Spoilers for volume 2 of the manga adaptation… They went a bit too wild with the bonus content.
“It should be fine now.”
After repelling the Dungeon attackers, we spent a full day reaching the fifteenth floor. It’s said that the current floor adventurers have reached is around the twentieth or thirtieth, but… well, this is probably the limit for ordinary adventurers.
“Nero.”
Feeling that there was no longer any need to worry about prying eyes, I called out, and Kitty, summoned by Aria, leaped out from her Shadow.
“…Grrr.”
When Kitty let out a soft growl, the presence of Monsters in the surroundings vanished.
Even with my or Aria’s Intimidation, Monsters from this floor wouldn’t attack, but with a Rank 6 Kitty around, everyone just runs away, huh?
—Ride—
Kitty, with Aria on her back, looked annoyed… truly not hiding her displeasure, she used her whiskers to point at her own back and lowered her body slightly.
“Get on.”
Saying the same thing, Aria extended her hand to me. I took Aria’s hand, and she had me sit behind her.
Really… these two are so alike in their clumsiness.
Kitty, carrying the two of us, raced through the dim Dungeon.
It took me half a day when I passed through this floor before, but at this speed and without any detours, it wouldn’t even take half an hour.
Just not being attacked by Monsters makes things considerably easier. Riding on Kitty’s back for several hours gradually takes a toll on my body, but… well, the pain isn’t as bad as before.
As expected, Kitty was fast, and we reached the twentieth floor in less than half a day.
I had anticipated it, but we didn’t encounter any other adventurers.
“We should go down a little further.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
If we’re going to show off my or Kitty’s power, it’s better to descend to the thirtieth floor where there are definitely no adventurers. However, while the Guild had some information up to the twentieth floor, anything beyond this is uncharted territory.
I don’t know for sure, but I think this Dungeon must also have hidden passages used by the royal family. Otherwise, I can’t imagine the former Crown Prince’s party conquering this Dungeon in just a month or two.
“Let’s stop here for today.”
Aria said, looking at my face, and dismounted from Kitty.
I wasn’t aware of it, but I probably looked terribly pale. The Magic Stone has shrunk a little, making my body feel better, but a full day of this wasさすがに tough.
“Whereabouts are we?”
“The twenty-eighth floor.”
We’ve come down quite a way, haven’t we? To descend this far in about two days, isn’t that a new record?
I boiled water using a military-grade lamp from my Shadow Storage and made a simple meal with ingredients we bought before entering the Dungeon.
It’s convenient having two people with Shadow Storage. Aria’s Shadow Storage has the capacity of a wardrobe, while mine can hold an entire carriage. Things don’t rot or mold inside, so we can store dried vegetables and grains.
The two of us ate a stew of vegetables, beans, and dried meat. Kitty didn’t eat, but she has her own Shadow Storage, so there’s no need for us to share.
“Nero hunts and eats on her own when she needs to.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
The relationship between Aria and Kitty isn’t that of a pet, a guardian, or a master. They are equals.
“So those are Elemental Dragon weapons, huh?”
Aria started maintaining her weapons, so I peeked at them too.
The Black Knife and Black Dagger she used before were broken in my battle. They could be repaired, but their strength would apparently decrease, so Rainbow Sword seems to have provided two Dark Dragon Fangs, which were party assets, for Aria.
“Want to see?”
“Is it okay?”
I didn’t expect her to let me hold them.
The impression is similar to her previous knife and dagger. But, they’re surprisingly light. More than that, the magical power they emanate is incredible.
So this is Adaman—no, biomaterial harvested from Monsters, huh… Excluding the Magic Metal (Orichalcum) that Aria extorted from a spirit and thrust at me, I think this has the highest magical power conductivity and strength. Though, humans can’t process Orichalcum anyway.
The reason they resembled her previous weapons wasn’t just because the shape of the Blade was similar, but because the grip part was reused.
She’s not supposed to be particular about weapons… but she doesn’t waste people’s kindness, does she?
“Is the old Blade part gone?”
“It can’t be used as is, but I’m having it processed so it can be.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing it.”
We went to sleep like that for the day. But for some reason… even though we were in a dangerous Dungeon, I felt like I had the best sleep I’d had in a long time.
The next day, we rode on Kitty’s back again, racing through the Dungeon.
“The Monsters… there are few of them, aren’t there?”
“Yeah.”
It wasn’t just thanks to Kitty; I felt like there were clearly fewer Monsters. The former Crown Prince’s party should have passed through much deeper floors, so why is this?
I understand why low-rank Monsters like Goblins and Kobolds are fleeing, but at this depth, it wouldn’t be strange to encounter Rank 3 Monsters.
It makes things easier, so it’s fine, but… well, there’s no point thinking too much about it.
However, at the end of that day… just before the fortieth floor, this anomaly became visibly apparent.
This Dungeon is the same demi-human type Dungeon as the one on that isolated island… a beastman-type Dungeon. But the first Monster we encountered after entering this Dungeon was a “deer.”
It’s probably around Rank 3? Its antlers were like blades, and it was clearly gigantic. Still, it was no match for us, and we defeated it easily with Ice Lance and Kitty’s claws, but…
“Did you figure something out?”
“If it’s speculation…”
Aria, who was examining the severed head of the Monster deer, told me.
“The Monsters are moving to the lower floors.”
The former Crown Prince’s party conquered the Dungeon by brute force with the numbers of the Second Order of Knights.
Monsters will attack endlessly if their enemies are weak. They must have defeated many Monsters while suffering many casualties.
It’s not known where Dungeon Monsters come from. It’s said they either breed in the Dungeon or are captured by the roots the Dungeon extends, but either way, they can’t be replenished immediately.
Aria speculated that because powerful Monsters in the lower floors were annihilated, the Monsters from the middle floors descended to fill the void.
Then what about this deer? Even in a beastman-type Dungeon, it’s not just Monsters inside. The Dungeon starves Monsters to make them attack people, but it doesn’t want to starve them to the point of cannibalism.
That’s why a small number of animals to serve as prey are released. Usually, they’re eaten before adventurers can spot them, but because the Monsters moved, this one survived, and the individual became a Monster due to the Dungeon’s Magical Element.
The reason it attacked even with a Rank 6 Kitty present was probably because it had become carnivorous.
Even herbivorous animals become carnivorous if they turn into Monsters. This is because Monsters instinctively try to become stronger and attack humans who have a large amount of magical power.
Aria said that it probably became ferocious due to suddenly becoming carnivorous, and its Monster instincts surpassed its survival instincts.
The ecosystem is collapsing due to the Dungeon being conquered. There will probably be individuals that evolve as a new culling among Monsters begins. From now on, it won’t just be humanoid Monsters; beast-type Monsters will also appear. Well, for now…
“We can get meat even in the Dungeon, huh?”
“…You’re right.”
As expected, Aria will even eat Monsters.
The deer meat, simply roasted over a fire without even being bled… tasted nostalgic, like when we were traveling through the forest with this group before.
It was a slice-of-life chapter (with a blank stare).
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Volume 4 of the light novel and Volume 2 of the manga adaptation are now on sale to rave reviews.
Volume 5 of the light novel should be out by the end of the year. Both are planned to continue, so please look forward to them!