After defeating the Special Variant Blade Horn, I encountered yet another Special Variant.
A mountain of Experience Points. There was no way I was letting this slip by. I charged at the Special Variant to secure the Experience Points before anyone else could snatch them away.
Incidentally, it was a Special Variant Blade Horn that used Wind Magic, but it wasn't an opponent I would struggle against at this point. I took it down in a single blow using my usual combo of Asceticism and Blue Sky Beyond the Clouds.
The Experience Points gained were 6,144,000 with the 6x multiplier active. It was less than the previous Special Variant, but it was still an extraordinary amount to obtain from a single monster.
No items dropped this time, but since Experience Points were the main objective, I didn't mind.
More importantly, it was now almost certain that the Experience Points from Special Variant monsters in this dungeon were far higher than usual. That made me happier than anything else.
Exploration resumed, and we soon encountered a third pack of Blade Horns.
As expected, we didn't run into a Special Variant three times in a row; this time, they were all normal Blade Horns. Well, the Experience Points were still at least doubled, though.
Not long after we continued, we had our fourth encounter with a pack of Blade Horns.
It was a pack of six. None of the individuals possessed special skills, and the parties they aggroed dealt with them accordingly.
The ladies of Hyakka Ryoran finished off two of them with reliable and stable movements, while the Professor and Saito-san each took down one in a single strike.
Of the remaining two, the member in charge of Chinese cuisine from the Battle Cook Brothers finished one by accurately slicing its carotid artery with a large butcher knife.
At that moment, a rare phenomenon occurred.
"Eh!?"
Hinata-san, who was watching, let out a surprised cry in spite of herself.
"Meat dropped...?"
Apparently, Hinata-san didn't know about the Battle Cook Brothers. That said, since I mostly operate in the Shinjuku Dungeon, this was the first time I had seen it in person as well.
In truth, when you defeat animal-type or plant-type monsters, food ingredients can sometimes drop. And not processed goods like energy bars, but actual ingredients like meat, bones, skin, and internal organs.
Well, to be honest, since they are ingredients of unknown origin, they aren't very popular... but I hear they're quite delicious.
This was the first time such food items had dropped in this dungeon. However, it wasn't a coincidence.
"Hinata-san, the people from the Battle Cook Brothers have a skill called Dismantling."
"Dismantling? What kind of skill is that?"
"It's a skill where, if you cut with a blade while using the Dismantling skill, the parts of that monster become more likely to drop as items."
"I didn't know there was a skill like that..."
This skill apparently increased the drop rate not only for food but also for items that could become materials for weapons, armor, and Alchemy, such as horns, bones, skin, and organs. It was highly prized by those with production-type skills.
But I digress.
Only one Blade Horn remained at the end. The members of the † Jet-black Fallen Angels † were finishing it off.
They had been blown away by the Special Variant Blade Horn earlier, but they weren't weak. Of course they weren't. They were high-level explorers, after all.
Facing the massive body that came charging in while cladding its sword-horn in Sword Aura and its entire body in Fighting Spirit, they didn't flinch. Standing their ground from the front while striking JoJo poses—
"Fear the darkness—"
They activated the Dark Magic, "Dark Swamp." Beneath the feet of the approaching Blade Horn, their shadows expanded and spread.
The next moment, the expanded shadow turned into a bottomless mire, swallowing the Blade Horn's legs. Restrained by the shadow, the Blade Horn thrashed about wildly, struggling to break free.
From there, another member launched further magic.
"—Embrace the flames of darkness and die."
That was by no means just a cringy line.
In reality, flames as black as darkness flew toward the Blade Horn.
It was Dark Flame Magic—"Dark Flame."
Dark Flame Magic was a high-tier magic skill unlocked by acquiring both Dark Magic and Fire Magic. And its performance wasn't merely that of a chuunibyou-style spell. Befitting a high-tier derivative skill, it possessed a truly nasty level of power.
Once Dark Flame transferred to a target, it would never go out until the supply of MP from the caster was cut off. Even if the target jumped into water, or was in an environment without oxygen.
The flames would only vanish if the target endured until the caster's MP was exhausted, if the caster canceled the magic, or if the caster was knocked unconscious or killed.
The Dark Flame that caught onto the Blade Horn spread across its entire body in the blink of an eye—and shortly after, it burned the Blade Horn to death.
It was a one-sided victory befitting high-level explorers. Brutal.
—And then, right at that moment.
"Hm!? Be on your guard!! There's another one!!"
The Professor shouted a warning at the top of his lungs.
At almost the same time, I noticed it too.
Apparently, this pack hadn't been six monsters. There was one more.
It appeared from behind us.
It seemed its strategy was to use the six Blade Horns as decoys while it took a wide detour to attack from the rear. Since it hadn't entered my field of vision, even Danger Sense at max level couldn't detect it until the very last second.
A chill ran down my back.
The one that launched a surprise attack from behind released fire over a wide area. It was a tsunami of fire, like the one the Dungeon Terrorism Old Man had used at Shinjuku Station.
"Hinata-san!"
I stepped in front of Hinata-san to shield her and swung my sword, launching a Flying Blade to slice through the tsunami of flames.
However, since it was a wide-area magic, Hinata-san was the only one I could shield. The tsunami of fire ruthlessly assailed the others—but they each defended themselves through various means.
Impressive, as expected.
I was momentarily struck with admiration, but now wasn't the time for that.
The Blade Horn that had ambushed us—it was definitely a Special Variant—generated several fire spears around itself and began firing them in rapid succession. In addition, it thrust out its fire-clad sword-horn and came charging at high speed.
Damn it, a forest fire is going to break out at this rate!
I have to kill it quickly to protect the forest!
"I’ll handle that one 《Nobody lay a finger on him》!! I’ll be the one to defeat him 《He’s my prey》!! I will... aaaaaaaaaagh 《He’s my Experience Points!!》"
Driven by a righteous heart, I started running. I activated Fighting Spirit, Sword Aura, Asceticism, and Blue Sky Beyond the Clouds simultaneously, neutralizing the approaching Fire Lances with my Flying Blades.
Immediately after, the neutralized Fire Lances turned into fireballs and exploded spectacularly.
I leaped to avoid the explosion. Landing on the trunk of a great tree, I used it as a foothold to leap again. I approached the Blade Horn by using the trees as platforms.
In response, the Blade Horn also seemed to have designated me, the one who jumped out in front, as its first prey. It directed its gaze and the tip of its horn toward me.
But you're too slow!!
After fighting Special Variant Blade Horns twice so far, I had noticed something.
These guys... their defense is low!! They don't seem to possess any proper defensive skills!
They supposedly don't have Statuses, but their abilities—especially Agility—are clearly lower than mine.
And due to that massive body, their evasion capability isn't that high either.
In that case—
"Hyah-haaaaaa! Fresh Experience Points!!"
We closed the distance. Midway, from a position that hadn't yet entered the Blade Horn's reach, I unleashed a mini Great Flying Blade imbued with 5 HP.
Since it wasn't a direct attack, the multiplier from the Sword Aura skill didn't apply, making the damage multiplier a mere 12x.
The Blade Horn tried to evade, but because we were approaching each other at high speed, the relative flight speed of the Flying Blade had shot up.
Evasion didn't make it in time, and the Blade Horn took the mini Great Flying Blade to its body—and was bisected quite easily.
Hey now, is this guy really a Special Variant!? Isn't he a bit too weak for one!?
I doubted it for a moment—but no, it's definitely a Special Variant! Because—
"Ngh... Mmmph! It feeeeeeels so gooooooooood!!"
Immediately after defeating it, a massive amount of Experience Points flowed into me.
Incidentally, the Experience Points were exactly 6,720,000. No drop items.
Wait, could this mean—
『Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!!』
『What the hell is going on, encountering Special Variants in such quick succession like this!?』
『That's three out of four times!!』
『This is too ridiculous, lol』
『Wait, maybe in this dungeon...』
『The appearance rate for Special Variants is insanely high...?』
After defeating the Blade Horn and regrouping with everyone, I heard such predictions from the Viewers coming through the drone.
I was in complete agreement.
The encounter rate with Special Variants was far too strange. At this point, it was better to assume that Special Variant monsters themselves weren't rare in this dungeon.
...To be honest, I'm getting really excited...!!
That means I can kill multiple Special Variants with super-massive Experience Points, right? Depending on the monsters that appear from here on out, I might even be able to expect an Experience Point efficiency that significantly exceeds looping the Floor 18 monster room in the Shinjuku Dungeon.
What is this place, a God Dungeon?
While I was feeling excited, I realized the atmosphere around me was a bit strange.
"Hey, don't screw with me...!!"
"I didn't hear anything about this...!!"
"...You're saying Special Variants just show up normally?"
"This is way too dangerous..."
『This is so crazy, lol』
『Can we please not have Special Variants spawning like trash mobs?』
『Can we really conquer a dungeon like this?』
For some reason, there were several people with serious expressions. Many comments expressing anxiety from the Viewers were also flowing in from the drone.
I approached Hinata-san and asked in a low voice.
"Hinata-san, what's wrong with everyone? Did something happen?"
I was only away for a short while to take down the Blade Horn; what on earth happened in the meantime?
After thinking for a bit, Hinata-san asked me:
"Umm... Takeo-kun, what do you think of this dungeon?"
I answered reflexively.
"I want to dive here every single day!!"
"...I thought so, for you, Takeo-kun."
"?"
『As expected of Leveling Junkie Bro...!!』
『I'm relieved he's the same as always.』
『This guy sees Special Variants as nothing but Experience Points...!!』
『Watching Leveling Junkie Bro's reaction, I feel like everything's gonna be okay, lol.』