—Zenith Tower Babel: 2nd Floor – Grass-Covered Plains Area.
The plains covered in green grass and the dark green shrubs growing
sparsely around make this a floor that has a good field of view.
"Eugene-kun, the scenery is not that different from the 1st Floor." (Sumire)
"Don't lower your guard, Sumire. Monsters appear in the 2nd Floor."
(Eugene)
"Yes, understood!" (Sumire)
Sumire answered with a nervous tone.
That said, it is only extremely weak monsters that are danger rank 1.
Even if they were to bite you, the most they would do is make you bleed a
bit.
"Sumire, don't get too far from me. My barrier magic and healing magic
only has a range of a few steps from where I am standing." (Eugene)
"Okay! I will be careful!" (Sumire)
This is a point that I have cautioned her countless times in this one week.
The range of my magic is extremely small.
This is also the reason why I haven't been able to form a party.
I can't heal several people at once.
I can't really say I am an exemplary healer.
Thanks to that, I have barely acted in teams.
The only time I was in a team was when I was in a duo with Sara.
"A-Alright. Bring it on!" (Sumire)
Sumire readied her shield that we bought at the armor store of the academy.
That sight of hers restlessly looking around cautiously is endearing.
But there's a problem.
No monsters were showing up no matter how much time passed.
"Eugene-kun, there's no monsters." (Sumire)
"…That's strange." (Eugene)
We tried wandering around the 2nd Floor randomly, but no monsters were
coming at all.
I saw a Horned Rabbit for a second there, but when it saw us, it quivered
and jolted off in an instant.
I glanced at Sumire.
And then, I noticed.
Sumire is an Ifrit.
She has a massive amount of mana overflowing from her.
It is not going out of control and coming out as fire, but the amount of mana
she has is still there.
I am used to seeing magic creatures in the Animal Club, so it didn't bother
me much, but the mana of an Ifrit must be a threat for normal monsters.
They are running away the instant they see Sumire.
(This won't serve as a dungeon exploration experience…) (Eugene)
"Sumire, let's go to the dungeon elevator and go to the 5th Floor." (Eugene)
"Eh?! All of a sudden? Will that be okay?" (Sumire)
"It looks like there aren't many monsters today." (Eugene)
I didn't tell Sumire…that her mana is scaring the monsters.
We headed to a higher floor.
◇5th Floor of the Zenith Tower Babel◇
The scenery is still that of a grass-covered plain.
It should have been a sea of fire 7 days ago, but it is already back to
normal.
This is thanks to the fire fighting efforts of the dungeon staff and the selfrestoration functions of the Zenith Tower.
"There's no monsters~." (Sumire)
"…"
There actually are…
I can feel their presence.
I can feel the gaze of monsters observing us from afar.
Looks like the monsters are scared of Sumire who turned this place into a
sea of fire.
The monsters here are even more scared of her than in the 2nd Floor.
To think it would be to this degree.
No choice but to head up, huh…
But going to the 6th Floor in your first exploration is quite the record, you
know?
You normally don't go up floors this fast.
In my case, it took several days to go up each floor.
— "Parallel world reincarnators are special after all. It is better to not judge
her with our common sense."
I remember the words of Principal Uther who was saying this while
brushing his beard and grinning.
I see, it is as the Academy Principal says.
When we moved to the 6th Floor, monsters began to approach us from here
and there.
The ones who appeared were Ash Wolves.
Danger Rank 2 monsters.
"T-They are here, Eugene-kun!" (Sumire)
Sumire raised her voice, flustered.
"Calm down, Sumire. I will assist you at your side." (Eugene)
But I am not the one who will be dealing with this. I will be solely leaving
this to Sumire.
First, I would like her to observe the actions of the monsters calmly.
The Ash Wolves are decently dangerous monsters, but it is plenty possible
for a beginner to deal with them if they are cautious.
"Alright! Come!" (Sumire)
I heard the motivated voice of Sumire.
By the way, I didn't let her hold a weapon.
She only has a shield for defense.
My aim here is to have her learn to protect herself first.
The mana surrounding Sumire's body grew stronger as if reacting to that.
The mana is increasing by reacting to her emotions?
Her usual mana is astounding, but the mana of a motivated Ifrit is on a
whole other level.
A massive amount of mana…enough to match 10 Superior Rank Mages
was covering the body of Sumire.
So this is the power of the legendary Ifrit…
The red mana coming out from Sumire…was burning the ground.
This burning mana was running across the ground, and it reached all the
way to the Ash Wolves.
The Ash Wolves raised a pitiful 'kyain' cry and ran away.
…It must have been hot.
"E-Eh…? They left." (Sumire)
Sumire was dumbfounded with her shield still in place.
(Seriously? She scared the monsters away just from showing her mana…)
(Eugene)
"Lucky us." (Eugene)
"Y-Yeah." (Sumire)
Sumire tilted her head as if unconvinced.
At that moment, I suddenly noticed something.
"Hm? Isn't your shield burning?" (Eugene)
"Eh?! Wawa! It really is! Oh no, I have to put it out!" (Sumire)
The shield of Sumire was bright red.
But now that I look closely, it seems strange.
The shield burning red was not catching fire and was simply releasing faint
light.
This is…
"…It has been enchanted with fire…?" (Eugene)
"Enchanted?" (Sumire)
"It is a spell that allows you to add an element to your weapon or armor.
You normally would need to cast a spell specifically for the enchantment
though." (Eugene)
Looks like the mana of Sumire has the enchant effect as well.
The shield enchanted with fire element shone red for a while.
"Wow…so you can do something like this just by putting mana into it?"
(Eugene)
"Hm?" (Sumire)
Looks like Sumire doesn't understand just how incredible that is.
Enchanting a weapon or a piece of armor isn't easy.
There aren't many mages who can use enchant magic, and you would
require a decent amount of money to hire one.
If people learned of this power of hers, people who would invite Sumire to
dungeon explorations would show up.
…My time as her guardian might be shorter than I thought.
That's the feeling I got.
"Eugene-san?" (Sumire)
"It is nothing. Let's continue on." (Eugene)
I brushed off that sliver of sadness, and headed to a higher floor of the
dungeon.
I would like her to experience battling monsters even if only a bit.
But there was a miscalculation.
I didn't expect how incredible an Ifrit was.
The Big Wolf in the 7th Floor that is as big as a calf and very ferocious, the
Big Black Bear whose turf is the 8th Floor, and a demonic beast that is
twice the size of a human residing in the 9th Floor… It is a fearsome
demonic beast called the Red Lion that controls fire magic, but…
(((…We are not going to get in your way, so go ahead and pass…)))
Is basically what they were saying since they were not attacking us at all.
Especially the Red Lion. The moment it saw the Fire Godkin** Sumire, it
jumped back, and was trembling at a distance that was just barely in sight.
…You…
Didn't you come pouncing at me at the time I came to the 9th Floor as if
saying 'prey!'?!!
Looks like fire demonic beasts can't go against the Fire Godkin Sumire.
In the end, we didn't get a decent fight from the 6th Floor to the 9th Floor.
Oi oi, she just lined up with my best record…
"Eugene-kun, what should we do…? If we go up here, it will be the domain
of the Floor Boss, right?" (Sumire)
"Yeah…" (Eugene)
"We arrived faster than expected." (Sumire)
Sumire was dumbfounded by this.
—10th Floor.
I can't believe we arrived all the way here on the first day.
I have not been on the 10th Floor either.
However, I have seen it in the Satellite System.
The one here is the first Floor Boss of the Zenith Tower.
I have not challenged it before, but…
I glanced at the face of Sumire.
Her initial tension is gone.
A loose expression.
This isn't good.
Being too tense is bad too, but not having a sense of danger is the sign of a
short-lived explorer.
The talent to get all the way to the 9th Floor without any issues.
I am sure she will pass me in the blink of an eye and become an outstanding
explorer.
But it would be dangerous for her to move ahead without meeting any
monsters all the way to the 9th Floor in her first exploration and have her
think 'so this is it?'.
As her guardian, I want her to bring back some kind of experience.
"Let's check out the Floor Boss." (Eugene)
I proposed to Sumire.
"B-Boss?! W-Will it be okay?" (Sumire)
"It is safe as long as you don't enter the territory of the Floor Boss."
(Eugene)
And if push comes to shove, I just have to protect Sumire with everything I
have.
Even if I can't protect a large group of people, I have confidence in
protecting one person.
My conversation at the underground prison replayed in my mind.
— "Even a Demon Lord like me might have a hard time wounding you,
Eugene." (Eri)
— "Really, Eri?" (Eugene)
— "Yeah, you should be more confident, Eugene." (Eri)
Even the Demon Lord Eri has given me her seal of approval.
That's why it should be alright…I think.
"I-I see… Okay. If Eugene-kun says so!" (Sumire)
Sumire smiled.
A face that's putting her trust in me.
(…Let's go.) (Eugene)
I take a deep breath.
We slowly go up the stairs to the 10th Floor.