⁂
————Misery. So much misery.
“Th-They’re here…!”
“I’m out of MP!!”
“Pierce, Curse Spear!!”
[Activated {Curse Spear}, Weak! dealt 3174 damage to Inksane. Inflicted {Cursed} status.]
“Woof woof woof~~!! (There’s loads of them~!! They’re strong~!!)”
[Donta activated {Body Slam}, dealt an average of 6279 damage to multiple Inksane. Inflicted {Stun} status on all of them.]
“Daaaaaaah!!!!”
[Perseus activated {Hyper Slash}, dealt an average of 8579 damage to multiple Inksane, and defeated them. Total EXP gained: 33660.]
The portal to the fourth floor won’t turn up. We’re on the third floor now; the second floor’s portal was sitting right nearby, so we found it instantly and breezed on through. This one, though? Nothing. On top of that, the only thing that spawns down here is Inksane, so our resources are draining fast and every step forward is agony.
Dealing with Inksane means leaning on Lia-chan’s heavy hits, which means her MP is permanently at zero. Her MP recovers, Blizzard Cracker. Recovers again, Blizzard Cracker. Over and over. The Low-Grade Mana Potions we’d been picking up off corpses for free, the ones we had way too many of? We’re burning through them faster than they drop now, and I can see the bottom of the pile. Donta’s taking hits too, so the Low-Grade Health Potions are going the same way. We might have to actually buy potions when we get back to Loray… Sorry, Donta, looks like your food budget’s about to take a hit!
And the worst part: Inksane give almost no EXP! Compared to every other monster here it’s obviously, visibly less. Hard, obnoxious, and stingy: the complete set. Fighting them is exhausting and there’s nothing at the end of it. I’d love to simply not fight them, except no matter how far we run they follow, and they usually travel in groups, so getting boxed in by three at once like just now happens constantly. Which means we have to deal with them before it becomes unsalvageable.
“Inksane. Truly fearsome…”
“Isn’t there some way around this? At this rate they’ll just grind us down…”
Some way to kill an Inksane quickly, anything… Calamity Wave’s instant death doesn’t land, that’s established. Their HP is weirdly high, so chipping with my curses barely registers. Lean on Blizzard Cracker and the MP’s gone in seconds, and the second cast gets eaten by an Ice Shield anyway. Donta can land a Stun with Body Slam, but if we can’t kill it before the Stun wears off, an Ice Bolt to the face is guaranteed… Uu~n… hm?
“Wait. Has an Inksane ever actually hit us with a direct attack?”
“…No. It has not, has it?”
“Then can’t Peru-chan just put up Aegis and beat them to death?”
“Ah——!!”
“You changed jobs and then logged out, so you completely forgot about Aegis, didn’t you!!”
“M-My deepest apologies——!! It had entirely slipped my mind——!!”
Could it be that Inksane only ever use magic!? Because if so, Peru-chan raises Aegis and it’s a shutout! This is it, isn’t it? Peru-chan’s era has arrived!?
“Ah, there is an Inksane already! Then I shall try it. Aegis!!”
[Perseus activated {Magic Shield Aegis}, entered {Penetrate 3}.]
“Go get ’em~ Peru-cha~n!”
Third floor is nothing but Inksane, it’s wearing me down. Turns out what’s insane about the Inksane isn’t just its stats, it’s the population density… Huh? Peru-chan’s Penetrate went up to 3. Does skill performance scale with level? Uu~…! Not fair, I want a pile of skills too!
“Take thiiiis——!!”
Getting close enough to watch might earn me a stray shot, so let’s check the battle log instead…
[Perseus activated {Hyper Slash}, dealt 7990 damage to Inksane.]
[Perseus activated {Hyper Slash}, dealt 8252 damage to Inksane.]
[Inksane activated {Ice Bolt}, Perseus nullified it.]
[Perseus————]
…………
……
[Perseus dealt 8687 damage to Inksane, and defeated it. Gained 11800 EXP.]
Ooh, a total shutout! Now we can kill Inksane without spending a thing! I traced the damage log to work out the HP of the one she just killed, and Inksane sit around 50,000? Super Tough Mr. Shark is about 20,000, so an Inksane is two and a half times a shark. Two and a half. More than double the durability… It’s genuinely insane. Absolutely ink-sane. Ink-sane!! Haa…
“This does rather suggest I should consider the multiple demon swords Babylon-sama mentioned yesterday…”
“Eh? You can do that?”
“I draw a demon sword from the gauntlet on my left arm with my right hand, transfer it to my left, then draw another! I am certain it will work! Let me try!”
Come to think of it, Babylon-sama did say she could put out a thousand of them~. Which means multiple is on the table, so a leveled-up Peru-chan can probably manage a second sword? Ah, she did it. That was easy, huh…
“I have it— my MP drain has doubled!?”
“You have two swords now, so, yes…”
Two demon swords, double the MP cost. Might be good when you need burst damage! Best to switch depending on the situation, so we don’t end up surrounded by a mixed pack while she’s slowly sawing through one target going oh dear, what a catastrophe~.
“I shall alternate based on whether I need firepower or efficiency!”
“Sounds right. Hm~… still, the third floor’s eating a lot of time. Should we just ride Donta and search at speed?”
“That does seem wise~ it is nothing but Inksane, and now that we have a method, being surrounded poses no problem!”
“Lia-chan, how’s your mana?”
“Yes, I think it has recovered quite a lot! I can manage four casts!”
“Then, Donta~? Carry us on your back~.”
“Woof~~! (Only if you pet me lots later!)”
“I’ll pet you loads later~. Oh, and when we get back to Loray, should we go buy a big hunk of meat?”
“Awoooo~~n♡ (Yaaay!! I’ll do my best!)”
We’ve got a method for Inksane, and Lia-chan’s Blizzard Cracker wipes everything that isn’t one, so riding Donta and searching at speed has to be better. Anything that latches on while we run gets swept by Blizzard Cracker, Peru-chan cleans up the leftover Inksane. Perfect.
“Right, Donta, if you please!”
“Woof!”
“I’ll follow by air!”
“I shall ride behind. Allow me to be the shield against attacks from the rear.”
“Ye~s! Everyone, thanks~!”
We’re off, riding Donta! Tearing through a dungeon crawling with monsters at full speed has this indescribable thrill to it~… Even Inksane can’t keep pace with Donta’s run. The only thing still on us is Mr. Shark, I think?
[————An enormous shadow has begun to move.]
“Eh? What was that log?”
“I have no idea, I have never seen it… my?”
“Ah, there’s something all spiky over there.”
“It appears to be a porcupinefish…”
“Aren’t porcupinefish palm-sized? That thing’s half an Inksane.”
“It is a touch large…”
A monster I’ve never seen~. From far off it looked like a normal porcupinefish, but up close it’s got this genuinely endearing face… The monsters in this dungeon are all cute, honestly. Inksane are cute too, purely as an image. Purely as an image… But every one of them is vicious under the cute, so down it goes.
“Should we take it out?”
“Indeed, let us!”
“Sharks are coming too~… Professor Aurelia! If you would!”
“Y-Yes!? Ah! Ice fangs driven to fury, gather unto me and become a frozen mass, then shatter and burst! Blizzard Cracker!”
Man~… that never stops being loud, Blizzard Crac—
——————BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!!!!!!!!
“““~~~~~~~?!?!”””
“~~~woof?”
Wh-What just, happened…? Battle log, battle log…!!
[Absolutely Unforgivablowfish sensed a threat to its life and self-destructed.]
[Absolutely Unforgivablowfish sensed a threat to its life and self-destructed.]
[Black Cat Luna took damage and was defeated.]
THAT’S WHAT IT WAS~~!? Absolutely Unforgivablowfish!? A life form that blows itself up the moment it feels threatened, what even is that~~!?
[Perseus nullified the ranged attack.]
“Th-That was close. Shielding you on reflex was the correct call.”
“It exploded and fired its needles at us!?”
“So it would seem…”
What an absolute shit of a monster this thing is~~!? If Peru-chan hadn’t had Aegis up, every one of us would be a pincushion and we’d be wiped!
[Charging Mr. Moray! was caught in Absolutely Unforgivablowfish’s self-destruct and died.]
[Wandering Mr. Octopus was caught in Absolutely Unforgivablowfish’s self-destruct and died.]
And it’s killing the other monsters too. Eh, wait. Don’t tell me!! Does that mean we don’t get the EXP!? Uwah, we didn’t get it!! Haaaaaa!?!?
“The EXP…”
“You cannot be serious… The EXP has not come in…”
The collateral is just too much… I can’t forgive this. That shitty monster is absolutely unforgivable… Aren’t the monsters in this dungeon brutally unfair to everyone who isn’t Peru-chan? Or is Aegis’s defense just absurdly good? I want a skill that grants Penetrate too…
“Absolutely unforgivable.”
“It is absolutely unforgivable…”
“Grrrrr…”
“Unforgivable, truly…”
So Nap Lover-san and the others got hit by this thing too, obviously. That’s exactly why it’s named Absolutely Unforgivablowfish… A name radiating pure, undiluted murder. I agree with it completely. This is a monster that must never be forgiven, the Absolutely Unforgivablowfish…!
“All we can do is attack from further out, or not attack and run.”
“The blast may carry a direct-attack attribute as well. Should that prove true, three self-destructs would strip Penetrate entirely… my…!?”
Uwah, there’s more of them…! Absolutely Unforgivablowfish, and Inksane bundled in with them!
“The Inksane come as a set with the Absolutely Unforgivablowfish, do they not…”
“Uwaah… It’s a nightmare down here.”
“Fortunately, if they come one at a time————kyaaaaaaaaa——!?”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
The Inksane, that thing!? You have got to be——!?
[Inksane seized an Absolutely Unforgivablowfish and launched it with {Ink Bazooka}.]
The worst possible combination attack, the single worst combo, that’s too much, that is far too——!!
“Aegis on Don-chan!!”
[Perseus activated {Magic Shield Aegis}, the effect on herself vanished, Donta entered {Penetrate 3}.]
“Donta, cover us!!”
“W-Woof~~~!!”
[Absolutely Unforgivablowfish sensed a threat to its life and self-destructed.]
The Inksane, firing an Unforgivablowfish at us out of an Ink Bazooka. Genuinely the worst!! And the Unforgivablowfish going right ahead and detonating——!! But Peru-chan thought fast, so hiding behind Donta should get us through untouched!
[Donta nullified the damage. Reduced to {Penetrate 2}.]
Went exactly to plan. So Penetrate does drop when you eat a blast. Which means if there were four Unforgivablowfish… That would be the end of us… Ah! Right, the Inksane’s still alive!
“Donta, go take out the Inksane in Peru-chan’s place!”
“Grrraaaargh!! (I’ll destroy it~!!)”
Donta’s still carrying the Penetrate Peru-chan handed him, so what happens next is going to be extremely one-sided. Ice Bolts do nothing to him as he closes in, running is pointless because Donta is overwhelmingly faster, no need to even check the battle log… hm? Looks like Donta found something where the Inksane died. He’s trying to tell us something.
“Woof~~!! (The thing from yesterday! Ta-daa! There’s a ta-daa!)”
Ta-daa…? Ah, hold on. Ta-daa means…!!
“Peru-chan, I think there’s a treasure chest where Donta is!”
“Eh!? There is a treasure chest!?”
We didn’t even beat a boss and there’s a chest. Dungeons are a magnificent piece of content…! This makes me want to run it several times a day. The once-a-day entry limit is genuinely galling. Beautifully tuned~.
“Woof woof! (Ta-daa!)”
“You’re right, there’s a ta-daa~ Donta! You found it, good boy~!!”
“Woof~~♡ (Yaay! Pets, pets!)”
“It truly is a treasure chest…! There is no telling when or where an Unforgivablowfish will come flying, so I shall simply open it!”
“Yeah, go for it~”
Right, right, let’s get it open! What’s inside, I wonder?
[Perseus acquired {?Long Staff}, {?Accessory}, and {?Book}.]
“That’s a decent haul.”
“I cannot wait for the appraisal~!!”
[————An enormous shadow creeps closer…………]
“Ah, there it is again… What is that message, anyway.”
“It is somewhat unsettling… In any case, we should not linger! Let us press on!”
“Donta, can you carry us again?”
“Woof! (Sure!)”
Three whole items in the chest, lovely! Looking forward to the appraisal. Anyway, back on Donta, and off we go hunting for the fourth-floor portal…………!?
[The Dread Lord of the Sea has appeared!!]
[Cowed by its bloodlust, the ordinary monsters have fled.]
“S-Something’s coming!?”
“What is that, it is heading straight for us!?”
“Lia-chan, hit it first!!”
“I-Ice fangs driven to fury, gather unto me and become a frozen mass, then shatter and burst! Blizzard Cracker!”
Something black and enormous is bearing down on us!! The Dread Lord of the Sea…!? That was on the third floor!? Wait, is that creepy message from earlier because of this thing…?
[Aurelia activated {Complete Chant・Blizzard Cracker}.]
[Weak! Slaughterer (Lv. 99) took 1 damage.]
“It’s an orca!? One damage!? Level 99!?”
“Th-The Slaughterer…!? I have never heard of such a monster existing! And Level 99!? Our attacks are doing nothing at all!?”
“A-Ah…!”
This thing is bad, absolutely bad, if it catches us we die! Donta could maybe eat one hit with Penetrate, two at most…!
“Donta, don’t you dare let it catch you!! Run!!”
“Woof! Woof!!”
Just run, outrun it, get to the fourth-floor portal and dive through…!
“There are no other monsters at all! They have fled in terror of the Slaughterer!”
“Should I be grateful nothing’s left to get in our way!?”
“Indeed…!? Aurelia-san, look out!!”
“Eh!? Kyaaaaaaaaaa——!!”
It isn’t coming for us, it’s going for Lia-chan!! Of course, she attacked it, so she’s the target! It’s tracking her as she weaves through the air on her broom, closing the gap fast! At this rate Lia-chan is dead!
“Donta, get us over to Lia-chan!”
“Woof~~!! (I’m scared~~!!)”
“Be brave! If you don’t do this, Lia-chan dies!!”
“Woof, woof…! Grrraaaargh!!”
Donta found his courage and swung us toward Lia-chan, who is still fleeing the Slaughterer. If it’s hunting her over the single point of damage she landed first, then landing more than that should flip the target to me…! Come on!!
“Pierce, Curse Spear!!”
[Activated {Curse Spear}, Weak! dealt 1 damage to Slaughterer. Inflicted {Cursed} status.]
“Gyuaaaaaaaa!!”
“It is coming, it is coming this way!?”
There, it switched to us! One damage even when I hit a weakness, what on earth…!? Is the level gap so wide that nothing gets through!? The portal, we have to find the portal! If Donta slows down we’re caught. Find it before Donta gets caught…!?
[The Dread Lord of the Sea has locked on to its prey!!]
“You’re kidding…?”
Wait. I might have made a serious mistake. The Dread Lord of the Sea isn’t the Slaughterer. It might be this thing that just showed itself in front of us. Ah, ahaha… Ten times the size? Twenty? What is that, it’s far too big…
“Rinne-san, is this where we end, I wonder…”
[Giant Inksane (Lv. 95) has begun chanting {Ice Storm Lancer}…]
Where we end…? Not even standing against the colossal Inksane in front of us, not even properly fighting the Slaughterer behind us, just losing, helplessly, having done nothing…? Not like that… not like that——!!
“Peru-chan, Aegis!! The Inksane Killer’s real work starts here!!”
“Eh…!? A-Aegis!”
[Perseus activated {Magic Shield Aegis}, entered {Penetrate 3}.]
“Lia-chan, focus on dodging at first and back Peru-chan up! Donta, we keep running and we take the Slaughterer on while we do it!!”
“Y-Yes!! Ice fangs driven to fury, gather unto me and————”
“W-Woof!? Woof!! (We’re fighting!? I’m scared! But, I’ll try!)”
Losing without doing anything, absolutely not! I will fight to the very last no matter what!! If we do everything we can with what we’ve got and still lose, fine, I can accept that…! Losing without lifting a finger, that’s just too humiliating!
“Peru-chan, jump down! The squid’s yours! Pierce, Curse Spear!”
[Activated {Curse Spear}, Weak! dealt 1 damage to Slaughterer. Inflicted {Cursed} status.]
“We’re your opponents, come and get us!”
“Gyuaaaaaaaa!!”
“Y-You cannot be serious!? You truly intend to fight…!? Th-Then I shall be your opponent~~!!”
[Perseus was reduced to {Penetrate 2} by tumble damage.]
Peru-chan leapt down toward the Giant Inksane, and the Slaughterer didn’t chase her, it came for me. So it’s exactly that: it prioritizes whoever dealt the most damage. She botched her landing and she’s rolling around on the ground, which should make her the easiest prey here, and it still picked me. That settles it!
[Giant Inksane activated {Ice Storm Lancer}!]
[Perseus nullified the damage.]
“I-It has no effect whatsoever! OH-HOHOHOHO!! Mister Ground here is a great deal tougher than you~~!!”
[Perseus successfully used {Taunt}. Giant Inksane entered {Wrath} status.]
If you’re short on cards, make more. Facing down a hopeless matchup and turning words into a weapon, that’s our Peru-chan…!
[Giant Inksane activated {Tentacle Whip}.]
“Ah, so it attacks with its legs as well…”
“Burst and shatter, Blizzard Cracker!!”
[Aurelia activated {Complete Chant・Blizzard Cracker}.]
[Weak! Dealt 70505 damage to Giant Inksane. Its attack posture collapsed; {Tentacle Whip} failed to activate.]
Nice support, Lia-chan! Eh!? That’s enormous damage. Is it because it’s dozens of times bigger than a normal Inksane, so an area spell covers more surface and the damage scales up!?
“Twin demon swords, Double Hyper Slash!!”
[Perseus activated {Double Hyper Slash}, Critical! dealt 20000 damage to Giant Inksane, severing two of its legs.]
“W-We did it…!?”
We can do this, we can win…! There’s a path to winning…!! All I have to do is keep the Slaughterer pinned with Donta, and eventually the curse will kill it…!
“Gyuaaaaaaaa!!!!”
[Slaughterer activated {Full Throttle・Screw Attack}.]
It sped up!? What do I do, what do I do! It’s spinning like a drill and charging!!
“Donta! When I say now, spin hard right and dodge!!”
“Woof!! (Right, I remember!)”
He learned right and left yesterday running from the Stone Armor King Slime! Good boy for remembering!! Now I just have to not get thrown off…!!
“NOW!!”
[MISS…. Slaughterer failed its attack.]
Dodged, we dodged it!! Held on until the last possible moment and pulled it off————uwaaah!? Don’t jump all of a sudden, Dontaaaa——!!
[Took 202 fall damage.]
“Ow…!”
“Woof!?”
“Gyuaaaaa!!!!”
————The Slaughterer is coming for me. Curse Spear will make it in time. The Slaughterer swims through water, so it’s effectively floating up off the ground. Fire Curse Spear, then drop flat and the charge goes over me————I can do this!!
“Pierce, Curse Spear!”
[Activated {Curse Spear}, Weak! dealt 1 damage to Slaughterer. Inflicted {Cursed} status.]
[Slaughterer activated {Screw Attack}.]
Dodge, get down! NOW!!
[MISS…. Slaughterer failed its attack.]
But there’s no next time. It’s banking hard and coming back around. This game’s AI learns mid-fight, I already know that, which means the same dodge probably won’t work twice… Right, or left… Dodging a body the size of Donta at the last second, that’s a big ask, honestly…! I want to check how Peru-chan’s doing, but there’s no room for it. No death log has come through, so she’s still fighting!
[Slaughterer activated {Screw Attack}.]
“Gyua, aaaa, aaaa!!!”
It’s coming in scraping the floor this time! It is learning, and I can feel the intent, the clear, deliberate murder in it, no ducking allowed!! Nothing for it. Feint right, dodge left. All I can do is trust my own reflexes!
“Pierce, Curse Spear!”
[Activated {Curse Spear}, Weak! dealt 1 damage to Slaughterer. Inflicted {Cursed} status.]
Here it comes, feint right————
“Grrraaaaargh!!”
[Donta had a flash of insight, learning {Demon Wolf Cannonball}, and activated {Demon Wolf Cannonball}! Critical! Dealt 50 damage to Slaughterer! Slaughterer failed its attack.]
“Gyuaaa, aaaa!?”
Donta!! You were saying you were scared this whole time and you did that!! A ferocious Body Slam straight from the flank, no! A charge that goes beyond Body Slam! Demon Wolf Cannonball, you had a flash of insight!
“Gyua, aaaa…! Aaaaa…!!”
Hm… Something’s off about the Slaughterer. Don’t tell me it has one last trick left…!?
[Slaughterer activated {Final Fighting Spirit・Slash Wave}.]
The water current generated by its high-speed spin turns into a shockwave of slashes and comes at us! It’s going to take at least me and Donta down with it!? Murderous to the very last, the Slaughterer earns its name…
[Slaughterer died from curse slip damage. Gained 999999 EXP.]
[Congratulations! You are the MVP! MVP reward: {Slaughterer Plushie}]
[Level-up messages suppressed——suppression release selected.]
[Guard! Donta took a defensive stance and reduced the damage, taking 1999 damage. Near death!]
[Took 502 damage. Near death!]
“Donta, you protected me…!”
“Wheee… wheee…”
By the barest possible margin, the win went to us! If Donta hadn’t shielded me, if I hadn’t leveled up and gained HP, there is no chance I survive that last attack. By rights I should be going straight to back up Peru-chan and Lia-chan, but my body won’t move the way I want. So this is how heavy the Near Death penalty is. For now, let’s duck behind that big rock and watch.
“————You cannot so much as lift a finger now, is that not so~!! O—HOHOHOHO!! Oh, do forgive me, you have no fingers to lift, only legs~!! Then I shall lop those off as well and leave you, quite literally, without a finger or a leg to lift~! O—HOHOHOHOHO!!”
[Perseus successfully used {Taunt}. Giant Inksane entered {Fury} status.]
[Giant Inksane has begun chanting {Blizzard Cluster}…]
“————Burst and shatter, Blizzard Cracker!!”
[Aurelia activated {Complete Chant・Blizzard Cracker}.]
[Weak! Dealt 78505 damage to Giant Inksane. Giant Inksane failed its attack. Went from {Fury} status to {Wrath} status.]
Peru-chan’s taunting is working…? Though honestly, it’s less that the words land and more that her attitude is grating on it. I’m pulling up the combat log from earlier and reading it now, and Peru-chan has nullified and blocked the Giant Inksane’s magic several times already. Every time it tries to close in and attack, Lia-chan slams magic into it and disrupts it, and Peru-chan capitalizes on the opening to take off another few legs. Even the Unforgivablowfish artillery, its one real threat, is unavailable because the small fry all fled. I threw Peru-chan and Lia-chan at the Giant Inksane on pure momentum, but could it be that they’re an absolutely perfect matchup for it…?
Still, the Giant Inksane doesn’t wear the name Giant for nothing. It’s eaten a string of brutal hits and shows no sign of going down. My guess is the damage is only landing on the legs, and nothing has reached the body itself. We have to hit the body… hm? Fury back down to Wrath, so it’s calmed slightly? It was fixated on Peru-chan, and now it’s starting to pay attention to Lia-chan… And this inhaling motion. Don’t tell me!
“Pierce, Curse Spear!”
[Giant Inksane is on standby to fire {Black Bomber}.]
[Activated {Curse Spear}, Weak! dealt 2988 damage to Giant Inksane. Inflicted {Cursed} status. Giant Inksane failed its attack.]
[Giant Inksane readied {Tentacle Hammer}.]
Ah. I saw the inhale, panicked, and attacked to disrupt it while my HP is nowhere near recovered. That’s as good as announcing where Donta and I are hiding. And we hid too close. Just barely inside its reach, huh…
“A-chan!? I shall not allow it!!”
[Perseus activated {Double Hyper Slash}, Critical! dealt 20000 damage to Giant Inksane, severing two of its legs.]
“Haaaaaaa——!!”
[Giant Inksane brought down {Tentacle Hammer}! Perseus nullified the attack, Penetrate vanished.]
No good, Peru-chan’s getting carried away! Tentacle Hammer still has one leg left!!
“Perseus-san!!”
[Aurelia activated {Broom Flight Charge}, dealt 517 damage to Giant Inksane. Giant Inksane entered {Blinded} status.]
[Giant Inksane brought down {Tentacle Hammer}! Aurelia took fatal damage, Black Cat Luna died in her place.]
Connected, by the skin of our teeth…! The Giant Inksane shouldn’t have a single attack left. Rather than let it set up again, Peru-chan’s attack is………… faster!!
[Perseus activated {Double Slash Storm}.]
Chain, chain, chain! Every swing of Peru-chan’s blades carves through the Giant Inksane’s legs, its body, without an ounce of mercy! Go, go go, push it through, Peru-cha——n!!
[Critical! Dealt 140000 total damage to Giant Inksane, and defeated it. Gained 950000 EXP.] [Perseus entered {Exhausted} status from the recoil of a powerful skill.]
[Perseus is the MVP. Congratulations!] [You have reached Level 50. Congratulations!]
[Perseus has reached Level 50. Let’s celebrate!]
[Donta will not rise any further in level. Let’s evolve!]
[Aurelia has reached Level 26.]
“W-We did it…! We beat it, we beat it, Perseus-san~!!”
“We have done it, we have won… we… we truly have…!!”
We did it… We beat it, we beat it…! From dead certain, counting-down-to-death, absolutely-finished, all the way to a total reversal——!! Y…yesssssssss——!!
“Big Sis and Donta are safe too!”
“I am overjoyed you are unharmed as well, Rinne-san! Ah, that reminds me, are you not collecting the corpses!?”
“Eh, ah!!”
[Discarded the existing corpse in {Morgue 4}, newly coffined {Slaughterer (Lv. 99)}.]
[Discarded the existing corpse in {Morgue 5}, newly coffined {Giant Inksane (Lv. 95)}.]
Close, too close, I got sloppy the second we won! Collect, collect——!!
“Thank you, I forgot again! Peru-chan, Lia-chan too! So glad we made it through~!”
“I was thoroughly convinced we could not win. I am so very glad you are all safe as well, Rinne-san!”
“I thought I was definitely going to die, so many times… I’m glad we didn’t give up!”
“Woof!!”
“Donta~!! Donta, you kept saying you were scared and you did so well! You’re a brave and splendid wolf!”
“Woof! (I’m hungry!)”
The instant I call him a brave and splendid wolf, he says he’s hungry. Come on. Can I take that back? Can I downgrade him to a friendly dog with an empty stomach? No… Donta is unquestionably why we made it, so just for now, I’ll let brave and splendid wolf stand…
[The presence of the sea’s lords has faded; ordinary monsters are reappearing…]
“My! Let us collect the contents of the treasure chest and flee before the monsters return!”
“Peru-chan, once we grab this, can we head back…? Donta’s hungry, but honestly, so am I…”
“I am exhausted as well! Let us return and rest!”
Before the monsters that vanished when the boss appeared come back, open the chest that spawned as the reward for killing the Slaughterer and the Giant Inksane, grab the contents, and head home to the Guild House. I ran my brain at full tilt and fought with everything I had, and now I’m wrecked…
[Acquired {?Claw}.]
[Acquired {?Spear}.]
[Acquired {?Furniture}.]
[Acquired {Proof of a Sovereign}.]
“B-Big Sis, a huge number of squid are coming this way…!”
“Eh? Uwah, uwah!?”
“Have you finished collecting!?”
“Finished!!”
Uwaaah, this is bad!! How many Inksane is that? Seven, eight, about ten of them heading straight for us! And every single one of them has an Absolutely Unforgivablowfish in its mouth——!?
[The party leader has selected Retire.]
[Deploying Retire Portal.]
[Recording…. Reached floor 3 of the Sea Cave Dungeon.]
[Thank you for playing. Processing information, please wait a moment………… You will be transported outside the dungeon in 120 seconds.]
“Yeah, nice call…”
“Phew…”
“Woof…”
So picking Retire opens a portal that sends you home instantly! Th-Thank goodness~… Man~, we did well today, we did really well… Inksane and Unforgivablowfish were bad enough, and then the Slaughterer and the Giant Inksane at the end… Nobody said anything about bosses just showing up~…
“My, the transport is taking rather a long time on this occasion… Oh!? The Slaughterer was an undiscovered monster! Nap Lover-san had apparently at least discovered the Giant Inksane! You have acquired naming rights for the monster!”
“You’re right. Huh? There’s a monster compendium function too, the information’s updating~. The Slaughterer’s entry is… eh!?”
“You defeated it, Rinne-san, so you may certainly change its name!”
“Really? Then, let’s change it~…”
There’s a monster compendium in the user interface. The Slaughterer’s information and the Giant Inksane’s update were both in, so I figured I’d check before we transport, and, I see… So that’s what makes the Slaughterer show up~! Ah, right! I can change the name~… let’s give it a nice slack one that suits this dungeon’s name! Slaugh-tor-ca… there!
I see~… So these two were penalty monsters… The timing of grabbing the treasure chest and the timing of climbing onto Donta and running overlapped, so we got both of them at once~…!!!
[Thank you for waiting. You will shortly be transported outside the dungeon.]
“I shall put out a guild portal and take us home at once!”
“Yeah, let’s do that~… Fuwaa~~… I’m wiped~~”
“My, a yawn from Rinne-san is a rare sight indeed… Ultra rare…!”
“Fuwaa… ah!”
“Woof~…”
“Lia-chan, Donta, good work today~”
“I’m tired, but it was a wonderful experience!”
“Woof! (I’m hungry~!)”
Donta has become an I’m-hungry bot… I hope they’ve got a big piece of meat for sale, something that’ll make him ecstatic~…
[Transport.]