CH 226

Episode 226 – Clearing the Canyon Area

The next day after I was interviewed, it was time to begin moving towards clearing the canyon area.

Thinking about how our Dungeon-clearing had been going so far, it hadn’t really been much of a challenge. While yesterday’s Dungeon attempt was relatively easy, we went into the Dungeon first thing in the morning and returned later that evening. It was beginning to take more and more time to go back and forth like this.

Also, it was difficult to tell if your Dungeon-clearing was going smoothly or not because it was hard to tell the time in the Dungeon, so you had to rely on your senses. There were times where you would return from the Dungeon… only to find that night had passed and the sun had already risen. This type of scenario wasn’t unlikely.

Since this situation could lead to lower concentration levels and disrupt our daily lives, I wanted to avoid crossing over days like that as much as possible.

“Good morning. Let’s do our best again today.” (Lewin)

“Good morning! Yeah, looking forward to it.” (Rosalie)

Ooh. Perhaps she drank the potion I had given her beforehand, since she wasn’t stammering at all this morning.

“‘Morning. We going for the 20th layer today?” (Aruna)

“That’s right. But there’s a sudden increase in the difficulty of the canyon area, so I think we should still take our time.” (Lewin)

“Until we reach the 20th floor, that’s the right idea! …The canyon area is really troublesome,” Rosalie said, her face looking bitter, as if she had swallowed a bug. Judging from her expression, she must have had her own share of difficulties on those floors.

Also, something to note was that the deepest layer that Rosalie had reached was the 23rd layer. The fact that she stopped at the Boss layer of the canyon area meant that she had to have first cleared the canyon area itself.

“Based on my research from the projections and the information I’ve received, that’s indeed how it seems. For the time being, I did as you said and bought the items that we should have, Rosalie-san. I’ll hand them out before we go down to the 16th layer. Let’s aim for a smooth run so we can get there in time.” (Lewin)

After that, I walked at the front of the group as we headed into the Dungeon. On our way in, we received encouraging shouts even though it was early in the morning. Rosalie and I responded to their encouragement with slight bows.

Even from this insignificant situation, I could keenly feel the effects of defeating the Demon Arachnid. It seemed that we had been featured on the front page of one Dungeon newspaper, so we were bound to gain more attention from here on.

“…….Phew.” (Rosalie)

“Don’t like being looked at?” Aruna asked after we entered the Dungeon, noticing that Rosalie had heaved a sigh of relief now that the gazes were no longer upon her.

“I don’t. I’ve never been the center of attention before, so I’m not used to it. What about you, Aruna-san?” (Rosalie)

“Mmm. If someone tries to come over and talk to me, I just ignore them, so it doesn’t really bother me.” (Aruna)

“As expected, that’s just like you, Aruna-san.” (Lewin)

“For real. I’m only able to get by thanks to the potion, but I can’t help breaking out into a nervous sweat.” (Rosalie)

If I hadn’t found the Focus Herb on the 10th layer, she would have had a lot of trouble dealing with the gazes of the spectators.

“We can’t really avoid the onlookers because of the Dungeon monitors, so let’s focus up and continue as normal and not think about their gazes too much.” (Lewin)

With that, we got back into the swing of things and began to make our way to the canyon area.

“[Power Arrow].”

“[Shield Crash]. Finish it, Aruna-san!” (Rosalie)

“[Shine Arrow]. Nice, Rosalie.” (Aruna)

With Rosalie and Aruna’s perfect combination, they finished off the Demon Arachnid, and it faded away into ashes. We had established our own strategy for defeating the Demon Arachnid, so this time we continued with our usual formation and managed to successfully defeat it on the first try.

“As expected of you two.” (Lewin)

“Lewin too, great support. You’re improving.” (Aruna)

“Thank you. If there’s anything you’re unsatisfied with, please tell me right away. I’ll fix it.” (Lewin)

As always, I was happy to receive Aruna’s praise. She was a person of few words, so she didn’t give praise often.

Still, there were a few times where I made a lot of mistakes or was too slow on my decisions. I wasn’t yet satisfied with where I was at and wanted to continue to improve on my skill level.

“Er, I’ve also been trying to copy Jade-san’s way of thrusting a little bit, and it’s working really well! The movements are small, but it’s more about applying your weight well, or something like that…” (Rosalie)

“So you were trying it, Rosalie-san. I saw that you were applying your force well. It even seemed to be effective against the Demon Arachnid.” (Lewin)

I noticed that Rosalie seemed to be somewhat imitating me earlier, but it turned out that I was right. She seemed to have been trying my thrusting sword technique, and it made me a bit happy that she was imitating me.

“My movements are still too big compared to Jade-san’s, so the power is still weak. But it’s already at a high enough level to be useful, so I’d like to improve on it even more!” (Rosalie)

“By all means, please use it. I’ll be watching you from behind, so if I see anything that I can point out, I’ll tell you.” (Lewin)

After a short reflection on the Demon Arachnid fight, we finally continued onto the canyon area. We had managed to get to this point in about the same amount of time as yesterday, so even if it went smoothly up until the 20th layer, we would still be a bit tight on time.

“Here are the items. Non-slip boots and a climbing pick. Also, cold-protection innerwear and Night Vision Potions.” (Lewin)

I handed over the items that Rosalie asked me to get, then put on my own set. I didn’t need to wear the cold-protection innerwear since I had the garment set from the grandma, but I still properly equipped the rest of the items.

After checking that everyone was properly equipped, we finally set foot onto the rocky terrain. Unlike the areas before it that were covered in plants and trees, the field of view was unobstructed, but… I couldn’t sense the presence of any monsters whatsoever. I could only feel the wind blowing from below, but that only made me feel more anxious.

“I don’t see any monsters. It’s hard to tell if that’s only because the wind is blowing upwards.” (Lewin)

“The monsters in the canyon area are hidden for the most part. The Dungeon monitors have a bird’s eye view so they can get a good picture of them, but from where we’re standing, we can’t see them at all.” (Rosalie)

It was scary to proceed without knowing the enemy’s position, but just standing here wasn’t going to get us anywhere. Aruna would be in the rear guard from here on, so I slowly proceeded forward alongside Rosalie.

“There. On the west side cliff behind the boulder, there’s a Goblin Archer. There’s also a Blood Bat below the cliff. Both are out of range.” (Aruna)

After continuing onwards for a while, we heard the voice of Aruna, who was also looking out for monsters from the rear guard, but we couldn’t see them at all.

In the end, how did she even spot them? I’m even standing in a position in front of her.

“Lewin, just focus only on the immediate surroundings.” (Aruna)

“O-okay.” (Lewin)

When I looked over to try and confirm the position of the monsters Aruna had found, she sent a short rebuke in my direction.

I pulled myself back together and focused my attention on our nearby surroundings as Aruna instructed. I continued to choose routes that didn’t seem to have the presence of monsters, and like that we made our way through the 16th layer.

In the end, thanks to Aruna, we managed to reach the next staircase without getting attacked by surprise.

…Her instructions are precise, and her enemy detection ability is high. Even if monsters were to appear, Aruna could provide support with her bow, making her a top-class rear guard.