Early this morning before the sun had risen I had already used my exoskeleton to fly to Purgatory, the closest Labyrinth City to the Royal Capital. I arrived within 30 minutes and entered via the sky. The reason I entered from above rather than through the gate is that it's troublesome to wait and then have to use the[Proof of Belonging to Royal Authority].
If it isn't discovered, there won't be any problems. Even if I'm exposed, I can just eat the eye-witness to destroy all the evidence. However, I entered the Labyrinth City from the sky without any incident.
I had my clone enter beforehand to receive a certain necklace, to which I immediately equipped. This necklace is the kind of magical item that normal adventurers possess. It has a simple design and is decorated with a small golden plate that's attached with a durable cord.
It's an item issued by the chief administrator that is in charge of overseeing various guilds and organizations which has the effect[License to Traverse the Dungeon]. It's an item that is necessary for a non-human to be differentiated from the standard monsters while traversing the interior of the dungeon.
It was one of the items I was recommended to prepare back in the Labyrinth City for when I go into the dungeons so that I can avoid idle conflicts with humans while within the dungeon. Of course I can still enter the dungeon without it. However, there are a lot of benefits to buying the necklace.
To illustrate, if I have this necklace equipped and I'm caught off guard and killed by some adventurers while in the dungeon, the other party's necklaces have a mechanism that will identify the criminals by emitting a red light.
It seems that even if the criminals get a new necklace or change out their old one for a different one, the necklace will still emit the red light. Then, when the crime comes to light, the guilds use all their power to thoroughly investigate it and arrest the criminal. The punishment they receive will vary depending upon the weight of their crime.
At any rate, apart from assisting a dying comrade, if someone kills a large number of people and steals their goods, following questioning, they will be subjected to capital punishment in the form of an indefinite period of forced manual labor.
Of course, there are loopholes, but since you can reduce the risk of being killed by other adventurers with this, the fact is that some degree of safety and sense of security can be obtained.
In addition, guild employees offer discounts at their stores, as well as various other privileges. However, the biggest bonus seems to be the ensured safety that comes with it.
The reason that Minokichi-kun was attacked before seems to be because the necklace was destroyed due to his growth during his[Rank Up]. However, this is the troublesome matter, it costs 5 silver coins per person to acquire one.
Moreover, after exploring a dungeon, if you intend to enter another one, you need to pay 5 silver coins again to get a necklace followed by 5 additional coins for each dungeon.
From what I hear, every time you enter a dungeon, it's necessary to have the necklace corresponding to that particular dungeon. Even if I try to save money by carrying the same necklace into other dungeons, the effect won't work outside of the dungeon it was created for.
It advises you of this by emitting a pale light from the gold plate that it is adorned to. It's a very greedy business. To enter a dungeon costs around 5 silver coins. It's a rather crafty practice utilizing the fact that one can easily earn money while traversing a dungeon
Setting aside the idle talk for the time being, I decided to enter the Mine of the Cyclops, one of Purgatory's dungeons.
Mine of the Cyclops is a common type of underground dungeon that, from what I hear, has 20 floors. The monsters are of intermediate strength that emerge from its depths. Since it doesn't go very deep, it's the perfect challenge for a one day vacation. Judging from the name, the image I had before entering was that of a rocky cave.
However, what I saw instead was a gloomy corridor that had paved floors and walls with the surface of the walls having a metallic color.
Although it may have been a bit difficult for a human to navigate the darkness, with my racial ability[Night Vision], it wasn't much of a problem for me. In addition, the few traps there were were quite easy to disarm since they had been installed poorly. For being geared towards adventurers of intermediate strength, it seemed kind of dull. While advancing, I felt a little unsatisfied of the difficulty.
On the ground, I found a goblin with dark skin who had all of the muscles on its body torn off by an ice axe. It's the kind of goblin known as a Mine Goblin.
Curious as to how it tasted, I immediately ripped off it's head with my silver arm and ate it. As for the taste, it was so-so, I guess. Although it wasn't delicious, I wouldn't go as far as to say it was an unpleasant taste. They were probably a common occurrence in this place.
I normally don't take a bite and then leave the body alone, however, I wanted to make several observations this time, so I left it to serve as an experiment. If a person dies in the dungeon, it appears after a certain amount of time has passed, the body of that person will disappear. This is something that I had Minokichi-kun's group check up on beforehand, however, it seems that I have indeed verified the truth for myself.
In addition, it seems that if I do not remove the body from the dungeon within this time frame, it will vanish even if I have it stored in my backpack.
I hear that the names of those who have fallen to the dungeon are carved into a huge memorial that's located in the public cemetery near the corner of the city.
In other words, I should eat humans and monsters not related to the dungeon before leaving the dungeon. However, it's strange that the dungeon's monsters can become ingredients.
When your provisions start to run out deep in a dungeon, it seems you can cook the dungeon monsters that you kill and eat them.
For that reason, I experimented to determine to what extent you could bring dungeon monsters back with you. With the one bite I'd taken still in my mouth, I picked up one of the Mine Goblin's fingers with my right hand.
Then I changed the shape of my silver arm to conceal another finger within it and then threw the right leg into my item box and left the rest of the body where it was. These are the results of the experiment.
When the body of the Mine Goblin disappeared, the finger in my right hand vanished as well, however, both the finger in my silver arm as well as the leg in my item box both remained.
I was a bit surprised about the leg in my item box, however, given the convenience of it, there were no complaints. If I were to guess the reason for these results, it won't disappear as long as you take it inside of your body.
In the case of my item box, I'm just going to wager a guess that it's also considered a part of my body, though I can't necessarily prove such.
At any rate, with this, I'll have some souvenirs for Kanami-chan and the others to look forward to.
While advancing forward along the shortest route possible, of which I had check up on during my little experiment. I systematically killed any monsters I encountered, ate some of their flesh and threw rest into my item box for later.
Like this, I quickly descended. Then, after around 4 hours had passed, I had arrived at the deepest part of the dungeon.
■ ■ ■
Two months ago, a dwarf by the name of Barth had met up with some people he had been friends with for years.
There, they had said that there was an item drop from a certain boss that they wanted dearly. It's been 1 month and 26 days since it was judged that possessing the item would be beneficial in the future.
The 5 person party Iron Sword Hunters led by a female adventurer, entered the dungeon[Mine of the Cyclops]. The dungeon has already been challenged many times with the aim of obtaining the boss item drop, but the stress had begun to build up.
In the lowest part of the dungeon where the boss could be located, in the safety zone where monsters don't appear, Arty, the one handed swordswoman that had tied her blond hair into a ponytail, made a final confirmation of their strategy together with her four comrades.
"I've said it many times, but regardless, if Longsword Bellula shows up, Zack will defend against the frontal attacks while Barth and I attack it's legs. Brianna and Aisha will use their best attacks on its flanks and rear."
"If Demon Songstress Hatchell shows up, Brianna and Aisha should unleash small attacks on her to keep her from singing. Zack will protect the pair while Barth and I move around behind it and attack repeatedly. Of course we need to deal with her mace from the start."
"Finally, if Quake Hammer Gründ shows up, use your standard attacks while being cautious of it's strong moves."
"Does everyone understand?"
Arty and the others had already challenged and killed the boss monsters many times over, but they had not yet been able to obtain the desired item, there were two big reasons for this.
The first reason is that the item they wanted so desperately had an extremely low rate to begin with. If it was something that easy to obtain, it wouldn't be worth all the effort they have put forth to obtain it. As it's a[Unique]class magical item that possesses an extraordinary ability, that fact makes it understandable that it is located in a special area.
The second reason is that there are multiple different bosses within this dungeon. There exists three types of Cyclops that gives this dungeon it's name as well as comprise of the boss monsters for the Mine of the Cyclops dungeon.
Wielding it's massive yet sturdy longsword as if it were a mere twig, the youngest Cyclops, Longsword Bellula.
Wielding a massive mace that uses powerful magical strikes as it's main method of attack, the female Cyclops, Demon Songstress Hatchell.
Finally, wielding an enormous spiked hammer that can cause the very earth to shake and buckle when it's smashed, the oldest and strongest of the three, Quake Hammer Gründ.
This is how the current state of affairs stand. The magical item that Arty's team desires to obtain can only be dropped from the strongest of the bunch, Quake Hammer Gründ.
The problem is that the chances for Gründ showing up compared to the other two is exceptionally low. Therefore, the magical item that they wish to obtain is quite difficult to get. While it's rather frustrating, it isn't something that can be helped.
"Yes, yes, we get it. So then, let's just head out immediately!"
Having already answered Arty's question, the Werebear, Zack, a bear that walks on two legs like a human equipped with his tower shield, with a fitting depiction of a bear head stricken upon it, and his electrified bastard sword.
Quite contrary to his ferocious appearance, the bear actually harbors an instinctual fear of humankind. He stands out everywhere given that he's covered in dense hair and has the habit of easily getting carried away.
"Now now, calm down little Zack. Don't get impatient on us."
After a quick admonishment on Zack, Arty turned towards the remaining three members of the group to check on if they were prepared. As their eyes met, all three of them gave a bland nod that signaled that they were prepared and ready to head out.
Barth the Dwarf was equipped with heavy armor and a morningstar.
Brianna possessed the [Conjurer] job and was wearing dark purple robes with a magical staff in her hand.
Aisha was dressed similar to that of a Shinto priest, carrying a footman's flail in her left hand. She also had numerous support items such as holy water and other consecrated materials.
"In that case… Let's quickly…"
Just as they were about to enter the boss room, their strategy meeting/break was cut short as a thunderous roar caused the ground to shake as if the earth was falling apart.
The furious tremors assaulted Arty's group and the sheer magnitude of it caused them to stop moving on the spot. The party of 5 people were forced to wait where they stood as it was as if the dungeon itself began to creak from the violent tremors to the point where it almost seemed as it it would collapse.
When the tremors finally stopped, the dust scattered about as if it was dancing. Small fragments of dirt and stone fell from the walls to the ground. The tremors were so fierce that they lingered and reverberated throughout the dungeon.
"Wha… what the? … Did someone enter before us..?"
Arty had been the first to recover from the tremors and had immediately inferred from her many experiences so far to attempt to discern the cause of the sound just now as well as the shaking.
She looked up towards the heavens while holding her right hand over her eyes. The behavior that she was expressing demonstrated her thoughts completely
-This just can't be happening!
"Crap guys! This is bad, it's the one we're after too! Hell, they must be rookies. Do they seriously not know about doing a strategy meeting before you attempt a boss fight!?"
The Werebear Zack grumbled vexingly while he clung zealously to Arty.
"Now now you two, calm yourselves. Such things CAN happen on occasion. In the first place they may have entered without knowing anything, so it can't be helped. It's fine though, is it not?"
"Aisha, you seriously are carefree. If it wasn't a rookie that came here this time, then we may not be able to even hunt Gründ!"
"Gagagagaga, yeah, it's fine. Since it's already happened, there isn't any reason to get all steamed up."
Arty immediately understood the cause of the disturbance, though the rest of her group didn't express their respective thoughts on the matter.
Naturally, Aisha went to comfort Arty and Zack who would become depressed as their long-awaited opportunity to strike Gründ may well have been lost. Brianna smiled wryly, even if she was a bit shocked while Barth's voice reverberated as he continued letting out his hearty laugh of his.
Furthermore, it was more or less because these 5 had become close over time that they tended to speak to each other without restraint. Though, there was a reason that the 5 of them reacted in this manner.
Fundamentally, it is common practice that before a boss room, there is a safe zone that you would pass through. Previously, if there is a party waiting, the other parties would queue up behind them to wait their turn at the boss. In short, this time around, someone didn't wait their turn and had sniped the party's intended target.
While this unique rule of adventurers isn't law, it is rather a pact and common understanding that was created to avoid pointless grudges between groups adventuring within dungeons. This has become a near ironclad practice within most Labyrinth Cities.
Though this may be the case, it doesn't mean that people must absolutely abide by it though. However, it's certainly true that most adventurers that want to avoid any unnecessary disputes do in fact follow it. The reason it works is that there aren't any real disadvantages to taking a break within the safe zone before challenging the boss.
Although someone might go out of order again like what happened this time, the grumbling of the 5 people quickly subsided. You might say that they had simply grown accustomed to this situation. The fight had already begun anyway so there isn't any point to further complaints.
Hmmm… shall we go and have a little look? I'm curious as to what the outcome will turn out to be."
As expected, Arty, the party leader, complied. She expressed a rather sinister smile given that her intentions behind observing the outcome of the rookie's fight between the boss was obvious. She wondered if the rookie wasn't aware of the rule.
She also wanted to know what kind of person they were as well. If possible she'd smile, but she seemed as if she had something on her mind that she wanted to say.
"I agree also. I want to see what kind of rookie they are anyways. Don't you agree Aisha?"
"You're right Brianna-san, if they get hurt then I'll need to heal them since life is so precious!"
"Kekekekekeke, me too! It's seems more interesting than sitting around here waiting for the next one."
"Well then, let's get moving without delay! Quickly, double time!"
Brianna, Aisha, Barth and Zack all offered their answers with enthusiasm.
Then, Arty and the other casually arrived in front of the doors to the boss room. Even though it hadn't even been a few minutes since the tremors had exploded throughout the dungeon.
Just as they reached the door, another tremor came through the huge doors to the boss room as the boss monster Quake Hammer Gründ swung his hammer down with a single blow as they made their entry.
In total, not even 10 minutes had yet passed since the boss fight had started. However, the scene that they were forced to bare witness to within the boss room from the doorway was overwhelming. The scene that opened before them was something far too terrifying.
"Wha…. what… is this?"
As it stood, the other four people couldn't even manage to offer an answer to the question Arty just whispered to herself. Their breath had been stolen from them as if the air within the room had disappeared.
Overcome with surprise, they were unable to avert their gaze anywhere else besides the scene. Their very consciousness locked to what was inside the boss room. The 5 people felt the same thing, an intense, almost impossible fear. The entire surface of the boss room floor was filled with a vast quantity of fresh blood.
In the center of the sea was the Cyclops. It had only it's right arm remaining as it was sobbing on the floor, as it made a pathetic and desperate attempt to crawl away to safety. The splendid gray beard of the Cyclops had been dyed deep red as it absorbed it's own blood and readily began to cling to it's skin.
Originally, the massive figure should be standing well over nine meters tall, however, it had shrunk quite a bit given that both of it's legs had been brutally severed from the thighs and the left arm had been ripped from the shoulder.
From the huge wounds where the limbs had parted from the body, dark red blood continued to flow endlessly and soaked the floor. In addition, the abdomen may have been cut open as a long section of entrails were spilling out behind him as he crawled on the floor. The contents growing further behind him as he went.
The scene that was most eye-catching, however, was the fact that Gründ kept crawling, as if he had long since stopped paying it any mind.
The fact is that until now, this Cyclops had nothing to fear, however, fear was the obvious reason for Gründ to act this way. Gründ's single remaining eye overflowed with tears as a strange scream that sent a chilling sensation down your spine.
Quake Hammer Gründ existed in the memories of Arty's group as they had encountered him several times before.
What manner of adversary arrived before his mighty hammer to cause such a crushing defeat to the point this proud monster was in total terror? Especially when he used to have the appearance that gave the most imposing air, the current form showed no sign nor trace of that figure ever existing.
However, the state that it was in, where it had become so weak that it was trying to desperately escape was unnerving. Finally, the sight of that… the Three-Horned Black… Demon, left the entire group including Arty in total terror.
Since there was such a great gap between Gründ and this Black Demon, they felt it even more so. This was no mere laughing matter. This Three-Horned Black Demon began to dismantle Gründ with a large sword as tall as he was while Gründ was still alive! The blade itself was rectangular similar to that of an oversized kitchen knife.
It took a moment, but Arty and the others began to put together that the being before them was likely a member of the[Lord]species. Since Arty and the others had associated with some Lords in the past, they understood that their combat ability is just as exceptional as that of a Dragonewt.
However, it's far out of the ordinary for it to have been able to finish off the dungeon boss and begin dismantling it before even 10 minutes had passed. Nevertheless, although Arty and her group no longer were dazed in fear as they had been before, they were unable to move their bodies.
Instead, they looked upon him with great respect, harboring feelings of admiration because of his great strength. The reason for this is that every member of Arty's group held a firm, near religious, conviction that those with the power to defeat mighty enemies within dungeons, whether through violence, wisdom, or any other such methods similar to financial power should be the ones to dictate what rules to follow and when order is challenged.
To stop admiring the owner of such overwhelming power out of simple fear was unimaginable. Still, why did they fear it? The reason was quite a simple one.
"This meat has quite a crunchy texture as I chew it... ahh, it becomes even more delicious that way… This rich blood has a strong taste… yet… it makes it easier to swallow… ahh, I want some more… Well, that certainly sets it… this Cyclops is fairly delicious."
Arty, who possesses[Job - Chivalrous Thief], part of the Scout job's tree of development, has abilities that excel at scouting out an enemy, she had surely heard the mutterings of the figure before her. So more than anything else, they had a natural fear of this Three-Horned Black Demon.
-("""""He's… He's eating it while… it's still alive… guu..""""")
The Cyclops, Quake Hammer Gründ, was without a doubt the strongest boss monster within the Mine of the Cyclops dungeon.
However, it had been one-sidedly dismantled while still alive, it's flesh and bones eaten.
"Urrgh…"
Arty, somehow, through great effort, had managed to suppress her rising nausea, enduring it without expelling the contents of her stomach. When people dive deep within a dungeon and the food supply they had prepared in advance runs out, they will often eat dungeon monsters to avoid starvation.
Arty and the rest of the group had also done this many times. In addition, there are some special and unique [Jobs] that can be acquired that make it necessary for you to eat monsters in order to continue living. That's why it's quite sensible to collect data on the many monsters you defeat.
This was their reason for not having an aversion to eating monsters, however, it's not possible to counteract poisons so that they wouldn't die without using special cooking methods.
That's why it's probably smart to refrain from eating Insect-type monsters, monsters that have grotesque appearances, as well as several key other types. However, as one would expect, it's hard to eat a target's meat in front of their prey while it's still alive.
Because the Cyclops is technically classified as both a[Giant]and a[Demon], it has some degree of intelligence, although typically not much. Because of this, Arty's party judged that the creature shouldn't be able to live in that current state, nor should it be possible to consume its flesh.
("""""This is too cruel…""""")
Though Gründ's right arm and leg that had already been cut off could not be found, they had just entered as the Black Demon had cut off the left leg, the meat that he had just been eating that seemed delicious to it.
Given this, it's likely that the right arm and right leg had probably already been eaten. Predicting this, Arty, as well as the rest of the party began to unconsciously tremble a little.
However, as they quietly watched the Black Demon eat the flesh, bones, and consume the fresh flowing blood of the left leg that had been nearly the same size as the Black Demon's body, in its entirety no less, their feet and minds seized with fear as they became quite nauseous.
Then, the Black Demon raised the large sword overhead with one hand, and while taking the last bite of the leg's remains, swung down at Gründ's remaining arm. The speed of the downward swing of the being was so fast that Arty and the rest of the party could only look on at the aftermath of the attack. Gründ's arm danced through the air as a fresh spray of blood spewed everywhere.
Gründ let out a scream of such strength that the very reverberation destroyed what remained of his voice. Though, the Black Demon seemed to take no notice as he caught the freshly caught arm in the other hand and began eating once again.
It was a truly gruesome scene to behold, combined with the speed in which the flesh and blood was being consumed, it surely should have been more than what his body could ever have hoped to take in, leaving Arty and her party with a surreal experience.
However, reality hadn't changed at all, they weren't dreaming, this was reality. Arty and the rest of her party continued to stand there, witnessing as Gründ was being systematically being divided and devoured right before their very eyes. It wouldn't be long before there would be nothing left of the former proud beast. At most, they guessed he wouldn't last even fifteen more minutes.
The sheer extent of Gründ's vitality was his own misfortune now as he would continue to survive until his head was eaten. As what would be expected, Arty and her group all felt a strong sensation of similar to that of pity for the beast. However, as the item drop from Gründ that had been desired by Arty and her party was retrieved by the Black Demon, it finally seemed to notice their presence.
As it's gaze met theirs, their minds went blank for a moment. Instantly, an unpleasant sweat covered their whole bodies as their teeth began to make loud chattering sounds.
The sheer, overwhelming terror they now felt was throwing their very thoughts into total disarray. Although their minds were spinning at an unbelievable speed, they could not determine what they should do in this situation.
During this time, the Black Demon was silently and steadily approaching where Arty and her party were standing. Aisha collapsed first, unable to withstand the Black Demon's unimaginable and overpowering aura.
Although Brianna had extended her hand as a reflex to support Aisha as she began to collapse backwards, she herself couldn't generate the strength necessary to support both bodies and collapsed with her.
However, because Brianna had reduced the force slightly with her last remaining strength, the impact was reduced enough in such that their heads didn't hit the floor hard, avoiding any noticeable injuries.
Despite this fact, no matter how much time passed, there was no sign from the two that they were getting up. Instead, neither moved at all.
If you had observed the scene closely enough, you would notice that Brianna had latched onto Aisha tightly and pretended as if they were dead. Since their bear's opponent was a complete and utter Demon, she thought that he would decide to escape rather than defend them.
After that moment, Zack had already begun to instinctively place his equipment on the ground and lied on his back after determining he had no chance to win. He then exposed his belly as his race's sign of total submission.
For a moment, Arty was about to ask if Zack had any pride at all, but she could fully understand his feelings. Arty's own hands and feet clattered as she trembled and she was already having trouble just keeping herself standing.
The resolution that Zack showed in surrendering without a fight was probably due to the fact that his strong instincts as a Beastman compelled his very body to do so.
Barth was the only one still standing upright without moving. His splendid beard surely seemed to not just be for show to have such bravery in this situation.
They even thought, "As expected of the oldest among us," however, it was only due to the fact that the little dwarf had already fainted, his small stature and short legs supporting him and not falling over.
Noticing this she thought, "Come now, that's too pitiful!", she wanted to revoke her previous impression of the old dwarf.
Although Arty thought she had discarded her tendency to escape from reality, as expected, her mind had reached her limit as the Black Demon closed the distance enough to reach out to her with it's hand.
("... I'll… be killed…")
As she thought this, the image of the crying and pitiful Gründ flashed into her mind with vivid detail. The meat was carved using such precision that he wouldn't die even as his head was picked up and was being devoured.
He had been desperately trying to crawl away until each of his limbs had been severed, his guts spilling out all across the floor in his futile attempt to escape. He had stayed alive, while being consumed until the very end where it's final sight was the 2, cold eyes, of the Black Demon as it was eaten. This chilling image overwhelmed her mind.
(I'll… be… guuh…. eaten…")
The Black Demon opened his mouth a little, his sharp fangs made themselves visible. Their resemblance was that of white metal with red staining the interior.
His dreadful voice overflowed without any connection to his intentions. It was at the same time that she had finally lost the last of her strength in her legs and lower body to the point where she softly sat down on the spot, her abdomen became wet as a certain degree of freedom had overcame her senses.
Understanding what had just happened, her face began to burn with the sheer shame of what had just occurred, but her fear was suppressing any of these feelings as her body refused to get back up.
The reason for that is that the Black Demon's eyes were locked to her own, her consciousness was solely fixed on him.
"Hmmm? Tired? Well…. ah, here, this will help."
The Black Demon lightly said something, then he placed a high quality piece of cloth that was both long and narrow across Arty's shoulders with his large, highly trained hand.
Arty had long since lost the ability to process the situation, her mind frozen and blank as her eyes could no longer even follow the shape of the figure speaking to her.
The words of the Black Demon echoed through her mind as it was as if all time had frozen, her mind simply couldn't process what had just happened.
It wasn't until the Black Demon's presence had completely disappeared that she slowly began to regain her senses.
"Wh…. Whaa?...... What in the …. world…."
Arty muttered this, but not even she heard herself say it.
■ ■ ■
The Cyclops boss monster that resided on the lowest floor was quite big, so it seemed that it would take some time to eat it's entire body.
For that reason I decided to cut off the limbs and eat it while it was still alive so that it wouldn't disappear on me.
I used the magical item [Giant's Long-Lasting Carving Knife] which I had purchased at the Royal Capital to dismantle the Cyclops and gradually eat the delicious and crunchy flesh.
[Ability learned: Earth Shaking Hammer]
[Ability learned: Giant's Bloodline]
I had gained two new abilities. Even setting [Giant's Bloodline] aside for now, the [Earth Shaking Hammer] seemed as if it would be fairly useful.
However, the abilities are not really that particularly important to me this time. After I had completely devoured the Cyclops, the following broken into my vision.
["Frontier Psalm"[Hammer Cyclops]has been Completed by Clearing Conditions:[Solo Kill][Flawless Victory][Continuous Living Predation].]
[Yatendouji has been Assigned the Rare Skill[Three Steps of Destruction].]
[Yatendouji has been Assigned the Rare Skill[One Who Eats the Living].]
[Yatendouji has been Awarded the[Unique]Class Magical Item [Demon's Smithing Hammer].]
[Yatendouji has been Awarded the [Grand Ordeal Breakthrough Celebratory item[First Attempt Restricted Deluxe Edition]].]
Hmm, it seems that if you kill a dungeon boss under certain conditions, it's possible for the[Book of Psalms]to record the kill.
By the way, when I saw the entry[Solo Kill]I decided to contact Minokichi-kun via his cuff to find out if he had cleared it as well. However, he couldn't comprehend it since it seems the times he saw something similar to what I was describing, he wasn't completely conscious and thus had stated that he completely forgot about it.
It seems that it was displayed for Minokichi-kun as well though. Ah well, there's no changing the past. It's not an urgent matter either.
After I killed the Cyclops, as I was about to leave, I noticed that there were 5 people, both men and women standing in the doorway with their gazes fixated in my direction.
The people in the doorway were a one-handed swordswoman who appeared to be the leader of the group, a young Werebear holding a large shield, an old Dwarf with a splendid beard, a human woman that was most likely a Conjurer, and a young human woman that appeared to be a battle cleric.
I guess they were a party that had intended to challenge the boss room next after me, so I decided it would be best to keep the exchange brief with a small greeting. As I approached though, the young female cleric fainted. As she slowly fell backwards, I noticed that she showed the whites of her eyes.
The female magician besides the young women embraced her closely in order to protect her as she fell, but it seems that she was too fatigued to support her as well as the 2 fell together to the ground. Although this one seemed to still be conscious, she didn't try to get back up, I wondered why but simply assumed that she was also exhausted.
The young Werebear had removed his equipment and lied down, showing me his stomach. Though in all honestly I hesitated to touch the belly of the unfamiliar Werebear. Though his fur had gotten a little dirty, it still had a pleasant feeling similar to that of a fluffy pillow or sofa.
The old Dwarf was standing at attention, perhaps out of respect for me given that I was alone. However, it seems that it was too much for the old Dwarf as he quickly fainted as well. Even as he fainted from probable total exhaustion due to his old age, he still showed an extreme level of discipline as he maintained his stance even as he had fallen unconscious.
Only the female leader had remained standing, though her limbs were trembling. Each time I took a step forward her body flinched in response, her eyes beginning to tear up as I drew near.
I didn't do anything bad, however, I suppose it was a combination of exhaustion combined with my presence. I suppose since they were quite tired already, the shock of my short warm-up and snack was a bit much for them.
The moment I tried to call out to the female leader, she immediately sunk down and became incontinent. Since it wasn't any use, I just quickly passed her. It didn't seem like anyone would pursue me for now.
Although her friends were the only ones in this place besides me, I thought she's probably be embarrassed like that so I handed her a towel made from my thread as I quickly greeted her and made my way out.
Well, in the end they didn't say so much as a word and I made my way in the opposite direction in order to return to the surface.
I had no problems getting out after that and I flew through the sky again in order to return to the Amber Palace from the back streets. Today, I only gained 2 new abilities from the Cyclops, though, since it was a good harvest, I'd say that it was a day well spent.