Chapter 99 The Highroad
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The forty-first day of my life as a tester. Location: 11th Floor. Subject: Sanada Yakumo.
I pushed open the black gates. Beyond them lay a world of open sky, drifting clouds, and a road that seemed to stretch forever.
”So, this is a field-type¹ floor,” I muttered.
Securing that Magic Tent must have been the trigger to unlock this area.
”Is this a highroad, Master?” Sheena asked.
It certainly looked like one. As Sheena noted, a path of hard-packed earth cut a straight line through the landscape. Groves of trees lined the way, and in the clearings, waist-high grass swayed in a non-existent breeze.
”I can’t believe a space like this exists outside the Training Facility,” Sayaka said softly.
I recalled her mentioning that the Training Facility also featured a sky and a lake. “The weather is pretty miserable, though,” I remarked.
The sky was a solid, oppressive blanket of grey.
”It’s a permanent overcast,” Sheena replied. “I’ve heard the lower floors have brighter fields, but for now, this is what we get.”
”The sky in the Training Facility was always like this too,” Sayaka added.
”Fair enough. It’s still a hell of a lot better than a cave or a labyrinth,” I said. Even with the gloom, it was bright enough that I didn’t need to waste mana on light spheres. More than that, the sense of scale was a welcome change. “Rock, Saizou. Take point.”
Rock gave a short, sharp bark of acknowledgement, raising his shield as he passed through the gate. Saizou followed closely behind. After scanning the area, Saizou gave me a crisp nod.
”Looks clear. Let’s move,” I said.
We stepped onto the 11th floor. Near the edge of the gateway, a Teleportation Array stood ready. I paused, noticing something odd. “There’s no wind.”
”There wouldn’t be,” Sheena explained. “Field-type dungeons only simulate the outdoors. The environment is just as stagnant as a cave.”
So, it was just an outdoor skin on a subterranean room. I wouldn’t complain. We continued down the road, and before long, I caught movement in the trees ahead.
”Master! Two Orcs. They’re coming from the front!” Sheena warned.
Two pig-faced monstrosities burst from the woods twenty meters ahead, brandishing crude stone clubs. They had the snouts and pinkish-grey skin of swine, but their bodies were massive – towering slabs of muscle and protective fat. They were exactly as I’d imagined Orcs to be. They wore nothing but loincloths, looking more like sumo wrestlers than anything else. They clearly packed a punch.
”Sayaka, let’s test our output! You take the left! I’ll take the right!” I shouted.
”Understood! ‘Ice Arrow’!” Sayaka cried.
Two jagged bolts of frost materialized over Sayaka’s head. At the same time, I leveled my finger at the right-hand Orc.
’Fire Bullet’
My streak of flame caught the beast dead in the solar plexus. The Orc let out a wet grunt, doubling over and clutching its scorched stomach, but it didn’t stop. It snarled, face twisting in a porcine grimace, and resumed its charge. The fire had likely hit a layer of thick fat and stalled out.
Meanwhile, Sayaka’s twin arrows struck the left-hand Orc in the chest and shoulder. The creature let out a guttural roar of pain. The ice seemed to penetrate where my fire hadn’t; the Orc collapsed into a heap, shivering as the frost began to spread. The arrow in its chest had likely bypassed the muscle and frozen its heart or lungs solid.
”Physical projectiles have better penetration,” I noted. “Let’s see what happens when I double the Mana Capacity².”
The first Orc was closing in, raising its club for a heavy swing. I poured twice the usual mana into my next shot.
’Fire Bullet’
The bolt erupted from my finger, punching straight through the Orc’s chest. It burned through the skin and detonated inside the body. The creature didn’t even have time to scream. It stumbled two more steps, then crashed face-first into the dirt, stone dead.
The other Orc was already dissolving into black mist. It appeared Sayaka’s ice had finished the job.
I’d managed to kill one using the same mana as a single Fireball. They were tougher than Goblins, requiring double the resources, but they weren’t going to be a problem as long as I managed my pool.
”Master! Two more coming from the right woods! They’re fast! Are these wolves?!” Sheena shouted.
I was watching Saizou retrieve the Magic Stones when I heard her. I looked to the right just in time to see two streaks of green fur blurring through the undergrowth toward Sayaka.
Tsk. I got careless.
Rock let out a bone-shaking howl. He lunged forward, his shield catching the wolves mid-leap. The emerald beasts redirected their focus toward the armored tank, snapping at his greatshield, but Rock held firm.
Sheena moved in like a flash. From the flank, her rapier flickered out, piercing the throats of both wolves in rapid succession. She twisted the blade on the way out, tearing open their arteries. The green wolves collapsed, twitching as blood soaked the dirt road.
”Are these… wolves?” I asked, looking at the dissolving corpses.
”Yes. They are Green Wolves, E-Rank monsters,” Sheena replied.
”Green Wolves. Predictable name,” I said. “So Orcs aren’t the only thing on this floor.”
”It seems that way. In the dungeons I’ve been in, wolf-types usually travel in packs of four or more. Seeing only two means the floor is split between multiple species.”
”That helped a lot, Sheena-san. You too, Rock-chan,” Sayaka said, catching her breath. “They were so fast I couldn’t even start my chant.”
”Wolf-types are mage-killers,” Sheena warned. “Rock, stay alert.”
Rock gave a low, rumbling woof of pride.
”If they’re jumping out of the blind spots, Sayaka won’t be able to handle it alone. Saizou, keep to the shadows. Watch the trees and the high grass,” I ordered.
Saizou gave a silent nod and vanished into the woods.
We spent the next hour testing the waters. I tried a few melee exchanges with the Orcs, but Sheena’s rapier struggled against their thick hide. She was better suited for joint-sniping or taking out the Green Wolves. We eventually settled on a formation: I took the vanguard, Sheena held the middle, and Sayaka and Rock covered the rear. Saizou remained on point as our scout.
We moved Sheena to the center because the Green Wolves loved to flank or circle around to the back, much like Horn Rabbits. Against Orcs, I could handle two in close quarters, but any more would require heavy magic use. Sayaka was likely going to be living on Mana Capacity Recovery Potions again soon.
We decided to head back to the Teleportation Array after an hour. The haul wasn’t bad – Orc Magic Stones were E+, worth 600 DP. If we pushed deeper, I could see pulling in 80,000 to 100,000 DP a day. That’s enough to buy a Rank-2 slave every month.
A harem of thirty beauties by the end of this test. Kukuku…
When we returned to the 1st-floor hub, the place was packed with testers. It was nearly 19:00 – past the usual rush, but many groups were staying out late. The food price hike was clearly hitting them hard. They were fighting for scraps on the 3rd floor, which meant longer hours just to break even.
The Wall-Butt³ service only ran until midnight. Unless a party was truly desperate, nobody stayed in the dungeon past then.
I saw the kickboxing club guys bragging about a Kobold they’d captured with a Magic Sealing Crystal⁴. They were probably going to use it as a meat shield and lose it within a day. I kept Rock and Saizou close. I hadn’t told anyone – not even Yuki-san’s group – about them. On an empty floor, your hidden cards are your life.
Near the exit, I saw the “Samurai” shut-in squad collapsed in a heap of rags. They were usually gone by this time.
”Yo, former shut-ins,” I called out. “You look like you’ve been through a meat grinder. If you’re out of Potions, I’ll sell you one for a hundred Horn Rabbit stones.”
”A-Ah, Guard-dono… wait, that’s two thousand DP for a three-thousand DP stone haul! That’s a total rip-off-degozaru!” the leader sputtered.
”So you’re still alive,” I said. “What happened? Did the 1st-floor Guardian kick your asses?”
”Wrong-degozaru! Heheh, listen to this, Guard-dono! Today, we finally took down the 2nd-floor Guardian-degozaru!”
”Is that right? Only took you a week. Not bad,” I replied.
Sayaka gave them a warm smile. “You guys are doing great!” Even Sheena’s expression softened slightly. She seemed pleased that her “students” had finally progressed.
”It’s all thanks to you, Tsukigase-dono, and Sheena-dono-degozaru. Now we might actually get a decent meal-degozaru,” the leader said.
”We pushed ourselves because we knew the prices would go up again,” another added.
”With the reward money, we’re going to help the other former shut-ins tomorrow,” the third said.
The food prices had spiked – 1,050 DP a day just to eat. On the 2nd floor, a party of three could barely make 6,000 DP. After taxes and gear, they were barely surviving. They were clearly terrified of losing their access to the Wall-Butt service.
”Well, you worked for it. Make sure you stay in my debt,” I said.
”Of course-degozaru! If you’re ever in a pinch, we’ll come running-degozaru!” the leader promised.
”We’ll catch up soon,” the second added. “Next time, we’ll be the ones giving you the maps!”
”Hmph,” Sheena interrupted, her voice cold. “Garbage insects who used to tremble at rabbits shouldn’t talk so big. Don’t waste my Master’s time.”
The three of them froze, their jaws dropping.
”””I-It… it talked?!”””
”What? Sheena-san’s always spoken,” I lied.
”N-No-degozaru! Not like that! Sheena-dono was supposed to be a Soul-less Doll with no ego!”
”A miracle occurred through my Master’s love,” Sheena said with a sharp, mocking smile.
”What the… what is that even supposed to mean-degozaru?” the leader muttered.
”Do you have a problem with it?” Sheena asked, her hand moving to the hilt of her rapier.
”N-None at all-degozaru!”
”I thought not. If you’re going to the 3rd floor, I’ll have to teach you how to handle Kobolds again,” Sheena said.
”””Hiii! N-no thank you!”””
”W-We’ll be going now-degozaru!”
The three of them scrambled to their feet, grabbed their packs, and bolted out of the room. They had been half-dead a minute ago, but Sheena’s “training” was clearly a trauma that could raise the dead.
”Kukuku. Don’t bully them too much,” I said.
”Fufu. My apologies, Master. They were getting a bit c**ky, so I gave them a little ‘whip of love’.”
Sheena looked genuinely happy.
”Well, I’m glad they’re moving up,” I said.
With the shut-ins helping their own, the whole group would be on the 3rd floor soon. But if the Queen kept raising the prices, even the 4th floor wouldn’t be enough to sustain them. The system was rigged for the aggressive.
I turned and walked out of the teleportation room, my mind already on the 12th floor.
—
Summary:
Yakumo and his team enter the 11th floor, a simulated outdoor highroad. They face and overcome Orcs and Green Wolves, refining their combat formation. Upon returning to the hub, they find the ‘Samurai’ shut-ins have successfully defeated the 2nd-floor Guardian.
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Trivia:
- The 11th floor has no wind despite appearing as an outdoor field.
- Orc Magic Stones are E+ rank and worth significantly more (600 DP) than standard ones.
- Food prices have risen to 1,050 DP daily, putting pressure on all testers.
- The ‘Samurai’ shut-ins were originally trained/terrorized by Sheena.
- Yakumo is keeping his monsters (Rock and Saizou) hidden from other human parties
—
Character Insight:
Sheena displays a more playful, albeit sadistic, side when interacting with her former ‘students.’ Yakumo is increasingly viewing his DP gains through the lens of purchasing more high-rank slaves.
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Behind the Scenes:
The ‘Field Type’ floor transition is a common trope in dungeon crawlers to signify progress from ‘cave/tunnel’ stages to ‘overworld’ stages.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Yakumo – A 25-year-old human male. He has facial scars, stab wounds, and gunshot scars from his time in a war zone. He works as a school guard.
• Sana – Black ponytail, hooded/sharp eyes, kyudo practitioner, average height.
• Sheena – Beastman Soul-less Doll with rabbit ears and a large chest. Flawless face, approx 165cm height, F or G cup, narrow waist, large hips, and a fluffy tail longer than a rabbit’s. Now, her ego is back.
• Sayaka – The academy’s premier beauty and a member of the swimming club. Currently classified as a Rank 1 Slave. She is seventeen years old and a virgin. E-cup. She has blue, short, boyish hair. Her best friend is Sanae.
• Saizou – A newly summoned Goblin. Intelligent with a small horn on his forehead and jagged teeth. Wears ninja-style clothing (shinobifuku) and uses poison daggers/knives.
• Rock – A male Kobold summoned from a Magic Sealing Crystal. He has grey fur, round eyes, and a face resembling a Shiba Inu. He wears a leather jacket and a pilot’s cap
• Yuki – A third-year high school student and leader of the Battle Sports Club. He is a national champion in medieval-style combat using swords and spears. He has a severe sister complex. He has hawk-like eyes and a polite but determined demeanor.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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