333 - - 331 Preparation?

Having cleared the 96th layer more easily than I expected, I stepped into the 97th layer, vowing to do something a little more adventurous this time.

"Yuta, go for it!""Queue!""Don't worry!""Coo-coo!""It's that easy!""......"

"Oh, I got it. Let's go!"

The cheers of Bell and the others push him forward, and he leaps onto a gravity stone about a meter ahead. Having already given up on the idea of landing gracefully on two legs, he lands on the gravity stone as if clinging to it. The impact of the landing makes the gravity stone wobble, but I manage to withstand it by crawling on all fours.

"Whew, I'm getting used to it. Maybe next time we can increase the distance a little more.

The distance is only one meter at most, but it is surprisingly difficult. The gravity stone you jump from is higher than the scaffold, and the scaffold will spin around if you exert too much force. I failed to step on and land on the scaffold several times and Sylphy had to help me, but I think I can increase the distance once I get used to it.

"You don't have to work that hard, do you?　It's taking you quite a bit of time, you know?"

I know what Sylphy means, but this is fun and I want to do my best. My goal is two meters!

"I'll take the usual help from the 98th layer."

"Yuta, the demon is here!"

"Oh, okay. I'll leave the long-range attacks to Bell and the others.

I held up my magic hammer and looked in the direction Belle pointed to see four bird demons attacking me. These birds are the type to charge at you with their beaks, so it's an easy win for me alone. I cleave the flying demons to the side with a single flash and make them into mincemeat. Bird-head! Just charging in too fast is pointless!　I feel pretty cool now.

"If they don't swarm me like they did in the 96th layer, it should be a piece of cake."

"Easy peasy. But if the enemy sends magic or feathers, there's nothing we can do."

I can't do anything when they attack from a distance. At first, the magic wand comes out! I was so excited, but I didn't hit anything. ...... I'll practice a little more seriously when I get back.

I'm sure we can work with Bell and the others on that. Yuta doesn't have to do everything by himself.

Sylphy's words are enough for me to stroke the belles who are gathering around. They may look young, but they are dependable children.

"But, they don't seem to be flocking together in the 97th layer, even though they're making a lot of noise. I wonder why?"

"Hmm, in the 96th layer, we moved the gravity stone on a large scale, so it must have attracted the attention of the boss-like demon.　This time, they only moved the gravity stone to jump over, so I guess they missed it."

"I see."

It's kind of random, but I guess Sylphy doesn't know how demons feel either. But it's more fun to fight them like this every now and then because it makes me feel like I'm having an adventure. I like to open treasure chests all at once like in the 96th layer because it's luxurious, but it's also fun to open treasure chests carefully one by one that I can find occasionally.

We still have a long way to go to the biggest island on the top of the mountain, but let's enjoy climbing while increasing our flying distance.

****

We have finally reached the biggest island in the sky after steadily increasing our flying distance while fighting off the attacking demons. As I was filled with a sense of accomplishment, a big boss-like bird demon and countless bird demons appeared from the shadows of the island on the other side.

I see. ...... I guess this is how the demons would have appeared in the 96th layer. This is quite impressive, and it seems that the battle is about to begin.

"By the way, what kind of demon is that big demon?　What are its characteristics?"

It's a little late for that, since we've already defeated them once and stored them away, but this time we're going to have a real fight. I'll keep you informed. It looks like a crow, but it's a bird of a different size, about the size of the wyvern we defeated before.

"Oh, that bird demon is called the village eater. The name comes from the fact that a village that is spotted by this monster will be devoured by it, from livestock to people.

It was a more dangerous bird than I expected. The village is a bit shabby, but I'm sure the target would be thrilled to be targeted. Such a bird sunk by Bell's surprise attack. It must have been sad.

"Gggghhhh!"

With a little sympathy, the village-eating bird let out an eerie cry and all the bird demons around it attacked at once.

........................

"Is that all of it for now?"

"Yes, all of them."

Even though many demons attacked us, the battle ended easily. The number of demons was fewer than in the 96th layer, and the foothold was large enough and stable enough because it was a big island. It is safe to say that there is no reason for us to lose the battle.

The village-eating birds also attacked with their mouths emitting ultrasonic-like sounds, but they were quickly defeated by the bells again, so we were not able to play an active role in the battle. If they had challenged me to a close combat, I could have joined them. After I had retrieved all the demons, I thought to myself....

"Hey Sylphy, do you think we can store the island with the stairs?"

"What?　I think you should stop ....... The presence of a staircase means that it is connected to another space. You never know what might happen. There are a few other big islands out there, so be happy with that."

"Okay. I'll stop.

You're right. It would be troublesome if we try and succeed in storing it, and as a result the space gets torn up and we can't go on, or if there is a big explosion or something. I'll be satisfied with the fact that I could see Sylphy's surprised face.

"That's good. It's getting late, shall we go on?"

"No, I'll just rest here on the island."

Since the 98th layer will be the same as the 97th layer, we will have to climb up to the big island to rest. Then we should rest here.

As we set the table with food after leaving the mobile base, Bell and the others who had been playing with the gravity stones gathered around us. They are very sensitive to the presence of food.

"Since you've all worked so hard, we're going to make a special dessert for two after dinner.

............"

"Yeah, after dinner."

The Belles are in high spirits. They wanted to have dessert right away, so I nailed it to their heads that it was after dinner. They probably want to have dessert as soon as possible, so they will eat dinner in a hurry.

****

We spend the night by the stairs on the 97th floor, have breakfast, and go down to the 98th floor.

"Oh, so that's what you mean ...... I wonder if I can conquer this?"

Instead of bird demons, there are wyverns flying around. But the problem is that the wyvern is bigger than the wyvern, and there are glimpses of a green dragon shaped like a western dragon, the same as the fire dragon that scared me in the 50th layer. .......

Is it smaller in size than the fire dragon?　It is hard to compare them because they are flying in the sky, but they seem to be somewhat smaller. If they were in the same class as the Fire Dragon, it would be impossible for me and Belle and the others to get through.

"That's a green dragon. It's not a dragon, and it's a little better than an assault dragon. If Yuta and Bell and the others work together, we can beat it. But they are flying and it will be tough if they are swarmed.

"Do dragons have a habit of only fighting one-on-one?"

"Green dragons have some intelligence. If they don't think they can win, they will ask around for help. And there are three green dragons camped out on the island with the stairs."

I've already confirmed more than one. That's like saying it's almost impossible. Even in the 48th and 49th layers of the labyrinth, dragons suddenly appeared, so maybe the stage before the milestone layer is the dragon stage. And the boss of the 100th layer will be a dragon for sure. This is a tough game!

"And you see that big island?"

Yes, there was no island of that size in the 96th and 97th layers. ...... Is there a dragon there by any chance?"

"Correct!"

Sylphy compliments me on a job well done, but I'm not too happy about it.

"What kind of dragon?"

I ask Sylphy a question with trepidation.

"Poison dragon."

Poison Dragon...... you mean a poison dragon. That's the worst impression I've ever had. And I've heard of something else.

"Poison dragon"... Poison was once used to trap treasure chests, wasn't it? I think Dine said that the poison was so poisonous that it was unfashionable, and that just inhaling the vaporized poison would cause a lot of damage. ......

"I'm pretty sure it's that poison dragon."

"Isn't it suddenly too difficult?　Poison dragons are attribute dragons, right?　Isn't it too much to set up on an island where you can't avoid such a thing unless you can fly?"

"Poison dragon is not an attribute dragon. It's a subspecies of the same type of dragon as the earth dragon ...... assault dragon, which absorbs a large amount of poison during its growth and derivation. Therefore, I think it has the same level of intelligence as the assault dragon, and it uses its huge body to attack while spreading its poison.

"Well, if we can manage the poison, is there any way we can win?"

"That's what I meant. Well, Belle will be able to prevent the poison, but it's dragon venom, and it will take Moon's cure a long time to recover if it does happen. If we're going to fight, it's best to call Vita. If you don't want to risk it, I could lose my head, you know?"

Hmmm...you mean with the help of Sylphy or with the help of Vita? Well, I guess we can win with other great spirits as well, but for now it's a choice between the two.

Speaking of which, we should take this opportunity to relieve Ifu's stress ...... and have her deal with the dragons in the 100th layer anyway. Iff will be happy to have a strong opponent.

First of all, Poison Dragon will surely be useless in the ......100 layer, and if we can defeat it with Vita's help, I'll give it a try. If it is not so different from the assault dragon, even I should be able to beat it.

As for the Green Dragon, I'll need Sylphy's help, but I'll ask her to create an environment where we can fight one on one.

"Well, I'll need your help to avoid being surrounded by the enemy, but other than that, I'll try to fight by myself.

"Yeah?　If Yuta chooses to fight, I won't say anything. But ...... that's where nature's armor comes in, right?"

Sylphy smiles happily. She says she won't say anything, but she's totally requesting nature's armor. Well, since we're dealing with dragons, we should raise their defense if we can. .......