulul isnāt strong enough to fight that thing either, so weāre both watching from a safe distance.
With the stone floor cracking underfoot, the armored centaur charges forward at terrifying speed with a halberd. Master dodges with the effortless grace of cloth fluttering on the wind, and slashes at it with his flaming magic sword. The blade glows red-hot as it cuts easily through the armor, molten copper pouring from the wound and sizzling against the ground.
Rather than being cut, it felt more like it was burned through. So thatās another way it can be used, huh. The centaur, having lost one arm, lost its balance and began to turn in a wide arc, swinging its halberd forcefully with the remaining arm. The lack of reaction to the pain is proof that itās not a living being. It also shows that it canāt be disabled by half-hearted damage, which would make it quite a troublesome opponent.
Despite losing an arm, the centaur continued attacking without hesitation. Master frowned slightly, then swung Levatein vertically from bottom to top. A crimson flash lit up the room, and the pitiful full-armored centaur was split cleanly in two, collapsing onto the floor.
A few seconds later, the scattered bits of flesh and armor turned into light and were absorbed into the dungeon floor. Master picked up the halberd while watching them disappear. The design looks nice and itās in good condition, so hopefully it can be sold.
āStill no medal, huh.ā
āIs that so?ā
Master sighed while checking the drops. Looks like we didnāt get one this time either. Well, itās probably set up to be that hard to get. Might be best to just collect them patiently.
āAlright, letās beat the boss and get out of here.ā
āYes.ā
āUnderstood.ā
We headed down the stairs at the back of the mid-boss room to the next floor. When a mid-boss is defeated, the roomās entrance closes, and about ten minutes later, it respawns and the room opens again. Itās completely game-like. It might be a training facility, but it also feels like an amusement park.
From there, there werenāt any real obstacles, and we casually took down the floor boss: the Dragspecterāa monster that looks like a dragonās skeleton wearing a robeāand escaped through the teleporter at the deepest level.
It floats around, casting spells nonstop, so if you fight it normally, itās supposed to be pretty tough. But at the start, Master used the same technique he used to slice up the centaurāzuba!āand took it out in one hit. It was zuba! all over again.
I thought this was going to be my time to shine with magic, but nope. Even the loot was kind of lame. Bit of a letdown. I mean, I get that since itās a long-range spell spammer, if the fight drags on, Lulu and I would be in danger, so Master ended it quickly. I understand that. But still, it felt really unsatisfying.
I still wanted to rampage some more! ā¦Or so I thought, until we got home. As soon as we walked in, exhaustion hit me and I collapsed onto the sofa. During the journey, I barely had to walk on my own, so I let my guard down.
āUghā¦ā
āYou really need to build up your stamina.ā
I glared at Master while rolling over as he patted my head. I mean, come on, the real reason my staminaās dropped is because you wonāt let me leave the house! Even when I ask to take a short walk with Lulu, you never approve it!
āItās not my fault Iām out of shape! Itās your fault for not letting me out of the house, Master!ā
So I really think I should be granted permission to go out. A slave canāt leave their residence without their masterās permission. If I try to break that rule, the collar tightens around my neck.
āWell yeah, but⦠letting you out makes me nervous. Like, youād totally fall for candy and get kidnapped or somethingā¦ā
What a horrible assumption. Iāll have you know, mentally Iām the same age as you. I wouldnāt fall for such an old-school trick!
āThatās just way too insulting⦠Fine, Iāll let it slide that you donāt want to let me outside, but in return, come up with a way for me to exercise! Staying cooped up inside is so boring!ā
Even housework has gotten easier thanks to all of Masterās modified gadgetsālike the enchanted washing machine and magic-powered pump. Thanks to that, I have way too much free time, and thatās why I want to go to the dungeon so badly. Itās hopeless. At this rate, when the bath heās developing is finally finished, Iāll probably end up soaking in it all day just to kill time.
"I'm out of shape⦠Fine, I guess I have no choice."
ā¦Huh? Wait, what? After hearing my words and falling into thought, Master suddenly slipped one hand under my knees and the other behind my back, lifting me up. What is he planning?
"Um, Master, uh, why are you picking me up?"
"Didnāt you say you were bored and wanted to get some exercise?"
"Uh, um, but thatās the bedroom! Thatās not a place for exercise!!"
Thatās a place for quietly going to sleep, you know? Itās way too early for senility, you sadistic brute.
"Well, I just rememberedāIād totally forgotten something."
"W-What are you⦠talking about?"
Jokes aside, this is bad. Dangerously bad. My instincts are going off like crazy. If I donāt run now, this is going to turn into a full-on pervert disaster.
"Your punishment."
You couldāve just forgotten it forever!!
"Lulu! Luluuu!? Iām in trouble, help me! Please, Iām begging you!! Nooooo!!"
"Okay okaay, Iāll come join in after I finish cleaning up over hereā"
"Why are you adapting so fast, you pervy cat!?"
Is there no one on my side!?
āāADVENTURE RESULTāā
ćEXPć
MAX Combo 21
BATTLE TOTAL 14
āćSora Lv.8ć+21
āćLulu Lv.1ć+4
āā
āā
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Sora Lv.8 [82] ā Lv.10 [103] Level Up!!
Lulu Lv.1 [13] ā [17]
ćRECORDć
[MAX COMBO] >> 21 New Record!!
[MAX HIT] >> 21 New Record
ćPARTYć
[Shuuya][Lv28] HP410/410 MP630/630 [Normal]
[Sora][Lv2] HP-10/20 MP50/50 [KOād]
[Lulu][Lv1] HP297/297 MP22/22 [Normal]
ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼ļ¼
ćCommentć
"ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦"
"Senpai? Hellooo? ā¦Ah, sheās rolled her eyes back."
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