As we continued forward, we would soon reach Depth 10—when, along the way, Haruka-senpai suddenly stopped.
“Since you and your group only just started school, Tsukasa-kun, I don’t think you’ve been taught this in class yet. But I’ll tell you about something that can happen when you venture deep into a dungeon.”
“Something that can happen…?”
—You can’t just enter the deeper parts of a labyrinth without proper measures.
—You need equipment or magic to prevent mana poisoning.
—Well, we have the ‘Great Saintess’ Sophia with us, so that’s not a worry.
“The deeper you go into the dungeon, the higher the concentration of harmful substances?”
“Exactly. Did you study ahead of time?”
“No, I just had a feeling there was something in this direction before we even crossed the river. Maybe I was sensing the evil aura coming from the lower floors.”
“Fujiwara-san, you can sense things like that? I’m sensitive too, but it’s only now that I’m starting to notice.”
“…I can also feel a sense of danger. It’s like a smell…”
If we were going to proceed further, we needed to take some sort of precaution—Haruka-senpai took a small case out of her pouch and opened the lid.
“One reason I’m highly regarded is because I can handle mana protection deep in dungeons. By using this paint to draw an ‘Anti-Magic Sigil’ on everyone’s hand, we can prevent mana poisoning from creeping up unnoticed.”
“I see… It doesn’t sound like there’s an easy alternative method.”
“The Dungeon Protection Bureau has armor suits that cover the entire body or temporary magic tools to neutralize mana, but the academy hasn’t distributed any of them.”
“Still, when we’re venturing this deep, they should provide us with such tools.”
“They should, but… you could say the fact that we’re even here is an exception. Even if we report it, without reproducibility of teleportation below Depth 7, it’ll take the academy a while to process it.”
Regardless, we had decided to move forward—one by one, we held out our hands for Haruka-senpai to draw the sigil.
“…It tickles.”
“You can feel it working immediately… Was the mana already thick at Depth 9?”
“No, it doesn’t affect you until the concentration reaches a certain level. The real issue starts from here on… Let’s stay alert.”
“Understood, Haruka-senpai.”
“…It’s nice to finally get the respect I deserve.”
We started moving again. The walls of the 9th floor were blue, but soon they turned purple. Then, they shifted to red.
“This is… Depth 10…”
The walls glowed with a red light, pulsating like a heartbeat.
It was completely different from the previous floors. And I started to realize what had happened in this dungeon.
A figure emerged from the dimness—just seeing it sent chills down my spine.
It was the purple balloon-like creature that had appeared from the summoning trap before. As soon as it noticed us, it started trembling ominously, releasing an invisible killing intent.
“—Undetectable attack detected.”
“Tsk…!”
“Tsukasa-kun!”
Instinctively, I jumped in front of Haruka-senpai, who was leading, and activated ‘Fixation’ purely on instinct as the attack approached.
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. Target’s spatial coordinates are now fixed.》
I stopped it more easily than last time—the increase in my level had improved both my speed and my perception of the enemy’s attacks.
The invisible spear in a spiral shape—’Void Blast’—became visible under ‘Fixation.’ The purple creature froze just as it was about to launch its attack.
“A purple slime… Is this the same one you fought in that video, Tsukasa-kun?”
“Yes, last time was pretty nerve-wracking, but now that I’m used to it, it’s not so much of a threat.”
I, along with Cipher, shot the now-immobile creature’s core with a normal bullet. Like last time, the purple slime turned into a ‘Revive Stone.’
“Only you could defeat it like that, Fujiwara-san… You’re amazing, really.”
“…It’s my first time seeing it too, so my heart’s still racing.”
“And this… Let’s call it ‘Purple Balloon’ for now—its special attack can be compressed when it’s fixed.”
《Contents added to Chip: Void Blast ×3》
The power of this attack is undeniable—it’s the same technique that once broke Cipher’s arm, but if we can use it, it will become our ace in the hole.
“…Master’s skills are truly astonishing.”
“Indeed… Still, the monsters have suddenly become much stronger. They’re nothing like those on the previous floors.”
“Yes. But now that this creature has appeared, I can form a hypothesis as to why the same monster appeared from a summoning trap on the first floor.”
“You mean… the summoning traps can call monsters from the deeper levels?”
“Exactly. It’s possible that the creatures from Depth 10 emerged on the first floor.”
“That would mean the summoning traps are like teleportation circles, wouldn’t it?”
“It’s too early to say for sure, but it’s a possibility. The floors are connected… through the magic circles.”
We had found a possible way out. Finding a teleportation circle that leads directly outside would be ideal, but if we could just move up to the upper floors, we could escape.
“However… if that monster was one of the ‘weaker’ ones in this level, then clearing this floor is going to be difficult…”
“I’ll take the front and block long-range attacks. As long as I can do that, the party won’t fall apart.”
“But then it’ll be hard to deal with attacks from behind, so I think it’s better if you stay in the middle, Fujiwara-san.”
I took the center position, with Haruka-senpai in front, Futaba-san and Nanami-san on either side, and Cipher behind me. This cross-shaped formation—
“Beep beep! My position is the safest!”
“It is for now. Can you detect anything if they come from behind?”
“Yes, I am monitoring in all directions, including sound.”
“…Imperial… No, never mind.”
Nanami-san trailed off, then quietly leaned against my arm—and seeing that, Futaba-san, after walking a bit further, tugged on my sleeve.
“…Ah, don’t mind me. Since Nanami-san is doing it, I thought I should keep things symmetrical.”
“For my little sister, that’s a pretty poor excuse… Tsukasa-kun can’t move easily like this, you know…”
“Beep beep! I’ve detected monsters on the left side.”
“Futaba-san, I’m sorry!”
《Skill ‘Fixation’ activated. Target’s spatial coordinates are now fixed.》
I blocked the sudden attack from another ‘Purple Balloon’ using ‘Fixation’—as I pulled Futaba-san out of the way, I accidentally ended up hugging her.
“S-sorry… I’m the most useless one in this party, aren’t I?”
“That’s not true at all… And look, there’s more coming.”
The next creature that appeared was a color variant of the humanoid monster ‘Mad Brownie’—originally wearing a brown hat, but this time, it was blood-red.
“…Wait. That monster is holding…”
The little red-hatted goblin was clutching something in both hands.
In its right hand was something like a bloodstained saber. In its left hand, what looked like torn clothing—stained red as well.
“Does that mean it attacked a human on the way here…?”
“But how… no one should be in the deeper floors…”
“It’s coming!”
Without hiding its malicious intent, the little goblin lunged at us—Haruka-senpai, unfazed, drew her dagger and assumed a defensive stance.
