Volume 1 Chapter 24
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
One day, inside the Phase Zero dungeon, two of the beautiful Four Heavenly Kings faced each other: Mana and Minami-chan.
Mana, a martial artist, wore bracers and leg guards but fought empty-handed. Minami-chan held a sword in each hand. Between the two girls, who were locked in a gaze of intense focus, Minami-chan made the first move.
”Incredible… Minami-chan, you were holding back a ton when you were training with me.”
Swish! The twin blades flowed toward Mana in a seamless blur. Just as the right sword swung, Minami-chan spun, following up with a strike from the left. As the left blade slashed toward Mana, it revealed itself as a feint. Mana moved to dodge, but a strike from the right sword flew toward her.
Minami-chan’s flurry of attacks was relentless. She kept her blades moving as if performing a dance.
”Still, Mana is amazing, too… So this is the power of Phase One.”
Mana had trained with me back in Phase Zero, but there wasn’t a trace of her former self left. Her base stats were on a completely different level. Once you progress to Phase One, the amount of Dungeon Energy you can store in your body skyrockets.
Even though Mana’s Sage job is supposedly a long-range class, her physical abilities had become exceptionally high. She was fully utilizing her upgraded stats, moving in ways that would have been impossible back in Phase Zero to parry Minami-chan’s onslaught.
”Whoa… Is that the Sky-Ripping Slash? That’s insane.”
A shockwave flew toward Mana. It was the Light Warrior job skill, Sky-Ripping Slash¹. It wasn’t invisible; it glowed with a brilliant light, making it easy to track, but the speed was incredible. It was an attack I definitely couldn’t have dodged, yet Mana slipped through the flying projectile with light, nimble movements.
Finally, after weaving through the barrage, Mana closed the distance and loomed right in front of Minami-chan.
”Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Thud! Dodging Minami-chan’s blade by a hair’s breadth, Mana unleashed a rhythmic rising mid-kick. Minami-chan couldn’t evade the Phase One level strike and caught it with one raised arm.
”Kyaaa!”
Minami-chan let out a cute cry as she was sent flying. However, she corrected her posture in mid-air, stuck the landing, and leveled her sword toward Mana once more. Seeing this, Mana smiled and dropped her combat stance.
”It seems there won’t be any problems, Minami-san.”
”Yeah. Even taking Mana-tchi’s attacks… if the impact is only this much, I think I’ll be fine,” Minami-chan said. “I feel like I could pass the Teacher’s trial if I took it again!”
”Indeed. That last strike should have been about as strong as the Teacher’s attacks during the trial. If it’s the current Minami-san, you’ll definitely pass.”
I walked over to them as they chatted.
”It looks like the Damage Reduction effect is the real deal, Minami-chan.”
”Yeah! It was worth letting Kanade-tchi touch me in those… embarrassing places²,” Minami-chan replied. “I was seriously so embarrassed back then, you know!”
”S-sorry.”
”Hehe, I’m just kidding, Kanade-tchi. Don’t apologize… Honestly, I’m really grateful to you.”
Minami-chan smiled brightly and took my hand in hers, wrapping it in a warm squeeze. I was just starting to feel all warm and fuzzy from her cuteness when Mana sidled up to me.
”Um, Minami-san… don’t you think you’re being a little too close to Kanade-kun?”
Mana pressed her body snugly against my side while shooting me a judgmental look.
”Well, that’s just the kind of relationship Kanade-tchi and I have! Besides, Mana-tchi, you’re the one sticking to him like glue. Look, even your b**bs are squished against him!”
”That is… because of the relationship Kanade-kun and I share,” Mana said.
Mana practically pressed her chest against my upper arm as she spoke. The two of them locked eyes, staring each other down, and for some reason, they both started closing the distance on me even further.
Minami-chan pushed against me from the front, while Mana hugged my arm from the side. Both girls were still flushed from the mock battle, and they gave off a sweet, heady scent that made my head start to spin.
In front of my dizzy eyes, Mana and Minami-chan suddenly relaxed their expressions.
”…Minami-san, while I refuse to back down, perhaps we should cooperate? As fellow women who have experienced Kanade-kun’s fingers… we both know we can never forget that, can we?”
”Yeah, I’m in! I can’t imagine a future without that anymore, either,” Minami-chan replied.
”Mana-tchi is a tough rival I’d rather not fight head-on… Plus, I have a feeling Kanade-tchi is going to have more and more rivals popping up! Let’s form a united front, Mana-tchi!”
”Agreed. He’s so dense when it matters most, yet he goes around being sweet to every girl he meets… I don’t think we can stop everyone, but let’s work together to make sure our time with him doesn’t disappear!”
Mana and Minami-chan shot me looks that were half-pitying, half-exasperated, and then firmly shook hands.
They started whispering to each other about things I couldn’t quite catch. I was glad they were getting along, but the way the conversation ended left me totally lost.
”Uh, hey… What have you two been talking about this whole time?”
I only received a blunt, synchronized reply.
”It’s a girl secret!”
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Short, but this feels like the end of Volume. From here on, the harem will keep growing as Kanade conquers the dungeon. I might do school events, but I’m not sure how much I’ll expand on that. If you haven’t yet, please support this work by bookmarking or giving it a star rating—it makes me very happy.
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Summary:
Mana and Minami-chan engage in an intense mock battle to test their new ‘Phase One’ powers and the effectiveness of Kanade’s damage reduction buff. After proving they are strong enough to retake their trials, the two girls turn their competitive energy toward Kanade, vying for his physical proximity. Realizing they share a common bond through Kanade’s unique ‘fingers’ technique, they decide to form a tactical alliance to manage their dense protagonist and ward off future love rivals. The chapter serves as a transition into a broader harem-building narrative within the dungeon setting.
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Trivia:
- The mention of Kanade being ‘sweet to every girl’ suggests a recurring character flaw that will lead to more harem members joining.
- The term ‘Phase One’ implies a tiered progression system within the dungeon that will dictate future power scales.
- The ‘Teacher’ mentioned by the girls suggests a high-level NPC or mentor character who will serve as a future benchmark for success
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Character Insight:
Mana and Minami shift from pure combat rivals to ‘allies in love.’ This change is triggered by their mutual experience with Kanade’s cheat skill, creating a shared ‘secret’ that overrides their individual jealousy in favor of long-term gatekeeping.
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Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
Introduction of the ‘Phase’ system (Zero to One) which significantly boosts Dungeon Energy and physical capabilities regardless of Job type.
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TL Notes:
The term ‘Are’ (That) with emphasis marks is a classic LN trope for suggestive content, here localized as ‘that’ with a focus on the shared experience between the girls.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• Minami – Minami, the ‘Loli Princess’ of the Four Heavenly Kings, is a petite, doll‑like Light Warrior with a flat physique. She wields dual swords, uses Sky‑Ripping Slash, speaks playfully, and idolizes her peers. Bound by ropes, she wears an eye mask, panties, twin‑tails, a skirt with fluffy cotton underwear marked with a cute symbol, and suffers a Pressure Point side effect.
• Mana – Beautiful girl, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, wields the Sage job. She sports a long black ponytail, glasses, neat attire with bracers and leg guards, and fights in refined martial arts. Partnered with Kanade, she’s in Phase One, boasts elite close‑quarters skill, and battles the aphrodisiac side‑effects of his powers while remaining fiercely loyal.
• Kanade – Small‑statured academy student with Unique Job [Vital Point Practitioner] (Tenketsu). He manipulates pressure points for defense and augmentation, has a cheat skill that removes his refractory period, and uses touch to grant powerful buffs. Infatuated with Mana, protective of her trust, close to Minami, and trains to unlock Phase One despite feeling inadequate.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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