We arrived at the thirty-eighth floor and were stunned by the unexpected sight. The entire floor is an idyllic meadow. The vegetation is swaying in the wind, and the soft sunlight shines from the ceiling. It’s like a field full of spring sunshine. It feels really good.
“Everyone, don’t let your guard down. Let me tell you in advance, this is the most dangerous place.”
“Hmmm, it doesn’t look like that.”
“It is dangerous mainly because of that. The scenery here lures you into a false sense of security and catches you off guard. Furthermore, because what you’ve experienced up until now has been so harsh, this place is frighteningly good at entangling humans.”
I see, the journey so far has been like a prelude to getting to this point. If that is the case, the appearance of the enemy must also lure us into a false sense of security. For example, they must be hiding and disguised as plants.
I pulled out the grass under my feet at random. However, it was just an ordinary weed. When I used Enemy Search Skill, a number of red dots appeared on the map in my field of vision. Moore is right, there seems to be many enemy lurking on this floor.
“Is this the enemy?”
With my enemy search skill, I went to one of the enemies. It was a tree. No matter how I look at it, it looks like an ordinary tree, but I feel that there is something about it that makes it different from a normal tree. When I touched it, it felt warm and I also felt its throbbing heartbeat.
I immediately used my analysis skill to make clear what it is.
Apparently, this is a plant magical beast called Dryad.
| 【Analysis result: Dryad: Normally, it takes the form of a tree, but at night, it appears before men in the form of a woman and seduces them. As it bites, it infuses paralyzing poison to the target and the later turns into a source of nourishment for new dryads while he is still alive. Rarity: A, Overall Ability: C】 |
| 【Status】 Name: Dryad Race: Dryad Magic Attribute: Earth Magic: Rock Bullet Skills: Search (Beginner), Root Strengthening (Intermediate), Hypnotic Gas (Intermediate), Aphrodisiac Gas (Advanced), Neurotoxin (Intermediate), Growth Promotion Evolution: Conditions are not met < Evolution Requirements: Search (Special), Hypnosis Gas (Advanced), Leadership (Beginner) > |
When I told my comrades about it, the women started to get angry for some reason.
“Burn it! Burn these things to the root!”
“I vehemently agree! Exterminate them!”
“Absolutely unforgivable! How dare them to try to seduce my Pero-sama!”
The three of them randomly burn and destroy trees.
J-just what triggered them?
Then, perhaps sensing the danger, the Dryads began to flee, moving their roots like legs. What a pity. I wanted to have a good look at what kind of magical beast it was.
We decided to take a rest here and start eating. I took out the snake meat from the upper floor. Prepared the ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, soy sauce, sake, eggs, and flour. After I seasoned the snake meat, I dropped it into the hot oil to complete the deep-fried snake.
Normally, you should beat the snake to crush its small bones, but when it comes to large snakes, the bones themselves are easy to pull out. What’s more, this cold snake has a lot of fat on it, and the meat is surprisingly tender. Normally, it would be hard to chew, but I was surprised that it didn’t feel like that. I regretted that I should have hunted Cold Snake a little more.
◇◇◇
We reached the 39th level.
The whole floor was like a swamp. The depth of the water is about 1 to 3 meters, and plants float everywhere like floating islands. Looking into the water, I can see many fish swimming around. As for the atmosphere, it feels like there is something else there. I guess that if one swims in there carelessly, he will be eaten by that unknown creature.
“Man-eaters live here.”
“What kind of creature is it?”
“Mmmm, let’s see…… Oh-, that one.”
Moore pointed to a large floating island. A huge crocodile that was about 15 meters long is drying its body there. As the name suggests, it is a cannibalistic creature. Moreover, as I looked closely, there are man-eaters everywhere. I guess that if we try to pass by boat, we’ll probably become their meal.
“Liz”
“I get it.”
Liz takes everyone on board her dark cloud. We don’t have to cross the swamp. We then soon found a staircase leading to the 40th floor.
◇◇◇
“Phew, it’s getting hot.”
As she descends the stairs, Erna takes off her winter clothes. When I took off my cloak, I could certainly feel the heat clinging to my body. It’s like being in a sauna.
“Pero-sama’s fur is falling out again in large quantities!”
“Maybe it is shedding because it’s getting hot?”
Freya was astonished at how much hair fell out as she’s brushing it. I feel that Pero’s physique has shrunk twice. Freya sheds tears of frustration as she touches Pero’s back.
“Pero-sama’s fluffy fur…… now it is so short…..woooo.”
She was so engrossed with Pero’s fluffy fur so it must have been a sad event for her now that the large amount of fur grew back short. Still, I don’t get that feeling at all.
As we descend the stairs, the temperature rises even more. I don’t have a thermometer at hand, so I don’t know the exact number, but I think it’s around 40 degrees Celsius. Pero sticks out his tongue languidly and exhales heavily.
“Hey, look at you young lady. We still have a long way to go you know.”
“But Moore-sama~, it’s been so hot since a while ago~”
“Don’t complain. If you want to be recognized as my true successor, show me your true spirit as a mage.”
“!!? I-I’ll do my best!”
Moore’s words cheered Erna intensely. As expected, the encouragement from the person you have admired for many years indeed strengthens your spirit. With fire in her eyes, she suddenly rushed out.
“I’m going to take care of all the enemies!”
“Hey, it’s dangerous to be alone.”
“Don’t worry! Moore-sama, just watch me in action!”
Erna disappeared into the light at the end of the corridor. I’m a little worried, but she’s also a strong one with a high level of ability. I’m pretty sure she should be able to judge whether it is dangerous or not. If she thinks it was bad, she will come back for sure. With that in mind, I also stepped into the fortieth floor.
I couldn’t close my open mouth at the sudden change.
Here, the whole floor was like a single room, as before. However, the situation was a little different. The craggy rock surface is exposed to the floor and ceiling, and the rocks are scattered around in a mess. In addition, from time to time, something like steam blows out from the ground, and what seemed like yellow sulfur were everywhere. It also has a peculiar smell like rotten eggs, so I can’t go wrong, it is definitely sulfur.
As soon as he entered the floor, Pero became sluggish and weak. Maybe the temperature here was too high for him to handle. For the time being, I asked Liz to let Pero rest on her dark cloud.
“I’m sorry Father. Sorry that I’m in this state….”
“It’s not your fault that happened, don’t worry about it.”
That said, both Liz and Freya also looked pretty exhausted. The temperature is expected to have reached 50 degrees Celsius. No matter how much their body has evolved and strengthened, hot things are still hot.
Suddenly, I found something that caught my attention along the way. It is hot water that springs from the ground. It was bubbling and boiling, so it was unlikely that I would be able to soak in the hot water, but as I looked at it, I realized something.
“Hot spring…… This is a place where I can be forever excited.”
Before I knew it, I was running. I am out looking for a bigger pool of hot water.
“Found it! Uhahahaha!”
I am terribly excited about it. I found a source that flowed like a river. On the opposite bank, there are a number of pools of hot water, and white steam is already rising in the area. When I dipped my hand into one of the larger pools, it felt like it was about 60~70°C. Not bad. I could definitely soak in it.
“What is Tanaka-dono doing?”
“I don’t know. I can’t tell what is on Oniichan’s head all the time.”
“Fufufufu, I know. I can tell it right away.”
I took off my clothes and threw them away. I then poured a large amount of water from my bangle into the pool of water.
Great! Now it’s just the right temperature. I can finally enjoy the best hot spring.
Splash! The hot water seeped into my bones as I soak in it. Oh, right. I’ve got to put Pero in here too. I blindly lifted my son out of the dark cloud and carried him into the hot water.
“Huh? ……I feel much better now.”
“Kukuku, soaking in a hot spring is the best way to relax your body.”
“Un. Thank you Father.”
Moore, who was watching the situation, also took off his clothes and soaked in the hot water.
“Muuuuuh, this is pretty good. It blows away all my fatigue.”
“You’ve hardly done anything though.”
“What do you mean? I’m serving as your top guide you know.”
“I don’t really get it. I don’t feel that way you see.”
Then Liz and Freya, who had been crouching on the rocky area, come to us. The two of them were wearing bikinis as they soaked in the hot water, looking a little shy.
“I see. This is a natural bath.”
“It’s amazing that this blows away my tiredness.”
That’s for sure. Hot springs are good for cleansing the soul. How long has it been since I had bathed in a hot spring? I never imagined that such a happy event awaited me in the dungeon.
Haha~Paradise Paradise.
As I soaked in the hot water, my eyelids become heavy. Liz and the others were already sleeping soundly.
But how far did Erna go?
If necessary, Liz’s skill can help me to get in touch with her, but I don’t want to disturb Liz who has just fallen into sleep.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
I involuntarily got up from the bath. That scream is from Erna. After a few seconds, the ground begins to shake slightly.
“Someone! Help!”
As the screams approached, the shaking also increased. I am also having a bad premonition.
Guooooooooo!!
A roar echoed that shakes the air.
—I grabbed my sword while still naked and readies it.
“Erna!”
“Shinichi!? Where are you!?”
“Here! This way, this way!”
“Found y—Kyaaaaah!”
Erna, who emerged from the rocky area, immediately crouched down with a red face as soon as she saw me.
“Why are you embarrassed?”
“Stay away! Y-you… it’s dangling around!!”
Dangling? What is she talking about?
“Anyway, are you okay? What’s with this vibration?”
“I told you not to come near me! I’m not yet mentally prepared!”
Mentally prepared? Just what on earth is Erna really talking about?
But it’s troubling me to be told not to go near her. I want to hear about the details about it right now—huh?
I froze as it emerged from the shadow of the boulder.
I see…… Was Erna being chased by it?
“Grrrrrrr”
It was a dragon covered in red scales. The height is about 20 meters. Spines grow from the head to the back, and its shape is close to that of a wyvern. When it opened its mouth lined with sharp fangs, I could see the flames flickering along with dripping drool.
“I can’t believe you will bring back something like that. But it can’t be helped.”
“….…Kyaaah!”
Hmm? Erna is staring down with her eyes opened wide. That’s when I finally realized.
Ooops, right, I was naked now.
In the end, Erna fell down with a thud muttering, “Mushroom…… big mushroom”.
Uh-, maybe it was too stimulating for Erna. Even though it was an accident, I am sorry for her.
“Gugaaa!”
The dragon exhaled a deep breath. I guessed it will use that. I quickly activated the magic jewel and unleashed a lightning strike.
In an instant, the breath and the lightning strike collided.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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