Live Dungeon!
chapter-20

Tsutomu spent the remaining half of his day and the day after practicing Fly. Slowly but surely, he was able to increase the time he could remain in the air, little by little, eventually falling into the sea each time.

The next day, they began another exploration into the dungeon. As always, Tsutomu wore his pale white robes and trousers, while Garm, on the other hand, was in silver armor. He had recently switched his shield, upgrading it to a bigger one that would cover his entire body.

Camille, however, looked like a joke wearing bright red, long-sleeved leather armor while carrying around her gigantic iron sword. However, the back part of her leather armor had been torn when she transformed into a dragon, and her pale-colored skin was exposed. Tsutomu joined the others at the guild, praying that he wouldn’t see any disgusting scales on her back.

As soon as the 3 teleported to 51st floor, they were greeted by a strong wind. The valley was surrounded by greenery, and you could see thick forests and waterfalls all around.

While surveying the area around them, Tstuomu took out a health potion.

“Camille, you go look around for any enemies.”

“Alright. Can you give me Fly?”

“Oh, yeah. Fly!”

Tsutomu gripped his cane and gave Camille the power of flight. As she felt a small breeze touching her hair, she began to levitate.

After seeing her off, he began funneling his potion into a small bottle.

He placed the remainder of the potion on his belt and hooked it firmly so that it would not fall. After giving the small bottle to Garm, he also began replacing his own used mana potions.

Tsutomu probably should have prepared all this beforehand, but he had heard from the drugstore’s old elf lady that the potions would last longer when in the dungeon.

Potions weren’t just medicines, but they were also magic, in a sense. These magical potions are created using an assortment of magical techniques and tools to seal magic into the potion containers. So, as soon as the bottle’s lid is opened, the magic begins to seep out almost immediately.

However, in the dungeon, there is an abundance of magical gems coming from the monster’s deaths, and thus more magical density in the atmosphere, delaying the deterioration of potions.

After refilling his mana potion container, Tsutomu secured it on his belt and moved around to see if it would fall off. After that, he activated Fly on himself and began to levitate.

His speed in the air was the same as his walking speed, but he was now able to maintain his balance. While he was warming up, Camille came flying back in her dragon form. When she was above them, she broke her momentum and fell down.

“I’ve found the Black Door already. It’s over there.”

“Really? That’s amazing luck.”

“I’ve also memorized its approximate location.”

The adventurers have figured out that the dungeon’s terrain changes every day, however, there were still things like some characteristic terrain, or safe spots and the Black Doors that remain common. So, if you know the approximate location, things become easier to find.

Camille got out dragon form, removing her wings and leaving a gaping hole in her back, which was quickly covered by her long hair.

“Please, don’t look at me like that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

Feeling a bit shy, Tstuomu handed over a small health potion to Camille, before he gave the order to begin their adventure.

Garm and Camille walked, while Tsutomu levitated slightly off the ground in order to practice Fly. The road to the Black Door was a long one, and Tsutomu periodically lost balance and had to be supported by Garm.

As they were traversing through the mountains, bushes around them began to shake. Tsutomu noticed a few wolves in the area before they blended into the green background. The wolves were approaching the three quickly, causing the grass to vibrate in their wake.

“It’s a Grass Bandit Wolf. Garm, use Combat Cry while Camille flanks their far left.”

While still hovering in the air, Tsutomu activated Protect on both Garm and Camille. As Garm approached head-on, with shield in hand, his Combat Cry gave off bright fiery lights, drawing attention as Camille stayed hidden.

Three Grass Wolves formed a line and attacked Garm, who struck them down with a short sword he kept on him.

“Shield Bash!”

Activating the skill, Garm pushed one of his feet forward, before rushing towards one of the wolves. Only colorless gems remained after the wolf’s agonizing screams.

Camille sword struck one of the wolves that were frightened at the sight of its fallen comrades, shattering its bones and turning it into an assortment of gems.

Tsutomu, scared that there were still wolves lurking around, told Garm to activate his new skill Howl. By striking his shield and then amplifying that sound, Garm would attract the hiding enemies.

From behind, a wolf was attracted by the sound and jumped at Garm, who spun around and slashed it with his sword.

After they had confirmed there were no other enemies nearby, they collected a colorless phantom gem and continued on.

After other encounters with Grass Wolves, Red Grizzly Bears, and the Wild Boar, they had reached the 52nd floor rather easily.

Like the 51st floor, the valley on the 52nd was still surrounded by greenery, except this time its forests felt thicker.

After replenishing his blue potion, Tsutomu began to feel a slight pain in his ears. He flew over to Garm and held up one of his ears.

“Doesn’t your ears hurt?”

“If you keep doing that it will.”

“So it doesn’t?”

“Not much.”

Tsutomu began to wonder if the pain was simply from his failure to take into account the altitude. He had overlooked these simple things since he was so loaded with game knowledge.

[I wonder what would happen to my ears if I suddenly fly to a high place.]

Although he had a vague understanding of why this happens at high altitudes, he tried to bypass it with some clever breathing techniques while waiting for Camille to return. He’d heard stories about people moving to low altitudes too quickly, causing their eardrums to expand rapidly and burst, resulting in a loss of hearing.

As Tsutomu was experimenting with blowing his nose, he caught a glimpse of Camille flying back from a distance. She shook her head, indicating she hadn’t found the Black Door yet, and returned to Tsutomu.

“Do you get earaches from time to time?”

“Yup. If you’re new, you get used to the pain eventually.”

“Are there any solutions?”

“I don’t know of any. I’m just used to it.”

They continued the mountainous path with Tsutomu’s pain growing increasingly unbearable.

“Wait. There are two Horned Deers up ahead.”

“Can we go around it?”

“Killing it’s faster. Come.”

Clutching one of his ears in pain, Tsutomu applied Protect to Camille.

[Come on already]

Camille’s sword greeted one of the deer, who went crazy and started running around.

Garm, on the other hand, was fighting the other deer. As it rammed into him, he noticed that their horns were powerful enough to not break on collision with his shield.

Their rushes were also powerful. Garm felt that it wasn’t good to receive it head-on, and tried to take it at an angle.

During this time, Camille had broken her 2nd horn, causing the deer to sit down on the ground, shrieking, as if it were surrendering a war.

Camille decapitated the neck that was being presented to her, turning the deer into a medium-sized gem before rushing to Garm’s aid.

The deer trying to break through Garm’s shield was struck on the side of its skull by Camille, turning it into another gem, which they began collecting.

Starting from the 53rd floor, they would begin seeing a spike in monster difficulty. There would be a humanoid monster the size of an adult, but with the green skin of a goblin.

They would possess an intelligence that allowed them to use tools and weapons, and, according to some, even magic. Tsutomu began to brace himself for what was to come on the 53rd floor, while Camille felt this fuzzy feeling of worry on her back.