It was around the time between breakfast and lunch.
This was the first time I helped with meal preparation during this training camp.
"We should encounter a Metal Pepper soon."
I filleted three fish and sprinkled salt on the white meat placed on kitchen paper. I removed excess moisture and firmed up the meat. In the meantime, I mixed strong flour, weak flour, and dry yeast with water and salt.
"I don't have sugar or butter, but oh well."
I wanted to make pizza dough. I kneaded it in a frying pan as a makeshift bowl, covered it with wrap, and let it rest in the shade.
"Considering the temperature... around 20 minutes should do."
I opened the cans of whole tomatoes and tuna I brought and started preparing a simple sauce by adding garlic.
"Oh... I didn't bring basil or anything."
I saw some weeds called nobiru growing everywhere.
"Let's stir-fry that and use it as a substitute for herbs."
I tore it into small pieces and washed it lightly with water.
"Hmm, it seems to be losing moisture."
I sprinkled weak flour on half of the fish meat, which I had already removed excess moisture from, and let it rest again. The rest of it was planned to be used as toppings for the pizza.
"Kay, I'll leave the fire to you. Since we don't have a kiln, fire is our life. Be careful with the heat, start with low heat."
"Huh? Oh, okay."
"Now, I need to prepare the side dishes."
I took a potato and used a knife to peel it in the same way as peeling an apple. I removed the sprouts and put it in a pot filled with water to prevent discoloration.
"Amachi-san... You're good at cooking, aren't you?"
Maria, who was working next to me, looked surprised as she watched me handle the kitchen knife.
"Oh, yeah. I've lived alone for a long time, so I've learned by observing others. It's really nothing special."
"I see..."
Maria, who probably hadn't cooked much, was awkwardly peeling the potatoes, with a lot of flesh still attached to the skin.
"Instead of forcing yourself to peel the skin, should we boil them first? Then you can peel them easily afterward. You can also eat the potatoes with the skin on. They can be mashed or fried, and they taste good too."
"I-I see..."
As I talked with Maria and efficiently cooked the food, I began to think about the dungeon.
"Senpai is the head chef, huh?"
"I didn't know you had this side to you. I might have to reevaluate my opinion of you. My mother at home would be happy too."
"As expected of the master... Amachi-san."
.
.
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Overview of the Dungeon. There are four levels of difficulty in order: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and super.
The route boss of Megashuva is considered an extra stage, so it can be excluded from consideration for now.
In this world, monsters in the dungeon cannot leave unless it is for the story or specific events. The game setting explains this is due to the different ranks of the dungeon.
The monsters in the dungeon are actually low-ranking demons. They are creatures that reside in other worlds and other ranks, including contiguous dungeons in this world.
According to the setting, when Maniacs and the Knights of the Apocalypse commit a certain number of human annihilation, the rank of the world decreases. At that stage, the monsters that are not supposed to leave the dungeon flood the world. This is the setting of Megashuva's bad ending, where the dungeon monsters are released into the world, leading to the complete destruction of civilization and the end of everything.
There is no further explanation beyond this, and there are no additional scenarios. In the bad ending, the mysterious trumpet BGM begins to play every time, and the scenario is briefly described in three lines before fading to black.
Now, let's consider the super-level dungeon. There are many boss-class enemies with the highest level of difficulty here.
It is estimated that my combat ability, having defeated Yamamoto Maniacs single-handedly, is already at least on the level of the first stage of the super level. I may have already surpassed my limits.
There are ten stages in the super level dungeon. If I were to descend further, could I still win? To be honest, it's questionable.
Among these monsters are creatures that exceed the combat abilities of several Maniacs. These include powerful individuals who possess rare items and enormous experience point bonuses.
The Copycat, a monster that completely mimics the appearance and abilities of others, is a boss-class monster group in the super-level dungeon. Defeating them guarantees a rare drop of the unique item, Laurel Crown Apollo's Blessing, which they possess.
The Venom Slime is a slime-type monster whose poison liquefies. Its physical body is powerful acid, and it is a formidable foe with physical immunity. Defeating it results in obtaining the rare skill of complete debuff weakening resistance.
Asura, a demon god who can manipulate any weapon. It is a monster with six arms and possesses six sets of equipment that are exclusively for star five characters. Defeating it will earn the unique item of equipment for six people.
Shadow Dragon Skatha. It is a giant dragon that lurks in pure darkness.
The body of the dragon is hidden in the shadows, and the visible parts are actually shadows, making it a monster that can easily deceive first-time encounters. Although damage can be dealt by attacking the shadows, it has enormous HP and is a dragon with a completely black appearance.
The bonus for defeating it is the right to acquire Maria's unique skill of the Shadow Emblem.
The Super Dungeon is an important aspect for me, but what I'm most interested in is the Collaboration Dungeon.
To be precise, it's a collaboration event. It was a big draw for the summer event.
The company that made Megashuva has created several games and novels, and has incorporated characters, weapons, and items from those works into Megashuva using the Star Systerissa system.
Star Galaxy is a shooting novel game set in space.
It's a game full of SF and tokusatsu, where you swing a lightsaber called Cherenkov and engage in sword fighting or travel the planets by spaceship. Giant warriors from planets of light also appear, and there are also transforming heroes that tend to appear on Sunday mornings.
In the end, you fight against the evil dark lord Veda to protect the peace of the universe, that's the kind of game it is.
It's a game full of silly homages.
"But it's the worst game of the year."
The world of Megashuva is based on modern times, but it's a world where fantasy and modern times with magic and dungeons are warped together.
On the other hand, Star Galaxy is a game with a universe-spanning world view.
So, powerful and outrageous weapons tend to appear, such as warp drives for spaceships and planet-destroying weapons.
"That's why it's insanely strong."
That's right. There are collaboration characters that can be summoned with powers that don't correspond to skills, arts, or weapons, and with restrictions.
Even when heavily nerfed, they are still incredibly powerful.
They were only distributed to the top seven early conquerors during the event.
I didn't have them either. It was impossible to get them even by spending money like water in Megashuva, which was a pay-to-win game.
I desperately wanted them, but it was just a dream.
The early conquerors were official cheat players and were called the Conquest Group.
They were the ones who took the lead in conquering the unreasonable game of Megashuva.
Many players were helped by the Conquest Group's wiki guide.
I was one of them.
However, I'm the only player in this world.
"I can finally make one of my dreams come true. I can finally obtain it in this world."
It's like a guy suddenly coming into a fantasy world with SF items in hand and making a surprise attack.
"I won... "
It's my trump card against the End Knight.
The strongest in a fantasy world??? It's just a weakling who's only the boss of a mountain on this planet.
"How lukewarm. My stomach hurts."
Feeling the presence of summer, I shouted.
"I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna get it! I'll destroy the fantasy world! Don't underestimate the power of super civilization!!!"
"Oh, Suguru-kun is broken again."
"It's always like this. Senpai always makes that face like she just ate something sour, and then suddenly starts shouting like that. She's a strange person."
"That's right. It's always like this. Komachi-chan, help me set the dishes."
"Okay."
"I did it! Everyone! Let's eat a lot of food and hunt the Metal Peppa today!"
After finishing the cooking, I announced it to everyone.