Chapter 79: Ota Dungeon Re-investigation ②
When we descended to the 11th floor, things looked different than before.
“How should I put it… It feels like a normal dungeon, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. It’s different from when we rescued Otama-chan.”
Previously, there were things like three passages between rooms, or unnatural protrusions on the ceiling. Looking back now, it really had an “under construction” feel to it.
But now…
《Looks like a normal dungeon.》
《Doesn’t this mean the entry ban will be lifted?》
《Too early to celebrate.》
《We need to see how the monsters are spawning first.》
《Ko-chan, we’re counting on you!!》
《We can watch without worry. An A-Rank with 【Spatial Transfer】 is amazing.》
“If the structure is the same as back then, I think the room next to this one was…”
We proceeded cautiously down the passage and into the next room.
《Poison Lizard x2!!》
《The ones that poisoned Tama-chan.》
《I’ve seen those before.》
《This is the room where Tama-chan fell last time, huh?》
《The pitfall trap on the 10th floor was around the same area too.》
《Is the layout the same as that time?》
《A fixed layout?!》
《Tama-chan might have done a good job, inadvertently. It might be a fixed layout.》
《That was certainly helpful. We need to be cautious.》
《Tama-chan, good job!》
《Tama-chan, good job!》
“Ehehe, I’m being praised for some reason…” Otama-chan said.
“H-Hey… Don’t let your guard down.”
“Okay, roger! Hey, hey, Ko-chan. Lend me your 【Poison Absorption】 skill! I want my revenge!”
“The 【Rental】 skill, huh? Well, alright.”
The moment I agreed, I felt the 【Poison Absorption】 skill transfer from me to Otama-chan.
“Ehehe, here I go! Hyaaah!”
Otama-chan quickly rushed towards the enemy, her katana drawing two arcs.
The Poison Lizards were slashed open, and poisonous liquid gushed out from their bodies—BUSHAaaAA!!
A single drop of the poisonous liquid splattered onto Otama-chan’s cheek.
《Ah, the poison liquid!》
《That’s what makes them troublesome.》
《This might be a tough floor in the new Ota Dungeon.》
《Is she okay?》
《Did the Poison Absorption rental work?》
Then, Otama-chan wiped the poison liquid with her index finger and said,
“Ehehe, it doesn’t work on me. I have Ko-chan’s skill.”
《Man, I want Poison Absorption.》
《If it weren’t for the poison, Poison Lizards would be small fry.》
《That’s a total meta skill for this floor.》
《Ko-chan learned it here, right?》
《I want Ko-chan’s bug-catching skill too!》
《So jealous.》
《Such a useful skill.》
“Haha…”
Seeing comments saying they want my 【Childlike Heart】 skill makes me laugh.
How many times did my past self deny it, thinking, “I don’t need such a crappy skill”?
Even though I cursed that skill so much, now it’s helping me.
“…No.”
Come to think of it, it all started when I unthinkingly caught a dragonfly in the Private Dungeon.
A sensible adult probably wouldn’t try to touch a creature in a dungeon that might be poisonous.
In short.
I couldn’t completely deny my own 【Childlike Heart】.
Even though I ranted so much about “not needing 【Childlike Heart】,” when it came down to it, I’d still catch dragonflies, and I get excited when I see rhinoceros beetles.
That’s just the kind of person I am, and it’s thanks to that 【Childlike Heart】 that I’m here now.
I glanced sideways.
“What’s wrong, Ko-chan? Let’s go to the next one?”
Otama-chan was beside me.
I felt a surge of happiness for some reason.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
We started walking towards the next room.
☆★☆
“Huh…”
The 14th underground floor had become a normal dungeon floor.
Previously, it was a room like a vast, empty cavern.
Now, there were normal walls, passages… and occasionally, giant metal lizards would appear.
《Metal Lizard!》
《Ko-chan’s slicing through them, but those things are tough.》
《Magic recommended.》
《The difficulty really changes depending on whether you have elemental attacks.》
《If you flip them over, their bellies are weak!》
《How can he cut through their backs?》
《Answer: Because he’s Ko-chan.》
I picked up the metal scales, a drop item from the Metal Lizard.
“When Otama-chan had her accident, it was lucky this floor hadn’t been generated yet. We were able to conserve MP.”
“Yeah…”
“…? What’s wrong?”
“N-No, it’s nothing!!”
《She’s definitely remembering that time.》
《Making a face like a maiden.》
《Ko-chan’s so reliable.》
《How about you confess already?》
《【¥10000】I, Tamaki Omoikawa, am in love with NK, a.k.a. Ko-chan!!! (Repost)》
《【¥1000】Hope you and NK-san can be together!!! (Repost)》
“W-Whaaat?! I told you not to add color with Super Chats!! Refund, refund!! I don’t need it, so stop!” Otama-chan exclaimed.
“H-Hey… Why are you suddenly hiding the screen…?”
“I-It’s nothing, I said! The number of troll comments just suddenly increased! It’s so troublesome, people with no manners!!”
《What are manners (philosophy)》
《Treated like a troll (lol)》
《I’ve seen this development before in a streaming seminar!》
《Here it comes…》
《Here it comes…》
《Here it comes…》
《【Official: Tochigi Prefecture Association 2】This is Yamada. It looks like we’ll have a long talk when you get back. Please thank them for the Super Chats.》
《IT’S HER!!》
《The ever-reliable Yamada-san.》
《So reassuring.》
《Tama-chan, just apologize for now!》
“Ughh~, why does this always… Th-Thank you for the Super Chats. And thank you for the comments. Please, forgive me already…”
《Forgiven.》
《You’re forgiven.》
《We shouldn’t let this affect our Ota Dungeon investigation, so let’s stop.》
《Hey, Ko-chan!! You can say something too, you know!!!》
And so, we proceeded through the 14th floor.
In the final room, to the left and right of the stairs leading down, there were braziers lit with a purple flame.
《The area around those stairs hasn’t changed.》
《Next is the boss.》
《A Green Dragon Variant, maybe?》
《If the boss hasn’t changed, the dungeon封鎖 will probably be lifted.》
《A sign of a stable dungeon environment.》
《We’re counting on you, Variant!! Come on out!!》
《【Official: Gunma Prefecture Association】Natsume-kun, Omoikawa’s girl, the next one is probably the boss. After you defeat it, I want you to confirm if a return gate appears.》
《【Official: Gunma Prefecture Association】Just to be sure, can you handle it?》
“We can,” I replied.
“No problem,” Otama-chan added.
Otama-chan and I answered immediately.
《【Official: Gunma Prefecture Association】Alright, I’m counting on you. I’ll leave the tactics to you.》
“Ko-chan, what’s the plan?”
“Let’s see…”
The Green Dragon Variant, a foe we once struggled against.
But now, with our increased skills…
“If a Green Dragon Variant appears, just splash water on its face for now. I’ll handle the rest. If it’s something else, we’ll fight while discussing our strategy.”
“Roger!”
《Can he really handle it?》
《Can you really handle it?》
《Tama-chan just agreed so readily.》
《Is it trust, or perhaps telepathy…?》
And so, when we descended to the 15th floor.
“GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!”
There it was, the same deep green dragon we had seen before.
《Green Dragon Variant!》
《Same size as ever.》
《It’s pretty strong. Are they okay?》
《This is the type without the weak point, Gekirin, isn’t it!!! Can even Ko-chan win?!》
《We went through that whole discussion months ago.》
Before the Green Dragon Variant could spew its flame breath.
“【Water User】 Skill: Water Cannon!!” Otama-chan shouted.
Splaash!!
“Bug Sumo: Stag Beetle! 《Freezing Attack: Area Expansion》!!” I yelled.
CRACK!!!
《The Green Dragon’s face is frozen!!!》
《Amazing teamwork!!》
《No worries about its breath now.》
《Perfectly in sync.》
《Wait, Ko-chan can use ice magic too? He can do anything.》
《His adaptability is too high.》
“~~~~~~~~~!!”
The Green Dragon Variant let out a voiceless cry, slamming its head against the wall.
“【Body Enhancement +】【Swordsmanship】… Silent Flash!” Otama-chan cried.
“【Godspeed】【Aerial Swordsmanship】… Predation!!” I followed.
ZWBAAAATTTT!!!!
《Simultaneous attack!》
《This is strong.》
《A-Rank Parties are on a different level.》
《Too fast.》
《Tama-chan is amazing too.》
《They’re handling it with ease.》
《Wait, has it been tied up with thread at some point?》
《What’s that thread?》
《Don’t tell me, it’s Ko-chan’s??》
“The 《Thread》 was easily cut back then… but what about at Lv2?”
The thread, enhanced by catching spiders in the Shinjuku Dungeon.
I wrapped it around the dragon and pulled with all my might.
ZWBAAAASH!!!
“~~~~~~~~~!!!”
The thread sliced into the dragon’s body all over while simultaneously sealing its movements completely.
It seems Lv2 is effective even against a Green Dragon Variant.
“—My bad. This is the end.”
I used 【Godspeed】 to move above the Green Dragon.
“【Aerial Swordsmanship】 Descent!!”
Pointing my sword downwards, I plunged it into the dragon at high speed.
THUDDD!!!
“~~~~~………”
The Green Dragon Variant stopped moving completely.
“We did it, huh…”
When I got off the dragon to check, its tail tip was turning into black mist.
This is… no doubt about it.
Subjugation complete.
“Ko-chan!”
Turning around, I saw Otama-chan raising one hand.
I smiled at Otama-chan.
“We did it.”
I high-fived Otama-chan’s hand with a smack.
“Yaaay! Mission complete~!!”
“Is that all there is to it?”
That was surprisingly anticlimactic.
Is it really okay to get two million yen for something like this…?
Especially since I’m also supposed to get all the materials from our exploration… As I was feeling a little guilty about it,
《【¥10000】Ko-chan, thank you~!!》
《【¥1000】Tama-chan, good job!!》
《Looks like we’ll be able to enter Ota Dungeon again now.》
《Association-san, there don’t seem to be any irregularities, right!?》
《Lift the lockdown, please!!》
《【¥10000】This helps a ton!》
《【¥5000】Ko-chan, thanks for the dangerous investigation~!!》
《If this investigation hadn’t been done, Ota Dungeon’s reopening would have been pushed way back.》
《【¥10000】A token of my gratitude.》
《【¥200】Tama-chan, good work too! Buy yourself some pudding!!》
《I want to enter Ota Dungeon again.》
“The comments section is kind of blowing up…”
Even though I haven’t really done anything amazing.
Then, Otama-chan said,
“Normally, no one would investigate a dungeon where a distress incident occurred, you know? This is something only you could have done, Ko-chan, right?”
“Is that so…”
《【Official: Gunma Prefecture Association】Good work on the subjugation, both of you. To all Explorers, as there appear to be no abnormalities, we plan to gradually reopen Ota Dungeon after a little more investigation.》
《【Official: Tochigi Prefecture Association 2】Excellent work, both of you. On behalf of the local Explorers, we offer our deepest gratitude.》
《Oooooooooh!!!》
《Uwoooooooooh!》
《Uwoooooooooooh!!》
《【¥10000】Ko-chan, you’re the best!!》
《Thank you!!》
《【¥500】Now I don’t have to go all the way to Takasaki anymore!!》
《【¥1000】My home dungeon!! I’m so happy!!!》
…In my previous job, I rarely saw customers this happy.
Being an Explorer… might not be so bad after all.
Thinking such thoughts, I headed towards the return gate that had appeared.