[Slimy Eel]

'I was able to return home, completely unhurt, even after I was surrounded by monsters on the upper layer. And it was all because I was carrying this!'

(Adventurer Testimonial)

Product: Monster(raw)

Produced: Kus.h.i.+ros.h.i.+tsugen Dungeon, middle floors

Expiration date: 1 day after the product is opened.

Everything about this seemed creepy.

It would repel humans just as much as monsters.

Haruki put his hand on his chin and glared at the sign.

As it said 'upper layers' it was likely not very effective on stronger monsters. Or maybe it only worked on monsters that were the same strength as you.

So this thing wouldn't make a dramatic difference.

With all of this considered, Haruki compared a number of products.

The other shelves had things like 'It might erase smell and sounds! *do not abuse*' or 'May erase your presence!? *peeping is illegal* etcetera.

There were a lot of items that helped you escape the notice of monsters. But such effects would be lethal to Haruki.

He could under no circ.u.mstances touch them.

And so Haruki ended up buying the Slimy Eel.

It would last for one day. And so he threw four of them into his basket.

"I think that's enough for today."

He would try going to the 6th floor and below, and if he still needed something, he could buy it later.

Haruki went to look for Karen before going to the checkout.

Perhaps she also had things that she wanted to buy.

And so Haruki activated his newly acquired detection skill. He was able to find Karen immediately.

"…What are you doing?"

"Agh!?"

Karen's shoulders jumped. At the same time, there was a 'cheep' sound coming from the thing she was holding.

[Piyoko]

'Look here, the monsters will notice if you use it in the dungeon, so don't do it, alright? I'm warning you!?'

Product: Monster(stuffed)

Produced: Nakafuda Dungeon, middle layer

Expirations Date: Indefinite

This was all written on a sign with neat hand-writing.

The description reminded Haruki of a certain comedian.

Haruki enjoyed the surrealness of it all.

The thought that a lot of people would see this and ignore it made him chuckle.

Karen was currently holding the 'Piyoko' corpse.

But unlike the slimy eel, this one had been properly stuffed(The other thing was raw).

As for the price, it was 200,000 yen for just one.

And it had the creepy effect of luring monsters towards you.

Who the h.e.l.l would want that…

"It-it's not like I'm attracted to such things. I just thought that it might come in handy!"

The thing in her hand was still cheeping.

It seemed like she enjoyed the feeling of squis.h.i.+ng it.

"I really don't think that expenses are going to cover that?"

"…Yes."

When they left, Karen cast regretful glances towards the shelf where Piyoko cheeped. It was as if it were yanking her hair and she could not stop looking.

As it was still midday, Haruki decided to increase the number of floors they could go to through the gate for tomorrow.

They would go to the 4th floor through the gate and aim for the 5th floor.

As Haruki and Karen had already killed so many Silver Wolves and grown, the Kill Rabbits were now ridiculously weak.

"They were so hard at first…"

Haruki recalled the early struggle as he broke the necks of the Kill Rabbits with a single kick.

As for the boss, it was just a Kill Rabbit that was twice as large.

Haruki went in alone and dodged its attacks for a while.

It wasn't as agile as a Silver Wolf.

When Haruki quickly cut off its head with the magic sword, Karen's face seemed to fall a little.

Had she wanted to experience a boss fight?

"…Now that I think about it, you haven't fought a boss yet."

"That's right… Will you let me fight the next one?"

"Sure. Of course, if the boss is too strong, then I'll have to join you."

"Yes. Thank you."

They went down to the 5th floor and immediately activated the gate.

After that, they ignored leveling and material gathering and just moved onward.

The 5th floor only had Kill Rabbits as well.

However, unlike the 4th floor, the Kill Rabbits always appeared in groups of 3 and 4.

Unlike the garage dungeon, the difficulty rose gently with every floor.

However, even when the Kill Rabbits attacked in groups, they weren't much of an obstacle for Haruki.

The boss was the same size as the one on the 4th floor, but the color was darker.

It also seemed to be a little more muscular.

Perhaps the difficulty had been raised a little.

"Karen. It's all yours. I'll go in to help you if it gets dangerous."

"Th-thank you."

She sounded a little tense as she moved forward.

I could tell by her shoulders that she was anxious.

Karen stopped at a distance before the boss reacted. And then she raised her staff and started to concentrate.

(…Hmm. She seems fine.)

The power of Karen's magic was different depending on how much power she put into it.

If she spent a lot of time on a single attack like she was doing now, then she could do more damage at once than even Haruki.

Haruki was sure of her victory, and so he quietly took out his skill board.

He swiped the screen and displayed Karen's status.

"…Oh, that's too far…huh?"

What? Haruki tilted his head in confusion.

Rhea(0) Gender: Female

Skill Point: 8

Rating: Leaf Demon

+Vitality

+Strength

+Dexterity

+Skill

+Intuition

+Special

Rhea…why are you there!

Or should it be expected, since she was tamed?

But it hadn't even been a year since she was born.

And a girl!? Really!?

Haruki was even more confused after seeing what was displayed on the skill board.

…He wanted to verify it.

He felt greedy for more knowledge after seeing information that he didn't know.

His whole body was urging him on to find out more! And quickly!

However, now was not the time for that.

Karen would launch the magic as soon as she was ready. He had to continue to prepare!

And so he begrudgingly moved to Karen's skill board.

Then he touched Intuition and opened the tree.

As Haruki had learned the detection skill, they could avoid traps if he led the way.

However, what if she couldn't follow his lead?

What if they were in a situation where they had to run away from monsters? Karen would easily step into a trap.

Considering the possibilities of such emergencies, it would be best if Karen was also able to see traps.

That being said, just distributing one point made a big difference to your senses.

If she suddenly became sharper in spite of doing nothing, then she would surely think that it was strange.

Kill the boss and level up. If she could be persuaded to believe that it was the reason for the sudden change, then everything would be fine.

So thinking, Haruki decided to use a point at the same time that Karen attacked.

He saw that she was about to unleash the magic.

And then, just as the magic hit the boss, Haruki tapped the skill up b.u.t.ton.

Skill Point: 3 → 2

Detection 0 → 1

"…Uh? Huh?"

It seemed that she noticed the change.

Karen's eyes had widened.

As for the boss that was. .h.i.t by her magic, it was dead after its head exploded.

…Outside of manipulation, all her skills were level 1, and yet it was so powerful.

"Good job. How was it?"

"Uh, um… I feel kind of weird?"

"Maybe you leveled up and your senses are sharper now?"

"…Oh, yes. Maybe that's it."

It wasn't the most convincing argument, but Karen seemed to accept it.

So, that problem was solved.

That being said, there was a limit to how many times he could raise skills that had such an effect on your senses.

But they could also end up in a dangerous situation. And any hesitation and worrying could result in not being able to save lives that he should be able to save.

Haruki would have to think of a solution before it was too late.