“Heh… amazing.”
Yuma involuntarily muttered. He was both happy and scared that he could unleash an attack with such unimaginable power.
After that, he continued to destroy the Dungeon’s rock walls to test his power.
However, the duration wasn’t three minutes, but only about one minute.
“I see… so that’s how it is…”
Aisha muttered in a low voice, and the President suspiciously asked, “What is it? What do you mean, ‘that’s how it is’?”
Without answering the President’s question, Aisha asked Yuma to do the same thing again.
Yuma drew out his ‘Superpower’ for the third time, and this time as well, he destroyed the rock walls with strength many times greater than his normal muscle strength.
And this time too, the ability disappeared in about a minute.
“What’s going on, Aisha?”
When the President asked, Aisha put a finger to her chin and smiled slyly.
“I think he can probably adjust the power ‘output’.”
“Output?” The President frowned.
“Using the Bloodstained Ore allows him to unleash about five times his usual power. His reaction speed too. But, when he puts even more power into it, red veins glow, creating even greater power. Considering the time is reduced to a third, it might be close to three times the normal Superpower, or about fifteen times the power from his normal state.”
“Fi-fifteen times!?”
The President was shocked. It far exceeded the limits of a human.
“If you could really unleash that kind of power, I can see why your body would break down and you’d die.”
“Well then, the Bloodstained Ore’s ability is all used up. We can’t use it anymore today, so let’s verify other elements. Yuma-kun!”
“Y-yes.”
“Yesterday, you were attacking Monsters by emitting something like thorns. What was that?”
“Ah~ that was…”
Yuma explained the Deca Slime’s fighting method, which he had fought before, to Aisha and the President.
“I see… you defend yourself by emitting thorns like a chestnut burr from your body… just like a hedgehog.”
Saying that, Aisha grinned.
“Interesting. Very interesting, Yuma-kun. Could you actually try doing it?”
“…Understood.”
Yuma put his hands on the ground, crouched down, and put strength into his whole body. He imagined chestnut burrs and sea urchins in his mind, and his eyes snapped open.
Thorns grew all at once from his head, back, shoulders, etc., numbering in the hundreds.
Aisha, seeing the sight, let out a voice of admiration, “Hoh.”
“Wonderful! The speed at which the thorns grow is considerable, and if an opponent comes at you, you can use that momentum as well. It can be used like a finishing move!”
“A-ah, well, maybe so.”
“The thinner they are, the more penetrating power they have. But if they’re too thin, they might not inflict fatal wounds on the Monsters… in that case…”
Aisha walked around while thinking about something. She was completely lost in her own world.
“U-um…”
“Hmm? Ah, sorry Yuma-kun. Well then, let’s decide on our goals for the future.”
“Goals?”
When Yuma asked anxiously, Aisha said as if it were nothing—
“We’re going to the 56th Stratum again and bringing back Bloodstained Ore. Twenty of them.”
“Haa!? Twenty!? Why do we have to do something like that!!”
The President, hearing that, was understandably furious.
“Naturally, it’s to explore deeper Stratums. If we have that much Bloodstained Ore, defeating ordinary Monsters will become easy, right?”
“Are you kidding me!! Have you forgotten how terrible our experience was!?”
“Don’t get so worked up, Kotaro. Of course, I understand.”
“Does someone who understands that tell us to go get twenty Demon Ores!?”
“That’s why we’re preparing. This time, not a gamble, but to return safely.”
“How are we going to do that!?”
Ignoring the President’s grimace, Aisha smiled and patted Yuma’s shoulder.
“First, let’s grasp the current situation. We have no more bombs in stock, and Yuma-kun’s pickel was lost. But instead, we obtained two Bloodstained Ores, and we’ve also seen how to utilize Yuma-kun’s abilities.”
“So what?”
The President said irritably.
“After that, it depends on your skills, Kotaro.”
“Eh!? Me? Why am I involved!”
“I want you to train Yuma-kun for a week, enough so that he can easily defeat the Varlin on the 56th Stratum.”
“A week?”
“That’s right. The contract with D-Minor Company is for one month. It’ll be over in a week and a bit. So I want us to produce results before then.”
“Don’t say it so easily! People don’t get stronger in just a week or so!!”
“He can do it.”
Aisha said with a fearless smile.
“Think about it. The Bloodstained Ore’s ability is a ‘Physical Enhancement Magic’ that corrects basic physical abilities. If Yuma-kun’s stamina improves, the effect will increase dramatically. On top of that, we’re currently in the ‘Black Dungeon’, right?”
“So what?”
The President asked with a sullen face, but Aisha sighed with an expression that said, “You don’t even understand that?”
“There are mountains of Demon Ore here that enhance the body. Even if the effect of each one is small, if he ingests a large amount, and Yuma-kun’s stamina itself increases, the synergistic effect should be immeasurable. And since we have the stamina-fighting idiot, Kotaro, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”
“Who’s the ‘stamina-fighting idiot’!!”
“Hehe… well, if you judge that the effect isn’t sufficient even after a week, and it’s still too dangerous, then let’s give up on this exploration. How about that condition?”
“U… well, if that’s the condition, then fine…”
“Then it’s decided!”
Aisha had somehow managed to manipulate him, but at any rate, it was at this moment that it was decided that he would undergo a week of hellish training with the President.