Lonely Attack on the Different World (WN)
Chapter 354

Day 83 – Daytime, Dungeon, 66F

By the 60th floor every monster you encounter is a threat above level 60. It’s said that the average adventurer party can only safely take on monsters up to half their own level, because monsters, by sheer size and biology, are just that much stronger than humans.

…That said, we’re kinda beating the crap out of them.

Just to be extra careful, we’re splitting up into pairs as we are clearing the maze-like dungeon. Only Dancing Girl-san and I are going solo. The girls haven’t even reached level 110 yet, which means technically, the level range for a six-person group would be monsters around level 55. But even in pairs, they’re absolutely smashing everything. I mean, they have Cheats, you know? And more than that, they’re disciples of the Dungeon Emperors. Of course they’re strong. It’s not like they are simply exercising for weight-loss purposes! Although I’m not going to say out loud what actually is their main goal.

As expected, just not equipping 『Staff of the World Tree』 makes a huge difference in how『Magic Wrap』 feels. If I want to swap between loadouts, I’ll need more training.

「Heh… Is Kotetsu-chan hungry for monster flesh tonight? Wait, eating monsters is more of a Slime-san thing, isn’t it? Well, whatever, it’s still 『Kotetsu』, right? Slice away? I guess?~」

Taking to the air with 『Air Walk』, I slash through the chaotic swarm of monsters. A katana is a slashing weapon, it has no real impact force, but it’s specialized in killing through cutting. In theory, it’s weak against armor due to the lack of blunt force, but this is another world, so with a bit of magic, skill effects, and momentum, such trivial details can be ignored. Besides, with the bonuses from 『Swordmaster』, I can cut through most things unless they’re absurdly tough. So I’ll just keep slicing.

「Still, the first dragon I meet in another world being a dragonfly, seriously? I could’ve met that back home. What if I accidentally squashed one and it triggered a 『Dragon Slayer』 title? That’d be so awkward! I mean, how do I explain that to an actual dragon!? Would anything count as long as it’s an offspring of a dragon kind? That’s convenient, huh?」

On the 66th floor we encountered some dragons, but it were just 『Armored Dragonfly Lv 66.』Just in case, I tried using the Full Moon Sword Style[1], but they didn’t seem to get dizzy. Maybe they have spin-resistance? Anyway, I’ve been seeing a lot of these armored multi-jointed creatures lately, but even if you slap armor on a multi-jointed body, the joints themselves are still weak points, so it’s kind of pointless? Still, I gotta admit, a 2-meter-long armored dragonfly is intimidating.

Dancing Girl-san knocked them straight out of the air and beat them to a pulp with her chains in an instant. She looked a little dissatisfied, not enough dancing involved, maybe? I mean, she was simply swatting things left and right, so nothing really to dodge?

And so, we arrive at floor 67. The girls are unleashing a thorough, perfectly coordinated barrage of arrows and magic. Clearly, they absolutely do not want to engage in close combat here. The monster of this floor is『Division Leech Lv 67』. Yup. A giant leech.

Every inch of the 67th floor, floor, walls, even the ceiling, are completely covered in writhing leeches. The whole place looked like some kind of grotesque, pulsating digestive tract. Swarms of leeches launched themselves from walls and the floor, a leech rain fell from above, and waves of leeches surged at our feet, naturally, the girls were screaming and running for their lives. Yeah, naturally, we were cheering them on from very far away.

「Like, isn’t attacking from the stairway kinda unfair? Sure, monsters don’t get close to the stairs, but these 『Division Leeches』 have a split-into-more ability, so if you don’t wipe them out at once they’d just keep multiplying? And even if they latch on, you all are in full armor, so it’s not biggie? That armor won’t melt from a mere level 60’s acid… wait, wait, no wardrobe malfunctions!? Even with corrosion!?」

Yeah, acid won’t work. No accidental slips either. I kinda cursed the durability of the armor I made, but honestly, if there had been any slipping, my own head probably would’ve slipped off. I’m already getting glared at. Sadly, not much Flat Gazium, disappointing, really.

「I don’t want to be latched on by that! It’s gross!」

「T-They were climbing the armor! Those leeches!」

「Technically, they’re annelids. So, you know, comrades with worms and nematodes?」

「When I sliced one, it was so disgustingly squishy…」

Yeah, leeches don’t have skeletons. They breathe through skin or gills, and their bodies are symmetrical rings stacked in a series, typical annelid structure. They’re huge, sure, but even in our world, there were 3-meter-class specimens. So without the splitting part, they’re basically just leeches.

「「「We don’t care if they are comrades! We hate those comrades too!」」」

「Eh, if anything, it’s good they’re big, right? I mean, imagine if they were small and slipped into the gaps in your armor…」

「「「Kyaaaah! Nooo! Don’t say it!」」」

「Think about it, if they got inside and turned out to be parasitic, then they’d crawl into your body, and then…」

「「「We said don’t say it! Don’t explain!! Don’t speak!!」」」

Against living creatures, intelligence is key. If you can recognize which category the enemy belongs, it is often possible to understand their attacks, traits, and weaknesses. Like the old swordmaster once said (maybe): 『Know your enemy, know yourself, and appreciate a good butt』 …Well, maybe not that last part. But knowledge is important. And okay, so are good butts, but I’ll keep quiet. Pres-sama has equipped a whip.I mean, I’m at that age where 20 variations of sexy armor are super intriguing, or rather, as a Highschool Boy I can’t ignore the glimpses of that rear armor section that become visible through fluttering capes. Even if I’m just looking at the armor, I still get stared at! Better do some actual work to avoid getting scolded.

「This is getting tedious and endless and boring, so let’s switch? Step back for a sec, I’m gonna scatter this stuff. It should be fine, but for some reason, I always end up falsely accused and lectured afterward—?」

I pull out a sack of powdered lime, currently a best-seller in Some-Town for whitewashing walls, and blasted it into the room with a burst of wind magic. Because, really, that whole category of creature is weak to dryness, heat, or fire. So if I dump a bunch of desiccant on them, they’ll shrivel up just fine.

And then, once they’d all fallen to the floor and gathered up, I scatter a huge load of bad-quality flour all over them, fire off a Fire Ball, and dash off. The entire floor filled with a thick, white haze of flour dust. It shimmered red, heat chaining through the air as it ignited into a full-on dust explosion.

With a thunderous boom, a spiraling blast of fire surged through the chamber. I tucked myself into a recess in the wall and braced against the blast. The girls were all sent flying, tumbling across the floor, but I told them to back off, so I’m not to blame. And with their gear, that level of heat and pressure shouldn’t have done a thing. I mean, I did say it, right?

「「「ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?」」」

Apparently, they’ve finally gotten back up after rolling all the way down the stairs. They looked pretty lively while tumbling. Too bad they weren’t wearing skirts.

「Look, I told you to step back, didn’t I? I said it’d be dangerous if you didn’t I? I warned you! So why am I getting yelled at for giving a safety tip? I said it clearly, right? I did nothing wrong, okay?」

「「「You told us to back off and we immediately went flying! We got knocked away by the blastwave! Who would think you’d set off a huge explosion inside a dungeon!」」」

Blast pressure travels straight through open spaces, everyone knows that. If you’re standing in front of it, obviously you’re gonna get launched.That’s just common sense. Not even a strand of hair got singed, thanks to their『Heat Resistance』and 『Flame Resistance』gear, yet here comes the lecture.

The leeches, of course, were wiped out. Desiccated by the lime, then incinerated in the dust explosion. Their magic stones probably got scattered everywhere, it’s gonna be a pain to pick those up. Still, since refining flour tends to leave behind a lot of low-quality residue, maybe disposing of it in the Dungeon is a kind of eco-friendly solution?

「I mean, if I’m scattering flour, wouldn’t that be your clue? Isn’t that just obvious?」

「Normal people would stop at drying, okay!?」

「Normal people don’t set off dust explosions in enclosed spaces!」

「Normal people explain things first!」

「Provide evidence that supports your claim of being normal!」

「Frankly, it’s questionable if you’re even human, forget about being a normal one!」

Even though that was the fastest, safest, and most efficient way to handle leech-type enemies, they seem very dissatisfied. But with something that has 『Split』ability, you really do need to dry, crush, and burn it. It was a thorough, clean, and safe explosion-based extermination. But it would appear it was not to their liking?

And that was apparently it for today. So scolding in process we return to the surface, and then head to the city, scolding still ongoing. Why is it that even when I’ve clearly done nothing wrong, it is met with such unshakable, absolute determination to refuse to understand me? Yeah, this whole Affection Rating issue might be more serious than I thought.

「I mean, I did say, I’m gonna scatter this (lime and flour), so please step back (far away), and take cover (because there’s going to be a dust explosion), right?」

Yeah. I definitely said that, right?

「「「You abbreviated it too much! Say the whole thing before you do it! And even if you did, it exploded right after! You didn’t give us even five seconds!!」」」

So I now make my way toward the city with the stately gait of a dignified man, then break into a sprint like a startled rabbit, and then flee like I’m running for my life. Or to put in frankly, I’m making my escape.

Still, having just two parties really slows down the progress. We’d been at it since morning, and only made it 16 floors in. The other group legions probably haven’t made it much further either. In that case, moving with a six-party group in a blitz-style advance might be faster overall, but too much reliance on numbers could lead to poor combat skill development. Plus, when everyone’s together the collective scolding becomes absolutely terrifying!

Dancing through the sky on 『Air Walk』, I twist and barely avoid a flying iron ball. With the Staff of the World Tree equipped as part of my full loadout, my aerial agility is on a whole different level. Wait. Why is Dancing Girl-san, who totally dodged the explosion earlier, now joining in the attacks? No wonder some attacks felt so precise. She’s casually snacking while unleashing anti-air fire. She’s been bribed with sweets, hasn’t she? Looks like 『Taming』effect doesn’t stand a chance against cookie-based negotiations!

Tch, if that’s how it is, time to deploy chaff(cookie scatter)! And in the blink of an eye, dozens of dancing chains swept through and snatched up only the cookies. And she’s already eating them? T-that’s fast? GUAAAHHH !! (*THUD!*)

(Crashed. Captured. Currently being lectured.)

…Scary. Also, ow. Well, might as well get started on making dinner. I mean, the lecture’s still going. It’s taking a while?

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