Chapter 41

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Shizuka's cleaning skill proficiency has increased, and we no longer need to worry about dirt, so we have finally reached the stairs just before the 10th floor. After three months of hard work, we have finally reached our initial target floor.

It's almost the end of January, and we are about to enter February.

"We finally made it here."

"Yeah. I thought we would reach this level a bit earlier..."

"It's not just about having a high level. In reality, that wasn't the issue."

"You're right. Even with a high level, it just means we have high base stats, but we lacked the experience to use them effectively."

As Shizuka said, the reason it took us so long to get here, despite having no problem with our levels, was due to our lack of experience. Indeed, being students, we could only dedicate time to dungeon exploration on weekends, which was one reason for the delay. However, the main reason was our lack of experience. After all, we had only theoretical knowledge from qualification courses and games, but no actual experience in dungeons. We struggled with selecting appropriate equipment, made mistakes in mapping, and had countless issues with monster slaying.

We reflected on all this and were immersed in a slightly somber atmosphere.

"Alright, shall we go?"

"Yeah, we can't stay here forever."

"You're right. Let's go."

We started descending the stairs, heading for the 10th floor. Upon arriving at the 10th floor, we immediately encountered a group of explorers in their 30s, splattered with blood. It seemed to be a party of five, but two of them were being carried by their companions. As we watched them, a man who looked like the leader approached us.

"Huh? Are you guys new to this floor?"

"Ah, yes."

"I see. The orcs on this floor are quite formidable. If you feel it's too much, back off immediately. It's dangerous to stubbornly push through."

"Thank you for the advice!"

"Alright, good luck."

They left us with a word of advice and climbed the stairs leading to the 9th floor. After watching them go, we exchanged glances and commented on them.

"They were decent people... "

"Yeah. At this level, you tend to encounter more people like them."

"There are also dangerous and weird people."

"Well, it can't be helped. There's a lot of screening before you get here."

By the time you reach the 10th floor, the number of strange explorers has significantly decreased. Generally, the floors where humanoid monsters dominate serve as a screening process. Those who come with a gaming mindset are made to face reality when they encounter humanoid monsters. Mentally weak individuals either quit being explorers or seek counseling, while some give up on fighting humanoid monsters and hunt beast-type monsters on the surface floors. Among those who are moderately strong, some become traumatized by killing humanoid monsters and go on a mad killing spree.

By the time you reach the 10th floor, most explorers have faced reality and made some form of resolution.

"Alright, let's be cautious as we were warned."

"Yeah, it would be foolish to get injured here."

"Yes, we're finally about to get what we've been longing for, so let's put in our best effort."

We rekindled our determination and began exploring the 10th floor carefully. The interior was still a simple stone structure. After walking down a corridor for a while, I called out to the others and stopped.

"Both of you, stop!"

"Huh? Is there a trap, Daiki?"

"Yeah. There's a pit trap in front of us."

I took a fist-sized stone from my spatial storage and threw it into the center of the corridor where the trap was. The stone fell to the ground, and a 2m x 2m hole opened up, swallowing the stone. After about 10 seconds, the hole closed, and it no longer looked like there was a pit trap.

"There's a pit trap there, so let's walk on the left side of the corridor."

"Is the right side not an option?"

"The right side has a different trap. If you walk on the right, a wall will extend and push you into the pit trap."

"The traps are getting more devious."

"Yeah, but it doesn't seem like there are instant death traps yet."

This pit trap only drops you to the lower floor, and if used wisely, it can serve as a shortcut. There are no spikes or monster rooms below, but the fall could be fatal for a normal person.

We continued exploring the dungeon carefully, paying attention to the traps.

After about 30 minutes of exploring the 10th floor, they finally appeared.

"I sense monsters ahead. There are two of them. No ambush for now."

Hearing Shizuka's warning, I and Yuzi drew our swords. Shizuka shone her zoom light ahead, revealing two figures.

They were humanoid monsters, orcs, with yellow-green skin and pig-like faces, about 2 meters tall.

"They're orcs."

"Orcs, huh?"

"Orcs! "

Shizuka exclaimed with joy. After all, it had been three months since we became explorers, and we finally encountered our long-awaited prey.

I placed my hand on Shizuka's shoulder to prevent her from charging in.

"Calm down, Shizuka. Charging in like that will only result in unnecessary injuries."

"Yeah. Let's take a deep breath and calm down first."

"...Suu... Fuu. I'm okay, sorry for worrying you."

After a few deep breaths, Shizuka seemed to have calmed down, though she was still a bit excited.

"Alright, let's start with our usual method, okay?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"I'm good too."

The orcs, now aware of our presence due to the light, were already approaching us with clubs that had hammer-like protrusions, about 50 meters away. I took out a pepper ball from my backpack and threw it at the orcs.

The pepper ball landed in front of the orcs and spread its contents.

"Hmm, the effect seems weak?"

"Maybe they have resistance to status effects?"

The orcs' movements slowed, but they didn't stop completely like the other monsters. They wiped their eyes and noses repeatedly, but they were still closing the distance, now within 30 meters.

I took out a water shooter filled with hot sauce from my backpack and prepared to use it.

"Will this work?"

"Daiki, be ready to move immediately if this doesn't work."

"I understand. Are you okay, Shizuka?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

Yuzi and Shizuka positioned themselves on either side of me, weapons at the ready, ready to respond to the orcs' attacks if this didn't work.

"2, 1, fire!"

As the orcs entered the range of the water shooter, I sprayed hot sauce in their faces. The effect was excellent. The orcs clutched their faces and fell to the ground, dropping their clubs and rolling around while screaming, similar to the other monsters.

It seems that even the orcs' resistance couldn't handle this.

We watched the orcs rolling on the ground from a distance.

"This worked."

"Yeah, it seems to be effective for a while."

"But the pepper balls might not work on this floor and beyond."

"Kusakari, if we encounter more resistant monsters, we won't be able to use this either. What do you think?"

"What should we do? We could think of something else..."

While they have been very useful so far, both the pepper balls and the water shooter are more like tutorial weapons. I didn't expect them to be effective against monsters indefinitely, so I'm considering putting them away.

They are still quite useful in combat, so I won't discard them.

"Daiki, maybe it's time to stop using these?"

"...Yuzi, do you think so too?"

"Yeah, they are convenient, but we've only been using them for the first encounter with new monsters recently. As we encounter more resistant monsters, it's better to learn how to deal with new monsters without relying on these."

"You're right. Shizuka, what do you think? I agree with Yuzi's opinion..."

"You're right. I agree with Hasegawa's opinion. We need to be more flexible in dealing with new monsters."

"Got it. I'll put these away in spatial storage."

With the agreement of the two, I put the pepper balls and water shooter into spatial storage.

"Alright, let's finish these off."

"Right, let's do it quickly."

Yuzi pointed to the orcs on the ground with his wakizashi, signaling to finish them off. Shizuka, responding to Yuzi's words, eagerly thrust her spear into the orcs' necks. She seemed eager to get the drops. Yuzi, sighing slightly at Shizuka's enthusiasm, also thrust his wakizashi into the orcs' necks.

After a few seconds, Shizuka confirmed the orcs were dead and began skinning them with a skinning knife.

"Got it! Orc meat!"

At the spot where the corpses disappeared, a large piece of orc meat, thick bones, and a core crystal appeared. Shizuka, holding the orc meat and bones, was jumping with joy. It was the orc meat she had been longing for, and her joy was evident.

I picked up the remaining drops, holding them and tilting my head.

"Shizuka, what are you going to do with these bones?"

"Huh!? Oh, I'll use them to make soup stock."

"Soup stock... from orc bones?"

"Yes, it's more flavorful than pork, but it's richer."

"I see..."

I thought about the orc's appearance and the idea of using its bones for soup, which made me feel a bit uneasy. I glanced at Yuzi, who had the same expression. We exchanged a tired smile.

"Alright, let's find the next orcs quickly!"

Shizuka, handing me the orc meat and bones, called out to us and headed deeper into the dungeon with light steps. Yuzi and I, seeing Shizuka's unusual enthusiasm, chuckled and followed her to keep up.

That day, we obtained a significant amount of orc materials. As these were Shizuka's desired items, after exploring the 10th floor for about three hours, we collected enough meat and bones to fill a single cooling bag, weighing about 30 kg. At the reception, the appraisal value exceeded 400,000 yen.

Since we requested the orc materials, we had to wait about an hour for quality inspection, but they passed. Shizuka finally obtained her desired orc materials.

On the bus ride back, Shizuka repeatedly bowed deeply and thanked us.

"Thank you both. I wouldn't have been able to do this without you..."

"No, you don't need to thank us so much, Shizuka."

"Yeah, we have our own goals for coming to the dungeon, so there's no need for you to bow so much."

"But..."

"Alright, let's move on."

Seeing Shizuka still wanting to say something, I forcibly ended the conversation and changed the topic.

"By the way, Yuzi. Shizuka has achieved her goal by obtaining the desired items, but what about your goal? You started coming to the dungeon to gain practical experience as per Juzo's request, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have a specific goal in mind? I think you've gained a lot of practical experience fighting monsters..."

"..."

Yuzi frowned and hesitated to answer my question. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke.

"Juzo said my goal is to beat him in a match."

"Huh?"

"What?"

Beat Juzo? That sounds impossible.

Even with our current base stats and accumulated experience, we are still easily outmatched by Juzo in training. Beating him...

"So for now, I have to keep diving into the dungeon to gain more practical experience and improve my skills."

"Yeah, I see..."

Yuzi, seemingly frustrated with his own inadequacy, said this and closed his eyes, falling silent.

This is going to be a long journey. Shizuka and I exchanged glances and chuckled at the same time.

We obtained orc meat.