Chapter 82: The 77th Floor Challenge

[We've arrived!]

[So, this is the staircase that leads to the 77th floor.]

I don't know who it was that mapped out Sapporo Dungeon up to the 76th floor, but apparently, they reached this staircase leading to the 77th floor and then turned back. Maybe they ran out of supplies or their magic reserves were low—there could be a lot of reasons.

In any case, everything beyond the 77th floor is truly unexplored. From the deeper levels up until this 76th floor, the number of monsters we've encountered has increased, but I didn't notice much difference in the strength of the golems.

When there are fewer of them, Grandma finishes them off instantly with a kick, and when there are more, Kanna fires magic that pierces through even the armor that scatters magic energy.

The dungeon environment hasn't changed significantly either. It's still the same dimly lit cave with glowing crystals jutting out of the walls. I expected this to feel like a cold, northern dungeon in Hokkaido, but it hasn't gotten anywhere near that feeling. The temperature is around 20°C.

[It's been a while since we did a full deep-dive exploration.]

[Aizawa, you sound like you're having fun.]

[Of course! I became an explorer because I actually enjoy dungeon crawling.]

: That's cute

: Would be cuter if it wasn't the deep floors

: This cute banter is airing on live TV, you know

Stay tuned to m-v l|-NovelFire.net

: LOL

: Well, it's the usual

: Not like they care much

[Grandma's more fired up than usual, and Kanna hasn't gotten bored and wandered off yet, so I guess bringing four EXs together was the right move.]

Honestly, more than just the firepower, it's exciting to explore a dungeon with so many EXs. Sure, I'm looking forward to exploring the unknown floors, but more than that, it's fun to mess around with everyone.

: So Kisaragi has comrades, even if he doesn't have friends

: No friends though, LOL

: They just casually pointed out he has no friends, lmao

: It's true though

: Yeah, but still

: Poor guy, lol

The "no friends" teasing doesn't bother me. I have an actual friend, Asakawa, so I'm different from you guys.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, the scenery didn't change—it was still just the cave. But from here on, we're in completely unmapped territory. We'll have to figure out which path to take as we go.

[I'll handle the mapping.]

[Thanks for that.]

[I'm charging ahead!]

[Uh, Kanna, don't just rush ahead when we don't know where we're going, okay?]

Does she even know what "mapping" means? I'm not trying to map out the whole floor; I just want to find the proper path to the lower levels. Sure, mapping the entire area could eventually lead us to the shortest route, but Kanna's "rush ahead" approach is pure intuition. Completely unreliable.

[Alright, let's go! First, straight ahead!]

[Well, fine... 'Taijo']

: Oh?

: New shikigami!

: Hot guy alert!

: Kisaragi just summoned a hot guy

: Explode, you hot guy! (triggered)

[...More paperwork, Master?]

[Nope, I need you to map this out.]

[Sigh… understood.]

Taijo, a tall, silver-haired hottie, is a benevolent god and a civil official serving the Emperor of Heaven. His appearance is mostly a product of my imagination, so he's a tall, refined guy with narrow eyes—a perfect, competent official. Even though I designed him, I'm kind of envious, so I secretly want him to explode.

As a shikigami, Taijo is good at support-type magic, unlike Kijin. I mostly summon him for annoying paperwork, so summoning him in a dungeon is rare. This time, I called him to help with mapping.

: Poor guy gets all the boring tasks

: Kisaragi is such a terrible boss, lol

: Using your shikigami like that, lol

: Wait, I want a shikigami to do my taxes too

: Does Kisaragi have his taxes done by Taijo?

: He probably does, right?

[...Another fork in the road?]

[Lots of them… Well, even with a map, there have been this many splits along the way.]

It's annoying because it'll take forever if we check every path, but I guess that's just how this complex dungeon is designed. At least it's not a maze like the Alice Springs Dungeon.

I thought we'd go with a standard formation—Aizawa in the front, Kanna in the back, and me and Grandma in the middle. But in reality, Kanna and Grandma are just rushing ahead, and Aizawa and I are left trailing behind, marking the map. Those two clearly have no sense of their preferred fighting distance.

Any golems that pop up in front are swiftly dealt with by Grandma, and Aizawa handles anything sneaking up from behind. Meanwhile, I'm just walking along, looking at Taijo's map and thinking.

[We're back in the same spot.]

[Yeah, we are.]

We've been leaving markers on the ground to differentiate paths, but somehow we looped back around.

: So if you go straight, turn right, you end up back here?

: What if you go left?

: Probably straight and left from the start

: Watch, we took the wrong route from the beginning

[Until we find the right path, we'll just have to keep moving forward.]

[Why don't we just destroy the floor or something?] Sёarch* The novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[If we do that, we won't know how to get through next time.]

[Also, no, we're not breaking the dungeon, okay? It's not about getting lost—it's just not a good idea.]

Well, dungeons do repair themselves, so it's faster to break through if we get lost, but… it's probably not a great idea.

: He's definitely considering it, though

: Don't make that face, Kisaragi, lol

: Breaking the dungeon is definitely not okay

: Who knows what would happen if you destroyed a dungeon floor?

: What if the Sapporo Dungeon collapses because of it?

Right… The Sapporo Dungeon is under the city. If we recklessly destroy parts of it and affect the surface, it could be a disaster. Dungeons are powered by magic or something, so even though they go deep, we're not necessarily near the Earth's core. But who's to say there won't be consequences for the surface? Better not take that risk.