Chapter 036
The next morning, I had breakfast and headed to the guild. It was early on a weekday, so I got caught in the rush hour, but I wanted to enter the dungeon after taking care of some business, so I headed there without waiting for the rush hour to die down.
I explained my business at the guild counter and was immediately shown to the reception room. After waiting a little, I looked over the contract that a male employee brought. There were no particular problems with the contents, and I was surprised to find that a small fee would be paid, but I had no objections, so I signed and stamped it and finished my business.
I finished in less than an hour, so I still had time. I went into the 2222 dungeon, where I had turned back halfway last time.
This time, I made it through the third floor without being interfered with by anyone. The monsters that appeared were the same as in the 2015 dungeon, except for the gold bugs. Even though the terrain was different, I was able to get through to the eighth floor smoothly.
Then I reached the ninth floor, which I had never experienced before. The enemy that appears here is a monster called drop turtle. It is a land turtle with a shell about one meter in diameter that lives on land, and as you can imagine, it has high defensive power, but is slow.
It digs a hole the same size as its shell about three meters deep underground and hides there, stretching out its legs just above the surface as it waits for prey. When a person passes overhead, it retracts its legs and falls into the hole along with the human. Then it preys on the fallen person.
It uses earth magic to place earth on top of its shell to camouflage, making it hard to find, but if the terrain is a labyrinth, that area is the only part that is covered in earth, making it obvious.
The ninth floor of this dungeon is a grassland, and only the place where the turtle is located is unnaturally devoid of grass. If you poke it carefully with your foot without putting your weight on it, only the turtle will fall into the hole.
"... I guess I have to get off and defeat it."
I can defeat it without harm if I turn into my fox spirit form and roast it with foxfire, but this 2222 dungeon has more people than the usual 2015 dungeon. I don't want to risk being seen in my fox spirit form.
I jump down and kick the shell, but it doesn't seem to have much effect. I dodge the attack of the turtle, which sticks out its head and tries to bite me, and counter with a punch to its soft head.
After about 20 minutes of dirty fighting, the turtle turns into a magic stone, the hole disappears, and I'm able to return to the ground. I didn't get hit, but I'm losing a lot of energy.
In addition, the force of me punching the shell damaged my gauntlet. I need to repair it with a dress-up doll. It would be best to avoid heading to the next floor in this condition.
The enemy that appears on the tenth floor is the orc, a monster familiar from fantasy stories. Like the novels, it looks like a pig that walks upright, and boasts high defensive power due to its great strength and thick fat. I don't think I'll lose, but it's a troublesome enemy to push through with force. I'll need to get some kind of weapon soon.
Instead of leaving the dungeon immediately, I hunted some ambush snakes on the fifth floor on my way back to earn some magic stones. Since I'd come all the way there, I wanted to earn a decent income before heading home.
The green bear on the sixth floor would take time and energy to defeat, and the goblins on the seventh floor smelled bad so I'd pass. The lost cat on the eighth floor was easy to defeat, but killing a cute kitty was mentally tough.
Having secured a decent income from overhunting snakes and increased my funds for weapons, I secured some pork as a souvenir on the first floor and headed home.
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