Chapter 44
The next morning.
After breakfast, Felicia and I headed to the Adventurers' Guild.
"Has the Mithril Golem been defeated yet?"
"No. As of this morning, we haven't received a report that it's been defeated."
The receptionist reiterated her warning.
"It's the boss of the twentieth floor. If you think it's too dangerous, be sure to turn back."
"Understood."
We left the guild and headed for the Western Dungeon.
I wore the Black Steel Lizard light armor I'd bought yesterday. Felicia had her Silverwood Staff, too.
We put all our food, water, blankets, and simple tent into Storage.
We entered the dungeon and used the teleportation stone on the first floor to travel to the tenth.
"This is where we start."
"Yes."
Our destination today wasn't the fifteenth floor.
It was the twentieth.
◇
Not long after descending to the eleventh floor, we encountered two Steel Lizards.
One leaped at me.
I dodged its bite and drove the Flamefang Sword between its neck and torso.
【You acquired 800P】
Felicia took down the other one with a Magic Bullet.
"It's easier to aim than before."
She said, looking at the Silverwood Staff.
"So buying it was worth it."
We put both bodies into Storage.
From there on, we continued to encounter monsters.
Iron Wolves, Armored Apes, Blood Boars, and Shadow Panthers.
Sometimes there was just one, and sometimes three appeared together.
Each time I defeated a monster, I gained P for it.
【You acquired 200P】
【You acquired 400P】
【You acquired 600P】
Before, we'd had to stop to cut off materials, but now all we had to do was put the monsters we'd defeated into Storage whole.
By the time we cleared the eleventh floor, we'd already stored nearly ten monsters.
The twelfth floor was much the same.
There were Metal Scorpions, but also Steel Lizards, Iron Wolves, and even Death Horns.
I couldn't quite dodge a Metal Scorpion's tail in time, and its stinger struck my left arm.
Clang!
"Allen-san!"
"I'm fine!"
The Black Steel Lizard light armor had stopped it.
There wasn't even a scratch.
"...I'm glad I bought this."
I thrust the Flamefang Sword into a gap between its carapace plates.
【You acquired 1,000P】
We were defeating monsters and collecting materials at a completely different pace than before.
We proceeded through the thirteenth and fourteenth floors with hardly any stops.
Crystal Horns.
Cave Wyverns.
Blade Mantises.
Metal Scorpions.
Even on the same floor, we encountered many different kinds of monsters, and their numbers varied from place to place.
Felicia's Magic Bullets had clearly gotten faster, too.
"Magic Bullet!"
She fired two shots at one Cave Wyvern, then immediately switched targets to another and fired one more.
Using the Silverwood Staff had shortened the time it took her to channel magic into her next Magic Bullet.
"It really suits you."
"I think so, too."
We put away all the fallen monsters and entered the fifteenth floor.
This place looked different from the last time we'd been here, too.
A Blade Mantis swung its scythe down.
Before, I would have carefully kept my distance.
Now I could get in close.
I stepped inside the arc of its scythe and swept the Flamefang Sword across its neck.
【You acquired 1,300P】
We encountered several more monsters after that, but none of them held us up for long.
I checked the display.
【Balance: 13,965P】
【Total P Acquired: 56,075P】
"You already have over ten thousand?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to buy anything?"
"Not yet. I can buy something partway through if I need it."
There was a floor boss on the twentieth floor.
It wouldn't be too late to buy something after seeing what we were up against.
We took a short break, then headed to the unfamiliar sixteenth floor.
◇
When we descended to the sixteenth floor, shallow water flowed over the stone floor.
"The ground looks slippery."
"Let's be careful."
The water's surface rippled.
A blue-black-scaled Aqua Serpent leaped out.
Three of them.
One slid toward us over the water.
I dodged to the side and cut its neck.
【You acquired 1,400P】
I quickly took down the second one, too.
【You acquired 1,400P】
Felicia finished off the last one.
After that, we encountered Rock Turtles, Blade Mantises, Metal Scorpions, and others many times.
It seemed the deeper floors weren't inhabited by just one type of monster.
The seventeenth floor had lots of rock pillars and a low ceiling.
That was where we encountered an Iron Ogre for the first time.
Its skin was like black metal.
Its club smashed into the rocky floor.
"I don't want to take a hit from that."
I dodged its attack and drove the Flamefang Sword into its flank.
It was hard.
But not so hard I couldn't cut it.
I struck the same spot again.
【You acquired 2,000P】
"Two thousand..."
The deeper the floor, the more P we seemed to get.
On the eighteenth floor, a Storm Wyvern flew through a vast cavern.
It was bigger and faster than a Cave Wyvern.
One of them swooped down at us.
I dodged its claws and cut its wing before it could climb again.
When it fell, I struck its neck.
【You acquired 1,800P】
Felicia also fired a rapid volley of Magic Bullets at another one in the air.
"It's falling!"
Her compressed Magic Bullet hit its wing, and its enormous body crashed to the ground.
After that, we fought monsters several times while searching for the stairs.
We put every monster we defeated into Storage.
"How many do you think we have in there?"
"I stopped counting."
"The butchering area is going to have a hard time when we get back."
"Let's apologize in advance."
We descended to the nineteenth floor.
As we made our way through the black rock walls, Iron Ogres, Storm Wyverns, Rock Turtles, Blade Mantises, and other monsters appeared one after another.
Felicia had defeated about as many as I had.
Once I'd cut down the last Crystal Horn, we finally saw the stairs farther ahead.
【You acquired 1,100P】
I opened the display.
【Balance: 35,265P】
【Total P Acquired: 77,375P】
"Thirty-five thousand..."
"That much?"
"I've gained 34,800P just today."
"In one day?!"
I had no idea how many dozens of monsters we'd defeated since the eleventh floor.
And it wasn't just P.
Storage was packed with whole monsters.
Being able to enter the deeper floors had changed the way we earned P altogether.
"...The twentieth floor."
Felicia looked toward the stairs at the far end.
"Let's rest a little before we go."
"Yes."
We drank some water and had a light meal.
I opened Membership.
【Balance: 35,265P】
We could buy three Skills that cost ten thousand P each.
But I wasn't going to buy anything now.
I could wait until I saw the floor boss and buy something if I needed it.
I closed the display.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
We descended to the twentieth floor.
◇
A gigantic stone door stood before us.
We pushed it open together.
Rumble...
Beyond the door was a vast circular space, with a gigantic humanoid figure standing in the center.
Its entire body was silver-white.
It was a little larger than the Iron Golem on the tenth floor.
"A Mithril Golem..."
The golem turned its head toward us.
With a single step, it made the floor shake.
"Felicia-san, I'll go first."
"Be careful."
I drew the Flamefang Sword and closed the distance.
I aimed for the joint in its right arm and slashed.
Clang!
"Ngh!"
My blade bounced off, and my arm went numb.
"It's hard...!"
It was harder than the Iron Golem.
At that moment, a gigantic fist came flying toward me.
"!"
I threw myself sideways.
Whoosh!
Its fist passed right beside me.
It was fast.
"Magic Bullet!"
Three of Felicia's Magic Bullets struck its chest.
But they only left shallow scratches.
"I'll compress it!"
Magic gathered at the tip of the Silverwood Staff.
"Magic Bullet!"
A compressed flash of light struck its shoulder.
Boom!
A tiny bit of its surface chipped away.
"It's working!"
"But the damage is shallow!"
The Mithril Golem turned toward Felicia.
Its huge body accelerated in an instant.
"It's fast...!"
I immediately moved between them.
I sent magic into the Flamefang Sword.
Red flames enveloped the blade.
This was different from the Iron Golem on the tenth floor.
It wasn't just hard.
This thing was fast.
"Felicia-san!"
"Yes!"
The battle against the floor boss of the twentieth floor had begun.
Total P Acquired: 77,375P