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Chapter 418

Day 97 – Afternoon, Dungeon, 81F

Is it wrong to look for a way to kill time in the Dungeon? (Roll roll)

「So boooring~.」

(Nod-Nod, Nod Nod, Jiggle-Jiggle)

Because, we’ve got nothing to do.

「Break through the right wing and surround them!」 「「「「Jaa!」」」」 「Form a shield wall, push forward!」 「「「「Jaa!」」」」 「Switch to bows, aim for the center.」 「「「「Got it」」」」 「Prepare for a charge, any (bleep) who can’t keep up will be turned into (bleep) by the (bleep)!」 「「「「Yes, ma’am!」」」」 「Right flank secured!」 「We’ve broken through the center!」 「Rear guard, rapid fire! We’ll overwhelm them with numbers!」 「Prepare for melee, trample them!」 「「「「「Jaa!」」」」」 (*Chatter*)

The puppies are crying, and now even their barks have been silenced.

「Split up and secure the magic stones. Anyone injured, report to the medics.」

「There’s a ton of good ones, huh? Maybe the lower floors are more profitable?」

「But it’s taking time, so on an hourly rate it’s kind of the same?」

「Normally you’d have to factor in weapon wear-and-tear, but ours don’t break.」

「Armor doesn’t even get scratched. Only arrows get used up, so no real expenses?」

Even if it’s pricey upfront, high-grade gear doesn’t wear out, and more importantly, it doesn’t break. Ultimately, it lasts longer, and in terms of cost-effectiveness, it reduces ongoing costs and upkeep, so it’s actually cheaper. And weapons that don’t break protect your life. In other words, getting ripped off is actually a good thing!

「Everyone gather up, let’s do a quick debrief.」 「「「「Okay!」」」」 「Issue for discussion: was it really necessary to split the rear guard?」 「Ahh, we were holding them off fine.」 「But when they got distracted by arrows from above, the charge was way easier.」 「Plus having a second line makes it easier to fall back if needed.」 「With Arianna-san and the others up front, we had the numbers anyway.」 「Wouldn’t it have been better to break through the right and flank them from the back?」 「Eh~, worst case we’d get cut off.」 「Pincher attack or crossfire?」 「We’re using swords, it’s the same thing, isn’t it?」 「Half-encirclement makes cornering them easier.」 「True that.」 「Any other points?」 「「「「We’re more worried about the instructors’ giant board game battle!」」」」 「「「「「Yeah! What’s up with that!」」」」 「Seriously, 『move back 100 spaces』? Just how big is this board?!」 「And what are the rules for when the pieces battle?」 「What do terms like 『interception』 and 『breakthrough』 even mean?!」 「They were doing pincher moves and crossfire in a board game?」 「What’s this 『Jump』 thing? Why are the pieces flying around?!」 「And what happens when a 『trap』 activates?!」 「「「「It’s too distracting! We can’t focus on the fight! Please stop the board game!」」」」

See? They’re bored. Seems schoolgirls don’t quite appreciate SLG-style board games, even though it’s this heated dice-based board game where you dash around the map, ambushing enemies, blocking paths, sometimes cooperating and sometimes betraying each other using every strategic option imaginable, they are somehow dissatisfied? It’s fun, you know? Great for killing time, but it takes forever, and we are in the middle of a long combat, so we can’t stop now? If there’s a flaw, it’s that it always devolves into a dogpile near the goal, and in the ensuing pursuit battles the goal keeps getting farther away, so we can’t quite finish. But that’s also why it’s great for killing time. Yeah, it’s pretty intense..

I got scolded?

「Frontline, spread out. Push them back!」 「「「「Jaa!」」」」 「20% of the enemies are paralyzed.」 「Arianna-san, take the left.」 「Understood!」 「Center’s too open, pull back, pull back」…

「Damn, landed on a mine! (Roll roll) Crap, my piece’s HP down 50%, and movement speed halved!」 (Jiggle-Jiggle~) 「My turn! You’re not getting away! This is payback for earlier!」 「Wait, if you attack here, Armored Pres-san’s gonna head straight for the goal!」 「Ah! Trap activated… 『Move to G74』?! This is the worst!」 (Jiggle-Jiggle) 「If that spot’s blocked, the detour’s way too long, we’ll have to fight. Let’s settle this honorably!」 (Bounce-Bounce!) 「Time for a sneak attack from behind! Just the way I love it!」 「Ugh, I’m trapped! Where’s the Jump space?!」 「Gahh! Slime-san, how could you betray me?! Et tu, Slime-san?!」 (Jiggle-Jiggle-Jiggle) 「Ahh, again?! A pitfall… to K-40…?」 「Mine now! I jump 6 spaces, taking the lead!」 「Tch!」 (Bounce!) …

「「「「We told you to stop because it’s distracting! It just sounds way too fun! Why does the board game sound more exciting than combat in a dungeon?!」」」」

Just when it was getting good, the battle seemed to have ended. I was finally about to escape from Dancing Girl-san and Slime-san’s encirclement route and move into position to block Armored Pres-san’s path, but we ran out of time. But still, if we let Dancing Girl-san go free, she’ll escape. The issue is what Slime-san will do, but Slime-san has a poker face and is impossible to read! Yeah, it’s always round, you know?

They’re obviously angry, but it’s just soo boring. Even Nietzsche once said, 『I’m so bored I could tie up the gods and drown them』 or something to that effect, it’s that boring. I mean, you’ve got this in the bag, right? So there’s no reason for the instructors to intervene. Hence, we’re bored out of our minds and would be happy to beat the Old Fart (god) till he’s dead, but since he’s not here, we are playing sugoroku. It’s finally my turn, so I really want to get on with it, you know?

Because if we don’t hurry, it’s probably gonna be the end soon. I’m pretty sure this dungeon is only a few floors over 80. A Dungeon that goes past floor 90 usually has some mentally exhausting gimmicks, and there’s no sign of that here. Judging from the layout and structure, it’s probably not that deep. If it were a 90+ floors Dungeon, the monsters would have more quirks and things wouldn’t be this straightforward. And a full 100-floor Dungeon is on another dimension entirely. A Dungeon Emperor-san awaiting the very bottom is another level of wonderfulness, which I now get to enjoy every night? Thank you very much? Sincerely yours?

「Well, I watched the training and yeah, you’ve really gotten stronger. As expected, those over-Lv100, those 『Over-sans』 are amazing, but if I call them『oba-san』 instead, they give you this wicked glare?」

「I’m trying. Really… trying to be strong. With all my… heart.」

「You become stronger because you have a reason to. Because your feelings… are strong.」

(Bounce-Bounce)

「You’re trying to spin this as something heartwarming, but those three were beating you into the ground during training, so it’s hard to gauge your strength, you know? Even if you’ve gotten stronger, seeing you knocked out with (X_X) eyes in a pile doesn’t exactly make it feel real. Yeah, they were totally pummeling you, weren’t they?」

(Whistle-Whistle♪, Whistle Whistle♪, Wounce-Wounce~♪)

N-no way, a triple-whistle harmony? They went with Verdi’s Triumphal March from the opera Aida?! I mean, yeah, Aida does suit Dancing Girl-san, but isn’t the Triumphal March a bit too grand to be used to cover something up? Yeah, they are super smug and have zero remorse. If anything, it feels like a proud declaration of 『Damn right we did』, that’s awful!

To the majestic melody of the triumphant march, the girls made their return, as true victors. They have that Flat Gaze however? Wait, even the Sister Girls have learned to do that! Is that a skill after all?

「What with this sudden epic BGM during the combat? I ended up charging in without thinking!」

「「「Yeah, yeah!」」」

「And why did the snakes turn into a trumpets and start an orchestra?!」

「「「Seriously, seriously!」」」

「Then Nephertiri-san started doing classical ballet, and even the monsters were moved and started clapping!」

「「「Yeah, made them really hard to kill?!」」」

The wolfmen,『Werewolf Lv81』, who tearfully gave a standing ovation, clapped their hands while howling 『Uwoooon!』 were all cut down from behind. Pretty cruel? Well, I doubt they were moved by the opera. More likely, they were excited by Dancer-san’s seductive dance, her exposed skin, her glamorous costume, and the dazzling, sensual poses she struck. Yeah, I get it. I really do. But if I say that out loud, I’ll probably get slashed from behind too! That’s scary?

The opera Aida is a tragic love story set in the time of the Pharaohs, depicting a man and woman torn between Egypt and Ethiopia. The Triumphal March appears in Act 2, Scene 2, during the triumphant return of General Radames, who has returned victorious from battle. A unique feature is the use of the long, specially designed 『Aida trumpets』 and the march begins with trumpet fanfare and string interplay, then builds up with a full chorus toward a grand climax. Yeah, it’s a great piece? Perfect for hyping up a battle? Coming home in triumph is also a sort of a good omen? So don’t blame the trumpets, okay?

But they were mad anyway?

「Shields up! Everyone into defensive formation! …Eh?!」

「Aaaaalright, you failed! Step back, rotate out. We’ll do a public demonstration now, observe and regret, okay?」

Yeah, this is what happens in the lower floors. Pulling back the Pres and others while packing away the sugoroku, I slash at 『Quake Kong Lv82』drawing its attention.

Still, even with the language issue I brought up earlier, 『Kong』 is just the name of the monster from the movie King Kong! Because of that movie, in Japan 『Kong』 became mistakenly understood as 『the English word for gorilla』 or 『a giant ape』 and that misunderstanding stuck. Then Nintendo released Donkey Kong, and now it’s known worldwide, that makes this one of the greatest mistranslations in history. And now it’s made it all the way to another world too, huh?

A thunderous roar causes the ground to shake and resonate, sending out quaking waves. The floor cracks, collapses, and the footing crumbles. This is a combo move 『Seismic Tremor』from 『Quake Kong』that hits you from every direction. This kind of trap move is why the lower levels are scary. If everyone bunches up into a defensive formation, they’ll get caught in the collapse and lose their footing, ending up in a chaotic brawl with the gorillas in bad terrain. They’d still probably win, but it’d be a brutal fight to the death. And beating gorillas to death in a chaotic grapple doesn’t exactly sound good in terms of femininity, so I stepped in.

If you dodge, they do 『Roar』, shaking the air with a quake-type shockwave, these gorillas specializes in vibration-based attacks. The 『Roar』probably inflicts a status effect that screws up your balance. Physical status effects are harder to resist than magical ones, real nasty stuff. But it’s instantly neutralized and countered with my own shockwave that blows the 『Quake Kongs』 away.

When it comes to vibration battles, Highschool Boys have places where they absolutely can’t afford to lose, like here and there, and they go full quake mode. But really, it’s kind of a waste to use this against a gorilla. Yeah, I regret the MP I’m wasting.

Night after night,『Vibration』is my very close battle comrade, a bond forged in the heat of countless disadvantageous nightly battles, an ally I’ve fought alongside over and over, with no reinforcement expected. It’s not a frivolous technique you throw around against some random monster. Each and every endless night, in the infinite hours of darkness, it shook soft flesh and bare skin, making the Dungeon Emperors tremble and scream, it’s the strongest Vibration Magic. It has no equal! DAAHH!

Now then, just as I stepped forward, ready to clash with the self-proclaimed Kong who had lost the vibration battle, the 『Quake Kongs』 were already facing extinction. It looks like they need to be classified as an endangered species even in this world, but there already were two executioners determined to make their extinction final, with Slime-san also bouncing all over. Probably furious at these lowly roaring gorillas for insulting their beloved Vibration Magic. With terrifying slashes exploding left and right, they also were jumping here and there, just kicking them, is this some sort of an abuse?

(Vibration is scary! Unforgivable! After thousands, tens of thousands of times…!) (How dare you, doing something so unnecessary! Do you even realize how terrifying that thing is? What if the skill level goes up?!) (Jiggle-Jiggle?)

The Pres and the girls are watching too, but they aren’t actually observing in any real sense, at that level, you can’t even see what’s going on, let alone learn anything. Yeah, they were serious… I’ve been reinforcing the floor this whole time, but at this rate it might give in anyway?

「The next one’s the last floor and the Dungeon Master fight, are you going to be okay? Even this floor would’ve been trouble if you’d stayed like that, it would’ve just turned into close-quarters fistfighting with a gorilla. You’d probably win, sure, but if you start winning brawls with gorillas, you’ll end up getting the 『Housewife (Auntie)』 title added to your status…」

「「「「Nooo, stop it! That’s taboo for maidens! Housewife is fine, but not with that stuff in parenthesis!」」」」

Well, they’re sixteen, so technically Housewife is legal, but they’ve already developed the kind of fearsome aura that lets them go toe-to-toe with Auntie-tier ladies at a bargain sale. If you can beat those ladies, then Quake Kongs and the Theocracy probably aren’t a problem either, but historically, churches just love things like poison, drugs, curses, traps, hostages, public executions. Oh, and torture. They love that too, so it’s not all that easy.

Even so, I fully understood their desire to get stronger. They surely don’t want to see, or hear, or even consider the possible miserable and tragic future awaiting Sister Girl and others. We’re to reach hundred days in this other world, and judging from all the experience so far, the best way to avoid a miserable future is to give them an even more miserable present.

To put it simply, kill the tragedy before it comes your way. It’s a huge pain, but that’s the kind of life experience this other world has given us. Yeah. Really, a Highschool Boy should be spending his days flirting and laughing with cute girls, leading a proper school life, although for some reason I don’t remember ever living like that? I wonder why?

They’re getting their equipment in order, but there’s a fire in their eyes, a determination to descend to the next floor. A desire to become stronger.

Sister Girl and others are choosing to go on their own to prevent innocent people from getting caught in this. Even though they know there’s only death ahead, they still want to fight. They’re probably prepared to trade blows and go down swinging, but that’s naïve. Cults and people in power don’t take risks. They commit atrocities from a safe place, preaching peace while reveling in evil. Since the Theocracy can use the entire country itself as a hostage Sister Girl and others won’t even get the chance to fight. What awaits them is the church’s specialty, sickeningly vile cruelty, the trademark of depraved clergy.

The nuns who are supposed to be ardent believers are now polishing their swords as if in prayer, pouring their wishes into them. They instinctively understand they’re entrusting their lives to these blades.

That’s why I’ll go too. Perhaps with Sister Girl we can avoid a full-blown war with the Theocracy. Split the Theocracy from the Church, then further split the Church into factions, if we do that, the true source of evil will remain.

In terms of combat, it’d be easier if the enemy were divided, but if we leave behind seeds of resentment, it’s meaningless. Even if they are just devout believers, if they oppose us, they become enemies, but that kind of cold reasoning probably doesn’t sit well with the girls.

It’s better if they stay sweet like this. In the end, it’s the sweet and nice frontier where everyone smiles the most.

In the frontier, everyone watches out for each other with gentle smiles, reaching out with a helping hand when the situation calls for it.

Yes, it’s ever since we came to the frontier. The fear of adults has vanished from the eyes of the orphaned children, those who had always been shouted at, exploited, oppressed, looked down on, hurt, robbed, and abandoned. If not for this place, they might never have truly smiled like they do now. So maybe it’s okay for the world to be sweet and soft.

And if the world isn’t sweet, then we just need to eliminate the enemies who spoil that sweetness. A religion, or a god, that can’t make the world sweet isn’t worth even a single candy.