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Chapter 376

Chapter 376: It’s a really great question who came up with that 2.5 estimate.

Day 88 – Evening, the Town of Omui

Haruka-kun and the others descended all the way to the lowest level, the 95th floor, and defeated the Dungeon Master, destroying the dungeon. But that’s not what we want to ask about.

「Was Haruka-kun… able to fight? Against the Dungeon Master, at the very bottom?」

He was in no fighting condition, he hadn’t just been weakened, he had been broken. He had broken his own body with his own strength, growing so strong while remaining so weak that his weakness could no longer withstand the weight of his strength. From the beginning, he’d been forcing himself, always the weakest of all, trying to be strong… and then he crumbled..

「His body
Was not broken.
But he long since passed its limits.」

「And… He, even added, more items. He is still, planning, on getting stronger.」

At Level 24, he is able to fight even on the 90th floor and beyond. Haruka-kun, who everyone had thought had reached his limit, was able to fight. But turns out he had long since went past it, and yet he still wanted to become stronger.

That’s right. Forget the limit, none of it made sense to begin with. The first time I saw Haruka-kun since coming to this other world, he annihilated the monsters of the Evil Forest with a rain of fire, saving us all, being only level 5 himself. The scene was so shocking it became too much to comprehend. The sight of his back as he tore through wave after wave of monsters that time when we went to rescue him in the Great Dungeon, and ended up being the ones rescued is burned into my memory. I was captivated by that strength.

Even though he wasn’t strong. He always had been weak from the moment we arrived to this world, and yet he’d been strong. Which means he had been over his limit from the very beginning.

But he never let it show. With a calm face, he took on every danger alone, always showing a strong front.

「Why?! Why wouldn’t he say anything? About how much it hurts?! About how hard it is?! That’s why I, we, were tamed! Why, why won’t he say anything to us?!」

He fought on with a body that had long surpassed its limits and broken down, until he could no longer fight. He had lost that strength. I thought he was now trying to learn a new way to fight, one that wouldn’t destroy his body. I thought he was slowly regaining his ability to fight. But instead… he was already back to where he’d been, no, even stronger than before. Still with that fragile body, still beyond his limits.

「If your body can’t handle your techniques, and you’re boosting yourself with equipment and buffs, wouldn’t that just increase the strain…?」

「His body hasn’t, broken. He was able, to fight, properly. He retained, control. But… even if it doesn’t break, it still hurts. It still feels awful, and painful.」

He used various buffs to compensate for the strain that was destroying his body. It’s just like regenerating instantly after being cut. He might be unhurt, but it’s not like it’s alright. It still hurt. It’s still painful. It’s still agony. He kept doing that over and over, until his body finally couldn’t bear it anymore, and broke down. And yet, he keeps pushing it harder with additional reinforcements.

「With a body barely hanging together… he went and beat up a Dungeon Master solo.」

He had been learning how to fight without placing strain on his body, a method that wouldn’t lead to its destruction. But now, he had once again taken hold of overwhelming power, put it to use. Even knowing it would destroy his own body he still sought the power to fight.

「Ahh, so he relapsed, huh~? Guess he hasn’t really recovered after all~? Maybe he got fired up after running into the Dungeon Master~?」

「He was
Really into it.
Definitely on purpose.」

Yeah, he is okay, for now. He’ll hit his limit soon enough anyway, and until then, it’s just pain and suffering and exhaustion. Just like it always has been, just like he was suffering alone until now. And yet he’s horsing around… Why, when everyone’s so worried about him, is he having a blast with Dungeon Master-san?!

Apparently, the Dungeon Master on the lowest floor was a 「Shadow Claw – Lv 100」, a humanoid shadow swordsman. It wasn’t exactly a being of darkness, but just in case, Haruka-kun took it on alone and was really into it..

The thing had a body made of pitch-black shadow, wielded a massive dark sword, and sent out flocks of jet-black crows. That was the trigger… Deploying his shoulder-guard funnels for a mid-air dogfight with the crows, all while dueling the shadow swordsman in a high-speed exchange of sword strikes. Apparently, he was zipping all over the place in the air for no real reason.

「He kept, striking cool poses over and over… I mean, he could’ve just slashed, but no, he had to strike a pose every time…」

「「「Ahhh, he was really hyped.」」」

The sword-wielding crow-shadow-man soaring through the air, and the black-clad high school boy with a relapse of Chunibyo zipping through the air. They must’ve really hit it off. They apparently clashed swords and shouted stuff like 「Kuh!」, 「Tch!」, and 「Gwah!」 while they fought… You’ve got a divine sword, you can just cut straight through his sword, right? In one hit?

「He could’ve just vanished and dodged.
But he kept doing backflips?
And just spinning for no good reason.」

「「「My, sounds like he had so much fun.」」」

Even while they kept thinking that he could’ve finished it without all that jumping around with a single 「Dimensional Slash」, he looked like he was enjoying himself, so they apparently just stood there as spectators until the very end.

「For no reason, he was… catching the sword… with his left-hand gauntlet. While yelling Gwah!? Even though he could’ve just dodged?」

「「「He was gravely ill!! He was so ready to cancel out special abilities!」」」

Seems like Dungeon Master-san and Haruka-kun tastes were in a perfect sync. Maybe their compatibility was just that good, but still, he went and played around with a Level 100 Dungeon Master by himself, all while still beyond his limits. And despite the pain he seemed to be having a good time?

While chatting about all that we made it back to the town. Haruka-kun got swarmed by a bunch of Orphans who came running from the streets, pouncing on him, and turning into a walking pile of kids.

「Too heavy. Way too heavy! This overload must include that racoon for sure! You guys are seriously too heavy, y’know?!」

「Don’t call a lady heavy! And I’m not a racoon! (*Chomp!*)」

…So there was one mixed in after all. Haruka-kun let out a scream, he was probably getting his head bitten in the middle of that child mountain. He is sort of walking even faster now?

「Gyuwyaaaahhh! Stop biting me, you racoon! And also, you’re wrong! It wasn’t a relapse! I was just testing stuff from new equipment like 『Flicker』 and 『Magic Shroud』 ? And while I might’ve said something like『Kuh, if this keeps up… then I have no choice but to use that!』 but that’s not what you think, okay? I was just… Reading the mood? Yeah, there was something like that just lingering in the air? Kind of?」

Apparently, it was exactly as we thought. Worse still, the whole 「I have no choice but to use this now~」 bit always ends with him actually using everything and going full power, which is exactly the problem. He just throws out all his cards without hiding a single thing, doesn’t he?

Today are yakiniku rice bowls! That was a battlefield, that’s where the true battle is… and also One More Set! Yeah, this is bad!

Taking the now round-bellied Orphans to the bath, and scrubbing them up until they sparkled, we dried them off thoroughly with towels to keep them from catching colds… Before we noticed, the towels had been upgraded to a new model! Super absorbent. It looked like terry cloth, but it definitely had an 「Absorption」 enchantment added to it. I mean the hair was dry just from towel wiping. We need to put in an order!

「Good night, everyone~」

「「「Good niiiight~」」」

Now, heading back to the bath we open the Girls-Only Meeting. Tonight’s topic: a new ability, 「Magic Thread」.

「Slithering and squirming, brushing and tingling! Melting your brain!」

「You can’t make sense of it
You can’t understand it
You head just goes blank!」

Sounds dangerous. Apparently, they got punished for using lotion. And even though they were scolded, they seemed weirdly happy about it, but also, the punishment had them dead for the entire night.

「Just measurements with that are too much! That’s just impossible! It knocks you unconscious!」

「Something about that almost-but-not-quite touching feeling is just too risky! It makes you even more sensitive!」

「That sensation on every inch of your skin!! It drives you crazy!」

「Just staying conscious was all I could do! I couldn’t think about anything! That is not okay!」

「Tingles and shivers turned into electric jolts shooting all through my body! I was on the edge of insanity the entire time!」

The destructive power is lethal even without「Lewd Arts」or「Sex King」or「Vibration」or「Sensitivity Increase」… It was crazy even before all of this… And it surpassed that now!

　「Today……We are……Going to die……Going to go insane……」

　「I want a swimsuit! I will endure it now matter how crazy it gets… but can I… actually?」

Today is the last day, and it’s also the swimming duo’s turn. I’m sure it was for thsse two that he even made the pool and went along with this embarrassing swimsuit making ordeal. Unlike us, those two are taking swimming seriously, so he is going to focus on just these two alone today.

「In other words, all of those tentacles just for the two? Even though they can drive five people crazy, you get to have their full attention?! The estimated increase in wriggledness of 2.5 times compared to the others!」

「「Kyaaa! Don’t say that! I almost want to cry! So please don’t say that!」」

According to Angelica-san, until now he adjusted things by combining many different fabrics, varying in weave and thread count. That was a correction. But now it seems the garments can be re-woven while still being worn, seamlessly molded as one piece, the cloth and magic-thread shifting with a soft rustle to wrap around the body, then tightening up!

Through Whole Garment manufacturing, the fabric fits the body in 3D, an ultimate form of clothing creation but the body inside can’t withstand the stimulation of that ultra-fine, precise technique! Countless thin threads stroke every inch of skin, measuring, tightening and loosening as they rub along the body, writhing as they come… come?

Tomorrow is the picnic. The planned schedule is in its final adjustments. The swim club duo, faces on the verge of tears yet hearts pounding with anticipation for those ultimate swimsuits, went to Haruka-kun’s room. I’ll go pick them up later, I doubt they’ll be able to walk by the time the suits are finished. Yeah, not happening.