Jiro Tanaka, 28 years old, has a girlfriend.
His girlfriend is Suella Hendelberg.
Memoria Tris.
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time employee).
Magic Aptitude: 9 (Quasi Demon Lord Class).
Position: Warrior.
“Haa.”
The supervisor said that, but I’m taking a smoke break first. I just witnessed a battle like that. I need to suppress my excitement from being in the midst of battle to deal with things calmly. The smile on my lips won’t stop. What was that fight? It was like a natural disaster itself. It wasn’t like my training with Evol Eaters and the like; it was a battle between equals. Ah, it gets me so worked up. Inhaling the purple smoke as if it were soaking into my lungs and exhaling finally calms my excitement, but not completely.
“Haa, well, I can’t just think about fun things. Work, work, though what I have to do is simple, which is nice.”
Reluctantly feeling the lingering excitement, my body is that of a corporate slave. I’ve learned the hard way that slacking off at work leads to bad outcomes. I should check what needs to be done against my mental schedule and get to it, but…
“First, I need to take care of some errands.”
In this race, I was sent into the dungeon myself, but I can’t start yet. After all, with my stats being two or even more levels above everyone else, I won’t even be in the running without some handicaps.
“Right? Don’t you think so?”
“Grrr.”
I speak to a monster that has been growling low for a while now. It has a wolf-like head, a bear-like body, and a snake’s tail with a will separate from its head, and it hasn’t even been named yet. Seeing its clearly foul mood from being implicitly called a weakling right after meeting it, its intelligence isn’t bad either. I knew there would be monsters at the transfer point, but the supervisor seems to think highly of me. I heard from the laboratory that this monster is scheduled to be placed in the deeper parts of the dungeon. They said it would be just right to pit against me. What’s more, I can’t even use a shortcut by defeating it. Being pushed to the innermost part and not being able to start until I defeat this thing, I wonder how far behind I’ll be.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. The only things worth saving up are savings and knowledge. I’ll finish my work quickly.”
After all, I’m tasked with more than just participating in the race. Until that’s done, I can’t reach the goal. If I get bogged down with one task, it will never end.
“Here, bring it on.”
I thought I might get an answer, but nothing happened. It lowered its stance and made a lunging motion. Finding that a bit disappointing, I grasped the handle of my Ore Tree and beckoned it provocatively, which served as a call to battle, and the monster attacked.
“Hmm, its speed is moderate; Kaido would barely be able to dodge it, or perhaps not.”
“Gruaaar!!”
The monster lunged swiftly, opening its large mouth to tear at me, but I dodged by stepping to the side. In that brief exchange, I could gauge the approximate strength of my opponent.
“So, it has considerable power?”
I calculated its strength from its charge and the speed at which it moved from its lunge to the point of our brief encounter. I let my gaze follow the opponent as I pivoted on one foot, turning in place. My adjusted gaze landed on the opponent, and I positioned myself to keep it in sight. As for the opponent, it didn’t lose momentum from its lunge, abruptly changing its posture as it landed and immediately lunged again.
“That’s a technique only a beast can perform; a human would throw out their back doing that.”
While admiring its flexibility, I deliberately met the monster’s attack with my Ore Tree to test its attack power. Hearing the grinding sound of fangs and the Ore Tree against each other, I gauged its approximate power from the sensation of my feet sliding against the ground.
“It could be a little stronger, but it might be more effective to add special abilities.”
Adding my body weight, a considerable amount of force pressed down on my arm, but I could blow it away with a single swing of my Ore Tree. If it had added an electric shock to this, I would have had to change my response, and I made a mental note to write that in my report. Then, while pushing the opponent’s body back with a firm shove, I unleashed a slash. I didn’t intend to hit it, but it was a bonus if it did.
“Its reaction is good. It seems to have attack power too. And on top of that, it has intelligence.”
Perhaps sensing this with its beastly intuition, it leaped back with its forelegs and dodged. Its response was quite good, and its fighting spirit was high. Without faltering, it leaped again, this time combining its attack with sharp claws.
“Would it be troublesome if its attack patterns increased?”
Taking a puff of my cigarette, I calmly assessed it while deflecting the snake’s tail that attacked from behind my swaying arms by stepping on it. Is it worthy of guarding the dungeon? I have to submit a report later, so I can’t hold back.
“Next is its defense, but it looks like it will end in one strike.”
“Gaa!!”
Infusing my magic, its fur seemed harder than iron, but it was only about as hard as iron. It’s not that I can’t cut it. I could go easy, but a wounded beast is troublesome. I’ll just end this cleanly.
“Overall, it’s troublesome when there are many of them, but as an individual, it’s upper-middle class. Its attack power is decent, and it has speed, but its defense is lacking.”
This time, instead of dodging, I met the monster’s lunge, circulating my magic explosively. In that instant of crossing paths, I stepped forward slightly and swung my Ore Tree horizontally, then let the opponent be carried backward by inertia. That was the end of it. The unnamed monster’s body slid horizontally behind me with a dull thud that echoed in the surroundings.
“Well then, I’m late, but how far behind am I?”
I glanced at the motionless monster, returned my Ore Tree to my back, confirmed my footing with a couple of taps, and started running through the dungeon. I ran through the cave path, but…
“Oops.”
I immediately stopped. Although it’s a dungeon, its internal structure is completely different from before. There are sheer cliffs, bottomless ravines, and swamps that discourage entry. Vines hang like noren curtains, turning it into a kind of obstacle course. This race is also a test of the new dungeon’s structure. They are trying to find structures that are effective for hindering and defense…
“I feel like Flying Magic would solve it in one go.”
While tackling the obstacles with my legs, I occasionally dodged falling buckets. Although it’s inside a cave, it’s a vast space. All these obstacles can be cleared by flying. I can’t help but point this out. It feels like making it purely a maze would be more effective.
“Oops, is this area cleared now?”
I looked back at the area I cleared solely with my leg strength and spotted an upward-sloping cave ahead. It was weak enough to pass through to the next level. Including the initial combat time, it took about thirty minutes.
“Releasing some monsters.”
“Here? If it’s like the previous one, it’ll be easy…”
I had expectedmonster releases around this time, and it seemed to coincide perfectly. I regretted looking back to see where it was coming from. Something emerged from the depths of the dungeon. As I squinted to see what it was, and the instant I realized what it was, I sprinted with all my might.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Isn’t that cheating?!”
“Gyuoooooo!!!”
The apex predator, having found its prey, roared and moved its legs. Yes, I threw away the cigarette I had just lit and ran with all my might.
“Wasteful? My life is more important!!”
I’ve dealt with various monsters starting with Golems, Gobins, Zombies, and even bizarre insects, but that supervisor really did it this time. I thought I was the only one privy to the inner workings of this event, but that devil wouldn’t do anything so half-hearted. It’s not even a matter of whether to fight or not. Choosing to fight something like that is the mistake in itself.
“Why are you deploying a Dragon?!”
My anguished scream is probably being heard by the supervisor as well. It has no wings, but it’s covered in robust black iron scales and moves on four legs, a symbol of every fantasy world. My intuition screams the highest warning. With more work to do, the only choice here is to retreat. The magic I feel from behind, while not comparable to the instructors’, tells me that this is not an opponent I can defeat in a direct fight.
“Don’t mess with me!! Running away is the first skill I ever learned, you hear me!!”
I see, this way the race won’t be a drawn-out affair. It’s like in a relay race where runners start even if the baton isn’t passed; testers who fall behind are crushed by that Dragon. What’s more…
“So, if I can knock down other testers, I can buy time!”
I’ve been trying to run through the dungeon as quickly as possible, avoiding obstacles and taking the shortest route, but the distance between me and the Dragon behind me isn’t increasing at all. Its sheer dedication to being a “tester-only search and destroy” mission made me understand its intent.
“Is that devil even planning to let me do my work?!”
I couldn’t help but curse at the devil who sent such a formidable being my way, but I immediately imagined the devil’s mocking smile, as if to say none of that mattered, and my spirits sank a little. This will ruin my plan to work behind the scenes and foster a sense of unity.
“Damn it!!”
Complaining won’t change the current situation. That’s why finding and executing a clever plan is the key to breaking through this predicament.
“Tch!”
I felt a surge of magic behind me and, without looking back, relied on my intuition. I dodged a giant breath attack by instinctively sliding behind a rocky outcrop. The heat on my back subsided, and I started running again. There’s distance, but at this rate, it’s only a matter of time before I’m caught. Still, for now, all I can do is run. First floor, second floor, third floor, I spent countless floors merely fleeing. The game of tag, repeating at speeds exceeding that of a car, made me think it would continue all the way to the exit when I finally caught up to the last of the other testers.
“No, that’s…”
My enhanced eyes caught figures far ahead, but they weren’t at the very end.
“Are all the testers here?!”
In a large square reminiscent of the arena I was just in, the other testers stood frozen. Seeing several testers in front of a sturdy iron gate, which appeared to be the exit based on the direction of travel, I imagined what would happen next. If things continue like this, in a few minutes, or at most ten, the Dragon behind us will reach that square. When that happens, if monsters are encountered in a square where the passage is blocked, only one thing will happen. A rampage by the apex of the food chain will begin.
“Huh? Forced combat? Ah!! So that’s how it is! Ah, darn it, I’ve been had!! That devil completely overturned the whole foundation!”
I understood the supervisor’s intention. This race itself was rigged. The moment I understood this, I realized I had been deceived. I realized I had been dancing on the supervisor’s palm from the very beginning and felt like sighing. This time, what the testers are challenging is not a race. What they are challenging is–
“Damn it!! You mean we have to cooperate and defeat this Dragon?! Supervisor!!”
A subjugation event. The Dragon pursuing me from behind is likely set to a strength that testers can defeat if they combine their efforts. And the reason for hiding this fact and assigning me the behind-the-scenes role…
“On top of that, you’ve foisted this troublesome task on me!! You mean I have to rally the testers!!”
If things continue like this, everyone will be wiped out. The event, planned to improve the testers’ poor coordination even a little, had, at some point, been completely replaced by something else.
“Ah!! Damn it!! I’ll do it, I’ll do it!!”
With my rebellious spirit fully ignited, I desperately thought about how to manipulate the events that followed to get back at the devil who stole this event, thinking as hard as I could.
Jiro Tanaka, 28 years old, has a girlfriend.
His girlfriend is Suella Hendelberg.
Memoria Tris.
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time employee).
Magic Aptitude: 9 (Quasi Demon Lord Class).
Position: Warrior.
Today’s word: I demand sugar!
This concludes this installment.
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