While dealing with the bears that cropped up along the way, we arrived at the 30th floor slightly behind schedule. However, since the total time spent was still significantly less than our pre-dive estimates, it was well within the margin of error.
As soon as we reached the floor, we got straight to work harvesting the grass.
"So, Hiiragi-san, how much are we taking?"
"I’m not sure when I’ll be able to come back once summer vacation ends, so I want to bring back as much as possible. I’ve brought some simple vacuum-sealed bags to help disguise the volume, so just fill them as much as you can for now."
"Understood."
I asked Yuji to handle perimeter security while Hiiragi-san and I set down our bags and began the harvest. It was a smooth, assembly-line process: Hiiragi-san mowed the grass with magic, and I gathered it up. Everything went off without a hitch. Even when monsters attacked, Yuji dealt with them swiftly, ensuring our work never ground to a halt.
After about ten minutes of labor, we had gathered a mountain of grass.
"Do you think... all of this will fit?"
"Let’s just pack as much as we can for now."
Worrying that we might have overdone it, we began stuffing the harvested grass into the vacuum bags. Once a bag was full, we sealed it and used a simple pump to remove the air, causing it to flatten to about a tenth of its original volume.
"It gets surprisingly flat for such a simple setup."
"It does. Let's keep going at this rate."
"Got it."
We spent another fifteen minutes packing everything. In the end, even the mountain we had been worried about was neatly tucked away into our supply of bags. The total weight was probably around a hundred kilograms.
Feeling a slight sense of accomplishment, I checked in with Hiiragi-san.
"Hiiragi-san, is this enough?"
"Yes, this should last for a while. Though, considering our stockpiles, I’d like to gather a bit more eventually. But taking any more than this at once would look suspicious..."
"True. Well, we'll be coming back a few more times during summer break, so we can just grab more then. Now that we've tried it, I can see that this amount of work isn't much of a burden on our time."
The entire process, from mowing to bagging, had taken roughly thirty minutes. It wasn't particularly exhausting; it felt more like a refreshing break. Well, we still had to maintain a baseline level of alertness, so it wasn't a 'break' in the truest sense, but since we never let our guard down in the dungeon anyway, it wasn't an issue.
Once the gathering was finished, I temporarily tucked the bags of grass into my Spatial Storage.
"They'll just be in the way for now, so I'll keep them in Spatial Storage. We can pack them back into our bags before we exit."
"Thank you, Kokonoe-kun."
Hiiragi-san and I shouldered our bags again and thanked Yuji for his watch.
"Yuji, thanks for the perimeter security. It was a big help."
"Thank you, Hirose-kun."
"Don't mention it. I didn't really do much. More importantly, do you two need to rest?"
"I'm not particularly tired, so I'm fine. Let's stick to the plan and take a break a bit further down. Does that work for you, Hiiragi-san?"
"Yes."
"I see. Understood."
With that, having completed the grass harvesting—one of the primary goals for the day—we began our descent to the lower floors.
By the time we reached the 34th floor, the furthest point of our previous exploration, we decided to take our first long break of the trip in the clearing before the stairs. Because the dungeon was so empty and we had made progress much faster than expected, we had come this far without a proper rest. It was definitely time for a meal.
"Well then, we're quite a bit ahead of schedule, but shall we take a lunch break?"
"Yeah, we really moved fast today."
"We did. According to our original plan, we weren't supposed to be here for another few hours."
Marveling at the fact that we were several hours ahead of schedule, we set up camp along the wall. Since there was no one else around, I could use Spatial Storage without hesitation. I pulled out a table, chairs, and various retort-pouch meals.
Because we were alone, we didn't strictly have to stick to instant food, but this was a fire-prohibited floor, so serious cooking was out of the question.
"Hey, Daiki? I’m glad you brought the food, but what are we doing about hot water? Since fire is banned here, I don't think we can use a stove like we usually do..."
"Don't worry, don't worry. I’ve made proper preparations for exactly that. Observe!"
I pulled a new item from Spatial Storage—something I’d brought specifically as a countermeasure for these floors.
"An IH cooker and a portable power supply! With this, we can boil water and cook without using an open flame."
"..." "..."
Despite my confident presentation, their reactions were lukewarm. Wait, what?
"Uh, well... Daiki, will that actually work? I’ve heard IH cookers pull an insane amount of power. Can a battery really run one?"
"He's right, Kokonoe-kun. Surely a battery can't..."
Hearing their concerns, I realized why they were skeptical. It was true that most portable batteries would struggle with the wattage an IH cooker requires.
"I get why you're worried, but it’s fine. I tested it at home before bringing it. It works perfectly."
"...Really?"
"Really, really. Just watch."
With their skeptical gazes burning into my back, I connected the IH cooker to the portable power supply, then pulled out a newly purchased IH-compatible pot and placed it on top.
"Hiiragi-san, could you fill the pot with water?"
"Oh, right... Create Water."
Hiiragi-san, still looking slightly bewildered, used her magic to fill the pot.
"Okay, watch this. Power on."
I started the power supply and then clicked the IH cooker to life. The device began to hum softly. We stood there together, watching and waiting.
Before long...
"See? It’s boiling."
"It really is..."
"It actually worked."
Before the eyes of my two friends, who still looked somewhat incredulous, the water in the pot began to roll and release plumes of steam.
"Now that the water is hot, let's get these pouches in."
"Ah, right."
I called out to them as they looked away, appearing a bit sheepish for doubting me. I started warming the retort pouches in the boiling water. If they're this surprised by an IH cooker, maybe I'll bring a microwave next time? I thought, entertaining the idea of playing another little prank just to see their faces.
Once we finished lunch and the slightly awkward atmosphere cleared, we discussed our plans for the rest of the day.
"So, what's next? The original plan was to scout with the drone, find the stairs, and move to the next floor via the shortest route..."
"But we've saved an incredible amount of time compared to what we budgeted."
"We have enough time that we don't have to rush through the floors. We could spend some time exploring one of them properly. Or..."
The goal of this expedition was to reach the 40th floor. Initially, I thought we would have our hands full just making it that far, but because the upper floors were so empty, we now had two options.
We could either explore the intermediate floors in more detail, or we could push as far past the 40th floor as possible.
"In terms of supplies, I have plenty stockpiled in Spatial Storage, so that's not a concern."
"None of us are tired or injured, so as long as we don't do anything reckless, pushing further shouldn't be a problem."
"Which means we can choose either path."
If there was one concern about moving forward, it was the lack of intelligence. I hadn't researched the floors beyond the 40th at the Association. Since our goal had been the 40th, I stopped there.
The reason for that was the patronizing look the Staff-san had given me when I bought the info we currently had. It was a look that clearly said, "Why is a student explorer dropping so much cash on high-level info they can't even use? Oh, I see—he's just showing off to his friends." It had completely drained my motivation to ask for anything deeper. It’s true that almost no civilian explorer teams make it past the 30th floor, let alone students. Given how we looked, I suppose it was hard for him to believe we were actually going to use that data... Sigh.
"...The safe bet is to stop at the 40th, but we only have this kind of freedom because it's summer vacation."
"...True. Once school starts again, we won't easily find the time to dive this deep."
"Yes. We were lucky the dungeon was empty today, but we can't count on that on a normal day."
"..." "..." "..."
The silence spoke for us.
"Let's dive as far as we can. Safety first, obviously."
"Yeah, let's see how far we can get. We'll just have to be extra cautious."
"I agree. Let's go as far as possible while maintaining a solid safety margin."
And so, we reached a conclusion: we would continue using drone reconnaissance to find the shortest path to each set of stairs and push past the 40th floor. Within reason, of course.
With our new directive set, we quickly packed up the table and chairs.
"Alright, ready to go. Do we have the location of the stairs for this floor (the 34th)?"
"Yeah, I tagged them during the last scouting flight. We can take the direct route."
"Just keep in mind that the direct route usually means more monster encounters."
"Understood." "Got it."
After a final safety check, we began the trek toward the 35th floor.
By relying on the drone to find the most efficient paths, we reached the stairs descending to the 40th floor about three hours later. As expected, the direct routes forced us into numerous combat encounters, but most of the monsters weren't particularly threatening. However, the Hard Skin Crocodiles that started appearing around the 38th floor were a different story.
The Hard Skin Crocodile was a four-meter-long beast with scales that perfectly matched the green of the surrounding grass.
"We knew they were there thanks to the aerial scouting, but those things are a nightmare to spot when they're hiding."
"Yeah, I can't believe they don't move a muscle until you're right on top of them. If we hadn't known they were there, we definitely would have been ambushed."
"True. But they weren't able to completely mask their hostility. I felt a sense of discord from them quite a while before we reached them."
Because we had the Association’s data and drone footage, we handled them without much trouble, but they would be terrifying for an unprepared party. They had massive jaws for crushing, long tails for sweeping attacks, and a burst of speed that completely belied their size. Their most annoying feature, however, was their incredibly tough hide.
When we ran into a group of them on the 39th floor, I threw a kick to keep one at bay as it charged. My foot hit the scales on its back and practically bounced off. Granted, I had jumped to avoid the charge and hadn't been able to put much weight behind the strike, but it was a kick that would have been a decisive blow against something like a bear. If you tried to slash at them without enough force, I could easily see a sword being deflected.
"You're right. Enemies are definitely getting tougher as we approach the 40th. From here on, we need to be even more deliberate."
"Exactly. Plus, we're heading into unknown territory now. We'll need to be more alert than ever."
"...Yes. We can't afford to be careless."
We had made it this far without a single scratch, but there was no telling what kind of threats were waiting for us. One slip-up could lead to disaster. Standing before the stairs to the 40th floor, we took a moment to mentally reset.
We all realized that our focus had softened slightly as we approached what was supposed to be the "end" of our journey.
"Alright. According to the Association’s info, the environment changes again starting on the 40th floor, so stay sharp."
"Understood. But if the environment shifts at clean intervals like the 30th and 40th, it might keep doing that every ten floors."
"That’s a possibility. We don't know how deep this place goes, but we should start thinking about gear specialized for different environments."
"Environmental gear, huh... I just hope the environments stay within the range of what gear can handle."
In the worst-case scenario, we might run into extreme conditions like volcanic zones or arctic tundras, just like in a video game. If that happened, I doubted simple clothing would be enough. It might be time to start seriously looking into acquiring and leveling up resistance skills.