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Chapter 367

Chapter 367: In this world eighteen is apparently past the prime, but the topic of eternal seventeen can’t be raised.

Day 86 – Evening, White Weirdo Inn

Haruka-kun and the company came back after clearing a dungeon, but it turned out to be a deep one, going all the way down to the 93rd floor. And apparently, the monsters in the lower layers came with some seriously dangerous abilities.

「So basically, stick to the 80th floor for now? I mean, I feel like you could maybe manage up to the 85th, but with all the tricks and special skills getting more common on those floors, you are sort of banned from going further, at least until you get a suitable gear, or rather, I’m not even sure if 80th floor is a good idea?」

In other words, we weren’t allowed to step into the lower floors on our own yet.

Even if we went all together, we were banned from even trying, unless we’re accompanied by a guardian. Even the 80s are borderline. The 90th floor is completely off-limits.

The monsters they encountered in today’s dungeon were apparently『somewhat bad』. but if those four are calling something 『somewhat bad』, it has to be incredibly dangerous. If they say it’s 『Bad』 then I’m sure it would be impossible to handle even if all the armies of the this world were to band together. And if they struggled, then for us it could be fatal..

「But even with all this gear, it’s still not enough? What else do we need?」

「Weapons strong enough to brute-force a win and armor tough enough to tank special attacks? And also a decoy Geek you can abandon when it’s time to run? An Idiot to send charging into weird enemies as a test dummy? And Bitches ready to bite enemies to death?」

「「「Don’t just casually abandon us like that!!」」」

「「「We said we don’t bite!! Why are you trying to sic us on things?! Also, we’re not bitches!!」」」

Yes, we have our complaints. But honestly, we have no idea how we’d even begin to fight something like a monster that can endlessly spawn spears. If even Angelica-san and Nefertiri-san can’t cut their way through it, then there is no way we could, even if we went at it all together.. Human lawnmower is out of question too.

Haruka-kun seems to be looking for mithril to upgrade Angelica-san and Nefertiri-san’s equipment. That means even with their superb top-tier gear, he still feels uneasy.

Even the new model armor we’re wearing now was sold as a『temporary substitute』. It does seem like he is being overprotective with the desired standard for safety being set way too high, but even on the 80th floor, we do still take a fair amount of damage. And the monsters only get stronger as we go deeper.

「To win, head on, requires… Appropriate equipment. This, is true.」

「Weapons that can win.
Armor that won’t lose.
And the skill to wield them.」

(Bounce-Bounce)

Yeah, it’s no good. All four of them are against it. Fighting without sacrifices inevitably means leaning into safety. But in doing so, we’re pushing all the real danger onto them. We’re only fighting enemies we can beat, and offloading the truly deadly monsters to them… How is that any different from being protected?

「You just need to be able to kill without getting killed, no need to overthink it, okay? We are good at killing before we get killed. You guys only need to kill the enemies that won’t kill you. I mean, the lower-floor monsters are basically built to counter high-level opponents, so they are a pain to deal with? So you either have to either ignore their levels, or get overleveled enough to just overwhelm them, and we’re in the『ignore level』group. You’re in the 『raise your level and get gear to match』 group. That’s all?」

I get it. I understand it, logically. I know our way of fighting and I also know how lacking our strength is.

Training. That’s all there is. If we want to get stronger, the only thing we can do is train. Also, I ate too much tonkatsu at dinner, so one more set! That grated daikon’s a trap every time.

「Don’t force an encirclement, just don’t scatter too much!」

「「「Jaa!」」」

Today’s training was brutal! Angelica-san, Nefertiri-san, and Slime-san were in a coordinated formation, the three acting together as a single unit. It was flawless. No matter what we did, we couldn’t break through nor did they leave a single opening. Even with 21 girls plus Princess Shariceres, Merielle-san, and maid Celes-san joining in, making a total of 24, we couldn’t even keep up with them.

They used a triangular formation, rotating roles in unpredictable high-pace patterns, and our entire side was thrown into chaos, our formation unraveling in real time. With three individually unbeatable fighters working in perfect sync, we were helpless. Even when we tried to regroup, our new formations were broken down instantly. Defenses get shattered, encirclement broken, no matter what we tried, they toyed with us and scattered us like leaves.

Ahh, this is our weakness. We can’t win one-on-one, so we rely on teamwork, but once that’s disrupted, we fall apart. And when we try to recover and provide support, they pick us off. One break in the line leads to reinforcements being drawn in and wiped out. And we’ve got no strategy or a trump card to turn the tide.

That’s why we need 『weapons strong enough to brute-force the way to victory, and armor tough enough to withstand special attacks』For this kind of situation. To avoid this kind of outcome.

The boys didn’t say anything, but they’ve started practicing on their own. If the day comes when they’re gone, we’ll have to fill that hole ourselves. They’re our front line attackers, our high-mobility core, our tanks and anchors.

Without those, even maintaining formation is hard. And without formation, we can’t shift between offense and defense, and that’s what puts us at a disadvantage. And once that happens we can’t recover.

「I’ll stop her!」 「「We’ll help!」」

We tried to stop vanguard Angelica-san with the tank group, but she didn’t press the attack, instead, Nefertiri-san emerged from the right rear and pinched from the side. In a panic, we on the right wing moved to block her, but then Slime-san burst through the center, split us apart, and turned the encirclement on us.

「「「Leave Angelica-san to us! Tanks stop Slime-san!」」」

Due to a timely switch in from the left wing’s Shimazaki-san the formation somehow held. We and the culture club tried pincer Nefertiri-san, but she smoothly pulled back, drawing us out. She then circled around to isolate Shimazaki’s group from the flank, in turn, we moved to intercept her, but this time Slime-san blocked us.

In the end, Shimazaki’s group got cut off and hit with a focused assault. When we rushed in to support, they were already waiting for us, and we got beaten up after walking right into that trap.

Seven fights. Seven beatdowns. And as we were lying, completely out of it,「Good work out there~! Now offering delicious recovery potion (juice), sweet and refreshing, for the totally reasonable rip-off price of just 300 ere, care for one?」, he showed up to rip us off, happily shaking drinks.

Looks like today was a revenge match for Nefertiri-san. Last time, she’d still been level 1 and lost to an illegal attack, but now she was the one overwhelmingly ahead in level. That said, both were using nothing but ordinary wooden sticks, and with Haruka-kun keeping his『Staff of the World Tree』sheathed at his side, it was clear he was going all-in.

A black shadow dove forward, vanishing instantaneously. Haruka-kun spun midair, swinging his wooden stick in a wide horizontal slash. But even that was a feint, the real attack was the 『Magic Thread』 slicing low, sweeping toward Nefertiri-san’s legs.

In response, Nefertiri-san deflected the stick strike with the stick in her right hand, lightly leapt over the flash of『Magic Thread』, and countered with a downward strike using the stick in her left hand.

Haruka-kun redirected it using his shoulder guard and launched upward, trying to press the attack while she was midair and couldn’t escape. But Nefertiri-san spun horizontally in the air, warding off the incoming attack using both sticks, and then, as soon as her feet touched the ground, twisting her torso until she was nearly horizontal to the ground, and from that position launched an upward spin slash that brought her stick sweeping from below.

Haruka-kun evaded, basically vanishing, then circling behind, but Nefertiri-san’s spin didn’t stop, she rose smoothly and transitioned into a horizontal slash, chasing his black cloak. The movement was so precise it resembled a well-rehearsed kata, but there wasn’t a hint of laxness on either of their faces. Loser, apparently, has to endure thirty minutes of nighttime attacks without resistance? So they are betting their lives here? .

They moved like dancers, slashing, stepping in, dodging, with none of their strikes landing, never even brushing the other as they continuously shifted positions. A phantom sword dance keeps going with an end. Both were dead serious.

「Haa… haa… could you just give up already? I mean, it’s usually two-on-one at night, so a 30-minute handicap’s only fair?」

「Haa… haa… But I refuse.
Thirty minutes of tentacles.
Means dying thirty times!」

Their sticks clashed, one strike flowing in a circular arc, the counter slashing back only to miss again as they repositioned. Apparently, thirty minutes equals thirty deaths.

Their footwork flowed in tight circular rhythms, blades flashing, bodies dancing, leaning together only to separate again, circling, weaving in close, then striking. It looked very fun, but they were absolutely serious.

「「Haa, haa, haa.」」

At this point, Haruka-kun doesn’t seem able to keep up with Nefertiri-san anymore, but the match remained dead even. Slime-san bounced supportively on the sidelines, cheering for the fierce battle.

「Nefertiri, not used to it yet. That erratic, movement. The vanishing. The magic threads too.」

Nefertiri-san had begun regaining the power of a Dungeon Emperor, her strength was incredible. But even so, if she wasn’t used to it, Haruka the King of Rule-Breaking was still tough to deal with! When you slash, he vanishes. When you dodge, the tentacles reach for you. And now he’s memorized her footwork and can read her movements. And when things get like this, without her chains, it’s a hard fight for her. But Haruka’s on the back foot in raw stats and technique, so even if he can read her, he can’t land a decisive blow.

Both of them fully understood the horrifying consequences of giving the other 30 free minutes. So they exchanged blows with the most earnest looks in their eyes..

Time out!

The match couldn’t go on any longer, or it’d delay swimsuit production, so Judge Angelica-san stepped in, calling it a draw. It really had been a deathmatch. Nefertiri-san looked visibly relieved, having avoided dying thirty times in a row while completely defenseless. Even with『Mental Resistance』 thirty times is…

Haruka-kun fought equipped with the once-sealed『Staff of the World Tree』and added 『Shoulder Guards』. After weakening to a terrifying degree, he managed to regain all of that strength in just a few days. But he surely has to be pushing it, he was probably bending, tricking and bluffing his limit, scraping by through sheer force of will. Just what do you think you’re doing to poor Limit-san!?

According to Angelica-san’s explanation that she gave to the worried everyone,『Magic Wrap』was the secret to Haruka-kun’s strength. It doesn’t just wrap him in mana, it wraps all 『Skills』,『Magic』,『Equipment Effects』 into his body, enhancing it beyond its natural limits. That immense amplification eventually exceeded what his body can handle, and it started breaking down. He’d been falling apart all along, until one day, he lost control entirely. That time when he saved Nefertiri-san, even though he hadn’t taken a single hit, he was gushing blood from his entire body, bones shattered, an arm torn off and lying on the ground… He had already been well past the limit.

That’s why he’d removed the 『Staff of the World Tree』, sealed off 『Kyojitsu』, and tried to avoid excessive movements. He’d taken dancing forms and incorporated sword dance instead. And yet, without learning his lesson, he went right back to boosting his raw stats with gear to somehow go around his limits. Clearly, no remorse!

「「「Puhah~! What a nice bath!」」」

Everyone wash each other with the newly evolved『True Bubble Body Soap』 getting covered in foam, then soaked in the bath to relax and regain their energy.

The skin, polished and rinsed, looked like glistening fruit, silky smooth, radiant, translucent, glowing with the flawless white of porcelain. What is this body soap!? Everyone stared, stunned, at each other’s skin, then at their own. Crystal-clear arms, bellies as smooth as ivory, legs like white ceramic.

Their beauty had literally been boosted just from perfect skin. The bathhouse looked like something from a dream, too beautiful to be real. Everyone was thinking the same thing: we are never giving this stuff up, no matter how he hikes the price.

Today, the Rhythmic Gymnastics and Volleyball club trio, joined by Shield Girl, hurried off to Haruka-kun’s room for swimsuit making. Two girls came along as a blindfolding crew, though honestly, whether they were there or not probably didn’t matter? Even without the blindfold, Haruka-kun just shuts his eyes like his life depends on it… They are just trying to somehow push him into making a harem!

No idea if it’s because In this world, hitting 18 means you’re already 『past your prime』but they are seriously pushing to get Haruka-kun to make a move. Not that suddenly getting attacked would be okay, but… I feel like all of Haruka-kun’s experiences so far have been him getting jumped. He’s like an ultra-aggressive herbivore type, reserved, shy, Sex King, who is also a total coward.

Next in line is Princess Shariceres, Ceres-san, Merielle-san, and elven little sister, Erailia-san. Basically the group of otherworlders, or rather, Westerners. During the ballroom dress fitting, they all went down in an instant. And now it’s time for a much more advanced tentacle-san to do a precision fitting. Are they going to be okay?

Erailia-san turns bright red as she hears the behind-the-scenes fitting stories from the vice rep trio, but she somehow looks totally fired up? An elven shrine maiden and tentacle-san, this sounds like a dangerous combo!