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Volume 8 Chapter 210

Dungeon’s 11th Floor

「All right, let’s go, nya!」
「Yes!」
「Please take care of us, nya!」
「Oh, I-I’ll do my best not to slow you down」
Lilia, the dog beastkin, seemed a bit less confident.
They were about to challenge the dungeon that Haruto had modified, accompanied by Sally, the catkin who had advanced to the main tournament of the Martial God Martial Arts Tournament, Meldie, who had reached the semifinals in the same tournament, and Seira, the former Holy Maiden.
It wasn’t surprising that Lilia felt intimidated, considering the company she was in.
「Lilia, you don’t have to worry so much. We’ve cleared this dungeon once before, and there aren’t many formidable monsters, so it’ll be fine」
Despite Haruto mentioning modifications to the dungeon, Meldie believed that not much time had passed since he took over its management from the Creator God. Therefore, she didn’t think he could change the structure or the monsters appearing in it significantly.
She had forgotten one crucial detail.
It was the Sage who modified this dungeon, achieving almost anything forcefully with vast magical power.
And the man imposing those monstrous training regimens —- Haruto.
Meldie and the others entered the dungeon.
At that moment –
「Wait!? What!?」
The scenery in front of them changed in an instant.
Although they should have entered the first floor of the dungeon, where external light penetrated, they found themselves already in the depths of the ruins.
The patterns on the walls and the atmosphere resembled those near the final floor of the dungeon when they conquered it last time.
When Meldie looked back, the entrance they had just passed through had disappeared.
「That’s the 11th floor. An extra dungeon to train beastkin who wish to become stronger after clearing the first ten floors. Where you are now is the starting point of that」
Haruto’s voice echoed from the bracelet on Meldie’s arm.
They had been instantly teleported from the entrance to the 11th floor.
Haruto had embedded a magic circle in the dungeon that would automatically teleport any capable beastkin attempting the dungeon to the 11th floor.
「I want all of you to try how far you can go in this bonus dungeon. If things get dangerous, I’ll help you immediately. Do your best without overdoing it」
With that, Haruto’s communication ended.
「…….So, Meldie-san, this means it’s an unknown floor for you too?」
「Yes, that’s right, nya. But Haruto wouldn’t make us do anything dangerous. It’ll be fine –」
「Ah, um, monsters are coming!」
While Meldie answered Seira’s question, Sally sensed the approaching monsters.
「Eh, ah, those are—」
Lilia recognized the type of monsters.
They were B-rank monsters.
Five Magic Gnomes, cow-like monsters with abnormally high magic resistance.
Five Crenus, monsters with high resistance to slashing and impact.
In total, ten monsters charged toward Meldie’s group.
「Disperse, everyone, nya!」
Following Meldie’s command, Sally and Lilia immediately moved away from the charging routes of Magic Gnomes and Crenus.
Meldie, with her considerable physical abilities, jumped while holding Seira.
「Eek—Kyaaah!」
Surprised by the sudden action, Seira screamed.
Meldie swiftly jumped towards the charging Magic Gnomes.
She kicked some of the monsters’ backs, skillfully evading their charges.
Magic Gnomes and Crenus each split into separate groups, with one heading towards Sally and Lilia.
「Sally, Lilia! Hold on for a bit!」
「We’re fine!」
Sally and Lilia were already engaged in battle with the monsters.
「Sally, I’ll handle the Crenus!」
「Sure! I’ll take care of the Magic Gnomes!」
Sally, skilled in swordsmanship, faced the Magic Gnome.
Lilia, proficient in both magic and combat, confronted the Crenus.
「Looks like we can manage over here」
「But why did eight come our way?」
Among the ten monsters, only two approached Sally and Lilia, while the rest surrounded Meldie and Seira.
「Recently, I hadn’t trained with Haruto, so I forgot… …but he becomes quite a sadistic guy during training」
「Eh!?」
When Meldie referred to Haruto as 『that guy』, Seira was surprised as if she heard a tone of resentment.
「Those monsters are probably manipulated by Haruto in a brainwash-like manner. He ordered them to prioritize attacking stronger opponents」
Meldie’s deduction was correct.
It wasn’t exactly brainwashing; Haruto had simply given them a command: 『Prioritize attacking strong opponents』.
These monsters were 『tamed』and controlled by Haruto.
However, taming monsters required an enormous amount of magic power. Moreover, B-rank monsters would resist unless the tamer was of a higher rank.
In this world, the idea of a single person taming ten B-rank monsters was inconceivable.
There was a monster who accomplished that.
He learned the Duplication Magic.
Given the ultimate toy, the Dungeon, by the Creator God.
Learned the magic of Taming.
—These were the greatest misfortunes for the monsters placed in the dungeon from the 11th floor onwards.
In fact, not just the monsters attacking Meldie and others, but all the monsters beyond the 11th floor of this dungeon were under the control of a single human.
From yesterday afternoon to early this morning, his clones teleported worldwide, taming notable monsters.
The High Orc, the top-ranked B-rank monster, resisted Haruto’s attempt to tame it and was judged a nuisance, leading to its subjugation.
Witnessing this, the chief of the family to which the subjugated High Orc belonged immediately accepted taming and now holds the position of the 14th-floor boss.
The boss of the Inferno Wolf pack, the strongest wolf-type monster, was beaten to a pulp by Haruto’s clones and dozens of Flame Knights, then tamed and became the 16th-floor boss.
Throughout the world, there was a spree of hunting B-rank to S-rank monsters.
These were not typical monsters that would be hunted, but they were forcefully tamed by his clones and brought into the dungeon.
And then, the main body—Haruto, arranged these monsters on each floor.
He adjusted the dungeon so that if someone cleared it, they would gain enough power to defeat a demon.
For example, on the 11th floor, he placed monsters with strong physical and magical resistance together. Without a balance of strength in both physical and magical aspects, one would likely struggle on this floor.
The 13th floor was a floor infested with various magical insects. Without the ability to eliminate a wide range of them at once, progress would be impossible.
On the 16th floor, a pack of Inferno Wolves, excelling in attack power, movement speed, and group combat, would come rushing in. Without the power to take down one at a time while being wary of their coordination, one would die here.
Haruto set specific themes for training on each floor.
To begin with, the final boss on the last floor was a demon tamed by Haruto.
So, to clear this dungeon, you had to defeat a demon.
The initial goal was to create a dungeon to gain the power to defeat a demon—
By chance, he encountered a demon in front of one of his clones and ended up taming it (?). That became the final floor’s boss.
「B-rank monsters caught us by surprise, but we can somehow manage this!」
She still felt confident about clearing this dungeon.
Without knowing that Haruto had enhanced the monsters from the 12th floor onwards, it was natural, she felt that way.
Of course, the final floor’s demon was also enhanced.
Haruto had reformed the dungeon, thinking that anyone who clears it will gain the power to defeat demons.
In reality, this wasn’t the case.
The demon, strengthened by him, had the power equivalent to a daemon.
Clearing this dungeon would mean the person indeed already has the power to defeat daemons.