Once we decided to set up our base camp on the 42nd floor, we began by scouting the surrounding area to ensure our safety. We didn't venture too deep into the forest, though.
The results showed that no monsters were lurking in the immediate vicinity of the staircase plaza. Of course, there was still the possibility that they might sense our presence and approach from deeper within the woods later.
"Alright, it looks like the immediate area is safe for now..."
"At least for the moment," Yuji agreed.
"True, but it's a relief just knowing there aren't any monsters nearby that might launch intermittent attacks," Hiiragi-san added.
In the worst-case scenario, I’d considered the possibility that monsters might be stationed to watch over the staircase plaza. If that had been the case, it would have cost us time, but I would have prioritized safety and retreated to the staircase plaza on the 41st floor. Since we already knew the shortest route, we could have made up some of that time during the trek back.
"You’re right. In that case, should we get started on some simple barricades to slow them down? I’ve never built any before, so the finish will probably be pretty rough..."
"Hmm, what kind of barricades could we actually make here? Maybe we could fell some decent-sized trees and line them up? You know, like those ones in movies where the ends are sharpened and they're lashed together in X-shapes," Yuji suggested.
"Oh, those. I wonder if we can manage that..."
Hiiragi-san and I both wore uneasy expressions at Yuji’s proposal. We could visualize the design, but none of us had any actual experience building them. I had tools like hatchets and ropes in my Spatial Storage, but since I hadn’t intended to do construction work inside the dungeon, my selection of useful tools was sparse.
The next time I dived into a dungeon, I’d have to buy a full set of tools and materials to keep in my Spatial Storage... No, it might actually be more efficient to store pre-made ones built on the surface.
"Well, whether we can do it or not, let’s just give it a try."
"In that case, we need to gather materials first. Hiiragi-san, could you use your magic to cut that tree?"
"Me? Sure, I don't mind..."
It wasn’t impossible to cut it with our weapons, but doing that repeatedly would put a strain on the blades. If magic could do the job, that was the better option.
"Air Cutter!"
Hiiragi-san swung her arm horizontally toward a trunk about as thick as a person's girth while invoking her wind magic. The spell struck at about knee height, leaving a deep gash that bit about two-thirds of the way through the wood.
Hmm, cutting it down with a single spell is a tall order, huh...
"I wonder if it’ll fall if I kick it?"
"The notch is pretty deep. It might work, right?"
We could have asked Hiiragi-san to use her magic again, but Yuji and I both felt like it was on the verge of toppling. After a brief discussion, I stepped up to do the honors.
It’ll probably work.
"Here goes! One, two... hya!"
After confirming the two of them were clear of the falling range, I put a decent amount of power into a kick just above the notch and quickly scrambled back.
The tree tilted heavily as the gash widened, letting out a series of sharp pops from the remaining wood before slowly toppling over. And then...
Thud!
"Yes!"
"Oh, it actually fell."
"It came down quite cleanly thanks to the part that wasn't cut through."
I let out a cheer at the heavy thud, while Yuji and Hiiragi-san voiced their admiration. It was only one tree, but since none of us had ever felled one before, it was a fairly novel experience.
Now then, first we had to turn this tree into usable timber.
"Um, we trim off the leaves and branches first, right?"
"Yeah, that should be enough for now. It’s not like we’re trying to do proper milling; let’s just cut off the junk and keep the useful parts."
"Right. Besides, none of us actually know the correct way to process lumber anyway," Hiiragi-san noted.
"True."
I remembered a TV show where they dried wood for months and went through all sorts of steps to make lumber. It certainly wasn't a process amateurs could replicate on the fly.
With that in mind, we split up to trim the branches. Yuji and I used hatchets to take off the thinner limbs, while Hiiragi-san used her magic to shear off the thicker ones.
"Alright, is this good enough?"
"Looking at it now, it’s a nice, straight log."
In about five minutes, we had stripped the branches and transformed the tree into a log about five meters long.
"Now that it's a log, we just need to cut it to size for the barricade."
"Right... if we’re splitting it, should we go with one-meter sections?"
"That’s too short," Hiiragi-san countered. "Think about the part we have to bury in the ground. If we bury half of it to withstand the impact of a monster collision, maybe around two meters?"
"Two meters, huh... Then shouldn't we just cut the log in half?"
It likely wouldn't withstand a charge from a massive monster, but for the small ones on these floors, I hoped a meter of depth would be enough to hold. Even if it just killed their momentum slightly and bought us time to react, it would be worth the effort.
"True, let’s just cut it in half to keep it simple. But if we do that, this one log won't be enough to protect the whole area..."
"If we want it to actually hold up, we can’t split them too thin, either... Will we need to cut down about ten more?"
"Ten, huh..."
Now that we’d done one, we had the hang of it, but cutting ten more would take a fair amount of time.
"Let’s divide the labor. Hiiragi-san and I will fell and process the trees, and Yuji, you focus on building the barricade."
"Work efficiency should definitely go up that way."
"Are you sure you're okay building the fence alone, Hirose-kun?"
"I'll manage. Besides, you’ll help me once you’re done with the processing, right?"
"Of course."
And so, we split up. I had Hiiragi-san use Wind Magic to notch ten trees. While I was kicking them down, Hiiragi-san and Yuji began processing the first log. After Hiiragi-san halved the logs into six-meter pieces and then divided them into twelve stakes, Yuji used a hatchet to sharpen the tips.
"Alright, that’s all of them down. Next is delimbing."
"Yeah. I shaved them down roughly, but they're sharp enough to impale something."
"Whew... using Air Cutter this many times in a row is exhausting."
We worked in silence, steadily building the defensive line. It looked more like a fence of thick stakes than a proper barricade, honestly. Mid-way through, perhaps because we were making so much noise, a group of four pseudo-weasels launched an attack on the staircase plaza. We ended up conducting an unintentional live combat test with the unfinished barricade, and the results were excellent. By adjusting our positions and luring the weasels into charging the stakes, the structure managed to withstand their high-speed impact. It tilted a bit, but it held. This proved that if we performed repairs after combat, we could survive the initial charge of the pseudo-weasels using these simple defenses.
Despite the interruptions, we kept at it, and after about an hour, the barricade was complete.
"Alright, it's done!"
A semi-circular fence of stakes now surrounded the stairs leading back to the 41st floor. It was a fairly impressive sight for an impromptu job—especially one with combat certification against small monsters.
"Whew, I'm pretty wiped..."
"Me too. You two, I'm going to focus on recovery for a while."
"Good job, Hiiragi-san. Leave things to Yuji and me. Just rest up."
Yuji rolled his shoulders to loosen them, while Hiiragi-san looked drained from the repeated spellcasting. I had moved around quite a bit myself with the logs and the fight, but I wasn't nearly as tired as they were.
Since they needed a break, I decided to set up the beds and camp screens.
"Yuji, keep an eye on the surroundings while you rest. I'll get the base camp set up."
"Hm? Oh, got it."
While Yuji took the perimeter watch, I pulled the gear from my Spatial Storage. Setting up the camp only took about five minutes since I was mostly just pulling out pre-assembled items. Positioning the camp screens by myself was a bit of a hassle, but manageable.
Once everything was ready, I told them the camp was finished and sank into a chair.
"Finally, we can take a breath."
"Yeah, though we can't completely relax," Yuji reminded us.
"True. We’re resting on an unexplored floor, so we have to stay alert."
On an explored floor, we’d have a grasp of the potential dangers, but here we couldn't afford to be careless. Especially since the 40th floor range was dominated by fast-moving monsters. If we weren't careful, one could be at our throats before we even realized it.
"I know. Well, more importantly, let's eat. We’ve worked hard today, so you both must be starving."
"Now that you mention it, it's about that time. We certainly got enough exercise before dinner..."
"I'm hungry too, so let's get started."
While maintaining our vigilance, we began meal preparations.
"So, what are we having? I don't see any of that flammable grass around here like on the floor above..."
"...Is it safe to use fire?" Yuji asked.
"As long as it’s not an open flame like a bonfire, it should be fine. Kokonoe-kun, what’s the verdict? Is there anything highly flammable nearby?"
"Hmm, hold on."
I used Appraisal Analysis to scan the surroundings. I had checked when we arrived, but environments can change subtly.
Yeah, at least here in the staircase plaza, there was nothing like the long grass.
"It's fine. If it's just a camping stove, we won't have any problems in this plaza."
"That's a relief. In that case, let's do a hot pot. Hot pot!"
"A hot pot... yeah, if fire is on the table, that sounds perfect."
"Hot pot it is. Give me a second to get the tools and ingredients..."
I pulled out the pot and stove, then lined up the cut vegetables and orc meat on the table. The orc meat was part of the spoils we'd gathered on the way down.
"Hiiragi-san, sorry to ask, but could you fill the pot with water?"
"Of course. I’ve recovered a bit thanks to the rest."
She held her hand over the pot and filled it using Water Magic.
And then...
"Alright, it's ready. Dig in, everyone!"
"Yeah, let’s eat!"
"Thank you for the meal."
As we ate from the simmering pot, we discussed the plan for tomorrow. We had already exceeded our initial goals for this dive. Now, our objective was simply to push as far as we safely could.
It was probably time to set a concrete target.
"So, how deep are we actually going on this run? We have to head back tomorrow, so I think we have maybe six hours of diving time at most..."
"Six hours? Isn't that a bit optimistic?" Yuji questioned. "We’ve dived pretty deep, so the return journey is going to take a while."
"He's right," Hiiragi-san added. "Up to the 30th floor, we can probably rush through since there aren't many people, but above that, there will be other explorers. We won't be able to just sprint. If there are as few people tomorrow as there were today, we might be okay, but it’s risky to count on that."
It was a fair point. Since we’d pushed much further than scheduled, the trek back would be substantial. If we ignored enemies and took the shortest route, I felt like we could reach the 30th floor in about an hour, but there was no guarantee the monsters would let us pass.
Trying to make that kind of time would turn it into a forced march.
"True. We’re on the 42nd floor now. If we aim for the 50th floor to make it a round number, that’s eight floors to go... even if we clear one floor every thirty minutes, that’s four hours."
"Whoa, Daiki, clearing an unexplored floor in thirty minutes is reckless. We can't ensure our safety at that pace."
"He's right. The 41st floor was a fluke because we found the stairs quickly. You can't expect that every time. You should budget at least an hour per floor."
"Yeah, you're probably right..."
Speeding up the conquest was possible, but it was a direct trade-off with safety. Even now, exploring without preliminary research was pushing our luck. If we disregarded safety any further, someone was bound to get hurt.
Hmm, what should we do?