Chapter 35

"Alright, today we're finally going to the dungeon!"

"Oh, are you sure? I thought you were going to take a request to become B-rank."

"Did you get tired of it so quickly after being so enthusiastic?"

The day after I became C-rank, I decided to finally go to the dungeon. When they heard I was going to the dungeon, the girls looked at me with puzzled expressions. Honestly, it's quite rude to say I got tired of it so quickly.

"No, that's not it. I mean, I did manage to get to C-rank in just a few days, so I think that's enough... Besides, I already talked to Wij-chan."

It's pretty fast to raise your rank by two in just a few days. I went to the adventurer's guild early in the morning to confirm with Wij-chan if it was okay to raise my rank. She said that if I was already at C-rank, it was fine to take my time from there. She seemed a bit tired, probably because of something that happened yesterday. I feel a bit guilty.

"Well, I'm fine with it. I was curious about the dungeon anyway."

"Same here! If we're not hunting for magic stones, this is enough for me."

With their agreement, I can finally go to the dungeon. I wonder what kind of place it is. I'm a bit excited, but the recommendation for B-rank adventurers is a bit scary. Will there be a bunch of things like Wyvern Warriors or Stingers? If there's something on the level of Asterios, I'll run away immediately. The A-rank adventurers who cleared 40 floors must be incredibly strong. Deus is B-rank, but there seems to be a significant difference between A and B.

"Alright, let's head there."

●

"Big brother, why did you prepare so much before we left?"

We are now on our way to the dungeon. Before we left, I restocked on food and potions.

"Yeah, I said the dungeon is underground, right? We might not be able to use the beacon to return."

"That's true. It's better to be prepared."

If the dungeon is underground, we might not be able to use the beacon to return. The guidebook said there's a possibility the signal won't reach. There might be a situation where we can't return immediately.

"Ah, this must be it... Oh, that's it."

"That's a creepy entrance."

I had a rough idea of the location from Wij-chan, and following her directions, I found a large rock with a hole in it. It looks very unnatural, like it was added later. The atmosphere is completely different from the surrounding landscape. The first person to enter this place must have been very brave. There's a sign next to the rock that says, "Recommended for B-rank adventurers and above. Do not enter alone even if you are B-rank or above."

"Mr. Ohtaka, how far do you plan to go today?"

"Let's see... How about we aim for the 10th floor?"

This time, we'll just check things out and aim for the 10th floor. Even if we can go further, we won't. Since it's recommended for B-rank adventurers, we should be able to go at least that far. If we go further, I'd like to have a priest or a heavily armored companion. Nole can act as a shield, but if something on the level of Asterios appears, even she might be in danger.

"Why is there light in here...?"

"The walls are glowing."

Determined, I stepped inside. It was a gentle slope leading downward. Even though it's underground, the walls were glowing green, providing good visibility. I thought we'd need lamps, but it's fine. These walls seem useful; maybe we can chip some off and take them back.

"Big brother, it looks like a monster is coming."

While observing the surroundings, we walked down a narrow path and entered a larger room. There was a green, round creature there, wobbling as it moved. Its body looked like it was made of liquid, with a white orb floating in the center. The path it took had lost its glow and looked like regular stone. Do these creatures eat something in the walls?

"It looks weak."

"Mmm, Mr. Ohtaka. Don't be deceived by its appearance."

It doesn't look very strong. It doesn't seem to have much defense, and being hit by that body probably wouldn't hurt. I was about to take out my bar to attack it, but Nole stopped me. Hmm, she's right. Let's check its stats first.

――――――

● Acid Slime - Race: Slime

Level: 35

HP: 10,000

MP: 0

Attack: 400

Defense: 50

Agility: 5

Magic Resistance: 0

Special Ability: Strong Acid

Skill: Eruption

――――――

"Whoa!? I almost got too close... That could have been bad."

"Maybe that's why it's recommended for B-rank and above. Big brother, you can't let your guard down in here."

So, this thing is made entirely of a dissolving liquid! If I had touched it, it could have been bad. I can see its stats, but I don't know what other abilities it might have that aren't in GC. If the strong acid ignores defense, it would have been very dangerous. Not only strength but also attention to detail is required to raise your adventurer rank. ...I'm completely out of my depth.

After that, we dealt with the slime using Estelle's magic and continued. So far, nothing has dropped except for the slime's material. The white orb that dropped might be the slime's core. If only this drops, maybe other items are rare.

When we reached the back of the 1st floor, there was another gentle slope leading downward. We entered the 2nd floor, where the slimes were purple. Checking their stats, these were Venom Slimes with a poison ability. Estelle dealt with them, and we entered the 3rd floor, where the slimes were transparent. The 4th floor also had slimes, and we are now on the 5th floor.

"This place is really dangerous... Estelle, don't get too far from us."

"Yes, I understand."

"Better to avoid acting alone here."

The 3rd floor had Stun Slimes with a paralysis ability, and the 4th floor had Heat Slimes with a burn ability. They are loaded with status effects, clearly designed to kill. This dungeon is too dangerous.

We advanced with Estelle in the center, and Nole and I protecting her. We might be fine since we are immune to status effects, but it's not worth the risk. The slimes might have skills that cause status effects. Since the slimes move slowly, we rely on Estelle's magic.

"Wow, this one seems to have a lot of experience points."

"That's a pretty tough-looking slime."

Finally, the 5th floor. Unlike the previous floors, there was only one slime in the middle of a large room, and it was a silverish color. Oh, this is like a rare slime in RPGs. It doesn't have a face like the ones I know, but it's probably the same. It gives a lot of experience points, but it can run away.

I want to run and attack it before it escapes, but I just got scolded by Nole, so let's check its stats first.

――――――

● Steel Slime - Race: Slime

Level: 50

HP: 4,000

MP: 0

Attack: 2,400

Defense: 20,000

Agility: 60

Magic Resistance: 0

Special Ability: None

Skill: Deformation

――――――

Hmm... This is different from what I expected. But Estelle's magic should be able to take it out quickly.

I was about to tell Estelle to cast a spell when the slime in front of me started moving. Its body deformed into a sharp needle and shot at me at incredible speed.

"Whoa!?"

"Mr. Ohtaka!"

I couldn't react to its speed, but Nole stepped in and blocked it with her shield. I didn't expect it to attack like that. It's like liquid metal! If she hadn't been there, it could have been dangerous.

"Thanks, Nole..."

"It's fine. What do we do now?"

The slime instantly returned to its original shape and then attacked the wall, moving quickly. With its speed, it might be hard for Estelle to hit it with her magic, which has a slight delay. We're underground in a relatively open space, but if we use a wide-area attack, we might get caught in it. The slime's ability to change its shape is probably the Deformation skill. I'll use my Skull Ring to seal its skill and then have Estelle attack.

"Try to block its attacks. I'll use a wind attack to seal its skill when I see an opening."

"Understood!"

We stood in front of Estelle to prevent the slime from reaching her. At first, it seemed to target Nole, focusing its attacks on her. When it stretched to attack, I hit it with my bar, using a wind attack. Then it targeted me, but Nole stepped in and deflected it with her shield. We repeated this, and after a while, the slime, having taken multiple hits from me, returned to its original round shape and stopped moving. The skill seal must have activated.

"Alright, Estelle. Hit it with a spell."

"Got it."

I had Estelle attack the immobilized slime with a fire spell. With low HP and no magic resistance, the slime was destroyed. A silver orb and a pair of boots made of iron-like material dropped. Oh, these must be rare drops.

"Wow, this on the 5th floor... How about we go as far as we can instead of just to the 10th floor? If we can make it to the 10th floor, we'll go."

"Understood."

"Yeah, it might be more challenging than we thought."

I didn't expect to encounter such a monster on the 5th floor... I thought about turning back, but we decided to keep going. If we encounter something dangerous, we'll turn around and come back. We can always return another time.