Kays Translations

Chapter 187

“Everyone awake? Good. Start packing up!”

The next day—though it was impossible to tell whether it was morning or not. The dungeon’s brightness hadn’t changed one bit since we went to sleep.

Sure enough, the Killcrawler group, who were used to living and sleeping in the dark depths of the Underside, didn’t seem bothered by the lack of daylight.

“Ugh… it’s still night… why are we getting up already…? I’m so sleepy…”

“Melt, it’s seven in the morning. The dungeon just messes with your sense of time.”

Yep, that’s about how she was doing.
The presence—or absence—of sunlight really does affect people’s health and mood more than you’d think.

I shook off the drowsiness and started helping with the packing.

Though honestly, the others were so used to camping that the whole process was over in no time.
All I really had to do was store everyone’s gear in my menu’s storage screen.

“Still… it’s incredible that all of this can actually fit inside. On long expeditions, the biggest issue is always transporting supplies. We can’t afford to exhaust our fighters carrying them, so we usually have to bring several support personnel just for that.

But this time, since you can cook and you’re durable enough to handle some labor, we only brought the bare minimum number of assistants.”

“Right. We picked people who could manage basic tasks even without cooking expertise—and also double as porters. But honestly, you and Melt have been so efficient on the journey that we’ll need to rework some of our plans.”

“I’m flattered. Rivana mentioned it yesterday too, but maybe the best setup is for Melt and me to handle minor monsters along the route, and let everyone else take care of the Floor Masters. We can join in when needed.”

“That’s the basic idea. But if something unexpected happens and you jump in mid-battle, poor coordination could cause trouble instead. So I plan to establish some combination tactics ahead of time. I’ve been watching your movements—got a few ideas already.”

Once everyone finished packing, Araza and Gark discussed our plans for the next stage.

They were right—if we suddenly joined a fight without coordination, it could easily disrupt the rhythm.
Talking things through beforehand was the sensible approach.

Just as we were about to head back up, someone called out:

“Shizuma, we’ll just move straight to the 11th floor and dive from there—it’s faster.”

“Got it. Just a heads-up, though—since I’m holding everyone’s luggage, we might lose a chunk of our loot when we return.”

See, when you teleport back, one type of item from your storage disappears completely.
This time, we’d gathered eight different materials:

• Killer Lobster Meat
• Killer Lobster Claw Meat
• Cave Bat Fang
• Cave Bat Blood Fang
• Cave Bat Wing Membrane
• Large Salt Crystal
• Small Coral Fragment
• Emperor Tentacle

One of these would vanish at random.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if the tentacle went—we’d already eaten about forty percent of it.
But losing the shrimp meat would really hurt.

“Hmm… no, we can’t waste time out of greed. Let’s go.”

“Master, you totally hesitated just now. You already ate plenty of shrimp yesterday!”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. I did not hesitate.”

All right then—let’s jump!
Please, anything but the shrimp…!

We proceeded to the 11th floor and lined up along the corridor’s edge.

“Ika, stay! Ika, stay! Ika, stay!”

“Shrimp… shrimp… shrimp…”

Watching Rivana and Melt quietly chant food names side by side was… kind of surreal.

Anyway—here goes! Toh!

A brief moment of weightlessness, and then the sight of the dungeon floor fading away beneath me—
and the next instant, I was sitting in shallow water outside the dungeon, completely soaked.

“…I really wish this didn’t leave me drenched every single time.”

As I muttered, the rest of the team began appearing around me one after another—
not splashing down from above, but just materializing in place.

Which meant… maybe this shallow pond was technically part of the dungeon too.

“Everyone’s back? Good. Once we dry off at base camp, we’ll restock supplies and head right back in.”

And so, our test expedition came to an end— and preparations for the true assault on the dungeon began.

“Ika? Hey, what about the ika?”

“It’s fine—all of it’s still here. The item that disappeared was ‘Small Coral Fragment.’”

“Good.”

“The Floor Master’s meat has already been eaten, so it won’t sell well. We’ll just use what’s left as rations for the next run.”

“What about the lobster meat, then?”

“…No, we’ll sell the claw meat. It should fetch a good price.”

While we were walking through the market, I chatted with Araza and Rivana about ingredients—and we eventually reached a conclusion that was sure to make Melt throw a tantrum.

But—

“If it’s not the claw meat that’s getting sold, I’m fine! The claw meat is tasty too, but money’s important!”

“Yeah, setting up a long-term base camp costs money, so funds are essential.”

Surprisingly, she agreed. Don’t worry, I’ll secretly keep a little bit in the menu. She’ll never notice…

And so, we sold off everything we could, determined what supplies we’d need based on the monsters we encountered in the dungeon, and restocked before heading back to camp.

While drying my clothes back at camp, it was decided that I should give a demonstration of what kind of attacks I could use.
I thought we could’ve tested this inside the dungeon, but apparently, doing something outside that could’ve been done inside is a waste of time.
Besides, since I’m not a professional greatsword user, they probably didn’t want to risk it during an expedition.
Cautious as always—that’s their style.

“Alright, I’ll show you how I fight with the greatsword. If you ever need a heavy hitter, please plan a strategy that uses this version of me.”

“Understood. Gark, I’ll leave the defense to you. Go all out and focus on blocking. Someone, cast a defensive spell on him.”

It seemed I’d be fighting Gark, who was equipped with a massive shield, serving as a mock enemy with exceptional defense.

After receiving a protective spell that shimmered faintly like a barrier, Gark faced me with a slightly tense expression.

“You look composed, Shizuma. I’ll have to take this seriously.”

“Of course. I’ve trained under every member of the brigade. I can use some of their special skills and self-boosting techniques—but this time, I’ll stick to pure greatsword combat.”

“Good. I have a bad feeling about this… and my intuition’s usually right.”

“You might be right. Well then… this one’s a greatsword technique I learned directly from Silent.”

I gripped a greatsword larger than my own body and faced Gark.
Charging forward, I let momentum build, transferring the kinetic force directly into my swing while minimizing wasted motion.
From a compact stance, I raised the blade high, extended my arms at the moment of impact, and unleashed a blow amplified by centrifugal force.

“Turn Break!”
“Gwah!?”

The greatsword roared through the air with incredible power.
I felt a sharp tearing sensation—like breaking through a thin film—followed by an impact so violent it numbed my hands, arms, and entire body.

“Guh… grr…”
“Haa… I can’t move my hands… even my legs are numb…”

The shock had rebounded through me as if I’d hit myself.
I collapsed to the ground, only to realize Gark was down too—the heavy clang of his shield hitting the dirt echoed, and there he was, sprawled out flat.

“That was… incredible! I blacked out for a moment! That strike—there’s more to it, isn’t there? Master, did you see that? I couldn’t absorb or deflect the impact at all! The barrier shattered instantly! His blow is the real deal! He could probably cleave a dragon in half!”

Still lying on the ground, Gark’s voice was full of joy—not frustration, but genuine excitement at gaining a powerful new ally for the expedition.

“To take Gark down in one hit… and there’s still more potential?”

“Yes. If I use more self-enhancement techniques, I can hit even harder. But it also puts extreme strain on my body, and the swings are large and leave me wide open, so I’d need preparation.”

“Hmm… but you’ll be a powerful asset. If we face something we can’t handle, we’ll rely on you.”

“Understood.”

After a brief final strategy meeting—and while Melt tested coordination drills with Rivana—it was already past noon.

“Now, we begin the main expedition. Listen well—previous exploration teams took two weeks to reach the deepest point. But we’re far stronger than they ever were, and this time we have two members from the Brigade with us. Even if the dungeon extends deeper than before, I’m certain we’ll reach the lowest floor. Treat this as our final challenge—steel yourselves!”

At Araza’s declaration, the clan members straightened, their faces sharp with focus, and answered in unison with a short, powerful “Yes!”

Seeing everyone’s “switches flip on” like that, I couldn’t help but think how cool they looked.
Apparently, Melt felt the same—her eyes sparkled as she watched them, full of admiration.

“Th-they’re so cool…! I want to do that too! Shouting ‘Yes!’ like that!”

“Alright then… From here on, Melt and I will join forces with the Killcrawler team, reach the deepest floor, and claim the Dungeon Core! Got it!?”

“Yes!”

We copied the others from where we stood, and Melt shouted back joyfully.
Just seeing her do that somehow melted away all my tension.
…Although, judging by the looks we got, everyone else saw it too. Embarrassing!

As we moved through the camp, everyone’s steps were completely different from during the trial.
Each stride was firm, every expression sharpened—their very presence radiated an intensity so strong it seemed to shake the air around them.

There were no whispers or side glances from bystanders this time. Only the faint sound of people swallowing nervously could be heard.
It was as if even speaking aloud would be disrespectful in the face of that sheer determination.

It hit me then—just how important the conquest of this dungeon, “The Death Sea That Devours the Earth,” really was.

“…Honestly, as we go deeper, there’ll be traps that render all our careful preparations useless.”
“Rivana?”

She slowed her pace, falling back to walk beside me.

“Last time, we reached the sixty-first floor. We only made it that far by sending injured support members back one after another.”
“So it’s possible to send some people back midway…”
“Yes. Anyone wounded is ordered to retreat. It’s a strategy to preserve our main fighting force—using comrades like expendable pawns if we have to.”
“…That must have caused some resentment.”
“No. None at all. Everyone knew what they were signing up for.”
“…My apologies.”

Incredible. They really were prepared to risk everything.

“But it was all for nothing. When Araza sent one of his caged birds ahead to scout the sixty-second floor, the moment it entered… its whole body blistered and rotted away instantly. Maybe it didn’t even die right away, but there was no equipment in existence that could protect us from a toxin like that. So, after three weeks of exploration, we had no choice but to abandon the expedition.”

“That must have been… frustrating.”
“Frustrating, yes. That’s why this is our revenge. This time, we’ll make it through.”

Her eyes burned with unwavering determination as she said that.

And I decided—
I’d push as far as I could without drawing suspicion, doing everything within my limits.

No matter what, with these people, I would see it through—
All the way to the very bottom.

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