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Chapter 217: Those days I feel like even if I forgot my weapons back at the inn, I would spend the entire day without noticing.  

Translator: “Pink Tea” Editor: ”Ryunakama”

Day 58 – Afternoon, Dungeon 66F.

Although I washed away the sticky bug juices from everyone with a simple shower, they went back still having the same empty eyes. I wonder if they can make it back safely? Well, even if they were to be attacked on the way, it’s the monsters who would end up pitiful? They might take their anger out on poor monsters!

「Hasn’t it been a while since we explored a dungeon with just the three of us~? But why do you have to rush in at top speed as soon as I strike a cool pose? How should I put it, isn’t being beaten up by Armored Pres-san my only combat scenes lately? How come I don’t get any action scenes despite diving into dungeons every day? Like, those days I feel like even if I forgot my weapons back at the inn, I would spend the entire day without noticing? 」

(Jiggle Jiggle)

I’m being consoled! The sheer consolation power was so strong that I almost buried my head into Slime-san’s chest and began crying, but since it has no chest there is no need for that, I mean, it’s a slime after all? But if the chest was a bust, then I would’ve gladly buried my face into it, over and over, but since I myself might get buried after she gets angry at me, I’d better not.I mean, Armored Pres-san is casually pulling out her sword, I better stop right here before she casually cuts me to pieces. We shall continue at night!

As expected, with 20 girls around the mind is flooded with worldly thoughts, but since there is only Armored Pres-san around, my imagination is very sharp, hence, there is a high chance of a sharp slash coming my way. She has been giving me unchanging Flat Gaze since 61F. Well, compared to the Empty Eyes from 20 people, Flat Gaze from Armored Pres-san alone is better! Or rather, those eyes are too spooky? Being splashed with insect fluids must’ve been too much for the girls. Conflicts create nothing but sorrows.

While Armored Pres-san was comforting everyone after the incident, she also predicted what would happen and had taken refuge beforehand, so she wasn’t splashed with the bug juice. By the way, all of the comforting happened only after I gave the girls a shower? Well, I also did run away… I mean, juices from a giant fly, that also come with a large number of worms? That’s a hard pass from me. But they’ll probably be very angry when I come back!

『Assassin Ghosts Lv66』of the 66th floor are swiftly annihilated, but rather than that, it seems that Slime-san can eat ghosts too. Although it was running away from the fly together with us? Well, it’s true that one shouldn’t eat something like that.

Assassin Ghosts, who appear out of thin air to slash at the enemy, are quite dangerous opponents, I’m sure even pres and the others would have struggled here.

A momentary lapse in concentration may result in getting stabbed from behind, an attack of a monster from middle floors would be dangerous even with level 100’s ViT and HP. Well, it all bears no meaning if one can see them.

No idea if that is mana or spiritual energy, but even if they disappear, I can still see that energy with Rajingan, so I can tell exactly where they are. And while Assassin Ghosts are unassumingly trying to get closer, confident of their invisibility, they can’t attack unless they materialize first. And there they get one-sidedly cut and devoured. At this point it would’ve been better if they just fought openly?

In the first place, ghosts are bound to be vulnerable to divine swords and such? Even if they disappear, We can still see and cut them? I mean, since they are plainly visible and can be attacked as normal, it definitely would’ve been better if they just attacked head-on? And yet they are still trying to be sneaky? Is it their professional ethic as Assassins? Or maybe their pride as ghosts? They are getting cut down either way.

We already found two items in hidden rooms, and both had weapons and equipment destruction on them, so it must be the specialty of this dungeon. They are unexpectedly useless against monsters, but they also have special effects and a 40% bonus to stats. Do deeper dungeons actually have better items after all?

Assassin Ghosts are extremely considerate, kindly turning into magic stones immediately after being slashed. I mean, gathering magic stones can be more of a pain than the fight itself? But it’s such plain everyday effort that paves the road to becoming a magnate, it sort of has lots of dead-ends, but it’s definitely leading there!

「Now, we’ve gotten into the lower floors by now, so let’s cooperate, even if just for a little bit? If put frankly, plainly and bluntly, let me in on the action? Like, isn’t a high school boy who makes cool poses in the back without fighting just cringe? Dios mio, the pain, the humiliation, even though my HP is still full, I feel like I am taking damage? Speaking of which, I’d like to have some Italian food? Having tomatoes and olive oil is nice, but having no cheese is an issue? Actually, I want pizza. And we can’t even have a vongole since there is no fish industry? But generally, everything looks sort of italian if you make it with olive oil and then sprinkle some basil on it?」

(Jiggle Jiggle~?)

It replied with a doubt! For some reason, this otherworldly living slimeform has an issue with my ersatz-Italian cuisine, but it’s definitely going to eat it anyway? For now, it seems to have no pickiness in food, consuming everything aside from sand, rocks, and flies. Well, the last one is only expected.

We swiftly pass the 67th floor as well.『Sword Weasel Lv67』, mustelids entirely covered in cutlery? If they are weasels they are supposed to be mustelids, right? I mean, I never met one, so I can’t say for sure, but they look very mustelid-like, so that should be the case. And they are hella cool, so calling them weasels almost seems like a waste?

Those are Assault Weasels with『Magic Immunity』, all covered in blades charge at me in large numbers, doing their best, but in the end, none makes it to me, who is waiting for them in a cool stance. Fine, I’ll go to them on my own. And the very moment I tried to go to the frontline, the frontline began running away from me! Hey! My turn! I’m not getting any action at all! At this rate my only participation is gonna end up at picking magic stones, the same plain activity, hardly any different from picking up mushrooms, or rather, this is not a participation at all! I told you, stop! You can’t eat all of them!

Working really hard I somehow managed to secure two kills. Out of the enormous pack of probably nearly a thousand weasels I barely managed to beat two.

And it really was only barely, just barely, that I didn’t miss those two as well! Pressed this far, I resolved to poking my staff through the wall of slashing attacks that Armored Pres-san so enthusiastically created, and was able to take down two weasels. At the very last moment, just barely, narrowly ahead, I managed to strike them before her! As I thought, she seems to have been bored with her role as an instructor, even so, she still chose to run away from the fly with me. Looks like she obtained strength that can’t be taken lightly. Just who did she take after? What a bind.

And after picking up all of the magic stones, which felt like it took an eternity, we go down to the next floor, a nice property right next to a floor master, and it even comes with a hidden room. But here again, the ceiling is low, and the rooms are all jumbled up like a maze. Probably, only the upper floors are usable in this dungeon.

Well, things got pretty tough around this area. I would’ve definitely died if the sword weasels from the previous floors managed to swarm me. Barely fending them off thanks to the equipment is the best I might’ve managed, but I would’ve been chopped to pieces anyway, and that is why real combat is the best training, but the overprotective worrywarts keep sheltering me from any harm. Why is there nothing but worrywarts around me? Even though there should be a reliable assurance and trust coming from the fact that even though I come close to death I manage to come back alive every single time, but for some reason they still don’t trust me at all? Is it the Affection Rating after all?

And here are more bugs. But this time it’s lots of small ones. I also remember hearing about those from the Idiots.

Spear-shaped locusts that pour down in swarms like rain『Spear Hoppers Lv 68』, their numbers should be counted in tens of thousands, or rather, if we tried to actually count them we’d end up staying here for the night. Having an adult wrestling session with Armored Pres-san while surrounded by the sea of hopper corpses is way too bizarre. Well, at the very least there is no insect fluids issue since we aren’t cutting them. Fighting such numbers head on without insecticides is what only an idiot would do. Well, apparently this is exactly what the Idiots did. Isn’t it amazing that they managed to win that? It’s plainly impossible for a modern person, or rather, no one would even try that.

Burning the insecticide herbs I gather the fumes with『Holding』and send them forward, then, use 『Holding』to grasp hoppers along with the space that they occupy, and lock them in with the smoke. A super ecological solution? Saving up on insecticides plus getting all magic stones in one lump, thus saving on labor too. And since 『Spatial Magic』popped up I guess the effects of 『Holding』changed. The more I use skills the more mysteries multiply, making their use more and more difficult. Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? How is a hurdle that keeps on raising any different from a punishment game? But with new effects there are also new ways to use them, and they also get more powerful. But handling them gets just as much more difficult too. Well, this time it was very ecological, so whatever, after all, Spear Hoppers aren’t good even as emergency rations.

And the 69th floor turned into melee too. So it is as I thought? Since there are only a few large monsters the ceiling is low and the rooms are quite small? Taking a step forward I evade the incoming attack and slash the opponent, cut in a sweeping motion, cut while striking down, cut while weaving my way through, I can’t fight them head on to begin with, so I’m not even going to try. I will simply one-sidedly exploit gaps in their defenses to cut them down.

Even nameless villagers risked their lives to protect someone, even the elderly sacrificed their lives to hold enemies back. Many troops and adventurers fought even without proper weapons or armor, losing their lives to protect someone. And such a miserable and pitiful region is filled with nothing but stupidly nice people, that lost desparingly many things, and even so, they keep trying to help others with a smile. The edge of the world, filled with the biggest idiots it had to offer.

I have no hesitation to step forward left, fear and death don’t matter anymore. I’m just purely going for a kill.

Meripapa-san’s misunderstandings couldn’t be more extreme. I have saved nothing. Not only am I not fit for that, I can’t do anything aside from killing? The miracle of the frontier was in the frontier since the very beginning. In the first place, the frontier itself is a miracle. It’s because the people of the frontier believed that they could grasp happiness and kept walking towards it that they were able to find it. Considering the price they paid for it, it’s only natural that they’ll get happiness in return. And they still have overpaid so much that they have all rights to file a claim to compensate for that.

Slash, rip, tear, chop, cleave, cut, slice, hack, rend, and repeat… Slash to death, slash to pieces, slash until not even pieces remain.

「Pheew. Kept you waiting? I guess? Actually, am I the last one? Even though my passage had the smallest number of puppets, I’m still the last one? Even though it felt like I took them down a few times quicker than usual~, or rather, I didn’t set them on fire, spraying them with oil, since it won’t serve as practice, but it turns out, beating them normally is even faster~? Unexpectedly?」

However『Soldier Puppets Lv 69』is an anti-human group battle, in other words, a perfect opponent to practice for war situation. But I don’t get it, how a『War Puppet』from the great dungeon are different from a『Soldier Puppet』? If my memory serves me right, War Puppets attacked in phalanx, so I dropped them in a pitfall and then burned them to a crisp. 『Soldier Puppets』tried to use elastic defense to encircle me, but the formation crumbled in melee. In terms of equipment, 『War Puppets』were better? Their greatshields and pikes brought me good money. 『Soldier Puppets Lv 69』had swords, spears, hammers, shields, and great shields, they had armor too, but compared to the great dungeon it’s a step down in quality. This is to be sold to the general public. But since it’s still a fortune I’ll make sure to gather it all. This much should become good war funds.

And the 70th floor underground. Here comes a floor master.

Looks like this is not the last floor. It’s deep.