CH 124

Floors that are a multiple of five are special areas. Forests, grassy fields, rocky mountains, the kinds of places that don’t feel at all like they’re in a dungeon.

These floors also have a day and night cycle like outside the dungeon, and they’re large. It’s said that it would take over a day to walk in a straight line from one corner to another.

Also, the location of the staircase to go down changes when the dungeon changes. Some people say that the fastest way to reach it is to go to a wall and follow it.

But even that isn’t perfect, because there are trap holes here, and they appear all throughout the field from time to time.

This floor is said to be the bane of explorers. That’s why almost no one comes back once they get through it.

After we go down the stairs, we are met by a lot of adventurers with rugged faces.

“Hn? I haven’t seen you around here. Are you rookies?”

“Yes. This is our first time here.”

“And you made it to the fifth floor? With only four people… That’s crazy. I’m Fred by the way.”

“And I’m Sora. So… Why are you all gathered here? From what I’ve seen, you don’t look like the kind of people that would be on this floor.”

“…Yes. Actually, a superior species has been spotted here, and the guild put out a hunting quest. Everyone here accepted it.”

I look around me. There are about twenty people here, I think.

“We were thinking about collecting medicinal herbs on this floor. Is that a problem?”

Ah, he’s making a weird face. Actually, it’s not just Fred, it’s everyone listening.

“I mean, you’re free to do what you want, but there’s a superior species here, you know? Are you all right with that?”

He asks a suspicious masked guy with three slaves. Not to mention that only Sera looks like she can fight.

“By the way, what kind of superior species are we talking about?”

“A wolf. It’s been reported that it’s a dark wolf.”

I remember reading that it’s a C rank monster that uses dark magic. It’s not very strong on its own, but it has high commanding abilities and can use support magic. The more wolves it has under its command, the stronger it is, and the hard it is to hunt. Conversely, if all the wolves around it are defeated, it’s not a big deal.

“Do you think you’ll hunt it today?”

“That’s tough to say. We’re not planning on spending a lot of time here, but we don’t want to overdo it either. We just got here, and we’re splitting into an exploration team and a base camp building team. After that, we’ll wait to meet up again.”

So they’re getting ready for a long battle. Are they setting up base near the entrance so they can run back upstairs if things go badly?

“What do you think we should do?”

“You’re the boss, master.”

“Please decide for yourself, Sora.”

That’s the worst kind of answer. I turn to Sera, looking for a veteran’s opinion.

“I don’t think it would be a problem if we explored while being careful with our surroundings, and remember to retreat if we see wolves. The best case scenario would be to find territory belonging to other monsters.”

There aren’t just wolves on this floor, there are also goblins and killer bees. That means we can harvest honey. Oh, and there are also blood snakes. I’ve heard their meat is tasty.

Monsters have territories based on species, so if there are monsters other than wolves around, that’s a sort of safe zone. Of course, we can’t be one hundred percent sure of that.

“Are you actually going? We’re not going to stop you, but it’s your responsibility. Don’t count on us to help.”

“Yes, don’t worry. But should I report if I find it?”

“If you can deal with it on your own, you can take it down. Just tell us if you do.”

Says Fred with a serious tone, but everyone around us laughs.

They think we can’t do it.

Hikari is starting to look annoyed, so I think it’s time to go.

I open Map and use Presence Detection and Magic Energy Detection. Map doesn’t get filled, so does that mean this field has an area of over one kilometer?

I guess that makes sense, if walking from one corner to another takes over a day.

“How about we go check out that forest first?”

I take the lead and start walking.

The three girls follow me, leaving exasperated, mocking, and concerned looks from the adventurers behind us as we head for the forest.

In the meantime, we see what looks like signal smoke in the distance, in the opposite direction from where we’re going.

After walking for ten minutes, we’re standing in front of a thick forest. At least there’s a good amount of space between trees, so we can probably walk without tripping on roots.

It doesn’t feel like there’s anything special here. Looking at it from the outside, it just looks like a regular forest.

I try cutting a branch and leaving it behind us, and it stays there, instead of disappearing like the monsters.

“Master, what do you plan to do if we find a dark wolf?”

“Do you think we can hunt it, Sera?”

“I’m sure you can do it if you really try.”

So are you telling me to just do my best, Hikari? I guess I will if we come across it.

“Dark wolves aren’t that strong on their own. The problem is the number of wolves with them, so you really might be the decisive factor.”

I’ve told Sera about magic I can use, but she’s never seen me fight outside of mock battles, so Hikari’s great confidence in me leaves Sera with a dry smile on her face.

“I see. So let’s just hunt it instead of letting it get the drop on us. On the other hand, if we notice it and it doesn’t notice us, we could retreat and go tell those adventurers.”

We have to consider that we have Mia with us too. Of course, if we have to fight, I’ll do my best, and chug mana potions if I have to.

“All right. Then let’s proceed with caution. I’m counting on you too, Hikari.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

We keep our guard up and advance.

I feel like there are a lot of trees here I’ve never seen before, and a lot of them have fruit. That one looks like an apple, and… Oh, that one looks like a mandarin.

I use Appraisal on them to check if they’re edible, and ask Sera to pick the ones that are.

There are also a lot that are completely unfamiliar to me. I’m not so sure if they’re edible, even if Appraisal tells me they are, but I believe it after taking a bite out of one. It’s sweet and a little sour, and hits just right on a tired body.

Ah, this one has to be preserved in sugar or it’s spicy. I don’t want Hikari to bite into one and complain that I tricked her.

Strangely enough, eating something tasty made us forget about the superior species or even looking for the staircase, and we start gathering food.

When they bring things we’ve never seen before, I check if they’re all right. If they are, I taste them, and if they pass, we go to where they’re growing and pick more.

In the end, we don’t find any monsters, and after working hard picking fruit, we get ready to camp.

The sky here in the dungeon has stars and a moon, making it easy to forget that we’re basically inside a room.