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Chapter 424

Day 98 – Daytime, Dungeon, 85F

I pretended to go on the attack, then suddenly shifted gears and turned it into a mobile skirmish. I made a break for it, but they gave chase, caught up to me, and in the end, I was driven into a corner and caught in a pincer.

Just a bit more, and I would’ve made it, but this is it, huh. I could already see the goal, the exit, but with my HP exhausted I can’t move anymore. This is the end… 『Go back to the beginning』

「Hey, I was right at the goal, how could you catch up to that, rolling nothing but sixes? You definitely know how to roll the dice to get six every time, that’s a skill and not luck anymore! That’s cheating!」

They’re sore losers, unbelievably sore losers. Those undefeated Dungeon Emperors went and ganged up on their Master’s piece, beat it to a pulp, dropped its HP to zero, and sent him right back to the starting point! Unforgivable. But even as I fled, the traps I’d hidden on the board activated, and now all three of them are down to just a sliver of HP, with no mobility left. Even if they rolled a six over and over, they wouldn’t make it even halfway through. They’re right in the middle of the trap zone. I can still catch up!

Fair and square I grasp the dice with 『Holding』calculate the probability with『Wisdom』and fine tuning the throw strength with『Muppet』, roll it. And I’m unbeatable when it comes to Luck. 『6』. And boldly taking the piece into my hand I stroll with it through the board, flying like a wind over the squares in the reckless pursuit…

「Hey, Haruka-kun? Could you pay attention at least during a boss fight? Moreover, your games seems to be getting more passionate than the combat, so it’s really distracting!」

「Yeah, things are heating up on my end too. I just got pounded in a fierce fight against three brutal Dungeon Emperor-class opponents, but now it’s revenge time. Since I was knocked back to the start with 0 HP, it fulfilled the conditions for 『Revenge Mode』 and activated 『Double Movement ×10』, so now I’m staging an incredible comeback and an insane pursuit battle! It’s an all-out battle, so feel free to go bash the Dungeon Master or whatever, okay? Just let me know when you’re done. Alright, activating 『Leap Forward 30 Spaces』! Go, super leap long jump…!」

　「「「Don’t leap! It’s really distracting so don’t leap! And stop making the place into a gambling den too! And the manju you have for the prize are distracting us this whole time, the Pres even stopped commanding, so please stop, put away those manju!」」」

The Dungeon Master let out a low, heavy growl, radiating sheer pressure, but it was completely drowned out by the noisy, clamorous complaints from the girls, and to top it off, he was being totally ignored. No, seriously, how about YOU pay attention to the boss instead of staring at me?

Stomping the ground with a fury that shook the floor, the Dungeon Master raises a deafening howl, but Slime-san rolls the dice with indomitable jiggle-jiggle!

Tch, another six. It’s nothing but endless sixes. Right now, they are stuck in a three-way standoff and can’t even get out of the trap zone, but they are close to the goal. If I don’t stop them for sure, they’ll slip past before I can catch up. The only one in position to intercept is Dancing GIrl-san, but if she doesn’t give chase and instead takes an alternate route, there won’t be any obstacles between her and the goal, she could break away and run solo all the way there. Still, maybe Slime-san is just a tad faster? But depending on what Armored Pres decides to aim for, the battlefield could shift dramatically, opening up new possibilities…

「GUUOOOWOOOOO!」

「Silence!」 「Shut, up!」 「Shut your trap and die.」(Bounce Bounce!)

Good grief, can’t it fight quietly and die without making a noise? We are busy over here, isn’t it obvious that barking at dungeon emperor and co will definitely get the likes of lowly dungeon masters scolded? It’s deplorable how rude are the monsters those days, lacking respect for their superiors and having no understanding of the hierarchy.

「Errr, Haruka-san? You are getting in the way.」

Whoa, the usually quiet culture club girls getting angry has much more impact than always clamorous and noisy girls or a constantly howling Dungeon Master! Reflecting on my mistake I shall continue quietly. (Rolling)

「「「「We told you to stop playing! Don’t you have any pity for the poor dungeon master?! Instruct us properly!」」」」

I mean, it’s obvious what is going to happen even without looking. The girls can’t handle it. So the Pres is going to pull off the last resort move, and with that the Dungeon Master would be finished. Over, end of proof. (Q.E.D.) By the way, Q.E.D. is an abbreviation for Quod Erat Demonstrandum which in Latin means 『which was to be demonstrated』, and is used in math or philosophical arguments to indicate that the proof or the argument is complete. If it’s just written as QED, it could also stand for Quantum ElectroDynamics, so the little dots are super important, you know?

Yeah, seriously, if you wrote 『Therefore, 1 + 1 = 2, quantum electrodynamics!』 the teacher grading it would be totally stunned. Even BiriBiri Girl would probably be shocked.

The massive, arched form of the Dungeon Master. If caught, stretched, and measured, it would probably be over 15 meters in length, perhaps close to 20? No idea though? Yeah, not interested, like, really couldn’t care less. I mean, it’s a scorpion? Well, it’s big, but stretching it for measurement sounds like a hassle, so a rough guess is the best I can manage?

Hard exterior shell and 6 giant pincers, if it was a crab it could’ve fetched a good price, but a scorpion is nothing but a nuisance. Noisily clicking with eight of its legs, it makes for a very economical package of 14 limbs on one, but since it’s a scorpion I don’t care. Or rather, getting another crustacean right after the crayfish is like… Yeah? Which also doesn’t help with hyping up for it.

However, a suspicious liquid drips from the tip of the huge stinger at the end of the highly lifted tail. Must be poison. Yeah, I mean, if it’s not a poison, then I’d hate it in its own way? Like, there is something indecent about something dripping from the tip?

Despite having a rock-solid carapace with resistances to fire, water, cold, physical damage, slashing attacks, and even status effects, the giant scorpion was electrocuted. Yeah, did it forget something? Like 『Lightning Resistance』 or『Shock Resistance』? The Librarian, dressed in light armor and wearing the『Ripple Necklace』 used its Resist Pen effect to flood it with all kinds of status-inflicting magic, enhanced by the 『Ripple』 effect. The scorpion had managed to nullify most of the effects despite being battered, but with no resistance to electricity, it’s left twitching and paralyzed. Yep, even if it twitches cutely, it’s still a scorpion. No one’s into that.

Even so, mustering what strength it had left in its paralyzed body, it raised its six enormous pincers and began wildly slamming them down in a flurry. But its opponent was Shield Pres, a tank equipped with the 『Mirror Greatshield』. With the shield’s 『Weapon and Equipment Destruction』 effect, the pincers were shattered in an instant. The follow-up『Heavy Shield Slam』 blew away four of the pincers entirely, and the remaining two were already in shambles.

Then, with a wild screech, the scorpion brandished its tail, its most powerful weapon, tipped with a venomous stinger, and began rapidly firing thick barbs from the tip. But even that was futile against Pres-sama equipped with the『Chain Whip of Savage Lightning』 . With each sharp crack of the whip, the 『Thunderstorm』 effect shattered the carapace and broke it down piece by piece.

Standing on the scorpion’s back with a spear driven deep into it, the Bitch Leader looked down with a gaze full of scorn, trampling it underfoot. Well, she was riding it, so naturally, she was looking down. 『Spear of Eternal Ice』was stuck in its back, freezing it from the inside out, rendering the scorpion immobile. It had 『Сold Resistance』but no 『Freeze Resistance』so it froze solid and couldn’t move. Surrounded by countless vicious high school girls closing in, it was then tormented to death.

The Dungeon Master’s once durable carapace was trampled under their feet, shattered, crushed, and caved in under the Bitch Leader’s shoes, oozing bodily fluids. If it thought being trampled was some kind of reward, that’d be seriously messed up. If that’s the case, this scorpion belongs to a very shady world!

「GIIIIIIYAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIII!!」

That was its death cry, not a moan of pleasure.

At this point, it was a completely one-sided slaughter. But the girls remained vigilant, safely, surely, thoroughly, and effectively breaking down the once-mighty body of the Dungeon Master bit by bit. Unable to retaliate even once, it had all of its weapons broken, means of fighting taken away, and destroyed, until it was finally dead. And then it was eaten. A cruel the weak are the meat for the strong to eat type situation. Let’s have grilled meat for dinner tonight. Though since we’re out of beef, I guess it’ll be pork.

「Good work, dungeon cleared~!」

「「「「Yaaaaaay!!」」」」

They had to use their trump cards at the end, but it was a full clear. Despite some nibbling by Slime-san along the way, the Girls cleared all 85 floors of the dungeon and defeated the Dungeon Master 『Death Scorpion Lv 85』on their own.

Another goal had been reached. Everyone had broken past the level 110 barrier and obtained new powers… which probably means it won’t be long before I go back to being the useless dead weight.

「Good job~. You passed, but before heading back, you’re all sweaty and grimy, so I’ve got hot water ready, give your faces and bodies a quick wipe-down. This one’s the hot water basin, that one’s a warm mist shower, okay~? Oh, and just leave your armor over here. I’ll also leave some snacks, so take a break too.」

「「「「Waaaah~! Thank you~!」」」」

That was close. The inner lining of the armor had a thin coating of backup anti-debuff layer, and it was discolored in several spots. The poison got through the armor. It only happened once, so the emergency membrane was able to nullify it, but that membrane reacts and self-destructs in the process, so its effect is one-time only. There won’t be a second chance.

There was no visible problem with the armor’s exterior, which meant something had bypassed even its 『Abnormal Status Resistance』. It only happened once, but it wasn’t fully nullified. Just two out of nearly thirty, but they got through, huh~? Damn… I was still too naive. I knew it wasn’t perfect, but seeing it with my own eyes like this… After all, the actual meaning of these spots is death.

Even something relatively easy to defend against, like 『Poison』 or 『Paralysis』 could be fatal if it procs during a fight with a Dungeon Master. And covering for it could cause a chain reaction that puts multiple people in danger. And even if the chances of those effects going through are extremely low, there are still 『Lethal Poison』and 『Instant Death』 to worry about. There’s also『Corrosion』 and 『Necrosis』. Perhaps I overestimated this gear~.

Even as a matter of probability, we were only on the second fight with status effects involved after entering the 80th floor and some already got through. If it had been just one, I could’ve written it off as some sort of an accident, but there are two. That means Resistances did actually fail. That’s my mistake.

「I’m sorry. This armor wasn’t good enough. Because of my own ineptitude and arrogance, I almost got everyone killed… Sorry.」

An apology and a bowed head won’t fix this. It was a fatal mistake in a life-or-death situation. We were lucky no one died.

「「「「Don’t apologize! Haruka-kun, you didn’t do anything wrong! So please don’t apologize!」」」」

Wait… hold on a sec, what? This is bad? I mean, shouldn’t you keep with mist shower to just your face and hands?

「If armor could block everything, that’d be way weirder.」

「Exactly! That’s why we have rings and necklaces and bracelets and innerwear too, you know?」

「Besides, even if someone did get poisoned, how would that be Haruka-kun’s fault?!」

「We all understood the risks. And even when it couldn’t block everything, that armor still protected us the entire time!」

「We know how many times you remade and reworked all the armor and equipment! Nothing’s ever perfect!」

「If anything, the fact that no one got poisoned at all is the strange part! We’re on the lowest floors! It’s all thanks to Haruka-kun, so don’t you dare apologize!」

「Yeah~ and we’re all safe thanks to you~ That’s why we’re all grateful, okay~? Thank you~!」

Uhhhh? No, see, the reason I’m apologizing is because I sold this as 『Complete Resistance』 and totally overcharged for it? Yeah, I priced it high based on that assumption? I mean, if there’s no refund, I’ll just issue a recall and make improvements… Anyway, back to the point.

「So, let’s keep the warm mist shower to faces and hands only, okay? Why are you two stripping off your armor and going full-body mist mode while wearing skintight spats and halter-neck tank tops?! Also, you’re not just brushing against me anymore, you’re crushing me! It’s like, bodypile! You’re squeezing me! It’s not even about distance now, we’re in full-body contact, under pressure, and it’s wet! Come! Like, you are clinging now! This is definitely not okay! Wait, where are you touching?! Waaah! Hey, who’s doing that?! No! No groping or pressing or squishing allowed!」

「Ehh~ but the warm mist shower felt really good~ I want one in our bath too~」

Okay yes, it did feel good, but that’s exactly why it’s dangerous! Wet bare skin, thin clothing sticking damply to your body, that’s just… no. Visually, it’s totally not okay, and the feel is seriously ultra-mega-super dangerous.