Chapter 71: A Test of Strength

We've arrived at the middle floors of the Shibuya Dungeon again, this time in the forested area. Though it's Miyamoto-san's first time in the middle floors, so I'll need to be somewhat cautious while exploring. The monsters on the higher end of the middle floors aren't drastically stronger than those in the lowest part of the upper floors, so I'm confident Miyamoto-san can handle herself.

However, the terrain changes significantly in the middle floors, creating more blind spots, and the number of monsters increases, making it a more challenging environment. Still, if you don't walk the edge of danger, you won't sharpen your skills, so it should be fine.

"Manipulating magic, circulating magic power, and refining magic to cast spells. In a dungeon, it's essential to control your magic freely."

"Y-Yes!"

"That means the more magic you have in your body, the better your odds in battle."

: True.

: Magic power is king.

: The more magic you have, the better explorer you are; with less, you're just weak.

: Even monsters get stronger based on how much magic they've got.

: In dungeons, it's all about magic power.

That's why I told Asakawa-san it's better to increase her magic capacity before worrying about boosting her spell potency. Well, in her case, she can see magic, so she didn't need much teaching to grasp controlling or circulating it. For most people, handling an invisible and ambiguous force like magic is challenging, but she's dealing with what she can physically see, like it's no big deal.

Honestly, Asakawa-san might be a genius—being able to see magic is probably a form of synesthesia.

"It's really a forest… I've seen it in other people's streams, but it's still strange to see something like a bright sun and trees underground."

"Well… that's for the scholars to figure out."

: Translation: "I don't know."

: Well, explorers don't really need to worry about that stuff.

: True, leave it to the scientists.

: Kisaragi's definitely the type who only cares about things he's interested in.

: Classic nerd behavior—super invested in some things, total indifference to others.

Even if I ponder the mechanics of this place, it wouldn't change much. I do keep up with the latest research papers, but I don't delve into the causes behind dungeon phenomena. For me, it's enough to accept that "it's just how it is."

"Hm?"

I sense a gaze from the bushes. It doesn't carry any hostility or intent to kill, though, so it's probably not a monster—it feels more like a human presence. Who'd be people-watching in the middle floors of a dungeon? Pretty rare.

That aside, I can feel the vibrations of monsters approaching from the front. Judging by the size of the tremors, they aren't particularly large, but there are quite a few of them.

"M-Monsters are coming."

"...You're handling them all, Miyamoto-san."

"W-What?"

: Oh, here we go.

: Classic sadism.

: Saw that coming.

: Yeah, no surprise.

: Kisaragi's training methods are always brutal.

: He's just passing down what Jinguji Kaede used to do to him.

: EXs, man, take it easy.

"You'll be fine. It's the middle floors, so it's not like you'll die right away… I'll help before you lose all your limbs."

"W-Wait, what!?"

: Wut.

: LIMBS!?

: Does he not help until it's THAT bad?

: What a sadist.

: Let's spread this on social media—dude gets off on sending women into monster fights.

: That's some messed-up fetish, man.

It's not a fetish—it's legitimate training. If she can't handle this, there's no way she'll survive the lower floors. At the very least, to make a living as a professional dungeon explorer, you need to be able to reach the lowest levels of the middle floors.

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Come to think of it, isn't the real reason there aren't many explorers because the pay isn't enough? With so many explorers stuck in the upper floors, why isn't the government raising the buying price for magic stones or trying to recruit more middle-floor explorers?

"Eek!? What is that bizarre plant!?"

"...Who knows?"

I know most monsters by their traits and how to deal with them when they show up, but I don't bother memorizing the names of all the creatures in the middle floors.

: How do you not know, man? LOL Sёarch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

: That's an Eggplant.

: Wait, it's actually called an Eggplant?

: So, it's a literal eggplant, huh?

: Yep, that's right.

: But where's the eggplant part?

: I think it camouflages itself as one, right?

"Apparently, it camouflages itself as a greenish eggplant."

: Ah, that's the reason.

: Still, no one's worried about Kanakon?

: You'd think someone would mention her at least once.

: Surely, someone has.

: Nope, nothing.

: LOL

: Eggplants aren't strong, so she's fine.

As expected, about ten Eggplant monsters, small plant-based creatures, appeared. For a plant, the fact that they walk around on legs makes no sense to me.

Their heads hang down, resembling eggplants, which they use for camouflage. They're about 120 cm tall, but they're still just plants. If Miyamoto-san swings her axe, she'll be fine—these things don't even use any fancy magic or anything.

"Waaaahhhh!"

: That was a straight-up scream, LOL.

: But she took down two with one swing.

: Isn't Kanakon kinda strong?

: Yeah, she's stronger than I thought.

Her magic circulation is better than I expected. If she wasn't skilled at it, there's no way she'd be able to close several meters in one step and then slice an Eggplant clean in half with a single swing of her axe. Even if these aren't the strongest middle-floor monsters, they should still be tougher than the Steel Ants. And judging by her performance, she's not really struggling.

Her biggest challenge might be dealing with monsters that use magic.

At this level of the middle floors, we're not seeing magic-wielding monsters yet, but further down, things like Wyverns will casually start breathing fire. She'll definitely need a plan to counter that.

: She screamed and charged, but wiped them all out.

: That's terrifying.

: This girl's actually strong.

: She's way stronger than me.

: I take back my earlier comments.

: Is this where the viewers get humbled?

: Viewers always getting humbled here.

"...Still, you're not quite at C-rank yet."

: Really?

: Hmm, maybe a little short.

: I don't know, something feels lacking.

: Can't really tell.

Her magic circulation is good, but she lacks raw magical power, and that limits her potential for explosive attacks. While this level of magic control is sufficient for the middle floors, to fight the monsters in the lower floors, she'll need more destructive power.

Just like Asakawa-san learned to compress her magic to increase the power of her spells, the firepower required in the lower floors is significantly higher. There are also monsters with extremely tough and thick skin down there.

That being said, with her physical enhancements through magic circulation, if we could just upgrade her axe to something with a crazy edge, Miyamoto-san could probably make it to the lower floors. But that would be relying too much on her equipment.

"I-I did it… I somehow managed!"

Now, what should I do from here?