Day 42 – Morning, Dungeon near the Village downstream. We finally reached the 12th floor. Although there is loot, as meager as it may be, this was of no use for the training at all. I guess it’s only natural that in a brand new dungeon both quality and quantity of monsters would be insufficient. Naturally, the same applied to the magic stones. Treasure chests are the only saving grace, yet there are no rare items that would make me want to equip them. The great dungeon was special after all. As expected of a dungeon with such a peerlessly beautiful dungeon master. Well, she was nothing but bones though? Or rather, the dungeon master was the greatest treasure of that dungeon. For that alone, I’m thankful that I was brought to this world. Yes, I’m affectionately thankful every night! Even so, I have nothing to do? Since the monsters are no match for Armored Pres-san at all, I don’t get any left for myself. I guess from a third-person point of view this is what could be objectively called… An attendant of a knight in silver armor! I’ve completely become a minor character! I won’t be surprised if I find 『Kept Man』among my titles! Well, I will be mad though? Quite mad!… After all, I already have 『Loner』, 『NEET』, and 『Hikikomori』. However, I really have nothing to do. There are barely any monsters remaining in the first place. Monsters of this dungeon were in serious danger of extinction. After all, there are magic stones everywhere I look. The cause of death is either inability to swim or withstand water pressure… Hm? 「There is something on the 13th floor, can you tell what it is? The numbers are not great, but they seem to be moving around a lot? Kind of?」 「De-demo-n’s, ka-ma.」 Demon’s kama it seems? Yeah, the way she struggles with words despite her supreme beauty makes her even cuter. Ah, how I’d want to… *Cough, Cough!*
She is glaring at me! Ehm, kama? Like desire? Demon desire? Or kama like for tea? Maybe Demon’s naKama? Just demon’s what is that? I hope it’s not a demon okama. If so, then I’m running away. Absolutely! [1][2] But they seem to be swinging something? Or maybe they are gesturing? Well, I’ll know the answer when I go down to that floor. With those thoughts, I went down the stairs and it turns out the correct answer was 「Demon Scythe Lv 13」. I thought it’s Demon Nakama, but turns out it’s just oversized kamas. Or rather, flying scythes. I guess it would be more accurate to call them Scythe Demons. Enemies possess an eerie appearance that seems like a combination of a kama and a spear. Quite an appealing form for someone with an 8th grader’s syndrome? [3] Spinning, three scythes are coming this way. Flying weapons, huh, quite cool. If people who actually suffer from 8th grade syndrome were here they would’ve swooped down on those scythes and made a bloodbath fighting for them! 「Eeehm… 『Dominate』?」 (((Clang))) It worked, it seems? Suddenly remembering『Demon Ring:【Dominate Demon (3)】』, I pointed to the flying scythes and tried to use it on them, after which they fell to the ground and stopped moving. What is this? Are they on standby for orders? 「Eehm? Fly?」 Wooow, they flew up! The three scythes are now floating in the air! Very in line with 8th grader’s fantasies.
(((……))) The demon scythes spin around me, following the trajectory that I picture in my mind. Since they obey a mere thought they might be quite useful? But at Lv 13 they are too weak unless I train them. Well, I can just think about it as I use them. Their levels will rise gradually. If only I had 4 scythes I would’ve had enough for the head of every geek. Unlucky. I keep playing around the scythes, spinning and circling them, and it seems they really move according to my thoughts. Quite useful. Perhaps thanks to my 『Apex Thinking Lv 3』I have no problem with controlling them separately, no discomfort or confusion at all. This is useful, or rather, very cool! But isn’t this kind of villain-like? And I’m already wearing a black mantle with a hood? If I fused 『Spike Mail』with it, then I’d probably be attacked on sight by adventurers if they spotted me inside a dungeon! However, I wonder how『Demon Ring』’s control is different from the control of my 『Taming』? Probably, my 『Taming』doesn’t have a compelling force behind it, while 『Demon Ring』’s control is forceful. But what about the bitches who forced their way into being 『Tamed』by me? This reminds me, since coming to this world I’ve yet to encounter a proper mirror, so I didn’t notice it myself until now, but apparently, the color of my eyes tends to change from time to time? It seems, sometimes, they turn golden. A 16 year old boy in all black with golden-colored contacts, swinging a scythe would be an incredibly cringy sight. No doubt, a mere look at that would be physically painful. Perhaps lacking a mirror is for the best?! However, with this, I will finally be able to cut the grass around the cave. Revolving scythes with automatic control and auto spinning function. Now, I’ll be able to create my own park! I also should deforest a bit of the woods. Thinking so, I might’ve gotten pretty great stuff. It’s good that I came here… After all, I got potatoes and a lawnmower? As I was playing around with the scythes, spinning them, we continued our advance. I thought that the scythes will be hard to handle in confined spaces but it turns out their blades can be folded, basically turning them into spears. Spears with a blade attached to the handle. Might be good for charging attacks as well. Can’t wait to try it out. And even though I’m trying to raise a flag here, there are no monsters around! The monster in the hidden room of the 15th floor also was a magic stone, while the chest contained 『Counter Shield – Returns magic or impact once the damage reaches a certain threshold】DeF 20% Up』. Let’s sell it to classmates. I’d prefer to give them a priority on purchasing good items. Also, the items that are too good get a bit too expensive to sell otherwise. There was fierce competition to buy 『Blade Shield』so there will be someone who’d want this as well. Maybe I should hold another auction?
As we reached the 15th floor magic stones’ quality somewhat improved, but there are still very few of them. Must be because the dungeon was yet to fully develop. How dull…
「Eem, is this the last stop? Kind of? I guess?」 (Nod, Nod) Well, as expected, my Affection Rating won’t be found on a mere 17th floor. After all, I went all the way to the 100th floor earlier and didn’t find it… So the chances of it being here are slim to none? It seems that the 17th floor was the residence of the dungeon master. A single conspicuously large magic stone is lying on the ground. Beside it lies a set of armor. Must be the equipment of the dungeon master. An armored dungeon master… But would a living armor or a skeleton knight die by drowning? Just what was this dungeon master’s job?! There are no other items, so nothing to deduce from. This means the culprit will remain unknown! Ah, there is a passageway in the back… A hidden room spotted! Thanks to 『Space Perception』I discovered another hidden room. This skill could be the most useful one in the dungeons, but before I noticed it was absorbed by『Rajingan』. I still can use it, but it disappeared from the list of my skills. You are helping me so much, yet you had so little screen time, Space Perception-san. 「This way, over here, it’s a hidden passage? A hidden room? Which is it? That sort of thing?」 There is a very obvious rock, but pushing it reveals a passage. This arrangement boosts expectations but considering everything we saw here so far, getting my hopes up would be very foolish. At the end of the passageway was a treasure chest. Well, I guess this can be counted as a hidden room. But once again, no lock. Just what the hell was that 『Magic Key』for? Is it hinting me to turn to burglary? Is it because I’m an unemployed 16 year old (male) living in a cave…? Hmm, can’t argue, that is reasonably suspicious. Inside the chest was 『Ring of Dungeon Master – 【Dungeon Creation, Dungeon Control】』…eh? Eeeeeeeeeeh? Why wasn’t the dungeon master wearing it? Why did they have it locked away?! You have to wear it! You are a dungeon master. Could it be they didn’t like the job? Well, it indeed seems to be pretty exploitative… Both in terms of duties and the post itself. I mean, even their superior, Dungeon Emperor, resigned from the office?
However, does one become a subordinate of the dungeon emperor upon equipping this? Or rather, was there an inauguration of a new dungeon emperor? Yeah, equipping this might lead to problems with dungeon hierarchy. However, with dungeon creation, I will be able to not just remodel but create brand new dungeons. I’d better keep it, just in case. The armor is 『Armored Plate – DeF Enhancement (Great), Magic Resistance (Intermediate), Auto Heal』, quite bulky. However, the effects are nice, and Armored Pres-san doesn’t want it. This is going on auction when we get back. Now, let’s go home. There seems to be nothing left, and despite the dungeon being so dripping wet, no lotion appeared among the drops. No need to take a rest at such a place. Yeah, no Rest, huh… tch? When on the way back I told an old-timer from the village that the dungeon was dead and had no monsters, he, for some reason, was extremely overjoyed, and even went to call the village elder. Yeah, being called, he came, and as expected, it’s another old man. No need to call something like that! After bowing over and over they then gave me a whole ton of vegetables. According to the old-timer who is the village elder, the walls and some of the structures were destroyed by a flood a few years ago, so they are completely defenseless from the monsters. Which reminds me, when I first came here they had nothing but a wooden fence around the village, but it seems they are working on a new wall? Indeed, being attacked by monsters under such conditions would be scary. After all, this place is different from that terrifying town of brutes, where every citizen is armed with a club. But I received vegetables from the whole village, and it’s not like it’s that big, so it doesn’t need much of a lengthy wall. On top of that, I didn’t do anything today, so I have full mana. Yeah, after all, I really didn’t do anything at all! Putting my hand to the ground I pour magic power into it. If I properly set up the area of effect first, then I will be able to easily handle the rest with visualization only. The thickness and the height can be adjusted according to my mana reserves. 「Come forth, walls? I guess? You don’t need a ditch for it, right? Traps would be dangerous for the people of the village? Kind of?」
The height doesn’t even reach 2 meters, but it’s reasonably thick, so the likes of a goblin leader won’t be able to destroy it. Kobolds and wolves might be able to jump over it, but making it higher will turn it more fragile… Let’s dig around it a bit? Yeah, looks pretty good now? 「Well, I felt bad just taking all those vegetables for free, so I made a small wall? Kind of? I guess?」 「「「「……Eh?!」」」」 For some reason, they gave me even more vegetables. I probably wouldn’t have been able to hold all of them if I didn’t have the item bag. Well, they seem to be happy? The village elder even had tears in his eyes. Making a big deal out of nothing? Was there no one in the village who could use Earth Magic? Getting even more vegetables from something like this, I might’ve profited from it even more from the dungeon? As expected, sightseeing is important. Let’s have a hot pot today… The only question here, can earthenware pot be made through Earth Magic? [TL Notes: [1] Kama (カーマ) – means “desire, wish, longing” in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain literature. [2] Kama (釜) – a type of metal pot or kettle used in Japanese tea ceremony. [3] Kama (鎌) – a traditional Japanese farming implement similar to a sickle used for reaping crops and also employed as a weapon