The day of the 8th tier game.
　I was in the link room.

　It's a room with a giant-sized cocoon - a device that transfers your spirit to your magical body (avatar) - among other things.
　There was a girl with white hair like snow. There is no color of emotion on her face, and her eyes are silver.
　She is a person with an air of fantasy, as if she would disappear if you looked away for a moment.

'The Chief of Staff.'

　She notices me and looks at me.
　【Cutting Knight】 Fulkus. The floor boss of the eighth level and one of the four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Castle.
　When in battle, she's dressed in a huge black armor, but inside she's a petite woman.

''What do you want to do with yourself?''

　A flat voice with no inflection.
　It's not that she's uninterested. This is her normal.　

'No, I thought I'd see my master off. As an apprentice.'

　Then she raised her eyelids a little more than usual.
　Then she nodded. Somehow, she seemed to be in a good mood.

'Good work, my apprentice.'

　Not only did she help me with the re-emergence of Elementary, Beginning Dungeon, but she also gave me sword training.
　I've been training with her since I came back, and although the period of time is still short, she's another master for me.
　A master of magic and a master of the sword. I've been blessed with both.

Good luck.

"Hm.

　With a small nod, Mr. Fourcas opens the cocoon.
　Before going inside, he turned around.

'Speaking of which, Carmilla told me,'

Her?　What is it?

You let them reward you for your efforts.

　It's probably about the promise of an outing.
　Mira-san, who caused four people to drop out of the third layer, wanted to reward us, so after much trouble, we invited her here.

　I didn't know you were talking to Fulkus-san.
　I felt somewhat embarrassed, but I nodded.

''Yes, we'll go after the raid battle.

Yes.

Yeah, yeah.

　"Jeez," says Mr. Fulkus, looking up at me.

'Well what's that about?

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Mr. Fulkus?

　Eventually, she blurted out.

'Myself, too, floor boss.'

"...?　Yes, I'm counting on you.

Your prize?

　I knew it.
　I was thrilled for a moment, but the other party was a master.
　It's not like we're talking about the same thing as Mira-san.

　It's a strange feeling to be a master who asks for a reward from his pupil, but I'm a staff member of the Demon King's Army without having to think twice.
　In other words, I'm a superior. When it comes to rewarding a subordinate for his or her service, it's not a strange thing to say.

''There's a restaurant I often go to, how about I treat you to whatever you want?

　Mr. Fulkus nodded widely.

'Well done apprentice. And boss.'

　I can't say I'm in your debt, I'll treat you to a meal anytime........
　The reason for this is because Fulkus-san is an unimaginably large eater for his small body.

　The staff can use the cafeteria of the Demon King's Castle, which is free of charge, and they even set a limit of just one meal for each person.
　Otherwise, they'd be devoured.

　If you say you're going to buy a drink casually, your wallet will be empty within the day.
　However, it's not too shabby if it will boost morale, even a little.


"Leme(,)

　She called my name.
　Once again, calling me that has meaning.
　Like, for example, not as a general counselor and the Four Heavenly Kings, but as an apprentice and a teacher, followed by words like.

'Yes.'

Keep your eyes open.

　With that, she walked into the cocoon.
　Immediately, the cocoon on the other side opens, and Fulkas-san in her armor comes out from inside.
　Without looking at me, she touches the recording stone and transitions to the eighth layer without looking at me.

　I mutter to the space where her disappearing back was.

'Yes, Master. Watching is part of the practice, isn't it?''

　Physical exercise is not the only way to train. Observation is also very important.
　I hurried to the video room.

　The eighth layer, the realm of Takeshi and the 'duel'.
　The original eighth layer has two doors as soon as you enter.

　They must be divided in the form of three people on one side and two on the other.
　At the end of each door, there is a [Dragon Man] waiting for you, and only one person in each group will be your opponent.
　If you win, you can advance to the next stage. When you defeat five [Dragon Men] in each pair, you will arrive at the floor boss area.

　This time, the number of doors was four.
　You were instructed to split up into four, three, two, and two.

　This was the same as the remaining number of people in each party as it was.
　Although the combination can be tweaked freely, it would be easier to cooperate with each other if the parties are united.
　In fact, each party was divided up.

　Aerial Party. 【Brave man】Aerial-san, 【Wizard】Michelle-san, 【Alchemist】Lewey-san, 【Brave man】Ewan-kun.

　Helvall Party. [Brave] Helu and [Summoner] Margrethe.

　Skaha Party. [Brave] Skaha-san. 【Warrior】Hamil-san, 【Hunter】Suri-san.

　Wraith & Fran. [Brave] Wraith-kun. [Destroyer] Fran-san.

　【Longman】 has a strong body and hard scales.
　There is a story that in ancient times, a dragon species that was impressed by the martial arts of the slaughtering dragon took the form of a human in order to learn it themselves.......

　There are some who can use breath, but most of them are basically of a warrior nature.
　They prefer to do things fairly and squarely, one on one.

　Therefore, [Ryuujin] is common in martial arts players.
　In a dungeon, it tends to be many-to-many, so it doesn't suit their temperament.

　In the Demon King's Castle, we solved that by providing a one-on-one setting.
　Some who don't care about one-on-one and just want to be able to fight the strongest of the strong, fight alongside Fulkas-san in the floor boss fight.
　They were the ones who helped me in the tenth layer battle.

　Mr. Aerial, leisurely.
　Hel-san is happy.
　Skaha-san looked calm.
　Wraith looked excited.
　Each leader took the lead and opened the door.

　The room is rectangular, and when everyone enters the room, the door closes and locks.
　The one guarding the door leading ahead is an armed 【Longman】.
　The adventurers also have to respond to this alone.

''Well done, intruders!''

　The attack & defense of a somewhat different, one-on-one sequence begins.