Chapter 63 - Straying Big Mist Garden and Life as a Betting Chip

“This is a really long flight of stairs. You could do some stair exercise here.” (Hikaru)

I was making really stupid comments as I went down, and I finally catch sight of the end.

It at the very least felt like there was a lot more distance here than going from the highest floor of my school to the lowest floor. I think I went down more than 100 meters.

“…This is impressive. It is a sight that I would find hard to believe is inside a dungeon. The 1st Floor was impressive as well, but this one is on a whole different level. Wonder who made it?” (Hikaru)

There was a green garden at the end of the stairs.

The sky is cloudy.

No, it isn’t exactly a sky. It is just that it looks that way from the mist covering the ceiling.

There’s a strange light source, and it isn’t as dark as the 2nd Floor.

But the whole floor is ruled by a dense mist. The field of vision is bad.

I can only see around 100 meters ahead of me.

I see, so this is why it is the Straying Big Mist Garden.

I currently can’t tell if it has good compatibility with my abilities.

“Now then, let’s begin the exploration.” (Hikaru)

I am commenting in a lighthearted mood, but the truth is that I am pretty scared here.

An unknown floor.

I purposely didn’t even research what monsters show up here.

I haven’t prepared a Barrier Stone either.

Betting my life is the only way I can think of to get viewers after all.

“For now, let’s search around the area close to the stairs…” (Hikaru)

The 3rd Floor is far brighter than the 2nd Floor.

Rifreya and Grapefull said that this floor has good compatibility with my abilities, but I feel like it would look unnatural if I were to activate dense darkness.

Won’t it instead be bad compatibility…?

I feel like that’s the case.

I take out my freshly baked shortsword, take stance in a way that I would be able to enter battle at any moment, and slowly advance.

The Straying Big Mist Garden is just as the name states, a vast garden. There were traces of a water fountain made of stone on the way, and structures that were around 10 steps of stairs. A floor that’s made like a western garden.

When I went a bit further, the stairs I went down from were now out of sight. With this, even if someone were to be mapping things, they would still end up getting lost.

Also, I am obviously not mapping.

“There’s something there.” (Hikaru)

It is a monster. Also, a pretty big one.

There’s the chance that the other party will notice me if I close the distance too much.

It is important to observe your opponent at a certain distance. There’s no knowing what kind of enemy it is after all.

“That’s…a big fat man. I have not investigated the monsters of the 3rd Floor beforehand, so I don’t know what kind of monster it is, but it is big…and looks strong. A club that looks like a log. If I were to get hit by that, I would die instantly…” (Hikaru)

There’s big papers posted in the guild that have all the traits of the monsters written in it all the way to the 5th Floor, so everyone can check it out.

For the guild, monsters mean Spirit Stones. There’s no point in withholding that information. The most efficient ways to fight them are also written down, so it might take away the sense of achievement.

I heard about this from Rifreya, but I purposely didn’t look at that information.

It is not like I am underestimating the dungeon. Me learning about that information means that my viewers learn about that info too. If you know everything beforehand, would that make an adventure interesting? Would it be fun to watch me easily avoiding dangers?

There’s no way that’s interesting. An adventure that has a proper margin of safety would fall into the level of a neighborhood walk.

“It seems like the weak point of monsters is in general where the Spirit Stone appears. That would be the base of the neck. It is hard to tell when the monster doesn’t have a set shape, but for monsters modelled after vertebrate animals, their weak points are easy to tell.” (Hikaru)

This is something I learned from Rifreya. I have been attacking the neck that looked like a weak point unconsciously, but to think that actually was the weak point. I was surprised when I first learned about this.

I don’t know why that place is their weak point.

I should ask Rifreya one day.

“Now then…how shall we challenge this? It will be impossible without abilities, so I will try doing it the same as usual.” (Hikaru)

I approached the monster while still covered in darkness.

The opponent is a giant man around 2 meters tall. I am around 170 cm tall, so I am at a height where I can barely manage to aim at the base of the neck.

If a monster bigger than this one shows up, it would be better to ask the guild how to fight it.

(Now then, let’s see if this is a guy that can notice.) (Hikaru)

Whether his senses are sharp or dull; I won’t be able to tell unless I test it.

It would be easier for me if all monsters were dense though.

(It noticed me, huh.) (Hikaru)

Darkness getting closer must have been too unnatural, the other party directed its curiosity here. If I were to be hit by that 50 cm club, I would die without being able to do anything.

It is a big man that is packed with thick flesh all the way to its face, but its red shining eyes were sharp, and it was clear that it had its guard up over here.

Now then, what to do.

I move in a way as if drawing a circle with the monster at its center.

But the giant man wasn’t taking its eyes off as if it could see me.

Even so, it isn’t proactively attacking me.

It seems to be plainly in wonder.

Now then, the problem is how to fight here.

From the nature of my attack, the chances of being hit if a monster goes wild is high. Just by swinging the weapon in circles, I, who had approached in the darkness, would be blown away without much I could do.

That’s why there’s the need to carry the situation in a manner that it doesn’t end up that way.

I dramatically increase the radius of my darkness and swallow the giant man.

The monster was surprised by the sudden darkness and looked around restlessly, seeking for light.

I saw that reaction and steel myself.

I wring out courage, and with trembling feet, I dash in order to clash with the opponent.

The monster noticed my footsteps and tried to blindly attack me, but in that instant…

“[Shadow Bind].” (Hikaru)

The darkness wrapped around the giant body of the opponent, and restrained its movements.

In the end, the deciding ability is this one.

I spread the darkness of Darkness Fog, dash to my confused opponent, and when I approach till close range, Shadow Bind.

Bind is an ability that opens up for a deadly blow in its effective time.

“Uooooh!” (Hikaru)

I raise a shout and kill the instinctive fear I had towards the 2 meter giant.

I rush to it straight on as if crashing my body onto it, and stab my shortsword onto its throat.

The 35 cm shortsword managed to reach the weak point of the monster, and deal a critical hit.

The giant perishes, and a decently big Spirit Stone falls.

An Earth Spirit Stone.

“…I-It was scary, but I managed to defeat it. Shadow Bind is really useful.” (Hikaru)

My voice was trembling even when commenting.

Even if it was inside the darkness, I attacked a giant opponent straight on.

There’s no way I wouldn’t be scared.

My defense is like paper.

Even with one punch, it could have been fatal.

Shadow Bind doesn’t last for long.

It is because I practiced the timing with Rifreya a whole lot that I managed to apply it to myself.

If I had been off a single second, there would have been the chance of my attack being blocked. When that happens, I will get countered and lose.

An attack that I MUST not fail.

On the other hand, when it succeeds, the effects are enormous.

“My new weapon packed quite the good punch there and it was easy to use. The weapon I ordered from the blacksmith really was nice.” (Hikaru)

More so when the shortsword doesn’t feel like it would break despite having been cheap.

I have no other means aside from defending with my weapon if I get attacked since I don’t have a shield, so just having the option gives quite a lot of comfort.

…Or more like, it probably would be better to prepare a small round shield.

“Now then, let’s continue the exploration.” (Hikaru)

The Straying Big Mist Garden is pretty vast.

When speaking of dungeons, I normally think of a labyrinth that has clear turns, but the 1st Floor was a city and the 3rd Floor is a garden.

There may be places that are impossible to traverse because of plants and structures, but it is mostly an open space.

The corridors are spacious, so you could say it is a place where you can enjoy encounters with monsters.

I can somehow understand why there’s more explorers that enjoy fighting in the 3rd Floor than the 2nd Floor.

More so when this place isn’t as dark as the 2nd Floor.

Not needing stuff like lanterns and torches makes it pretty comfortable.

“I have found a monster. A big goblin, and…what is it? A monster that looks like a small fiend.” (Hikaru)

3 goblins (big) were crying ‘gi gi’ loudly. The small fiend had small wings, so it looks like it could fly.

“I am thinking of checking things out with my Summon Ability. [Summon: Night Bug].” (Hikaru)

Thanks to Night Bug having increased in Tier, the number of bugs I can summon in one go have increased.

Each individual hit is light, but the violence in numbers can create a good attack.

Moreover, it can divert their attention.

By the way, Night Bug has plenty enough killing power against weak monsters, and it is possible to defeat goblins and orcs with just that alone.

How about the goblins (big) and the small fiend?

The Night Bugs rush to the monsters and scrape away at them.

Looks like the goblins (big) and the small fiend are not that big of a deal. There’s the feeling that damage is being dealt.

I even felt as if I would be able to win from afar by consecutively shooting them out, but the small fiend did something I wasn’t expecting.

“[Gravel Mist].”

To my surprise, it used a spirit ability.

The Spirit Energy rose as if answering its voice, and small rocks and gravel appeared in the surroundings of the small fiend.

It is the Earth Spirit Ability that I saw an explorer use before.

(Seriously…? So there’s those that can use Spirit Abilities too, huh…) (Hikaru)

The Night Bugs were crashing onto the many small floating pebbles and disappeared.

They are fast and small, so it is hard to hit them with attacks, but they are weak against small and plentiful obstructions.

They were instantly reduced to only a few.

If it had been only the goblins (big), I might have managed to defeat them only with the Night Bugs though. Looks like I should deal with that small fiend as quickly as possible physically.

I increase the range of my Darkness Fog and dash.

“[Shadow Bind]!” (Hikaru)

The goblins (big) and the small fiend were suddenly covered in darkness and didn’t know left and right. I added bind on top of that, and the danger disappears almost completely.

After dealing with the small fiend, I defeat the goblins (big) in order.

I was surprised by the monster using Spirit Ability, but there doesn’t seem to be much difference in terms of body sturdiness, so it doesn’t seem to be that dangerous of a monster if I just tread with care.

I pick up the Spirit Stones that are bigger than the ones of normal goblins, and walk deeper and deeper into the dungeon.

My exploration has just begun.

“…Looks like I’m lost.” (Hikaru)