ch381-ch400 · 386-ch386

Chapter 386: Insomnia and the Crocodile General

"Oh, and do wear your armor properly, won't you?"

Leaving me with that NPC-style remark—weapons and armor are pointless if you don't actually wear them—Kasumi-san headed home.

I mean, the me who shows up in 'Sword Saint-chan''s dream is apparently stark naked.

Then why not just keep the armor I wear and the armor I move as two separate sets?

I did ask Mia-san for new armor, but she says she can't make anything good without a 40s-floor suit to base it on.

Though remotely manipulating armor puts a tremendous strain on me, so combining it with super mode is a no-go for now.

But without super mode, precise movement is difficult too.

I'm stronger fighting on my own anyway, so from here on out I probably won't be taking my armor off for combat, I figure?

(Still, "please do something," she says......)

This is a different development from everything so far.

All this time it was "don't overdo it"—and now it's "go save 'Sword Saint-chan' on Floor 50"......

Honestly, if I'm allowed to do it, there are parts I'm looking forward to.

Leveling, gathering gear, working out strategy, running training......

There's still plenty left to do.

Even as I think it might just work out, I hesitate at the idea of taking Kasumi-san to Floor 50.

(So the dungeon WAS a scary place, huh......)

It hits me now, of all times.

Has Kasumi-san always felt like this?

I went ahead thinking I'd be fine, but from where Kasumi-san stood, here was someone who might die and wouldn't listen to a word.

She must have been anxious......

When it's my own life, it's fine.

Saying I'm not afraid to die would be a lie, but I had 【Gate】, I figured there was no way I'd die—and even if I did, well, so be it......

Dungeon dreams are too real.

Even now, I can still feel the sensation of Kasumi-san trying to shove me into the 【Gate】.

I think her heart had been pierced.

She shouldn't have been able to breathe properly anymore.

And still—"at least you, run."

Scary. So scary I can't stand it.

I never want to see that dream again.

Sleeping in the dungeon scares me now, too.

Has all the worry I piled on Kasumi-san finally come back around on me?

(Decided. I am NOT taking Kasumi-san!)

Saving 'Sword Saint-chan' and the others, that's fine.

But Kasumi-san is not setting foot on Floor 50.

If anyone goes, it's me alone.

There's still time.

I'll prepare, and work on persuading Kasumi-san along the way.

That's the most I can concede.

And even then—even then, if Kasumi-san absolutely insists on going, I'll simply decide not to go either.

If I don't go, Kasumi-san surely won't either.

Kasumi-san, who wants to save those people, might end up hating me for it.

That's fine.

Far better than Kasumi-san dying.

Besides, 'Sword Saint-chan' can probably manage something on her own.

Of course I'll prepare properly, though?

'Sword Saint-chan' won't die—but Ao-san and Yukiya-san might, you know?

How much of our information to hand over—that's a problem too.

When I get home and have dinner, I'll talk it over with Kasumi-san on the phone.

︙ ︙

'Then tomorrow, please explain the situation to Aikawa-san properly and apologize, won't you?'

"Huh?"

Another day, another marathon phone call.

When I checked with Kasumi-san whether we could go to the Floor 20 boss tomorrow, the answer was: depends on Aikawa's mood......

I get that diving with the party atmosphere in the gutter is just asking for trouble.

'I could explain the situation for you, but an apology carries more sincerity coming from your own mouth, Haruki-san, doesn't it?'

Fair—an apology comes first, I suppose......

From Aikawa's side, she was riding high on getting scouted, and then out of nowhere I'm barking at her......

And if the very next day I go "yeah, let's join Blue Ocean after all!" I might get decked.

These days there's hardly any level gap between us anymore.

If she comes at me with 【Partial Beast Transformation】 or 【Body Enhancement】, I might die before ever reaching Floor 50.

Aikawa's dream would come true in a different form......

But an apology is definitely in order.

Worst case going forward: if I fail to persuade Kasumi-san, and 'Sword Saint-chan' and co. are in danger on Floor 50 even alone, there's the option of having those two hold Kasumi-san back.

I can just head to Floor 50 in the meantime and finish it with the 'Gates.'

Soushi and Aikawa, working together, could probably keep Kasumi-san pinned down.

For that, I'd better keep Aikawa in a good mood.

......Oh, and I should get Shiraishi-san to stockpile some points as well.

︙ ︙

"Can't sleep......"

Honestly, studying was a lost cause today, so I got into bed to rest up for tomorrow...... and I cannot sleep.

Maybe it's the sleeping—the dreaming—that scares me......

I think too much about everything, and the hours just slip away.

If this is how it's going to be, I should have kept studying instead of lying down......

If I end up sleep-deprived and doze off in the dungeon tomorrow, that defeats the whole purpose.

But you can't force sleep.

Let me sort out the plan going forward, then.

I sit up and start taking notes.

(First priority: the exams.)

Kasumi-san said it too.

Set aside proper study time every single day, no exceptions.

Floor 50 is a while off yet, so preparing even after the exams end should still make it in time, apparently.

And as a study break, popping over to that rain dungeon is fine, she says.

They haven't even reached Floor 20 over there yet, and the monsters are weak.

Me, I want to push the Chiba dungeon to around Floor 45 and get new armor—but going deep when Kasumi-san isn't around is forbidden, apparently.

And Kasumi-san herself is busy with the new dungeon work.

Deep floors look out of reach for a while, so maybe the 'Left Hand Gate' parked on Floor 40 can be repurposed for other things.

(So until exams end, we'll be pushing the rain dungeon with the World Tree, huh......)

Not all the way deep, mind—just as far as where the World Tree materials Mia-san wants can be gotten.

The way it looks now, once we're into the 20s floors, it wouldn't be strange for the World Tree to be growing inside the dungeon walls already.

But it's SO huge I can't quite grasp the distance.

Call it a hunch, but in the 20s floors, I get the feeling it's just barely on the other side of the dungeon walls.

Dangling it "just barely out of reach"—that's the kind of spite the dungeon pulls.

And my prediction: once we hit the 30s, it'll be on the inside.

If we're pushing to the Floor 30 boss room, we'll need equipment and tools dedicated to that dungeon, it seems.

Get those too, I note down.

(But tomorrow, it's the Floor 20 boss in this gear as-is.)

Assuming Aikawa's in a good mood and says we can go.

Is she angry?

Let's pray Soushi is managing things.

The Floor 20 boss is probably a big crocodile.

(Crocodile General!)

That is not its name.

Kasumi-san shared the overseas monster intel gathered for the new dungeon's conquerors: the crocodile-type boss that shows up on Floor 20 is apparently called Armor Gustave.

In Japan, only two waterside dungeons are open to the public—Saitama and Kagawa.

So there's no crocodile-type monster data over here.

Overseas, though, crocodiles are apparently a pretty common monster.

As its entourage come things called Armor Crocodiles.

Just as the name says, crocodiles with iron hide like they're wearing armor—these spawn from Floor 18.

Can you even swim with an iron hide?

Well, iron ships float too. Let's not think about it too hard.

There are ten of these Armor Crocodiles, and like the Orc Knights they count as boss kills—all of them have to fall before you can go deeper, apparently.

And the leader, a bigger one of those Armor Crocodiles, is the Armor Gustave.

An Armor Crocodile is already 3 meters long; Armor Gustave is double that, 6 meters, apparently.

(That's enormous......)

Per the intel, the field is half land, half water, and the monsters spawn in the water.

Even with a level advantage, fighting that bulk IN the water, we might not win.

We'll need to lure it onto land somehow.

Though Kasumi-san says fields can differ dungeon to dungeon, so if we enter and it's nothing but water, we pull out immediately.

In the water, my usual "appear and skewer it from behind the instant it spawns" won't work either.

And if I'm borrowing Kasumi-san's long spear again, it'd be lovely if the boss spawned within reach......