Chapter 92

"Be careful, everyone. -- Start!!"

With Kagemitsu's call, the participating adventurers stepped into Kamikotan all at once.

Kamikotan is known as "the place where gods dwell." Upon entering the gorge carved by a river eroding the earth, many would agree with its name. Indeed, one might even believe that gods truly reside here.

In such a serene and mysterious gorge, Haruki sprinted with all his might, tearing through the wind resistance, pushing forward relentlessly.

-- His body feels so light!

Haruki felt as if his body had become incredibly light, as if the weights he had been carrying on his limbs had been removed.

This must be Haruki's true physical performance after defeating a rare deer and leveling up. The balance was likely achieved after soaking in the waters of Kamui. He no longer felt any of the pain he had experienced before.

However, this alone does not mean he is fully recovered. But at least, it is certain that he is on the path to recovery.

Now, he can delve into the dungeon without any worries. He can go on adventures again!!

"Ha... ha ha!!"

Unconsciously, a laugh escaped Haruki's lips. His chest felt warm. As if to release that warmth, Haruki sprinted into the forest of Kamikotan with all his might.

Running through the forest, Haruki expanded his detection skills to the fullest, just as he would during a dungeon exploration.

The wind danced, the leaves of the trees swayed, the dappled sunlight moved on the ground. Small animals, insects, the breathing of the forest.

Everything merged into a single entity, shaking Haruki's brain.

"..."

Expanding detection, which was easy in the dungeon, was quite taxing on the ground. Compared to the dungeon, the ground had too many life reactions.

Still, Haruki gritted his teeth and continued to expand his detection. The sounds of many lives resonated in his brain like a roar.

Amidst that roar, a noise. A slight sense of unease. Haruki's lips curled into a smile.

Immediately, Haruki kicked the ground with all his might.

The grass was knee-high. The footing was poor. He kicked a tree trunk and leaped, landing.

In front of Haruki, about 10 meters away, he spotted a rabbit monster.

-- Kill Rabbit!

He immediately drew his short sword and used a teleportation technique.

Before the Kill Rabbit could notice, Haruki swiftly took its life.

"Alright, first one!"

Haruki made a small victory pose.

The monsters he defeated had to be transported to the old Kamikotan station for points to be added.

Whether to transport them one by one or all at once is left to the adventurer's judgment. Transporting them one by one increases the distance traveled, while carrying a large number of monsters reduces movement speed due to their weight. Each choice has its pros and cons.

Incidentally, the use of magic bags is prohibited. This is because few people own magic bags, and having one would give an unfair advantage.

Haruki threw the one he had defeated into his bag. This amount would not significantly reduce his movement speed.

He glanced around to confirm his current position. Haruki had descended to the bottom of the gorge. In front of him was a river, flowing majestically towards the Sea of Japan like a giant creature.

Steam rose from part of the river. This was the hot spring water from the "Kamikotan" dungeon flowing into the river.

"Now, what should I do?"

Should he climb back up or explore further down?

While Haruki was pondering, a noise. At the same time, the surface of the river exploded.

Reacting immediately, Haruki rolled on the ground to evade.

In front of him, a silver object bounced and skipped. This is...

Raising his body, Haruki carefully observed the object that had flown in.

"-- It's a salmon!!"

He was overcome with joy.

The monster that appeared was a salmon. A salmon monster.

It was about 30 centimeters long, and as a monster, it had limbs. The limbs were slender and pale, very beautiful. If you only looked at this part, no one would think it was a salmon or a monster.

Approaching the salmon, which was jumping out of the river, Haruki's eyes were filled with flames.

Just as he was about to draw his dissection knife,

"Wait, please!"

"Did it speak!?"

That means it's a demihuman. Haruki's level of caution slightly increased.

The salmon, which had been jumping, finally put its feet on the ground. Stepping on the ground, it trembled but looked straight at Haruki with its round eyes.

"I am the princess of the first salmon, Chep. I am a mermaid and a spirit!"

"..."

There are too many points to nitpick.

... Now, where should I start?

Haruki pressed his temples hard to suppress the headache.

Firstly, the only fish that can call itself a princess is a trout, not this one.

The term "first salmon princess" is meaningless. It's more like a merman, and the spirit claim just makes it more confusing.

And most importantly, this self-proclaimed mermaid.

Every time it took a breath, its chest moved.

It's breathing with lungs, not gills.

Putting that aside,

"... A salmon, huh."

Haruki approached the salmon with a troubled expression.

Grilled in foil, stone pot soup, fried, grilled... And since it's a "princess" -- there's roe too!

"..."

"Ah! You beast!"

Salmon moe is too niche. There might be fishermen who get excited seeing salmon, but not in a sexual way.

Actually, I wish you would stop adding more points to nitpick. Haruki's headache is getting worse.

"Alright. The reason you're looking at me with those beastly eyes is because of my overwhelming charm. If you want to mess with this body, I'll let you!"

"No, I don't want to..."

"But!! Before I fall into your clutches, I must do something!"

"..."

What kind of future are you imagining in your head? Haruki tilted his head at Chep's words, which were accompanied by tears.

"Something you have to do?"

"Yes. As the princess of the first salmon, I must go to the Kamui Rock."

Kamui Rock. Hearing this, Haruki looked up.

The rock mountain above the large bulge in the Kamikotan river is commonly known as "Kamui Rock."

(What could be there...)

Chep, although a talking salmon, is a monster. Haruki couldn't understand why a monster would need to go to Kamui Rock.

However, as an adventurer, Haruki was there to clean up after the Second Stampede. In other words, monsters must be defeated.

"Dissect it."

"No!!"

When Haruki picked up his dissection knife, Chep retreated, hugging her body as if she were a woman about to be assaulted.

"At least, at least until I get to Kamui Rock..."

Chep made a dramatic pose. Seeing this, Haruki sighed deeply and put his knife back in its sheath.

His motivation was completely lost. Even if he dissected it, he wouldn't want to eat it.

Besides, with every second, the path to increasing his presence was getting further away! He had no time to deal with this fish.

He needed to move quickly and defeat monsters to get featured on Kagemitsu's blog...

"Glance"

"..."

"!"

A blue vein appeared on Haruki's temple.

For a fish to mimic crying...

Maybe I should dissect it after all.

Chep, sensing Haruki's murderous intent, trembled. Ignoring this, Haruki grabbed Chep by the arm.

* * *

At the same time, two adventurers active in the middle layer were advancing through the forest with momentum.

For them, being mentioned on a top-ranked adventurer's blog was no small matter. If things went well, they might catch the eye of a company and start a relationship with a major corporation like Ichibishi, Kawamae, or Banma!

The rewards were small, but they couldn't lack enthusiasm.

"Hey, I hear something!"

"Got it!"

One drew a greatsword, the other readied a bow.

Holding their breath, silence immediately enveloped them.

Kamikotan is in the middle of nature. The perfect silence was almost painful to their ears, accustomed to the city.

"......?"

Eventually, the men realized that perfect silence was odd, even in nature.

Usually, various creatures exist in the forest. Their sounds, their breaths, were not heard.

(Why?)

Even the cicadas, which were noisy at the start point, were not heard. This was unnatural.

Cold sweat trickled down their backs.

Something was wrong.

When their intuition sensed something amiss,

From somewhere, a small sound of footsteps on grass could be heard.

A monster?

The two men tightened their expressions.

The sound gradually increased in speed.

Crunch... Crunch...

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, Crunch.

CrunchCrunchCrunchCrunchCrunchCrunch!!

"~"

The man with the bow couldn't take it anymore and stood up, drawing an arrow. There, he froze, as if his soul had left his body.

His pale face, unburned by the long dungeon life, quickly turned blue.

"... What's wrong?"

The man with the greatsword called out and stood up. However, there was no response.

"Hey. Hey!"

Shaking the man with the bow with all his might, he finally showed a reaction. Dropping the arrow, he gasped and pointed with a trembling finger.

Could he be scared of a monster?

Internally trembling at the man with the bow's strange behavior, the man with the greatsword encouraged himself and turned around.

If there was a monster in front, he would cut it down immediately!

His resolve, along with his blood, instantly dissipated.

Countless legs crawling on the ground. Plants moving unnaturally. In the center, a white face floating.

The mask-like face turned 'Gii, Gii, Gii' towards them.

-- I found you.

"AAHHHHHH!!"

The men screamed and ran with all their might, sprinting through the forest towards the start point.

No good.

That thing is no good.

Absolutely, they must not fight it. Their instincts strongly warned them.

"Didn't you say the monsters that come out are from the upper layer?!"

"That thing is dangerous, that thing is dangerous, that thing is dangerous!!"

Lower layer or deep layer.

What kind of monster is walking around the forest like this!

The men desperately returned to the start point and immediately petitioned the top-ranked adventurer Kagemitsu, who was waiting there.

Unfortunately, Kagemitsu did not take their story as the truth.

"It really looked scary!"

"That thing is definitely a very dangerous monster from the lower or deep layer!"

"... Then why are you still alive?"

At Kagemitsu's question, the men tilted their heads in confusion. If that thing was from the lower or deep layer, they should have been killed the moment they turned their backs.

Why did they survive?

No one could answer that question.

A girl character appears! And she has the princess attribute! Yay!

While Haruki was hunting with all his might, Estarea was also conducting an intense hunt (meaningful).

* White face = The mask given by Masatsugu.

* The high-detection-skilled adventurers around were becoming Estarea's prey.