Breath and lightning strike collide head-on. A blast swept through the fortieth floor.
Kuuu-, it doesn’t care if this is a dungeon.
In that case, I’ll do it too. I increased the power of the Magic Jewel, an even more powerful lightning strike is released. Slowly, I began to push the breath back, and finally, the lightning strike hit the dragon’s mouth directly.
“Gugaaaah!”
The lightning strike burned the dragon’s body. After letting out a death cry, the giant body lay on the ground weakly. I then slashed the dragon’s neck as a finishing blow.
“Phew, I didn’t expect that a dragon is living here.”
I put the corpse in the bangle and then turned around. For some reason, my comrades, who were supposed to be soaking in the hot water, were lying on the ground. When I looked closely, I saw that the hot water that should be there is now empty.
It was a pity. I was thinking of taking another bath. I wiped my body with a towel and got dressed, leaving my comrades like that.
◇◇◇
“Hey, let’s hurry up and go to the next floor quickly. It’s too hot and unbearable.”
“Alright, alright. Just wait a moment. It’s almost done.”
I waited patiently in front of the hot spring pool. Erna and the others were lying on the ground in their swimsuits. Moreover, Erna also dexterously creates wind with magic and uses it as a fan.
Mmm, it’s time. I pulled a small basket out of the pool. There are five eggs in it. That’s right, I was making hot spring eggs. Speaking of hot springs, this is a must. It is a classic.
I cracked one egg open and a plump and semi-solid egg wobbled in the bowl. Added a few drops of soy sauce, then I enjoyed the rich flavor of the egg.
“Okay, I’ve eaten an egg, so let’s go.”
“Ahh~, finally! I’m so exhausted already.”
Erna and the others stood up like zombies, swaying their bodies from side to side as they followed us. No, it’s not “like a zombie”, they have turned into zombies themselves.
Moore was also frightened by their looks, so he quickly kept his distance. We wandered around the fortieth floor looking for the staircase. Then I found a strange place.
“What’s that?”
“Oh yes, I had to explain that.”
What I was asking about is a magic circle drawn with light. In the center of it is something like a platform and a glowing red orb floats on top of it. Moore stands in front of us and points to the orb.
“That is a net that seals off anything beyond this point.”
“Net?”
“It is the barrier created by that orb.”
According to his explanation, the barrier that exist on the 40th floor is designed to repel those who exceed a certain ability. To put it more simply, normal humans can go down the stairs without any problems, but gods and something that level cannot enter unless this barrier is broken. I was impressed by the many layers of barriers that were carefully prepared.
When I stepped inside the magic circle to approach the orb, a numbness like an electric shock ran through me.
“Fufufu, of course there is a protection for the thing that creates the barrier. Thus, if you want to break it, you have to be prepared to step forward.”
Hmm, so breaking the barrier would be very painful huh. According to Moore, we can proceed down below without removing it. There is no problem going back up, as long as we are still a human when we return.
But that is not applicable for me. By the time I come back here, I should have joined the ranks of the gods. In that case, it is clear that this thing must be solved right now.
I stepped into the magic circle again, numbness attacks my whole body as before. And the more I took a step forward, the more intense numbness and pain I felt.
Ugh, I see.
I could now understand why no one dared to break the barrier. As I go one step further, the pain burned into my whole body.
“Aghh!!”
“Shinichi!? Are you okay!?”
“Don’t worry…… just watch me.”
That said, this is pretty tough. I feel like the weight on my body has increased.
One more step.
This time, I could feel it clearly. The further I go, the more the gravity increases. I took a step forward, enduring severe pain. Immediately afterwards, the weight on me became so heavy that I sank my feet to the ground.
“Huff- guoh-, huff-huff-huff-!”
Two more steps and I can reach the orb. However, I can’t make those two steps. Because I was terrified of how much weight and pain would come next.
“What? Are you giving up? If it’s too hard, you can stop now you know.”
“Not yet! I can still go! I’m determined to solve this and return to Naoki as the God of Destruction!”
Why did I decide to become the God of Destruction?
It’s for a simple reason. It’s because Naoki is relying on me. Unlike my son, who is a god, I am a human with no power. But even so, my son relied on me, his father, at the last minute. That made me terribly happy. That’s why I am determined to become a god and return to Naoki. No matter what obstacles I face, I have to overcome them.
I took a step.
“Guggigigi!?”
Smoke rises from my body, and the smell of burning flesh wafts through the air. A weight that made my bones creak weighed down on me. Even my consciousness became hazy for a moment.
Just one step away. Just one more step before my fingers reach it. I’ll show you Shinichi Tanaka’s tenacity!
I took the last step.
“…………?”
The pain disappeared from my body and the weight disappeared. Apparently, the function of preventing intruders to get near does not work once the orb is within reach. I took a breath and picked up the orb from the pedestal. In the next moment, the magic circle disappeared, and the light from the orb disappeared.
“With this, the barrier is gone, right?”
“It should be. But there’s one more.”
“There’s one more!? Where is it?”
“It’s below here. Don’t panic, just rest your body for now.”
I sat down on the ground. My self-regeneration skill helped me recover faster, but my mental fatigue was greater than I expected. Maybe I just didn’t realize it, but it was a burden not only on my body but also on my mind.
“Father, are you okay?”
“Yes. At this rate, I’ll be back to normal soon.”
I handed the orb in my hand to Pero. He peers into the stone and taps it lightly with his fingers.
“I wonder what this is. It’s too big for a magic stone, is it a gem?”
“Lend it to me a bit.”
From first glance, you can only tell that the orb is made of stone. Erna takes the orb and looks into it. Looking at Erna from the side, Erna’s face looked surprised.
“This is a magic stone! It is of such high purity that it can be considered as a national treasure!”
“If we sell it, are we going to be rich?”
“Yes! Enough for a bath of gold coins! Oh, I wonder how much clothes I can buy!”
“Alright, let’s sell it. We’re going to make a name for ourselves in the kingdom as millionaires.”
Erna and Liz are beginning to get excited, so I took the orb away.
“We’re not selling this. We need to be able to restore the barrier if something happens. The money from vegetable sales and the cafeteria should be enough for us.”
“No! Give it back! Uwaaa, my clothes!”
I raised the orb up and Erna tries to reach out to it by jumping.
How greedy is this girl?
“By the way, Moore, is there a temple of teleportation on this level as well?”
“Yes, that’s for sure. However, there is one thing you must remember and be careful of. There is no temple of teleportation below this point. You will have to get there and back on your own.”
If that is the case, is this the last chance to return to the hideout or the surface?
If turned to my comrades and they all nodded silently. They seemed to be prepared to proceed forward.
“Alright. Let’s continue down.”
After finding the Temple of Teleportation, we headed to the forty-first floor.
◇◇◇
Since then, we have broken through floors of various environments. Two months after leaving, we finally reached the forty-ninth level.
“Fuwaaa~, as always, it’s hard to get a good sleep because the environment keeps on changing.”
“Zzzzzz”
I put a blanket on Liz who is still sleeping while Erna gets up from the bed. I had already woken up and was preparing for breakfast. Today’s menu is snake teriyaki sandwich. It is juicy and baked, and the savory smell stimulates my stomach. Add vegetables and mayonnaise to it and put it between breads. The teriyaki sandwich is complete.
By the time it was time for breakfast, everyone was awake.
“Thanks for the meal. It would have tasted even better if we had been in a better location, it’s a pity.”
“Don’t say that. It’s better that we can eat peacefully like this.”
Turning my gaze to the surroundings, I can see the gushing springs and lush trees. But beyond that, there was a desert. The forty-ninth level is a vast desert area. Strong sunlight shines from the ceiling, and a strong wind rolls up the sand.
The magical beasts that inhabit here are mainly those that specialize in sand, such as sand sharks. What is particularly troublesome are the Tornado Shark, a higher species of sand shark. Not only do they swim in the sand, but they also fly for a short time. They move through the air at breakneck speed and devours its prey.
“There’s a sand whale swimming around!”
In the direction Erna was pointing at, I saw a sand whale splashing in the sand. It is the most massive creature on this floor, but its personality is docile and does not attack unnecessarily. Still, it’s a carnivore, so it seems to swallow sand sharks whole.
“By the way, Moore, where is the next barrier?”
“As far as I remember, I think it was at the fiftieth level…… But after all, that was a long time ago. Forgive me if I’m mistaken.”
Fiftieth level?
It was a very deep dive. I no longer know how far from the surface we are now. I don’t know if it’s day or night. We’ve also fought with many creatures to get to this point. A monkey with stealth skills. A tiger that disables flames. A wolf running on a wall. An octopus that sprays poisonous gas. A yellow rat that shoots electric shocks. But we defeated them all and came here.
“Don’t look so troubled. We are almost at the bottom.”
“R-really? I thought that it would be below a hundred level.”
If that is the case, does that mean that we will arrive within the next 50 floors? Even so, it seems that there is a still long way to go.
“Alright. It’s time to leave!”
We packed our bags and set off from the oasis. We crossed the desert with Liz’s dark cloud. As we floated and move forward, we can admire the sand dunes below.
“It reminds me of when we went to the Holy Land of Kycilia.”
“Yes. Just crossing the desert was tough back then.”
“But it’s a good memory for me. I was able to travel hand in hand with Shinichi you see.”
Erna’s cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment. Seeing her like that, I turned my attention to the warming emotion in my chest. Perhaps it is time to seriously face myself. She told me she loved me the way I was. That doesn’t seem to have changed. If that’s still the case, I should properly respond to her feelings. It is true that I still love my former wife, Miyuki. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have any feelings for Erna.
“I want you to be happy for me.”
Miyuki’s words saved my heart. I feel like they’re pushing me hard now to take a step forward. Of course, not right away. I haven’t completely sorted out my mind yet. But I’m trying to move forward.
So, please wait a little longer. I’ll definitely tell you how I feel.
“W-what? Why are you looking at me so intently?”
“It’s nothing serious. I just felt a little hungry.”
“What!? We just had a meal you know!?”
Ignoring Erna who was shocked, I looked at the scenery and reminisced about the time when I met Erna.
“I found the staircase.”
Liz’s report brings my consciousness back to reality.
Are we finally able to reach the 50th floor?
Darkness descends near the stairs. We didn’t discuss anything and start going down the staircase.
“I wonder what is in the fiftieth floor.”
“Who knows. We’ll find out when we get there.”
“I wish it would stop being so hot.”
Pero wrinkled his brow, genuinely unwilling. It was a hot environment from the 40th to the 49th floor. It is no wonder he wanted to say that.
“Oh, I can see the next floor.”
We stepped into the fiftieth floor.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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