Chapter-11 · EP-172

Episode 172: Information Exchange (Part 1) – Unexplored Area Information

"Well then, shall we exchange information?"

Susa-san began.

"Unlike exchanging physical items, we can't do this simultaneously. So I'll first give you the information on the unexplored area. Then you'll tell me about the high-rank potions. After that, on another day, I'll help you level up. Is that order acceptable?"

To be honest, I trusted him to a fair degree. If anything, I thought that even if I went first, he would definitely keep his word.

So the order of providing information didn't really matter to me. But he probably made this proposal to ensure that neither of us would suddenly back out after hearing the other's information.

And he offered to go first himself – which made me think he was a sincere person.

"Yes, that's fine."

So I decided to follow his lead and proceed as he suggested.

Hearing my answer, Susa-san's demeanor, which had been tense until then, changed completely, and he looked relieved. He was probably relieved that he would finally obtain the information on high-rank potions that was part of his mission.

"Alright, then first, the unexplored area. I heard that you previously slipped and fell off a cliff while exploring the first floor."

"Ugh…"

He brought back an unpleasant memory.

That was during my first exploration. I fell protecting Murasakimura.

"It wasn't that I slipped; I fell protecting a companion."

A small bit of pride made me say that.

But he didn't seem to care about the reason for the fall and continued.

"I see. And I heard that the area below the cliff was actually an unexplored area where you encountered an Acid Slime. Later, the academy teachers investigated the area below the cliff, but reportedly found nothing else."

"I heard that story too. There was nothing particularly noteworthy besides the Acid Slime, so calling it an unexplored area was an exaggeration."

"Yes. But since I couldn't find any leads on the high-rank potions, I went to investigate that place again anyway."

Sigh…

He was supposed to be telling me about an unexplored area, but it felt like I was being told some irrelevant story. If he was getting off track, should I interrupt and correct him?

Thinking that, I decided to listen a bit longer.

"The area below the cliff was a dead end just a short way in. No more Acid Slimes appeared, and no other monsters appeared either."

So that's why the academy said there was nothing there.

I was just thinking it was time to move on from this failed investigation story to the main topic when he continued.

"But there, I noticed something."

"Huh?"

"It's not widely known, but in dungeons, there are things that can be destroyed and things that cannot. For example, the walls that make up the dungeon itself cannot be destroyed no matter how much force you apply."

"I've heard that."

He continued.

"However, some walls are destructible. We call them 'destructible objects.'"

"…And you found one?"

Susa-san smirked.

"Yes. A short distance into the area below the cliff, there was a single rock wall with a different color. Normally, rock walls are dark gray, but this one was a bluish gray."

"So if I attack that bluish wall, I can break it?"

"Yes. In my experience, beyond that wall, a passage continues, and nine times out of ten, there is a Skill Orb. Even if there's no Skill Orb, there's a high probability of finding a very valuable item."

"No way…"

Hearing Susa-san's explanation, an image immediately came to mind.

In games, walls with a slightly different color often hide something or are the entrance to a secret passage.

Still, I never imagined there would still be such a place on the first floor of the academy dungeon, which so many people had supposedly explored.

Seeing my surprise, Susa-san said with a smile.

"You said calling the area below the cliff an 'unexplored area' was an exaggeration, but beyond that wall is definitely an unexplored area. There's a possibility of some dangerous monsters appearing, but you should be fine, right?"

When he said "dangerous monsters" on the first floor, they would be dangerous for level 1-2 explorers. For me, currently level 6, they would be no problem.

"By the way, why didn't you go and investigate it yourself, Susa-san?"

"Because this is the academy's dungeon. If it were a drop item that could be obtained multiple times, that would be one thing, but I, an outsider, shouldn't take a valuable rare item that only exists once. If you, a student of the academy, obtain it, there's no problem."

"You're surprisingly meticulous…"

"'Surprisingly' is unnecessary. …Well then, Ichinose. Will you give me your information? If you're worried about whether a Skill Orb will appear, you could do it after exploring. But which monster drops the Rank 3 potions?"

"Alright. Now is fine."

Finally, the time had come for me to explain the potion rank-up method.