Next, Milk cast a spell on the ghoul.
「Release: Holy Shower.」
Whoa, the ghoul is melting.
This… this is kind of gross.
Just when I thought that—
「What’s this? The air suddenly feels heavier—something’s approaching. Be on guard.」
I urged everyone to be cautious.
Everyone readied their weapons.
The first thing we saw was a decayed hand.
When it touched the dungeon wall, smoke began to rise.
Is the dungeon… melting!?
A ghoul, but in a different color, appeared.
This one was much bigger than the others and slowly approached us when it spotted us.
〔A Flesh-Eater—it’s a Ghast! An upper-class ghoul. Nasty one. 〕
〔It breathes deadly poison. Just getting near it could kill you. 〕
〔Its body is coated with a corrosive acid, so touching it will burn you. 〕
〔I found its data. It’s supposed to appear around the sixteenth floor—what’s it doing on the second? This thing could kill you! 〕
〔That Ghast-san… is already melting and breathing bugs. 〕
Yeah, before the commentary even popped up, Milk’s holy water had already taken down the Ghast.
Sorry, I know it had a pretty epic entrance, but the holy water just melted it, no problem—poison and acid didn’t stand a chance.
「Come on, let’s hurry to the next floor.」
「That’s where it’ll be.」
The two Himes, terrified of zombies, were almost crying as they pleaded from behind me.
For some reason, they looked about thirty percent cuter than usual.
I wanted to hug them, but since we were being streamed, I resisted the urge.
Just as the Himes said, we found a staircase leading deeper underground where the Ghast had appeared.
We descended to the third floor.
「Phew, I’m exhausted.」
Hime, who hadn’t done anything, sighed.
Well, to be fair, I hadn’t done much either.
Now, what kind of monsters will we face ahead?
「Still, that Ghast… if it’s a sixteenth-floor-tier enemy, the next floors could be brutal.」
「Yeah, after the sixteenth floor, there are monsters that require special methods to defeat.」
I remember running from a ghost immune to physical attacks back in the day.
Kind of nostalgic.
「Between the four of us, we’ve got most elements covered, but we don’t have any attacks for light or dark attributes.」
「We’ve got a few one-time-use magic arrows the minister gave us. We’ll have to rely on those.」
They were currently in Milk’s quiver.
Still, for enemies like that, I’d rather run than try to fight.
Just as I was thinking that, I felt a monster’s presence.
I quietly checked.
There, I saw the silhouette of a slime.
But it wasn’t an ordinary slime.
This one had a metallic body.
「A Metal Slime? First time seeing one in a dungeon.」
I was a bit impressed when—
〔Run before it notices you! 〕
Comments from the viewers started coming in.
〔That thing’s trouble. 〕
〔Get out now, seriously! 〕
〔What’s the big deal? 〕
〔Metal Slimes are deadly. Run for your life! 〕
〔I’ve seen them a few times on American explorers’ streams—don’t engage! 〕
〔They’re known as the number one killer of explorers in the Detroit Dungeon… mostly because of the loose state safety regulations. 〕
What are you talking about?
Eh? Metal Slimes are that dangerous?
「Magic doesn’t work on Metal Slimes. Their defense is insanely high, so physical attacks barely scratch them. They’ve got low HP so if you have some metal-melting potion, they’re easy to take down—」
「Holy water won’t work?」
「I told you, magic doesn’t affect them at all. Holy water won’t either. If you get surrounded, you’re in big trouble. So, Taira, go take care of it.」
「Yeah, I’ll take care of it it.」
I nodded, having heard the explanation.
〔Don’t do it! This is no joke! 〕
〔What’s Alpha thinking? Beta’s gonna die! 〕
〔If you fight with a sword, the sword will break first! 〕
〔This isn’t a game! The Metal Slime won’t run—it is you who should! 〕
The viewers were worried about me.
I appreciate it, but… this is kind of my thing.
Not wanting my sword to break, I equipped one of the many stone-cutting swords I had.
The Metal Slime noticed me.
It came flying towards me.
Metal Slime’s pretty fast.
About 90 kilometers per hour?
But—
「Sure hit slash!」
My sword struck the Metal Slime.
It wasn’t my sword that shattered—it was the Metal Slime.
All that remained was a magic stone and some kind of metal chunk.
Upon appraisal, it turned out to be a special metal called ‘Metal Alloy’.
I’ll have to ask Mizuno-san to forge something great with it.
〔Huhhhhh!? 〕
〔What was that? That was just basic swordsmanship, right? And a weaker version, too! 〕
〔Is it a special weapon? The avatar makes it hard to tell. 〕
〔You’re already getting Metal Alloy? Beta’s luck really is something else. 〕
Yeah, I can understand the confusion.
That was just a lucky shot.
However, that’s basically 100% crit rate for me.
In other words, it was a critical hit caused by Lucky Punch.
Ten percent of the reduced damage penetrated through.
「Alright, let’s keep going.」
I said to everyone.
The Metal Slimes we encountered on the way were now no more than mere nuisances to us.
We kept pushing deeper into the dungeon.
〔Are these people really 18-year-old rookie explorers? Or are they actually top veterans with 10 years of experience? 〕
〔Alpha with her bunshin, Beta with his crazy luck and mysterious attacks, Gamma with her deadly firepower, and Delta with her gun and holy water. 〕
〔Their age has been debated in the watch thread, but it’s almost certain they’re 18. 〕
〔They wouldn’t lie about their age in the government’s investigation videos. 〕
Though I understood why they doubted us, I’d prefer they not discuss it right in front of us.
Or do they expect me to suddenly say, ‘Actually, I’m 28’?
Now that would be a lie.
The dungeon crawl continued smoothly afterward.
And then—
「These stairs lead to the ninth floor.」
We had finally made it this far.
I pulled out some mana potions from my inventory and handed them to Ayame and Milk.
Even though they’re called mana potions, they don’t restore mana instantly, so we’d need to rest for a bit.
「Viewer-sans, how are the other countries’ progress reports?」
As I munched on some rations, I asked the viewers for an update on the situation in other nations.
It had been mentioned a few times already.
〔Seven teams have successfully completed their dungeon crawls, destroying the core on the tenth floor. 〕
〔The ninth floor seems to have a large chamber, and there’s a boss there. That part’s the same everywhere. 〕
〔Nine teams have been wiped out or forced to retreat. Many are struggling. 〕
〔Forty-two people have died so far. Even in the teams that cleared the dungeon, there have been casualties. You four making it this far with hardly a scratch is amazing. 〕
〔We want you to be Japan’s saviors. 〕
〔uematsu: once you destroy the core, you’ll automatically be teleported out of the dungeon. No risk of being caught in a collapse.」
As we descended deeper, the viewers became more serious, leaving behind their usual jokes.
Or rather, the atmosphere itself wasn’t conducive to humor anymore.
Even on TV, they were broadcasting our progress alongside updates on dungeon expeditions worldwide.
In one country that had failed its expedition, there were reports of monsters already appearing outside the dungeon.
Though the viewers were saying we had made it this far unscathed, my Substitute Bracelets had broken three times due to my damage-swap skill, and I had taken up to 200 damage at one point.
If it weren’t for the last-minute training we did in the PD, we might have been counted among the dead, too.
And then, there’s Hime—will she be alright?
Some of the dead explorers are likely her siblings.
King has over a hundred children, so there are probably plenty she’s never even met, but there must be a few familiar faces among them.
I chewed my rations over and over, washing them down with water.
Get it together, me.
We’ve made it this far, but if we lose to the ninth-floor boss, it’s all for nothing.
We’re all going to make it out alive.
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