The comic’s second volume spoiler… they’re going too wild in the extras.
“Alright, it’s about time.”
After repelling the dungeon attackers, we spent a full day reaching the fifteenth floor. It’s said that adventurers have reached the twentieth or thirtieth floor, but… well, this is about the limit for ordinary adventurers.
“Nero.”
Feeling that there’s no need to worry about prying eyes anymore, I called out, and Kitty, summoned by Aria, leaped out from her shadow.
“…Grrr.”
Kitty growled softly, and the presence of monsters vanished from the surroundings.
Even with the Intimidation from Aria and me, monsters of this level wouldn’t attack, but as expected, with Rank 6 Kitty around, they all run away.
“–Ride–”
Kitty, carrying Aria on her back, reluctantly… not even trying to hide her displeasure, pointed to her back with her whiskers while lowering her body slightly.
“Get on.”
Saying the same thing, Aria offered me her hand. I took Aria’s hand, and she sat me down behind her.
Really… these two are so similar in their awkwardness.
With the two of us on her back, Kitty dashed through the dimly lit dungeon.
It took me half a day to get through this floor last time, but at this speed, without any detours, it won’t even take half an hour.
It’s so much easier when you’re not attacked by monsters. After a few hours on Kitty’s back, the strain on my body gradually increases, but… well, the pain isn’t as bad as it used to be.
As expected, Kitty is fast, and we reached the twentieth floor in less than half a day.
I expected it, but we didn’t encounter any other adventurers.
“We should go a little further down.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
If we’re going to show off my and Kitty’s power, we should definitely go down to the thirtieth floor, where there are no adventurers. But up to the twentieth floor, the Guild has some information, but beyond that is unknown territory.
I don’t know for sure, but I’m sure there’s a hidden passage in this dungeon that the royal family uses. Otherwise, there’s no way the former Crown Prince and his party could have conquered this dungeon in just a month or two.
“Let’s stop around here for today.”
Aria said, getting off Kitty after looking at my face.
I’m not aware of it, but I probably had a terrible complexion. The Magic Stone has gotten a little smaller, and my body feels better, but a full day was too much after all.
“Where are we?”
“Twenty-eighth floor.”
We’ve come down quite a bit. To come this far in about two days, isn’t that a new record?
I used a military lamp from my 【Shadow Storage】 to boil water and prepared a simple meal with the ingredients I bought before entering the dungeon.
It’s convenient to have two people with 【Shadow Storage】. Aria’s 【Shadow Storage】 has the capacity of a wardrobe, and mine has the capacity of a carriage. Things don’t rot or get moldy inside, so I can store dried vegetables and grains.
We both ate a stew of vegetables, beans, and dried meat. Kitty didn’t eat, but she has her own 【Shadow Storage】, so we don’t need to share with her.
“Nero hunts and eats on her own if she needs to.”
“Well, that’s true.”
The relationship between Aria and Kitty isn’t that of a pet, a protector, or a master. They are equals.
“So that’s the Elemental Dragon’s weapon.”
Aria started to maintain her weapons, so I peeked at them too.
The ‘Black Knife’ and ‘Black Dagger’ she used before were destroyed in my battle. They can be repaired, but their strength will be reduced, and the Rainbow Sword seems to have provided two ‘Dark Dragon Fangs,’ which are party-owned assets, for Aria’s sake.
“Want to see?”
“Is it okay?”
I didn’t think I’d be allowed to hold them.
Impression-wise, they’re no different from the previous knife and dagger. But they’re surprisingly light. More than that, the Mana they possess is incredible.
So this is the biometal (Adamantite) that can be obtained from monsters…. Except for the Magic Metal (Orichalcum) that Aria extorted from the Spirit and thrust at me, I think it has the highest Mana conductivity and strength. Of course, humans can’t process Orichalcum.
The reason why it looks similar to the previous weapons is not only because the shape of the Blade is similar, but also because the grip part is reused.
She shouldn’t be particular about weapons… but she doesn’t waste kindness from others.
“Are the previous Blade parts gone?”
“They can’t be used as they are, but they are being processed so that they can be used.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing them.”
We went to bed that day. But for some reason… even though we’re in a dangerous dungeon, I felt like I slept better than ever before.
The next day, we rode on Kitty’s back and dashed through the dungeon.
“There are… fewer monsters.”
“Yeah.”
Not only thanks to Kitty, but it definitely felt like there were fewer monsters. The former Crown Prince’s party should have passed through deeper floors, but why?
I understand that low-rank monsters like Goblins and Kobolds are running away, but after coming this far, it wouldn’t be strange to encounter Rank 3 monsters.
It’s good because it makes things easier… well, there’s no point in thinking about it.
But at the end of that day… that anomaly appeared in a visible form near the fortieth floor.
This dungeon is a Beastkin dungeon, the same type of humanoid monster dungeon as that isolated island dungeon. But the first monster we encountered in this dungeon was a “Deer.”
Probably around Rank 3? The antlers were like Blades and were clearly gigantic. Still, it was no match for us, and we were able to defeat it easily with 【Ice Lance】 and Kitty’s claws, but…
“Did you figure something out?”
“If it’s speculation…”
Aria, who was examining the head of the monster Deer that had been slashed off, told me.
“The monsters are moving to the lower levels.”
The former Crown Prince’s party conquered the dungeon with the brute force of the Second Knight Order.
Monsters will attack endlessly if the enemy is weak. They must have defeated many monsters while suffering many casualties.
It is not known where the monsters in the dungeon come from. It is said that they breed in the dungeon, or that they are caught by the roots that the dungeon has extended, but in either case, they cannot be replenished immediately.
Aria speculated that because a powerful monster had died in the lower levels, the monsters in the middle levels went down to fill the gap.
Then what is this Deer? Even in Beastkin dungeons, there are not only monsters inside. Dungeons starve people so that monsters attack them, but they don’t want to starve them to the point of cannibalism.
That’s why a small number of animals are released as Bait. Usually, they are eaten before adventurers can see them, but they survived because the monsters moved, and that individual was monsterized by the Mana Particles in the dungeon.
The reason why Rank 6 Kitty attacked was probably because it had become carnivorous.
Even herbivores become carnivorous when they are monsterized. Instinctively, monsters attack humans with high Mana because they want to become stronger.
Aria said that the sudden carnivorization probably made it ferocious, and the monster’s instinct surpassed its survival instinct.
The ecosystem is collapsing due to the dungeon being conquered. There will be new monster-to-monster selection, and some individuals will evolve. From now on, not only humanoid monsters but also beast-type monsters will appear. Well, for now…
“We can get meat even in the dungeon.”
“…I guess so.”
Aria still eats monsters after all.
The Deer meat, which was just roasted over a fire without any bleeding… tasted like the nostalgic flavor from when we were traveling through the Forest with this group before.
It was a slice-of-life episode (with a wry smile).
Advertisement
Book 4 and Comic 2 are now on sale.
Book 5 will likely be ready by the end of the year. Both are planned for sequels, so please look forward to them!