Skill? Nee yo Sonnamon! ~ Fugusha tachi no Saino Kaika ~

To Dungeon Slaughter, Nay, Exploration Once More 

I woke up to a slightly nostalgic familiar looking ceiling.
Ah, it hit me that I'm back at Daijel's inn seeing this ceiling.
Now then, time to wash my face and make breakfast. Today I'm gonna go with ham and eggs, miso soup and arorice.


As I was frying ham and eggs in the kitchen, Alma came by.


"Good morning... You look like you could use some more shut-eye, Alma."

"Morning... The moons bothered me so much, I couldn't get a wink of sleep..."

"Two full moons, the sign of Demon King's birth and Hero summoning was it... Hero aside, is Demon King that bad a news?"

"Well we only have records to go by but it's said that millions of people died before a Hero managed to defeat a Demon King."

"M-millions? ...The scale is way too big, it's hard to visualize..."

"But mom and dad once brought me to remnants of the destruction left in their wake. Stuff like a crater one kilometer in diameter, or ruins of a grand city where every building was abandoned."

"Uwaa... I can see why they're regarded as super dangerous."

"Told you, you took it too lightly."


Alma sat down at the table in the room next to the kitchen after saying that, looking slightly disgruntled.
...I mean I can't help it. I'm not from this world, getting terms like Demon Kings suddenly thrown around did nothing to me.
My imagination only extends to one being a last boss in RPGs at best. Like how they're offering half of the world. Who needs that.
Heck, isn't this Demon King more like an isekai terrorist, just on a massive scale? Or maybe a despot who wages wars on all countries without a care in the world.
...When I put that way, the situation does feel much more pressing. Maybe we should take shelter somewhere?


<<When a Demon King is born, a base under his rule also spawns on each continents. There is virtually no safe zone anywhere.>>


Ah, there's no escape huh. Dammit.
What a huge pain in the rear. Ain't Demon King-san way too belligerent toward humanity?
Are these Demon King's bases like? Some sorta castles inhabited by the Demon King's four executives or something?


<<Your take on the matter is apt.>>


I see. I'd have loved nothing more than to avoid them, but I guess it depends on their actions.
I'd probably die if we ever got to fight one. Zero chance of winning.
Gotta work on my strength so it doesn't come to that. Which means, food first thing first. I finished making ham and eggs while I was thinking. The miso soup is cooking nicely too.
Can't fight on an empty stomach. Time to dig in.
We usually ate in each our room before we formed a party together but nowadays we eat on the same table together like it's natural.
This way, I can hear her impressions on the flavor and such, also the food tastes much better than when I'm eating alone for some reason. Uumu, and here I was used to eating by myself when I was living alone.


After breakfast, I went downtown to relax and do some shopping, there I could hear the populace throwing the terms, 'Demon King' and 'Hero' here and there.
They must have seen the two full moons last night. A lot of them looked anxious.
Think Alma and I should focus on leveling up our basic and skill levels, upgrading our equipment and training on mana control, lifeforce control and such.
We already handed over Jet Boar mats to the store, we should have our new equipment soon. I'm gonna get strong enough to solo that thing.

Guess this means we gotta head back into the dungeon for leveling.
I took a quick look on the currently available commissions at the guild and most had nothing to do with magic beasts so it'd be hard to level up taking them.
For the sake of dealing with stuff relating to Demon Kings, pure strength is currently a more pressing matter than cash.
So yeah, time to resume our the hobgoblin and high kobold slaughter...
Also, won't the treasure chests start dropping rare items just about now please. I'm even fine with vanisoi beans.

Good grief, even an exceedingly simple goal of living while having fun and eating good seems so far-fetched now.
Mostly thanks to Demon King. Damn you, hope you get your just desserts one day. By the hero. No way for me.
...Say these Demon Kings were born by the law of this world, the question would be why.
Considering they seem hellbent on massacring humans, you'd think they want to make humanity go extinct, yet they never succeeded.
I mean of course it would be thanks to the summoned hero, I guess.
Or maybe it's the demon king's duty to reduce the number of humans in this world until they get defeated by the hero.
Like a way to prevent resource shortage from a population explosion. Just a wild idea of mine though.


<<...>>


Hm? Did you just display something, Menu?


<<Nay. T'was merely a test message for maintenance purpose.>>


Really. Menu's got a lot of handy features, guess it needs regular maintenance huh. Thankfully it's done automatically.
Time to cut my delusion time short and get ready for some dungeon delving.
Getting down too deep is dangerous, but after our experience with Jet Boar, I think one floor down than the usual is reasonable.
...Hopefully that's not enough to raise a flag.


And here we are at the dungeon.
The last time we stepped inside was before the village commission, yet I don't feel at all nostalgic since the structure inside is ever changing.
The magic beasts on each floor get stronger the deeper you go, but they're below level 10 up until floor three, with only some occasional hobgoblins and high kobolds.
Alma and I can beat goblins bare handed now, with weapons we can even easily defeat mere hobgoblins and high kobolds without Skills or Mana Control.
Apparently starting from floor four and below, magic beasts above level 10 start showing up so we're planning to conquer floor four today.


We passed through the escape portals on floor 1-3 and arrived at floor four.
Now then, this is probably as far as we could go not using our MP at all.
The goal may be to get stronger, but we can't be reckless still. Dying now would be like putting the cart before the horse.
First we should find the portal on this floor and then use that as a base of operation while we go around hunting magic beasts and treasure chests.

Ooh, found a villager, I mean a magic beast. All four of them.
Three High Kobolds with one strong-ish mana... Wait, that's a Werewolf, last time was at the Stampede huh.
A frontal clash could prove a bit tight with their number so I'm having Alma shoot the reinforced Stone Bullet while I ambush them with Pseudo Ground Shrink + Mana Pile Bunker.
3, 2, 1, GO!


BOOM, as Alma shot her Stone Bullet at a High Kobold, I zeroed in on another High Kobold with Low Altitude Flight.
As my palm touched it, my Pile will... Oh wait, oh crap, I mistimed.

BASH, my palm hit the High Kobold chest and sent it flying a few meter ahead.
The Pile Bunker misfired. My Mana Flight came out faster than I expected, making the timing go all wrong.
...Huh? It's dead? I mean yeah, that should deal damage seeing the speed I crashed into it but how's that enough to kill it. Kinda let down.
Alma made a hole on the another High Kobold's body, killing it.
It's clear since the village, but Alma's really such a good sharpshooter.


<<Conjecture, the primary cause is her Throwing Skill boosting her accuracy.>>
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >

Ah, so Throwing Skill affects magic accuracy too huh. The so called Skill Combo.
She must have thought it through if she learned the Skill with that goal in mind. This girl is really a genius.
Now then, Werewolf. Guess we can go with the same old tactic of me holding it down and Alma putting the finishing touch.

BWOSH, I closed in on the Werewolf and grabbed both its arms.
...Huh? Is it just me or is this Werewolf physically weaker than the previous one? No, looking at its Stats, it's actually stronger.
Ah, right, I've been leveling up so my attributes are higher than last time. Even the previously super intimidating Werewolf looks so harmless now. Inflation of power is cruel.
Then, Alma struck it down. She didn't need to use Magic Swords.


"They went down much easier than I thought. Guess we got stronger thanks to all the level ups."

"But no letting your guard down. We'd be in trouble if a foe as strong as a Jet Boar showed up."

"Right on. Let's find the portal quick and set up a safe zone there."


Yeah, wouldn't want to face that thing again for a while. We barely made it out that one time.
For now, let's resume the exploration while staying on toes for traps.


We prowled floor four for a while and found it was indeed an overall upgrade.
For example, items from treasure chests are slightly better than the ones on floor three.
Potions get to mid level, equipment aren't of iron or rusted variety, they're mainly steel ones now.
Looks like we won't have to worry about money. I get why adventurers would venture deeper.
Getting ahead of ourselves gonna kick us back in the nuts though, gotta be careful.

Oh, found the escape portal.
We haven't really fought for real today, let's keep looking around before heading back...?
Hm? I feel quite a strong mana reaction from the room next to the portal's.
I peeked inside and saw a suspicious-looking humanoid wearing a triangle-shaped hat floating.
Status check.



Magic Beast: Spirit Magician

Level: 24

Status: Normal

[Stats]

HP: 320/320
MP: 375/375
SP: 171/192

STR (Strength): 100 (+15)
ATK (Attack): 100
DEF (Defense): 183
AGI (Agility): 152
INT (Intelligence): 267 (+40)
DEX (Dexterity): 149
PER (Perception): 154
RES (Resistance): 194
LUK (Luck): 47

[Skills]

Magic Beast Level 3, Staff Art Level 3, Offensive Magic Level 6, Elemental Magic Level 2, Support Magic Level 2

Equipment:
Crystal Staff
ATK +15, INT +40


Oh, a magic-focused magic beast.
That's a first, we've only fought physical type thus far. Bladewings didn't have strong magic in their arsenal.
Against a magic-type, I guess we should stay within melee range and block it from casting magic. No wait, dodging a Stone Bullet at point-blank range would be difficult.
Coming up with ways to fight different types of enemies is pretty fun. Now then, what do here.