chapter 6

"Brother, I'm ready. Let's go dungeon exploring." (Haru)

After waking up and eating breakfast in the morning, Haru quickly opened her closet to change her clothes and start cleaning her weapon. The Kizaki family had no game console, only a computer with slow internet speed and low specs. So, with very little source of entertainment, we were addicted to exploring the dungeon.

When Haru finished preparing her weapon, I put on my backpack in the corner of the room and equipped my weapon. Then, naturally, I finished my preparations as well. It was only natural that something I'd never done before would become a habit after twelve days of fun, excluding the days I had to work.

Nine days have passed since we finished exploring the second level. It had been exactly two weeks since our first exploration of the dungeon.

Naturally, the dungeon's difficulty seems to increase as we proceed through the levels, and we've now completed four levels. We seemed lucky to have conquered two levels in five days.

First, I have a part-time job, so I can't dive every day. As for the monsters, nothing much has changed except that the goblins now have sticks, and I found a fluffy, glowing rabbit once on the third level. When I killed the rabbit, I felt like I gained two levels, so I guess it's a rare monster that gives you a lot of experience. I'm not sure if the concept of levels is even applicable in the first place, though.

To make matters worse, I haven't seen a single drop item in all this time. The two standard ways to get them are to strip them off of the monsters you've killed or to have them remain from the monsters that have disappeared, but it doesn't seem like either of these is the case. So even if the probability of a drop is low, I've killed more than a hundred monsters, and not one item has dropped.

If that's the case, the only thing that can be gained in the dungeon is the power that is diminished by leaving the dungeon. If that's the case, then dungeons are only harmful to humans. Therefore, it would not be easy to find a use for it. Well, I heard a drop in the dungeon in Tokyo, so maybe this dungeon is an exception.

Anyway, the thrill and anticipation of dungeon exploration are becoming more entertaining, and we are now heading to the fifth floor to explore the fifth floor.

I don't know if it's just a hunch we've developed over the days of fighting or if there's a force at work that we can't see, but we've come to have a pretty good idea of where the monsters are. I've done a little aikido, but I've never been in a melee with an enemy that comes at you out of the blue, and since it's an encounter of life and death, it's not surprising that I'm getting better at this.

If so, can military personnel who have experienced the battlefield be able to do this? I saw in the news that a dungeon was created in an active warzone, and a ceasefire agreement was made in that foreign country. But then, Haru called out while I was thinking.

"Hmm, brother, around the corner." (Haru)

"Goblins on three. I will leave it to you." (Kei)

Haru can also use something we call "Enemy Detection," but in the case of Haru, her detection range is more comprehensive than mine, but she only knows that something is there. My detection range is narrow, but I can gather more information. I can also see how many enemies there are. That's why we can have this conversation before seeing the monsters.

"[Bomb]" (Haru)

The spell hit the goblin that came out of the corner and died before it knew what had happened.

I was surprised that the head of the goblin at the front was blown off. The next goblin rushed forward, so I struck one in the head using the hoe and slashed the other with the machete.

The enemies on the fourth level are a little stronger, but there's still plenty of wiggle room. If we're not comfortable with the current level, we won't try to move to the next floor. There are no save points and no resurrection, so it's best to play it safe.

It was hard when we first went down to the third floor. When we went down to the second floor, the monsters changed and became stronger. However, it became more robust when we went down to the third floor despite having the same monster.

It's not that they became muscular, but their whole existence has been strengthened without changing their appearance. It was similar to the feeling we were strengthened after killing a monster. We were firmly convinced that there was a level concept at this time.

After that, there was no problem, and we reached the stairs down to the fifth floor.

Before going down the stairs, we checked our weapons carefully.

"A room?" (Haru)

Haru muttered as she looked at the bottom of the stairs. The bottom of the stairs was like a room about the size of a school classroom. It seemed to be at least five meters high.

At the end of the stairs, there was a large metal door that reached the ceiling.

"It's a boss room." (Kei)

"Yeah." (Haru)

The door below was just like the entrance to a boss room, like a classic RPG.

"Brother, do you want to go in?" (Haru)

Haru tilts her head and asks. The road to the fifth floor was long, but we were not tired, so it shouldn't be a problem if we kept fighting. There is no need to maintain our weapons. In other words, we're in perfect condition.

If so, what should we choose choice now?

"Okay, let's go in. If I think it's even a little dangerous, we'll retreat. If it looks okay, we'll go in and take them out. I'll be the vanguard, and Haru will be the rearguard. Other than that, let's be flexible and put safety first. Then let's go." (Kei)

"Okay." (Haru)

I hold the hoe in my hand and move the machete to a spot where it can easily pull out. Haru also held the crowbar firmly in both hands.

I touched the door with my hand to open it. The door, which should have enough mass to need considerable force to open, opens without resistance.

I cautiously step inside, and inside is a goblin larger than anything I've ever seen. It's about two meters long, and in his hand is a sword that looks dull, but it's big enough. Even if it doesn't have a blade, if we are hit directly, it will break our bones with a single blow.

"Guys!" (Boss Goblin)

At the same time shrugs and releases an unpleasant scream, and a word appears in my mind.

"Hobgoblin." (Kei)

Hobgoblin. This enemy has that name; it sounds weak; however, with its strong body, it points its giant sword at us. I activate my skill to signal the start of the battle as the Hobgoblin takes its first step.

"[Speed]" (Kei)

I use the speed-increase skill on Haru and myself. Then, quickly, we close in on the Hobgoblin.

"[Bomb]" (Haru)

A ball of light flies from Haru's hand and explodes in front of the Hobgoblin.

I hid in the dust cloud scattered by the explosion and moved behind the Hobgoblin.

"[Bomb]" (Haru)

Haru casts magic again, and at the same time, I hit it with the hoe from behind.

"!" (Hobgoblin)

The Hobgoblin managed to elude my attack and shrug the blade away. So I used the handle and stabbed its face when it distanced its head.

"Gee!" (Hobgoblin)

Then, I swung the machete into its eyes as soon as it faced me again. My sub-weapon machete, which is rarely used, did not lose its sharpness and firmly took out both of the Hobgoblin's eyes.

Now, this is the moment. Haru stealthily approached from behind and swung down her crowbar with all her might. Then she distances herself from the sword that is randomly swung around. Perhaps it was caused by a concussion, but it fell on its knees after swinging it once.

Haru hits it with a crowbar again. Finally, I hit its neck using the blade of the hoe. If a child saw this, he would not only cry. He would turn pale and run away even if an adult saw this.

But as expected of the boss. The hobgoblins were so strong that I had to attack them repeatedly. My clothes were covered in blood when the Hobgoblin died and turned into mist. I've gotten blood on me before, but never this much. Haru and I looked at each other's clothes and frowned.

The blood was a dark red. I had a chance to handle the wild games in the past, and Haru helped me do it, so I never felt sick from the goblins we used to hunt. On the contrary, the lynching and beating of something to death was quite something.

I was probably high on adrenaline from all the vigorous beating I had inflicted earlier. My sister seemed to be the same way, and her face, which had been happily attacking a moment ago, was now slightly pale. I'm sure I have the same look on my face. Either way, I won't be able to fight them today.

Even if I have to kill the Hobgoblin again when I get here, and even if it hasn't been that long since we started exploring, I think it's better to leave today.

"Time to go home, brother." (Haru)

"Right. Let's go home." (Kei)

Feeling down in the dumps, we hurriedly but vigilantly left the room. But our spirits must have been extremely heavy.

By the end, we didn't notice the two small metal plates that had fallen on the spot where the Hobgoblin had died.