Chapter 66

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The week after the intense battle for Minotaur meat collection, on the first day of Golden Week, we had already explored down to the 25th floor of the dungeon. Given that it was Golden Week, the entrance and the lower floors were bustling with many explorers, but not many could delve this deep, making it relatively quiet.

This floor saw multiple Minotaurs appearing at once, making the difficulty of the challenge quite high.

"Yūji! One's coming your way!"

"Got it, leave it to me!"

This time, four Minotaurs appeared simultaneously. After warning Yūji, I focused on dealing with the two Minotaurs approaching me from either side. I raised my sword, Shiranui, in a high stance and took the Kasumi stance.

I then lunged at the Minotaur closest to me, closing the distance in an instant. The Minotaur, unprepared for my sudden approach, left its chest wide open, allowing me to thrust Shiranui into its heart. The Minotaur, its heart pierced, collapsed forward in its momentum.

"Out of the way!"

I kicked the Minotaur's abdomen to push it away and pulled out Shiranui, which was embedded in its body. I quickly turned to face the other Minotaur, which was about to roar and had started to take a deep breath.

"Damn!"

Raising a loud roar in the middle of a group battle would be quite inconvenient. I gritted my teeth, stomped the ground with all my might, and closed the distance to the Minotaur. Just before it could roar, I stepped into range and slashed at its neck with Shiranui. The blade of Shiranui accurately caught the Minotaur's neck, severing its head from its body. As the Minotaur's head flew through the air, I ran past its side, still in the momentum of the slash.

However, cutting off the head just before it roared was a mistake.

"Whoa!"

"Hey, hey!"

"Kyaa!"

The blood that spurted from the severed head was blown away by the air the Minotaur had taken in for the roar, splattering the surroundings. The Minotaur's blood not only drenched me but also Yūji and Himeko, who were nearby, fighting other Minotaurs.

I tried to get out of the range of the blood, but it was too late.

"Ugh..."

I, who was closest, was drenched in Minotaur blood. The iron-like, pungent smell filled my nose.

"Hey, Daiki. What's going on? You're covered in blood."

"Me too."

"Sorry. I messed up a bit."

I bowed my head, dripping with blood, and apologized to the angry Yūji and Himeko.

They seemed to calm down, seeing me sincerely apologize.

"Himeko, before we talk to Daiki, can you clean us up first?"

"...Sure."

Himeko's cleansing skill was activated, and the Minotaur blood that had drenched our bodies was cleaned away, leaving no trace of the smell.

"...Phew. So, Daiki, what exactly happened?"

"Right before the Minotaur was about to roar, I cut off its head, and the blood that spurted out was blown away by the air it had taken in for the roar, splattering the surroundings."

"...Well, that's..."

The timing was bad, but it was a situation that could have been avoided. If I had pierced its heart instead of decapitating it, like I did with the other Minotaur, the roar and the blood rain could have been prevented.

"...Well, if that's the case, it can't be helped."

"True. If the Minotaur had roared at that moment, it could have interfered with our battle."

Himeko mentioned that she had just finished off the Minotaur she was fighting right before the roar. If the Minotaur had roared at that moment, she might have failed to finish it off. Considering that, the blood rain might have been the lesser of two evils. However, Yūji still looked displeased.

"But still, you were just told to be careful about getting splattered with blood, and then this happens..."

"But, Aoki, in this case, it couldn't be helped, right?"

Himeko defended me, but Yūji shook his head in disagreement.

"We had the information that a Minotaur's roar uses air taken in by a deep breath. It should have been considered that cutting off the head just before the roar could cause the air to spray out through the neck."

"..."

"Especially since we've fought Minotaurs multiple times. It should have been possible to kick the severed head in a direction where no one was around after cutting it off."

...Yūji is right.

In that situation, instead of running past the Minotaur, I should have given it a final blow with a punch or kick to knock it down. If I had pushed it with the momentum of my run, the dead Minotaur's body would have fallen easily.

I sighed deeply, shoulders slumped.

"...Kujo."

"...Well, what is it? No matter how you look at it, we still lack experience."

"True, it seems that way."

I thought we had accumulated a fair amount of combat experience by continuously exploring the dungeon... but we are still inexperienced. I had been feeling good lately and had become a bit complacent after obtaining a new weapon.

...I need to tighten up.

To regain my focus, I slapped my cheeks hard with both hands.

"Alright! Let's finish the reflection and collect the Minotaur's drop items before heading back?"

I called out to Yūji and Himeko to return, ignoring the pain in my cheeks, as I checked the time. We had already been exploring for over four hours.

"Yeah, it's already that time."

"The time flies, doesn't it?"

Yūji and Himeko checked their watches in response to my suggestion.

"Four hours of continuous exploration to reach the 25th floor..."

"We were searching for stairs while exploring, so we'll be able to go deeper next time."

"True. Using the shortest route, we can reach this floor in about three hours."

Indeed, no other party in this dungeon can explore at such a speed. I can instantly analyze traps, and Himeko can detect the presence of monsters in advance. Moreover, our individual combat skills are high.

"By simple calculation, with a four-hour limit... the exploration limit would be around the 30th floor, right?"

"30th floor...?"

"Just barely reaching the mid-level floors."

The mid-level floors Himeko mentioned are the areas beyond the 30th floor, which the Dungeon Association has publicly announced on their website. Before the general opening of the dungeon, the Self-Defense Forces and police dungeon exploration teams confirmed the changes between the lower and mid-level floors. They reported that the quality of monsters and the viciousness of traps increase, making the mid-level floors more dangerous. Additionally, the 29th floor is said to be guarded by a boss-level monster, preventing explorers from entering the mid-level floors. For ordinary explorers who struggle in the lower floors, these areas are out of reach.

"Mid-level floors... the quality of drop items improves, right?"

"Yeah, items like mid-level healing potions, which rarely appear in the lower floors, are said to be common in the mid-level floors."

"Healing potions... by the way, Kujo."

"What?"

"Did you collect the payment for the healing potions from the Shinohara group?"

"Oh, right... how did it go?"

Himeko's words made me realize I hadn't told them the result.

"Of course, I collected it. Through the association, though."

"Through the association?"

"The Shinohara group apparently left the payment for the healing potions at the association's counter, and it was transferred to my account as medical expenses."

Two weeks after the incident, I noticed an unfamiliar transfer item on my bank statement and confirmed it with the association over the phone. I was impressed by the quick transfer, even though the trial was still ongoing and no compensation had been paid.

"So, the payment for the healing potions is fine. Sorry for not mentioning it."

I lightly bowed my head and apologized for the communication error.

"Well, if you collected it, it's fine."

"I thought you didn't say anything, so I thought you were stiffed for the payment."

"Sorry for worrying you."

"Well, if you collected it, it's fine."

I bowed my head to Himeko again.

Communication is important.

"Anyway, let's put that aside... mid-level floors..."

"Exploring the mid-level floors on a day trip like today is impossible, right?"

"True. We don't have enough time."

Currently, we spend about 11 hours, almost half a day, exploring the dungeon, including travel time. If we try to increase our exploration time, it will become impractical.

"Only during long breaks like summer vacation... but with our current situation, where we only come to the dungeon on Sundays, exploring the mid-level floors is impossible."

"Our school has classes on Saturdays too."

"Spending the afternoon and night in the dungeon on Saturdays... that's not possible."

Himeko shook her head, negating her own suggestion. Given the current state of the dungeon, the adults, including our parents, would not allow us to stay overnight, especially considering the late return times.

"The limit for day trips is the lower floors."

I concluded.

It's not a limit in terms of combat power but in terms of the time required for floor transitions. If we could increase our exploration time, it would be a different story, but since we can't, it's a limit.

Yūji and Himeko seemed to agree with my conclusion, nodding without any objections.

---

After leaving the dungeon, we discussed our future plans on the train ride home.

"Let's aim to explore the mid-level floors during summer vacation?"

"Sure. There's no need to force it for now."

"I'm fine with that, but what about Aoki? Wouldn't it be better to gain experience by fighting mid-level floor monsters if you want to land a hit on Kusakura?"

Himeko's point is valid.

If Yūji wants to land a hit on Kusakura, gaining experience by fighting stronger opponents would be more effective...

As Yūji and I looked at him, he quietly shook his head.

"No. Seeing Daiki's mistake today, I think it's better to gain more experience fighting lower floor monsters."

"Um..."

Is it because of my mistake?

"Of course, it's not just because of Daiki's mistake. Lack of experience is an issue for all of us."

"..."

"Basically, when we fight monsters that appear in the lower floors, we rarely lose. But that means our strategies are often brute force."

That's true.

When fighting lower floor monsters, we can usually defeat them with a strong attack without needing special techniques.

"Before we go to the mid-level floors where the quality of monsters increases, I think it's better to polish our techniques against lower floor monsters. Of course, this includes learning how to avoid getting splattered with blood."

"True. Looking back, our monster battles have been dominated by brute force."

"Indeed, we've been relying on our enhanced physical abilities from level-ups."

Most of the time, we cut off the heads of monsters with Shiranui before they can react.

"Right? So, I think it's better to polish our combat techniques, including coordination and support, against lower floor monsters."

Polishing our combat techniques...

Indeed, compared to other explorers, we might lack the kind of combat skills that other explorers learn due to our overwhelming starting advantages.

Daiki and I looked at each other and nodded.

"Understood. If that's your thinking, Yūji, I have no objections."

"Me too."

Yūji also nodded in agreement with our words.

With that, our basic plan was set.

"Then, let's focus on exploring the lower floors until summer vacation?"

"Yeah."

"Yes, that plan is fine."

With everyone's agreement, the decision was made to put the mid-level floor exploration on hold until summer vacation. We then discussed the details of our plan until we reached our local station, setting goals such as creating a complete map of the lower floors and defeating the area boss on the 29th floor. Our first goal was to defeat the area boss on the 29th floor, which we could achieve as early as the next or the following exploration.

"Area boss battle..."

I quietly muttered, gazing at the streetlights streaming past the train window.

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Our lack of detailed know-how, which we gradually learn through mistakes, has become apparent.

It's a lack of experience despite our high combat power.