The Second Floor Of The Dungeon

At last, I entered the second floor of the dungeon.

Acid attack isn’t effective against the slime on the first floor of the dungeon. I had no use for the [Acid 2] I had acquired. So, I decided to test my skills on the monsters in the second basement level.

Incidentally, there was no hierarchical boss between the first and second floors. There was only a staircase connecting the two floors that were pitch black, just like the entrance and exit. This dungeon is not designed to have a boss monster for each floor. So I mapped the first floor.

And then the second floor.

Unlike the first floor, the passageway here is not square but arch-shaped. The blue stone walls and floor are the same, but the ceiling is round, just like a typical tunnel. Moreover, the pale blue light on the ceiling shines only at the highest point, making it seem much darker than the first underground level.

“Hmmm, it’s a little dark. But it’s not that I can’t see, so I’ll have to put up with it. Let’s build a simple camp.”

I set up a simple camp just off the stairs with the clothesline and bird net I had brought along. The dungeon exploration solo is dangerous, and above all, my motto is to be careful at all times.

(I don’t have any herbs or potions with me, even though I’m injured.)

I fixed the extended clothesline to the ceiling and floor, and I stretched a bird net between the two clotheslines. The ends were left open so that one person could slip through if I lay down, and the right and left sides of the two pairs were facing each other.

“Hmm, this way, I would have peace of mind in an emergency. This way, I can escape to the first basement level while the monsters are busy with the bird nets. It’s always good to be prepared.”

I nodded in satisfaction at the simplicity of the defensive position we had set up.

(Now, let’s look for monsters in the second underground level. What kind of monsters?)

With a bit of excitement, we proceeded through the tunnel-like passageway. A large space immediately opens up in front of me. Several thick stone pillars were standing there, reminding us of the huge underground canals we had seen on TV.

In such a place, they were there.

After I saw it, I understood who they were, and my skin crawled violently.

“Hee, hee…!”

I let out a pitiful scream as I turned around and dashed as fast as I can. I quickly left the scene.

“Oh my God, What was that?

I held my head as I returned to the simple camp. I never want to fight a monster like that! But when I turned around, there it was…!

“Ugh…!

The uninvited monster had come from the other side.

It had a shiny black body and long antennae. To my surprise, the monster on the second floor was a cockroach, which I hate. And it was huge. It looked just like a fast-moving R0mba, and its size was just like that. Its size was just like that.

(Ugh, too disgusting…!)

I backed away while facing the giant cockroach across the bird net, and I wanted to go to the first floor. However, if I did not defeat this thing, I would not be able to go on. I also had to check out the effects of the [Acid 2] skill.

And fortunately, the giant cockroach was aware of my presence but did not attack me. So it is not such an aggressive monster.

Well, then, I’ll attack first. There is only one now. Let’s take the lead and quickly defeat it. Aiming at the giant cockroach, I concentrated my mind to fire [Acid Shot] and kneaded up my magical power. Yes, to activate the skill [Acid], I must concentrate and transform my energy into magical power.

However, the giant cockroach dodged the [Acid Shot] at high speed as soon as I shot it.

“What! You missed it!

(Damn, could it have read my presence?)

Sweat trickled down my cheeks.

Come to think of it, cockroaches could sense the movement of their surroundings through the hairs on their bodies. Perhaps it sensed the shimmering of the air and avoided my acid attack.

The sour smell rising from [Acid Shot] filled the area. As the tension increased, I thought about how I could beat it.

(Hmmm, how about generating an acid mist right above him? Not all at once, but sure to inflict damage)

(Not all at once but gradually surely enough to inflict damage)

I will try to cover the area around it with an [Acid Mist] as a plan. That should slowly damage its respiratory system. Let’s try again.

[“Blech! Screech! Rustle! Thud! Jita! Bata-bata-bata…!”]

Ah, the giant cockroach realizes it is being attacked by [Acid] and hurriedly tries to escape.

However, since the surrounding area is covered with a thick [Acid Mist], it runs around, and finally turns over and struggles while flailing its legs.

[Acid Mist] created by his skill is indeed powerful. But it is not as powerful as the monsters in science fiction movies. It is probably a little more acidic than human gastric juices.

But it’s not powerful enough to kill a giant cockroach. However, monsters, as living creatures, need to breathe. And if I hit its respiratory organs, even a monster will run out of oxygen.

[“Jittery…! Rustling…! …rattling…! …d…! (twitch) Bofun!”]

The giant cockroach, whose respiratory organs had been damaged by the [Acid Mist], struggled for less than three minutes before it died and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

(Phew~ It worked.)

The drop was a magic stone and a piece of the cockroach’s exoskeleton. In other words, [“cockroach skin”]. I was relieved that I could defeat the giant cockroach with m [Acid 2] and approach the net to pick up the dropped items first.

The effect of the [Acid Mist] was still lingering, but it would be possible to retrieve it by rolling it with an iron spear. However, that did not happen.

[“Shubba-ba-ba! Gichichi! Rustle-rustle-rustle!”]

Before I could even get to the drop, countless giant cockroaches swooped in from the darkness. My [Acid Mist] was weakening. They understood that I attacked their friend and attacked all at once.

“Whoa~! [Acid Mist]! [Acid Mist] [Acid Mist]!

The bird nets blocked the way, causing a traffic jam, and a swarm of giant cockroaches scrambled up the nets. Terrified by the dozens of such giant litter, I fired [Acid Mist] several times, breaking out in a cold sweat.

[Acid Mist] that looms in front of me like a thick mist. The pungent odor assaulted my eyes and nose, even though I’m wearing a helmet.

(But it was a good thing I had put up a net!)

I praised my preparedness as I fled behind another layer of defense.

[“Gichichi! Gitchiiiiiii! Rustle! Jitters!”]

Looking back, the place was a nightmarish hellscape. In the thick [Acid Mist], giant cockroaches are struggling to survive. But some were coming at me through the net with their strong vitality.

However, the acid fog has weakened them, and they rush at me in the dark. I crushed the giant cockroaches with the bat swinging down on them, and they died one after another.

[“Boo! (Doggah!) Gucha! (Doggott!) Bicha!”]

(Hii～～～～～!)

I sense a sense of aversion to killing creatures, which I did not feel much when defeating slimes until now. However, it attacked me with a maximal discomfort index. I was the one who was winning by defeating the monsters, but it drained my spirit away.

But as I fought and breathed on my shoulders, all the giant litter finally disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Gohoho, gohoho, gohoho! Ugh, what was that?”

When the monsters in the dungeon died, they disappeared in a puff of smoke. I’ve never been so grateful for that as I am now. If the corpses of those dozens of giant cockroaches had remained intact, I would have fainted from fear and discomfort.

Now, there are countless dropped items lying on the floor in my view.

I don’t want to touch that item drop because giant cockroaches dropped. But it would be a waste to leave them lying around. And if left unattended, the giant cockroaches would gather again. So, after collecting a large amount of dropped items, I put them in the polyethylene bucket I had used to throw the slime in the first basement level.

I checked to see if their level had risen, and sure enough, it had. Well, it’s only natural after defeating so many slimes at once.

Current Previous

Level:                                   12       10

Race: Human

Strength:                             33       27

Stamina:                              32       25

Knowledge:                         31       23

Mental Strength:                  34       22

Agility:                                 33       25

Luck:                                      3         3

Dexterity:                             27        21

Mm, and that’s two levels at once.

[Acid Mist] is a one-hit-wonder. Although it is not a one-hit kill, it is too good as an attack with sustained damage and a wide area of effect.

Strength is +6, which is an increase of +3 per level. Stamina is similar. Knowledge is +8, so +4 per level, and why it’s increased that much is because I used my skills and fought with brains by setting up a defensive position.

I believe that the mental stress of seeing the flood of giant cockroaches must have led to this increase. If so, I got my reward. My agility and dexterity were about the same.

However, my luck is not increasing as usual, and my dexterity is lower than other abilities, probably because I am clumsy. Well, I can tinker with a motorcycle. But I am an otaku who is clumsy to live. Yeah, well, that’s about it.