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Translator: TipToe
Translator (November 9, 2024 Version): Barnnn
Over the next day and a half, Tsutomu immersed himself in mastering his <<Fly>> control. Slowly but steadily, he rose into the air, gaining confidence with each attempt. Hovering above the sea, he raised his hands triumphantly to the sky — only to plunge, rather spectacularly, into the water below.
The following day marked the true beginning of Tsutomu, Garm, and Camille’s partnership as they embarked on their mission to conquer the Valley. Tsutomu, clad in his usual white robe and pants that glowed faintly with pale light, prepared himself for the challenge. Garm, encased in his heavy silver armor, had made a change: instead of his regular buckler, a massive tower shield now hung from his back, covering nearly half his frame.
Camille, in stark contrast, carried an imposing, weathered iron greatsword, her figure wrapped in red leather armor that revealed a bare expanse of skin where the back had been cut away to accommodate her dragon wings when she transformed. Noticing her unscaled back, Tsutomu glanced curiously for a moment before focusing on the task at hand. The trio descended into the fifty-first layer from the Guild’s Magic Circle.
A gust of wind swept past them as they materialized, as if welcoming them to the new terrain. Before them, a valley stretched wide, carpeted in lush greenery. Trees stood in full bloom, and waterfalls cascaded from the towering cliffs that surrounded them.
Tsutomu’s gaze lingered on the colossal, arching rock formations that loomed ahead, green as the forest itself. He pulled a large bottle of Green Potion from his Magic Bag.
“Camille, could you scout the area?” Tsutomu asked.
“Sure. Could you cast <<Fly>> on me?”
“Right, here goes…” Tsutomu settled down, unwrapped the Potion bottle’s cushion, then raised his White Staff. “<<Fly>>.”
With a whispered incantation, the spell took effect. A soft breeze seemed to lift Camille’s red hair as she floated effortlessly into the sky.
Tsutomu watched her ascend before returning to his task, fitting a funnel into an empty vial and carefully pouring the bottle’s Green Potion inside.
He proceeded to quickly fill several vials, securing them snugly to his holster, ensuring they wouldn’t fall loose. After passing one of the vials to Garm, who was in the middle of warming up, Tsutomu turned his attention to preparing his own supply of Blue Potions.
Doing this was always a minor inconvenience. Tsutomu often found himself wishing he could prepare them in advance, but the advice of the Forest Apothecary still rang clear in his mind: Potions decayed quickly once removed from their original containers — but that didn’t apply inside the Dungeon.
Potions were far from ordinary medicine; they were special concoctions infused with magical energy, crafted from materials retrieved from God’s Dungeon. These elements, once processed with True Magic and magic tools, became vessels of healing power. But the moment a Potion container was unsealed, its precious magic began to seep away, causing it to lose potency.
Yet within the Dungeon, where Magic Stones endlessly spawned, the very air was rich with magical energy, slowing the Potion’s degradation. Hence, it was common practice among Explorers to fill Potion vials within the Dungeon’s boundaries.
Once his Blue Potion vials were ready, Tsutomu moved about to ensure they didn’t hinder his mobility. Satisfied, he cast <<Fly>> on himself and floated into the air. Though his speed was no faster than a walk, his control had improved. His balance held steady, and he no longer feared a sudden fall.
After a while, Camille returned in <<Dragon Form>>, her wings flaring to slow her descent. She landed gracefully.
“I found the Black Gate. It’s that way,” Camille announced.
“Wow, already? Lucky you!”
“I’ve got a sense for where it tends to appear.”
Though the Guild reported that the Dungeon’s landscape shifted daily, certain features — such as Safe Zones and Black Gates — retained distinct characteristics, enabling Explorers to locate them with relative ease.
As her dragon wings crumbled into ash and vanished, Camille undid her hairpin, letting her long red hair cascade down her back, concealing the bare skin.
“…Could you not stare at me like that?” she muttered, her cheeks flushing.
“Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean to,” Tsutomu stammered, hastily handing her a vial of Green Potion.
With that, they set off. Garm and Camille walked ahead, while Tsutomu floated alongside them, practicing his control. Occasionally, his flight would falter, a slight wobble threatening to topple him, but Garm’s steady hand was always there to stabilize him as they pressed on toward the Black Gate.
After several minutes of ascending the mountain trail, the underbrush ahead stirred, rustling with hidden movement. From the thicket emerged wolves with fur the color of the foliage, their green pelts blending seamlessly with the surroundings. Their grass-like manes shook as they advanced, eyes locked on the trio.
“Verdant Wolves… Garm, use <<Combat Cry>>. Camille, take the one on the far left,” Tsutomu called down from above, casting <<Protect>> on both Garm and Camille.
Garm stepped forward, his tower shield raised, a crimson aura pulsing around him as it drew the wolves’ attention. Camille wasted no time, swinging her massive greatsword in a wide arc at the wolf on the left.
Three wolves charged Garm in unison. He met the lead wolf with a swift strike from the short sword at his waist. The blade grazed the beast, but it was enough to cause the wolf to stumble back. The remaining two lunged at him, their jaws bared, but Garm braced himself, his tower shield absorbing the full impact of their assault.
“<<Shield Bash>>!”
With a grunt, Garm shoved the shield forward, the force knocking one wolf off its feet. The creature tumbled to the ground, and Garm followed through, bringing his shield down in a brutal slam. A sickening crunch filled the air as the wolf’s body crumpled beneath the blow, dissolving into a Colorless Magic Stone.
Another Verdant Wolf, enraged, let loose a piercing howl, but its cry was swiftly silenced as Camille’s greatsword carved through its flank, sending the wolf crashing into a nearby tree. The sound of splintering bone echoed, and as Camille’s blade came down in a final, decisive stroke, the monster dissolved into a Magic Stone.
The last remaining wolf, wounded by Garm’s earlier strike, hesitated, its eyes flicking nervously between the three of them as it slunk backward. Sensing there might be more lurking nearby, Tsutomu gave a quick order for Garm to use <<Warrior Howl>>.
Garm slammed his shield against his armor with a resounding clang. The sound stirred the wolves hidden in the brush, drawing them out. One of the Verdant Wolves lunged from the shadows, but Garm promptly cleaved it in two with a stroke of his short sword. A second wolf pounced at Garm from behind, only to be intercepted by Camille’s greatsword. The beast staggered, thrown off balance, and Tsutomu, hovering above, unleashed an <<Air Blade>>, the force of it sending the wolf reeling long enough for Camille to deliver the finishing blow.
After confirming the area was clear and no more enemies would approach, Tsutomu shot an <<Air Blade>> at the last wolf, causing it to flinch in pain, giving Camille the opening to end the fight. As silence settled over the path, Tsutomu and Camille scanned the surroundings, ensuring no more threats remained before gathering the scattered Small Colorless Magic Stones.
They continued onward, and along the way, they encountered more Verdant Wolves and other familiar beasts — Red Grizzlies and Earth Boars — but each creature fell swiftly beneath their combined might as they pressed on toward the fifty-second layer.
When they reached the next layer, the scenery barely changed. The sprawling green valley persisted, though this time, they found themselves in the heart of a dense forest, surrounded by towering trees.
While Camille scouted the area from above, Tsutomu busied himself replenishing his Blue Potions, though a dull ache had begun to throb in his ears. Grimacing, he pressed a hand to one side of his head, massaging the discomfort away.
“Are your ears bothering you too, Garm?” he asked, glancing at the latter, who was rubbing his own canine ears with a similar pained expression.
“Yeah,” Garm replied. “Feels like they’re being pushed from the inside.”
“Wait… all four of your ears hurt?”
“These ones aren’t as bad,” Garm said, touching the human ears on the sides of his head, which were less sensitive compared to the animal ones perched atop it.
“Huh…” Tsutomu mused, intrigued by the physiology of Beastkin like Garm, who possessed two sets of ears — one pair largely decorative, the other finely attuned to sound. Some Beastkin had sharper senses than humans, but not all.
The likely cause of the pain dawned on Tsutomu: the altitude. He chastised himself for not anticipating the effects of higher elevation. In his focus on strategy, he had overlooked the subtle workings of nature.
[Will it get worse if we’re teleported even higher?]
His knowledge of altitude-related ear pain was hazy, but the dull ache persisted, prompting him to breathe through his mouth in an attempt to relieve the pressure. He reminded himself that sudden shifts in altitude, likely common in the Dungeon’s Valley biome, could sometimes lead to eardrum injuries or even more serious issues like hearing loss if the air pressure changed drastically.
As he mulled over these thoughts, they waited for Camille to return from her reconnaissance. Tsutomu pinched his nose and blew gently, trying to relieve the pressure building in his ears. As he did, Camille returned, her dragon wings crumbling to ash as she reverted from <<Dragon Form>>. Shaking her head, she signaled that the Black Gate remained elusive, suggesting they head toward a waterfall she’d spotted instead.
“Camille, do your ears hurt at all?” Tsutomu asked, wincing as the ache persisted.
“Oh, right. You’re new to this area,” Camille chuckled softly. “The pain sticks around for a while. You’ll just have to get used to it.”
“Ugh… Is there really nothing we can do about it?”
“I wouldn’t know. The pain’s tolerable,” she replied, leaving no room for further discussion as she led the way. Garm followed, rubbing his dark, furred ears in silent frustration.
Tsutomu, pondering whether some kind of tool might alleviate the pain, cast <<Fly>> and floated along behind them. He did his best to ignore the ever-growing discomfort as they wound along the mountain path.
Eventually, Camille stopped abruptly, her eyes narrowing as she whispered,
“Two Spear Deer ahead.”
“Can we go around them?” Tsutomu suggested.
“Nah, It’d be faster to just deal with them,” Camille said, already gripping the hilt of her greatsword. “Let’s go.”
Camille advanced toward the creatures, her greatsword resting on her shoulder, while Tsutomu hurriedly cast <<Protect>> on both her and Garm, wincing as another sharp pang shot through his ear.
[Ow… this sucks…] he thought bitterly, trying to keep his focus.
Ahead, Camille brought her greatsword down with a devastating swing, shattering one of the Spear Deer’s antlers. The beast recoiled, thrashing wildly in pain. Its companion, meanwhile, focused on Garm, repeatedly lunging with its sharp antlers. These monsters were particularly dangerous — able to pierce through Garm’s high VIT. With a direct hit, their strikes could cause severe wounds.
Garm, recognizing the danger, took a defensive stance, bracing his tower shield as the deer’s powerful charges forced him to deflect rather than directly block.
Camille, meanwhile, was relentless. With a second strike, she shattered the remaining antler of her target. The Spear Deer, now defenseless and overwhelmed by the pain, collapsed to its knees, its spirit broken. It let out a sharp, pitiful cry before slumping to the ground. Without hesitation, Camille decapitated the creature, and it disintegrated into shimmering particles, leaving behind a Medium Magic Stone.
Turning her attention to Garm, she swiftly moved to assist. Garm had remained fully on defense, cautious of the unfamiliar monster’s strength. The Spear Deer continued its relentless assault, but just as it was about to break Garm’s stance, Camille ended the battle with a single powerful blow to the skull, reducing the creature to a cloud of particles and leaving another Medium Magic Stone in its wake.
With the enemies dispatched, the trio gathered the Magic Stones and resumed their trek toward the waterfall. Tsutomu, still nursing the ache in his ears, reflected on how smoothly the fight had gone. None of them had sustained injuries, as the creatures they had encountered so far were similar to those from earlier layers’ Grasslands and Forests.
However, Tsutomu knew the real challenges lay ahead. Once they reached the fifty-third layer, they would face Orcs — far more dangerous than the Goblins they had encountered before. Standing as tall as full-grown humans, Orcs were not only physically imposing but also armed and capable of using rudimentary True Magic. Their skin varied depending on the environment — here, they were a deep green, matching the Goblins, but their intelligence and strength far surpassed those weaker monsters.
Tsutomu floated behind Camille, mentally preparing for the difficulties that awaited them.
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Thanks for the chapter.
Thanks for the chapter!!😉