I’m being cautious and stealthy, trying to cover my tracks, but it’s surprisingly tiring.
I’m doing this to find the Ore Tree, so my motivation isn’t wavering, but it still takes time to move while being aware of my surroundings.
“Haa.”
After taking a deep breath, I start moving again.
How long has it been since I entered the Dragon King’s Dungeon?
I leap from rock to rock like an acrobat, and suddenly wonder about that.
I’d say it’s been at least an hour, but less than five, though unfortunately, I don’t know the exact time.
My sense of time has become fuzzy, perhaps because I’ve had several intense battles since entering this dungeon.
Furthermore, the wristwatch I had prepared died during the battle with the Dragon King.
When I look at my wristwatch, the digital display screen is cracked.
Naturally, it doesn’t tell me the time and remains silently dead.
I bought it for dungeons, so it was quite expensive, which makes me smile wryly as I resign myself to the fact that it’s broken.
If that’s the case, I look up at the sky, but I can’t check the time by the sun’s position inside the dungeon; only the silhouettes of flying dragons are visible.
As a result, I can only tell that time is passing based on my own sense of it.
If I continue searching for the Ore Tree like this and take too much time, I might worry Suella and the others, which makes me anxious, but I don’t stop moving.
“Haa, moving quietly is tougher than I thought.”
I occasionally stop and wait for passing dragons, which move with heavy thuds, then cautiously resume my movement.
I search for enemies, and if I find one, I hide until it passes, then continue on.
That’s basically the cycle.
To be as inconspicuous as possible, I move from one shadow to another, covering myself with faint magic power to leave no trace, and using concealment magic to blur my presence and escape the dragons’ senses. The search for the Ore Tree is exhausting my stamina and spirit far more than I imagined.
“Not here either, huh?”
Still, I press on.
I place my hands on the cliff face and look around, but all I see are rocks and dragons.
My partner is nowhere to be seen.
If I determine it’s not here, I move immediately.
“Seriously, where did you throw it?”
It’s my own fault for letting go of it earlier, but I wish someone wouldn’t throw my weapon into a valley.
The place where I was just fighting is now within sight. The Dragon King, who was making noise until just now, is no longer there, but I’m definitely within my search range.
I want to take as little time as possible, so I don’t stay in one place, constantly sensing magic power, and descend the rocky areas of the canyon.
“I hope it’s not too far away.”
The further I go, the darker it gets, and the path becomes more treacherous.
When I finally reach an area that seems like it could be a path for people, it turns out to be a small clearing, and beyond that clearing, the ground drops away into another valley. I thought the same thing when I looked from above; it’s quite deep.
I wonder if it’s a canyon rather than a valley, recalling the difference in the words, and try to encourage myself, even as a joke, wishing it would be found soon.
As I continue to descend with faint hope, the light naturally reaches the surroundings less and less, and it gradually gets darker.
However, I can secure my vision by strengthening my eyesight with magic power, so visibility is not a problem.
But other problems arise.
I don’t know how the dragons’ territory is laid out, so I’m constantly moving with caution.
As the footing, which humans wouldn’t normally tread on, becomes worse, I feel a sensation of being watched on my back.
A gaze that sends a chill down my spine.
For a moment, I thought the Dragon King found me, but.
“No, that’s different. This is!?”
The quality of the presence and the gaze are different.
The Dragon King’s gaze felt so violent that it made a storm seem gentle by comparison. It’s not a gaze that sends chills down your spine like this. And there’s a slight sense of paralysis that makes my body unable to move.
“…It seems I’ve stumbled into the territory of some dangerous individuals.”
Just a few seconds after feeling that gaze, I sense more gazes appearing. One, two, three, four. With each increase, my body becomes more immobile. And I have a familiarity with something that causes this kind of status ailment in this dungeon.
There are many troublesome monsters in the dungeon, so we Dungeon Testers are always diligent in collecting monster data. Knowing our enemies makes攻略 (strategy/conquest) easier and helps improve the dungeon. The data collected from the challengers’ perspective is compiled in the Party Room and filed for easy access as data. I remember Minami complaining about having to become a攻略 (strategy/conquest) book editor. The sources of such data include not only our firsthand experience but also opportunities to learn from others. We exchange such information not only with Suella but also with employees we’ve become friendly with. Most of it is just captured characteristics, but it’s still useful. In particular, I often get information about monsters from the Giants, who process monster materials. In any case, they have many opportunities to come into contact with monster materials in their daily lives and are knowledgeable about monster characteristics in various ways. So, naturally, we listen to them.
“Hey Jiro, why don’t you bring some dragon materials once in a while? You always just sell to Memoria.”
“Don’t ask me to hunt dragons! Do you know how hard it is to hunt them? You should show more consideration for the people in the field. And I *do* bring some here, but I admit Memoria gets more by proportion.”
Hands complains every time I visit his shop, but he still tells me about monsters.
“Geez, not much good material has come in lately, so my skills are getting dull. Your guys bring the most decent materials. Please, a bit more.”
“Is that so? Then next time I hunt something good, I’ll bring it.”
“Please do. If you can.”
It was during casual conversation with Hands, the owner of my go-to weapon shop, that a name came up.
“Bring materials like a Basilisk, at least.”
Basilisk. A creature bearing the name of the “King of the Small,” also mentioned as a legendary or mythical creature on Earth. While it reigns at the top of the snake hierarchy, in this world, it exists as a subspecies of dragon. It’s apparently famous for its petrifying magic eye and potent poison.
With a hiss like a snake, five Basilisks emerge, raising their heads. Their amber serpentine eyes glow ominously in the darkness, binding my body. Of all things, I’ve stumbled into the territory of a troublesome creature. I can’t casually think that I might be able to keep my promise with Hands in such a situation. Unlike the hot-blooded dragon species, they lurk quietly, waiting for their prey to fall into a trap, immobilizing them with their petrifying magic eye, and finishing them off with poison. A hunting style. Furthermore, they possess the toughness and immense magical power unique to dragon species, revealing their enormous bodies that make the name “King of the Small” seem absurd. Their eyes can move.
As I try to gauge their movements, I take in their enormous bodies, and their sheer size becomes even more apparent. Just the torso rising from the ground easily exceeds five meters, and the thickness of the torso is greater than the shoulder width of an adult man. Considering this much is just the front, I don’t even want to think about their full length. Moreover, the poison that dripped from their sharp fangs easily melted the rocks. Getting bitten by something like that would be the end. Five such beings glare at me without averting their gaze, flicking their tongues.
*Inside, I retort that they’re snakes, not dragons,* and if this continues, I’ll end up inside a snake’s belly. I can’t allow that. So.
“I can’t thank Instructor Fushio enough.”
I resist with all my might. I exhale once, as if relaxing my entire body. By doing so, my body stiffens further, and breathing becomes difficult, but.
“Unfortunately, I have resistance to petrification!! And one or two countermeasures—”
With a determined cry, I direct energy into my limbs and simultaneously activate my magic power. It’s not for nothing that I was trained in physical resistance by Instructor Kio and abnormal status resistance by Instructor Fushio.
“—otherwise, how could I possibly clear dungeons!!”
Ordinary petrification won’t even make me stiff. Even the petrification of a dragon species only stiffens my muscles; it takes time, but I can release and deal with it. If they want to petrify me, they’ll need something comparable to or greater than Instructor Fushio’s. Well, it would be problematic if they *did* have it.
“I’m going to crush those eyes!!”
Thinking this, I attack the agitated Basilisks. One of the Basilisks, which hadn’t expected its petrification to be nullified, is kicked. Ascending into the air, I reach its head and deliver a full-power roundhouse kick to its right eye, the impact resonating.
“One!!”
The impact travels from the eyeball to the brain. I feel a solid crushing sensation, and I realize that my physical techniques, which were ineffective against the Dragon King, are effective against the Basilisks.
“Two!!”
I try to suppress a wry smile at the thought of facing dragon species with my bare hands and charge at the Basilisks, whose caution has been heightened by the loss of one of their comrades. I won’t use magic. If I do, the Dragon King might fly here. Forget large-scale magic; I need to defeat them with the minimum necessary force and leave as soon as possible. I gather my resolve, push my groaning body, and grit my teeth. Without my Ore Tree, and with my right hand unusable, my legs naturally become my main weapons. I kick the lower jaw of a biting Basilisk upwards with my right foot, forcing it to close its mouth. Then, with the upward force of the kick, its face is lifted, allowing me to get beneath its jaw joint. My left leg, which was my support leg, becomes my kicking leg, and my right leg becomes the support. Adding a twist of my waist, I channel magic into the metal part of my heel, turning it into a hammer.
“Haa!!”
I strike its temple with a backspin kick, and as if defying the laws of physics, I blow its face sideways. Swiftly, I pursue my attack. Leaping up, I bring my heel down on the head of the writhing Basilisk. The impact spreads with a thud, and for a moment, the Basilisk’s face is caved in. Although it somewhat returns to its original shape when I lift my foot due to its bowl-like structure, its brain is crushed, and a light of returning to magic particles leaks out. And the Basilisk’s face, after my attack, is slightly flattened. Its eyes bulge, its tongue hangs limply, and one of its fangs, which it was so proud of, is missing, perhaps broken when it tried to bite. There’s no sign of life. Judging this, I turn my gaze to the remaining Basilisks.
Why can I tell they have perplexed expressions on their snake-like faces? The three remaining Basilisks, whose eyes are glittering and who seem about to say “My magic eye isn’t working,” are staring at me. I feel a prickly sensation on my skin, as if tiny needles are piercing it, but I step forward calmly, showing no signs of being affected, and step off the head of the crushed Basilisk. This should further provoke their unease. If they were ordinary dragon species, this would stimulate their pride, and they would immediately attack. While other dragons are comparable to knights, Basilisks are hunters; although they possess the power to fight head-on, they are inherently tactical creatures. Therefore, I don’t think they will adhere to a combat style of “getting at least one blow in” even if they lose.
I take another heavy step forward, expecting them to retreat, but suddenly the Basilisks look around frantically. Did they sense something?
“What is it? This smell, or is it a sound too?”
A strange, acrid odor, and a creeping sound can be heard. It’s not like a rotten smell, but rather a pungent, stinging one. Something is coming. That’s the only way to describe the abnormality around me. The smell is getting gradually stronger. And then.
“No way, are you serious? Something’s coming.”
All the remaining Basilisks, their earlier bravado gone, turn and flee in unison.
“This is no place to stay, I guess.”
I too feel a bad premonition from the atmosphere, and instead of chasing the Basilisks, I run in a different direction from them. And then.
“WWWWWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
Just in the nick of time, I manage to avoid encountering its massive body. A multi-headed dragon emerges from the depths of the canyon as if crawling out.
“It’s a Hydra!!”
I almost curse, wondering if even such a creature exists here. But I have no time to do so. One head turns towards me, while the other heads turn towards the Basilisks, and it seems to be hesitating which to pursue.
“Huh? Unlike the ones above, they’re not cooperating?”
I find that peculiar. But I can’t stop moving. If it’s hesitating, that’s to my advantage, and I use that time to descend further into the canyon.
Today’s word: Never give up, but also set clear boundaries and know when to withdraw.
Thank you for your continued feedback and for pointing out any typos. If you find this interesting, please leave comments, ratings, bookmarks, etc.
*The first volume of the book is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA. It was released on October 18, 2018. The e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year. The second volume was released on December 19. The third volume was released on February 20, 2019. The content has been revised and supplemented from the original serialization on Shosetsuka ni Naro, with the addition of unpublished interlude chapters. Please consider purchasing the new volumes!
A comic adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.” I hope you enjoy that as well.
I appreciate your continued support of this work.
