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Over the Infinite Chapter 17 Part 3

 

-3-

The room looked similar to the one where I’d battled the Trial Dungeon’s floor master. It was square rather than round, but the size was about the same. There were no decorations to speak of, unlike the room where the Minotaur was.

The room was empty. No pandas in sight, either.

Before diving into the dungeon, I’d watched a few videos Yuki had given me, and I noticed that the way pandas made their entrance varied from video to video. Sometimes they would appear from a magical circle, sometimes they’d land from aerial trapezes like in a circus, and in some videos, the ground would even crack open to reveal them. The pandas seemed to enjoy their dramatic entrances; a free-spirited bunch, it seemed.

In the videos, all the bosses had been pandas, but they were different individuals. The attacks also varied: some used claws, some weapons, some martial arts. I could generally tell which was which based on their accessories.

If a panda I hadn’t seen in the videos showed up, I’d have to be extra cautious. I still didn’t have much experience fighting enemies that used magic, and I wasn’t sure how to handle them.

As I considered this, my opponent for this room made his entrance—casually opening the door and walking in. It was a “Sunglasses Panda” that I hadn’t seen in any videos. This guy was a bit bigger than the regular pandas and unarmed.

…What’s the deal with this one? He didn’t appear in any of the videos, and he’s not holding a staff. Could he be a magic-using panda?

As the panda approached, I knew I had to be cautious. He was walking upright as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and I couldn’t glean any hints about his fighting style from his movements. He even had a model-like walk, swaying his hips.

What kind of fighting style does this guy use? Is it magic, martial arts, or claws? Or maybe he’s hiding a weapon in his fur?

「Panda. 」

Wait, did this panda just say “Panda”? Can he talk?

「Pandaa! 」

The panda roared and charged at me. So, he’s a martial artist despite not wearing a headband, huh?

I dodged the panda’s charging attack. The panda repositioned and unleashed a kick with his short legs. Too short to reach me. I remained cautious, observing the panda’s next move.

The panda was relentless with his kicks. He showed light footwork as he closed the distance. His movements were strange, unfamiliar.

Swinging his legs like pendulums, occasionally doing handstands to launch kick attacks. It reminded me of something, a certain style of fighting I had seen in my previous life, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It wasn’t Muay Thai, which is a leg-based martial art… that focuses primarily on standing techniques, neither was Taekwondo, or Kalari Payat… as far as I knew.

That movement is like Kabaddi… Wait, that’s not a martial art.

「Wait, could it be… Capoeira? 」

「Panda. 」

That’s not an answer, dammit!

Why is he pointing like he’s saying “Correct!”? Is this panda insane? Does he even know what he looks like? Why the hell is a panda doing Capoeira?

True, for a panda, those were some good moves. But with your body type, Capoeira, which needs long legs, is impossible.

That’s a style that looks cool when someone with long legs like a tall Black person does it.

No, even if you were to take such elegant steps, it’s pointless. Your reach is just too short.

Why are you showing such a lovable dance? Weren’t you supposed to be the boss?!”

「Damn, why has it come to this? 」

「Panda. 」

I’m not a panda! Is that all you can say?!

Why are you striking a provocative pose like you’re all cool?!”

Damn, it’s annoying how cute this is.

 

――――Action Skill ((Whirlwind Slash)) ――

「Pa, PANDAAA!!」

When I silently unleashed my ((Whirlwind Slash)), it landed a direct hit without any defensive moves from its end, sending its massive body bouncing off into the air.

Whether it’s because it’s the boss or because it’s a panda, it’s probably tough. Even when I look through my ((Insight)), there’s still a lot of HP left.

This pitiful battle continues.

Despite the sunglasses-wearing panda’s desperate use of leg techniques, its stubby legs for its huge body are not reaching me at all.

A charging attack would be easier to land than a kick.

The battle has now turned into a slaughterhouse, where I just keep landing ((Whirlwind Slash)). It’s nothing more than a practice target for my skills at this point.

Why does my heart hurt so much even though I’m not in the wrong?

After hitting the panda about 10 times with my Fuhigekiri using ((Whirlwind Slash)), it slumped to the floor, as if succumbing to some dark force.

「Panda…」

I don’t get what he was trying to do till the end. What on earth happened here?

In the end, despite it being a boss fight, I didn’t take a single hit. Excluding HP, the pandas I encountered along the way were far stronger.

The panda that Philos fought seemed strong in its own right, and the pandas in the videos all had their unique, impressive movements.

Each of the pandas had their own way of shining.

Well, this one also had some unnecessarily gorgeous movements, but fundamentally, it was flawed. What was it thinking doing capoeira?”

The door from which the panda appeared automatically opens.

But there’s no clue as to where it leads, and a warp gate-like mysterious space is undulating ahead.

Presumably, the infinite corridor up to the 10th floor is designed so that you can’t proceed consecutively due to the implications of the G-class test.

In other words,

Too bad! My adventure ends here!

No, it’s not like I died in a weird way.

Damn, what a terrible ending.

Sure, I’ve had many close calls and bloody battles, and I wanted the next one to be a bit easier.

But why this? It makes no sense.

To forget the sad events that happened here, I walked through the gate.

Or rather, I want to forget.

After passing through the warp gate, I found myself in a room within the dungeon’s transfer device.

It’s my first time, but apparently, there’s a room designated for exits, and normally everyone gets teleported here.

A few seconds after I arrived, Yuki was also transferred.

「Whoa, Tsuna… you startled me. 」

It seems I surprised him, appearing right after he got transferred.

I don’t know how many hours Yuki spent inside, but since our entrance times were almost the same, it seems we came out around the same time.

From the looks of it, Yuki seems to have cleared it without any issues as well. If he had died, he would’ve been sent to the hospital.

「You cleared it safely, then? 」

「Eh, yeah, I did. The dungeon was longer than I thought, so I ended up using a sleeping bag I hadn’t planned on using for an overnight stay.

It wasn’t portable, so I had to leave it behind, which felt wasteful.

Well, even so, that boss panda was tough. 」

Not strong at all.

「What kind of panda did you encounter, Tsuna? The one I fought was doing some sort of karate-like moves with a headband on…」

「Mine was a sunglasses-wearing panda.」

「Huh, that one wasn’t in the videos.」

What should I do? How should I describe such a one-off character?

「It kept saying “panda, panda,” you know.」

「Wow, that’s amazing. Kind of like the lizardman uncle, huh? Was it another special individual or something? 」

「Special… Yeah, special in various ways. 」

Man, I have no idea what facial expression to make at times like this.

That night, the sunglasses-wearing panda appeared in my dreams.

I punched him, just to be safe.

 

-4-

For the past few days, I can’t get that panda out of my head.

Whether I’m awake or asleep, it’s panda this, panda that. Is this some kind of psychological attack that the panda has against me?

If that’s the case, it’s an exceedingly cunning panda. Really low quality. An endless loop of panda hell.

Maybe it’s because there are a lot of rookie G-rank adventurers around me, but everyone is talking about their experiences in the Infinite Corridor, and all those conversations seem to be about pandas.

 

“What was your panda like?”

“My panda was like this.”

“I wonder what kind of panda will show up next.”

“The panda was strong.”

 

Panda, panda, panda, panda! Pandas everywhere, it’s enough to give me neurosis!

When you hear the word “panda” so many times, the sound starts to feel oddly hollow, yet it leaves an impression. Are they tormenting me with even their name?