"...They really are strong," I thought, the sentiment echoing from the bottom of my soul as I trailed behind them.
The Wyvern swarm was relentless, but Luna and Sol were dropping them with single hits. It had been a non-stop production line of frozen and charred corpses for a while now. My two starting summons possessed the [Authority of the Moon and Sun]. Their powers were too broad to explain easily, but the gist of it was that Luna controlled [Absolute Zero] while Sol wielded the [Flames of the Sun].
The more they used their abilities, the more the environment buckled under the strain. The terrain itself was warping. Despite standing in the middle of a blizzard, it felt strangely warm.
"Hey, don't overdo it, you two!" I called out.
It was a half-hearted warning. They were completely lost in their competition, my voice failing to reach them over the sound of Wyverns being slaughtered in droves. Actually, are they too strong, or is this Dungeon just weak? I’d come here to test our limits, but it was hard to verify anything when every fight ended in a single blow.
"There were even some dragon-types mixed in... though they're probably just piles of dust by now," I muttered.
Anything tougher than a Wyvern had met an even more gruesome end—frozen solid and then shattered into a million pieces. It made me wonder if the monsters in this world were just underwhelming. Maybe I was being too cautious?
I continued talking to myself as I navigated the forest at the base of the cliff. I tried to keep up, but they were moving at such a ridiculous pace that I eventually lost sight of them.
"Typical. Where the hell did they go?"
I scanned the snow-covered trees. The area was safe enough since they’d killed everything in their path, but I didn't let my guard down. Suddenly, I felt a presence from below and leapt backward. Seconds later, a dragon with a body like a green gemstone erupted from the earth.
"—What is this thing? Never seen one like it."
It was an emerald-encrusted monstrosity that defied common sense. Despite its bulk, it lunged at me the moment it registered my presence. It was fast. I was glad I’d stayed alert, but I also felt a prickle of curiosity. I wonder how strong this one is. This might actually be a struggle—
"Ah! Found a big one! Hey, you! What do you think you're doing to my Reima?"
"[Kill]."
Sol emerged from the treeline and erased the thing's head with a blast of fire. "Erased" wasn't quite the right word; its head had been completely liquified. To make matters worse, an [Ice Battleaxe]—undoubtedly Luna's work—caved in its torso.
"Is the contest over?" I asked.
"Mostly. There are no monsters left nearby, Master," Luna replied.
"Hey, hey, Reima! I got the finishing blow, right? That means I get a reward!"
"I've got a decent handle on how strong the monsters are, but you two are overdoing it," I sighed.
I didn't know enough about how Dungeons worked to be certain, but the environment was totally trashed. If there were no monsters left to spawn, that could be a problem. I knew from my research that [Dungeon Streaming] was a big deal here, and people treated these places like farms for gear. Wiping out the entire ecosystem was probably a major taboo.
"...But I worked so hard," Sol whimpered, her eyes welling up.
I immediately regretted saying anything. This was her first summoning in a long time. She was a hard worker by nature; she’d probably just been trying to show off for me.
"My bad. Thanks, Sol. You helped me find what I needed to know."
"Ehehe, really? I knew I was the best! So, let's go on a date tomorrow!"
"No. We'd stand out too much."
Sol's human form was about 148 centimeters tall and impossibly beautiful. I couldn't think of a single excuse if any of Reima's acquaintances saw us. According to his diary, he had a few friends. If I ran into them, the act would fall apart.
"Tch."
"Don't click your tongue at me. Maybe some other time."
"Wait, really? You're not lying?"
"I wouldn't lie to you."
"Promise? Absolute promise, Rei—"
She didn't get to finish. A fireball, much like the one that had targeted me earlier, streaked toward her. Sol noticed it instantly and simply absorbed the flames.
"[Kill]."
She snapped. The temperature spiked so sharply it actually felt hot to me. Reverting to her wolf form, Sol bolted toward the source of the attack.
"...Right. There was something else spitting fireballs."
"What now, Master? Once Big Sister gets like that, there's no stopping her."
"Give me a lift, Luna. We're going after her."
"Mm. Leave it to me."
I climbed onto Luna's back and we gave chase. When we finally caught up, the scene was... something else.
"Wow. Talk about a [Ragnarok]."
Sol was unleashing the full extent of her solar power on a massive [Black Dragon] covered in obsidian scales. It was clearly on a different level from the others. I’d heard Dungeons had bosses; looking at the sheer pressure this thing gave off, I knew this was it.
"Luna, get in there. I'll provide the strategy."
She shifted into a combat stance. I began deploying magic circles around us, ready to take on the [Black Dragon].