Chapter 24

Episode 24: Even Beautiful Girls Encounter Unexpected Situations

We were harassed by some weirdos and streamers midway, but in the end, it was kind of fun.

I didn’t expect Jouka to trust my words to such an extent… she’s quite gullible, isn’t she…?

“Ah, I can see it!”

Toa said this while pointing at the sky.

Hovering above the rain-soaked wasteland was a snake, gliding through the air as if swimming.

In another era, it might have been worshipped as a deity.

“That’s the master of this Dungeon.”

“It seems so, yes.”

We were exploring a D-Rank Dungeon that was currently estimated.

By “exploring,” we were merely walking a short distance across the desolate landscape.

Since we had won the right to explore after a duel, we wanted to clear it, but…

“…It’s flying, so my sword won’t reach it.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Hmm, this is troublesome…”

I threw my dagger towards the snake anyway.

Though it flew faster than an average person could throw, it fell short before reaching the snake.

I picked up the dagger from where it had fallen and looked upwards.

The snake seemed not to notice the dagger being thrown at all, continuing to glide leisurely.

What is this thing?

“…Um, would you let me try shooting it?”

“Yes, please do.”

“Y-Yes!”

Toa nodded several times.

Though Toa was capable of long-range attacks, she always seemed scared when asked directly, so I couldn’t rely on her. It’s a relief that she offered herself this time.

“I-I’ve only been helped until now, like during the duel and when those people harassed us, so I want to be useful here…!”

You turned three people into ashes in that duel, you know.

I think you’ve already been plenty helpful. If anything, I feel like I haven’t contributed enough…

In the end, I was just playing around with my outfit…

“Alright, I’ll shoot then, so please step back.”

“Ah, okay.”

I stood a bit away, holding my dagger ready as I watched Toa.

There were no other monsters around besides the snake.

This Dungeon was truly easy. Dungeons like these don’t sell for much either. And the continuous rain was making everything gloomy and depressing.

Toa aimed her heavy cannon at the sky and took a deep breath.

Amidst the sound of the rain, the sound of the weapon activating echoed around.

Steam rose from various parts of the cannon, evaporating the raindrops due to the heat.

The area around Toa began to look foggy, covered in white mist.

“First Sequence: Release. Transition to Standard Output ‘Artemis’ commencing…”

The noise of the cannon grew louder.

Simultaneously, magical circles appeared everywhere.

These countless calculation systems are necessary to fire convergent artillery and alleviate the burden on the user.

Hmm, watching this makes me realize how different it is from my Solciera…

…Maybe I should also display magic circles? They look cooler that way.

“■■■■”

Hey, can I summon them?

Then maybe I’ll add some optional magic circles too?

Something flashy and cool-looking when using magic power.

“■■■■■■■■■■■■■”

Oh, I can choose the design of the magic circle myself?

Hm, what should I go for?

…Wait, are they trying to sell me something?

“…”

Hold on, don’t run away!

…Alright, whatever.

What should I choose for the magic circle?

Purple color, maybe? Or deep blue could be good too…

“Firing!”

“Huh!?”

My thoughts were interrupted as a golden light shot towards the sky.

The light, vaporizing the rain as it advanced, caught the center of the snake’s body.

There was no way the snake could dodge such a high-speed magical artillery attack, even while flying, and it was instantly turned into ash.

The light continued its course without losing momentum, breaking through the rain clouds and forcibly turning the surroundings into clear skies.

Its power was absurd.

“I… tried to restrain the power so there would be some magic stones left… How was it?”

Mixed with the rain, several magic stones indeed fell down.

“…Is this… with restraint?”

“A-Ah… Was it not good?”

“No, no, no, it was great! Perfect! Thank you very much!”

Seeing Toa on the verge of tears, I bowed deeply.

And this is with restrained power?

In the original story, there was a scene where she destroyed a dungeon that appeared on the moon with a convergence beam after some events.

Reconsidering, the convergence beam is pretty terrifying.

Then what about the things I’m firing with my Solciera?

I thought it was a convergence beam because of the immense power, but there may be differences.

“…Kei, is something wrong?”

“No, thank you. Let’s collect the magic stones and cores, shall we?”

I took the lead in heading towards the collection.

I didn’t contribute at all to this expedition.

I was just thinking about meaningless magic circles, so I’d like to work here at least.

“I’ll help!”

What a good girl.

Together with Toa, I diligently gathered the magic stones.

Next, we’ll sell the magic stones and hand over the core to Miroku Senpai to complete our mission.

“Looks like we can buy meat again today.”

“Two days in a row with meat…!”

With sparkling eyes, Toa nodded.

How peaceful.

Just as I was feeling warm looking at Toa like this, our Dive Gears rang out simultaneously.

It was the notification signaling a rescue request.

A high-priority alert that only sounds when a student requiring rescue is nearby.

“Toa, can you handle a little more work?”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

Saying this, Toa lifted her heavy cannon which she had placed on the ground.

We had collected the core and all the magic stones, so all that remained was to head towards the rescue location.

“…Huh? The coordinates are here?”

Looking at the map, I tilted my head in confusion.

Apparently, someone nearby was requesting help.

However, scanning the wasteland, there was no sign of any students… wait, this emblem belongs to Mikage Academy.

Moreover, the name of the student—

“Mihaya Futaba…!?”

Geez!? The main heroine from the original story!?

That changes things.

Getting unnecessarily involved in the original plot can be dangerous, so I’ll retreat here.

Let’s do that.

“Toa, let’s leave this to other Explorers—”

At that moment,

The scenery around us distorted as if violently stirred.

The wasteland and the rain clouds disappeared as if they never existed, and the world was rewritten.

“What… What’s happening!?”

“It’s a Dungeon infiltration. Occasionally, powerful Dungeons absorb weaker ones.”

The sense of distance between Dungeons is rather inconsistent compared to their physical entrances.

Some Dungeons that appear side by side never intersect, while others far apart can merge.

The reason the rescue signal overlapped with our location was probably because the Dungeon the original heroine was in was quite close to ours.

As a result of clearing this Dungeon and reducing it to its core, its resistance was weakened, allowing it to be infiltrated.

“Is this… a cave?”

“Seems so. With the crystals glowing, we shouldn’t lack for light.”

Before we knew it, we had moved from the wasteland to a cave.

This is the Dungeon from the original story, isn’t it?

If I remember correctly, it was the one where Tourak pushed himself too hard while still figuring out how to use Lutra and ended up losing.

Back then, Rokuhara, a senior who wielded Demons Gear, helped out on a whim.

Come to think of it, despite not being mentioned, they did send out a distress signal. Huh.

Well, Rokuhara will probably come to help, so it should be fine, right?

…But what if Rokuhara is moving differently from the original story?

With two sets of Demons Gear… Is it possible that the priority of tasks has changed?

Isn’t this getting dangerous?

“…Let’s go, Toa.”

“Ah, yes.”

Just in case.

Just to make sure, let’s check.

Probably safe though.

Rokuhara should be around (wishful thinking).

While thinking these thoughts, drenched in sweat, we stepped further into the depths of the cave.

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