24-Untouched Land






I'm not sure what to say.

 Hans-san, shouting in a pathetic voice, sat down firmly and thrust his short spear into the slime.
 The pointed tip of the bone pierced the slime's skin, and blue bodily fluids began to pour out.

 If you don't finish it off with a single blow, you'll be met with a painful counterattack.
 But I didn't have to worry about that this time.

 The slime tried its best to jump, but its body was stuck as if it was sewn to the floor.
 What was restraining the monster like a fetter was a large caterpillar's .

 The spear was mercilessly thrust out again at the motionless slime.
 This seemed to be the fatal blow, and the blue slime lost its shape and collapsed.
 Hans-san, who had been keeping his guard up, let out a breath of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Nice work, Hans-san.
"Phew. I was nervous. But this is very easy.
"I see. ....... It's certainly safer. But Nino-sama, is it possible to become strong in this way?

 The chief's question was reasonable.
 It's impossible to become strong by stabbing your immobile prey to death, of course.
 I even wondered what experience was.
 Here's the excuse I came up with.

Don't worry. You can absorb magical elements just by defeating demons.

 Demons are magical elements.
 By taking in that magical element, your physical abilities will increase.
 This is a theory, but I have a feeling that it is correct.

"Oh, so that's how it works. I'm learning a lot. 
I've also heard that if you keep defeating demons in demon pools, you're more likely to get new powers. ....... I've heard that if you keep defeating demons in demon pools, you can easily receive new power. ......

 I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's worth it.
 I guess it's hard to accept that a skill that took decades to acquire can be obtained so easily.
 However, if you just sit back and do nothing, you will never make it.
 The only thing to do is to quickly make people understand that this is how it is.

There are still slimes out there. "There are still slimes out there, Hans-san, so let's keep raising your level.

 The spot where the blue slimes appeared was different from yesterday, but the number was the same, exactly thirty.
 The big caterpillar's magic power ran out halfway through the battle, so we all joined in the fight, and Hans-san seemed to have done a good job.
 Thanks to him, I am now level 12 at once.

 Since there were so many of us in the stairwell, we all decided to push hard.

Let's go!



 <水泡>ばかりでストレスが溜まっていたのか、開幕はミアの<火弾>の連打だった.
 燃え盛る炎に包まれた四匹の青スライムは、驚いたように動き回る.
 そこへパウラの鞭が一匹をしたたかに打ち据え、突進した大芋虫がもう一匹を跳ね飛ばす.
 さらに体を低くして飛び込んだハンスさんが、力強く槍を突き出した.

 またたく間に三匹が仕留められ、妖精のヨーが飛び回って引きつけていた最後の一匹も、さらなる<火弾>で形を失う.
 流れるような皆の動きに見入っていた俺だが、慌てて視線を奥に移すと、すでにボススライムは紫色に染まってぺったんこになっていくところだった.
 その横ではヨルとクウが、誇らしげに仲良く手を上げている.

「うちとったりー」
「くー!」

 また尻尾の正体を見損ねたようだ.
 戦利品を回収して、噴水前で一休みする.
 迷宮水苔も綺麗に生え揃っていたので、安心して今回は根こそぎ採取しておく.

 綺麗な噴水を驚きの目で眺める村長たちに、これが迷宮水だと説明するとたちまち用心した顔になる.
 が、ミアたちが平気で飲んでいるので、おそるおそる口にしていた.

「それじゃあ、次の二階ですが……」

 骨相手だと刺突攻撃の短槍は効き目が薄いので、ハンスさんには剣と盾に装備を変えてもらった.
 すると面白いことに、特技で<連撃>が使えるようになったのだ.
 おそらくレベル10の時点で覚えていたはずだが、槍を装備していたためステータスの欄に出てこなかったのだろう.

 さっそく使ってもらったところ、素早く二回の斬撃を繰り出して骸骨犬の頭部を打ち砕いたりと、なかなかの活躍ぶりだった.
 前衛系の特技は魔力の消費ではなく体力の消耗を伴うが、減った分は魔活回復薬で十分こと足りそうだ.
 なので骨の犬はヨルとハンスさんに任せておけば、もう大丈夫そうである.  

 厄介な耳鳴りコウモリが出現した時は、妖精がすぐに警告してくれるので迅速に対処することができた.
 明かり代わりになるだけでなく、斥候まで務まる優秀ぶりである.

 ボスの大コウモリは以前と同じ方法で始末して、復活していた糞尿石もちゃっちゃと回収する.
 危険な雰囲気とは裏腹に、ここまで全く危なげなかったことに、村長が始終驚きっぱなしであった.

「三層はやや時間がかかりますが、今まで通り落ち着いて焦らず行きましょう」

 この階で時間を要するのは、素材が採れる場所を紙の地図に記すためだ.
 こればっかりはメニューコマンドの地図に表記されないので、場所を一つ一つ記載していくしかない.

 ハンスさんはレベル13になっていたが、用心のため大ミミズをもう一匹、パウラに<従属>してもらった.
 それとミミズは戦闘以外でも便利すぎるからね.
 名前はミズさんとなった.

 銅鉱石を採取し、帰りに回収する白照石の位置を手製の地図に記していく.
 それとこの階からは、村長にもそこそこ経験値が入るので戦闘に参加してもらった.
 最初は困惑した素振りだったが、すぐに慣れて平然とミミズやネズミに槍を突き立てていた.

 五十近いとはいえ、さすがは鬼人種.
 大きな体から繰り出す一撃は、後衛職と思えない迫力だった.
 もっとも物理攻撃力はそんなに高くはないので、トドメを刺せるほどじゃなかったけどね.

 階段前のボスミミズも昨日と同じやり方で片付けて、また小休止する.
 ここまでで、だいたい二時間ほどだ.
 昨日に比べると、思った以上にサクサク進んでいるな.

「四階は安全地帯ですので、ボス以外の戦闘はありません. 気楽に行きましょう」

 For some reason, the two men looked a little disappointed.
 Noting the location of the insect hump on the map at hand, we too proceeded without hesitation.
 After reaching the end of the floor in about 30 minutes, we destroyed the fairy and caterpillar troops with Kuu's again.

 The next step was finally the fifth level.
 Paula and Kuu are level 17.
 Yoru and Mia, the fairy Yo-chan, and the giant caterpillar Imochichi are level 16.
 Hans and Earthworm are level 14, and the village chief is level 20.

 If the game continues as before, the monsters that appear will be between level 14 and 16, so you should not have much trouble unless you have a lot of trouble.
 As an insurance policy, I've only given Yoru and Kuu, the main attackers, a potion to strengthen their attacks.
 In fact, I'm running a little low on materials for strengthening and amplifying potion.
 It would be nice if you could find something around this floor soon. .......

Oh, my God, what a huge ............
This is ......, what's really going on here ......?

 In front of the large space, the two men let out a breathless exclamation of admiration, as if they were in unison.

"Is that a white light stone,......? It's a tremendous ...... size .............

 Hans opened his mouth and pointed to a huge rock shining brightly on the high ceiling.

No, that's sun rock, the source of the white light stone. It glows in a rather unusual way.

 As the name suggests, it shines only during the daytime and disappears at night.
 As the sunstone is broken into small pieces and becomes Shirashoishi, the price of just one of them is tremendous.
 The ceiling is too high to reach, though, so you can't collect it.

By the way, there's a slight breeze even though we're underground.
Yes, the air seems to be moving because of the heat from the sun rock.
Really? It's so warm it's hard to believe it's the middle of winter.

 After all this time, I still don't understand how the air supply is working so deep underground.
 Well, I can breathe, so there's no point in thinking too much about it.

 On the contrary to Hans-san, who rolled his eyes and asked this and that, the village headman stared at the plain in front of him as if he were staring at it and didn't even move.
 Apparently, he was more than surprised enough.

 The reason why I asked the village chief to accompany me this time was to overturn the image of this underground labyrinth.
 I thought it would be a decisive factor in that regard.
 Another purpose was for him to see with his own eyes, having been a farmer for a long time.

"What do you think, Chief? What about this land?
"Yes, yes. I was really surprised to find such a place deep underground.

 The village chief crouched down, scooped up some soil and kneaded it with his fingers to feel it.

It's not heavy, not light, ...... and it seems to drain well. It's good soil. It's good soil.
I am relieved to hear you say so.


It's ........ What does that mean?

 The mayor asked curiously, and I answered with pride.
 Of course, I will not repeat yesterday's mistake.

"Actually, I'm thinking of building a farm here.
"A field? All the way down here?
Yes, the soil in the labyrinth contains a large amount of magical elements, which makes it particularly easy for plants to grow. There's a lot of land here, so I thought I'd make a herb garden out of it.
Oh, really?
If all goes well, we'll be able to increase the amount of land we cultivate, grow more than just medicinal herbs, and build a home for everyone. ......
"Eventually, we'll have a labyrinthine empire, won't we, sir?
"Yes, Mr. Paula, you don't add anything unnecessary.

 I rushed to stop him, but it seems I was too late.
 The chief stared at us for a moment with a dumbfounded look on his face.
 Then he started laughing with a small quiver in his throat.

I knew you were up to something, but this dream is far more grandiose and ...... delightful than I could have imagined.

 I knew you were up to something, but your dream is far grander than I could have imagined.

You're right, Nino, we've seen no great danger so far. And I was very interested to hear about your plan to build a farm. We would be happy to help in any way we can.

 I stared in surprise at the village chief's hand.
 This was the policy change I had been aiming for, but I hadn't expected it to work out this way.
 Perhaps it was a good thing that I had said honestly that I wanted to plant a farm?

 Perhaps he noticed my puzzled expression, but he lifted the edge of his lips in a graceful smile.

I'm sure you've heard of it, but from what you've said, how you've acted, and how the demons have taken to you, I don't think Nino-sama is the kind of person who would deceive others. I'm beginning to think so.
Did you hear that in my voice?
No, I thought you might be feeling that way.

 I'm scared. Why do they always read our minds?
 But I'm really grateful for your help.
 I can't organize people so easily with my lack of experience.

 Just as I shook hands with the chief, there was a sudden sharp sound.
 At the same time, something stabbed me in the foot.

 It was bent in the middle, but it was a real arrow.