223-200 deeper

Everything okay?

I went down to the second level and looked back at the bottom of the slope, but there was no change in the path.

I walked past the point where the last collapse had occurred and out of the room, but there was no sound of a collapse coming from the slope.

Apparently, there was no need to worry about being trapped this time.

Is this a one-time thing?　Or is it detecting a party?

I don't even want to think about how sophisticated ...... is.

It's a fantasy.

It's a fantasy.

The second layer of demons includes Pikkau, so it's a bit tastier in a double sense for us.

The main purpose is meat, because it can be sold at a higher price than the other monsters in the second layer.

After a bit of overhunting for beefy meat, we headed for the stairs leading to the third level.

On the way, I saw that the Tyrant Pickau had come back to life, so I took a good portion of that as well.

The thick slices of lean steak from the Pickau were delicious, so it was no surprise.

If it comes back in a month or so, it might be a good idea to come back occasionally.

No ...... treasure chests?

There is nothing in the place where the last treasure chest was, and the empty chest is gone.

It's a good thing that the magic circle next to it, where you can transfer to the ground, is still there.

It's hard for me to get to the ground from here now.

I guess the treasure chest is not coming back. Like a reward for the first kill?

Maybe. Then I'm tempted to hope, but ...... hasn't given me any results yet, right?

I'm not sure. At the welcome party, Diora said, "Please give us some more time.

The pendant you found last time has been left at the adventurer's guild, and the results have not yet been reported.

It takes more than a month to appraise a single treasure, which is quite a hassle, but it seems promising and I'm looking forward to it.

However, if a lot of treasures are obtained in this dungeon in the future, I would like to see some improvements.

If you have to wait for a long time every time, it's really ......?　I'm not sure if this is a problem or not.　It's just a matter of mood.

It's a good idea to take a look at the website to see if you can find anything you need.　Given the time frame.

"Unless the appraiser's job was full or something, yes. We're leaving it before we go pinning. ...... Toya, I want to upgrade my appraisal.

I'd like to know if it's possible to appraise that type of special item?　I'm not sure. I'm reading a book, though.

In the large number of books he had bought, there were books on items and how to identify them, but because there were so many of them and they were not organized as instructional books, it seemed quite difficult.

However, unlike me, Toya has the assistance of the [appraisal] skill, so I have a little bit of hope for her. .......

I'm sure you'll have a great time.

I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you. ...... At any rate, just try to read books. If that doesn't work, give up.

"Right. I'll give up then and collect more books. I have no money to spare for [appraisal].

At Haruka's words, Toya seemed to swallow a stick for a moment, then nodded with a resigned expression, "I'll try.

Yeah, I know it's a lot of work, but good luck. I think it's very important to be able to appraise items.

But I'm wondering how to place the ...... transfer point in this room.

You can't dig a hole. ......

The floor, walls, and ceiling of this room are covered with stone blocks, making it difficult to dig a hole.

You can use earth magic to your advantage, or you can use a pickaxe to remove the blocks by force. ...... I'm not sure if the transfer point you've embedded can be used safely. It's a dungeon.

The transfer point that I buried in the ground by digging a little bit worked, but if it's under a stone block, if the dungeon has a repair function, it might be disabled.

The ground was dirt where Tyrant Pickau was, but it's hard to transfer when he's back.

It's too risky to go into battle in an unprepared state right after the transition.

In a way, Tyrant Pickau is a sucker, but he's strong in his own way.

If he is attacked unprotected, he could die.

Even if we know that he was resurrected after a month, we don't know the interval between resurrections, so he may actually be resurrected in a few days.

If that is the case, you will meet each other when you return.

I'll leave the transfer point here for now, and go downstairs. If the way back is blocked, how about we just transfer back, and if there's no problem, we'll go back to collect the transfer point and then continue on?

How about we try that: ......?

There were no other suggestions, so I placed the transfer point in the corner of the room and carefully descended the stairs, keeping an eye out for traps.

The stairs were long enough for two people to walk side-by-side, perhaps a little longer than the first floor of a normal house.

At the end of the stairs, we found a room similar to the one above, but twice as large. There was nothing but the stairs we had come down and one door.

We all move away from the stairs and wait for a while, but ...... nothing happens.

Is there any tendon?

Tendon is ...... not as effective as a trap if you do the same thing.

Well, it's good that it's not too much trouble. For now, let's leave the room once. It is possible that there is a time difference.

Following Haruka's words, I went out the door of the room and came back, but the stairs were safe.

Apparently, there really is no trap.

We went back up, collected the transfer point, and went out of the room again.

The passage was made of stone blocks, just like the room we came down from, with walls and flooring made of stone blocks.

It's a dungeon.

It's easy to map, isn't it, with this structure?

The passages are straight, the bends are right angles, the width of the passages is constant.

Surely it's much easier to map than the first and second levels.

The problem is the strength of the enemies. ...... Let's proceed with caution. Nao should be on the lookout for enemies, and Natsuki should watch out for traps. The rest of you keep your eyes peeled.

"Got it.

The third level is the first, second and third levels.

The third layer was much more dense than the first and second layers.

It's not so bad if you're standing still, but as soon as you move, you'll encounter the enemy, and you'll have to fight them repeatedly in short intervals.

That being said, the difficulty level is not much higher than the second level, in fact it is not.

The strength of the enemies themselves is only slightly increased, and the most important thing is the presence of small rooms that are frequently found.

Up until now, we've been resting in the safety of our Sanctuary and searching for enemies, but it's a bit difficult for ordinary adventurers to do this.

In this level, however, there is a small room with only one door.

Once you've checked inside and secured your safety, you can rest in relative peace simply by guarding the door.

If you take that into account, the difficulty level may be lower than the second level.

Another thing I didn't expect was the size of the third level.

We were expecting it to be as large as the first and second levels, but we didn't find the stairs leading down until two days after we started exploring.

It was on the third day that we completed the entire map.

In terms of simple size, it's less than half the size of the second level.

This trend continued into the fourth level, and although we were unable to fill the fourth level by the scheduled return date, we were able to find the stairs to the fifth level.

In spite of the size of the map, the number of treasure chests we found was high.

We found five chests on all three levels, and another five on the fourth level.

It's not a huge number, but considering that there were two chests on the first level and one on the second level, it's not an exaggeration to say that it's a huge increase.

However, the items inside were still a little delicate.

Half of them were potions, and like the ones we found in the first layer, they were inferior to the ones Haruka and the others had made, wound potions and antidotes.

I'm not sure what to make, but I'm sure it's something that can be used in this dungeon.

And since we are not hit by any poisonous attacks, we have no use for it.

What's more, if you don't enter this dungeon, you won't be able to sell the antidote in the town of Raffan, and even if you bring it to the guild, you'll only get a couple of bucks.

The remaining five items are an iron ingot, two daggers, and a shield.

These are all things that can be easily identified by Toya's "appraisal," which saves you the trouble of asking for an appraisal, but also means that they are not worth much. .......

In the end, we went home without much success in our search.

I'm not sure what to say.

Welcome home!

"I'm home!

Mary and the others greeted us with big smiles, and we greeted them back.

We don't feel lonely since Haruka and the others are here, but it's nice to have someone to greet us when we get home.

I'm so relieved that you're home safe.

I'm glad you're home.

We looked at each other and nodded at the relieved expressions on their faces.

We were in the middle of exploring the fourth level, so it was a bit of a halfway point for us to return, but we thought that Mary and the others would be worried if we suddenly overshot our schedule, so we chose to return, and it seemed to be the right decision.

Did you have any problems while you were away?

"No problem. Oh, but Mr. Diora asked me to visit the Adventurer's Guild, though it's not urgent.

Diora-san is at ......?

Haruka tilted her head a little curiously when she heard that Diora-san, who is not usually a visitor, had come to visit.

I'm not sure.　I'm not sure. It's about time you finished your appraisal.

You're right. I'll see you tomorrow.

Nothing else?

No. I've been tending to my garden, training and studying.

Looking around, it is true that the garden seems to have been tidied up quite a bit.

At least, there is not a lot of weeds in the area visible from the front.

It's looking pretty good. You did a great job. Good job.

"No, of course not.

Mary shakes her head, but her cheeks relax a little with happiness.

"Me too!　I worked hard too!

"Well. Well, thank you too, Mitya.

"Heh.

I patted her head and she smiled shyly as she jumped up and down.

Are you eating well?

"I'm fine. I made my own food and ate it.

Before going out, Haruka and the others had prepared the food and put it in the storage room, but it seems that they were reluctant to do so, and cooked the food themselves using what they had purchased.

They said they were doing it for practice as well. .......

I see. Well then, let's have a fancy dinner today, shall we?

You did it!　Your sister's food wasn't very good!

Mary's face flushed red in protest at Mitya's very honest words.

"Mee!　It's better than it used to be!

But it's not as good as what Yuki and her sisters make.

"Ugh. That's true, but ......

I'm not sure if Mary could deny Mitya's words, but she was at a loss for words and looked a little frustrated.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

"Well, well, well. You'll get better at it, Mary. Will you help me cook again today?

"Yes, of course!

Mary replied cheerfully, and Yuki and the others were so excited by her attitude that dinner that night was indeed a bit sumptuous.