Level Down 29 (Patreon)

Volume 1 Chapter 29 - The Two Exploring the Demon Dungeon

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Two days after meeting Iseria in the hidden room of the Slime Dungeon as Nera, Allen returned from work late at night and immediately left the city without getting any sleep and hurried to the west.

Today is the day he promised Iseria. The meeting time they decided was only approximate, but judging by Iseria's enthusiasm the other day, Allen expected her to leave as soon as the gates of Lilac City opened. That made Allen move faster.

Allen ran at a considerable speed and soon arrived at the entrance to the Demon Dungeon. It has been a while since he came to the Demon Dungeon as Nera. As a result, when he paid the entrance fee, he once again frightened the guild employee who should have become accustomed to him, causing Allen to be slightly shocked as he entered the Demon Dungeon.

Allen proceeded toward the direction opposite of the stairs leading to the second floor, down a passageway rarely visited by people. Until he finally arrived at a place that was even more rarely visited and had no value to adventurers because it was not a place where monsters appeared.

“Ah, Nera-sama.” (Iseria)

“Sorry, I'm late. Did I keep you waiting?” (Allen)

“No, we didn't set a time for the appointment, and I just arrived here myself.” (Iseria)

When Iseria happily greeted him, Allen apologized to her. Considering that she was all ready and waiting, it was obviously a lie that she just arrived here, but Allen didn't dare to bring it up.

(How should I put it, it's like the date exchange I've heard rumors about. Well, the genders are reversed, and it's just the result of a deal though.) (Allen)

As he thought about something frivolous, Allen restrained himself. In fact, the sight of Iseria greeting him with a big smile would normally be seen as her meeting with her lover, and most men would end up thinking ‘doesn’t she like me?’ for sure.

However, due to his current clown appearance and also the fact that this is a dungeon, Allen managed to calmly brush it off.

“Then, shall we go?” (Allen)

“Yes, but are you really okay with this?” (Iseria)

“We have a deal. You lent me such a good book. This much is easy and no problem.” (Allen)

Allen took out and assembled a carrying basket made from the hanging tree from his own magic bag and placed it on the ground, and Iseria silently climbed into it. And Allen casually shouldered it.

“U-um, isn't it heavy? I'm still wearing my equipment, so I think it would be less of a burden on Nera-sama if I at least put it in my magic bag.” (Iseria)

“No, it's not particularly heavy, so I’m fine. Besides, you never know what will happen inside a dungeon. The more unprepared you are for emergencies, the sooner you'll die, you’ve got to remember just that one.” (Allen)

“...Yes.” (Iseria)

Allen, who couldn't see behind him due to the basket on his back, couldn't see Iseria blushing at all, as she thought to herself, ‘That's not what I meant.’

With Iseria in the basket on his back, Allen dashed through the Demon Dungeon. Sometimes he passed by other adventurers, but no one noticed that Iseria was there because she was completely hidden inside the carrying basket.

And Allen finally reached the 25th floor, the hurdle floor of the Demon Dungeon. This was only three hours after entering the dungeon.

“All right, we’re here.” (Allen)

After proceeding through the 25th floor for a while, Allen entered a passageway that was hard to see, and placed the basket on his back on the ground. When he looked at Iseria inside, he saw that Iseria was stiff with a pained expression on her face and her teeth clenched; she had passed out.

For a moment, Allen thought, ‘Why?’ and immediately realized it. That it was his own fault.

Of course, Allen was careful not to put a burden on Iseria, so he didn't accelerate or decelerate suddenly, and he ran with plenty of energy to spare, that’s what he thought. However, that is only based on Allen's standards.

Normally, it would be impossible to reach the 25th floor in 3 hours. It was natural that this would be a speed that the average adventurer has never experienced. What's more, inside the basket, Iseria hardly has any visibility and no way of predicting his movement, so the fear she felt as she experienced it was quite considerable.

“When considering that, she did well not screaming.” (Allen)

Guessing that Iseria was probably holding back her scream out of concern for him, Allen smiled softly as he looked at her. However, considering their original purpose, they have no time to relax, so Allen put a lid on his desire to let her rest a little longer and started to wake her up.

.

.

.

“Is this the 25th floor?” (Iseria)

“Yeah. It's a floor that normal adventurers don't enter. The reward isn't very good for the risk.” (Allen)

Allen walked through the unusually wide passageway with Iseria as she walked nervously. Allen had conquered the Demon Dungeon alone several times before, but he had never met another adventurer in the 25th floor and beyond.

Because of their size, the time and effort it takes to dismantle the monsters and collect their materials increase, what’s more, they also have to take it back with them. And since those materials are harvested from humanoid monsters, some people dislike it, so the demand for them is not that high.

As the two of them walked for a while while talking about that, they began to hear the earth rumbling, and soon a cyclops appeared with a huge club in its hand. The cyclops, with its huge body, squinted its one eye, showed its teeth as if it was a predator facing its prey, and smiled a hideous smile, causing Iseria to have her breath taken away.

An existence that Iseria can’t reach even with her stats before she leveled down. Iseria's body began to tremble due to the pressure, even though she was not conscious of it.

“N-Nera-sama. It's dangerous.” (Iseria)

“That's right. Iseria right now could die from the slightest after-effect, so wait at the corner for a bit.” (Allen)

“Nera-sama!” (Iseria)

Iseria called out to him to stop him, and then, casually waving his hand to her behind him, Allen advanced toward the cyclops with no fighting spirit at all.

The cyclops put strength into its muscles to direct its malice towards the foolish adventurer who had challenged it alone when it happened.

“Earth Bind.” (Allen)

Stretching out his hand, Allen chanted that, then, as if embodying his will, the earth rose from the ground where the cyclops was, binding its entire body like ivy twining around a tree.

The cyclops tried to advance forward until its face turned red, but as a result, it couldn't move a single step and simply fell to the floor without being able to even break its fall.

As the cyclops was lying on the ground, unable to move, and was restrained by the earth, Allen approached it. The cyclops glared at Allen with its huge eyes, laying bare its hostility, but it was unable to move in the slightest.

Satisfied with its state, Allen then beckoned Iseria, who was standing by at the corner of the passageway.

“Alright, Iseria. This guy's weakness is its giant eyes.” (Allen)

“I-I see.” (Iseria)

As Iseria’s thoughts were unable to catch up with the situation, Allen told her to ‘get on with the attack!’ Even in the midst of her confusion, Iseria believed that doing what Nera, whom she was indebted to, say could never be wrong, and plunged her own sword into the eyeball.

“Kuh, it's hard.” (Iseria)

“Of course it is. It's a much higher level monster than Iseria. It doesn't have to be just once. Just do it until you defeat it.” (Allen)

“Yes!” (Iseria)

Iseria followed his instructions and attacked the cyclops' eyeballs over and over again. Until finally, the cyclops’ life ended, spewing a large amount of liquid from its eyeballs.

“Ugh!” (Iseria)

Seeing Iseria saying that while crouching down and holding her head, Allen guessed that her level was continuously rising, and decided to keep being on guard of the surroundings.

After a while with no other enemies coming, Iseria, with a mysterious look on her face, slowly stood up and whispered “Status.”

Iseria's eyes became moist as she stared at the space that Allen saw as empty, and tears started to spill over and fall. Iseria didn't move her gaze for a while, but she slowly turned to Allen and, with her tears still flowing, clumsily smiled.

“I never knew that leveling up is something this happy.” (Iseria)

“That's good. You'll be able to enjoy more happy moments like that from now on.” (Allen)

When Allen replied that, Iseria jumped into his chest and bawled loudly like a child.

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