To Level 21! (Grail Leveled Up Too!)

After earning experience for a while on the E layer, we returned to the surface.

We went back to the Adventurers’ Guild and sold off our spoils.

“Let’s see… That comes to 250,000 gold.”

“Huh?”

Surprised, I instinctively asked back.

250,000 gold from a single hunt? Incidentally, this sale price did not include the “Alchemy Stone.”

Could hunting on the E layer alone really earn that much…?

The reason was the “magic stones.”

The magic stones obtained on the E layer sold for just under 10,000 each. On top of that, thanks to Schrödinger’s Cat, the first monster always dropped an item, so it was relatively easy for me to earn money.

With our pockets warm, Misha and I felt good and went into a slightly expensive restaurant to raise a toast.

““Cheers!””

We called out in good spirits and clanked the mugs in our hands together.

We gulped down our beer.

“Man, a drink after a hunt is delicious!”

“It really is.”

We smacked our lips over the delicious food that was served.

“250,000 from one hunt is tasty.”

“It sure is.”

“Just today—with the Alchemy Stone included, that makes 360,000. Maybe we can pay back the 30,000,000 debt surprisingly quickly…”

“Nishishishi! That’s right, that’s right!”

“But,” Misha said, twirling her finger around.

“We can only go to the E layer once every three days, though.”

“Ah, right…”

That was because of the miasma.

The stagnant miasma gave birth to monsters. Dense miasma weakens the human body. If we were only defeating one gray ghost in the shallow layers, it would be no problem to go every day, but after seriously diving, a few days of rest were recommended.

“Even so, I think it’s not bad. Even once every three days, that’s 80,000 in rewards per day.”

“Yep, yep! As expected of the E layer!”

To Misha, who nodded along in a good mood, I said this.

“Thank you, Misha. Really.”

“Huh?”

“Because you were right, Misha. It’s better to get equipment together and head to the lower layers quickly. You guided me.”

“Well… haha… That’s embarrassing.”

Misha combed up her unruly hair with one hand.

“You’re praising me to death today! What, what, did you finally realize Misha-san’s greatness?”

“I realized it.”

“Hey, hey! That’s where you’re supposed to play it cool, right? Like, ‘I didn’t say that much,’ or something!”

Even as she said that, Misha did not look displeased.

“Well, if you’re grateful, I’m happy, though… Nishishishi! By all means, make use of Misha-san’s intellect!”

“I’ll keep relying on you, partner.”

With our spirits lifted, we raised our mugs again and clanked them together.

And then—

Three months passed.

We continued diving into the dungeon. We earned experience endlessly on the E layer, and my level reached 21.

Two months after coming to Piptat.

At last, Grail and his companions had become the six-person party they had long wished for.

“Hahahahahaha! I’m counting on you!”

In a good mood, Grail shook hands with the three new members.

Two warriors and a hunter.

Combined with the scout and priest they had already had, the balance was fairly good.

(…Finally. Finally… my unstoppable rapid advance begins!)

He had been stalled because of the useless Ios, but that could not be helped.

He only had to make up for it from here on out.

To be honest, their skills were garbage, and he had not wanted to make people like them his companions, but—

(Hmph, wasting time would be pointless. I just have to replace them with capable people later!)

Grail and the others went out on their first hunt.

After hunting goblins on the F layer, Grail made a proposal to the members.

“Why don’t we go to the E layer?”

Everyone’s eyes wandered.

One of the newly joined warriors opened his mouth.

“…N-No, isn’t it still too early? Today’s our first time as a party, you know? Our coordination still isn’t there… and our equipment isn’t really enough for the E layer…”

“Don’t you go getting spineless on meeeee!”

Shouting loudly, Grail kicked the floor hard.

“I don’t have time to crawl along at a snail’s pace! I have to climb the ranks, you know! My ambitions are different from yours, my ambitions!”

Then he thumped his own chest.

“Relax! We defeated an E-layer monster before with five people! I have the Swordsmanship skill! Leave it to me. Aren’t you lucky, getting to earn money the easy way? Or what? Before, we could do it with five people, but with you lot, it’s impossible even with six?”

After being told that much, the warriors could not back down either.

“…Fine… Well, it probably isn’t impossible…”

They nodded, looking displeased.

Waiting for Grail and the others after they descended to the E layer was one hunter lizard.

Grail’s opposing attack power was 600.

“Hey! You newbies! I’m the damage source! If I get taken down, it’s over, so you get out front and draw it in!”

With their faces twitching, the two new warriors stepped forward.

The hunter lizard was strong.

With flashes of its claws and one swing of its tail, it mercilessly sent the warriors flying.

“Come on, come on! Put some spirit into it! Spirit!”

While cursing, Grail took advantage of openings and slashed at the hunter lizard.

But he could not quite deal a fatal blow. Grail himself was afraid of being hit, so he could not step in strongly. That irritation turned toward the warriors who kept getting blown away.

(Dammit! Since you’re only useful as decoys, at least fulfill that role!)

After a considerable amount of time—

“Take thaaat!”

Grail’s flash of a slash cut down the hunter lizard.

“I-It’s… over…”

The five members collapsed limply, looking utterly exhausted in both body and spirit.

If they took even one direct hit, they would not get away unharmed. It had been that kind of mentally exhausting battle.

Further marching today would likely be impossible.

But for Grail, there was no problem. Looking down at the battered members, he felt a definite sense of success.

(…Kukuku! This works! At the very least, we can defeat one hunter lizard! Earning experience is going to go smoothly!)

One month passed after that.

At last, Grail’s moment of joy arrived.

Grail’s level had become 16.

“Ahahahahahahaha! I finally did it!”

With a sense of omnipotence, Grail thrust his right hand upward.

(Iooooooos! My level went up, you hear? What about you? Are you, the one with that trash skill, still all alone at 15? You’re still at 15, aren’t you! Will you come crawling back, asking me to make you a companion again? But it’s too late now! I’m going to aim for the top with these new companions!)

For this past month, he had forcefully dragged around the reluctant members who said it was dangerous and had defeated hunter lizards again and again.

That hardship had paid off.

As expected, I was the leader! If everyone just did what I said, everything would go well!

“Let’s do this! From here on, we’re rising up!”

Grail laughed in high spirits.

At his back—

The five utterly exhausted members stared at him with cold, unimpressed eyes.