"—Alright! Just as I expected, I can finally draw the monsters' aggro properly now."
"……Yes."
『Leveling Junkie Bro actually took the Taunt skill.』
『I guess it was on the list of available skills.』
『Unexpected... or maybe not? He’s usually a polite guy, but he’s also a total madman. He probably taunts people without even realizing it lol.』
『Still, it’s a good choice. Hinata-chan’s safety just went up even more.』
After lunch, we resumed our exploration. Our first battle since the break had just concluded.
I had used Taunt as my opening move against the pack of four goblins we encountered. By building up aggro, I ensured the goblins never looked twice at Hinata-san. With this, I could fight using the same tactics I used during my solo days, and our clear time was even faster than it had been in the morning.
By the way, here are the details for the Taunt skill.
———————————————— Taunt Lv. 1 — Provokes enemies and draws their attention to yourself. ————————————————
Unlike the other skills I’d acquired so far, there were no numerical values in the description. If you’re wondering if the effect stays the same regardless of level, let me assure you that isn't the case. Increasing the level raises the amount of aggro generated with a single use. At low levels, if a party member attacks once or twice, the target can easily shift—meaning the monster changes who it's attacking—but since Hinata-san doesn't attack, Level 1 Taunt is more than enough as long as she doesn't use Heal mid-combat.
That being said—
"I guess there's really nothing we can do about the encounter rate, huh..."
Just because our combat time was shorter didn't necessarily mean our experience-grinding efficiency had improved. The dungeon was vast, and the monster spawn points were spread far apart. That meant there was a hard cap on how many encounters we could have per hour. If I ran around at full speed, we’d find more, but Hinata-san wouldn't be able to keep up... More importantly, there was a much more efficient method available on this floor without having to do all that running.
"Hinata-san, let's keep moving."
"Yes."
I led the way for Hinata-san, checking the map on my smartphone as we walked.
After a while—
At a spot roughly thirty minutes from the stairs, we found it. It was a set of heavy, double-leaf stone doors. According to the map on the Modern Dungeon Strategy Wiki, this location was marked with a skull icon.
"Alright, let's go in."
I reached for the door with a nonchalant expression—or I tried to.
"—Wait just a minute!"
『Wait, Junkie Bro!!』
『That’s a Monster Room, isn't it?!』
Having been stopped, I had no choice but to turn around.
"Yes?"
"Yes... 'Yes'?"
"Of course I know it's a Monster Room."
"Right...? Then let's just ignore it and keep going."
"No, no, we're going inside. I was planning on fighting in there."
In ruins-type dungeons, there are many types of traps, and the Monster Room is one of them. Once you enter, the door vanishes and a massive number of monsters spawn. The door won't reappear until either every monster is defeated or every explorer inside is dead. In other words, if you can't kill them all, you can't run away. You just die. That's the kind of trap room this is.
"No, no, no! That's impossible! There are only two of us, and Takeo-kun is the only one who actually fights! Do you understand that?!"
Oh, she went back to calling me by my name.
"Of course I do. It’ll be fine."
"It is not fine! Do you even know how many monsters come out?!"
"Sixteen."
"Exactly! But that's not the point! You can't defeat that many by yourself, can you?!"
"It's fine. I can."
"~~~~~~~~!!?"
I wasn't just acting tough. I really should be able to handle it. I believed I had the stats and skills for the job. Well, I’d probably die if I let them surround me, though. I found it strange myself, but I had this gut feeling that I’d be okay.
『No, no, no! That’s definitely impossible!』
『Think it over, Junkie Bro!!』
『Charging into a Monster Room with only two people is basically a suicide mission!』
Both Hinata-san and the viewers were against it. However, I still wanted to go in. When it came to leveling, there was no place more efficient than a Monster Room. I decided to be a little more forceful with my persuasion.
"Come on, just once. Let's just try it once, okay?"
"No, I told you, it’s impossible!"
"It’s not impossible! Seriously, just this once! Like a trial run! We'll try it once, and if it seems impossible, I'll give up properly then!"
"Once you go in, you can't leave even if it's impossible! You can't have a 'trial run' in there!"
"I’m serious! I’m confident I can make Hinata-san feel incredible (from the level-ups)!! Just think of it as being tricked by me and try it once! Please?"
"No! I don't want to die!"
"It’s okay! It really is! I promise I won't let you regret it!! I’ll definitely protect you, Hinata-san, and I’ll make sure you feel so, so good!!"
"Uuuu~~!!"
"Please! Trust me!! I’m dead serious!!"
"............Are you really, truly going to protect me?"
"Yes, I will! I'll stake my life on it!!"
"Ngh... Fine. If it’s really just once... okay?"
"!! Thank you so much!!"
I bowed vigorously. For a second there I wasn't sure if it would work, but... Hinata-san is way too much of a pushover! This woman is far too weak to persistent pressure. I briefly worried about her future—thinking she might get scammed by some bad guy one day—but at least now I could go inside as planned.
『Ugh! My brain... it’s being destroyed...!!』
『Our Hinata-chan is being NTR'd...?!』
Leaving the comments aside, I placed my hand on the door leading to the Monster Room. The heavy stone door swung open automatically without a sound. Hinata-san and I stepped into the space beyond.
"So this is it..."
Hinata-san muttered anxiously as she scanned the interior. It was a desolate, stone-walled space like the rest of the floor. However, it was quite large—roughly the size of a school gymnasium. The ceiling wasn't particularly high, though. As we looked around, a heavy thud echoed behind us.
"Hyah?! W-What was that?!"
I turned around with the screaming Hinata-san. Just as the strategy wiki had warned, the door we came through had closed and was currently vanishing, merging into the wall. There was no longer any way out.
"Hinata-san, they're coming. Please get back against the wall."
I tossed my backpack toward the edge of the room and turned my attention back to the center of the hall. Ahead of us, magic circles began to appear on the floor, glowing with an ominous light.