After one thing led to another—including a moment where I genuinely felt my life was in danger—Hinata-san and I finally made it down to Floor 1 of the Slime Dungeon.
Naturally, we had already changed in the dressing rooms at the Japan Explorer Association branch and gotten our equipment ready!
Unlike the ruins-type Shinjuku Dungeon, the cave-type scenery of the Slime Dungeon felt fresh. The interior was a bit more rugged compared to the ruins, making the footing worse. Unlike Shinjuku, the light source wasn't candles; instead, for some reason, massive crystal pillars emitted a faint, ethereal glow. Even a quick look from the entrance revealed them "growing" from the walls, ceiling, and floor.
It was a truly fantastical sight, straight out of a fantasy novel.
If I had to point out a flaw, it would be the dampness. The temperature inside the dungeon was chilly, yet everything felt humid.
Hinata-san peered around curiously, looking puzzled.
"Even though this is the Floor 1 entrance, there’s no one here at all."
The Floor 1 Entrance Plaza was the area where the black obelisk and the teleportation circle were located. In almost any other dungeon, it was a place constantly bustling with people. It was a relatively safe and convenient spot for natural recovery of HP and MP. However—
"True. Entry restrictions are in place right now... and the other Special Crisis Case Explorers might be able to teleport to the lower floors already."
"Ah, right."
Between the restrictions keeping out low-level explorers and the fact that other explorers had likely used the teleportation circles in the lower floors of the Slime Dungeon before, they probably just warped away immediately. That would explain why no one was lingering near the entrance.
"Well then... Hinata-san."
"Ah, okay. I’ll start the stream now, alright?"
"Please do."
Hinata-san operated the drone, and the broadcast began immediately.
"—Hello, everyone."
"Hello!"
"As we announced suddenly yesterday, we’re at the Minato Ward Dungeon today instead of our usual Shinjuku Dungeon."
"It's the Slime Dungeon!"
'It’s here!' 'Hinata-chan!' 'It started!' 'Wait, the place is really different!?' 'It’s totally a cave.' 'Leveling Junkie Bro's hype is through the roof lol.' 'The Slime Dungeon everyone's talking about!!'
"Actually, a special variant slime has appeared and is wandering around the Minato Ward Dungeon right now, so there’s currently a level restriction to enter."
'I know!' 'The Metasla, right?' 'Since Hinata-chan and the others are at the Slime Dungeon, does that mean they were requested to subjugate it as Special Crisis Case Explorers?'
"No, we haven't received a request, but..."
"If it’s a Metasla, we have to take it down!! So, I was the one who dragged her along!"
'As expected lol.' 'Called it lol.' 'They came here regardless of any request www.' 'Wait, the obelisk is in the background, so that’s Floor 1, right? Can you two use the teleportation circle?'
"Um... I’ve been here before, but I only went as far as Floor 2..."
"This is my first time!"
"So, we can’t use the teleportation circle."
'Does that mean you're behind the other Special Crisis Case Explorers?' 'That’s bad.' 'You’ve gotta hurry or they’ll beat you to it!'
The viewers' concerns were valid. However, while they weren't wrong, I didn't think there was much need to worry. If it were that easy to kill, it would have been taken down yesterday.
"Since it wasn't defeated yesterday, I don't think it'll be taken down immediately today. After that, well, it all comes down to my destiny."
'I guess so.' 'Wait, destiny?' 'What is this guy saying?' 'Does Leveling Junkie Bro even have... destiny?' 'No, wait... stray monsters, special variants, dungeon terrorism... for Leveling Junkie Bro, who encounters all that in such a short time, maybe...' 'When you put it that way, he might actually have destiny www.'
"Well then, Hinata-san, shall we get going?"
"Yeah, got it."
With that, we decided it was time to depart.
'Huh? Wait, Leveling Junkie Bro isn't wearing his backpack today?'
'You’re right.'
'Is it okay to have so little gear?'
'Hinata-chan is wearing hers, though.'
Since questions were coming in from the viewers, I answered them.
"Yes. Today, priority is on movement. Also, I don't plan on staying overnight in the dungeon, so I've brought the bare minimum."
Actually, I had brought my expansion bag. I had emptied it completely, folded it as small as possible, and tucked it into Hinata-san's expansion bag. Putting an expansion bag inside another is perfectly possible as long as it fits in the backpack. Apparently, it doesn't cause any special problems.
As for why I did that...
"Is around here good?"
"I think so. I don't think there's anyone else around here."
"Understood. Then, Hinata-san, please step back a bit since it's dangerous."
"Roger."
'What? What?'
'What do you plan to do in a place where there's nothing?'
After walking a few minutes deeper into the dungeon, we came to a halt. Once I was sure no one was around, I slowly drew my sword. Then, I swung my sword toward the dungeon wall—releasing a Great Flying Blade imbued with Mighty Blade.
Repeatedly. Over and over.
When the Great Flying Blades slammed into the cave wall, they produced a thunderous roar like an explosion, shaking the surroundings like an earthquake as they carved deep fissures into the surface.
'Wha!?'
'Wait!?'
'Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!!'
'What the hell are you doing!?'
'Did Leveling Junkie Bro suddenly lose his mind!?'
A flood of comments poured in, but I wanted them to rest easy. I wasn't just throwing out slashes for no reason. I had a clear purpose. I finished by firing a normal Great Flying Blade without Mighty Blade, then stopped and sheathed my sword.
Checking my Status, my HP was properly below twenty percent. Consequently, the second stage of Blood Vengeance had activated, increasing all my stats by sixty percent.
You probably understand by now. That was just a simple HP adjustment. I wanted to trigger Blood Vengeance. After that, it would be easy to maintain by occasionally activating Fighting Spirit so that my HP didn't exceed the threshold through natural recovery.
In this state, I intended to proceed through the dungeon while carrying Hinata-san.
Incidentally, the reason I didn't reduce my HP while running with Fighting Spirit was that my total HP pool had grown quite large, so that would have taken too much time. Also, Fighting Spirit doesn't increase my Dexterity stat, so I can't run at my full potential with it active. In an unfamiliar place like the Slime Dungeon, I might trip on the uneven ground and slam into a wall if I wasn't careful.
"Alright, Hinata-san! Hop on!"
"Okay."
When I crouched down and turned my back to her, Hinata-san climbed on and clung tightly to me. I had tucked away my expansion bag because it would have been an obstacle at a time like this.
Still, carrying Hinata-san on my back like this felt like it had been a while. It seemed I wasn't the only one who thought so.
'No way...'
'A scene that feels familiar lol.'
'Been a while since I've seen this lol.'
'If Leveling Junkie Bro is carrying Hinata-chan, that means...'
"Yes! We're going to breeze through the Slime Dungeon just like this!!"
Goal: Reach Floor 10 by the end of the day!
"Hinata-san, please navigate!"
"Got it, leave it to me!"
In one of Hinata-san's hands was her smartphone, displaying the map of Minato Ward Dungeon loaded from the Modern Dungeon Strategy Wiki website. I would run, and Hinata-san would navigate. That way, we could take the shortest path and clear the dungeon at high speed.
Since I couldn't use the teleportation circle, I was behind the other Special Crisis Case Explorers. I had to get ahead quickly. That was where Blood Vengeance shone. As long as I kept my HP adjusted, it would stay active, making it extremely convenient for travel.
"Here we go!"
Giving Hinata-san the signal, I took off at a ferocious pace.
'Wha!?'
'So damn fast!!'
'Why!?'
'Wait, he hasn't activated Fighting Spirit, right!?'
'You're telling me this is his raw Agility!?'
'No, there's no way!!'
'Ah! Those slashes against the wall earlier...'
'Could it be... a buff skill that triggers by lowering your HP!?'
'Leveling Junkie Bro had a skill like that!? No, or did he just get it!?'
'Even though this guy's points are being sucked dry by killer-type and seeker-type skills, seriously, how does he have so many different skills...!!'
Oh? Had I not made it public that I had Blood Vengeance?...Well, whatever.
"Takeo-kun, right turn there!"
"Yes, ma'am! Understood!!"
At any rate, I raced through the dungeon, following Hinata-san's navigation. I completely ignored the trash mobs along the way. Every time my HP was about to exceed twenty percent due to natural recovery, I activated Fighting Spirit to adjust it. Note that I didn't run at full speed during those moments, slightly reducing my pace—but even then, I was under the dual-buff state of Blood Vengeance and Fighting Spirit, so I was faster than when I only had Blood Vengeance active.
That said, since I only used Fighting Spirit for short bursts, most of the time I was only under the enhancement of Blood Vengeance. Still, I could say that speed was quite fast, even by my own standards. After all, while I hadn't hit 300 yet, my Agility was comfortably over 250 at all times.
In only about one hour since we started our run—
'Hey, hey, hey, hey...!!'
'He reached the Floor 5 boss room in the blink of an eye...!!'
'That clearing speed is seriously inhuman...'
'Is this the speed of someone moving while carrying another person?'
'At this point, the drone keeping up with this speed is the impressive one lol.'
'Way too fast www.'
We had reached the boss room at the deepest part of Floor 5 of the Slime Dungeon.