Chapter 28: Towards Conquering the Ota Dungeon’s New Floor
“K-Ko-chan!? Are you real!? How did you get here…?”
《Huh? Spatial Transfer?》
《Is it a Spatial Transfer skill??》
《Seriously, how did he get here?》
《I wanna know too.》
On the monitor in front of Otama-chan, Yamada-san was displayed.
It was just as I’d seen on the stream.
There are various things I want to discuss with her, but…
“First, let’s get rid of the nuisance.”
“Eh…?”
About seven meters ahead, a monster called a Poison Lizard was crawling towards us.
Perhaps it was wary; for now, its movements were slow.
“Its poison is dangerous, so I guess I’ll take it down with a surprise attack… Bug Sumo: Stag Beetle. Activate 《Shadow Move》 skill.”
The stag beetle, now a black stain, slid across the floor.
The more types of stag beetles I capture, the more skills it can use, and the stronger it becomes.
This one was learned from the capture skill of a “Shadow Stag Beetle.”
The Poison Lizard, oblivious to the stag beetle, slowly crawled forward.
And then, the black stain moved directly beneath the monster.
“…Alright. Go! 《Flame Attack》!!”
FWOOSH!!
“KISHAAAAAAA!?”
《What did he just do!?》
《Flame magic?》
《I couldn’t see!》
《Spontaneous combustion!?》
Struck by the stag beetle’s skill attack, the Poison Lizard became a ball of fire, writhing around before eventually ceasing all movement.
The stag beetle, still hidden in the shadows, returned to my feet and then went back to its alternate dimension.
“Eh!? Ko-chan, what did you just do…!?”
“For now, drink this.”
I handed an antidote to Otama-chan.
It was from the “Explorer Beginner Set” I bought at Eeyon.
“B-But, if I drink it…”
“Just drink it. I brought it for you, Otama-chan.”
“O-Okay…”
Otama-chan obediently drank the antidote.
Perhaps the poison had disappeared; her complexion improved.
“Th-Thank you… Ko-chan…”
In fact, her face seemed to have turned a little red.
“…Are you alright? You’re not dazed, are you?”
“I-I’m fine! See, I’m all better now!!”
Otama-chan needlessly threw a few punches into the air.
“Honestly, don’t waste your stamina.”
“But…”
“Well, never mind.”
I didn’t come here to nag her.
The reason I came here was singular.
“――Come on, let’s go home together. Everyone’s waiting for you to come back, Otama-chan.”
“O-Okay!”
I’d come to get Otama-chan.
That sounded like something I’d say after elementary school, I thought, as I looked at the drone’s monitor again.
Yamada-san was displayed there.
“Natsume-san!? How did you get there…?”
“I’ll explain the details later. If things go well, we can rendezvous.”
“Eh? How…?”
《Seriously, how?》
《So Yamada-san doesn’t know his skill either, huh.》
《So he really does have Spatial Transfer??》
《Flame magic and Spatial Transfer, double skills??》
《He’s gotta be a national-level talent!》
《This is insane. I’m getting hyped!》
《Ko-chan! Please save Tama-chan!!》
…It seemed like they were saying all sorts of things in the stream comments, but I didn’t have the luxury to pay attention.
I activated 《Wormhole》 again and summoned Imomushi.
“Kyuuii…”
Hmm, it seemed a bit listless.
Imomushi’s eyes were closed in a straight horizontal line, and a mysterious soap bubble-like effect was emanating from its face.
…This might mean it was sleepy.
It was about 25 km from the Private Dungeon to the Ota Dungeon.
Connecting such a distance must have been tiring, as expected.
“Sorry about this, can you hang in there a little longer?”
I opened a rather large drawstring bag I had placed on the ground.
Its contents were foodstuffs, but I had already let Imomushi eat most of it inside the Private Dungeon.
Inside were two cans of corn and one can of Sea Chicken.
“Will this do the trick…?”
I opened the lid of a corn can and placed it near Imomushi.
“Kyuuii.”
Munch, munch…
It still seemed listless, but it entered the can and started eating the corn.
“Kyuu, kyuu…”
“What is this? It’s so cute!”
Otama-chan seemed to like it too.
Incidentally, using this drawstring bag and another one, I’d brought all sorts of foodstuffs from my parents’ house into the Private Dungeon and had been feeding them to Imomushi.
Since nothing was left in the fridge or among the preserved foods, there was no doubt my parents would complain when I got home.
“Kyui…”
After finishing all the food, Imomushi bit into space itself.
Munch, munch…
“Natsume-san! What is that skill?”
“It will connect your location to here. I won’t know if it’ll become large enough for a person to pass through until we try.”
《Eh?》
《It really is Spatial Transfer!!》
《There was someone like that in Japan too!?》
《I want him in my party!!!》
《Contact me when this is over safely. I’ll offer an annual salary of 40 million. metal_star@mail.lie.jp》
《We want him too!》
《Seriously, I can see the upper floor through the hole!!》
《Spatial Transfer is suuuper amazing!》
《Imomushi is cute!》
Munch, munch, munch, munch…
“Kyuuii…”
Plop…
“Ah, are you alright!?”
“…Kyui.”
Perhaps completely exhausted, Imomushi returned to its alternate dimension.
And what was left behind was a hole just barely large enough for a head to fit through.
“…No good, huh.”
I had hoped we might at least be able to move between floors if things went well, but it seemed Imomushi couldn’t hold out after all.
――Well, fine. Now I just have to proceed as originally planned.
“Natsume-san!!”
Just then, a cloth bag was proffered from the Wormhole.
“Ah…”
Immediately after I took it, the hole shrank and disappeared.
“This is…?”
“Inside are several bottles each of healing potions, antidotes, and mana potions. Also, there’s a ring that grants a poison attack, dropped by the 10th-floor boss.”
《Spatial Transfer worked!》
《It’s real!!》
《Are there usage restrictions?》
《Even just item transfer is suuuper amazing!!》
《If I were Tama-chan, I’d have bought that antidote even for 100 million!》
《Got a screencap of the gate image. So happy!》
《Will this last until rescue!?》
“By the way, Natsume-san. May I ask, what is your current level?”
“Eh…? It’s 30, though.”
《30!》
《A veteran!》
《Seriously, which dungeon was this guy mainly exploring??》
《He’s pretty strong.》
“――So it went up again.”
Yamada-san smiled, as if relieved.
And then.
“Natsume-san, I’ll be frank. You’ve become very strong. You and Omokawa-san… if it’s the two of you, couldn’t you even defeat this dungeon’s boss? That’s what I believe.”
“W-Wait a minute, Yamada-san! This is Ko-chan’s first time properly entering a dungeon!! To suddenly face a boss…”
《Huh!?》
《Ko-chan’s first dungeon!?》
《Seriously?》
《The amount of info is insane!》
《Someone please summarize!》
《It’s not… illegal, right? If he were an illegal Explorer, he’d conversely have plenty of dungeon experience.》
…Yamada-san continued.
“…Rescue can reach your location in 12 hours at the earliest. Realistically, it will be 24 hours. Especially you, Omokawa-san. You’re exhausted from the battle on the 10th floor. Can you endure a battle of attrition in that state…?”
“Rescue… didn’t you say it would be in seven hours?”
“No, what headquarters was referring to was the travel time to this dungeon’s entrance. The 【Trapper】 skill isn’t omnipotent, and there’s also the matter of persuading its holder, so it’s unlikely they can arrive that quickly.”
“Is that so…”
《The Association are liars!》
《They definitely only talked about arriving on-site.》
《Yamada-san: “I’m not mad, yo.”》
《No one wants to enter an irregular dungeon, after all.》
《Even I might dig my heels in.》
《Trappers can only relocate and use existing traps within the dungeon. If there are no pitfalls in the current dungeon, they just have to wait.》
“Honestly, I can’t make the judgment. What the best course of action for you both is… Especially you, Natsume-san… you are an unknown quantity. There’s probably no one else in the world who defeated a Goblin General in their Explorer Exam.”
《Seriously!!?》
《More info again!》
《My head’s gonna explooode!》
《Does such a newbie even exist?!》
《He’ll get scouted from overseas too, for sure!》
“Therefore, won’t you please decide? Whether to challenge an unknown boss in a swift, decisive battle, or opt for a battle of attrition against poison monsters…”
Otama-chan looked at me and asked.
“What do you think, Ko-chan…?”
“Well…”
My answer was already decided.
Yamada-san had said it on the stream, hadn’t she?
That someone had to drop down to help, defeat the boss on the lowest floor, and then return.
When I heard Yamada-san would take on that role, while I felt relieved, I honestly also felt a little jealous.
――That role was my role.
“――Let’s defeat the boss, the two of us. I came here intending to do just that, after all.”
Otama-chan smiled happily.
“O-Okay!”
《Ko-chan can do it!》
《Please! Save Tama-chan!》
《I’ll bring some grilled manju to the Association later as a treat!》