A few minutes after entering and walking down the dungeon corridor, as we rounded our second corner, I felt eyes on us. It seemed the trio of Watchers had begun their tail.
Mika and Saori-chan didn’t seem to notice, but to us, it was glaringly obvious.
"They followed us," I murmured.
"Yeah," Yuji replied. "They’re keeping a decent distance, at least, so they shouldn’t interfere with the girls’ exploration. We should stay on our toes, though."
"True," Hiiragi-san added. "Their goal is likely surveillance, but we can’t be certain they won’t turn hostile."
Yuji and Hiiragi-san were right to be concerned. There was no guarantee they wouldn't try to stir up trouble just to see what we were capable of. Projecting motives onto them was no excuse to neglect our own vigilance.
"Right. We can’t afford to slack off on watching our rear..."
Yuji and Hiiragi-san gave slight, acknowledging nods. If we spoke too loudly or moved too suddenly, we’d give away that we were onto them. Still, we couldn't help but let out quiet sighs, careful to keep them from Mika and Saori-chan, who were walking a little ahead of us.
Being stalked inside a dungeon was worse for my peace of mind than I’d expected. It was manageable on these surface floors since there weren’t many enemies, but if they had pulled the same stunt around the 20th floor, a darker thought crossed my mind—I might have treated them like potential PKers and moved to eliminate them immediately.
"Even so... Mika and Saori-chan still have a long way to go," I noted.
"Well, that’s only natural, isn’t it?" Yuji said. "Neither of them has had our level of training, and their actual experience in a dungeon is still shallow."
Watching Mika and Saori-chan focus entirely on the path ahead, I realized they were still stuck in the basic training phase. They were following the exploration procedures we’d taught them, sure, but they were so focused on being faithful to the steps that their general awareness had suffered.
I’d told them to watch their surroundings, but at this stage, they just didn’t have the spare mental capacity to handle it.
"...Definitely room for improvement," I said.
"Yeah. But they’ll pick it up naturally as they get used to the environment."
"If we were ambushed from behind right now, they wouldn’t even know what hit them," Hiiragi-san observed. "Maybe we should launch a surprise attack on them ourselves?"
That brought back memories of our training with Genya-san. I certainly hadn’t expected to be shot at by someone I thought was an ally the second we started... It had been a painful lesson, but it taught us never to drop our guard.
As I watched Mika and Saori-chan’s intense concentration, I saw a reflection of our younger selves.
After fifteen minutes of exploration under surveillance, I finally spotted a shadow up ahead. As per the usual for the first floor, there was only one.
"...There it is."
"..."
It was a hound dog. Caught in the beams of our headlamps, it let out a low, menacing growl, already aware of us.
The moment they saw it, Mika and Saori-chan’s bodies stiffened, their hands tightening around their spears.
"Don’t be so tense, you two. If you’re that rigid, you won’t be able to react," I cautioned.
"...R-Right."
"...Y-Yes, sir."
"Take a deep breath and calm down. And don’t take your eyes off it, or it’ll pounce."
They followed my advice, taking several short, deep breaths while keeping their gaze fixed on the hound dog. It worked wonders; I could see the excess tension bleeding out of their shoulders.
"Looking better," I said.
"Yeah."
"Yes."
Having regained their composure, they leveled their spears with effortless, steady stances. Since they were students of Juzo-san, they looked quite formidable once they were calm.
"All right, like we planned, Mika goes first. Can you do it?"
"...Yeah. I’m okay."
I watched her nod nervously, then pulled a hot sauce squirt gun from my backpack.
"I’ll pin it down, you deliver the finish. Aim for a vital spot and take it out in one go this time."
"Got it!"
Mika gave a spirited reply, psyching herself up as she stepped forward with me to close the gap. With every step we took, the hound dog’s growling grew louder.
When we were about five meters away, the hound dog struck first. It launched itself off the ground, aiming straight for my throat with its jaws wide open.
"Too bad."
I snapped the nozzle of the squirt gun toward its gaping maw and squeezed the trigger. A stream of bright red hot sauce shot out, landing perfectly inside the monster's mouth. The moment I confirmed the hit, I sidestepped the charge.
The hound dog didn’t seem to understand what had happened at first, but a split second later, it reacted violently.
"Gyan!"
It let out a shriek of pure agony. Its posture crumbled mid-air, and it hit the ground hard, tumbling across the stone floor. It began clawing frantically at its face with its front paws, its body convulsing as it let out muffled, choked screams.
"...Whoa. I’ve seen it before, but Onii-chan... isn’t that a bit cruel?" Mika asked, her expression cramped.
"Yeah. It’s nasty enough that I’d never use it on a person," I agreed, scratching my cheek.
Just imagining that stuff in my own mouth made me break out in a cold sweat.
"Anyway, never mind that. Go finish it off while it can’t fight back. Keep your guard up as you move in."
I jerked my thumb toward the incapacitated beast.
"...Okay."
Mika hesitated for a heartbeat, then gripped her spear and answered. After another deep breath, she stepped toward the hound dog.
"..."
Once she was within range, she stopped and leveled her spear at its throat. She took a deep breath, then lunged forward as she exhaled. The tip struck true, piercing the hound dog’s neck.
Before it could struggle, she gave the spear a sharp twist.
"..."
The hound dog gave one final, violent spasm, and then the look of agony faded from its face as its body went limp. A few seconds later, it dissolved into particles of light, leaving only a Core Crystal behind.
"Good work. A clean, one-hit kill."
"...Yeah."
I walked over to her as she picked up the crystal. Her expression was a bit somber, but she was in much better shape than after her first kill. The experience was clearly starting to pay off.
"You doing okay?"
"Yeah. I’m much better than last time."
"I’m glad to hear it."
She was putting on a brave face, but she didn’t look like she was forcing it. I’d still ask Hiiragi-san to check on her later, though. Women often notice things men miss in these situations.
"Good work, both of you. That went smoothly," Yuji said as the rest of the group joined us.
"That was very efficient, Mika-chan," Hiiragi-san added.
"Nice job, Mika-chan!" Saori-chan chimed in.
"Thanks," Mika replied, already starting to chat excitedly with Saori-chan.
I checked in with Yuji and Hiiragi-san regarding the fight.
"Nice work, Daiki. At this rate, Mika-chan should be fine to continue," Yuji noted.
"I agree. She doesn’t seem to be overtaxing herself," said Hiiragi-san.
"That’s a relief. She hit the vital spot and remembered to twist the blade. Having that first experience under her belt definitely lessened the mental shock."
I wouldn't know for sure until we had a real talk, but she wasn’t hollow-eyed or pale like before. She’d clearly come prepared today.
"Looks like we’re good to keep going."
"Yeah."
If she had been struggling, I would have had to consider calling it a day, even if it was a disappointment for Saori-chan. I wasn’t about to risk giving them long-term trauma.
"Oh, by the way, Daiki... those three Watchers? They looked absolutely floored by our tactics."
"Huh? Floored?"
"Yeah."
According to Yuji, the trio watching us had been visibly shaken when I used the hot sauce to disable the hound dog.
"They were supposed to be hiding, but they started talking in normal voices and just stood there gawking. They forgot to stay out of sight."
"It’s true," Hiiragi-san said. "When I turned around as if I’d heard something, they scrambled to get back behind the corner."
"Really?"
I had to wonder about their competence as Watchers.
Still, were explorers who used underhanded tricks really that rare? Well, if they chose to believe that the secret to our "miraculous" progress was just a bottle of hot sauce, it would certainly make my life easier.
"Anyway, let’s ignore the trio for now since they aren’t causing any trouble. What’s the plan? Keep going immediately, or take a break?"
"Let’s see..."
I was fine either way, but I needed to check on Mika.
"Hey, Mika!"
"Hmm? What is it, Onii-chan?"
"Are you ready to keep moving?"
She turned to me, her eyes bright and focused.
"Yeah, I’m ready!"
"All right, then let’s get moving."
"Wait, Kokonoe-kun. Before that... Mika-chan, let me see your spear."
"?"
I was about to give the signal to depart when Hiiragi-san intervened. She took the spear from Mika and activated a skill.
"Cleansing... There, that’s better."
"Oh! Thank you very much."
"Mika-chan, we’re here to use the Cleansing skill for you today, but in the future, you must always finish maintaining your gear before you agree to move on. If you neglect your equipment, it might fail you when you need it most."
"Ah... yes, ma’am."
Mika looked appropriately sheepish as she gave a small reply.
"I’m sure you noticed it as well, Kokonoe-kun. You really should have pointed it out to her," Hiiragi-san added, turning her gaze toward me.
"Ah, right. Sorry."
I got a light scolding, too. She wasn’t actually angry, but she was right.
"Okay... are we actually ready now?" I asked.
Mika nodded vigorously as she flusteredly re-checked her gear. "Yes! Ready for real this time!"
"All right. Let’s head out."
We resumed our formation and continued our trek through the dungeon.
Over the next three hours, we scoured the first floor, and Mika and Saori-chan engaged in seven more battles. The routine remained the same—we’d incapacitate the monsters with hot sauce, and the girls would finish them off. With each repetition, their hesitation faded. Repetition is the best cure for nerves, after all.
By the time we reached the safe zone at the start of the second floor, we were ready to settle in for a well-deserved break.