Chapter 98

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

After soaking in the hot spring and thoroughly washing away the sweat and tears of that day, Seiki immediately slipped into bed, wetting his pillow as he fell asleep.

Unpleasant memories are best forgotten in sleep.

The next morning, Seiki woke up, changed his mindset, and began preparations.

Since he had come all the way to Asahikawa,

he planned to spend the next few days aiming for the deepest part of the Asahikawa Dungeon.

After finishing the preparations, they gathered in front of the hotel.

Horen and Esta were as usual, but Rea seemed somewhat exhausted.

In stark contrast, Chep was enthusiastically talking to Rea.

What had happened was easy to guess.

"I am the attendant of the queen! Please put me in the same bag!" Seiki pushed the noisy Chep into Horen's robe pocket.

(When did he become Rea's attendant...?)

When put in the pocket, Horen looked at Seiki with an expression he had never seen before.

Her face clearly showed, "Why me!?"

But Seiki was already overwhelmed by Rea and Esta.

(...I'm sorry.)

While inwardly apologizing, Seiki pretended not to notice Horen's pleading expression.

Seiki held his IC card up to the entrance of the Kamigokutan Dungeon and descended to the first floor.

There were already several adventurers on the first floor of the dungeon.

They were probably the ones who had participated in the recent monster hunting competition.

These energetic adventurers, unsatisfied with just participating in the Aerial event, were now using the post-event celebration to hunt.

"Ordinary monsters! There are ordinary monsters here!"

"They're not scary. Monsters aren't scary!!"

"That's good. I can still fight..."

Among them was a group fighting monsters as if possessed by evil spirits.

Some had wild eyes, others were inexplicably crying, creating a rather intimidating atmosphere.

To Seiki, they were not weak. However, they seemed to be fixated on the first-floor monsters, which should not provide much challenge.

It was as if they were doing combat rehabilitation.

What had happened to them?

It was unclear, but Seiki decided it would be best not to approach them and changed his path.

Even when changing routes, there were still adventurers around.

Seiki wanted to take out his Skill Board and do some testing, but he couldn't with people nearby.

He would have to wait until he went deeper into the dungeon where there were fewer people before using the Skill Board.

Not only the Skill Board, but Horen's magic as well.

"Is Horen okay?"

"Yes."

Horen nodded with a wry smile, understanding that Seiki was asking about her magic.

"I managed to use the attack method I learned from Aozora, but I'm still not used to it. I'd like to practice it more... Is that okay?"

"Of course."

Seiki nodded vigorously.

He thought that if he infused magic into his staff and attacked, the magic's power would be transferred to the staff.

With this idea, Seiki had whispered to Horen, "How about attacking with a magic-infused staff?"

It was a spontaneous suggestion, but she seemed to have made it work.

Seiki immediately expanded his detection to search for monsters.

A monster quickly appeared within his detection range.

"Horen, please take care of the monster ahead."

"Yes!"

Nodding, Horen floated past Seiki with a light step.

A monster appeared from around the corner.

It was a large rat, about 30 centimeters long.

For a first-floor monster, it had average strength.

It was a beginner-friendly monster.

Horen approached the monster casually.

She raised her staff.

The atmosphere around the staff changed slightly.

Horen had infused it with magic.

In front of Seiki, Horen lightly swung her staff.

The tip of the staff made contact with the rat's body.

Instantly,

--PAAAN!!

The rat was literally shattered by Horen's attack.

"...Wow."

Seiki was momentarily stunned by the sheer power.

He hadn't expected a first-floor monster to be shattered.

Horen's attack was far more powerful than Seiki had imagined.

"You should try to control the power a bit more."

"...Y-Yes... *hic*"

At Seiki's comment, Horen covered her mouth and looked down.

At this power level, it would be impossible to extract materials from the monsters.

While it might be easy to defeat them, without materials, an adventurer couldn't survive.

When customizing equipment, it might be necessary to gather materials from lower floors.

If Horen's current state were to result in too much power, it could prevent her from gathering materials.

It was important to train to control her attack power.

As they moved forward, Seiki watched Horen practice her staff attacks.

When they descended to the second floor, the number of adventurers had thinned.

By the third floor, there were no more adventurers.

It was probably safe to take out the Skill Board now.

Seiki kept his detection at maximum in case any adventurers approached, then took out the Skill Board.

<Defeated the Messenger of the Demon God>

<Skill Points increased by 3>

<Completed Quest: Defeat the Messenger of the Demon God>

<Condition met: Apply for Demo Graph function release—Approved>

<Tree Enhancement unlocked>

Seiki's heart raced as he read the log.

He had thought it might be a dungeon-related event, but he hadn't expected a real event to occur.

Perhaps there were other dungeon-related <Quests> happening in various places?

What other <Quests> might there be!

Seiki's body tingled with excitement.

If this information were known, the analysis team on the 'Narou' bulletin board would be ecstatic.

Seiki wanted to share this information with them to help analyze the dungeon.

However, he couldn't disclose it.

First, he couldn't explain how he knew.

If he tried to explain, he would have to talk about the Skill Board, which was impossible to make public.

Next, the Messenger of the Demon God.

The black fishman, as Chep had said, was indeed related to the demon god.

Seiki couldn't believe he had the power to defeat a messenger sent by a god.

So, he thought it was more like a title or profession, similar to "adventurer." This made the current results more plausible.

"What's wrong? Aozora, you look pale."

"Huh? No, it's nothing."

Seiki turned away from Horen, who was looking at him with concern.

If he said, "I defeated a Messenger of the Demon God," he might be considered strange.

"Actually, a new function was unlocked on the Skill Board."

"Wow! What function!?"

"Um..."

Horen looked at him with sparkling eyes.

While receiving her gaze, Seiki swiped the screen.

Aozora Seiki (27) Gender: Male

Skill Points: 3 → 6

Evaluation: Hidden Imitation Sword King

Blessing: Defeat God <Mejed>

- Vitality <->

├ Stamina 3

└ Natural Recovery 2

- Strength <->

└ Strength 5

- Agility <->

├ Burst 5

└ Dexterity 5

- Technique <->

├ Weapon Proficiency

│ ├ One-handed Sword 5

│ ├ Throwing 2

│ └ Light Armor 5

├ Kicking 2

├ Stealth 3 → 4

└ Imitation 3

- Intuition <->

└ Detection 5

└ Weakness Perception MAX

- Special

├ Growth Acceleration MAX

├ Tame 2

└ Blessing MAX

"Ooooh!!"

The Stealth skill is growing!!

Seiki clutched his head and screamed.

Was it during that battle?!

Ah!! I'm such an idiot!!

He pounded the ground, cursing his past self.

Even if it was to protect his life, it was a heavy price to pay.

"K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K