Chapter 84

PD 20th Floor (Refer to Kyoto D's data).

There, the four of us and Kuro were present.

In front of us was a large door.

Beyond it lay the room known as the Boss's Chamber.

"Check your HP and MP. No problems, right?"

"I'm fine."

"Yep, no problem."

"We can go."

"Waf!"

Alright, Kuro, you're ready too.

Though our conversation lacked a sense of tension, it didn't mean we were careless.

We opened the door.

Out came a very large white dog.

It was a Dog God.

The first to act was Hime.

"Clone!"

Four clones of Hime appeared.

Due to increased proficiency, she managed to create up to four clones.

Their HP was only 1/20th of the original, making them quite weak, so they would be easily wiped out by area-of-effect attacks.

However, they were quite effective against the Dog God.

"「「「「「Dagger Technique, Phantom Thrust」」」」」

Phantom Thrust—a skill that splits the user into three and attacks simultaneously with daggers.

It was a dagger skill Hime had mastered, not a skill orb, but a technique she learned through leveling up.

What would happen if she used it with her clones?

The number of Himes increased to fifteen.

The small cuts from daggers wouldn't be fatal to a large monster like the Dog God.

Still, fifteen dagger attacks would surely take their toll.

As the saying goes, "A mountain is formed by the accumulation of dust"—though it might be a bit rude to compare Hime's attacks to dust.

"Release: Gunpowder Refinement—Release: Heatstone Bullet—"

Bullets were fired from Milk's gun, weaving through the Himes.

The bullet flew straight toward the Dog God's forehead.

"—Break!"

Upon impact, the bullet exploded.

The Dog God let out a scream.

The enraged Dog God gathered its strength.

It was preparing to attack with a roar.

If we were hit by the Dog God's roar, our bodies would freeze for one second.

One second might not seem like much, but in battle, it could mean the difference between life and death.

There was no time to cover our ears.

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

As the Dog God roared, Kuro roared directly in front of it.

The roars collided, canceling each other out.

"Divine Wind Thunder Hammer"

Ayame's wind magic attack, accompanied by lightning, tried to crush the Dog God.

Its power rivaled my Hellfire magic.

However, the Dog God didn't fall.

It was the boss of the 20th floor, after all.

Still, it was the end.

Advanced Sword Technique No. 6.

"Severing Flower"

By the time I finished saying that, it was all over.

I sheathed Kusanagi.

Blood spurted from the Dog God's face, like a bloom of fresh blood.

A large magic stone, the Dog God's fangs, and D-coins remained, automatically collected into our inventories.

"Record!?"

"47 seconds—new record!"

"Nice! Under 50 seconds!"

Well, it was a one-sided game again.

The first time we defeated the Dog God was quite tough.

My substitute bracelet broke, and especially when we received the roar, all three of Hime's clones (at the time, she could only create four) were wiped out, which was quite dangerous.

Once we realized Kuro's roar could cancel out the Dog God's, things became much easier.

Our speed in defeating it gradually increased, and now we treat it like a time trial.

But everyone has gotten stronger.

My and Hime's levels are both 84, while Ayame and Milk are both 80.

We've been rotating the growth ring and growth ribbon to level up, but for some reason, my level increases faster.

I think it's due to the experience point distribution when the party defeats a monster.

In terms of sheer destructive power, Ayame's wind magic is the strongest, but she can't always use it at full strength.

Milk's combination of potion magic and heatstone magic for gun attacks is convenient but less powerful than Ayame's.

I have a significantly higher attack value and often deal the final blow, and thanks to the shoulder replacement skill, I can take hits for my teammates.

Incidentally, Hime's level is second to mine because she uses clones to level up efficiently.

Creating four clones allows her to level up five times faster.

I might be surpassed in level eventually.

The safety margin for the 20th floor is level 95, and it's said that the boss can be defeated at level 100.

We're still far from that, but we can defeat it quite comfortably now, probably because we're a party of Awakened and Advanced Abnormal Beings.

"That's it for today. Let's go back and check everyone's stats."

Hime said that.

Come to think of it, we've been checking levels as they increase, but it's been a while since we checked stats.

About a month, I think.

We used the teleportation magic circle to return to the first floor's bedroom.

We've already paid Damp for the room until the final day today.

The four of us wrote down our stats on paper.

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Milk Makino: Level 80

Cash: 777,777D (Rank: 1018 [JPN])

HP: 852/852

MP: 560/560

Attack: 592

Defense: 580 (+10)

Skill: 592

Agility: 580

Luck: 21

Skills: Heatstone Magic, Potion Magic, Harmony, Chest Armor

Basic Gun Skills, Advanced Gun Skills, Basic Alchemy, Advanced Alchemy

Yin and Yang

――――――――――――――――――

These are Milk's stats.

She has the Gun Skills.

In this world, Milk is the only one who uses guns in dungeons.

Like how I gained Basic Sword Skills and Advanced Sword Skills through leveling up, skills seem to change based on the equipment and environment.

Incidentally, Chest Armor not only increases defense by 10 but also protects against chest damage.

Yin and Yang is a skill that reduces the effects of status ailments while increasing stats.

For example, in the battle just now, when we received the Dog God's roar, we would be immobilized for one second, but Milk could move after 0.5 seconds and her stats would increase by 30% for one minute afterward.

It's a skill suited for Milk, who has low luck and is prone to status ailments.

"Using a skill that exploits bad luck feels a bit unpleasant, doesn't it?"

"Is it? I think it's a good skill that compensates for Milk's weakness."

"Chest Armor is a dangerous skill."

Hime said, looking at Milk's chest.

Yeah, I'm a pervert, so I won't comment.

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Ayame Higashi: Level 80

Cash: 777,777D (Rank: 1017 [JPN])

HP: 839/839

MP: 1220/610 (+610)

Attack: 505

Defense: 405 (+79)

Skill: 403 (+81)

Agility: 484

Luck: 55

Skills: Wind Magic, Learning, Harmony, Seamless

Lightning Magic, Charge, Magic Fusion

――――――――――――――――――

These are Ayame's stats.

There isn't a huge difference from Milk.

An interesting skill is Seamless.

This skill adjusts the two lowest stats among Attack, Defense, Skill, and Agility to match the second-highest stat, thus compensating for weaknesses.

While it might seem like she has fewer skills, she can use seven convenient monster skills that aren't displayed in her stats, thanks to using Learning multiple times.

"Ha... Still Higashi, huh."

Every time she checks her stats, Ayame gets depressed.

When Mizuno joined Tenka Musou, Ayame pouted because she was the only one without a "no" in her name.

At that time, Mizuno secretly told her that her name would change if she married me.

At that moment, Mizuno must have realized Ayame liked me.

She has the detective-like reasoning skills.

Well, next is Hime's stats.

Tairo and Hime's stats will be in the next part.