Chapter 17 Exploration Part ⑤
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
We passed the 20th floor and reached the 21st. Only one more floor to go before our target.
The dungeon’s atmosphere had shifted again. The walls were ivory-colored, sparkling in the light. Patterns like wood grain floated across the surface, beautiful and mesmerizing.
”That’s a huge change from the last tacky floor, huh?”
”Yeah… it’s really beautiful.”
Torakuma and Girl stared at the walls in astonishment. Compared to the red-and-black deathly aura of the previous floor, this one almost seemed sacred, and they looked uneasy.
”These walls are a bit special. Apparently, they contain tiny amounts of Mithril,” I explained.
”Mithril…? Real silver!?”
Torakuma’s eyes widened. True silver, or Mithril, was rare everywhere, so it was no surprise.
”So, does that mean we can just chip the walls and take all the Mithril?”
”Not a chance. You’d just get dust, and the Mithril ruins your tools quickly.”
”…The world doesn’t hand you things that easily, huh?”
I had to correct the excited Girl, and Torakuma’s face fell a little. From here, treasure chests and stealing from enemies would become more important.
”From this floor onward, monsters might carry Mithril ingots. Try to steal as much as you can.”
”Got it! I’ll steal everything!”
”Hearing you say that, you sound like a thief.”
”Well, it’s kind of the same thing.”
Girl went ahead to explore. Securing Mithril for money or equipment upgrades was crucial for her, and with enough, she could craft her new Mana Gun. She stopped at the wall, sending me a hand signal—she’d spotted a monster.
Following her, I peeked and saw it.
A monstrous, bipedal creature covered in thick hair, about two meters tall, with big ears and a broad nose—it looked like a hideous, hairy hippo. A ‘Troll,’ as fantasy works often depict, was standing there.
”A hairy hippo?”
”Torakuma, do you call Trolls that?”
”Hmm… just first impression, since it’s my first time seeing one.”
”Fair enough, hairy hippo fits.”
It lacked the charm of a real hippo, though. Rare Trolls resembled valley fairies, carried status-up items, and fled rather than fought. Everyone loved them for luck and rewards.
”Is it like an Orc in any special way?”
”Trolls are tough with Vitality Recovery and Regeneration, but their defense and HP are far below Ogres. Charm works better than Energy Drain if you want to manipulate them.”
”You’re awfully knowledgeable, huh?” Torakuma said.
I shrugged. “I’ve delved alone to the 28th floor, and I have Appraisal. I gather info as I go, so I remember most of it.”
”…What kind of memory do you have?”
Even without Torakuma’s skill, preparation like this was essential. Strength and weakness are relative; one cannot fully understand the other’s struggles.
While we talked, Girl cast Charm on the Troll. It froze, allowing her to Steal. She celebrated—successfully pocketing a Mithril ingot—and then placed her gun against its head, pulling the trigger.
”…Killed it with a smile.”
”Well, Trolls aren’t cute.”
”That’s the problem!?”
Torakuma looked shocked, but Girl was harsh when necessary. Beneath it, she was kind, empathetic, but cross a line, and she crushed her enemies like that Troll or a Goblin.
”So why are we after these lower floors?”
”For Mithril. On the 22nd floor, there’s always a vein for mining. That’s the goal.”
”Planning a new weapon?”
”No, I’ll make it myself. I’m a Crafter.”
”…With that skill?”
”Actually, that’s my main job. All our equipment I made myself.”
”…You’re not secretly a god, are you?”
”Nope, just human.”
Torakuma seemed unconvinced, but I wasn’t exaggerating.
”Hey! Got the Mithril!”
”Good. Keep going.”
”Yes!”
Torakuma muttered something about us being alike, but I ignored it.
We continued charming Trolls and stealing, earning Mithril steadily. Chests sometimes gave Mithril Ingots or rare Mithril Silver Thread. The effort was paying off.
Then, I got overconfident.
A lavish chest appeared. Appraisal revealed it was a Mimic.
”Don’t open it—it’s a Mimic.”
”Open sesame!”
”Ah!”
Torakuma, eager as ever, opened it despite my warning.
”Nothing’s…?”
”Watch out!”
I grabbed Torakuma and leapt back just as a spiked club slammed where she had been. A massive Troll Champ loomed above—hairy, armored, with a grotesque face.
”What the hell? When did this thing appear!?”
”The chest’s trap summoned it. And of all monsters, it’s one from much later floors!”
I used Appraisal:
Humanoid Monster – Troll Champ
HP 250/250
Mana 30/30
Skill Power 100/100
Physical Attack 50+30
Physical Defense 40+20
Magic Attack 12
Magic Defense 20+20
Speed 20
Movement 3
Special Ability: Regeneration, Stamina Recovery
Equipment: Mithril Mace, Mithril Light Armor
Impossible. Girl and I couldn’t deal proper damage.
”Retreat! We can’t win!”
Girl immediately reacted, firing three shots to the head while moving, dazzling the Troll Champ. The hits scraped its skin, but barely hurt. I placed Torakuma on the ground and readied my Warhammer, hoping to hit its side during its swing to create an opening.
”…Is that hairy hippo strong?”
”At least strong enough that we can’t beat it right now.”
I answered Torakuma, keeping my eyes on the Troll Champ. It sneered—or maybe imagined satisfying its beastly desires with Girl and Torakuma’s beauty.
”…Is it my fault this big hairy hippo appeared?”
”You opened the chest, but I couldn’t stop it either. Responsibility is shared by the party.”
As I said so, Girl’s attacks bounced harmlessly off as the Champ swung its mace, flaunting its strength. Even though it foolishly made the weapon from Mithril—one of the lightest Magic Metals—just smashing a hard object that fast carried immense destructive power.
”Final question… is that thing stronger than me?”
”I haven’t seen Torakuma’s full strength, so I can’t say for sure…”
The question triggered a memory of my first meeting with Torakuma. Even facing the aura she radiated, I’d felt her presence could rival a Demon Lord.
”No, I don’t think so. The despair you felt before was far stronger than this.”
I said it without bias, no exaggeration.
”Is that so… heh heh.”
”Sorry, I’m not exactly at ease.”
Girl kept firing, but the Champ didn’t flinch. I focused on evasion—weapon accuracy aside, my speed gave me the edge. That should be enough to defend.
”I called it here, so it’s my responsibility. Let me handle this,” Torakuma said, stepping forward. The sudden move caught me off guard.
”Hey! Don’t go forward…!”
Before I could stop her, the Champ swung its mace. The attack aimed to intimidate, break morale. It bore down on Torakuma without mercy. I lunged, but it wasn’t fast enough.
”Torakuma!!”
My shout carried agony.
”Rest assured, my lord,” Torakuma’s voice was calm, unshakable.
She moved with grace, no wasted motion, and in an instant, she severed the Champ’s arm at the elbow—so fast no shadow was cast.
”No way…”
I knew she was strong, but this was beyond anything I’d imagined. Torakuma—the Torakuma Douji—descendant of a noble family, once served among the Four Heavenly Kings under the strongest demon. Her bloodline explained her prowess; it wasn’t strange she matched her ancestors.
”What’s wrong? Stop staring at that ugly face and face reality,” she said, standing with her unsheathed katana. Not a drop of blood on the blade. The Champ had swung its mace, but now the arm that wielded it was gone. It took ten seconds before it realized, letting out a scream of shock. How could she perform such a feat?
”I don’t relish picking on the weak, but when those I favor are threatened, I cannot remain silent. I called you here—my fault—but I must ask you to die.”
Three silver lines flashed; in the next moment, the Champ’s remaining arm and legs were severed. Torakuma raised her katana high and brought it down quietly, severing the Champ’s neck, then calmly wiped the blade. Overwhelming. I’d seen her cry when teased before, but now… her strength was absolute.
”Heh, how’s that, my lord? I can hold my own, can’t I?”
She turned with a triumphant grin. The contrast to her previous demeanor left me breathless. I sighed and strolled up, flicking her forehead playfully.
”Hey!? What are you doing!?”
”You stepped forward suddenly and made me worry. You’re fine, but that’s that.”
Torakuma pouted, frowning at me, and I ruffled her hair. Her surprised expression made me chuckle.
”And thanks for keeping us safe,” I said. She froze, red-faced, fumbling as realization sank in.
”W-What? It’s natural for me to handle the consequences since I summoned it, and you and your companion are my favorites, and we’re in a party together, and if our positions were reversed, you’d do the same, so technically there’s no need to thank me, or—”
She rattled off a mile a minute. Why so flustered?
”Good… everyone’s safe. Torra-chan, you were really strong, huh?”
”Torra-chan!? Well… yes. I was only observing at first, since this is a two-person exploration. Please forgive me.”
”It’s fine. I know you’re kind, and I know you didn’t act with malice.”
”Really? That’s… good.”
She must have feared I’d resent her hiding her strength.
”Anyway, I collected the Mithril equipment from the Troll Champ’s corpse,” I added. Girl never missed a detail.
After that, no issues arose. We reached the stairs. Checking skills, I saw Crafting III and Appraisal III had maxed out, so I ranked up. Girl had reached Sex Sorcery III—her growth was insane. Torakuma was still shocked beside her.
We finally arrived at the 22nd floor, where mining would be our main task. I told Girl, and she nodded confidently. She led the search, collecting Mithril from Trolls with her usual Charm-Steal-shoot combo. Torakuma watched without expression, having grown used to the routine.
We reached the first vein.
”Nice. This is my part!”
I grabbed my pickaxe from the inventory and struck the vein. Crafting included mining effects, allowing me to mine at one rank below Crafting. Normally, mining skill affected yield and rarity, but combining Crafting and Appraisal let me extract high-tier resources. A clever trick only taught to select Crafter veterans like the City Mayor.
I gathered a huge amount of Mithril ore and sought the next vein. Random generation meant only one could appear, but one always spawned, making it worth the effort.
We mined three veins in total, yielding plenty of Mithril and some iron ore. Appraisal let me target Mithril precisely—excellent results.
”All right, mission accomplished. Time to head back.”
”Roger!”
”Yeah, let’s return to the surface!”
Girl and Torakuma looked refreshed. Female explorers bore far greater mental strain than males, constantly being seen through a sexualized lens, so it made sense.
”Grab on. I’ll use the Teleportation Crystal.”
”Teleportation Crystal?”
”It’s my custom item to escape the dungeon. One leap to the exit—super convenient.”
”Really!? I heard explorers have magic devices to return.”
”That’s only for academy graduates. We’re still students.”
”Students?”
”Yes, students.”
”Seriously? Students giving off a veteran-couple vibe?”
Girl blushed bright red at Torakuma’s comment. She always reacted to couple jokes.
”Hold tight. I’m masking it with a personal Spell Formula, so no one gets left behind.”
”Don’t say terrifying things…”
Girl held my free hand, Torakuma gripped the crystal with both hands. …Girl’s expression was intense.
”All right, teleportation!”
And so, we returned from the dungeon.
—
That wraps up the tutorial exploration section. To everyone who always points out typos—thank you so much. Even when I proofread myself, they never fully disappear… orz
—
First appearance: I had planned to have this oni girl fight, but somehow she ended up joining the party as a ditzy character. I wonder why?
Notes:
• Torakuma – Sturdy, serious-looking woman; skilled fighter and tactician; reliable ally guiding the protagonist.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply