Episode 87: A Reckless Challenge
After swallowing the Demon Ore, heat courses through my stomach. It seems I’ve absorbed it without any problems.
“Aisha-san, I ate it.”
“Okay, let’s measure your muscle strength again.”
Yuma once again used a grip strength meter and a back strength meter to measure his muscle strength. Watching Aisha write the results in a notebook, Yuma felt uneasy.
–What does she mean by ‘things will get busy’? Are we going into the Dungeon after all?
Aisha nodded, seemingly satisfied with the measurement results, and came over to Yuma.
“The results are in. This time, the ‘Silver Magic Ore’ seems to have increased your basic physical strength by 55% in muscle strength, 41% in agility, and 37% in endurance.”
“Can you tell agility and endurance even without measuring them?”
When Yuma asked, Aisha smiled confidently.
“They’re estimated values, but if we know the rate of increase in muscle strength, we can estimate the rate of increase in agility and endurance to some extent. There’s a correlation.”
“I see.”
–Still, a 55% increase in muscle strength… isn’t that pretty amazing?
As Yuma was lost in thought, looking at his hands, Aisha sat down on a chair and crossed her legs.
“If we combine all the Demon Ores from the Black Dungeon you’ve ingested so far, your muscle strength has probably doubled, your agility has increased by 1.8 times, and your endurance by 1.7 times.”
“That’s amazing!”
The president, who had been watching silently, couldn’t help but exclaim. Aisha curled up the corner of her mouth as if it were natural.
“Your muscle strength has doubled with the Demon Ores, you’ve been training under Kotaro, and you can use up to fifteen times ‘Superpower’ when you activate the Bloodstained Ore (Bloody Ore). Plus, Yuma-kun has learned to release his muscle strength limiter. Monsters in the middle layers are no match for you anymore.”
At Aisha’s words, Yuma and the president sensed an ominous atmosphere.
“That’s why this time, I’m thinking of aiming for the depths of the Black Dungeon… no, the lowest level.”
“What!?”
The president’s face twitched.
“Don’t be ridiculous!! The lowest level!? There’s no way we can go that far by ourselves!”
Even when the president shouted at her, Aisha didn’t flinch.
“Well, listen, Kotaro. I’m not saying we should do anything reckless. Unlike other Dungeons, the Black Dungeon has a characteristic that makes it easier to reach the Depths.”
“Characteristic?”
“The monsters in the Black Dungeon become more gigantic as you go deeper. Their strength increases in proportion to their size, but…”
“That’s not good!!”
The president glared at Aisha, veins popping on his forehead.
“Listen to the end. As a result, their movements become sluggish, and they become less aware of small creatures. In other words, if we’re just passing through without fighting, it actually becomes easier.”
“Really!?”
The president looked at her with suspicion, but Aisha nodded with a straight face.
“It’s true. In fact, there are Seekers overseas who have reached the lowest level of the Black Dungeon using this method.”
“That doesn’t mean we can definitely go! Besides, it’s not a distance we can go and come back from in a day.”
“This half of the Black Dungeon isn’t that big. It’s not even half the size of the Red Dungeon in Ibaraki, so it’s not impossible.”
“Don’t say it so easily! Are you telling us to keep going without sleep or rest!?”
The president was negative, but Aisha didn’t back down.
“We don’t have to fight this time. I just want us to hold our breath and go as far as we can. If you think it’s impossible anymore, Kotaro, you can decide to turn back.”
“B-but…”
Aisha muttered in a low, threatening voice to the president, who was reluctant.
“You understand, don’t you, Kotaro? D-Minor’s contract is until tomorrow. That means if we refuse the request today, it will be a breach of contract. We won’t be able to pay you, and in some cases, we can even claim damages. Is that okay with you!?”
The president made a face as if he had swallowed a bitter bug. It was obvious intimidation, but Aisha was capable of doing it.
The president knew that, so he bit his lip.
Seeing the president unable to say anything back, Aisha nodded triumphantly and looked at Yuma.
“Yuma-kun, it’s settled. We’re diving into the Dungeon now.”
“H-haah…”
“Don’t worry. We’ll try to avoid fighting as much as possible, and even if monsters attack, you’re not likely to lose in your current state.”
“Well… maybe.”
Aisha spoke to him with a cheerful look, like a child going on a picnic. Is it okay to follow someone with this kind of tension?
Worried, Yuma looked at the president, but he was still frowning and groaning.
He sighed and set out on his last Dungeon exploration.
◇◇◇
Black Dungeon, 42nd Floor —
“Yuma! Please!!”
“Yes, leave it to me!”
A rock monster rolled past the president and towards Yuma and Aisha. Yuma stood in front of Aisha to protect her and raised his Pickel.
A large sphere about one meter in diameter was coming at them at considerable speed.
Before, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat it without using the Bloodstained Ore (Bloody Ore).
But now —
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”
He deflected it with the Pickel he swung with all his might. The rotating rock shattered into pieces and flew off in the wrong direction, disappearing into sand.
His muscle strength had doubled with the Demon Ore, and he could now use up to twice the muscle strength increase from the limiter release.
That’s a fourfold increase in muscle strength combined. He could defeat ordinary monsters easily.
Besides, there’s also this ability —
When Yuma raised his Pickel, Liquid Metal flowed into the head. It quickly changed shape and became a giant Hammer.
He swung it down at another rolling rock monster. The rock was crushed and turned into sand in an instant. He swept the Hammer at the monsters still rolling towards him, crushing them.
–I’m okay, it’s working well enough!
As Yuma was convinced of his power, he heard a voice from the president, “Uwa!”
“Damn it!!”
Two monsters, resembling black panthers, slipped past the president’s Hexagonal Rod and rushed towards Yuma at considerable speed.
Yuma swung the Hammer down, but they dodged it with their quick movements.
“So nimble…”
He swung the Hammer horizontally to keep the monsters, which were circling around and approaching again, in check, but they easily dodged it. However, Yuma didn’t panic.
Hundreds of thorns suddenly extended from the head of the Hammer. The thorns pierced the black panthers one after another.
The thorns that pierced the monsters branched out further, piercing through their bodies.
After letting out a short scream, the black panthers disappeared into sand. Yuma had become more adept at manipulating Liquid Metal.