Chapter 6: E-Rank Dungeon 117

♧♧♧

It was the second weekend since school started.

While I could enter dungeons on weekdays, I’d spent this whole week helping Kamui-san with her training.

Although she’s a student council member, she apparently has a special exemption from attending meetings. In fact, I heard she joined the student council specifically to get that exemption and avoid being bound by obligations.

I imagine she spends her weekends leveling up in dungeons. I can’t fall behind—I need to acquire some new skills too.

I arrived at E-Rank Dungeon 117 for my second visit.

There are dungeons all across Japan, but E-Rank dungeons are the most numerous. The higher the rank, the fewer dungeons there are. With so many D-Rank dungeons around, it’s pretty hard to remember all their numbers.

B-Rank dungeons are different—there are only seven worldwide, so they’re easy to remember with numbers 1 through 7. Some are even named after countries. As for A-Rank dungeons, there are just two in the entire world.

Just as I was about to enter, a soldier stopped me.

“What’s your level?”

“……Zero.”

“Zero!?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“No, sorry, but I can’t let you in. Show me the back of your hand.”

Reluctantly, I showed him the license imprint on my right hand. Since the imprint’s shape changes with level, it’s easy to spot.

“……I understand you’re trying hard, but I can’t let someone of your level enter alone.”

“I understand.”

I’m not a kid. No point in making trouble for him.

After stepping away to think about what to do next, I remembered the skill I’d acquired yesterday at Kamui’s place.

The skill, “Absolute Stealth”. I tried using it right away. I could feel my presence fading from my surroundings.

Last time I’d used it in a panic, but using it deliberately like this was interesting.

I decided to test how long I could move around undetected. I crossed paths with an explorer right in front of me, looking straight into their eyes. They just stared straight ahead as if they couldn’t see anything.

Could they really not see me? Even when I waved my hand, there was zero reaction.

Confident it was working, I slowly approached the entrance to E-Rank Dungeon 117.

The soldier didn’t notice me at all. I walked right past the gate and entered without being stopped.

“Stop right there!”

I jumped and looked back, only to see Gai-kun approaching the entrance alone.

Apparently, the soldier wasn’t stopping me but Gai-kun.

“Hah? What is it?”

“Show me the back of your hand.”

“Tch.”

Gai-kun reluctantly showed the soldier the back of his right hand.

“You may pass.”

“Tch. Don’t stop me over something this trivial. It’s just a lousy dungeon.”

Though Gai-kun entered while cursing, he passed right by me without any reaction—it seems he couldn’t see me either.

“Sigh…… Are all high schoolers like this these days?”

I couldn’t help but smile wryly at the soldier’s exasperated sigh.

Well then, I headed inside too.

《Skill: “Dungeon Information” activated. Analyzing…… Identified as ‘Troll’s Prison’.》

Hm? “Troll’s Prison?”

I thought it was called “E-Rank Dungeon 117,” but I guess it actually has a proper name?

Come to think of it, the dungeon I entered before was called “Lucifer’s Descent.”

It seemed that the dungeon I had previously entered and E117 were entirely different.

And they both have proper names?

While “Lucifer’s Descent” had a distant castle and towering mountains around it, this place is completely different—it’s just rolling plains that could be something from overseas.

It’s a breathtaking view stretching far into the distance, with gentle slopes covered in green and no obstacles in sight.

Looking around, I noticed there’s no castle-like structure here. Seems like dungeons don’t necessarily need to have castles.

As I walked slowly across the plains, I came across what looked like two novice explorers fighting a cute, round, light-blue monster.

I don’t know its name, but it resembles a slime from a certain game—so cute that I’d want to keep it as a pet if it weren’t a monster.

The two explorers had a strategy where one would draw the monster’s attention while the other attacked with their weapon. When the monster turned toward the attacker, they’d switch roles.

It looked simple, but their coordination had to be perfect for it to work.

After watching them high-five in victory, I moved on.

The plains gradually sloped downward, and in the distance, I could see a river flowing. There were also noticeably more explorers in that area compared to here.

For now, I decided to head toward the river.

As I walked, the same monster from earlier appeared in front of me.

It seemed that Absolute Stealth worked on monsters as well, as the creature showed no reaction to my presence.

I slowly approached, crouched down, and touched the monster.

《Skill Acquired: “Monster Analysis (Weak)” (Through Inspiration).》

《Skill: “Monster Analysis (Weak)” Activated—Identified: “Kor”.》

《Weakness Attribute: Fire. Rare Drop: “Tiny Magic Stone”.》

So this creature was called “Kor,” huh?

Thanks to this skill, I could now identify monsters, their weaknesses, and even their rare drops. That was incredibly useful.

The texture of its body was exactly as it looked—soft and squishy, extremely pleasant to touch.

It reminded me of a waterbed I had once touched in a shopping mall.

It felt so nice that I kept poking and prodding at it.

And then, the Kor suddenly burst.

……Did I poke it too much?

《Skill Acquired: “Soft Touch” (Through Experience).》

………………。

………………。

Well, now I can poke Kors endlessly.

Still, this squishy feeling is addictive……

I ended up squishing a total of thirty Kors to death while testing out my new skill.

After defeating all those Kors, my impression was—yeah, my level was still stuck at 0.

According to Fujii-kun, when you level up, you hear a voice in your head telling you so.

As for the rare drop, “Tiny Magic Stone,” even after taking down thirty Kors, I didn’t get a single one.

One thing that puzzled me was how every monster in the Lucifer’s Descent Dungeon had always dropped magic stones without fail.

Since those magic stones had been worth 300,000 yen each, any stones that dropped here would probably go for over a million. Magic stones really are absurdly valuable.

Having wrapped up most of my testing, I picked up a nearby Kor and began walking slowly toward the river, idly petting it as I went.

And just to be clear, this wasn’t because the texture was so addictive that I couldn’t put it down—it was all part of testing how long my “Soft Touch” skill could last.

“That Kor is flying!?”

Hearing a surprised voice, I turned toward the source and saw a fellow explorer, pointing at me in shock.

From their uniform, I could tell they were from my school.

“Whoa, it might be a rare one! Let’s take it down!”

“Yeah!”

What seemed like a three-person party—started swinging their weapons at me at once.

Their attacks weren’t fast enough that I couldn’t dodge, so I started running toward the river while easily avoiding them.

Using Area Scan was convenient—I could read all their movements and dodge even while running backward.

“Huff…… Huff…… What’s with this Kor!? Can’t land a single hit!”

“It’s flying…… Huff…… The Kor…… Huff…… is so fast……!”

“D-Damn it……!”

Trying to kill my precious, adorable Kor? How sinful of them.

Since I still needed to check how long Soft Touch lasted, I decided to make a quick exit.

“S-so fast!!!”

“It looks like teleportation!”

Did it, though? I just ran a little faster, and they were already out of sight.

Since getting spotted by explorers would only cause unnecessary trouble, I made sure to move while avoiding them using Area Scan.

After running for a while, I finally reached the river.

I dipped my hand into the water—it was cold, just as it should be.

Unlike the dungeon from before, this didn’t seem to be some kind of lethal poison river. I scooped up some water and drank a bit—it tasted like fresh, natural spring water.

This was the kind of thing that made me want to bring a plastic bottle, fill it up, and store it in my Dimensional Storage. I’d have to try that someday.

Also, I’d been petting the Kor the entire way here, but it didn’t seem like it was going to pop anytime soon.

It looked like Soft Touch could let me deal zero damage if I wanted to.

Next, I wanted to test how strong an opponent I could use it on, but since I didn’t have a proper target for that right now, I decided to investigate it gradually.

For now, I tossed the Kor into the river.

As expected—or maybe not—it drifted along with the current without any resistance before returning to the plains as if nothing had happened.

This confirmed that some monsters could move freely through water.

After watching the Kor go, I turned my attention back to investigating the dungeon. I started running at a slightly faster pace while checking the dungeon’s structure.

Endless plains and a continuously flowing river from somewhere.

Beyond the river, the plains continued, but I couldn’t see a single explorer on that side.

After running around for a while, I found an area where many explorers had gathered. There was a wooden dock, and around it, people were either resting or hunting.

It was obvious that something was there, so I decided to observe for a bit.

Just then, a four-person party started heading toward the dock.

Strange—there wasn’t even a boat there.

The moment they stepped onto the dock, their bodies turned into particles and vanished from sight.

Though surprised, I pieced together what I’d overheard from nearby explorers’ conversations—apparently, this wasn’t just a dock, but some kind of teleportation device to the next area.

That gave me an idea, so I picked up a nearby Kor.

If I walked over casually, someone might attack me again, so I moved as quickly as possible and threw the Kor onto the dock.

“Hm? Hey! There’s a Kor on the dock!?”

The moment an explorer noticed, the others turned to look at it in surprise.

“Hold on. How do we kill it if it’s inside the dock?”

“Maybe you gotta take it down before it teleports?”

“That might work if you one-shot it, but that’s kinda tough. Anyone got a ranged attack?”

Hmm, interesting. It looks like monsters don’t get teleported—only explorers do. I also confirmed that the teleportation was automatic.

Since the Kor was starting to cause a commotion, I decided to step onto the dock myself while still using Absolute Stealth, before more people could gather.

The place I arrived at was completely different—a dark cave.

“Goddamn it!!!”

The moment I stepped in, a loud, angry shout echoed through the cave.

I recognized that voice, and sure enough, when I looked over, it was Gai-kun—battling a massive, green-skinned, two-meter-tall humanoid monster with bulging muscles.

There were also two other parties nearby, each fighting their similar massive monsters.

《Skill: “Monster Analysis (Weak)” Activated—Identified: “Troll”.》

《Weakness Attribute: Fire. Rare Drop: “Small Magic Stone”.》

When I touched a nearby monster, Monster Analysis (Weak) activated, meaning I could still analyze it despite the skill being the weakest version.

So this was a “Troll,” huh? Compared to the trolls I knew, it was surprisingly small.

Honestly, if someone had called it an orc instead, I would’ve believed them. But I guess names didn’t really matter. It wasn’t “Troll” but “Trol.” Just like how “Kor” wasn’t called a slime.

Despite its massive build, it had incredible power, every time it slammed its enormous club into the ground, it made a deafening crash.

From the sheer force of the impact, I could tell that a single hit from that thing would probably leave me on the brink of death.

What caught my attention, though, was that Gai-kun was fighting a Troll alone.

The other parties were balanced, with frontline fighters and backline supporters working together.

Something else I just learned—apparently, explorers could use something like “magic.”

One of them, holding a staff, shot balls of fire, and I found myself genuinely impressed.

So, there were more ways to fight than just punching things, huh?

Not that I had much of a choice—being stuck at Level 0 meant that, for now, all I could do was throw punches.

Gai-kun’s fighting style was extremely simple—dodging the Troll’s attacks while striking with his greatsword. Basically, a counter-attacking strategy.

Surprisingly enough, he was calmly evading the Troll’s attacks. Given his personality, I expected him to prioritize offence, but instead, he seemed more focused on dodging than attacking.

At that time—

Gai-kun, fully concentrated on his fight, failed to notice another Troll behind him. As he kept backing up, he eventually bumped right into it.

“What the—!? Why’s there a Troll here!?”

The next instant, the second Troll swung its club down on him.

Taking the full force of the attack, Gai-kun was sent flying like a baseball.

As expected, the Troll’s attacks carried immense weight, and their power was no joke.

Gai-kun, now bleeding from the mouth, struggled to his feet, using his greatsword like a cane.

“Damn it…… Which bastard…… left this one…… alone……?”

Huh? Left it alone?

“Young man! We’ll help you out!”

“Th-Thanks…… ugh……”

A party that had just finished their own battle stepped in to attack the Troll that had sent Gai-kun flying.

Meanwhile, the badly injured Gai-kun resumed his fight with the original Troll.

As expected of someone who has C-Rank innate-ability. If I had taken that attack head-on, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.

After observing for a while, both the party and Gai-kun finished off their respective Trolls.

“Huff…… Huff……”

“That was a disaster, young man.”

“Th-thanks for…… helping…… me out……”

The earlier damage must have taken a huge toll on his body, causing him to collapse right there, crumpling into a seated position.

“Don’t mention it. Us Explorers gotta help each other out in need. That said, wasn’t that awfully quick for a natural respawn?”

“………………”

Gai-kun looked around before letting out a deep sigh.

“There were only three parties here…… but we ended up with a fourth Troll……”

“Young man, you shouldn’t push yourself too hard. Explorers are only worth as much as their lives.”

“I…… know……”

Clenching his fist in frustration, he muttered, “I’ll head back after a short rest.”

Still, the mention of the “fourth Troll” bothered me.

One of the party members who had helped him whispered to their teammates.

“Hey, have you ever heard of a boss showing up in greater numbers than the party count?”

“Hmm…… Never heard of that happening.”

“Right? But we all saw it—there were definitely four Trolls.”

“No doubt about it. It was already there before we even finished off ours.”

…………………………………………No way.

“Should we report this to the Explorer’s Guild?”

“Yeah. We can’t let more explorers end up like that kid. Losing promising explorers to an E-rank dungeon would be a waste.”

“True. Still, that kid’s pretty tough, huh? Fighting solo like that.”

“Well, training alone is more efficient.”

“Sure, the experience gain is better, but if you die, that’s it. This isn’t a game, you know.”

“………………That just goes to show how much he’s prepared to face whatever comes his way.”

“Hmm?”

“Sometimes, a man’s pride is worth more than his life.”

The man gently patted his female party member’s head and kept watch until Gai-kun left the cave.

His kindness toward a junior explorer was touching.

After a while, Gai-kun left the cave, followed by the other party members.

That’s when I finally realised what had caused the Gai-kun predicament.

The culprit was—————me.

After Gai-kun left the Troll room, the remaining two parties also encountered a third Troll. After defeating it, they left the room while commenting on the unusual situation.

Now alone in the boss room, I waited for a while—and sure enough, a Troll appeared.

In other words, my presence here under Absolute Stealth was being counted as one party.

From the conversation between the departing parties, I learned that each dungeon has what’s called a boss room, typically located at its deepest point.

While there are various types of boss rooms, E117’s boss room spawns one Troll per party that enters. I heard there are dungeons which also feature rooms where only one party can enter at a time to face the boss monster.

The structure of dungeons varies by rank—E-rank dungeons have just one floor plus a boss room, D-rank dungeons have two to three floors, and C-rank dungeons span four to eight floors.

Through testing with Kor, I discovered that Absolute Stealth is forcibly cancelled when I attack. The key is simply to refrain from attacking. In other words, as long as I don’t attack, the stealth remains active.

For instance, carrying Kor, petting it, or even touching a Troll to activate Monster Analysis (Weak) doesn’t count as attacking, so the stealth state isn’t cancelled.

This works not only on monsters but also on humans too—touching them doesn’t break stealth. When I touch someone, they can feel the sensation and tend to look around in confusion.

I can also speak while using Absolute Stealth. Making sounds doesn’t break the effect.

Furthermore, using other skills doesn’t cancel it either. I can even take items out of my Dimensional Storage without issue. To others, it probably looks like objects appearing out of thin air.

While in Absolute Stealth, I become invisible—I can even experience my own body becoming transparent.

The first time I used this skill, I was so focused on Kamui-san that I didn’t even realise I could see through my own body.

Well, might as well try fighting this Troll.

Since acquiring the Martial Arts skill, my movements feel like that of a master.

For example, I can sense each of the opponent’s movements, and somehow I can identify their “weak points.”

Despite being level 0, I seem to have considerable strength. Like when I was petting Kor and it bounced away.

Overall, I felt I could handle myself in a fight with just Martial Arts to some extent. So, I decided to test my limits against this Troll.

Using my martial arts skills, I jumped up, aiming for the Troll’s weak point at the back of its neck, and launched a kick.

Thanks to my regular workout routine, moving my body isn’t difficult. I felt lighter than expected and managed to get behind the Troll’s neck in one swift motion.

After landing the kick, my leg bounced off the Troll’s muscular body, and I landed far back with a big leap.

The Troll itself just flinched slightly but it stood still. That’s how tough these creatures are, I suppose.

With my Absolute Stealth now cancelled, I quickly repositioned myself, kept my distance, and observed the Troll’s movements.

Thanks to me skills, I’m pretty confident about my speed—bring it on!

……………………

……………………

The forced deactivation of Absolute Stealth has a sixty-second cooldown.

I might need to keep dodging the Troll until I can use Absolute Stealth again.

However, for some reason, the Troll wasn’t moving at all.

Could my attack not even dealt any damage? Should I wait out the sixty seconds? Or should I follow up with another attack—just as I was thinking, the Troll collapsed forward.

……………………? Is it playing dead?

Maintaining a position where I could escape at any moment, I cautiously approached the Troll.

It might suddenly reach out and grab me, then beat me to a pulp.

Well, I do have Defense Boost skill, so maybe I could take one hit……?

With no one around to help me, I approached carefully.

Thanks to my skills, I felt no fear, but I could still feel my own tension.

I moved forward slowly, step by step, watching the Troll’s every movement.

—That’s when.

I sensed someone behind me, and an explorer entered the previously silent boss room.

A bright, dazzling light spread softly, revealing a familiar school uniform-clad female student.

Given that she was exploring the dungeon in her uniform even on a weekend, I could tell at a glance she was from Seishin High School.

What stood out even more was her beauty, different from Kamui-san’s. Her glossy black hair cascaded over her shoulders in soft waves.

Our eyes met. Her big, cute eyes emphasized her beauty even more.

While I felt a mature charm from Kamui-san, this girl had an innocent allure.

“Hm?”

“……………………”

W-w-what should I do!?

I still needed forty-five seconds before I could use Absolute Stealth again. I thought no one would come, but someone saw me in this situation.

If I don’t find a way to cover this up somehow, it might become the talk of the school.

“Seishin High? Nice to meet you.”

“N-nice to meet you too.”

I didn’t expect her to greet me first. She was looking at me with apparent interest.

“Heeh~ Did you defeat the Troll by yourself?”

“I’m not sure if it’s defeated yet……”

“Eh? But it’s lying right there.”

She pointed at the Troll I’d kicked, with a puzzled expression.

“Um, well…… how can you be sure? It might be playing dead.”

“Eh!? Playing dead!? What’s that? Are there monsters that do that?”

“Eh!? They…… they don’t?”

“Ahaha~ There’s no such thing! Monsters are always moving around, and if they stop moving after being attacked, that means they’re defeated, you know?”

Hm? This contradicts what I read in the Beginner’s Guide to Dungeons. It said monsters are most dangerous in their final moments, so you should stay alert.

Either she didn’t know this, or the guidebook I read was wrong.

She approached the Troll without any caution, crouched down, and poked it with her finger, saying “See?”

……………………

“What’s wrong?”

“Um…… that……”

“Yes?”

“I can…… see……”

“?? Oh, don’t worry. Look, I’m wearing spats under my skirt.”

I turned my gaze sideways as she pinched her skirt up.

“Hehe. Everyone usually looks, you know?”

“I-I don’t!”

“Hmm~”

As I struggled to find somewhere to look, I sensed the presence of another monster in the room.

With her entering, a new Troll had appeared.

“Well then~ Hey, you.”

“Y-yeah?”

“What I’m about to show you is a secret. Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Eh? Oh, uh…… got it.”

She turned sideways, winked at me with a quick glance, and started running towards the Troll.

She was by far the fastest person I’d encountered in this dungeon.

She pulled something from behind her waist and struck the Troll with it.

What she took out was—a weapon called tonfa.

Just before both tonfas stuck, they glowed red and yellow.

While skillfully evading the Troll’s attacks, she landed blow after blow.

The areas she hit changed color, so they must be Magic Weapons.

About a minute had passed since my Absolute Stealth was canceled. I quickly dismantled the Troll and reactivated Absolute Stealth.

My whole body became transparent, and I could finally relax. Just to be safe, I moved to a different spot from where I was before.

“Phew~ So it takes a whole minute~ That wasn’t too bad! How was that? You—huh? Where’d you go?”

She spun around, looking everywhere, then dashed straight for the entrance.

Just when I thought she was going to leave, she stopped at the entrance and turned around.

“Hey! Come out! I know you’re still in here, right!?”

Her loud voice echoed throughout the room.

I hoped she’d give up and leave the floor boss room already.

We’d only just met, so she shouldn’t remember my face.

The next instant, she ran straight towards me without hesitation.

“You’re here, aren’t you!?”

I could have dodged if I wanted to, but I ended up getting caught.

“Amazing! You were really hiding! Hey, cancel it for a second!”

What should I do? I really don’t want to be seen……

“Hmm~ You won’t cancel it? Then…… I might cry?”

“What!?”

“If you don’t…… cancel it…… soon……”

Her eyes were really welling up with tears, looking like she could start crying any moment.

I guess I have no choice.

I let out a sigh and cancelled Absolute Stealth.

“That’s amazing~! How did you hide like that? Is it some kind of a special ability?”

She asked while hiding the eye drops she’d been holding.

“Ah-yeah.”

“Being able to completely hide your presence is amazing! Even though I’m pretty strong, I couldn’t sense you at all!”

“But you knew where I was, didn’t you?”

“Hehe. That’s because I have a special ability. It just happened to be compatible with yours~”

She particularly emphasized the part about our abilities being compatible. I wonder what her ability is.

“……You don’t really talk to people much, do you?”

“Ugh.”

“And you probably don’t make many friends either, right?”

“Ugh!”

“Pfft. Ahaha~!”

She suddenly burst out laughing. Despite being right in front of me, she kept laughing until tears came out, completely unbothered.

But somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to hate her laughter. It wasn’t the kind that was making fun of me.

“Are you mad?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Heeh~ You’re surprisingly manly, aren’t you?”

“R-really?”

“Most people would hate it more, you know?”

Is that so? Well, I’m probably not normal. I mean, I’m level 0 after all.

“Hey, why do you hide?”

“………….”

“Don’t want to tell me?”

“Yeah.”

I’m not good at talking to strangers to begin with, and there are people with ill intentions like Gai-kun out there.

She doesn’t seem like that type, but that’s no guarantee she isn’t.

“Then, would it be a problem if someone found out about your ability?”

“!?”

That would be very troublesome. Especially if Gai-kun found out…… no, it would be troublesome if anyone who knows I’m level 0 found out.

“What do you want from me?”

She held up her index finger and said with a smile, “See? You’re pretty good at reading the air!”

Now that she’s holding my Absolute Stealth ability hostage, I guess I have no choice but to listen to what she says……

“Don’t think too hard about it~ I just want you to—form a temporary party with me.”

“Huh!?”

“That’s fine, right?”

She wants to form a party with someone like me who’s level 0!? If I can’t perform well, she might expose my Absolute Stealth. Maybe I can manage since this is E117?

“F-fine……”

“Yay~!”

She jumped up in excitement. She had the cuteness of a small animal.

For a moment, I saw an overlap between her and my sister. My sister used to show joy the same way.

“Well, nice to meet you!”

“Yeah. Nice to meet you. But I should tell you, I’m not particularly strong. Don’t expect too much from me.”

“Really~? But I think as long as we’re in a party, we can support each other.”

I could tell she genuinely meant that. Like my sister, she seemed incapable of lying. Though, since I barely had any experience dealing with people, I couldn’t be certain if that assessment was correct.

“Well then, shall we defeat some Trolls here?”

“Sure.”

She pulled out a leisure sheet from somewhere, spread it on the ground, and sat down.

She patted the spot next to her, silently urging me to sit down too.

Could she also use Dimensional Storage? Seems there are quite a few explorers who can use it.

“We haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Shino. Call me Shino, okay? And don’t use any honorifics! Just Shino.”

Being asked to use no honorifics with a girl I just met…… and for some reason, she didn’t give her family name.

“I’m Suzuki Hinata.”

“Hinata-kun, then!”

She leaned forward to look at the school badge on my uniform.

The badge has colors-coded—red, blue, and green to indicate the year level. This year’s red indicates first-years. It’ll change to next year’s color when we become second-years.

Her badge was red too.

“You’re not in Class 2, are you?”

I guess she meant the school class by saying that.

“No, I’m in Class 3.”

“The next class over~ that’s a bummer!”

Well, since we’re meeting for the first time, of course we’d be in different classes……?

“Class 3, that’s the class with the rumored Ice Princess, right?”

So Kamui-san really is famous.

“Yeah. I’m in the same class as Kamui-san.”

“I see~ So you’ve got a strong rival close by, huh.”

Strong rival……?

Shino didn’t say anything more and just smiled, enjoying herself.

After waiting for a while, a Troll appeared.

“I’ll take the front.”

Shino sprang to her feet and prepared her weapon.

“S-sure.”

I faced the Troll, nervous about fighting in a party for the first time.

Shino ran ahead first, skillfully dodging the club the Troll swung down.

I ran at full speed to get behind the Troll.

“So fast!?”

I could see the back of the Troll’s neck as it faced Shino.

I rushed in and delivered a kick.

Without realizing how caught up I’d gotten, I was slightly out of breath from the tension.

The Troll collapsed on the spot.

“You’re amazing!”

“Oh? Really? It’s already down?”

Maybe hitting weak points was more effective than I thought.

I mean, even someone like me, at level 0, could deliver the finishing blow.

Shino kept watching me with a constant smirk on her face.

“What about the materials?”

“You can do whatever you want with them.”

“Huh? All of them? You don’t need any?”

“Yeah. I’ve got enough pocket money for now.”

Since she didn’t need them, I took her up on her offer and dismantled the troll before storing it in my Dimensional Storage.

She kept watching the entire time.

After taking down a few more trolls, it was finally time to wrap up the hunt.

I immediately activated Absolute Stealth.

“Huh? You disappeared again?”

“Uh, well…… I just don’t like being seen too much……”

“I see. In that case————hold my hand!”

Saying that, she extended her left hand toward me.

“……Huh!?”

“I want you to stay with me until the very end, so hold my hand. That way, you can’t run away.”

If I ran away now……

“If you run away, I’ll cry my eyes out in front of your entire class, okay?”

“F-Fine……”

“Yay~♪”

Holding her hand, we left the boss room.

As we walked leisurely across the plains back to the entrance, she, as expected, drew attention from all the guys.

Naturally, Kamui-san drew attention but Shino was a beauty in her own right, radiating an aura just by being there.

Not to mention, her hair had an unusually glossy shine. The way it swayed with each step created gentle ripples, catching the light beautifully.

Her hand, soft and warm in mine, carried a sweet fragrance unique to girls. It reminded me of my sister. Maybe because she had a similar vibe, the resemblance felt even stronger.

Hand in hand, we strolled across the vast plains. Shino hummed a small tune, clearly in a good mood.

When we reached the dungeon exit, instead of stepping outside, she led me behind it.

“See? It should be fine here, right?”

“Yeah.”

As soon as I deactivated Absolute Stealth, her face lit up with a delighted smile.

“You didn’t run away! I shall commend you for that~!”

“Haha, my lady.”

I gave an exaggerated noble-style bow.

“Eh!? You actually got the reference…… Who are you!?”

“My sister does this often.”

Since she reminded me so much of my sister, I ended up acting the same way I would around her.

“Fufu~ So you have a little sister. But wow, your hiding technique is insane. No footsteps, no breathing sounds…… Nothing!”

“Yeah. I don’t really get how it works, but it seems to be doing the job.”

“It’s seriously amazing! I didn’t notice you at all.”

“Well, thanks to that, I managed to sneak into the dungeon.”

“Hmm…… I feel like you could’ve just entered normally.”

“……Nope. They don’t let me in.”

“No way!? Someone as strong as you?”

“I’m not strong. I’m probably the weakest one among all the explorers.”

After all, I was still Level 0. Other explorers who had leveled up were bound to be stronger than me.

That said, my skill seemed to be effective enough for an E-rank dungeon.

“Hmm, I see~ I think I get the gist now.”

Shino glared at me with squinty eyes.

I responded with an awkward chuckle.

“By the way, are you coming here again tomorrow?”

“Nah, I was planning to hit a different dungeon.”

“Which dungeon?”

“I’m thinking of going to E90.”

“Got it. Then let’s meet at the entrance of E90 tomorrow morning at ten!”

“!?!?”

As I stood there, stunned, Shino narrowed her eyes and leaned in.

“We’re in a party, remember?”

“O-Oh……ok, got it.”

I had assumed today was a one-time thing, but I guess this is unavoidable.

“See you tomorrow, then!”

With that, she quickly pulled something out of her pocket, held it to her ear, and dashed off.

By the time I got back to the dorm, it was already dark outside.

A voice greeted me at the entrance.

“Welcome back~”

“Hm? I’m home. Coming back from a dungeon?”

“Yep. I was just helping out today.”

Fujii-kun, with his slightly dirty uniform, greeted me at the dorm entrance.

“Your uniform’s barely dirty, though. You didn’t go to a dungeon today?”

“I did, but…… well, things went smoothly, so I didn’t struggle much.”

“I see~ But knowing you, I bet you got caught up with another girl.”

“……Huh!? Ahaha……”

“Spot on? Hehe~”

Fujii-kun’s comment made me realise- was I that easy to read?.

Am I really that easy to read……?

After greeting the dorm matron, I headed to the laundry room.

Of course, Fujii-kun came along, and we did our laundry together.

“Which dungeon were you in today?”

“I went to the D-86 dungeon.”

“D-rank!? Damn, that’s pretty impressive.”

“Haha, I was just helping out. The party was full of strong members, so I was basically carried.”

“Even so, I think you must have the skills to keep up with them.”

Fujii-kun gave a slightly bashful smile.

“So, how was it for Hinata-kun today?”

“I went to E117. Heard it’s the best beginner friendly dungeon around here.”

“Yeah, but the floor boss is tough. Be careful, okay?”

“……Is that so? Well, I happened to team up with someone strong, so we managed to take it down.”

Fujii-kun’s eyes widened slightly before he nodded, deep in thought.

“By the way, I’ve heard a lot about explorers dying. Do you know how common it is?”

Hearing my question, Fujii’s expression softened before he spoke.

“Well, do you know explorers basically fall into two main categories?”

“Two categories?”

I thought all explorers just went into dungeons.

“There are two main types: maintenance teams, who revisit cleared floors, and advancement teams, who push into new ones. Everyone starts off trying to advance, but most settle into the maintenance role.”

I see…… Maintenance and advancement, huh?

“Maintenance teams don’t die often since they have prior info. Unless something irregular happens, the risk is nearly zero. Advancement teams, on the other hand, are constantly risking their lives every day to explore unknown places and reach new heights.”

“Hmm…… I’ve got a question – if it’s that dangerous, why be in an advancement team at all?”

“Most people think that way, but there are benefits to advancing.”

“Benefits to advancing?”

“Well, one of those is…… that.”

Fujii-kun pointed out the window.

A massive airship was soaring through the sky.

“Exploration rankings are a huge deal. Explorers earn points based on their achievements, and if you make the top 10, you get extraordinary treatment from the government, but more importantly, you gain worldwide recognition.”

“Rankings, huh……”

“Oh, and this is a secret, okay? Rumor has it that if you make it to the top, you get a special reward.”

“A special reward?”

“Yeah. Something…… beyond human capabilities. That’s why so many strive to be number one.”

Fujii-kun’s expression darkened slightly.

Since he mentioned it’s a secret…… he must be involved with the rankings in some way. I wouldn’t pry, but if the opportunity arose, I’d like to hear more someday.

“Anyway, things are crazy right now.”

“Crazy? What happened?”

“Something outrageous occured. Look.”

Fujii-kun shifted his gaze to the airship and continued.

“You know, the number one ranked explorer, called ‘Unknown’ – because of them, no one can surpass the top rank anymore.”

Come to think of it, I’d heard people talking about someone with no name becoming number one recently.

With the laundry done, I thanked Fujii-kun and returned to my room.

That reminded me—I still had something I wanted to test.

The skill I got last week, Dimensional Storage.

It was essentially a magic backpack, but I hadn’t fully tested it yet.

Inside were some materials from my first dungeon dive…… including meat from a tyrannosaurus, a rabbit monster, and a piglet monster.

According to the book Beginner’s Guide to Dungeons, meat of animal-type monsters was edible.

The stronger the monster, the higher the quality of its materials—and the tastier its meat. Some cuts even sold for absurd prices.

So, what happens when you store meat in the Dimensional Storage?

I took them out.

They were just as fresh as the day I got them.

Which meant…… time either didn’t pass inside or degradation was extremely slow.