CH 130

Is it really okay? At the entrance of the dungeon, a boy with an anxious look on his face, perhaps due to the atmosphere around him or the unfamiliar equipment he was wearing, looked uncomfortable as he fidgeted.

“It’s okay. As you can see, we have permission, and we’re high level. You will not be attacked.” (Explorer)

The heavily armed man standing beside the boy pulled out a document from his pocket and showed it to him. In addition to the various prohibitions, it stated that the boy, who did not have a permit, would be allowed to enter the dungeon only today.

He was not allowed to leave his guards, not allowed to carry weapons, and not allowed to fight. In addition to that, the boy is forbidden to remove the equipment provided to him, and his activities are restricted to the point where there is nothing he can do.

Accompanying the boy’s escort were seven explorers dressed in similar equipment. They are not overtly strong-looking equipment like the heroic groups seen on TV, but rather rugged in design.

They were called the Advanced Explorers, a group of explorers organized not for profit but for the good of the country.

“Thank you for your time today.” (Shiki)

“I’ve heard about you. Kizaki-san. I have no intention of letting the monsters through, but if there is an unforeseen situation, I hope you will run away without fighting.”

Lining up beside me was a former colleague and potential subordinate of mine. We used to go out for drinks on our days off, but now he’s at work. I’m in an uncertain position. If I tried to sass him, he would immediately admonish me. That was the kind of guy he was.

“I’m going in now. Please walk slowly and follow me.” (Explorer)

In front of us were four members of the Advanced Explorers. The two of them stood between the boy and me, and I followed behind him.

After that tragic incident, it was banned where people fight with more than five people, this is how it works when escorting someone.

All fighting is done by the front four, and if a monster gets through, the back three carry the escort and run away. If they can’t get away, the front and rear parties will keep their distance and fight separately.

Today we will be heading further into the forest. It is a hidden room that has not been made public and is only known to a few people.

Naturally, it was too far away for the boy who would be level 1 for the first time today, so we planned to split the journey into several days. We took the shortest route straight to the hidden room, but there were other points along the way that we needed to investigate, so we planned to visit two of them today.

I use [Resonance] on the boy as he steps into the dungeon. What I see is the same status as when I first saw the boy. His level is 28, his Proficiency is [Sword], and he has a good status. But that changes the moment the boy enters the dungeon.

His level is 1, his Proficiency is [Magic], and all three of his skills are gone, replaced by a new skill I have never seen before, [Creation].

From the name, it is a skill of the production skill system. There was a high possibility that it was a very powerful one. It could be a B, an A, or even an S rank like mine.

“Did you decide on your Proficiency yet?” (Shiki)

I asked since I hadn’t told him that I had a skill that could allow me to forcibly view his status. After confirming that the boy nodded, I sent a hand sign to the one at the front.

We quickly made our way to the back of the dungeon and turned the first corner. There we found a room with a transfer team in it. I naturally lead the boy and we stand on the magic circle together.

“From this magic circle, the explorers will be transported to the places they have explored before, and when they have finished their exploration, they will return to this room. Try saying the fifteenth floor.” (Shiki)

The boy muttered in a small voice, “Fifteenth floor.” I checked to see if the magic circle glowed or if there was any movement of magic, but I saw no changes.

It seems unlikely that only this boy will be free to use the transfer magic circle.

“If there is even one person like this who has never been to that level before, the transfer will not work.” (Shiki)

With words that seemed to indicate that he could not transfer, he led the boy out of the magic circle, and then himself.

There was a possibility that the boy alone could move the magic circle, but I couldn’t be sure of that, even for safety’s sake.

“We’ll be walking to the fifth level, so if you get tired, don’t hesitate to let me know.” (Shiki)

Except for the boy, everyone here was an elite who could fight in the forest without a scratch. There was nothing dangerous about the fifth level, which could normally be conquered with just a single skill or spell, so we took a break on the stairs and were at the fifth level in a few hours.

Before entering the boss room, I touched the magic circle and conducted the same experiment as the first level, but nothing happened.

“When you enter this room, the battle with the boss will begin, but I will take care of it, so please stand back and wait.” (Explorer)

The eight of us couldn’t enter the boss’s room, so the four in front of us walked past the boss’s room and we were the only ones to enter it.

To avoid showing blood to the boy, the boss was defeated by breaking his neck. It’s still a shocking enough sight for those who aren’t used to it, so we remember to shield the boy’s eyes.

I didn’t see any change in the hobgoblin battle due to the boy’s presence.

I collected only the boy’s [Self-Assessment] skill card, which can only be obtained once, and returned home that day.

The next time I came to the dungeon was a week later, and on that day, I proceeded to the 10th level, where I defeated the boss, a black wolf. Like the hobgoblin, no change was seen.

Then the next week, I came across the 15th level boss, the minotaur. Again, no change was seen.

I thought the end was in a hidden room. The following week, we entered the forest with this in mind.

The next week, as we entered the forest, we saw something unexpected.