Vol 1 Chapter 5 (1/2)

Volueon

「Satou here,

I was very fascinated by a dungeon game in my father’s collection when I was little, which was probably the reason I went into the gaet the triuame」

I check the Map, which eon: Lowest Floor” but does not reveal the paths

Anyway, for a sieon exploration can, if this were a tabletop RPG, it would make me worry about the Game Master’s state of mind

I should at least take care of that first

Let’s start with introducing myself

“I a merchant”

“Dog nano desu”

“I’m Lizard”

Are those names?

The Dog Ear and the Cat Ear girls have been slaves since infancy, while the Reptilian only becae, so she does have a proper na and full of fricatives Quite a mouthful

Liza’s name doesn’t come from “Lizard”, but from the first two syllables of her real name 1

I take out so, as well as the ift for Martha and company, but I can just buy more later

“Wash and disinfect your wounds ater and this cloth, then apply the ointment and wrap the, okay?”

The three look confused after being given brand neels

Ah, okay I’, if I don’t order them around whenever I talk, they’ll only make blank faces in response This reminds me of when I took care of a relative’s children

“What is it? I’ll turn around when you treat your wounds, don’t worry!”

Turns out they’re not eiven quality cloth and ointment

“Thank you, nano desu It’s okay if you don’t turn around, nano desu”

“Um…the medicine and water, sir, if it was for yourself…um…it would be better if…”

Pochi and Tama undo the linen bands tied at the waist of their shi+rts, undress without a care, and start the treatment

Pochi sports a brown bob-cut, while Tath red hair at the back

Like the other two, if you don’t look at her beautiful tail and the orange scales on parts of her body, Liza is no different from a human woman

As the three finish their treath these are just pastries, each of theh for now These pastries were bought as gifts when Zena and I went on the tasting tour

Pochi stares at the, but no one makes a move

“Don’t be reserved, eat!”

They can’t eat without perht, these slaves were mistreated

“Delicious—”

“So-, so sweet, so delicious”

Pochi chokes, and I pass the waterskin to her

“I won’t take it away, so take your time”

I kinda feel like a babysitter

“So there were pastries made with honey…”

Liza seems to be stunned, quite an overreaction for just pastries

I check the Map again and still, outside of this cha is displayed

I open the Menu and cast “Full Map Exploration” If this doesn’t work, do I have to explore the paths myself?

Now then, despite showing every last path of the dungeon, a flat y games like WW, elevation is an essential element to victory, so a 3D map is necessary

Looking at the Map’s three dimensional display, I feel that this place looks less like a dungeon, and , tree-like paths leading to cha paths

Taking a rough survey, I find that there are a hundred fifty-nine people in the dungeon, of which there are seven demi-humans and a hundred fifty-two humans; a quarter of the total are slaves The riot suppression squadron had about fifty members, now separated in three places

I do wish they would come here actually

Personally, I wouldn’t want such a talented person to die here, but even if I leave hireat if I do run into hih

Also, the Eyeball De There’s a conspicuous chaeon, which makes me wonder if it is there…

The main enemies are insect-type monsters from Level 10 to 20

There seems to only be one path out of this chamber, so it would be bad if we find ourselves cornered on the way out! Should I give these girls weapons too?

Having made the decision, I walk towards the path, but the three of them quickly catch up in a panic

“Don’t abandon us! We are willing to do anything!”

“Sir, you can use us as tools, so please bring us along, I beg you”

I aed to stay Even so, none of the Is it due to their experience as slaves? Or are they trained this way?

“Sorry to have worried you girls, but I was just checking out the path ahead, and won’t abandon you, so relax!”

I do h I feel like they wouldn’t be reassured even if I say that, it’s better than nothing

The un, and uses mana as bullets rather than lead The power can be adjusted as I like, with the s only one point of mana, an efficient weapon

Liza is the only one a the three who has a combative skill

I will serve as the vanguard, and ask Liza to watch for surprise attacks behind us Liza herself wishes to be at the front, but I still make her stay back

The lineup is ” the part in combat without ot too careless and were attacked by a monster, they would die in one hit

Basically, this is an escort mission

The path has the sa point

The stone pillars are about waist-height, and annoyingly, the light only reaches chest-level, so the ceiling appears pitch-black

If the path is too dark, ouldn’t be able to get out of this chaht be a remedy for that

“Ta ahead, say it quietly Pochi, tell e suard the back, but don’t focus on it toobehind”

“Yes nano desu!”

“Yes!”

They still look uneasy, but their answers are firm

>>> Obtained skill: “Co”

>>> Obtained skill: “Organizing”

Yeah, probably skills related to organizing parties They look useful, so I try adding skill points to them

Upon entering the path, I see signs of an enemy on the Radar, some distance ahead

“The s from ahead, nano desu”

Poking her head out in the dark and sniffing with her nose, Pochi reports to me

I co her like a pet, she is wagging her tail like crazy, so she’s happy right?

Suddenly thinking of this, I take note of the girls’ statuses, and I am a little shocked by the entry for experience, really… This is a gae, so I don’t know the exact numbers, but I can tell approximately how much they need for the next level, which is convenient

I can see light leaking from the chamber ahead

If I lose too, would I be eaten like that? Even if it see the level difference, I’m not prepared

The s from upwind, has crushed my weak heart It would probably be fine to ca for help to come

“Sir, pardon o around the monster as it consumes its victim, or attack it from behind?”

Liza speaks wearily Even Liza is afraid, and her lihtly

I still can’t fight it up close, so let’s snipe it with the un that can shatter rocks at full power, that large ht?

The first shot missed, but the monster insect didn’t seem to notice the attempt on its life Just like when I had fired at rocks, I didn’t obtain a shooting skill

With the power set tothat was struck explodes at the joint Without letting it get closer, I keep firing and take down the enormous monster Camelback Cricket

The concerns I had see victory

>>> Obtained skill: “Shooting”

>>> Obtained skill: “Ai”

>>> Obtained title: “Insect Slayer”

Sheesh, it’s a large ca up outside a desert…

“Super awesome”

“Strong~”

Thanks to theshowered with praise

Pochi and Tae

“With that strange wand, did you use ic, sir?”

“It’s a ic weapon Don’t tell anyone!”

Well, just to prevent tattling Though Liza nods with a strange expression, Pochi and Taain e get out of the dungeon

Midway down the severed leg of the camelback cricket, it starts to look less like a rod and more like a spear

Right, could this become a makeshi+ft spear?

If I leave it at that, the claw at the tip would swivel around, so I take out a plank and a leather belt to secure it The cut-off end is leaking green fluid, so I recycle a cloth used to ounds to tie it up

>>> Obtained skill: “Dissection”

>>> Obtained skill: “Teratology3”

>>> Obtained skill: “Leathercraft”

>>> Obtained skill: “Woodwork”

Like always, they are easily obtained

Using knowledge given by the Ento skills, I , and forcefully snap it

I shave down the spear-like part of the leg with a short sword This sword is also a ic item, and it’s very sharp, more so than the weapons that soldiers use

By putting together the freshly exposed surfaces of live tissue when binding, they will fuse thanks to the enerate Does this work even when the monster is dead? I feel skeptical, but when I applied it as directed by ether

It feels like I’ around, but since the result is a spear loads better than the first atteo with it!

…Is she hungry?

“Liza, you’ll get a sto that!”

“Tha-, that’s not it Theto remove it…”

Core?

“What is a core?”

“A core can be turned into e for a lot of things with traveling merchants”

Liza’s answer is a little different from what I wanted to hear Maybe I shouldn’t have expected a Wikipedia-level answer

I take out a linen bag froive her a piece of cloth, so she can wipe the blood off of herself

“Put the core into this bag, and take this spear”

I let Pochi hold the bag, and give the Camelback Cricket Spear to Liza, while the short sword she had is passed to Ta equipment, this is exactly like an RPG

Right, why not use this to break it?

I break Pochi and Tama’s chains the sa, so I tell theetically and caress their heads

I put the broken chains into a bag, and give it to Pochi to keep with the bag for cores

“Liza, starting with the next ene the core, so tell them the location and the method”

“Understood~, nano desu”

“Yea~”

Being

Also, I got a bit curious, so I ask Pochi:

“Right, Pochi”

“You don’t have to force yourself to say ‘nano desu’, you know?”

“If I don’t add ‘nano desu’ I’ll be punished, nano desu”

I see, is she saying it because she thinks it’s proper? I’m only their teht?

“I understand, but I won’t be angry if you don’t add it, so just talk how you like”

“Yes…nano desu”

Putting ether in front of the victi “Namo…”4 for them to rest in peace, I leave the chah

So they won’t gain experience just standing next to e

If the level of these three can increase so into others on the way out, I can hide th, but it doesn’t seem to be that easy

If this works like a game, why not play it like one?

“Tama, if there are rocks about the size of a Core, pick one up”

“Yea!”

The road ahead has a fork, and although they lead to the same place, one side has a chamber in the middle Both sides have monsters, but after two Level 10 Caterpillars on the side with the chamber, there is a survivor

…Do we save them?

“The road split~, meow”

Just as the fork enters her view, Tae sentence ending for character

Pochi look a little envious of her, so I also pat her head

Their heads come up to my chest level, which make them easy to pet, so they’re about 110 cm tall? Liza is taller than I am—165 cm or so

“Let’s go right!”

We advance into the path Judging froht?

“Bugs up there—nano desu”

Ta Pochi this time?

…Oh, I have an idea I’m not sure if it ork, but let’s try

Next, the names and levels of the monsters pop up on the AR

One shot connects, and a Catepillar falls doith a “splat”

“Tama, throw rocks at it”

Ta on the Caterpillar, while only one does dae

The Caterpillar slowly inches closer

“Pochi, Ta from behind me!”

Kicking as light as I could, I deflect the Caterpillar’s tackle, and eball

Having confir down the Caterpillar

I just noticed, unlike back at the Dragon’s Canyon, the remains of defeated e

“Liza, Tama, I’ll let you recover the core Pochi, follow me, there’s one more ahead”

Tama passes Pochi a rock from a mountain of them Tama…how many did you pick up?

There are also the bodies of a young wo boy Unlike the Camelback Cricket’s victim, they have not been munched on

“Pochi, go inside then throw rocks froo back to Liza and Tama”

I casually stroll into the chaun

Pochi’s predicae forward and kick the Caterpillar on the side of its head, deflecting the shot I used more force than intended, and the kick crushes the Caterpillar’s head, taking it down The sensation on

Specifically, the path opposite the one we came from

She probably mixed them up in confusion

“Pochi, stop!”

I io around the Caterpillar, I was one step late

“NOO~GET AWAY, GET AWAY~!”

Huh? Who’s that? It’s not Pochi’s voice It’s the man in the path ahead!

Looking at the Radar, he’s in a bad spot

“Pochi, stop!”

I catch up to her, picking her up by the nape

Hmm, why did that man run?

Or did he feel guilty for the Caterpillar’s victims in that chamber…

Regardless, this dungeon is ht, and if I’ood

“Sir! Are you alright!”

“Alright~?”

Liza and Tama run up hurriedly

“Yeah, I’o back to the chamber and recover the core!”

Pochi apologizes with drooping ears, while her tail is tucked between her legs I’er if she panics again, so is it better to scold her a little?

“Pochi, when it becoerous like that, it’s fine to run But you can’t panic, got that?”

I pat her head hanging down despondently, co her

>>> title obtained: “Trainer”

How rude, calling it training It’s just education

I take note of the na conflicted about whether to check the bodies for anything useful I don’t have the resolve to touch the bodies no , Liza notices and directs Pochi to do so

“Strip the clothing too?”

“Take the shoes, but leave the clothing”

Pochi is asking, but do we even need the clothes? I ordered her to take the shoes only because I now realize the beastgirls aren’t wearing any

I create a folder for things victie, and one with the woman’s name under that, then place those iteive those to the of it, I also cut a lock of hair from those two and add them to the folder

The more resilient Liza will have to wait Since in the chaiant snake ahead, there should be shoes left behind by the young

It seeain a level, they auto”, Ta”

The Long Spear skill is shown in white, but Dissect is in gray Pochi and Taray

There are still more than a hundred rooms before the exit anyway, so one step at a time

I lead the beastgirls to the next chamber

We passed six rooms after that, but didn’t see anyone alive There were h

“Goshujin-sama, the cores have been recovered”

“Alright, then take a break”

I take a drink from the waterskin, and pass it to Liza

Liza tries to pull out the stopper on the waterskin but drops it instead, and water pours out fro a puddle

“Ple-, please forgive me! Goshujin-sama!”

Liza desperately tries to pick up the waterskin Her movements appear dull

That reminds me, in the last battle, the accuracy of Pochi and Tama’s throere pretty low!

“Tired?”

“Please forgiveis fine”

What an overreaction—no, Liza really seerave error

Enough about that, I should really check on their health

“Liza, we can just collect ?”

“Please forgiveheavy, and I can’t move with accuracy”

Seeth to take a drink, Pochi and Taround

“Then not just a break, let’s rest for a while”