The floor where the horn rabbit had vanished remained bare; no drop items had been left behind. It looked like we’d struck out this time.
However, that didn't matter to us right now. A heavy, suffocating silence hung between the three of us.
"…I’m sorry," Hiiragi-san murmured, her head hanging low.
Yuji and I snapped out of our daze, both of us struggling to find the right words.
"Ah, no… I mean…"
"Well, look. Everyone makes mistakes. Don't let it get to you," Yuji offered.
"…Okay," she replied in a faint whisper.
Our attempts at comfort didn't seem to help much. She was clearly devastated by the fact that she had missed her magic at such close range.
"This is terrible. To lose my focus so badly that I’d miss a spell from that distance…"
Hiiragi-san’s regretful murmur pierced my chest. I was painfully aware that I had also been lacking concentration during the fight.
"This is the price for relying too much on our skills," Yuji said, his expression somber. "Scouting and checking for traps manually is so mentally draining that we’re losing our edge when it’s actually time to fight."
"Yeah. You’re right…"
"Yes. It really is pathetic…"
Hiiragi-san and I both slumped, letting out heavy sighs. Before entering the dungeon today, we had defeated an area boss without much of a struggle. I’d assumed dungeon crawling without skills wouldn't be much of a challenge, but I’d clearly been full of myself.
"I didn't realize it was this hard without help," I admitted.
"Neither did I…"
Hiiragi-san and I shared a self-deprecating look, feeling miserable about our own incompetence. Yuji, however, gave us a sharp look to snap us out of it.
"If you’re aware of your own shortcomings, the only thing to do is put in the reps and learn with your bodies. Fortunately, we’ve done a decent number of dungeon explorations and monster battles. We aren't total amateurs; we’ll get used to it eventually."
"…I hope so."
"Indeed."
"Well… for today, let's spend our remaining time walking the first floor until we’re comfortable with skill-less exploration."
Neither Hiiragi-san nor I could find a reason to argue. After exposing just how dependent we were on our skills, there was no way we could suggest moving to a lower floor.
Still, it was probably a blessing in disguise that our immaturity was revealed now. If we had been leading Mika and the others in this half-baked state, we might have led them straight into disaster.
Hiiragi-san and I stepped out in front of Yuji, resuming our exploration while keeping a watchful eye on our surroundings.
Three hours passed, including short breaks. By the time we reached the halfway point of our scheduled training, Hiiragi-san and I were mentally exhausted, even if we were physically fine. We took a breather in a small, empty room.
"…Are you two okay?" Yuji asked, his voice filled with concern.
We were both slumped against the walls, sitting directly on the floor. I had spent every second doubting every inch of the stone, wondering if a trap was hidden in the shadows. Hiiragi-san was in the same boat, constantly on edge, expecting a monster to leap out from every corner.
"…I’m exhausted."
"Yes… Me too."
Seeing our pathetic state, Yuji let out a long sigh and offered some advice.
"Haa. You two… you're wound way too tight. No one can keep their sanity if they maintain that level of hyper-vigilance."
"But—"
"No 'buts.' If you don't learn to relax and stay alert naturally, you won't have any strength left to fight when a monster actually shows up. You'll be too mentally drained to perform, just like you are right now."
"I understand that in theory, but it's just… you know?"
I knew Yuji was right, but the anxiety of not having my skills to fall back on made me instinctively fear everything. Yuji sighed again.
"Look… this might sound like I'm undermining the whole point of training, but there isn't a single trap or monster on the first floor that can actually hurt us. With our current stats, we can easily dodge a trap even after it triggers, and we can take down any monster here with a light jab."
We remained silent, unable to argue.
"In other words… the way you two are acting is just a waste of energy given our actual abilities."
He had us there. Yuji was absolutely right; the excessive vigilance Hiiragi-san and I were maintaining was a complete waste. Based on everything we knew about the first floor, the chance of us getting injured was practically zero.
"…Though I suppose you can't just flip a switch and fix it," Yuji muttered as we sat there with our heads down.
I got it. I really did. But my nerves wouldn't listen.
"Fine. It’s a bit of shock therapy, but…"
I heard Yuji mutter something ominous.
"Daiki."
"…Yeah?"
"Use your skill and find a trap nearby."
I didn't mind checking, but what was he planning?
"…A trap?"
"Yeah. There's something I want to try."
"…Alright."
Curious, I stood up, stepped out of the small room, and activated my Appraisal Analysis. It didn't take long.
"There’s a trigger switch on the floor near that wall over there."
"That tile?"
"Yeah. The trap is—"
"You don't have to tell me what it is, Daiki."
I tilted my head in confusion. He wanted me to find it but didn't want to know what it did? As I puzzled over his behavior, Yuji signaled for Hiiragi-san to come out and then started walking.
He headed straight for the tile I’d identified as the trigger.
"You two, watch this."
Without a hint of hesitation, Yuji stomped on the switch. Instantly, a dulled, semi-circular metal plate swung out from a slit in the wall, aiming to sweep across his torso.
Hiiragi-san and I were about to scream a warning, but Yuji moved first.
"Hup!"
With blinding speed, Yuji moved his right arm and leg. Using his elbow and knee, he caught the metal plate mid-swing, clamping down on it and halting its momentum entirely. He held it there for a few seconds before relaxing his limbs, allowing the plate to retract into the wall.
Having neutralized the trap head-on, Yuji walked back to us with a casual shrug.
"See?"
"I mean, 'see' what…?" I stammered.
Hiiragi-san and I both frowned at his total lack of remorse. I finally understood what he meant by "shock therapy."
"Like I just proved, if it's a first-floor trap, you can deal with it even after it's been triggered. Right?"
"…Don't be so reckless."
"It’s fine. I knew I could do it before I even stepped on it."
Even so, it was incredibly risky. But his point was made: for us, the traps on this floor weren't true obstacles. They were barely nuisances.
"Now you two can relax a bit and actually explore the dungeon, right?"
"…Yeah, I guess so."
"Yes. After a demonstration like that, I suppose we have to," Hiiragi-san agreed.
"Good, good. That's what I like to hear."
The smug, triumphant look on Yuji's face was incredibly irritating. But since his recklessness was a result of our own failure to adapt, I knew we had to step up so he wouldn't feel the need to do something like that again. I made eye contact with Hiiragi-san; she looked just as determined as I felt. We both gave a small nod.
So what if we can't use skills? We can do this.
After Yuji’s demonstration, we took a long break for a meal and then resumed our exploration. This time, neither Hiiragi-san nor I fell into that trap of hyper-vigilance. We walked through the halls with a more natural posture. We missed a few things early on, but Yuji was there to provide backup. After another two hours, we had finally found our rhythm. We were alert without being tense, and our oversights became rare.
And then…
"Air Cutter!"
Hiiragi-san’s magic struck a hound dog dead-on, slicing its torso in two. The monster fell to the floor and dissolved into a pool of blood before it stopped moving. We stayed alert with our weapons ready until the corpse vanished, leaving behind a Core Crystal.
"…Phew. Good job. You two are finally fighting like yourselves again."
"Yeah, I feel a lot better."
"It's because we aren't overthinking it," Hiiragi-san added. "There’s less tension, and I can focus on the target."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. Compared to when we first stepped inside today, you’ve improved by leaps and bounds. Your coordination is actually starting to look professional."
Yuji picked up the Core Crystal and tossed it to me. I caught it and tucked it into my physical bag rather than using my Spatial Storage.
"Also, Hiiragi-san."
"Yes, Hirose-kun?"
"About the timing of that magic attack… could you try to make it a bit faster?"
"Faster?"
"Yeah. Your activation timing is fine, but since we're coordinating our moves, I need you to consider the arrival speed of the spell on the target."
"The arrival speed…"
Yuji was already looking for ways to polish our teamwork further.
"It’s only a beat or two off, but at the current timing, we have to delay our charge or pull back earlier than we should. It’s not a problem against these weaklings, but against a real threat, breaking the rhythm of the attack is dangerous."
"…I see. I understand what you mean."
I knew exactly what Yuji was talking about. When we fought the ogre, Hiiragi-san’s support magic had been just a fraction of a second off, making it hard to capitalize on.
"I’ll work on it," she promised. "I’ll start factoring that in."
"It’s a tough adjustment, so thanks."
Accounting for arrival speed meant she had to master the flight velocity of her spells and adjust her timing based on the distance to the target. The only way to learn that was through constant practice. It was going to be a heavy burden on her EP.
"Well, it’s still a bit early, but should we head back? I think we’ll get more out of discussing today's problems outside than we will by just wandering around more."
"I agree," I said. "We’ve done enough for one day. What do you think, Hiiragi-san?"
"I agree as well. It’s better to withdraw and come up with concrete solutions for these issues."
With the decision made, we turned back toward the exit.
The dungeon entrance was crowded with other explorers returning from their own shifts. Yuji and I parted ways with Hiiragi-san at the changing rooms, grabbed quick showers, and met up in the breakroom for a post-action review over some juice.
"Even though we tested this during Golden Week, I didn't realize just how much I was leaning on my skills," I admitted. "Today really drove that home."
"Well, it’s only natural," Yuji said. "You’ve had those skills since the day you started. You built your entire style around them. If you suddenly ban them, of course your whole system is going to collapse."
"I guess… but it’s still frustrating."
Yuji offered a sympathetic smile.
"Look at it this way: now you know exactly what explorers without 'cheat' skills have to go through. You can use this experience to teach Mika-chan and the others. Since they don't have those skills, your failures today are the best possible teaching material for them. They say you learn more from a mistake than a victory, right?"
"…"
"Though, we definitely have a lot of work to do ourselves before we can start giving them advice."
"…You’re right. We have to get our own act together first."
We couldn't erase our blunders, so the only option was to learn from them and keep moving. It wouldn't be easy, but as long as the three of us worked together, I felt like we could overcome anything.
I watched Hiiragi-san walking toward us, waving her hand as I took a sip of my juice. We’d be ready for tomorrow.