Chapter 34

The sky was dim, with poisonous purple clouds floating in it, and on the ground, a toxic swamp of a color resembling sludge spread out. As it bubbled with a "plop plop" sound, the toxic swamp emitted a poisonous gas that corroded the body, transforming the land into a murky, miasmic world.

Due to the murky air, it was impossible to see ahead, and in this place with poor visibility, a figure was staggering and wandering. No, in the hazy miasma, the figure's body was too thin, and its height was too tall. It must have been at least three meters tall.

With each step, it creaked and swayed unsteadily.

As the murky miasma was blown away by a gust of wind, what remained after the miasma dissipated was a withered tree. No, it wasn't just a withered tree. It couldn't be just a withered tree.

Because the withered tree had split its roots into two, using them as legs to walk while leaning. A monster existed there.

On its long, thin trunk, there were holes that resembled a face, and on its withered branches, several purple butterflies with purple wings were perched, their wings folded.

It creaked as it walked, leaving footprints in the poisonous swamp. The footprints quickly filled with mud, sank, and disappeared.

The withered tree seemed to wander the swamp forever, but it suddenly stopped, as if it had noticed something, and tried to turn its face-like holes in a certain direction.

Then, it lifted its withered branches as if to confirm something.

"Foxfire!"

Suddenly, a flaming fireball shot out from the empty space and hit the withered tree, setting it ablaze.

"Kika kika kika"

To escape the burning withered tree, the butterflies perched on it flapped their wings and flew away. Creepily, their long, thin bodies split vertically, and they wriggled with a "kachi kachi" sound. Inside their split bodies, jagged teeth were visible, and a tongue-like proboscis licked their bodies.

"Whoa, that's creepy! 'Foxfire Barrage!'"

A girl appeared in the space where the fireballs were shot. She had fluffy fox ears and a tail, and wore a light "magic armor" with black and gold lines. In her hand, she held a short sword with a large ruby embedded in it.

The poisonous butterflies flapped their wings, and upon seeing the mouths that had appeared in their split bodies, her face twisted, and she shot more fireballs.

Several butterflies burned and fell to the ground, disappearing into the mud, leaving only smoke behind.

"Please step back!"

The fox girl, enveloped in the blue-white light of mana, spun in the air and moved backward. In her place, a black-haired, black-eyed girl with a black, armed leotard-like "magic armor" and a ponytail of lustrous black hair rushed forward with a sharp cry.

She leaped lightly, extended her body beautifully, and swung the sword in her hand.

"Flying Blade Slash"

She slashed the air continuously, and several black blades flew from her sword, slicing through the flying butterflies.

In an instant, the butterflies were cut and burned, leaving only the withered tree. A few surviving butterflies tried to chase the two girls, exposing the jagged teeth in their bodies and flapping their wings.

"Light Chain Bind!"

However, a chain of light flew through the air and knocked the butterflies down. As they fell into the mud, several adventurers appeared, confirmed that the butterflies could no longer fly, and nodded at each other.

Then, they turned around and called out.

"Now, it's time!"

"Oh, let's finish it!"

From the back, a young girl with beautiful gray hair that flowed down to her back appeared, still retaining a hint of childishness.

"Ha, ha, ha"

She darkened her sparkling ice-blue eyes and crushed the butterflies that were flapping their wings violently in the mud with the mace in her hand.

"Congratulations, Mihane-sama."

"Yay, I'm so happy!"

The girl, who heard the adventurers clapping and praising her, responded with a listless voice, her body enveloped in a dead-like atmosphere, and laughed.

"Great job, Tamamo. You practically won with that first surprise attack. To take down the 'Wandering Tree' so easily..."

"Yaneko-chan is amazing too! She took down most of those 'Poisonous Butterflies'!"

They high-fived and praised each other, Tamamo and Yaneko, smiling happily at their successful teamwork.

This was the dungeon "Toxic Swamp," where many monsters used poison and toxic swamps were abundant. The gray-haired girl, Takano Mihane, was trembling with her shoulders shaking at the sight of their camaraderie.

Finally unable to hold back, Mihane opened her mouth with a "Ugh" and stomped her feet, her face turning red with anger as she shouted.

"Is this a corporate golf outing? This is worse than a corporate golf outing! Let me fight normally! This is so boring! It's not fun at all!"

However, instead of shouting, she puffed her cheeks like a pufferfish in frustration.

"Um... I want to fight normally too. For these nine months, it's been mostly like this, and I haven't had proper training."

Mihane, being a good and quiet girl, only shouted "Ugh" in her heart.

"That's just how it is, Mihane-sama. You are a healer, and you need to be protected by everyone."

"That's right, leave it to Tamamo and the others! En-chan, conserve your mana and be ready for emergencies!"

Yaneko, noticing Mihane's frustration, tried to calm her with a gentle smile. Tamamo puffed out her chest and gave a thumbs-up.

"I can fight too. I'm not getting any stronger at all!"

"Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. I said, come on."

"Your healing magic has improved, Mihane-sama. I apologize that we haven't found a master healer yet, but there's no need to rush."

The instructor patted her shoulder calmly, but Mihane didn't need a master healer. She didn't need one. She leveled up and learned magic on her own, but it was a top-secret matter, so she couldn't say it out loud.

So, they had come to the dungeon to train. It had been nine months since the tiara incident. After declaring her intention to become stronger, Mihane decided to enter the dungeon with Yaneko and the others every two weeks. For some reason, Tamamo also wanted to become stronger and joined in the training.

There was one problem. They were training. Besides entering the dungeon, they were also training. It was somewhat meaningful for Mihane, but not as much as fighting monsters in the dungeon, which was the shortest route to becoming stronger.

But that was only for Mihane. For the game mechanics, it was only for Mihane. Others became stronger through training, sweating, and accumulating experience to become proficient.

Mihane, on the other hand, became stronger by defeating monsters, accumulating experience points, and increasing her proficiency. Strangely, a slight difference in Japanese made a big difference in how one became stronger. Japanese is complicated, isn't it?

So, for everyone else, the dungeon was like a real match to test the results of their training, nothing more. For that reason, Mihane was treated as a precious healer and protected.

It was a difficult situation. For Mihane, the dungeon was the training ground, but they wouldn't let her fight properly.

When NPCs dealt damage to enemies, the experience points earned from defeating them were drastically reduced. It was a common game mechanic.

For nine months, Mihane was treated with utmost care, and her level didn't increase at all. Unable to reveal the truth, she was treated as an important healer and accompanied by twice as many guards, playing a game similar to corporate golf. She couldn't say she was fighting.

Yaneko and the others tried to comfort her, but the situation didn't change.

And the two of them had become stronger through training.

Yaneko Teisei: Level 27

Tamamo Yuki: Level 22

The two of them were showing the results of their training. It was unfair; Mihane also wanted to power up. Moreover, these girls were already strong from the start. They were different from Mihane, who had game mechanics. Their abilities didn't start from zero; they were already high.

Unaware of Mihane's thoughts, the two tried to comfort her by changing the subject. They were kind, but that's why Mihane couldn't push them too hard.

"Mihane-sama will debut in society next month. Why don't we decide on accessories to match your dress when we get back?"

"Right, right. En-chan, it'll be fun."

Mihane's father had suddenly become a viscount six months ago. It was to protect her, and she was moved to tears by the family love. However, because of this, she had to debut at a party held in the imperial city when she turned ten. It was troublesome.

Mihane liked dressing up cutely, but she didn't want to show her appearance to others.

Moreover, her strength was completely insufficient. If she had a little more power...

"Ah, I found another monster!"

"It's a 'Poison Toad.'"

A one-meter-tall toad emerged from the swamp, its skin covered in warts and, of course, purple. This dungeon was a troublesome place where the enemies had low attack power but used poison attacks. However, with the poison-resistant barrier beads provided by the Yuki family, the poison was neutralized.

The toad, though troublesome because it spat poison, had low attack power and wasn't scary.

"I'll take it down, so everyone, step back!"

In other words, give me proper experience points.

With a "Hyaah," Mihane raised her mace and charged at the Poison Toad. Using the power of her "magic armor," she closed the distance at a speed comparable to a moped's top speed.

Yaneko and the others, who knew the toad's strength, watched with warm eyes, not interfering.

"Haah!"

The Poison Toad spat out a stream of poison like a water gun, but the anti-poison barrier activated, and a magical shield deflected the poison. Mihane crushed the toad with a "Puchi."

The anti-poison barrier was really convenient.

The moment she defeated it, a fanfare sounded.

"You defeated the Poison Toad! You gained 130 experience points. Your level has increased! Your proficiency in Thief II has increased! A sub-job has been unlocked!"

"Finally. It took long enough."

Mihane smiled slightly. She had been waiting for this. She had been thinking of a way to gain experience points because they were so few.

Takano Mihane

Level 15

Thief II: ★★★★★★★★☆

HP: 75

MP: 40

Strength: 60

Vitality: 60

Agility: 99

Magic: 15

Luck: 45

Actually, she had maxed out the Priest I job and was focusing on the Thief job.

The Thief II job, which possessed intermediate combat skills and intermediate thieving skills, had the unique skills "Lockpicking II," "Steal II," and "Hide II." The "Hide II" skill allowed her to avoid encounters on the map.

This "Hide" skill could hide her from all magical detection and mechanical surveillance. The game mechanics were scary. Hehehe.

She had also unlocked a sub-job. Starting tomorrow, she would level up on Friday nights and Saturday nights.

She needed to find a dungeon. With this job, she should be able to level up quickly.

...And at level 15, she had unlocked something else. A strong ally for working adults. A powerful support for middle-aged men.