Once we finished collecting the drop items, we resumed our search for the stairs. We were hit by another ambush from a mixed team of Weasel monsters and Squirrel? monsters, but we managed to fend them off and successfully located the stairs leading down to the 47th floor.
Once again, we had cleared the floor in under thirty minutes.
"We hit a few snags, but we found them in the end," I said.
"Well, even if it felt like it took a while, it’s only because the last three floors went too smoothly," Yuji replied.
"He’s right," Hiiragi-san added. "In fact, considering we had to fight along the way, this was plenty fast."
Standing before the stairs to the 47th floor, we were deliberately evaluating our performance on the 46th floor out loud.
"Still, I never expected the monsters to start using actual tactics," I remarked.
"Yeah. Up until now, they just attacked as if their only instinct was to kill whatever was in front of them. For them to deliberately show themselves and then pull back to lure us into a false sense of security..."
"It makes me worry that every monster from here on out will be the same way," Hiiragi-san said. "We’re going to have to be more cautious of their behavior than ever before."
We were speaking in slightly raised voices, pretending to have a casual chat to make it look like we had let our guard down.
"Definitely. We also have to watch for hidden enemies using long-range attacks while the vanguards act as decoys. If they snipe us while we're occupied with a frontline fight, we won't be able to dodge, or we'll leave ourselves open to the enemies right in front of us."
"Support-type enemies... those are a real pain," Yuji agreed. "Especially with mixed units like that. Since every species reacts differently, if we don't understand their specific traits, we're bound to create an opening."
"Until now, even when we fought groups, they were basically the same species," Hiiragi-san noted. "The only exception was the bear subordinates the ogre summoned... but that was effectively a one-on-one fight, so they didn't really function as support."
We were putting on a show, projecting vulnerability that suggested we could be hit easily if someone had a long-range weapon. But there was no response.
We kept the conversation going for about five minutes, but seeing that nothing was biting, we stopped and let out soft sighs of relief. It had cost us precious time, but it was a necessary test.
"...Phew. It looks like they aren't the type to just snipe us without warning," I said.
"Probably not," Yuji cautioned. "But don't get too comfortable. We can't be a hundred percent sure."
"The fact that they don't shoot unless we're facing them is enough for now," Hiiragi-san said. "But we still need to stay alert. For all we know, they might have targeted us while we were at the bivouac last night..."
I didn't know the exact range of the Squirrel? attacks, but it was entirely possible they could have taken shots at us while we slept. If we were going to keep camping out, we’d need to set up some kind of defensive perimeter, even if it was just a simple one.
I wondered if we needed to start building proper defensive structures.
"If this is how it’s going to be, we’ll have to think about defense against projectiles for our future camps....Do we have any skills that could help with that?"
"An earthwork is the first thing that comes to mind," Yuji said, lightly kicking the dirt with his toe before looking at me. "Hey, Daiki, do you have any Earth Magic skill scrolls in stock?"
It would certainly be easier if we could use Earth Magic to shape the ground into embankments.
However...
"Earth Magic? Uh, let me see... I think I have some, but even if I learned it now, my proficiency would be so low that I'd only be able to manage little dirt mounds at best."
"Dirt mounds, huh..."
Yuji shook his head with a disappointed look as he imagined our pathetic little piles of dirt. They might be good for tripping someone, but they were useless as defensive walls.
I found myself regretting that I hadn't learned the skill sooner. I’d always figured other skills were more useful in the dungeon, but look at us now.
"Even if we practice intensively after this run, it’ll probably take a while before it's at a practical level," Hiiragi-san noted.
"If it’s half-baked, the walls might just crumble the moment they're hit. If we’re talking about getting it to a point where we can actually trust it for safety... I don't think we could pull that off by the end of summer vacation."
"I suppose not..."
A chorus of sighs echoed through the plaza.
After a few moments of silence, I slapped my cheeks lightly to snap out of the gloom.
"Anyway, let's head down. We've spent enough time testing the Squirrel? behavior. I think it’s safe to move."
"Y-yeah. Let's get going."
"Right."
And so, we descended the stairs and set foot onto the 47th floor. It was safer to take our breaks at the staircase plaza of the new floor rather than lingering in the previous one.
We had pushed through several floors in one go because things were going well, but it was definitely time to take a breath and settle our nerves.
We sat in the 47th floor staircase plaza, sipping tea while keeping a sharp eye on our surroundings. Taking this small breather made me realize just how much we had been rushing.
I let out a long breath and looked at Yuji and Hiiragi-san.
"...Maybe it would be a good idea to call it a day soon."
"Hm? Daiki, what's gotten into you? At this rate, we might actually make it to the 50th floor."
"No, I was just thinking... our original goal for this trip was only the 40th floor. Now we’re on the 47th. I started wondering why we even came this far just because we were on a roll."
Now that I was calm enough to reflect, I realized we had traversed multiple unexplored floors without any prior intel or scouting. It was a forced march in every sense of the word. On top of that, we’d bivouacked in a forest crawling with long-range attackers using nothing but a makeshift fence. Honestly, why were we being so reckless? We should have set up a solid base near a staircase plaza and done some proper scouting first. There was no rule saying we had to conquer every floor on the first try.
And yet, for some reason, we were treating this like a time-limited speedrun.
The two of them stared at me in silence.
"Plus, the monsters are working in mixed groups now and using actual tactics," I continued. "Sure, they haven't been a major threat to us yet. But they're clearly acting differently than anything we've seen before. Is it really a good idea to keep pushing just because we can?"
If we had prior information on the monsters in the 40th floor range, it would be a different story. But because we had extended our trip on a whim, we were flying completely blind. Again, killing them wasn't the issue. But as the Squirrel? situation showed, it was dangerous not to know how to react to unknown enemies.
If an unknown attack had hit us while we were camping, the team could have easily been crippled.
"...I mean, I'm trying to be safe, and we're winning our fights, so I guess it's not a huge deal, but..."
Now that I was mentally composed, my doubts were leaking out like a broken faucet. Yuji and Hiiragi-san fell into a pensive silence as they listened to my rambling.
No one spoke for a long while.
"...Sorry. I'm overthinking it."
"...No, you're actually right, Daiki."
"He is," Hiiragi-san agreed. "I honestly don't know why we've pushed ourselves this far..."
We all sat there in an awkward silence.
I had regained my senses at the worst possible time—right before our goal of the 50th floor. Or perhaps it was because we were so close that the weight of it finally hit me. We had about two hours left before our scheduled return, and since it seemed possible to clear three floors in that time, I had started to get careless.
We began packing up our tea things with strained expressions. We couldn't very well resume the exploration in this mood.
Slap!
I slapped both my cheeks hard, forcing some fire back into my spirit. Following my lead, Yuji and Hiiragi-san did the same. That seemed to do the trick.
"Alright! We've got two hours left. Let's give it everything we've got!"
"Yeah. We're almost there. Let's finish this!"
"Right. Let's go as far as we can!"
We shouted to psyche ourselves up, forcing our moods back up before stepping into the forest ahead.
As we moved through the trees, the number of enemies we encountered at once began to climb.
This time, we ran into a mixed unit of Squirrels? and Badger? monsters. Suddenly, seven Squirrels? opened fire from the branches. Curiously, there were only Squirrels? in sight at first. These were the same monsters that usually fled from stronger enemies if they didn't have a vanguard. Sensing a trap, we scanned the area.
"Tch! From below!?"
"Are you kidding? Underground? What a pain!"
"I'll take the Squirrels! You two handle the ones below!"
"Roger!"
"On it!"
We reacted instantly to the subterranean threat, dividing the labor and beginning our counterattack. Hiiragi-san immediately unleashed her Wind Magic, picking off the Squirrel? snipers one by one with precision. Yuji and I played a high-stakes game of Whac-A-Mole with the Badgers? as they performed annoying hit-and-run attacks from beneath the soil. Calling it Whac-A-Mole felt weird for a badger, but there was really no other way to put it.
"Dammit, these things are fast!"
"Don't get rattled, Daiki! Just focus on one at a time!"
"I know!"
Fighting an enemy from underground was an unfamiliar challenge, but I started to pick up on the patterns. There were a few tells before a Badger? lunged out of the earth. First was the vibration; they couldn't dig through the ground without causing tiny tremors. Second was the swelling of the dirt. Right before they attacked, they would stop at their target point and coil their strength for a leap. This caused the ground to bulge slightly, allowing us to spot the attack point before they even surfaced.
"That's the last one!"
"Gyuh!?"
Yuji and I finally finished off the ten Badgers? and their annoying tactics. Since we didn't have any effective way to hit them while they were submerged, we had to wait for them to jump and then kill them on the counter, which took a lot of time.
I really needed an anti-subterranean attack. Maybe a pickaxe would work as a physical option?
"Sorry, Hiiragi-san. That took longer than expected."
"As long as you're safe, it's fine. Still... enemies that attack from below, huh?"
"They're a massive headache if you can't reach them underground. You're basically forced to play defensively and wait for a counter."
Maybe I really should learn Earth Magic, despite the dirt mound problem. It would take time to master, but it seemed versatile enough to be worth the investment.
"Hey, guys, help me out with the drops."
"Oh, right. Sorry, coming."
The haul this time consisted of Core Crystals, a Badger? claw, and a skill scroll. A badger claw... maybe it could be crafted into a necklace or something?
"Hmm. I guess the skill scroll is the only real prize here."
"What kind of scroll is it?"
"Hold on... Appraisal Analysis."
The results showed that the scroll contained the Hardening skill. It seemed to be a skill that physically toughened the body—likely something for a frontline attacker looking to boost their defense.
"It's 'Hardening.' Either of you want it?"
"Nah, I'll pass," Yuji said. "We should probably just sell it. Hiiragi-san?"
"I agree. Let's turn it into cash."
"Selling it is, then."
It wasn't a useless skill, but we didn't have a specific need for it, so we added it to the loot bag.
After finishing the recovery, we resumed our search for the stairs, keeping a wary eye on the ground beneath our feet. Eventually...
"Alright, found them."
About forty minutes into the search, we located the stairs to the 48th floor. We had less than two hours left until our cutoff point, but the 50th floor was finally within our reach. Of course, with enemies like the Badgers? lurking beneath us, we couldn't afford to drop our guard for a single second.