ch181-ch200 · 189-ch189

Chapter 189: The Dungeon Doesn't Break Its Rules

"Then shall we clear Floor 30 before lunch?"

Kasumi-san's lunch break arrived, so after waiting for her to change, we head for Floor 30.

This time she's leaving the Ogre King entirely to me.

I reached Floor 30 about half an hour ago and left the 'Left Gate' behind.

Then I rested on the surface, so my MP has recovered a little and I'm in top condition.

(...)

I begin charging MP with 【Charge・Spear】.

In forty seconds on this side I enter the 'Right Gate'; on the far side, the Ogre King and company need sixty seconds to spawn.

Charging 100 MP will leave change to spare.

Just a simple job: kill the Ogre King and dive through the 'Gate to Floor 31'.

"【Gate】【Scouting】. ...Let's go."

Confirming nothing is on the other side, I step toward the 'Right Gate'.

We advance slowly, and I take position directly behind the Ogre King's spawn point.

Kasumi-san has her stance ready, but she's waiting by the 'Left Gate'.

Is that trust, I wonder?

At the fifty-second mark on this side, I begin my enhancements.

(【Charge・Spear・Magic Up】【Charge・Spear・Endurance Up】【Charge・Spear・Agility Up】【Charge・Spear・Strength Up】【Charge・Spear・Weapon Enhancement・Spear】)

Suu—haa—my breathing slows.

Time feels like it's flowing gently.

To leave nothing to chance, I use the shield-side super mode as well.

I'm not the only one sprinting for the 'Gate to Floor 31', after all.

(【Charge・Shield・High】【Charge・Shield・Endurance Up・High】【Charge・Shield・Agility Up・High】【Charge・Shield・Strength Up・High】)

Suuuuuuu, haaaaaaa. Suuuuuu, haaaaaaa.

So loooong.

By my own clock, hasn't more than thirty seconds passed?

Where's the Ogre King?

(There!)

The instant it spawns, it leaps in the direction it's facing, away from me—and the 'Left Eye Gate' is already waiting there.

Come to think of it, the 'Left Eye Gate' needs only a wink—no skill name to chant...

I'd been using it unconsciously from the very start.

I can place it at a distance too—of all my skills, it might be the one I've mastered best.

But this time it went to waste.

Before the leaping Ogre King hits the 'Left Eye Gate', my spear punches through around its magic stone.

A thrust from the left-handed grip.

Hiramatsu-san told me to practice my left-hand thrust, and at some point it had become natural to lead with the left thrust.

"Ngh!"

An unexpected, heavy impact.

The spear that pierced the Ogre King's chest had reached all the way to the 'Left Eye Gate'.

What on earth is happening—time resumes its normal flow.

The Ogre King is parted clean in two: everything above the chest on one side, everything below on the other.

The place where the spearhead struck no longer exists, so the magic stone must have shattered...

"Haruki-san!"

Kasumi-san's voice snaps me back.

"GOOOH. GO-GAAAH"

The moment I turn around, Kasumi-san breaks into a run, and I follow.

All that's left is escaping Floor 30—but a hundred Forest Ogres have us surrounded.

Kasumi-san doesn't break stride. One sweep.

A single horizontal sweep sends three Forest Ogres flying and tears a hole in the encirclement.

Panting hard, we squeeze through the gap.

Super mode has worn off, and I feel absurdly slow.

At the 'Gate to Floor 31', Kasumi-san glances back once to confirm I'm there, then goes through to Floor 31 first.

I dive through the gate after her—clear!

Getting through Floor 30 is surprisingly hard work.

"Fufu. That had my heart racing a little."

"Same here. Fighting might have actually been easier..."

Aren't you overselling it?

"Well then, I'm off. Take it easy this afternoon. Use your MP freely—don't economize. When it runs out, that's it for the day. And Mia-san is a seasoned adventurer, so do listen to what she tells you. Also..."

You worry too much.

Just now she changed clothes for barely five minutes, and now she has to change back into her uniform.

Well, I suppose that's how much she treasures me?

"I'll be fine. You know how strong I am, right?"

"I do know. Better than anyone... I know you better than anyone, Haruki-san..."

What an atmosphere.

By Floor 31 there are no adventurers at all, and golems don't make noise, so it's quiet.

The dungeon doesn't break its rules.

Monsters sometimes pop up right behind you, and sometimes one just happens to come your way.

But even that stays within the rules.

Golems don't spawn on Floor 1, and Ogre Kings don't appear on Floor 31.

And a dungeon's monsters have an upper limit.

A constant: on any given floor, the monster count won't rise past it.

Nobody should have come to Floor 31, so right now the monsters are at full spawn—which means there's no room to add more.

I used 【Scouting】 the moment we arrived, and there are no golems nearby.

"Truly? Even how much I love you, Kasumi-san?"

Golems walk slowly.

Even coming down off the mountain would take a while...

In other words, right now we can flirt to our hearts' content.

"Fweh. Um... Y-you, I don't know!"

You don't know? Then I'll have to teach you, won't I?

"Kasumi-san..."

I plant my spear in the ground and take her shoulders.

"Mm... ... ... Hm? That was short... About one second shorter than at Tokyo Tower."

"Eh?"

"You don't love me as much as I thought, do you?"

"No, that's... that can't be true."

The fact that I can't say it flat-out is what hurts.

In Kasumi-san's heart, my stock has been hitting limit-up every single day, after all.

Just how much does the me inside Kasumi-san's heart love Kasumi-san?

"Mmm-mmm-mmm. One more time. This time I'll show you just how much I love you, Haruki-san."

It's the turn of a mischievously smiling Kasumi-san.

...I was thoroughly shown.

Afterward, about ten golems came charging at us.