Chapter 56 – The Theory That Each Part is Different
“Hey, there is something that I want to try.”
“Denied.”
As they walked down the damp and dark stairs, while relying on the light of the lanterns, Menew made a suggestion. However, Ralph refused it immediately.
“Why? It will be fun!”
Menew puffed out his cheeks childishly, but Ralph just looked at him with a cold expression. Totto could do nothing but chuckle awkwardly.
Sety, who was in the lead, turned around to look at Menew.
“What do you want to do?”
“The shortcut that Ms. Kazusa was doing. Maybe I can do it too.”
“I thought your space skill was the item box?”
Sety said as she stopped in surprise.
Menew nodded and laughed.
“Space manipulation is a very vague skill. I only used it to store items, but after seeing it, I think that I might be able to do it as well.”
“What!?”
Sety’s eyes widened, but Ralph admonished him coldly.
“Don’t do it. At least, save it for the trip back. You don’t even know the structure of the dungeon.”
He did not say that Menew could not do it. However, he did not want to risk going out into the wrong place.
“Ah, that’s true. I can’t imagine the place we would come out into…”
“Spa-space-space manipulation… But aren’t you level 10!? I knew you were strong with magic. After all, the bird didn’t fly away, but…”
Stan puffed out his chest proudly. Menew petted him with his finger.
“Mr. Menew’s level can be deceiving.”
“The only thing you can trust is his name and birthday.”
Ralph agreed with Totto with a nod.
“Hey, you can trust the part where I am a Summoner.”
Menew protested, but they ignored him.
Ralph and Totto continued to talk about the ways that Menew was abnormal, as they descended the staircase. Sety was constantly surprised.
While there was a mixture of awe and admiration in Totto’s voice, Ralph was mostly annoyed.
After all, it was Ralph’s job to be the fire extinguisher towards Menew’s strange, daily actions. So he was more tired than he realized.
“Ah, hey. Did we arrive?”
Menew had wanted to end the conversation, but he was not good at talking. And since they were not saying anything wrong, it was difficult for him to interrupt them. And so he did not miss the opportunity when he saw it.
The stairs had stopped, and there was a large door in front of them. And as they stood there, the candlesticks lit up automatically.
“Ahh! It’s like we are really in a dungeon now!”
“Hmm…I suppose that castle used to act as a guild. And it’s from the 8th floor that the real dungeon begins.”
Sety said as she inspected the door.
The heavy metal door was encrusted with gemstones. And as there were geometric patterns carved into it, there was likely some kind of magic at work.
“Let’s open it.”
“Yes!”
“I-I’ll do my best!”
“Treasure! Treasure!”
Ralph put his hand on the door, and then Menew put his hand on the other side. Behind him, Totto and Sety shouted excitedly.
And then the door was pushed open.
“It looks like a dungeon.”
A floor made of stone, and small rooms.
It was like an indoor town…though all of the residents were monsters.
“We will likely not be able to avoid fighting from this point on. Above, the Dryads seemed to have come later on. While I doubt they can revive if burned, there is likely a spawner here.”
Sety was finally in the dungeon that she knew well. And so gave the others a warning.
Spawners were giant slabs of crystal. And monsters flowed out from them without end.
“Still, this really is an old dungeon. There will be traps, so you cannot move around too freely.”
Apparently, the Scouting ability did not allow you to detect traps.
“Then I will use Search.”
“Search… Wouldn’t it be troublesome to constantly have to cast it?”
Normally, the area of effect was within five meters of the user.
“It will be fine if I do it like this.”
Menew took one step forward and turned to look at the other three. Eight black magic circles appeared, and then were sucked into their eyes.
Sety blinked repeatedly.
While Search was working properly, it felt weird, being under the effect of magic that you didn’t even cast.
“If we searched every area for traps, it would take too long, right? But this way, it will be safe.”
“The way that Mr. Menew uses magic is so refreshing! I would like to analyze it one day!”
Totto was genuinely happy, and Menew laughed and said he would be happy to allow him to do it. However, this really was an unbelievable ability.
As Sety would put it, it smelled like money.
“…You must have a difficult time.”
“It would be easy enough if he just wanted to make money. But he just wants to have a pure adventure.”
Ralph added that she must keep this a secret. Sety laughed.
“No one would believe me if I said it. After all, Menew is the only one who can do it.”
“That’s true. …But maybe Totto will be able to analyze it one day.”
Sety looked at the small child who was talking excitedly. Menew looked like a large child next to him.
“That child? You seem to have a high opinion of him.”
“…Well, consider this a bribe then. That kid made it.”
Ralph took out a high-rank potion from his pouch and handed it to her.
As someone well versed in the value of things, Sety understood what it was in an instant.
She looked up at Ralph with a sympathetic expression.
But Ralph shook his head and took a step forward.
“…The children cannot wait any longer.”
Please don’t say anything. That is what he meant.
Sety accepted the potion that would allow her to live comfortably for some time, and then she and Ralph approached the others.
“Well, I think we should go as far as we can. And then we can set up camp when we get tired.”
“That’s a very vague plan…”
“We have to search for stairs, right? I will do my best!”
“There are monsters here, so don’t stray too far away from me.”
The four of them marched on with Sety in the lead, followed by Menew, Totto and then Ralph.
On the way, Ralph had to stop Menew from purposely hitting a switch, and Sety had to stop him from antagonizing a Mimic chest, which she had detected with Scouting. Regardless, they were able to find two staircases.
But both were traps that would take them back to the entrance. Clearly, this dungeon was a very complex maze.
In terms of level, the monsters that attacked them were around 40. And so they were not difficult to defeat. Finding the right stairs was the hard part.
“This would have been a lot more troublesome without Menew.”
They had stopped to rest and drink water. Apparently, using the scouting skill was very tiring for Sety.
“Hmm. But I think it is close by.”
“What makes you say that?”
“A hunch…I suppose. There is one place that I’ve been avoiding, because there are likely strong monsters there. But that is the only place left now.”
Menew admitted as he gave Stan some water. Sety then looked a little pale.
“You. Are you talking about a floor boss!?”
“Huh? Is that right?”
“Didn’t I tell you there would be a boss here!?”
“Oh, right. I guess I should have asked you about it first. Sorry.”
Menew chuckled.
Sety’s skill was useful, as it detected the number and direction of nearby monsters.
On the other hand, it was not any skill that told Menew that there was a strong one in the area. It really was just a hunch. Or perhaps a sixth sense.
“I’m starting to think that we should just keep you in this dungeon.”
Not only could he avoid traps, but he could easily find the net staircase. He was the perfect guide.
Sety glared at Menew with a tired expression, but Menew didn’t mind.
Ralph placed a hand on Sety’s shoulder, as if to say that it was no use.
“In any case, let’s go down then. We can rest there if we are tired.”
Mostly psychologically. Menew and Totto agreed with Sety’s suggestion as well.
“In other words, we are going to fight the floor boss.”
Ralph muttered, but his voice was erased by the two excited children.
With Menew as a guide, they arrived at the stairs to the floor boss in now time. And what they found there was a stone statue of a minotaur.
And so they hid behind a wall and peered inside.
It was carrying a great axe, and was so intimidating that it looked like it was alive. The legs that were firmly planted on the ground were thick, and its muscles were highly detailed.
“I think that is it…but, it’s a statue.”
“Yes…no matter how you look at it.”
However, the results of Search said it was a Minotaur.
“Well, there is no point in looking at it from here. Let’s go.”
“Indeed. After all, the stairs will be behind it.”
Sety agreed with Ralph. As they were enthusiastic, Menew and Totto followed after them.
Menew tapped the floor once with his staff.
“…If you are prepared, you need not worry. I wonder if they have that saying here.”
He muttered.
But just as they started to walk past the Minotaur, it began to shake.
This caused the stone surface to peel away. And a furry, wild beast with red eyes emerged with a roar.
“It really was a trap!”
“Totto, stay back!”
Totto obeyed Ralph and moved away.
And then a black magic circle appeared near the Minotaurs feet, and chains came out to bind its powerful body.
“Now, now! Do it while you can!”
While Sety and Ralph had been stunned for a moment, Menew shouted the orders.
“…That’s why I told you to say these things in advance!”
“I completely agree!”
“But it would be embarrassing if it was just a stone statue!”
Ralph and Sety then attacked the Minotaur, whose movements were bound. Sety’s switch sword carved away at the legs with precision, while Ralph severed it arm. And then he ran up its back and thrust the sword into its brain.
And without being able to resist, the Minotaur sank to the floor.
It was so large that even Totto could feel the ground shaking. And then he cautiously moved towards it.
“Good work! I’m so glad that both of you are strong!”
There was no sarcasm in Menew’s voice. He was being sincere.
Monsters…especially monsters in dungeons, had a lot of magic energy. Like Kazusa had said regarding skills, with magic, higher magic energy was prioritized.
In Menew’s point of view, he just helped them by binding the Minortaur so that it could no longer move.
And while Ralph was conflicted, Sety decided to not think about it. If they could take it easy, then that was fine.
Ralph also switched gears, and after seeing that the Minotaur had not crystallized, turned to Totto.
“Totto. How about some carving practice.”
“Do you mean it?”
“You weren’t able to practice on the road. However, it’s important to do it with a real monster.”
While they were talking, Sety whispered to Menew.
“Carving? What does he mean?”
“Totto has a special skill.”
Menew said as he pointed at Totto.
Totto took out his knife and held it in front of the Minotaur.
He took one step forward, and then seemed to disappear. And then he appeared near the fallen Minotaur’s leg.
And then when Totto had passed it, the giant body came apart into separate pieces.
Hornes, bones, organs, meat, skin…it was all cleanly separate. And the giant crystal fell out heavily.
Totto was not usually very fast. But as he had shown at the Hammer Workshop, when it came to materials, he could take them apart instantly.
However, this was the first time Totto had done it with a monster after learning how to handle a knife, and so he was very excited.
“I was able to do it, just as you taught me, Mr. Ralph!”
“I never taught you how to take apart a Minotaur…but you did well.”
Ralph patted Totto on the head. Normally, he liked to praise people to help them grow. Normally.
Menew quickly helped to gather the materials.
He gave the crystal to Sety. It was the same with the crystals they collected on the way here. They were not something Menew and the others wanted that much, and so they gave them all to her.
And so that became the natural flow of things. They kept the materials while Sety took the crystals.
“Hah… I wonder how much I can sell a Minotaur crystal for…”
Sety said dreamily as she gazed at it. But once they were finished with the gathering, they switched gears, and the three of them made their way down the stairs.
This staircase was short, and they reached the next floor in five minutes.
The ceiling was very high, and there was no door. Just the same familiar stone floors and small rooms.
I suppose this is what you could expect from the second floor.
While Sety seemed quite tired, she used the Scouting skill. There was nothing in particular nearby.
“Why not that small room over there?”
“Alright, we can camp there. I hope that we can go lower tomorrow.”
Menew agreed with Sety’s suggestion. He then took out an anti monster potion from his pouch.
After thinking for a little bit, Ralph asked Menew.
“Do you know where the floor boss is?”
“Yes, over there.”
“Then we can go straight to it tomorrow.”
Menew casually pointed in the direction, so Ralph nodded.
Totto had been listening quietly. And when he saw that the talk had ended, he opened his mouth.
“By the way… Is Minotaur meat human flesh…or beef?”
While he had carved it up, he never used the meat when making potions. Sometimes organs could be used for medicine, but meat was food.
And Totto liked meat.
“Totto…? Are you going…to eat it…?”
“I want to eat it if it’s beef, but not if it is human.”
Totto replied.
“Well, I never even tried to eat it before…”
“Neither have I…which is it?”
“The legs are those of a cow…”
As they camped, the four of them talked about it seriously. It was the most serious discussion of the journey.
However, they did not reach a conclusion… But for dinner, some kind of meat appeared in their stew. It was not lizard. It felt more wild and tough.
However, it was delicious. However, no one had the courage to bring it up on the following day.
That last part…HAH!
Thanks for the chapter!