Chapter 42

Sleipnir is an eight-legged horse. It gallops through the sky and dashes across the ground, significantly increasing the map movement speed. In the game, the final major movement speed boost is applied.

"Come on, Sleipnir!"

He’s not some old man who loves fishing. He’s the mount of Odin, the old man. It’s a movement item you get when you make Odin your companion.

The next day. I, being a coward, still considered entering and exiting the dungeon dangerous and decided to dedicate the next day to the strategy.

I had Munnin ‘analyze’ it, and the children were left at the orphanage with a kind-hearted director. They looked anxious, but they should be fine. I can only pray that the chain quest where the orphanage is saved from debt doesn’t trigger.

Since I left them at the orphanage secretly, the director must be in a bind. I’ll support him later, so please take care of it on credit. I made the orphans promise not to say anything. I told them to say they lived in the slums but it had reached its limit. If I mention kidnapping, the Chimera’s background might notice.

...There are twenty of them. I promise to support them immediately afterward.

I’m riding Sleipnir at high speed, holding the reins. Paka paka, today is a day for the cute girl, Miu, to enjoy horseback riding.

We’re not running through the city. If we were riding an eight-legged horse, we’d stand out too much. Where are we? In the dungeon where the Mithril Eater lives.

"Come on, Sleipnir! It’s a big catch tonight!"

I tap the reins and charge forward. We gallop through a place composed of rock mountains and sand as far as the eye can see.

"Hihiin"

Sleipnir neighs happily. It seems to love a big catch.

"Of course, good bait means a big catch."

"Indeed. We’ve caught quite a bit."

Behind me, the old man Odin is riding and glances back. I do the same and see a big catch. What’s the big catch?

Of course, a large number of monsters. Tonight’s side dish is a full course of fish dishes. Behind us, a huge number of monsters are chasing us, raising clouds of sand.

Using Sleipnir’s speed, we’re creating a large train. There are ants as big as humans, centipedes with armor covering their bodies, and giant fleas with spear-like mouthparts. Several other types of monsters are also chasing us.

Spear-like rock mountains line the gaps, and ants crawl out. Fleas appear from the sand, and centipedes peek out of holes in the rock. It’s a scene like a hundred demons’ night parade.

If we slow down even a little, we’ll be caught, and it’s game over.

"It’s thrilling, isn’t it? Usshshi!"

"New monsters are appearing ahead."

"I’ll show you how to avoid them!"

Three ants, each over two meters tall, appear in front of us, but I pull the reins and zigzag. The ants raise their front legs to threaten us, but that’s their weakness.

Sleipnir easily passes by. Sorry.

"Alright, let’s head to the third floor."

"Hehe, your recklessness is commendable, young lady."

The old man laughs, but I prioritize efficiency.

"Hehe, gamers sometimes risk their lives. ...Make sure to save some for ‘Instant Teleport’?"

Miu, with her still-growing chest, grins. But I’m scared, so I’ll take out insurance.

We zigzag and easily avoid them. The giant horse understands my intentions precisely and gallops like we’re one, hooves clattering.

The dungeon, named as such, is an environmental dungeon. It’s not a dungeon with narrow, winding corridors but one with deserts, rainforests, volcanoes, and snowfields.

There are several large spaces connected by small corridors. In other words, if you move fast, you can avoid monsters.

This wasn’t in the game. The game’s dungeons had the same environment but were scaled down to small chambers to avoid giving players the stress of running through overly large areas.

However, in reality, the chambers are vast, each room being several kilometers. In the game, even if the chambers were small, battles took place in vast spaces, so there was no problem.

But in reality, that’s strange. When you encounter a monster, you don’t move to a separate space, and in the original story, there were descriptions of vast plains in dungeons. So, the dungeons are wide enough for Sleipnir to run around.

If we just run away, the enemies will lose sight of us, but we don’t do that. We run slowly to ensure they don’t lose sight of us.

"New monsters are appearing."

"It’s a Mithril Eater!"

From behind an ant hill, a monster resembling an anteater, about five meters tall, appears. It has a silver fur. I know, I know. I’ve hunted quite a few in the game.

Its long snout, unlike an anteater’s, splits vertically, revealing a pink mouth filled with teeth like mithril, which is unsettling.

‘Analyze’

Mithril Eater Level 25

It’s the same level as in the game, so its abilities should be the same.

"That thing is resistant to everything except status effects. It’s hard and has high attack power, making it difficult to defeat. Its weakness is status effects. If it gets stuck, it’s a weak enemy. Defeating it yields mithril fur, which can be broken down into mithril ore."

"Is mithril valuable in this world?"

"A rare magic metal used in ‘Magic Armor.’ Defeating one should yield about 10 million yen."

That’s why, in the game, it was the perfect monster for earning money at the same level. But just 10 million yen? I can’t understand why someone would use children as bait for such a small amount.

My angry tone makes the old man chuckle. He probably thinks I’m too kind. It’s fine. Miu is a good girl.

Of course, the Mithril Eater is also part of the train. It’s not an event monster but a regular monster.

...The monster that was perfect for earning money in the game is being used for the same purpose in reality. Unexpected, but of course. Even if not players, the people in this world are alive and have thinking minds. It’s natural that groups would form to hunt profitable monsters, but I didn’t expect bad people to use such methods.

I feel disheartened. I enjoyed the game so much.

I’ll destroy this dungeon where children are used as bait. No mercy. I’ll level up while I’m at it.

"Fourth floor!"

We quickly find the stairs to the fourth floor and enter. Moving down the corridor, we encounter a group of winged ants armed with swords and shields on a rock mountain.

"Winged ants mean the enemy here is the Queen Ant. Meeting winged ants here means this is the final floor, old man!"

"For a dungeon, it’s surprisingly shallow?"

"Except for secret dungeons, the maximum is 10 floors. Usually, it’s 3 floors!"

This is to avoid giving players stress. The developers chose ease of use to attract casual users and sold special downloadable dungeons to heavy users for a fee.

We bypass the winged ants and move forward. Occasionally, winged ants shoot arrows, but Odin uses his robe as a shield to deflect them.

With a ‘Physical Reflection Wall,’ we can do such reckless things. Few enemies use magic at the start, and low-level magic can be avoided before it activates. It’s different from the game. Hehehe.

Sleipnir runs at high speed, almost flying. Behind us, a horde of monsters. It’s a stampede now. If we fall off Sleipnir, we’re dead for sure. No trace will be left.

As we progress through the fourth floor, we see walls made of dead flesh reaching the 50-meter-high ceiling. A huge cave is open.

As we approach, a red light shines from the cave. Something crawls out with a hiss.

"Kishaa!"

It’s about 10 meters tall. A queen ant with a swollen belly connected to the cave. It confirms us as prey, bares its teeth, and drools. The ground smokes from the acid.

The Queen Ant, the boss here. About 100 of her guard ants emerge, having noticed the enemy.

"In the game, they call for infinite reinforcements, but in reality, it’s like this?"

I hold down my gray hair, which flutters in the wind, and feel moved. It feels like the game world. No, ‘Night of Magic.’

"Alright, ‘Analyze’"

Queen Ant Level 52

Royal Guard Ant Level 45

As expected, the levels are the same.

"Alright! Odin, go!"

‘Battle’ is used when we first encounter an enemy. We’re fully prepared. Miu points her finger at the Queen Ant and gives a cute command.

"Is the enemy stupid, or are you bold, or both? In any case, understood."

"Fire, all, all! Use the weakest Grand Magic!"

All the ants here are weak to fire. But other monsters are immune to fire, so I mix in all attributes. Due to MP issues, I choose the weakest Grand Magic.

"Understood."

Odin spreads his hands and uses his skill.

"Grand Magic is indeed convenient."

His mouth, covered in a white beard, twists into a thin smile.

‘Triple Magic’

‘Solar Flame’

‘Nova Explosion’

‘Nova Explosion’

My vision is covered in a red glow, followed by deep darkness, and a massive explosion of light.

"Kyaa!"

The original Grand Magic, used only by Grand Mages, shakes the ground and melts everything into nothing. I think it’s a magnitude 10 earthquake. Sleipnir slightly floats to avoid the shaking, saving us, but the surroundings look like hell.

A storm rages, and the ground and ceiling start to crumble, collapsing the dungeon. The party doesn’t directly receive the magic’s effects, but the indirect aftermath is deadly.

It felt like being inside the sun. I’ve seen on TV how flames spout like dragons from the sun’s surface, and it was like that.

The monsters in the train are already gone, and the world is being scorched by heat and flames reaching several billion degrees.

Lava rains down on my body, and the superheated air would burn me to a crisp on contact. But strangely, a thin barrier forms, deflecting everything. I don’t feel the heat, only coolness. It seems the secondary effects of the magic don’t harm players.