D-Layer Dungeon Dive (Part 1)

“…There we go, got the alchemy stone.”

I put the stone I had recovered from the gray ghost into my pocket.

That took care of today’s routine…

Though we were not about to head back to the surface, but toward D-Layer.

“Hey, heeey, Iosss.”

Misha called out to me.

“Hey, aren’t you going to take out Nyankoromochi?”

“Huh?”

“She was active in the fight against the giant lizardman, wasn’t she? I think she’d be useful if you kept her out.”

True…

If she had not been there, I would have been minced meat by now. Until now, I had kept her inside the bag because I thought it was dangerous, but—

Now that I knew she was a fighting force, Misha’s argument was probably right.

I took the bag out of my backpack and activated Schrödinger’s Cat.

“Meow.”

Nyankoromochi slowly came out of the bag.

“Nyuhehehehehe… Nyankoromochi-chan, come here♪”

Misha smiled brightly and picked Nyankoromochi up. Just like that,

“So cuuute! So cuuute!”

she said, and rubbed her cheek against her.

…Wasn’t she actually just wanting to be with Nyankoromochi?

“Nyankoromochi, are you a cat?”

When I spoke to her, Nyankoromochi tilted her head with an innocent look.

“Meow?”

…This little thing was playing dumb…

“Well, isn’t Nyankoromochi-chan a cat?”

“Huh, isn’t that too much of a stretch?”

“But Ios, wasn’t the function of your ‘Schrödinger’s Cat’ to ‘make the existence of one cat in an enclosed space ambiguous’?”

“Yeah?”

“It says ‘one cat,’ so wouldn’t that be a contradiction unless she was a cat?”

“Ah…”

Now that she mentioned it, that was certainly true…

But this thing was not a cat… no matter how I thought about it. Cats did not wear strange force fields. Was there some kind of logic that could explain it…?

“Maybe if I recognized her as a cat, or something?”

“That might be possible…”

Misha stared fixedly at Nyankoromochi, then said this.

“Then she’s a cat.”

“Huh?”

“If you doubt it, she might end up outside the skill’s target, right? Before you sleep, repeat ‘Nyankoromochi is a cat’ ten times.”

…It was absurd, but it had a point…

I decided to stop doubting it.

This thing is a cat this thing is a cat this thing is a cat this thing is a cat—

“Is she really a cat?”

“Honestly!”

Ahahahahaha! Misha laughed.

“Well, even lions are cats. Like—maybe she’s included in the big category of felines? Just think of it that way.”

Misha took Nyankoromochi and went on ahead.

“Good grief…”

I shrugged and followed the person and the one animal.

After that, we went down the stairs, farther and farther down.

We passed through E-Layer, which we had relied on for the past few months—

and stepped into D-Layer.

…It was just a dungeon, so nothing in particular changed just because the layer changed.

After we walked for a while, a D-class monster appeared.

It was a large, plump creature. Its height was about two and a half meters. It had long, shaggy hair and wore clothes made of rags. It held a stone club in its hand.

“A troll, huh…”

Misha briefly told me the enemy’s strength.

D-Layer—uncharted territory. Of course, this was an opponent I was fighting for the first time.

Tension enveloped my body.

Calm down, I whispered inwardly.

I had learned in the fight against the giant lizardman. Stat values did not lie. Those numbers were absolute—and heavy things.

My stats were stronger than the troll’s.

Both my attack power and my defense power. Mine were higher.

In other words, this time, I could impose my stats on the enemy.

And—

“Shall we do this, Ios?”

Misha called out to me.

“Meow!”

Nyankoromochi, who was at Misha’s feet, meowed toward me.

I also had reliable companions.

There was no way I would lose!

There was no way I would be afraid!

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!”

I shouted and attacked the troll.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The troll also roared and swung its club down to intercept me.

I caught that blow with my Great Green Scale Shield. The pressure on my arm was—heavy!

…But that was all.

It was not too heavy. It was not force that I could not handle. Even if I allowed a direct hit, it would not sink me in one blow.

I could do this!

I knocked away the troll’s attack.

I stepped in and slashed.

The Demon Wolf Broadsword sliced through the troll’s thick skin.

The blade went through too!

However—

“!?”

I involuntarily doubted my eyes.

Because I saw the wound on the troll’s body, which I should have cut open, gradually closing up.

“…Wha!?”

“Trolls heal themselves!”

Misha’s sharp voice flew toward me as I wavered.

“Move, Ios! Fire Arrow!”

The instant I moved my body to the side—the arrow of flame released from Misha’s staff flew in. The flames struck the troll’s wound directly.

“Giiyaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The troll let out an unpleasant scream.

“If you sear it with fire, the wound won’t heal! I’ll support you!”

“Got it!”

Misha accurately shot flames into my slashes with precise shooting.

It felt good.

My attacks and Misha’s attacks were linked together. Even though we had not given any instructions or held any discussion, our movements fit together.

Haha! So this was what it meant to have a companion I could entrust my back to!

And—

“Meow!”

Nyankoromochi’s blow mercilessly cut through the troll. Misha’s flames attacked that wound as well.

In the blink of an eye—

we had defeated the powerful enemy, the troll.

“…Aren’t we kind of really strong?”

“Nishishishi! This is crazy! Crazy-crazy!”

“Meow!”

Nyankoromochi proudly straightened her back.

Deploying Nyankoromochi was quietly a big deal. Until now, I had been the only vanguard, but now I could count on Nyankoromochi.

…Was she really a cat…?

No, no, no, no!

Cat! She was a cat!

I had to believe she was a cat…

It would be a big problem if she ended up outside the effect target of Schrödinger’s Cat.

For now, I decided to recover the troll’s loot. When I brought the retriever close to the troll—

“…There’s Fell Fairy Ore.”

Fell Fairy Ore—in other words, monster ore, was an item used to make equipment derived from that monster. The “Great Green Scale Shield” I made was made based on ore dropped by the giant lizardman.

In other words, if I used this ore, I could make troll equipment.

“Seriously!?”

The one who raised a voice of joy was Misha.

“Ore sells for a lot!”

Yes—

Ore sold for a lot. Equipment was useful… and the drop rate for ore was low.

From now on, we would be hunting trolls frequently.

In other words, it would become a precious source of funds for us.

“I wonder how much D-class monster ore goes for.”

“Hmm…”

Misha thought while placing a hand against her nicely shaped lips.

“Roughly 600,000 gold.”

“Si!?”

That was quite a sum. To think we could defeat one this easily and get 600,000…

“Nishishishi! This’ll make repaying the debt go smoothly!”