With the Ogre finally defeated, I called out to Hiiragi-san to thank her for the magic support she provided during the fight.
“Thanks, Hiiragi-san. That really helped me out.”
“Should I say ‘you’re welcome’? Honestly, it didn't look like you particularly needed the help, but I felt awkward just standing there. I hope I wasn't just getting in your way?”
“It gave me the opening to land the finishing blow, so no, you weren't in the way at all.”
“I see. I’m glad to hear that then.”
The anxious look on Hiiragi-san’s face softened.
Since we were struggling with coordination, she had provided support in a chaotic situation. Under different circumstances, it could have easily resulted in friendly fire. She had likely been worried about whether her timing had been appropriate.
“But we really do have a problem with our coordination, don’t we?”
“Well… yeah, there’s no denying that. This fight made me realize the same thing—especially regarding the timing of support and such.”
“I knew it…”
When I mentioned the timing of her support in a roundabout way, Hiiragi-san’s tone dropped. It seemed she was just as concerned as I was about how we had immediately allowed our forces to be split. On top of that, we had carried out support attacks without any real communication. In this battle, there hadn’t been a shred of actual teamwork.
“Our individual combat power is so high that we haven't really needed to face monsters as a coordinated unit until now,” I noted.
“That might have been fine up until today, but considering what's ahead, we’re in trouble if we don't improve soon…”
“You’re right. Strengthening our coordination during combat is going to be our main objective from here on out.”
“Daiki.”
While Hiiragi-san and I were talking, Yuji walked up to us. It seemed he had been listening to our conversation.
“We won this fight, but as a party battle, it was a failure.”
“Yeah, I agree…”
“Right. We were lucky this time because the boss and its summons were only strong enough that we could beat them individually. But when we think about the monsters coming next… especially when facing boss-class enemies, improving our coordination is essential.”
Hiiragi-san and I both nodded silently. Yuji was right. It didn't turn into a catastrophe this time by sheer luck, but a lack of coordination between members can be a fatal flaw in high-level party combat.
“Well, let's save the reflection for after we leave the dungeon. Our return time is already pushing it, and we still have to do the dismantling.”
At Yuji’s reminder, I checked my watch. About fifteen minutes had already passed since the boss battle ended.
“You’re right. It would be a waste if the corpses disappeared before we could dismantle them. Just a moment, I’ll get to it right away.”
Hiiragi-san took out her skinning knife and plunged it into the corpse of a nearby big bear. The monster's body vanished, leaving behind a hunk of meat and a bottle of liquid.
“Kokonoe-kun. I’ll go harvest the items from the remaining monsters. Could you use appraisal on the contents of this bottle?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
After handing the drop item to me, Hiiragi-san headed toward the other big bear and the Ogre with her skinning knife. I temporarily handed the bottle to Yuji, then took some plastic wrap out of my Spatial Storage to wrap the bear meat before putting it away.
Then, I took the bottle back from Yuji and used Appraisal Analysis on it. The bottle looked somewhat familiar.
“Heh, I knew it.”
“Hm? What is it, Daiki? Is it something weird?”
I let out a sound of admiration as it turned out to be exactly what I had suspected. Curious, Yuji peered at the bottle in my hand.
I held the bottle up so it was easier for him to see and explained.
“This is a high-grade recovery potion. I guess you could call it a reward for the boss battle.”
“A high-grade recovery potion, huh…”
“We’ve gotten several from the Slime Dungeon, but this is the first time one has dropped in this dungeon.”
It was far more powerful than the mid-grade recovery potion I had used on Shinohara-san. This was a potion capable of healing lost limbs, provided the condition wasn't congenital.
It was listed on the Association’s item trade list, but it was an ultra-high-priced product that easily cost well over 10 million yen. It was perpetually in short supply, and the odds of actually being able to purchase one were said to be about the same as winning the lottery.
“…This is definitely going to cause a stir when we go to exchange it for cash, isn't it?”
“Well, probably…”
Yuji’s concern was valid.
Technically, medicinal drop items are sent to the headquarters for appraisal, so there shouldn't be a commotion at the local counter. However, it was a certainty that we would receive letters urging us to sell it to the Association.
Furthermore, if word got out that we had a high-grade recovery potion, we might find ourselves being hounded by buyers who heard the rumors.
“Thinking about the future, it would probably be better to keep it rather than sell it, but…”
“If people know we have a high-grade recovery potion, we can use it as an excuse if we ever encounter a situation like the one with Shinohara-san and the others again.”
“When I think about the downsides of keeping it, letting go of it isn't an impossible choice either, but…”
“True. But it feels like a bit of a waste to let it just sit in Daiki’s Spatial Storage.”
I rolled the high-grade recovery potion around in my palm. It was a rather troublesome thing to handle.
While Yuji and I were racking our brains over the potion, Hiiragi-san returned with the rest of the drop items.
“What are you two doing, putting your heads together and groaning?”
“Oh, Hiiragi-san. Just a little something. More importantly, you're finished collecting?”
“Yes. There are things I want Kokonoe-kun to appraise, too.”
Hiiragi-san handed me the items. One was a ruby about the size of a ping-pong ball, and the other was a knife that looked like a heavy kitchen cleaver.
“The ruby is a drop from the Ogre, and the knife is from the big bear.”
As I listened to her explanation, I handed some plastic wrap to Hiiragi-san.
“Got it. I'll appraise them.”
Hiiragi-san began wrapping the bear meat and... Ogre meat? with the wrap I had given her.
I started with the ruby.
“Ah, I thought so…”
The appraisal result was exactly what I had expected.
“Hm? You thought so?”
“This is a type of magic item—a transit permit.”
“A transit permit…”
Yuji stared intently at the red gem. I held it between my fingers so both of them could see while I explained the effect.
“If you fit this into the depression in the relief on the entrance door, the door will open, and apparently, the Ogre won't appear.”
“That's handy.”
“Hey, Kokonoe-kun. Is that a one-time-use item? Or can it be used repeatedly?”
“It looks like it can be used repeatedly.”
“Heh.”
I handed the ruby to Hiiragi-san, who had finished packing the meat. I took the meat from her and put it into my Spatial Storage. Hiiragi-san held the ruby up to the light of the lamps and observed it together with Yuji.
“Now then, let's appraise the next thing.”
Leaving the two of them preoccupied with the ruby, I used Appraisal Analysis on the cleaver-like knife. When the results appeared, a small smile formed on my lips.
“Hiiragi-san, can I have a second…?”
“…What is it, Kokonoe-kun?”
I called out to her, though she looked a bit reluctant to look away from the gem.
“This knife is a magic item.”
“Does that mean…”
“Its name is Iron Knife. The enchantment is ‘Dismantling II.’ It’s a higher-tier version of the skinning knife you have, Hiiragi-san.”
Hiiragi-san handed the ruby to Yuji and leaned in toward me.
“Really?”
“Yeah. The effect is the same as the skinning knife you have now, but the difference is that it increases the drop items obtained when dismantling monsters. Specifically, it seems to increase the amount of meat you can harvest.”
“…I see.”
Hiiragi-san gazed at the iron skinning knife in my hand with a somewhat resentful look. Since we hadn't tried it, I wasn't sure how much it would increase the yield, but if we had obtained this a little earlier, collecting orc ingredients would surely have been much easier.
“For now, I'll give this to Hiiragi-san. You're okay with that too, Yuji?”
“Yeah, I don't mind.”
“…Thank you.”
When I handed the knife to Hiiragi-san, she observed it in silence for a few seconds before letting out a small sigh. She wrapped it in a towel and put it into her bag.
Having finished the appraisal, we collected the chemical lights and LED floodlights we had set up.
“Well, the cleanup is done, so shall we head back?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
“Even so… including the break and the cleanup, the boss fight took about thirty minutes in total, huh…” I muttered to myself, checking my watch as we started walking toward the door.
I wasn't sure if thirty minutes counted as settling it quickly or not.
“Thirty minutes, huh… I wonder if we could have finished it faster if our coordination had gone well?”
“The battle itself didn't take that much time. It feels more like the collection of drop items and the cleanup took up most of it.”
Hiiragi-san was right.
Setting aside the collection of drop items, it might be a good idea to learn some light-source magic. Until now, battles had taken place in relatively narrow passages where the LED lights were sufficient. However, in a wide space like this, it was a hassle to set up light sources. We were lucky this time because we had a moment to set up the floodlights, but if the battle had started the moment we entered the room, we would have had to fight in the dark. In a chaotic melee, that would be dangerous.
Fortunately, several light-source skill scrolls had dropped in the Slime Dungeon, and since everyone’s level had gone up, we had plenty of EP to spare.
“You two, I have a proposal. Is that okay?”
The two of them stopped and looked at me.
“Why don't we try learning light magic? I realized during this fight that our current equipment is a bit unreliable for wide spaces.”
While moving through tunnels, our current lights were fine and saved EP, but I wanted to be able to quickly secure a light source that could illuminate an entire room during combat. Chemical lights weren't enough for a chamber this size.
“Yeah, that’s a good point. We had time to set up the floodlights this time, but we can't count on that every time.”
“True. In a space this wide, the chemical lights were just dim and ineffective.”
Both of them agreed. I had held onto the scrolls intended to exchange them for cash, but I was glad I hadn't.
I took the skill scrolls out of my Spatial Storage and handed one to each of them.
“Here. These are the skill scrolls for the light magic.”
“Thanks.”
“Thank you.”
We immediately opened the scrolls and learned the spell. After asking for their permission, I used Appraisal Analysis to confirm. The spell Light was now clearly listed on their status screens.
“Then I’ll try it out. Daiki, watch how much EP it consumes.”
“Got it. Go ahead.”
“Alright, here I go… Light!”
Yuji put his right hand forward and took a breath. When he spoke the trigger, a ball of light about the size of a baseball appeared above his palm.
However…
“It’s not very bright, is it?”
“Yeah… about the level of a night-light bulb?”
“You’re right… Hirose-kun, can you put out several of those at once?”
“At once? Wait a sec… no, I can't. In my current state, one seems to be the limit.”
Yuji tried Hiiragi-san’s suggestion, but simultaneous casting was impossible. It was likely a lack of proficiency.
“Yuji, can you move it away from your hand?”
When Yuji moved his hand left and right, the sphere of light moved with it, staying fixed in place.
Dim, single-use, and tethered to the hand… as usual, the utility of a skill was poor at the starting level. We all sighed in unison.
“Well, it’ll take practice. Fortunately, it’s the kind of skill we can practice at home, so let's all work on raising our proficiency on our own.”
“I guess so.”
“Right. It was a similar situation with the Cleansing skill, so this result is only natural.”
“Sigh…”
“…Let’s go home.”
Our shoulders slumped slightly as we left the boss room.
Four hours later, carrying the cooler bags containing the drop items, we emerged from the dungeon about thirty minutes past our scheduled return time. It was already starting to get dark, but the area around the dungeon entrance was still lively with explorers.
“Phew. We’re finally out.”
“Yeah. Inside the dungeon, you have to be on guard constantly, so breaks don't really feel like breaks.”
“You’re right. Knowing monsters might attack at any moment makes it impossible to relax.”
I raised my arms and stretched, and Yuji and Hiiragi-san did the same. Because we had extended our dive, the period of tension had been longer; mental fatigue seemed to accumulate more heavily than physical fatigue.
“The boss battle probably added to the exhaustion too.”
“Probably. Well, we can't just stand here forever, so let's go get changed.”
“I agree. We cleaned the dirt off with skills, but I really want to take a proper shower.”
“Then, let's meet at the usual place after we're done.”
“Got it. See you in a bit.”
With that, Hiiragi-san headed toward the women’s locker room.
“Well, shall we go too?”
“Yeah, let's. I need that shower.”
“Me too.”
Time to enjoy a post-work wash-up—even if it was just a shower. Yuji and I began walking toward the locker room with weary steps.