Chapter 46

The monster, having lost its head, fell backward and shook the ground.

The body of the dungeon's master, which had fallen, was gushing blood from the cut but did not move at all.

After confirming that it was completely over, Tōr took a deep breath to steady himself.

Behind him, the two people who had been watching cheered loudly.

"Tōr-chan, you were so cool! Yeah, it was amazing. You took it down in no time!"

"Tō-chan, you did it! Mū, I'm impressed!"

Tōr turned his head slightly over his shoulder and lifted his chin a little to acknowledge the two who were approaching.

Then he returned his gaze to the back of the square.

The black spring that had been there had completely disappeared.

It seemed that the story was true: when the master of the dungeon was defeated, the miasma hole would immediately retreat.

The place where the hole had been was now covered by something like a stone lid.

Avoiding the dead body of the hobgoblin chief lying on the ground, Tōr cautiously approached the spot where the hole had been.

There was no suspicious presence around.

Tōr bent down and reached out to touch the stone lid.

Instantly, a cold sensation from the stone, along with something that slipped into his fingertips, was transmitted to him.

It disappeared in an instant.

Relieved that it was not an unpleasant sensation, Tōr reviewed his skill tree.

As expected, a small bulge had emerged from the middle of the trunk.

<Recovery Boost>—Heals injuries and status ailments faster.

Activation: Automatic / Effect: Small / Range: Self

It seemed that he had been granted a trunk fruit characteristic as a reward for successfully conquering the dungeon.

However, it didn't seem to be a particularly useful characteristic for Tōr, who already had <Restoration>.

It might be handy for treating minor injuries that weren't worth the effort to heal.

But since the effect was small, it probably wouldn't be very effective.

"Okay, Mū, try touching it too."

A child was clinging to Tōr's back, who had somehow squatted down.

Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck from behind, she giggled happily.

"Tōr-chan, carry me!"

"Later. Look, stretch out your hand. Ah, Sora, you don't need to cut off that ear."

"Really?"

Sora, who had been holding a knife to the monster's head on the ground, looked up at Tōr's words.

"The proof of defeat is the disappearance of this cave."

"That's true. It's big and a bit in the way, so it's a relief. Oh, there were no magic stones. The master didn't have any magic stones."

While the two were talking, Mū, still clinging to Tōr's back, stretched out her hand to touch the stone lid.

In a slightly forward-leaning posture, the child clung to Tōr to avoid falling.

"I touched it, Tōr-chan."

"Um, how was it?"

A small fruit had also grown on Mū's purple trunk.

<Strength Boost>—Enhances and increases strength.

Activation: Automatic / Effect: Small / Range: Self

"Wow, Mū's characteristic is pretty good."

"Really? Mū got stronger again?"

Being an adventurer isn't just about battling monsters.

Since they spend more time walking around, increased leg strength is a welcome benefit.

However, since Mū's original strength was not much, there wasn't much room for improvement.

"Sorry for the wait. Should I touch this?"

Sora, who had come over, also bent down and pressed her palm against the stone lid.

After a slightly surprised look at the sensation that came with touching it, the girl held out her hand to Tōr with an expectant look.

The result was...

<Pain Relief>—Alleviates pain beyond the limit.

Activation: Automatic / Effect: Small / Range: Self

"Hmm, how is it? It means you can handle pain better?"

"This is definitely one of the most common characteristics here. Well, it's a good one for frontliners."

It is said that adventurers can move around without fainting even with serious injuries because they often receive this characteristic in the first dungeon they challenge.

However, it only works on pain above a certain threshold and has no effect on minor scratches.

"It seems like a characteristic that's not very relevant."

"Mū's was perfect!"

"That's true. In smaller dungeons, it's inevitable."

The trunk fruit characteristics obtained from conquering a dungeon are generally divided into frontliner-oriented ones related to physical strength and backliner-oriented ones related to magic.

The ease of obtaining them also varies depending on whether the adventurer has magic or not.

However, this is true for larger and more difficult dungeons.

In smaller dungeons like this, the types of characteristics that can be obtained are limited to about the number of fingers on one hand.

So, they are assigned somewhat randomly.

In fact, there was one backliner-oriented characteristic in the goblin cave, but unfortunately, none of them got it.

Sora, who had heard Tōr's explanation, looked around with a slightly disappointed face.

The spacious area contained only the three of them, the dead body of the monster, and the stone lid, making it a rather bleak scene.

The girl frankly expressed her thoughts on the rather anticlimactic ending.

"Wait, is this it? It feels a bit anticlimactic."

"Having the walls blink or the ceiling suddenly collapse would be a problem. Oh, right. Can you check if my characteristic can be <Reversed>?"

"Sure. Hmm, it might be hard to get a good effect."

"Apparently, things not recognized as attacks can't be reversed. Alright, let's head back."

"Tōr-chan, carry me!"

After the master of the dungeon is defeated and the miasma hole disappears, the dungeon begins to collapse and sink into the ground within 30 to 60 minutes.

While the source of the miasma is cut off, preventing the re-emergence of monsters, there is still a risk of encountering already spawned monsters.

It is a rule to evacuate quickly after defeating the master.

While Tōr straightened up, his neck was tightly squeezed by the child clinging to his back.

The increased strength had unexpectedly caused some inconvenience.

As Tōr was about to leave, he casually stepped on the stone lid and stopped.

Something unexpected had caught his eye.

It was the history of the stone lid.

Flat stones that had risen from the edge of the hole formed a circle and turned into a lid, a continuous image that appeared in Tōr's mind.

This scene sparked pure curiosity in Tōr.

He thought idly that he wanted to see what the bottom of the hole looked like after the miasma had cleared and, still carrying the child, bent down again to touch the stone slab.

—<Restoration>.

"Wha—!"

Tōr's eyes widened at the ominous something that suddenly overflowed from the hole.

He had only intended to move the stone lid, but it seemed that there was still miasma beneath it.

Tōr, who had hastily jumped back with Mū in his arms, heard Sora, who had already headed for the exit, gasp.

He quickly turned his gaze in that direction.

There, Tōr's eyes widened again.

What he saw was the hobgoblin chief, who had lost its head, slowly getting up.