Past the floor-30 boss room, things moved fast.
My Skill let me start every fight at an advantage.
Shortest route to the exit, minimal combat encounters.
Knowing the type and count of clustered enemies — easy to plan engagements.
Minimal kit, gear swapped to the threat.
Near the exit, a static cluster of monsters. I gave directions.
“Clara, kill the light. Novem, prep magic — fire. Aria and Miranda-san take the finishing blows. Damian-san, dolls with shields to block charges. Around the next left, the enemies. Same pattern as before.”
Same pattern: I open with an exploding arrow.
Ambush; magic into the panicking cluster.
If they close, the dolls take the charges; Aria and Miranda finish with direct hits.
”…I didn’t know Miranda could fight like that.”
Aria, complicated, looked at her.
“Hm? I wasn’t hiding it. Just never came up.”
A smile. Aria.
“You’ve changed. Is it post-Growth high? Watch yourself.”
Growth felt different to each person.
In dungeons, fighting could trigger Growth, sometimes. In those cases, you pulled the affected out of fights for a while.
(If I didn’t need to conserve, I’d pull her.)
For the boss, I had to save stamina and mana.
Arrow count — given the duration, manageable margin.
(Mace is getting marginal. Tomorrow’s floor-40 — )
While I considered swapping weapons, I drew the bow. Clara killed the light.
Slowly approached the corner, to range, loosed.
Explosion. Clara lit.
The Second.
“Done.”
If we didn’t relax, this fight ends untouched.
Day three, B39. A little early, but we’d rest for tomorrow.
The supplies weren’t only preserved foods.
Daily ingredients packed too. The Seventh’s [Box] kept them fresh.
We ate meals that didn’t feel like dungeon food.
Near the entrance to floor 40, in a room — local monsters cleared, resting.
“Honestly, I underestimated you.”
Damian called out.
“There’s the Skills too. — Keep that quiet.”
I sealed his lips.
He pushed his glasses up.
“Not my taste to gossip. Don’t want to make you my enemy.”
Make you my enemy — implies he rates me, at least.
(Being rated by this type…)
He moved to the reward.
“Right — about the magic. After exiting the dungeon, okay? Want to conserve mana.”
“Sure.”
He moved to the actual request.
“Since this looks like it’ll complete, I’ll tell you: the reward isn’t gold. — But worth more than gold.”
The request had said 1000 gold equivalent. He needed the floor-40 boss’s parts.
(Knew it. Vague phrasing. — What is the reward, then? A Magic Implement, or—)
I was running through options. He said:
“Heh — not surprised. You’d guessed. Easier this way. The reward — how about an automaton?”
“Automaton? — Wait, isn’t that—”
I’d been about to say isn’t that valuable? He explained.
“The parts are already assembled. Plenty turn up here. Just need to fill out and activate. The activation needs a high-grade mana stone to stockpile mana — which is why this request. Some parts I need too; the rest you can keep. — I can have the dolls carry on the return.”
The Guild record said the floor-40 boss was a full-armored giant. Carried a cylinder for ranged magic.
The armor it wore sold high.
“Will the academy approve handing over an automaton?”
“There’s a stack. One won’t matter. Not my interest — take it. Activation uses master-slave contract magic, so blood required.”
Ancient tech operating on magic, oddly.
Why the ancients lost that tech is interesting.
(Not well documented.)
“Ah — if you stay around a while, come tell me how it works. I’ll pay for the report. Budget’s blown right now.”
A free spirit. I nodded.
The dolls were iron-armored bricks.
Useful in combat.
(Golem plus the doll — combat power jumps.)
I had a final question.
“Damian-san. What you said in the boss room—”
He thought, vague. ”…What?” — didn’t remember.
“Forget it.”
“Right. Tomorrow then. We’re ahead of schedule — happy about that.”
I watched him go.
(At this rate you’ll go to ruin — what’d that mean?)
◇
Day four morning.
Awake, prepped, set for the boss.
I pulled the day’s gear from [Box].
The Third.
“Lyle, brutal. Wooden balls packed with gunpowder.”
The Fourth, exasperated.
“The Seventh’s Skill makes transport possible. — No risk of premature detonation.”
The Second.
“Reaching the boss on day four is good, but factoring return, a week was necessary. — Oversight.”
Right.
Dungeon work isn’t kill boss and done.
Return is hard too.
Gear depleted, packs heavier, speed lower — return’s the dangerous half.
For me — different.
[Box] minimizes; shortest route, monsters cleared, return easier than entry.
(No bosses on return. Rest near the crowded floor-20 area.)
If not for bosses, we’d have arrived sooner.
(Lost one trump card. Still fine.)
I held a wooden sphere packed with gunpowder. A standard adventurer tool.
Used against tough monsters.
Volatile management. Magic in proximity could trigger them. Sane adventurers don’t bring them into a dungeon.
Final check done. [Box] away. I distributed spheres.
“At the boss room, throw them. Reportedly the surface armor resists, but the insides get hit.”
The deepest-floor adventurer had said it works.
Damian took his. “Doll throws. I can’t.”
“Novem, Clara — pass to Aria. Aria throws. — Miranda-san, fire magic at the boss.”
Everyone nodded.
The thing is, the boss was very hard.
To take it down via standard means, only veterans with full prep could manage.
Why a thing like that was a boss—
“First — target the cylinder. Like a cannon. The other arm carries a shield. Be careful. Apparently it had an axe too — once the cylinder’s down—”
Final review. We pushed for the boss.
◇
B40.
Like the other boss rooms.
Different: size, the wall finish.
The previous random-plate walls gave way to clean tiling.
Different atmosphere.
“This hall is long.”
Miranda murmured. Everyone agreed.
For those without a map, where the enemies sat was a tension.
I knew the distance in my head; not tense.
“Almost there. The enemy isn’t centered — it’s at the back. Entering, I draw first.”
Bait role.
Can’t have magic dropped onto a clustered formation; the bait role exists.
I’d just use [Speed] to dodge.
“Lord Lyle, be careful.”
“I know.”
I simulated mentally. The Second’s read on enemy power had warned of danger.
But also: this party could take it.
I’d been saving the others for this.
(Solo, I can’t finish it.)
Magic was reportedly blocked outright.
The prior party had fired magic in unison.
Took heavy damage from the return; the main members held, recovered, and pressed until the boss fell.
The entrance came into view.
Dark, eerie inside.
A creature breathing.
“Heard about it; creepy. Past this floor monsters are different class.”
Damian. Aria steadied her breath.
“Why did we take this. Could’ve waited to build more strength.”
Miranda, smiling.
“Aria, too tense. Prep’s done; no need to worry.”
“How are you so light? Last night you—”
“You two, quiet.”
Clara hushed them.
I opened my mouth slowly.
Same time, I deployed the Second’s [All] in its true mode—
Applied the First’s [Full-Over] across the whole party.
“Go.”
I entered first, ran, made noise to draw attention.
Something big started moving. I threw the wooden ball in my right hand.
The boss caught it with the shield — found nothing in it, set up to fire.
The big cylinder in its right hand was sighting me.
I pulled more from the bag at my hip and kept throwing.
Moving along the wall in the circular room, I’d thrown five. By then, the strong light was visible in my direction.
The Second.
“Bad. Direct hit ends you, current Lyle.”
The Seventh.
“Don’t try to block. Dodge.”
I agreed.
“That’s bad.”
Cold sweat.
I ran. The cylinder’s shot came at me.
Crazy fast.
The mana mass hit the wall, exploded, lit the room for an instant.
What I saw: an angular, well-fitted armor, not the previous shapes.
Wooden tendrils poking from the joints.
“Plant-type wearing metal? — Seriously?!”
I cast magic.
Not at the enemy. At the spheres on the floor at its feet.
“Fire Bullet!”
A fire ball hit the spheres. Chain reaction.
Smoke billowed.
The Fifth.
“Smoke blocks the others’ sight. Lyle, blow it out.”
As told, I blew only the smoke.
The boss had dropped the shield with the explosion.
“Drop the cylinder! Storm!”
Wind cleared the smoke.
But visibility was still bad.
This had limits too.
The Sixth.
“Should’ve crated the spheres. Lure it in, boom.”
In hindsight, yes — but I’d had only enough gunpowder for these.
Even prepared, just one big charge.
Risk of premature detonation while carrying.
The Third.
“Look — Novem-chan and the others are here.”
Spheres flew at the boss. Miranda, separated from the group, cast magic.
Clumping was risky; her magic could trigger the gunpowder.
Fire-balls and spheres hit. Explosions.
The armor held; the right shoulder joint blew apart.
The cylinder dropped.
The Fourth.
“Lyle, redirect the wind to push smoke into the back corridor. Visibility’s bad — we can’t move.”
I cleared smoke with magic. The kneeling boss roared.
The helmet came off — an insect-like head emerged.
Ugly.
The Second.
“Hey — Aria’s—”
With Skill, Aria threw a wooden ball at full force.
It hit the open mouth — swallowed.
Novem cast next.
The wind around the boss kicked up.
A high-difficulty spell — Ceres had used this one.
“Fire Storm… she can use that.”
Fire wrapped in wind. The boss thrashed inside.
Room temperature spiked. The boss began coming apart.
The head blew off.
The Fifth.
“Aria’s throw was the kill? — Aria’s the MVP today.”
I watched the burning thing, confirmed dead, exhaled.
Hadn’t expected Novem to land that one — but we’d won, so fine.
Miranda reached me first, not Novem.
“Good work!”
“Went well.”
She nodded brightly.
“Right. I’d thought plant-type, but the head was an insect. Shannon would faint.”
Shannon disliked bugs, apparently.
Damian, happy, was extinguishing the fire with magic.
Inside burned, but the armor was barely soot-stained.
Too durable.
Aria looked tired — using an unfamiliar Skill.
Novem and Clara were beside her.
Miranda murmured, looking at Novem.
”…That girl is something. Beyond me, even.”
I took it as praise of Novem.
“She’s dependable. — In various… ways.”
I trailed off and went over to everyone, planning to have Damian’s dolls carry the scattered armor, cylinder, and shield.
”…Tired. Want to go home.”
“H-hey, you.”
◇
B40 boss down — we headed up without continuing further.
Ideally we’d have reached the floor-20 area today and slept — but a change started in me.
Not as severe as last time, but heavy fatigue.
Movement unwilling, walking taxing.
Damian, hugging the big mana stone — “With this the mana-to-electricity device is complete!” — beamed.
(Like a kid with a new toy.)
Parts recovered, but the mana stone was the prize.
His device project would proceed.
He hugged it innocently while the dolls carried the boss armor.
The reward was the automaton and the Golem magic.
But that’s zero income. After my big preparation outlay, I wanted recovery.
But—
“That armor’s cool. The roughness — kind of good.”
I shuffled along. Aria, irritated, shouted.
“Walk properly already!”
”…Can’t summon the energy.”
If there’d been another man, I’d have asked for a piggyback.
But the only other man here was shorter than me — Damian.
And he was hugging the mana stone, cheek-rubbing.
He saw nothing else.
(He’s still running the dolls in that state.)
Strange. I dragged through.
Day five.
Worse. Borrowing Novem’s shoulder, I walked.
Clara was worried.
“Your color is bad, Lyle-san.”
”…Done… ah, next is right.”
Skill-guided directions.
Skill still worked, but exhaustion was building. Mana regen slow; body ached.
“Lyle-kun, maybe overdid it.”
Miranda. Aria—
“It’s like last time. After this it gets worse.”
“Really?”
The comrades spilling my secrets. Too tired to correct.
Novem.
“Lord Lyle, floor 10 already. A little more.”
Adventurer density increased upward; safer move.
Skill confirmed — yellow responses scattered.
But—
”…Done.”
A weak voice. The Sixth sighed.
“Lyle, a little more. — You’re the type who gets badly run down before Growth, then.”
The Fifth, calm.
“Means the leap is big. Bear it. — The others look bad too.”
Around me: Novem holding through it. Damian quieter. Aria irritable. Miranda’s movements less crisp. Clara’s light unstable. Novem rough but supporting me.
The Second.
“Whole-team combat for big experience — this is what you get. Need more bodies, seriously. — This is definitely Lyle’s Skill.”
The Third.
“Or — even with that much experience, you barely Grow. Others Grow many times; this is your second.”
Right. Second Growth in progress.
After: this was the experience from many fights and two bosses, for one Growth.
And after: immobilizing exhaustion.
The Seventh, picking words.
“Lyle is… look. With proper usage, he’s a precious combat asset. Demerits aren’t the issue.”
The Fourth.
“Once he Grows, he’s fine for a while. — But…”
Every step required real effort.
Eventually, near B5, probably safe — I lost consciousness.
Heard later: Novem and Miranda carried me piggyback.
Damian’s dolls handled the heavy load; Damian refused; Aria was kept ready as combat asset; Clara, support, had to maintain the light.
Miranda volunteered, and she and Novem alternated.
Adventurers in the B5 area saw me being piggybacked by women.
The ancestors’ summary of my dungeon run:
“Carried on a woman’s back. Nope. Cringe.”
— said they.
I agreed.