Chapter 59
Party Attack
Preparation
Before hitting the Dungeon, we decided to take a walk to help
digest our food for Tsubaki's sake, since she was stuffed. The townscape
of Kagurazaka, with its cobblestone alleys and old Japanese-style
traditional restaurants, has a different vibe from Higashi-Nakano.
Taking a walk together down unfamiliar streets was quite fun in its own right.
I stopped caring about the stares directed at us from all over a long
time ago. Madoka is just too beautiful, so it can't be helped. I'll at
least forgive them for sneaking a peek!
Finishing our walk, we entered the crowded Dungeon Administration,
only to find ourselves the center of attention once again. It seems we're still
a hot topic. Plus, this time we have a suspicious woman dressed entirely in
black hiding her face joining us, making us a trio, so it's a huge deal. The
murmuring is almost annoying.
Tsubaki gave off the impression of being shy, so I wondered
if she'd be okay in a place with this many people, but perhaps because she
didn't actually need to talk to anyone, she didn't seem particularly bothered.
Once we finished the usual pre-entry registration, it was time for our Dungeon
attack!
「Alrighty, here
we go.」
Activating Madoka's 『Skill Link I』 and my 『Solo Dungeon』, we stepped into the Dungeon's territory. And
just like that, a space meant only for us was created. This was the first time
we'd linked our skills since our test run last time, and the first time doing
it with three people. I was a little nervous, but I'm glad it worked out.
「Whew,
entering a Dungeon really sharpens you up. Alright, let's change.」
「Wait, Aoi.
Change? Here? We didn't stop at the locker room, so I thought we were
just doing a simple check on a shallow floor today...」
「Eh, I'm
planning to go all out, you know? I'm having you experience my 『Ultra Hard
Mode』 Dungeon right away! So get your full gear
on perfectly.」
「Even if you
say that, you're changing here?」
Good grief, getting all embarrassed.
「It's fine,
it's fine. No one is watching, and we aren't on any cameras or anything. Now,
let's feel true freedom together!」
With a vigorous whoosh, I stripped off my British young
lady-style clothes and tossed them aside.
「...Do you
always do this, Aoi?」
「Because the
locker room is always crowded! Never mind that, hurry up and change! Come on,
you take your clothes off too, Tsubaki.」
「Umm, this is
my equipment for Dungeons.」
「Is that so?
True, looking closely, it's different from normal clothes.」
So she uses it as her everyday wear, I see. I had initially thought
about making my magic academy uniform look my everyday wear too, so that's a
valid option.
「Just hurry
up and put some clothes on, Aoi.」
「Okey-dokey,
hurry up and change, Madoka.」
Madoka is grumbling, but she'll get used to it soon and
learn the splendor of true freedom! With Tsubaki just watching without
changing, I quickly, and Madoka clumsily, finished changing into our
full equipment.
「Doesn't the
vibe kind of resemble mine?」
「You showed
me yours before, right? There was similar equipment at my family home, so I
picked it. Its performance was quite high, so I figured this would be good.」
Mine looks like a white shirt with a black skirt and a jacket. The
jacket is a bit cape-like, giving it a magic academy sort of vibe. Madoka's
equipment overall resembled mine, the difference being that her cape-like
jacket was quite a bit longer and colored a deep red. It was cool in its own
way and suited Madoka very well.
With this, our combination was two magic academy uniform looks and one
European noblewoman's mourning dress look. Our shoes and accessories were all
over the place, and there was absolutely zero sense of unity.
「What weapon
are you using? Mine are these.」
I showed off my proud, reliable Mr. Hammer and throwing axe, and then
lifted my leg wearing a long boot to show it off. I had shown them to Madoka
during our sleepover, so I was showing them for Tsubaki's sake.
「I imagined
you as a mage type, Aoi, so those weapons just feel so out of place.
Mine is this.」
「Ooh, it's a
gun. And it's huge, that's cool.」
「Its name is
the Star-Dust of Ruin Magic Shotgun, a type of magic weapon. It's
strong, so look forward to it.」
A magic weapon! Magic shotgun! Star-dust of ruin! A bunch of insanely
cool words were flying out one after another.
「Mine is,
this...」
The remaining weapon, Tsubaki's, was something thin and small.
Pinched between her fingers, it looked exactly like a rectangular slip of
paper.
「That's a
weapon?」
「Tsubaki can use cursed talismans as weapons.」
「Talismans!
Cooool!」
「Heh, hehe...
fuhehe...」
I don't really get it, but I can picture it. I think it's one of those
Onmyoji-style things.
「How do you
use them?」
「I just fly
them... with magic... but, making the talismans is tough.」
「Making them?」
Tsubaki looked at Madoka as if troubled. What, is she
tired of talking?
「Talismans
are powerful and versatile, but they are consumables. When you use them, you
have to make more yourself to restock. That's why Tsubaki primarily uses
other magic to fight.」
「I'll show
you that... in actual combat.」
She probably got tired of explaining it with words. Well, if I'll
understand it by seeing it, then that's fine.
「Alrighty,
seeing is believing, so for now, let's show each other how we fight. After
that, we can think about formations and coordination and stuff, sound good?」
「That works
for me and Tsubaki.」
「Then I guess
we'll test things out around the Fifth Floor. Let's go~.」
I heard that the transfer circles placed every five floors can be used
as long as you've registered your ID card at least once. And if you hold hands
or are touching each other, it seems you can teleport together with anyone.
This is the first time in the Kagurazaka Dungeon for Tsubaki, who
lived in Kansai, but if she's with us, she can go straight to the Fifth
Floor in one go. How convenient.
When we activated the transfer circle, the scenery changed almost
instantly, and we were transported to a night town that looked like Edo. Dozens
of meters away, we immediately spotted a monster. It's been a while since I've
been on the Fifth Floor too, but that's a variant of the Ashigaru-type Skeleton-kun.
It's hard to tell from a distance, but if you get closer, you can see
that its bones are silver. It's a style where they cover their bodies in
tattered brown armor. And they carry a katana or a spear. If I recall, those
Ashigaru-type Skeleton-kuns had a decent amount of power. But I think
that was about it. I don't feel like they had any special abilities, and since
skeletons don't move in groups on this floor, I don't think they're
particularly difficult enemies.
I heard Madoka is Level 10 and Tsubaki is Level 12. For
being the same age as me, Tsubaki's level is pretty high too.
Apparently, she often went to a nearby Dungeon with her relatives, so I
have high expectations for her abilities.
Anyway, since it's our first time, I think the Fifth Floor is
just the right difficulty for a test.
The problem is that this is an 『Ultra Hard Mode』 Dungeon. This skill
is active even without having Madoka link to it. I wonder if that's
because the skill's effect is applied to the Dungeon itself. Otherwise,
it would create a weird situation where the enemies are only stronger for me,
after all.
Anyway. I'll just have the two of them tell me how much the difficulty
differs from a normal Dungeon. Let's do that.
「Hey Aoi,
are you sure this is actually the Fifth Floor?」
「Of course.
Is something up?」
「It looks
like a completely different monster from the Fifth Floor I know.」
What, completely different? Even if it was stronger, I had pictured it as being just a minor change. I guess the rest comes down to fighting it and seeing how it goes.
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