Chapter 135 (1/2)
Volume 2
Chapter 136
Ch 136 — Giants Zone
The previous 21 levels had not changed very much in structure, only progressing from stone-walled passageways to rough-cut tunnels but now we were on the 22nd level things were noticeably different with the passageways being twice the size of the ones before . I found out the reason when we entered the level’s first room, a large high-roofed space that mirrored the increased size of the passageway outside . The monsters inside were giant Trolls, over 3 metres tall as well as several Minotaurs .
“There are giant Trolls and Minotaurs . . . ” I said, “that’s why both the passage and this room are so big . ”
“That’s right . ” Fer said, his head turning from side to side . “From what I can detect this level and the next few levels too are only populated by giant monsters like those ones . ”
I see . Assuming Fer was right we’d be encountering giant monsters, most of them over 3 metres tall from now on . I was disliking this dungeon’s structure more and more — I thought I could maybe help in the fighting here and there, what with my Mithril sword and my Perfect Defence Skill but me tackling monsters as big as that was impossible . I could only look up to anyone who could face those monsters with a calm heart .
“It’s impossible for me to fight monsters like that, just so you know . ” I told Fer .
“Hmmm, you’re really gutless, aren’t you?” Fer said off-handedly . Thanks, Fer . “Still, Trolls and Minotaurs aren’t dangerous enemies to us . ” I know that but for me, even with Perfect Defence I’m not brave enough or competent enough to go up against a monster over 3 metres tall . “Just stand there quietly and watch, OK?”
“It’s time to have some fun! Big slow-moving lumps like these, I’ll kill them before they know they’re dead!” Oh, Dora-chan was really fired up . Help yourself please, I thought .
“Aruji-, Sui’s going to pew-pew the big bad guys too- . I’ll use my water magic-” Sui-chan was also totally ready to fight . Pew-pew the big bad guys all you want, Sui-chan . You’ve got really powerful water magic now you received Water Goddess Rusalka-sama’s blessing and you’ve levelled up so much as well .
“Right, let’s go . ” Fer commanded and the three of them rushed into the room .
Slash, crash, slash– . Fer’s wind and lightning attacks hammered into the crowd of Trolls and Minotaurs, knocking them around like toys .
Thunk, thunk, thunk– . Dora-chan’s body lit up with fire magic and he simply flew straight through the chests of the monsters in the room one after the other like a small flaming comet, killing them instantly .
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Splat, splat, sizzle– . Sui’s Acid Bullets melted large holes in Minotaur bellies at longer range while she fired Acid Balls at enemies closer in for a greater widespread effect . Being the youngest of the three, Sui-chan’s magic attacks weren’t as powerful as Fer and Dora-chan’s but her tactics were well-chosen to deal with her opponents appropriately . She was definitely getting stronger as she grew up . I wondered if she might evolve again when we finished here and left the dungeon .
“””Guruuuuu . . . “”” While I was distracted trying to imagine what Sui-chan might evolve into, the battle in the room, such as it was, had ended . Total victory for us, of course .
Oh, is it over? I went in and collected the drops . There were Minotaur horns, a Minotaur’s Iron Axe, Minotaur meat and Troll skins as well as a Troll’s Poison Claw which was a drop item new to me . The number of drops hadn’t increased as we went lower in the dungeon but the quality and value of them had gone up somewhat to match the increased danger on each level . We went through the other rooms one by one killing the monsters as they appeared and collecting drops . It just took some time since there were lots of monsters on this level and they stayed mostly in the rooms off to one side of the passageways . Previously we had encountered quite a few monsters as we traversed the passages but not so much any more .
Of course with Fer, Dora-chan and Sui doing the fighting there was nothing we met that gave them any problems . Often I spent more time collecting the drops than they did killing the monsters we encountered . We finally cleared all the rooms on the 22nd level, leaving just the boss room . . .
“I’m hungry”
“Oh, I got hungry too . ”
“Sui is also hungry-”
Ah, it’s dinner time for the kiddies now that playtime was over, I thought to myself . Fer gave me a Look, apparently my thought had leaked a little . Oops . Still, the idea of getting fed mollified him and we were soon in the level’s safe area, close to the boss room .
What should I serve up for today’s dinner? Hmmm, ginger-fried pork using Orc General meat and pork miso soup to go with it, that sounded like a good idea . I filled bowls with cooked rice then topped them with the ginger-fried pork and plenty of shredded cabbage . I also dished up pork miso in bowls for the kids, uh the brave valiant warriors of great renown .
“Right, here you are . ” I said, putting the dishes out and stepped back quickly before I got trampled in the rush . The sounds of gobbling and slurping filled the small room .
“After all our efforts today, food is delicious . ” Fer thought as he vacuumed up the pork and rice before turning his attention to the pork miso .
“Oh, the seasoning on this meat is really tasty . ” Dora-chan added .
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“Yup yup, it’s very delicious- the juice and the meat with the vegetables-”
I agreed with Fer, eating after being so active added an extra touch to the taste of dinner . I helped myself to some of the ginger-fried pork over rice and pork broth too although I had to admit I’d done very little of the fighting today . I had collected a lot of item drops though, did that count?
Hmmm, adding the fresh shredded cabbage to the ginger-fried pork and rice worked well, providing a sharp crunch to the dish . The pork miso soup with its slow-cooked vegetables tasted good too . It was a soothing flavour and I felt myself relax after the non-stop action of the previous few hours . Oh~ delicious .
“”Seconds”” . Yeah yeah . Dora-chan looked like he was stuffed with the first large serving I had given out to everyone (about three regular-sized servings) but Fer and Sui-chan were, as usual, still going strong . I dished out more food to them and returned to my own dinner . I was interrupted a couple more times as usual until all of the ginger-fried pork I had in reserve was gone . There was a little pork miso soup left, about a single serving which I put back in the Item Box for later . All that food made me a bit sleepy and I glanced up at the ceiling reflexively, to try and judge what time it was before I remembered we were deep underground and the sun wasn’t visible . Maybe I should buy a watch from the Net Super sometime? Then again I’d only ever need it in places like this and I wasn’t really planning go dungeon-diving ever again .
“Hey Fer, I feel tired after eating . ” I said . “Let’s sleep here tonight and go into the boss room tomorrow . ”
“Yeah . ” Fer agreed . “It’s probably time to sleep if we were outside anyway . Good idea . ” Fer seemed to be able to sense what time it was outside the dungeon but hey, my belly was a pretty good timepiece as well .
“Dora-chan, Sui-chan, we’re going to sleep in here today . ” I said .
“Yah, I understand . ”
“I understand- . Where’s the futon?-”
Oh, futons? I glanced around but we were the only ones here in the safe area for this level so it would probably be OK to get the futons out of my Item Box . I put down some cardboard and laid out futons for Fer and Dora-chan and a futon for me and Sui-chan as usual . I hadn’t expected to come this far into the dungeon so quickly . Not wanting to use Net Super in the dungeon I had bought more futons and other things to keep in my Item Box but apart from all the food I had prepared it now seemed like a waste of effort . While I was thinking about that as I spread out the futons, I heard running feet and voices from outside the safe area .
“We made it!! Get into the safe area !!!”
“Hurry up! Quick !!!!”