Kays Translations

Chapter 181

“Cooking, you say? In that case, there’s an outdoor kitchen on the beach behind the hotel, which we use during the busy season to serve guests light meals and drinks. It’s not a full-scale facility, but you’re welcome to take a look. If you like it, feel free to use it as you wish.”

“Thank you so much for the information. We’ll go check it out, then.”

“Thanks for telling us!”

“My pleasure. It seems you’ve achieved good results—congratulations.”

After thanking the ever-polite hotel receptionist, we immediately headed around to the back of the hotel.

There was a pool behind the building, still being used by a few guests. We ignored it and went down the stairs leading to the private beach reserved for hotel patrons.

“Hey, hey, what was that big bath earlier? Everyone was in it wearing their panties and bras!”

“No, those weren’t underwear. They’re called swimsuits—clothes made to get wet. You wear them when you play in the ocean or rivers, to cover your body while having fun.”

“Whaaat! So if I wear one of those, I can take a bath with you, Shizuma?”

“W-Well… technically, yes.”

“Then I’ll buy one later! You have to buy one too, okay? Otherwise I’ll see you naked!”

“…Let’s buy them for swimming in the ocean, not for taking baths together, alright?”

When I’m in this “Shizuma” form, I get the feeling that Melt sees me as a sibling her own age—her sense of personal space shrinks a lot.

While explaining the concept of swimsuits, we reached the outdoor kitchen on the private beach.

It had running water, lighting, and even a wood-burning stove—far better equipped than I expected.

“Alright, this is perfect! I can really go all out cooking here. With shrimp meat that big… it’s time for a full shrimp course!”

“Yay! I hope we can catch even more tomorrow! The Yasha Island dungeon might be scary, but it’s way too fascinating!”

Haha, yeah, depending on how this shrimp tastes, I might agree.

I immediately took a thin slice of the ultra-fresh shrimp meat—supposedly safe to eat raw—and popped it into my mouth.

…!? Rather than springy, it was bouncy! Amazing—the texture snapped apart with each bite, and the flavor was just like Japanese spiny lobster… no, even sweeter!

“Ah! Shizuma, you ate it raw! You’ll get a stomach ache!”

“It’s fine. When shrimp are fresh enough, you can eat them raw. Want to try some, Melt?”

“Eeh? Really? Okay then… aah~n.”

Still a bit wary, Melt opened her mouth, and I placed a thin slice of shrimp inside.

“Mmg… mm! It’s so sweet and springy! What is this!? Shrimp tastes like this when it’s raw!?”

“Right? It’s good, isn’t it? Okay, I’ll make a bunch of dishes—some cooked, some raw.”

Alright then—time to show you the power of Cooking Level 4!
I’m not the same as Seim, oh no—I’m built different!

Today’s Menu:

Shrimp Poke with Hollandaise Sauce
A Hawaiian-style dish similar to carpaccio. Usually seasoned sashimi mixed with a soy-based dressing and egg yolk, but since we haven’t found soy sauce in this world yet, I substituted fish sauce (like nam pla), nut oil, and cooked egg yolk sauce.

Thin-sliced Shrimp Shabu-shabu in Seaweed Broth
Exactly what it sounds like—thin slices of shrimp, lightly swished in broth made from kelp-like seaweed found on the beach, and dipped in a citrus-honey-vinegar “ponzu-style” sauce.
I tested it—it’s delicious!

Shrimp Steak
They’re huge, so of course I had to cut thick slices and grill them simply with salt and pepper. Perfect.

Shrimp Cutlets (Not Minced!)
They’re huge, so I cut them thick and breaded them whole. Nothing beats a crispy cutlet drenched in tartar sauce!

“Phew… It’s done, Melt! The full shrimp course!”

“Wow! So many dishes I’ve never seen before! No, wait… maybe I have seen them before, but the shrimp’s so big it feels like something completely new!”

“Let’s eat and rest up for tomorrow. We’ll move at a steady pace—no all-out sprinting. Take breaks along the way, and see how far we get before evening. Then we’ll head back.”

“Sounds good! So dinner tomorrow will be inside the dungeon?”

“Yeah. It’s not hard to carry a portable kitchen and food inside. Honestly, whether you have a storage magic tool or not probably changes the dungeon’s difficulty a lot.”

“T-That’s true… We’ll have to be extra careful not to let anyone know I have one.”

Exactly. Melt’s storage magic tool could easily make her a target.
Worst case, I could just store her things in mine to keep hers hidden… though that might increase the risk of losing another shrimp when we leave the dungeon.

“Okay, let’s eat! Raw shrimp first!”

“Dip it briefly in the hot pot, then in the sauce.”

“Okaay… hiiya!”

Melt swished the thin slice of shrimp through the hot water at lightning speed.
…That’s way too fast. Please, actually shabu-shabu it.

“Shabu-shabu-shabu… am~m!”

“Me too… am~m.”

Yeah, this is the winner — honestly, this might be the optimal way to eat shrimp.

As the two of us happily indulged in our full shrimp course, the first day of our dungeon challenge quietly came to an end.

Alright then — before the Killcrawler team arrives, we need to get completely used to this dungeon.

“Melt! I’ll open a gap on the right claw — the rest is up to you!”
“Got it!”

The next day at noon, Melt and I had been tackling the dungeon since early morning, and after about six hours, we’d already reached the 10th floor.

Apparently, this dungeon spawns a gigantic, overgrown monster as a boss every ten floors — and right now, the two of us were fighting a massive… way too massive lobster-type monster.

“Hey! Over here! Take this!”

Just one of its claws was easily over two meters long — straight out of a kaiju movie.

The floor looked like an underwater cave filled with stalactites, not like the spiral corridors from before.
We’d stumbled into this wide chamber — well, wider than a hallway at least — and had been locked in battle here ever since.

“Melt! The claw’s jammed into the wall! Now’s your chance!”
“Here I go! Water Vibration Slash!”

Melt’s dagger, coated in ultra-fast vibrations of water — the same one she’d shown me before — cleaved clean through the massive, rock-hard claw in a single stroke.

…Yeah, that’s how tough it was. Tough enough to deflect my attacks entirely.

Even with my boosted stats and activated skills, my strikes barely left cracks — and those cracks would start healing over time.

So, our plan had been to sever the limbs entirely — and it worked, except…

“…Wait. It’s regenerating?”

“Whoa! It grew back! The other claw’s still stuck in the wall though! Shizuma, this is huge! Doesn’t this mean unlimited shrimp meat!?”

Where’s the sense of danger, Melt!?

I mean, sure, if that’s true, we could just switch to a full-on critical strike strategy, but still…

Against monsters like this, destroying the weapons (in this case, the claws) is kind of the standard procedure.

[Goliath Killer Scissor]

• An abnormally evolved Killer Lobster.
• Its ultra-hard claw shell can crush or slice through most metals with ease.
• If caught, instant death is guaranteed. Known as a “Dud Monster” of the Dead Sea that Devours the Earth.
• Recommended strategy: keep running and escape until it’s safe to retreat.

To retreat from a boss floor back to the previous corridor, we had to wait for the thin membrane separating the floors to dissipate — same system as artificial dungeons with stair transitions.

So… this giant lobster was a dud monster, huh? In other words, a punishment boss.

“Melt, next I’ll cut off a few of its legs. You climb up from behind and aim for the head.”
“Got it! You’ll be okay? You’re going right under its belly while dodging all that?”
“Piece of cake.”

My build specializes in high evasion — and during evasion maneuvers, I literally turn invisible.

In other words, I can act as a full-on dodge tank. The enemy’s attacks look like they’re moving in slow motion.

I picked up a nearby rock and hurled it with all my strength to draw its attention.

“Direct hit!”

Thanks to my skill effects, my throws hit with the force of a small cannon.

The rock struck the lobster’s claw with a thud and a crack, leaving deep spiderweb fractures across its surface.

…Wait, it actually reacted fast enough to block that throw? Seriously?

With its attention firmly locked on me now, I focused completely on evasion.

My equipment currently displayed a 100% physical dodge rate — but in reality, what that meant was this:

Time slowed down around me, the enemy’s attacks seemed sluggish, and I could move just fast enough to dodge them — everything was happening in a weird, half-slow-motion world.

That’s what “100% dodge rate” really meant: If I want to dodge, I absolutely can.

“…That was close.”

I weaved between its sweeping claw strikes, slipping further beneath its body.

Suddenly, foamy bubbles spewed from its mouth — an attack, no doubt. I sidestepped, but a claw immediately slammed down to cut off my escape route.

Even though it looked like an ordinary giant lobster, its reaction speed and visual acuity were beyond any monster I’d fought so far.

I slashed at its claw with my sword — the blade bounced off, but it was enough to open a path forward.

Dashing under its belly, I saw its numerous legs writhing, trying to crush me. It twisted its body violently as I slipped beneath it.

Time returned to normal.

“Round — Slay!”

A mid-level sword skill — a spinning slash that sweeps all around.

The lobster’s thinner legs, unlike its claws, couldn’t withstand the blow. They bent, snapped, and the massive body began to sway.

“Now!”

Before I could get crushed, I tried to escape from under its belly—but its claws and legs moved as if to trap me, completely blocking every route out.

I felt Melt leap onto my back, so I sheathed my weapon.

“Finish it!”

I heard Melt’s voice, followed by the sound of shell and flesh being split apart—and at that exact moment, I drove an uppercut straight upward, as if punching toward the heavens.

My weapon is a sword that changes its properties depending on whether it’s sheathed or drawn.
While sheathed, my martial arts techniques are enhanced—and this full-force uppercut carried enough power to launch the already staggering monster that Melt had just struck down.

“Whoa—!”
“Sorry, Melt! I had to launch it before we both got crushed!”
“I’m fine! Landed safely!”

We both escaped safely from beneath the monster and regrouped.

“I drove my sword deep into its head and split it clean open, Shizuma.”
“Good. Then it’s got to be dead for sure this time…”

The creature lay collapsed against the wall, its legs crushed and motionless, showing no signs of regenerating.
A faint blue fluid seeped from its head, spreading across the floor.
Then, at last—its massive body began to dissolve into particles of light and vanished.

“Enemy down! We did it, Melt! That thing was seriously strong!”
“Really? That’s great—but more importantly!”

Melt suddenly dashed over to where the monster’s body had disappeared.

Ah, right—she’s checking the drops.

When I caught up, I saw piles of weapons, accessories, and glass bottles scattered on the floor.
Not just that—there were beautiful, red-glowing corals and huge clams that probably had pearls inside.

“Whoa, this is a serious haul! These treasures will sell for a fortune. And look at all these weapons, too!”
“……”
“Melt?”

But instead of joy, Melt’s face was filled with gloom as she stared at the loot.
What’s wrong? Was she unhappy with the drops?

“Why… why didn’t it drop any shrimp meat? We beat such a huge shrimp! Why? Why isn’t there any big shrimp meat!? It doesn’t make sense… It was twenty times bigger than the one from yesterday! I thought we’d get tons of shrimp meat… I was already dreaming of eating shrimp every day, stuffing myself until I couldn’t move…”

“Uh… well, hey, if we sell this treasure, we can buy all the shrimp dishes we want from the food stalls!”
“But it’s not the same! You can’t bite into a giant dungeon shrimp’s meat at a food stall! That taste only exists in dungeon shrimp!”
“Hmm… good point. Okay, then let’s keep going deeper and hope for a smaller shrimp-type monster to appear—”

That’s when I noticed something else in the room.

No way… could it be that “anything severed before a monster’s defeat remains”?

“Melt! Look—the wall! The giant shrimp’s claw is still stuck there!”
“Ahhhhh!!!”

In an instant, Melt bolted off faster than I’d ever seen her move.
She yanked the claw free from the wall, tapped it a few times to confirm it wasn’t disappearing—and that it was still packed full of meat.

“Yes! I got it! Look at this enormous claw! So much shrimp meat!”
“Ooh… with the shell still on, that’s gonna have plenty of uses too.”

Our second dungeon challenge yielded piles of weapons, treasures… and one giant shrimp claw.

Well then, shall we head even deeper?

Personally, I’m hoping the next monster’s something like… grilled squid, maybe?

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