On the way back to town, I came up with a story: I was actually a merchant who dealt in weapons and the like, and what happened earlier was thanks to the power of a rare item I had for sale. “What, you don’t say!” I forcefully concluded the conversation in that direction.
Well, upon reflection, I felt there were many holes in my story, but I muddled through with sheer momentum.
It would be bad if any more talk revealed my flaws.
Upon entering town, I used an excuse about having errands to run and broke away from Train-chan, almost by force.
“Ah, please wait!”
She said, chasing after me, so I used Godspeed Cancel Movement to escape for a bit.
Honestly, Train-chan is really something.
Her speed was incredible, even though she had been gasping for breath just moments ago.
“…Did I manage to lose her?”
Holding my breath, I looked back, but there was no sign of anyone.
It seemed I had shaken her off.
“Fuhaha…”
I was glad I managed to escape.
Although I felt a little guilty for lying to Train-chan, I really wanted to avoid drawing her attention with my current situation.
It bothered me that I hadn’t been able to part ways cleanly, but I figured if I just told her I was a merchant who got stronger through the power of items, Train-chan wouldn’t pay it much mind.
…Probably.
On the way back to town, she had said she wanted to thank me for saving her, but I made it a condition that she wouldn’t reveal anything about my sword.
This way, we were even.
Though it might sound harsh, it seemed like a clean break from her.
The slip of the tongue where I gave the name Reinhardt was a mistake, but it was better than giving my real name.
A merchant could plausibly possess powerful weapons that seemed beyond their station.
That was the thought behind the lie, but Reinhardt was the only name that came to mind when I thought of a merchant.
In fact, looking back, it might have been a rather good choice.
Even if, on a whim, she decided to look for me again, the information she would find would clearly point to a Lizardman merchant, which was entirely unlike me.
I planned to lay low for a while anyway, so the information would likely stop there.
“If nothing else, adventuring with her might have been fun…”
These were my thoughts on the Evil God relief before Train-chan showed up.
Regardless, I needed to become stronger.
At least enough so that my life wouldn’t be threatened so easily.
And the key to that lay right at my feet.
A highest-difficulty Dungeon with an average enemy level of 250.
The Labyrinth of Sealing Evils, a subterranean labyrinth where the “Fragment of the Evil God,” the strongest enemy in the Game, lay sleeping, was located south of Ramur, beneath the Evil God relief on the Demonic Seal Plateau.
Normally, one would have to defeat the final boss and use an item obtained during that battle to even approach its gates, but this world wasn’t a Game.
If I wanted something, I knew what to do; I had already learned from the Thief, Meripe.
“My weapon… it’s still okay, right?”
Monsters and characters, as well as weapons, armor, and some tools, had assigned levels and HP.
Weapons and armor would wear down with use, breaking when their HP reached zero.
Furthermore, consumable items like lamps and torches, or items that created barriers, also lost HP when used, breaking when their HP hit zero.
Conversely, this mechanic was sometimes used in quests; I had completed missions by attacking a suspension bridge with HP and destroying it to impede enemy advances.
…Although, because the suspension bridge’s HP was abnormally high, I had to defeat all the enemies before I could drop it, which was a counterproductive outcome. But that was the quality one expected from “Nekoneko.”
If I intended to keep using the same weapon, I would have to visit a blacksmith periodically, but I didn’t think I needed to today.
For now, I was hungry, so I decided to head back to town for lunch.
I ate at an inn.
Lunch, of course, cost extra, but while I was there, I paid for my lodging for the night as well.
Feeling bold, I asked the innkeeper if he had any tools for digging, just in case. To my surprise, he lent me a rather sturdy shovel.
An unexpected stroke of luck.
But I wondered if it was true that this shovel was only used for garden maintenance.
Speaking of which, this inn had a magnificent tree in its garden.
Perhaps at its roots…
While indulging in such foolish fantasies, I headed out with the shovel on my shoulder.
I felt like Scooper, the kid who loved digging.
Well, all I had was a shovel.
As I passed through the town gates, the sentries gave my large shovel a suspicious glance, but I ignored them and headed for the Demonic Seal Plateau.
I fought my way through some monsters, making my way to the relief’s location.
There were times when a considerable number of enemies gathered, but I made sure not to use Horizontal Slash.
While I doubted it was a concern, it was a skill I didn’t want others to see, and I also didn’t want to become reliant on it.
“…This is it.”
Fortunately, I reached the relief’s location without much delay.
It was located not too far from town, and besides, I had visited Hidden Dungeons many times before, so it was unlikely I’d get lost.
However, this was a new experience for me.
“Around here, perhaps?”
I thrust the shovel into the ground a little beyond the relief.
This relief would move and reveal a passage to the underground when a specific item was presented to it. The passage was supposed to lead towards the Evil God’s head.
So, if I dug around here, I should soon strike an underground passage, or so I estimated.
“The ground’s hardness… seems okay.”
In the Game, the ground was unchangeable, but here, I could dig without any problems.
Even at a low level, my character in the Game world had much more stamina than my real-world self.
I wouldn’t need to dig a particularly deep hole, so digging wouldn’t take much time.
I immediately began digging.
“Yo, let’s go.”
With a vocal grunt, I started digging into the ground.
The shovel was surprisingly easy to use, and the ground yielded easily to my efforts.
It seemed like this would go smoothly.
“…”
Only the sound of dirt being dug reached my ears.
It was boring to just dig in silence, so I decided to sing a song.
“One hole dug, for me.
Two holes dug, for myself.
Three holes dug, for my own sake.”
Seriously, what is this?
Singing my true feelings resulted in a rather selfish song.
It was true, but it didn’t really boost my morale.
“Hmm…”
My spirits weren’t lifted, but the hole was gradually getting bigger.
It felt like a long time by my perception, but how long had it been since I started digging?
“…Shoot.”
I had forgotten I couldn’t open the menu screen.
Without a clock, I had no way of knowing the time.
If I lingered for too long, I might attract Train-chan again.
“No choice. I’ll dig seriously.”
I stopped thinking about trivial matters and swung the shovel with all my might.
“This is strange…”
I was about a meter deep into the ground.
From that point on, the soil suddenly became hard, and the shovel blade stopped digging into the ground.
“It must be just a little further…”
I had a feeling that it was just one last push.
But that one final push seemed distant.
“Could it be a level correction?”
In the Game, normal walls and ground couldn’t be affected by attacks, so they had no HP or levels. But in this world, I could interact freely.
Perhaps the walls and ground in high-level areas were harder than those in low-level areas.
If that was the case, then this was proof that I was getting closer to my goal.
In that case, I had no choice but to force my way through.
“How about this!!”
I raised the shovel high and brought it down with all my might.
A good, tingling sensation ran up my arm, and then…
“…Ah.”
The shovel broke.
Before I could even process my shock,
“Then… how about this!!”
Without hesitation, I drew out the Fire of Sh and,
“Take this!!”
Drove it into the ground with all my might!
With a strange, dull sensation, I briefly panicked, thinking the Fire of Sh had broken, but as I quickly drew it out, it was intact.
I let out a sigh of relief.
I had gotten carried away and used the Fire of Sh impulsively, but losing it over something like this would be unbearable.
Upon closer inspection of the spot where the Fire of Sh had been stuck, I saw a black hole had formed.
It seemed I had broken through to the underground passage.
That strange, unyielding sensation must have been from the blade hitting the cavity beyond.
“Hahaha! As expected of the Fire of Sh!”
No matter how high-level the material was, it was still just ground.
It couldn’t compare to a real weapon like the Fire of Sh.
Now that I had the advantage, I discarded the broken shovel and continued digging with the Fire of Sh.
Its shape wasn’t exactly ideal for digging, but it was sufficient to widen a small hole.
I continued working with intense focus, successfully widening the hole enough for a person to pass through.
“Yes!”
I let out a small fist pump.
As if to bless my efforts, a chilling wind, colder than mere drafts, blew out from within.
I felt something more than just a chill and shivered.
“As expected, this is where the Fragment of the Evil God sleeps.
But with that, it’s perfect.”
As I leaned into the hole to peer inside, that’s when it happened.
“—What are you doing, Reinhardt… no, Soma-san.”
I turned around at the sound of someone clearly calling out my name.
(Eh? No, you’re kidding me…)
My eyes widened in disbelief.
And there…
“That hole, and you just mentioned the Evil God…
What exactly is going on, Soma-san!”
Train-chan stood before me, knife in hand, regarding me with wary eyes.
(…Huh?)
Looking at Train-chan’s determined expression, I suddenly thought.
Could it be that… could it be…
(—Am I misunderstanding something terribly here?)
