Volume 2 Chapter 34
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
We descended the stairs from the 19th floor, heading toward Floor Twenty¹.
Before long, the entrance to the twentieth floor came into view.
Captain Sakurako-san, leading the way, peered inside before turning back to face us.
”This is a boss-exclusive floor²… You see this occasionally on the final floors of Phase Four. Trash mobs³ don’t spawn here; instead, you usually get a single, exceptionally powerful boss.”
”I see. So that’s how these work,” I said.
Up until Phase Three, even on floors with a boss, we’d usually encounter regular monsters on the way to the big fight.
But the floor waiting for us now seemed to be a stage set for a single enemy.
”What kind of boss is it?” I asked.
”I can’t tell from here. The boss isn’t within my line of sight, so we’ll have to head a bit further in to find out!” Sakurako-san said.
”Right… Is it the kind of place where the door locks behind you?” I asked.
(In RPGs, once a boss battle starts, the ‘flee’ command often becomes disabled. I wondered if this place followed those rules.)
”No, nothing like that. Boss monsters won’t chase you past the dungeon stairs. As long as you can make it back here, you can escape. Though, if you’re in a position where you’re forced to run, getting back to these stairs in one piece is usually easier said than done,” Sakurako-san said.
”I see… that makes sense,” I said.
”Right. Well, it’s finally time for the Phase Five Dungeon Shinjuku⁴ boss battle… but first, I’m going to try tackling this solo,” Sakurako-san said.
”Captain Sakurako-san… you’re going in alone?” I asked.
”Yeah. There’s no doubt that you guys have grown exponentially during this crawl, but in terms of pure combat ability, I’m still the strongest on my own,” Sakurako-san said.
”Well, that’s certainly true,” I said.
It was an obvious gap, one that didn’t even require a second thought.
(Unless we used the ‘dirty trick’ of having Mana use her Dungeon Energy Mastery⁵ to directly scramble the energy inside Sakurako’s body, there was no way we could beat her.)
Actually, even if we did use that trick, a serious Sakurako would probably find a way to overcome it anyway.
Having conquered this dungeon alongside her, I’d come to realize that Sakurako was the ultimate explorer-deadly serious and completely devoted to the task.
The intensity she brought to the crawl was on a different level compared to us, who often ended up screwing around and having s*x in the middle of our explorations.
”Understood. If that’s what you’ve decided, Captain Sakurako-san, we’ll leave the first attempt to you. We’ll wait right here at the entrance,” I said.
”Yeah, leave it to me. I’d love to say I’ll show you a perfect clear… but we can’t ignore the possibility that a Phase Five boss is something far beyond anything we’ve seen,” Sakurako-san said.
”Beyond anything…” I muttered.
”Yeah. But even if that’s the case, I have the best shot at escaping back to these stairs if I’m solo. If it looks like a lost cause, I’ll get out of there fast,” Sakurako-san said.
Despite being the strongest person I knew, she was remarkably flexible and pragmatic.
With her mindset, the chances of her returning alive were high.
In fact, it would be more dangerous if we tagged along and accidentally lowered the potency of her Samurai of Solitude⁶ buff.
Because of that, I did my best to suppress the urge to insist on going with her.
”I understand. Please be careful, Captain Sakurako-san,” I said.
”Yeah. I’m off,” Sakurako-san said.
Leaving us behind on the stairs, Sakurako stepped into the final floor of the Phase Five Dungeon.
* * *
”She hasn’t come back,” Mana said.
”Yeah… and the dungeon hasn’t registered a clear yet either, right?” I asked.
”Right. If it had been cleared, we would have been forcibly ejected from the dungeon by now…” Maria-san said.
A full hour had passed since Sakurako had entered that final room.
Even for us, the mood wasn’t right to pass the time by getting intimate. Instead, we stood there in silence, waiting for her return or for the signal that the dungeon had been conquered.
The dungeon remained unchanged, which only meant one thing: the fight wasn’t over.
(I caught myself thinking that I just wanted this to end peacefully-and that thought must have been the death flag⁷ that triggered the disaster.)
”!! It’s Captain Sakurako-san!!” Mana screamed.
At the end of her pointing finger, a blood-soaked Sakurako lay collapsed on the floor.
In the next heartbeat, her body was violently sent tumbling across the ground.
”This is bad! She’s being attacked! I have to help her!!” I shouted.
I tried to sprint onto the final floor, but my arm was caught in a tight, sudden squeeze.
I spun around to see every single one of my teammates holding onto me, physically restraining me.
”Whatever is in there… it’s something Sakurako-san can’t beat! Even if we all go in together right now, we won’t win!” Mana said.
”What are you saying?! Are we just supposed to let her die?!” I yelled.
Even as we spoke, Sakurako was being slammed and kicked by an unseen force, her body thrown like a discarded toy across the room.
She wasn’t dead yet, but that was the only mercy she had.
If she kept taking hits like that, it was only a matter of time.
”Hehe… of course we aren’t going to do that. Calm down. If you weren’t panicking, the usual Kanade-kun would have already realized there’s a safe way to rescue her,” Mana said.
”The usual… me…” I stammered.
(If there was a way, it had to be through our skills. But most of my skills only worked outside the dungeon.)
I could use my Pressure Point Gun⁸, but it would be useless against a boss moving at speeds the eye couldn’t even track.
The same went for my companions’ offensive skills.
(If I couldn’t target the boss, could I target Sakurako?)
A skill that worked on people… a skill that would work right here, right now…
”Ah… Dungeon Energy Mastery…” I realized.
”Exactly! …Here I go! Dungeon Energy Mastery!!” Mana shouted.
Mana locked her eyes on Sakurako’s battered form as it was flung through the air again. She seized control of the Dungeon Energy inside Sakurako’s body.
Using that energy as a tether, she forcibly yanked Sakurako’s body toward the stairs with incredible force.
The speed was breathtaking.
Fortunately, the invisible boss didn’t seem to realize what was happening in time to interfere. Sakurako’s body came flying back toward our position.
”Here she comes! I’ll catch her, leave it to me!” Maria-san yelled.
As Sakurako came hurtling into the stairwell entrance, Maria-san caught her firmly in her arms, absorbing the impact.
—
Summary:
Descending into the final boss-exclusive floor, Sakurako decides to engage the unseen enemy solo to preserve her power. An hour passes in agonizing silence until the team witnesses her being brutally beaten by an invisible force. Mana intervenes using her specialized mastery to pull the injured explorer to safety.
—
Trivia:
- The specific ‘dirty trick’ of internal energy scrambling used for Sakurako
- The mechanics of the ‘Samurai of Solitude’ buff affecting party formation
- Protagonist’s self-awareness regarding his tendency to have s*x during crawl
—
Character Insight:
Kanade shows a reckless hero impulse that is countered by the practical, unified intervention of his harem members.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Sakurako – Japan’s strongest S-Rank explorer, the “Samurai of Solitude,” is a stunning, sharp-eyed warrior known for her incredible physique, world-class perception, and stealth. She wears a loosely draped kimono and carries a long blade. Though a professional loner who excels solo, she mentors Kanade’s party and is close to Ichigaya Rin. Currently incapacitated by severe injuries, she remains a legendary, formidable figure.
• Mana – Kanade, a bespectacled, pragmatic A-Rank explorer and sub-leader of Resonant Melody, wears a black ponytail and immaculate armor. She mentors the protagonist with a judgmental gaze, rooted in their past as classmates. Beside her is a calm, analytical companion in a glossy black bodysuit. A master of Dungeon Energy, she is observant, mischievous, and acts as the party’s powerful, high-stakes insurance.
• Maria – Sun-kissed, dark-skinned Maria, a voluptuous former B-rank adventurer known as “Boob Gal” in a tiger-print bikini, lost an arm to a Black Anaconda in Phase 3 and now serves as Resonant Melody’s tank, wielding a greatsword with Ironclad defenses. A reliable, supportive anchor, she catches allies with steady strength and experiences intense pleasure and physical restoration through Kanade’s pressure point techniques. Devoted to the healer, she plans to give him her virginity on their first meeting, while aiding his party’s rapid progression through Shinjuku’s high-level dungeon layers.
• Kanade – Kanade, the young, humble leader of the A-Rank team Resonant Melody, wields the Pressure Point Gun and possesses the rare Unique Job “Vital Point Master,” allowing him to heal, buff, debuff, and trigger Instant Death by manipulating lethal pressure points—skills fueled by intimate emotional bonds, especially with Maria, his savior and romantic anchor. Though he lacks a Phase Five ability and panics under pressure, his uncanny precision in reading intent and strategic brilliance elevate his teammates beyond their limits. Clad in a black anaconda suit, he secretly channels his powers through emotional connection, using pleasure-infused healing to sustain his crew, making him the indispensable, quiet heart of Resonant Melody—even as he undertakes high-stakes interventions like saving Sakurako’s life.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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