“Nn… It would be helpful if you continued the escort.”
The Magic Capital.
A city called the forefront of Dungeon conquest, where many skilled Adventurers gather.
Every Adventurer here was among the strongest in their previous bases. Even B-Rank Adventurers, considered first-rate by the world, are nothing more than small fry here.
A young girl walks through this city teeming with the strong.
A petite frame, less than 150 centimeters tall.
Her silver hair, tied back with a barrette, sways with each step.
The girl—Oshindari Yukiko—was talking on the phone with an acquaintance.
The topic was about her childhood friend.
“Nn… Well then, thanks. …Natsume-senpai.”
Finishing her regular report, Yukiko ended the call.
Slipping the device into her pocket, she continued walking with a colorless expression.
“It was unexpected that Keiichiro-kun didn’t go straight home.”
Kageura Keiichiro.
The name of her childhood friend since elementary school.
And also the person she had held feelings for all this time.
“Still, it was fortunate he didn’t fall outside my information network.”
It was just the other day that Keiichiro ended up leaving the Magic Capital.
Yukiko immediately used her own information network to find his whereabouts.
She thought he would surely return to his hometown, but she worried about the possibility of trouble along the way.
What she found out as a result was the fact that he hadn’t returned to his family home.
“Thanks to that… I was able to arrange a good escort for him, too.”
Yukiko had panicked a little, but her worries soon proved unfounded.
Coincidentally, the place Keiichiro had visited was part of her information network.
Yukiko recalled the person she had been talking to just moments ago—a former Adventurer who had even conquered an S-Rank Dungeon in the past.
She had asked her to always watch over Keiichiro and help him when necessary.
She was sure that woman would protect Keiichiro without fail.
“This matter… I’ll keep it a secret from those two for now.”
Keiichiro is continuing his activities as an Adventurer.
She decided to keep that fact a secret from the party members for the time being.
It wouldn’t be too late to tell them after seeing how things turn out for him.
“Keiichiro-kun.”
Yukiko calls his name.
Friendship and love.
The name of the childhood friend who was slipping away, taking both from Yukiko.
“If Keiichiro-kun chases after us… we’ll reach the goal before he catches up.”
These words meant obstructing the realization of Keiichiro’s dream.
Honestly, she found his figure, striving towards his goal with all his might, appealing.
To put it bluntly without fear of misunderstanding: ‘I like him. Hold me.’
But it would be problematic if he caught up.
She didn’t want to call him to a deadly place like this.
So, what should she do?
It’s simple.
They just need to reach the goal before Keiichiro’s pace catches up to them.
Conquer the Origin Gate and take away his reason to chase them.
That’s for Keiichiro’s safety.
Because—
(Based on what I’ve heard, his current strength won’t cut it here.)
The Dungeons in the Magic Capital are still too much for Keiichiro’s abilities.
Apparently, he possesses strength equivalent to B-Rank even now.
But—such a weak Adventurer shouldn’t come to a place like this.
“Nn… A Dungeon.”
Yukiko stops.
An alleyway caught the corner of her eye.
She saw a blue light there.
“…Just as I thought.”
Yukiko casually enters the alley.
As expected, a Dungeon Gate was there.
“Hey.”
Yukiko speaks to a man who was there.
A man in a suit.
He wasn’t wearing Adventurer gear and was positioned near the Dungeon.
Probably a Dungeon Supervisor.
“How can I help you?”
“This Dungeon. When did it appear? What’s its Rank?”
The man hesitates slightly at Yukiko’s questions.
—Yukiko was currently in casual clothes.
While not restrictive enough to hinder movement, they offered zero defensive capability. Just fashionable streetwear.
Combined with her appearance, she must have looked like nothing more than an ordinary girl.
“…About 15 minutes ago. According to measurements, the Rank is… B.”
“Hmm.”
Mostly as expected.
It must have just appeared, and no one has come to explore it yet.
But that wouldn’t last long.
In another 15 minutes or so, several Parties should show up to explore.
“Well then… time to earn some pocket money.”
Yukiko takes a step forward.
“Um…! Entering a Dungeon without any equipment is—!”
“Huh…?”
Ignoring the Dungeon Supervisor’s warning, Yukiko puts her hand into the gate.
But something strange happened at that moment.
The blue gate changed color to yellow.
“The Dungeon changed to yellow…!? This is—”
“…A Mimic Dungeon.”
The Dungeon Supervisor turns pale.
Mimic Dungeon.
It’s said to be the type of Dungeon with the highest mortality rate.
Normally, it disguises itself as a blue gate, only turning yellow when an intruder appears.
Even if you notice the color change, once you touch it, you cannot leave the Dungeon.
Unlike other Dungeons, escape is impossible until it’s cleared.
And above all—
Mimic Dungeons contain Monsters one Rank higher than measured.
For these reasons, it’s a Dungeon where unexpected accidents frequently occur.
“A B-Rank Mimic Dungeon means it’s effectively an A-Rank Dungeon…! O-Other Adventurers should be here soon…! So please don’t be reckless, wait for them—”
“It’s fine. No sweat.”
Yukiko stops the flustered Dungeon Supervisor with a hand gesture.
Her expressionless face remains unwavering.
“I’m in casual clothes, but it’s safe. A Dungeon like this, I can handle with just one knife—”
Yukiko pats her waist.
Swish… Nothing.
There was a surprising lack of substance.
Yukiko blinked.
“…Forgot my knife too.”
No armor, no weapon.
It seems she was completely styled like a civilian.
“Barely safe.”
For the time being, she gave a thumbs-up.
(Nn… If I hide using [Stealth], there shouldn’t be a problem.)
—Commonly, this is known as raising a flag.
☆
“This anti-[Stealth] meta is insane.”
That was her assessment of this Dungeon.
Yukiko looked around the clockwork dungeon.
Walls, ceiling, floor—all made of metal.
A dungeon with incomprehensible circuits running through it.
The Monsters scattered about were all machine-types.
“From an Assassin’s perspective, I have no choice but to call this a crap dungeon.”
Her position was detected by radar that nullified [Stealth].
Even if she tried to escape with speed, bullets were sprayed over a ridiculously wide area.
Any Assassin other than Yukiko would likely be dead within the first ten seconds.
“Nn…”
The moment Yukiko put her back against the wall, a mechanical arm shot out from it.
The tip of the arm bound her like handcuffs.
It seemed she had fallen into a Dungeon Trap.
She heard the sound of a motor near her ear.
Turning her head, she saw the A-Rank Monster, Lock Metal.
It specialized in restraining enemies and was an incredibly annoying Monster when appearing alongside others.
“…Caught.”
Before she knew it, restraints were fastened around both her wrists and ankles.
The arm then extended, leaving Yukiko’s body suspended in mid-air.
“This is quite a pinch.”
Because the arm was extended, she couldn’t reach the main body even if she struggled.
Fundamentally, Yukiko was an Assassin-type Adventurer.
High speed, but lacking in power.
That principle applied to her as well.
Simply put, she couldn’t break the restraints even using her full strength.
“This is… the kind of development where they force my legs open for some fanservice.”
But she felt no panic.
If anything, she seemed carefree.
Even restrained, even with countless attacks closing in.
They wouldn’t reach her life.
Certainly, she was an Adventurer belonging to the Assassin lineage.
Being overpowered physically was her weakness.
But, strictly speaking, she wasn’t an Assassin.
Her class was the strongest Assassin-type class: [Fiend Hand].
“Therefore… [Die].”
Casual words.
But the Lock Metal ceased functioning in an instant.
Irreversible cessation of function.
In other words—death.
This was the effect of the Skill Yukiko possessed: [Death Sentence].
It causes the target she speaks to to die.
An incomparably fiendish Skill.
Normally, it’s a Skill for hunting small fry, only effective against lower-ranked opponents.
But that wasn’t a problem.
For Oshindari Yukiko, an A-Rank Monster was nothing but a lower-ranked opponent.
“This is getting tedious…”
Yukiko sighed.
Today she was in fashionable clothes. A skirt.
Being suspended in the air had considerably lowered her spirits.
“I’ll end this ASAP…”
“[Stealth – Seamless].”
In that instant, Yukiko vanished from the world.
Not just her form.
She vanished even from the memories of the people living in this world.
Cannot be seen. Cannot be remembered. Cannot be perceived.
The pinnacle of the [Stealth] Skill.
This was a Unique Skill permitted only to Yukiko.
Only those at the heights of S-Rank could possibly detect her presence now.
☆
Five minutes after starting the Dungeon exploration.
Yukiko stood in the Boss Room.
“The Boss is a Killmeister with Assassin-type Skills.”
Facing Yukiko was a slender male figure.
However, it wasn’t human.
It was a Killmeister—an A-Rank Monster possessing multiple Assassin-type Skills, starting with [Stealth].
“The reason this Dungeon was strangely anti-Assassin was to prevent Assassins from entering the Boss Room.”
The Boss Room is designed to be advantageous for the Boss Monster.
That principle isn’t necessarily limited to just the Boss Room.
The Killmeister is an Assassin-type Monster.
The difficulty of clearing the Dungeon changes significantly depending on whether or not there’s an Adventurer of the same Assassin type present.
That’s why the Dungeon was designed so that Assassins would die along the way.
“Hmm—”
Yukiko stood without taking a stance.
And then—the Killmeister dashed forward.
It headed straight for Yukiko.
Its speed was first-class.
It could be said to have top-class speed among A-Rank Monsters.
However—
“Attacking head-on like this is just laughable.”
—Though as a way for an Assassin to fight, it was a failure.
Yukiko readied herself unarmed, waiting for the Killmeister.
—At that moment, an electric current shot through her brain.
It wasn’t that she had been hit by lightning magic.
It was the shock of Yukiko’s mind arriving at a devilish realization.
“…………Could it be… that it thought this was my back…?”
Yukiko felt like she was about to cough up blood.
Of all things, the Monster before her had just delivered a sarcastic blow to the part of her Yukiko least wanted touched upon.
“There’s no choice but to absolutely kill it now.”
Killing intent dwelled in Yukiko’s eyes.
“This is… unforgivable.”
Her hand became dyed black.
Malice.
Grudges.
Killing intent.
A jet-black flame erupted from her right arm like an aura.
“[Hand of the Grim Reaper].”
Yukiko thrust her right arm forward.
The distance to the Killmeister was about 10 meters.
It wasn’t a range reachable while unarmed.
However, there was no way Yukiko would misjudge the distance.
“Die.”
The black aura extended from her right hand.
The curse took the shape of an arm—and touched the Killmeister’s chest.
Just a slight contact, like fingertips brushing against it.
But—it was a fatal wound.
“[Fiendish Hand] Skills are almost all instant-death attacks. I want you to remember that.”
Yukiko—crushed the heart she held in her hand.
“…!?”
The Killmeister rapidly lost speed.
Its sprint, which had cut through the wind, turned into a slow walk.
Its body swayed unsteadily.
And after a few steps, the Killmeister collapsed to the ground.
A gaping hole was open in its chest.
[Hand of the Grim Reaper]
The cursed aura released from Yukiko’s hand.
It steals the heart of any enemy it touches.
A mid-range attack that causes instant death upon contact.
“Attacking my vital point so accurately… As an Assassin, I show my respect.”
Yukiko approached the Killmeister.
What dwelled in her eyes was the respect of a fellow Assassin.
“But don’t misunderstand.”
Instantly, a look of contempt filled her eyes.
“No matter how much I’m scorned for being flat-chested… I haven’t lost yet. I’m just still developing.”
That aside, her maidenly anger hadn’t subsided.
Without hesitation, Yukiko stomped on the back of the Killmeister’s head, crushing it.
There are four types of gates:
Blue → Normal Gate
Yellow → Mimic Gate
Red → Stampede Gate
Black → Origin Gate
These special Dungeons are scheduled to appear in Keiichiro’s side of the story as well.