The hound dog continued to writhe in agony. Gradually, its thrashing slowed, and its entire body began to seize.
“““...”””
None of us could find the words. We simply stood there, stunned, watching the hound dog’s life slowly ebb away.
A cold sweat broke out across my back at the sheer effectiveness of my experiment.
“...Hey, Daiki. What the hell did you do? You said you had something you wanted to try, but this is...”
“...Kokonoe-kun. Just what did you put in that water gun?”
Hiiragi-san pointed at the weapon in my hand—the Water Shooter—with a sharp gaze and a voice like ice.
The memory of her previous interrogations flashed through my mind, and I instinctively hesitated.
“Uh, well...”
“...Kokonoe-kun?”
“It’s a diluted hot sauce solution!”
Terrified by the way Hiiragi-san narrowed her eyes, I blurted out the truth. Honestly, she was terrifying.
“Hot sauce?”
“It’s an ultra-spicy sauce for hardcore chili-heads! It’s from a series called Ruin Sauce. I used the one that’s ranked as the fourth or fifth spiciest in the lineup!”
Since I’d managed to take down slimes with salt, I’d gone online to see if the concept could be applied to other monsters. That’s when Ruin Sauce caught my eye. The product description claimed it was hundreds of times spicier than a standard chili pepper, so I figured it was worth a shot.
“The reviews said consuming it would guarantee blood in your stool, so I thought it might work on monsters, too...”
Unfortunately, the absolute spiciest version had already been discontinued. Apparently, it was so far beyond the realm of 'food' that it had been reclassified as a hazardous material meant only for display. The one I was using was a step down from that, though it still promised a trip to the hospital for anyone foolish enough to put even a few drops in their soup.
I’d diluted the sauce with water, filtered it, and loaded it into the pump-action Water Shooter to use against the monster.
“And that’s the result...”
Yuji turned a look of pure pity toward the convulsing hound dog, though he never let his guard down in case of a counterattack. Wait, Yuji? It’s a monster, okay? It’s a lethal enemy. I didn't do anything wrong here, right?
Still, a vague sense of guilt welled up inside me, and I averted my eyes from the two of them.
“Sigh... Honestly. First the salt with the slimes, and now this. Kokonoe-kun, you really have a knack for doing the unexpected.”
Hiiragi-san let out a weary sigh and pressed a hand to her forehead.
...I’m sorry, I guess.
“So, what are we doing about that?”
“What do you mean...?”
Following Hiiragi-san’s lead, I looked back at the hound dog. It was clinging to life by a thread, its body twitching rhythmically. It felt like it would probably die on its own if we just waited long enough.
However, we couldn’t just leave it like that. I turned my gaze toward Yuji.
“Shouldn't we... you know, deliver the finishing blow? It’s probably better to just put it out of its misery.”
“Are you... asking me to do it?”
“...”
I nodded silently.
According to our original plan, Yuji was supposed to be the one to deal the final blow anyway.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...Sigh, fine. I get it.”
I won. After I held his gaze long enough, Yuji finally caved and accepted the grim task.
With a small sigh, Yuji cautiously approached the twitching hound dog, keeping his guard up until he was within reach of his dual kodachi. Even when he was right on top of it, the monster showed no reaction other than the constant, rhythmic seizing of its muscles.
Yuji swallowed hard against the tension, raised the kodachi in his right hand, and brought it down in one swift motion toward the hound dog’s neck. The blade struck true, and a spray of crimson blood erupted from the wound. Yuji followed through by twisting the blade, making sure the job was done.
The hound dog gave one final, violent convulsion before its strength vanished entirely, leaving it limp and motionless.
“...”
Yuji pulled the kodachi out in silence and stepped back, his gait slightly unsteady.
I caught a glimpse of his face; he looked deathly pale.
“...You okay?”
“...Yeah. I’m fine.”
He said he was fine, but he didn't look it. Yuji stared at his bloodied blade with eyes that weren't quite focused. A heavy silence settled over the corridor.
Moments later, the hound dog turned into particles of light and vanished. In the spot where the carcass had been, a reddish, fist-sized stone remained.
I used Appraisal Analysis to identify the drop item.
“...It looks like copper ore.”
“...I see.”
Yuji showed no interest in the loot, continuing to stare blankly at his blood-stained weapon....He’s taking this really hard.
I glanced at Hiiragi-san, took a deep breath, and called out to him.
“Yuji!”
“—!...Daiki?”
He jumped slightly, looking at me with confusion, but the shout seemed to have snapped him out of his trance. The light returned to his eyes, focusing properly for the first time since the kill.
“You alright?”
“...Yeah....Hey, Daiki.”
“Yeah?”
“Killing a living thing... it feels disgusting. The way it feels in your hand...”
Yuji muttered the words like a confession.
“The second I stabbed it, I felt the muscles clamp down on the blade, fighting back. But the moment I twisted the knife to finish it, all that resistance just... vanished. It went limp....I really killed a monster with my own hands, didn't I?”
“...Yuji.”
“Haha, it’s nothing. I thought I was prepared for this, but I still ended up like a mess....What am I even doing?”
I didn't know what to say to comfort him.
Without another word, Yuji sheathed his clean left kodachi, pulled some paper towels and a bottle of anhydrous ethanol from his backpack, and began to wipe the blood from his other blade. I could only watch his back in silence.
“...Sigh. Hirose-kun, I understand that killing a living thing is a shock, but we are inside a dungeon. I’m not saying you have to forget it, but shelf those emotions until we’re back outside.”
“...Hiiragi-san?”
Hiiragi-san spoke with a sharp, commanding tone. Yuji looked up from his cleaning, his gaze still somewhat hollow.
“The first time my father made me slaughter a bird, I was so traumatized I was bedridden for days.”
“...”
“You take a bird that was alive just a second ago, hang it up, and slit its throat with a knife. I can still vividly remember the way the blood poured out until the bowl was full. I know how it feels to be depressed by the shock, Hirose-kun. I really do. But right now isn't the time for it.”
“...”
Her confession was fairly shocking.
I suppose it made sense, given that her family ran a restaurant, but it was still heavy. Thinking back, she hadn't hesitated at all when we encountered that first slime.
Yuji stared at Hiiragi-san for a long moment before finally letting out a long, heavy breath. His expression cleared, looking far more refreshed.
“Sorry. I held you guys up. I’m okay now.”
“...Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I wouldn't say I'm completely over it, but I'll do what Hiiragi-san said and shelf it for now.”
Yuji gave a strained chuckle as he sheathed his clean kodachi and picked up the copper ore. It must have weighed a several kilograms, but thanks to his level ups, he lifted it effortlessly with one hand.
“Copper, huh? It’ll probably fetch a thousand yen at best. Heh, I guess a monster’s life is literally only worth that much.”
He looked at the ore in his hand and spat the words out with a trace of bitterness.
“Yuji...”
“I know. I'm just venting...”
Yuji stowed the copper ore in his backpack and slapped his cheeks with both hands to psych himself up.
Now that Yuji had pulled himself together, we resumed our exploration.
I’d suggested leaving then and there, but Yuji’s reaction had made our lack of real combat experience painfully obvious. We decided it would be better if each of us delivered at least one killing blow today, so we started walking again to find monsters for Hiiragi-san and me.
“That said, it’s not like they just show up when you want them to...”
“True. Anything on your end, Hiiragi-san?”
“Nothing. My skill hasn't picked up a thing.”
An hour had passed since we resumed. It was already time to swap out the batteries in our LED lights. We’d walked so far without a single encounter—the spawn rate was abysmal. If this were a video game, it would be labeled a total garbage game.
Just as I was thinking that, Hiiragi-san’s voice rang out.
“—!? Heads up! This presence... it’s definitely a monster! Coming from the passage behind us!”
“! Got it.”
“Understood!”
We fell into formation and readied our weapons.
Seconds after her warning, the monster appeared. It was a rabbit about the size of a medium dog, covered in white fur, with a single horn protruding from its forehead.
Appraisal Analysis identified it as a horn rabbit.
“Yuji, Hiiragi-san, I’m taking this one!”
“!? Got it.”
“Go for it!”
Unlike the hound dog, the horn rabbit didn't stop to gauge the distance. It charged straight at us with its full momentum. I realized I didn't have time to pump the Water Shooter, so I gripped Shiranui’s hilt and barked an order.
“Clear out!”
Reacting instantly, Yuji dived to the left and Hiiragi-san to the right. I held Shiranui horizontally on my right side and stepped left, dodging the rabbit’s charge while placing the blade directly in its path. The edge of the blade caught the rabbit just below its horn, near the bridge of its nose. I felt the resistance as the steel bit in, slicing through the creature and splitting it in two.
The two halves of the horn rabbit’s body sailed through the air from the momentum, hitting the floor with a sound like a ripe tomato being smashed against a wall. A pool of blood quickly began to spread.
“...”
I finally understood why Yuji had been so shaken. The sensation of cutting through a living being was indescribably revolting. It was a different kind of resistance than cutting a slab of meat in the kitchen—a feeling that seemed to linger in my palm. The polished blade of Shiranui was now smeared with a thin film of blood and fat. It was undeniable proof of what I’d done.
The split halves of the rabbit dissolved into particles of light, leaving nothing behind.
“...No drop, huh?”
“Looks that way. You okay, Daiki?”
“Yeah. I’m managing.”
Because I’d watched Yuji struggle, I’d been able to brace myself, so the shock was manageable. Still, there was a lump in my throat.
I couldn't let it show, though. I forced a smile and spoke to Hiiragi-san as naturally as I could.
“Alright, that’s two down. Just one left for Hiiragi-san.”
“Right. But we’re calling it a day after that. Let’s swap our batteries and head back. We’ll just have to hope we run into one on the way out.”
We cycled our batteries and began the long trek back. Since it had taken two hours to get this far, it would take just as long to get out, so the odds of one more encounter weren't zero.
We followed our map, moving faster than we had on the way in. We passed another group of explorers along the way, but we just exchanged brief nods and kept moving without incident.
When we were more than halfway to the entrance, a monster finally appeared. It was another hound dog, just like the one Yuji had killed.
“Hiiragi-san. I’ll stop it with the sauce, so you finish it with your spear.”
“...Okay. I’m counting on you, Kokonoe-kun.”
Hiiragi-san hesitated for a split second at the mention of the hot sauce, but she agreed for the sake of safety. I took aim and fired the moment the hound dog entered range. The liquid hit its mark perfectly. The beast began to thrash in agony, eventually slowing into the same seizure-like state as the first one.
“Go ahead, Hiiragi-san.”
“...Right. Hah!”
Her spear thrust deep into the hound dog’s temple. After a violent convulsion, the creature went still and dissolved into light, leaving a marble-sized Core Crystal behind.
I studied Hiiragi-san’s face as she finished the kill, but she seemed composed. She was handling it well.
“Does that hit our quota?”
“Yeah. We’ve all taken one down. That’s enough for the first day.”
“I agree. Nothing good comes from overextending.”
Having achieved our goals, we hurried toward the exit before greed could take hold. We were all clearly more shaken by the reality of killing than we’d expected. Withdrawing early was the right call.
Our levels might have been high, but the lesson of the day was clear: we needed to spend our next few trips getting used to the sensation of combat before we even thought about diving deeper.
Thirty minutes later, without any further encounters, we stepped out of the dungeon and officially brought our first expedition to an end.