Chapter 23, The Difference in Levels is Too Much!

Translator: Lizz

 

Thanks to Masato’s Detection skill, they were able to notice things in advance. On top of that, he had understood the surrounding map as if it were in the palm of his hand, eliminating as much wasted time as possible in searching for monsters. Although the open view had made ambushes impossible, Seiji had enough leeway to launch preemptive strikes with his bow, and sometimes they defeated the orcs before they even got close.

 

The exploration went smoothly. They grasped each other’s abilities well enough, and sooner than expected, their warm-up on the 3rd floor ended.

 

It hadn’t been bad to explore here, but since attacking one-sidedly didn’t help confirm teamwork and didn’t serve as practice for boss battles, Masato and the others, wanting to absorb magic more efficiently and enhance their bodies faster, decided to head to the 4th floor.

 

The monsters that appeared were orcs and goblins, sometimes green wolves. They came in groups. They launched varied attacks, and even explorers who had gained confidence fighting orcs often ended up fleeing or dying in the dungeon if they let their guard down. It was a floor where the death rate rose sharply, a major hurdle for explorers.

 

The stone spiral staircase was wide but had no railing, so if they missed a step, they would easily fall. Everyone moved along the wall side as they headed to the 4th floor.

 

The 1st and 2nd floors had been forest, the 3rd had been grassland, and the 4th was ruins.

 

The entire floor was the remains of a giant city, with only parts of brick buildings left. Broken cobblestones and fountains with stopped water, even cracked barrels and abandoned wagons – there were many traces suggesting that people had once lived here.

 

A long time had passed since the dungeon appeared, but because of the monster threat, research into such mysteries hadn’t progressed much. Why the environment changed so drastically with each floor hadn’t even been explained, and only time had passed.

 

“Wasn’t this a city where monsters lived!?”

 

From behind Masato, who walked at the front, someone said.

 

There hadn’t been any way to confirm whether that was true or not, but it was a fact that many monsters acted in groups here, walking the streets as if patrolling. They even behaved as though they built crude houses and lived in them. As if they were clinging to their ruined homeland like ghosts of a fallen nation.

 

It hadn’t been strange that rumors spread about this being a city where monsters had lived.

 

“Some say people originally lived here, but monsters destroyed them.”

 

“Wow! Rika-san, you’re so knowledgeable!”

 

“N-no, not at all. I just happened to know.”

 

As they proceeded deeper into the floor, the tense atmosphere returned, but still, there remained a mood like a school club activity. Since some high schools had dungeon exploration clubs, even if someone said ‘This is club activity’, it wouldn’t have felt out of place to them.

 

Masato, feeling it would be bad to continue in this state, turned back and gave a warning.

 

“There are many places to hide here. Please don’t drop your vigilance of the surroundings.”

 

Since it was their first time visiting this place, he couldn’t help but say it.

 

Even if it soured their relationship, so be it.

 

He had vaguely expected even that.

 

“””We’re sorry!”””

 

But such resolve hadn’t been necessary. All three, except Seiji, apologized at once.

 

After that, they immediately shifted their focus, turning their eyes toward shadows and hiding spots.

 

The girls understood it was natural to be warned. They realized they had let their guard down.

 

Masato felt like they had turned around at last, and with relief he faced forward.

 

He took a step and then froze. Four red markers suddenly appeared on the radar in his mind. They were close. In front of Masato. From behind a pillar ahead, in the direction they had been heading, orcs rose up from the ground.

 

Looking down, he saw stairs. They had come up from underground.

 

Unlike the orcs they had encountered on the 3rd floor, these showed no openings at all. Each carried a weapon like a massive cleaver with a blade length of over two meters. Though rusted and dull, they looked well-used and struck fear into anyone who saw them.

 

It was better to think of them as a different breed altogether. The situation was far too dangerous to leave to someone else.

 

“Orcs! I’ll fight!”

 

Masato made his decision instantly, filling his body with magic power.

 

— Physical Enhancement.

 

— Dagger Technique.

 

With the skills activated, his strength, endurance, stamina, everything rose dramatically. His knife was imbued with magic, assisting his movements to perfection.

 

He dashed forward, shattering the stone pavement. In a second, he stood before the leading orc. He thrust his knife into its chest. Its eyes widened, and then its strength drained from its knees as it collapsed.

 

But the orcs didn’t cared about the death of their comrades. Two blades came down toward Masato, who had stopped moving.

 

He deflected them both with the knives in his hands. A sharp metallic clang rang out, and the orcs’ massive cleavers struck the ground.

 

He hadn’t missed that opening.

 

— He threw the knives.

 

The knives, guided by trajectory correction, pierced through the foreheads of two orcs and embedded themselves in the wall behind.

 

One remained. Its fighting spirit hadn’t waned, and it charged boldly.

 

The cleaver swung in a wide arc.

 

“No!!”

 

Rika’s voice came out like a scream. From behind, it looked as though Masato had been struck. In reality, he had simply stepped into the orc’s guard, grabbed the arm holding the cleaver, and stopped its movement.

 

“I’ll take this.”

 

He twisted the orc’s arm, wrenched the cleaver away with brute force, and raised it high. Then he swung it down with enough momentum to split the ground.

 

The blade cleaved the orc in two. Blood spurted as it collapsed and vanished.

 

The gruesome scene of four corpses lying around was completely gone.

 

When Masato turned back, the other four stood frozen in place.

 

“……”

 

Even though the battle had ended, no words came. Just as he moved to retrieve his knives, Reika muttered faintly.

 

“A-amazing!!”

 

To Masato, her voice sounded surprisingly passionate. She and her younger sister Hinata rushed over to him.

 

“I’ve heard that even a single level difference was huge, but to overcome an orc’s power… I hadn’t thought it would be this much.”

 

“It was like something out of an anime hero!!”

 

Their evaluation of him had skyrocketed after the battle. Believing this was what a ‘real explorer’ looked like, they approached him with shining eyes. Overwhelmed by the energy of the two high school girls, Masato faltered.

 

He looked to Rika for help.

 

“When a battle ends, that’s when we need to be most cautious. Let’s check together if there are any monsters nearby.”

 

Understanding his intent, Rika spoke to the twin sisters.

 

Their conversation had grown casual during the exploration, reflecting their closeness.

 

“Yes, let’s go.”

 

“O-kay!”

 

Freed from the girls, Masato let out a deep breath, pulled the knives from the wall, checked that the blades hadn’t chipped, and sheathed them.

 

Finally calm, he recalled what had just happened.

 

The orcs had come out from the stairs, and only then had the markers shown up. That meant his Detection skill couldn’t detect monsters underground. He had discovered its limitation.

 

Skills weren’t omnipotent. He had been reminded of that obvious truth, and reflected that he needed more practice in real combat to grow accustomed to using them.

 

He wanted to give it more thought, but a persistent gaze distracted him.

 

“You’ve been staring this whole time. Do you need something?”

 

He addressed Seiji, who had stood frozen, watching him with a face full of astonishment.