(…What a pain.)
"Wow, that's so cool! How much was it!?"
Il's eyes sparkled as he admired Senji's sword.
"Around 200,000 sils."
"T-T-Two hundred thousand!? That's amazing! Are you rich!?"
"Aah."
"Wow! My family's really poor, and I only have this cheap weapon… I wish I could get a sword like that…"
Senji thought to himself.
(Is this guy even aware of how annoying he's being?)
It had been about thirty minutes since Senji had saved the boy named Il. They had progressed from the second to the fourth floor.
Il had begged Senji to accompany him, claiming he wouldn't be able to make it back on his own. Reluctantly, Senji agreed, but he was quickly starting to regret his decision.
The reason? Il's incessant chatter.
In one word, annoying.
(One question after another, followed by sob stories about his unfortunate life, and to top it off, he's got that obvious 'please give me something' vibe. I should've just left him to die.)
Il had been going on and on, unprompted, about how his family was poor, how he had a sick little sister, how he'd gotten separated from his childhood friend in the dungeon, how he's been unlucky his whole life—but he has to try hard for his family's sake. And through all of it, Il kept eyeing Senji's sword with a hungry look.
Senji might've been able to tolerate the looks, but what really grated on him was Il's constant begging. Though Il hadn't directly asked for the sword, he'd been hinting about it and subtly suggesting that Senji was rich and fortunate compared to him.
It was clear that Il had grown accustomed to getting things simply by looking needy. And that attitude was seriously testing Senji's patience.
"So, Mary-san, what do you do with swords you don't need anymore?"
"What about you?"
Despite Il's constant attempts to beg, Senji's irritation was reaching its peak.
"I… I tend to hold onto things for too long, I guess."
"I toss them as soon as they're no good."
"Wow, that sounds nice! Maybe I'll try that next time… Oh!"
Suddenly, Il's previously carefree face turned serious. In a swift motion, he drew his cheap sword and stared down the corridor ahead of them.
"There's something here."
"I know. Stay back."
Pushing Il behind him, Senji also turned to face the presence lurking deeper down the dark corridor. Soon enough, heavy footsteps echoed closer, and a glowing red eye locked onto them.
"…A Cyclops."
Il's voice trembled as he identified the creature.
A Cyclops—a giant with a single eye. It wielded a massive club in its right hand, and even a single blow could crush a person's body entirely.
It was one of the strongest monsters found between the first and tenth floors, and many rookie adventurers met their end at its hands.
Il, who had struggled against goblins and kobolds earlier, was understandably terrified. But Senji didn't flinch; he smirked slightly and drew his sword.
(Finally.)
After all, this was the monster Senji had been hoping to encounter when he entered the dungeon.
"M-Mary-san!"
"Just watch and learn."
As soon as their eyes met, the Cyclops charged with surprising speed, swinging its club down at Senji. With ease, Senji sidestepped the attack, but immediately, the Cyclops's free hand came at him from the other side. With quick reflexes, Senji used his sword to vault over the giant's arm, landing on it before launching himself higher, plunging his blade straight into the Cyclops's single eye.
The Cyclops roared in agony, but Senji ignored its cries, using the opening to land another strike.
Even so, it took far more hits than the weaker goblins or kobolds. Senji had to slice at it repeatedly, covering the giant in blood, before finally thrusting his sword upward from under its jaw, piercing through to its brain. The massive creature collapsed.
As the body was absorbed by the dungeon, a slightly larger magic stone than usual was left behind.
(That was tougher than the other ones, but still manageable.)
Confirming he hadn't taken any injuries, Senji picked up the magic stone.
"That was amazing! So incredible, Mary-san!"
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. That was just a lower-floor monster."
Generally, the first to tenth floors were considered the lower layers, the eleventh to twentieth floors the middle layers, and the twenty-first to thirtieth floors the upper layers. Anything beyond that was considered unexplored territory by most.
Though, as Senji had learned in the grand library, there were records of past heroes reaching up to the seventy-fifth floor. It was likely that some exceptionally strong individuals, like Rinyu or elite knights, could venture up to the fiftieth floor.
Back to the matter at hand.
As Senji stored the magic stone, Il rushed over to him, eyes full of admiration.
"You're so cool! That was awesome!"
"Thanks."
"By the way, how long have you been an adventurer?"
Senji hesitated but decided to be honest. After all, Il would figure it out from his adventurer's card anyway.
"One day. But I've trained outside the dungeons, so fighting isn't an issue."
"Only one day!? Wow, that's impressive! So you made money somewhere else before this?"
"…Yeah."
"That's so cool! Maybe the sword helps too, right?"
"Maybe."
"What about your previous sword? Was that a good one too?"
"It was decent."
"I'd love to try holding a weapon like that, even just once…"
Il's non-stop praise was one thing, but his constant hints that he wanted Senji's belongings were becoming unbearable. Fed up, Senji decided to change the subject.
"By the way, didn't you say you were with your childhood friend? Where are they?"
"Uh, we got separated in the dungeon, but she's way stronger than me. She's probably fine."
"Of course she's stronger. You're weak."
"Haha… yeah, I guess."
Il scratched his head, laughing awkwardly. Senji thought to himself that it wasn't a laughing matter, but frankly, he didn't care enough to warn the boy. Whether Il lived or died was of no consequence to him.
"Well, if we find her, we'll take her back with us."
"Yes, please!"
After receiving a spirited reply, Senji spotted the stairs leading down to the fifth floor. The deeper they went, the stronger the monsters would become. Perhaps he would encounter an even stronger Cyclops or something similar.
With that thought, Senji and Il descended to the fifth floor. However, after about ten minutes, both of them noticed something unusual.
"There are no monsters. Hey, is this normal?"
"No… I've heard that the knights have been clearing them out recently, but I've never seen it this empty… Something's wrong! We should go back, Mary-san!"
Il's expression was tense, and Senji couldn't deny that something felt off. Still, his main objective had already been met, so there was no need to push any further. Just as he was about to suggest they retreat, he sensed something approaching from ahead.
A monster emerged from the darkness, its appearance strikingly humanoid. Its skin was black, its sclera black with crimson irises. Although slender, the tightly coiled muscles beneath its skin suggested strength far beyond the Cyclops they had fought earlier.
Senji recognized it instantly from the illustrations in the grand library.
"…An Ogre."
"Ogre!? That's a monster that only appears above the twenty-fifth floor! What's it doing here on the fifth!?"
Il's panicked voice echoed down the corridor, but Senji remained calm. It wasn't impossible for an Ogre to wander to lower floors, just unusual.
"Il, stay back. I might struggle a bit, but it's not unbeatable."
"Y-Yes."