Then we started walking again, but I guess that's the kind of area we're in, because within a minute we spotted the rock spider again.

　I pointed out where it was hiding, and we all tried to observe it from a certain distance, but no one could figure out where it was.

　When I pointed out "over there," they just twisted their heads.

　However, even I myself, who has [Searching for Enemies], could not distinguish them visually, so I guess it can't be helped.

　Even so, if Toya, who has [Searching for Enemies], gets close enough and I point out the location, he seems to be able to recognize it through [Searching for Enemies] and slams his sword down on it without fail.



　The sound of the sword hitting the rock was like a thunderclap.


　The sound that echoed was like hitting a rock.

　And then, with its legs contracted, the rock spider peels off the wall and falls.

　Despite the fact that the rock spider seemed to be struck with a great deal of force, it did not seem to be crushed, which is indeed worthy of the name "rock," but it seems that this was only the case on its back.

　When Toya thrust his sword into the rock spider's belly side, the side that had been attached to the rock, it went through easily and the rock spider died easily.

　Dismantling the rock spider from the belly side did not require much strength, and even Yuki was able to easily remove the magic stone and the gland.

　What was left was a hard corpse, but there was no use for it, so it was thrown directly down the cliff.

　Exoskeleton. The exoskeleton is completely made of rock, and the softer parts of the body are chitinous, so it is not suitable for composting like other demons.

It's like an umbrella shell stuck to a rock.

Yeah. Once it's off, you're a fish.

If you're strong enough to knock them off. Maybe if it's not Toya, it'll be tough.　--No. Can Mary do it?

　Mary has the same type of sword as Toya, but her other weapons are not suitable for striking.

　If we were wizards, we could hit her with a Stone Missile, but that would be a complete waste of magic power, since Toya can manage it.

So, Mary, do you want to try?
"Are you sure?　I don't know exactly where I'm going to hit. ......
Oh, yeah. ...... Okay, Nao, follow me.
Copy that.

　So the next rock spider that came out, I specified the location in great detail and had Mary attack it, but even with her attack, the rock spider rolled away.

　However, unlike Toya's attack, the rock spider tried to escape by moving its legs, and I had to kill it immediately with my spear.

　In Toya's case, he was probably either knocked out by the impact or almost dead.

　Still, it wasn't much of a hassle, and we walked for about an hour, lightly dealing with the rock spiders.

...... is a dead end, isn't it?


Oh, it's a dead end.

　At the end of a narrow path that seemed to have been carved out of the cliff.
　It was as if the digging had stopped there, and the path was gone.

You don't mean I have to dig my own way out of here, do you?

"Of course not. This isn't the end of the dungeon, is it?

No!　No way. It's too much of a letdown!

No, I don't think so. At least, from what I've read about the dungeon so far - and there have been only a few stories of people reaching the end of the dungeon - every one of them has a shape that clearly indicates the end of the dungeon. I've read dungeon books too.

　I've also read books about dungeons, and Natsuki is right, there are some particularly strong bosses or special treasure chests at the far end of the dungeon, but at least they didn't end with an abrupt dead end.

　It would have been too convenient to say that this was the first special dungeon.

So, are there any hidden doors in the walls along the way?

　Haruka glanced at Natsuki, but Natsuki shook his head again.

At least, I didn't find out. I'm sure you'll be able to find it if you look hard enough. ......

I really don't want to do that.

　There were many narrow parts, so I walked very slowly and carefully, but it was still more than a kilometer.

　It would be mentally demanding to continue investigating the entire wall while being afraid of falling.

　Even if we were to take this opportunity to have Yuki learn the [knowledge of traps] and split up between me, Natsuki, and Yuki, each of us would have to walk several hundred meters or so to get to .......

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but it's a good idea.　You can do that while moving around.

"I'd like to suggest a possibility other than a hidden door. Up there or .......

　I look up and see a rock wall so high it's hazy.
　No, in fact, it's so hazy that I can't even see the edge of it with my [eagle eye].

"Or down. ......

　I looked down cautiously, but it was also hazy and I couldn't see the bottom.

　Even though we had walked quite a distance, we could still see the waterfall from here, and the smoke from the waterfall basin was obscuring the bottom, so the scale of the waterfall was clearly visible.

It's a little too much for me to climb up and down," he said.



I don't suppose any of you have any rock climbing experience, do you?

I've only ever done bouldering. Just for fun.

　Bouldering is the sport of climbing with handles attached to the wall, under proper safety control.

　Bouldering is a sport in which you climb using handles attached to the wall, with proper safety control. It requires muscle strength, but because it is man-made, you can hold on to the handles and not worry about them suddenly collapsing.

I used to do that too. I mean, we went together, didn't we?
We just watched, though.

　We didn't do it for real, we just went there because there was a facility where we could experience it for fun.

　We had no experience in free climbing or rock climbing.

It's just not for me and me. ......
"Me, I can do it!

　I've never been free-climbing or rock-climbing before.

No, Mitya, this is not a situation where you need to work hard.

Yes. This rock wall is going to be difficult to climb down unless you are very well prepared - not only with the right equipment, but also with training.

I'm not sure I need to go down in the first place. ......?

　As I carefully peered down the cliff, I caught the edge of my vision and saw a path that looked like it was about 20 meters down.

　I don't know if it's really a path, but I can see a place that looks like it might be a little way down.

"Hey, what do you think of that?
...... looks like the place.

　The wall is gouged out, so it's hard to tell unless you lean forward a little, but if you look into it while holding each person's hand, you can definitely see something that looks like a path.

Are we going down there?　It's still realistic to think about going down to the bottom of this cliff. ......

As for me, I'm curious about those things growing on the rock walls. That's Stack Mash and Fronion, right?

Uh, ...... that?

　Because of the high humidity caused by the waterfall, there were some plants growing on the rock walls, but Toya pointed to two of them.

　Flonions are green plants that look like chives or leeks that hang down from the wall. A common vegetable with no significant characteristics?

　At least, it doesn't look like something I'd want to risk reaching for.


　At first glance, the stack mash looks like moss stuck to a rock wall.
　It looks like a thin white paper, but it seems to be a mushroom.

　If it is a mushroom, it should grow perpendicular to the rock wall. ...... Is this due to wind or something?

　It's a canyon, and the wind is blowing pretty hard through it.

I'm not sure if that's a good idea.

　I know it sounds corny, but we're adventurers.
　Money is a concern.
　If it pays, it's worth the risk.

As you can see, they're hard to get, so they're more expensive than regular vegetables and mushrooms, but they're just regular food. Not so bad, huh?

　It was Haruka who answered my question.

　I heard that they were tasty, but in terms of image, they were like brand-name vegetables for flonions and mushrooms for stacks of mushrooms, which were a step lower than truffles and matsutake mushrooms.

　Incidentally, if you look down the cliffs, you can find them, but if you look upwards, you can't find them at all, at least not within our reach.

　Is this intentional for the dungeon, or is it the result of something else? ...... Maybe the rock spiders are eating them?

　You can't say it's not possible.

But we can keep it for ourselves, can't we?　It's good, isn't it?
That's what it says. ...... doesn't look like it, though.
Yeah, especially the mushrooms.

　It's no better than a fungus.

I don't think it's worth the risk, at least not right now. ...... Why don't we just turn around for the day?

"Right. If we do, we'd better be ready to go down.

Unless there's a hidden door or something.


　As expected, we didn't find any hidden doors in the passageway we returned to while doing the percussion test, and we headed home without much success.