CH 61

“Okay, brother. Let’s go.” (Haru)

Haru’s cheerful yet small voice was raised in a corner of the Dungeon Dam. She was dressed in her usual explorer’s attire. The sad truth is that this outfit is slowly becoming outdated.

Those who have increased their level and strength outside the dungeon are now wearing full plate armor. They change to more flashy equipment. Helmets and hoods have become a symbol of the outdated, easy-to-move clothing that was popular in the beginning.

However, such clothing is certainly the best way to start exploring dungeons on the cheap. They are often seen as poor people who can’t afford dungeon-produced equipment. So many people who try to become explorers these days have a lot of money.

Well, what I mean to say is that those of us who are really poor don’t have to worry about it. Because we don’t have any money.

The reason we can eat good meat and live in houses with unusually strong doors is not that we have money, but because we are self-sufficient.

Anyway, that’s not the point.

“Well let’s go, Haru.” (Kei)

We were going to explore the Tokyo dungeon for the first time in a long time.

If you chant “15 floors down” in a whisper, you can go to the place after defeating the Minotaur. I learned from my research that advanced explorers who are able to defeat Minotaurs go down the stairs to the Forest after reaching this point. And the Forest has a Transition Zone at the entrance. Who would go to the trouble of descending a long flight of stairs to the 15th floor?

Well, that is why we moved here, where there are fewer people.

“Okay, Haru. Let’s go change our clothes at the corner.” (Kei)

“Okay, before anyone finds us.” (Haru)

We quickly made our way to the corner to change into our black gear, using all the stealth we could muster. However, because of the type of clothing, it is not possible to put it on top, so Haru quickly took off her pants and put on the newly purchased ones.

“Okay, we won!” (Explorer 1)

“Yeah, I thought I’d die.” (Explorer 2)

“Power is justice. I don’t understand magic.” (Explorer 3)

“That’s not something you should say if your proficiency is magic and you’re beating people with magic from your hands.” (Explorer 4)

I suddenly felt a flow of magic power and heard a voice. Haru, who had just taken off her pants, and me who was next to her jerk up.

“Hey, Haru. Change your clothes faster.” (Kei)

I cover Haru with the parka I was wearing while calling out to her in a whisper, having finished changing just in case. However, Haru froze in surprise and didn’t move. Her mouth was moving as if in a panic, but she couldn’t speak. As I looked at the men with my eyes like saucers, cold sweat broke out on my forehead.

Fortunately, the group of four men who had probably transitioned after killing the Minotaur was walking slowly and chatting.

“Hey, let’s rest here.” (Explorer 1)

“What are you talking about? We’ll go down these stairs and we’ll be in the forest you’ve been longing for.” (Explorer 2)

“That’s right, you said you wanted to see a flying dragon and a beautiful senior explorer.” (Explorer 3)

“You’re the one who wants to see beautiful explorers!” (Explorer 4)

“Then you don’t want to see it. A toned body that could bury evil monsters.” (Explorer 3)

“””Want to watch!””” (Party of 4)

“So, let’s go to the forest!” (Explorer 1)

“””Oh!””” (Party of 4)

The men went down the stairs to the Forest without noticing Haru, who stopped moving her pants, and me who was hiding her. If they had taken a break instead, we would surely have been exposed.

Haru puts on her pants at a tremendous speed as soon as the men disappear and crouched down on the spot. I couldn’t see her face, but her ears were as red as they had ever been.

It took about 10 minutes for Haru to recover. We finally covered our faces with masks and went down to the forest.

“There are signs of people everywhere.” (Kei)

“That’s right. I don’t recognize them, so I guess they’re not around.” (Haru)

“I don’t know, maybe they’re not near. It would be safer to fight near the entrance. Oh, here comes a monster.” (Kei)

“OK” (Haru)

I can’t use my sword, so I cut off the monster’s head with a survival knife enhanced with alchemy. It’s easy to kill a monster with a survival knife, even if you can’t cut it off.

“I’ll do it, too.” (Haru)

Haru came running up to me and swung the bat in her hand. The monster’s face twisted from the neck and was crushed.

“Exhilarating.” (Haru)

I can’t help but sigh when I see Haru’s satisfied look.

The bat is a metal bat that uses the crowbar that Haru first used as a weapon as its shaft, and then strengthened with metal from the dungeon to make it thicker and now resembles a nail bat.

At the time, there was no alchemy skill, so the only way to make it stronger was to increase its weight and strength. However, unlike ordinary metal bats, the inside of the bat is full of metal, so it is unusually heavy compared to its appearance.

Haru was not good with bladed weapons, so she brought them with her. As a matter of course, it has been enhanced with [Alchemy]. When I asked her if she wanted to try a new crowbar, she said it was a memento of her life and she would keep it. By the way, when I asked her what the memory was, she said it was a commemoration of the first time she seriously hit a living thing with an object. Scary.

As I headed deeper into the dungeon, killing and missing monsters soundlessly while using stealth, I saw a battle in front of me.

There was a large Treant that was swinging its branches and dropping fruit like bombs, and the explorers were attacking the Treant.

“Oh, the Treants are all taken.” (Haru)

As I watched Haru’s frustrated face, I suddenly remembered her words.

Haru said that the explorers seemed to be heading deeper into the Forest.

The information on the Intermediate Potion was recent, and I’d say that information was well in season. If that’s the case.

“Oh no, Haru. Maybe all the explorers here are looking for Treants.” (Kei)

“Why? Ah!” (Haru)

Haru’s face also quickly turns pale.

“Brother…” (Haru)

“Haru.” (Kei)

“”Let’s get on with the hunt for Treants.”” (Kei & Haru)

I don’t remember much after that. I just ran at high speed over the trees and found the tree-mimicking Trent with Haru’s help. It was impossible to distinguish a normal tree from a Treant by sight, and the only way to break the mimicry was to inflict a certain amount of damage or catch it off guard.

If you let your guard down while standing close to the tree, the Treants will attack you, and if you inflict a certain amount of damage, they will judge that you are dangerous and attack you. In other words, you can’t throw a rock from a distance to see if it’s a Treant while keeping a safe distance.

If you’re going to throw from a distance and do more than a certain amount of damage, you need to throw a good sword over and over again. Treants are monsters with a hard surface and a lot of strength.

If I use Haru’s Detection, the distinction is instantaneous and the rest is easy. All I had to do was Enchant myself with magic and kill the Treants with a single blow.

I heard that our tremendous speed and attack power, as well as our pitch-black attire, made us feared by those who were exploring the forest that day.