Chapter 83: The Sea god’s dungeon iii

Was the gun useless here?

Against a B+ rank monster like the Greenfish, maybe it was.

’But!’

If there was even a slight weak point...

If the impact wasn’t completely nullified, a critical hit was still possible.

Instead of retreating I stepped forward, closing the distance. Dropping to one knee, I emptied the entire magazine into the charging Greenfish.

*Bang bang bang bang!!*

The slide recoiled at blistering speed.

Ultimate technique!

「Soul Excretion: Full Burst」

When the Glock ran dry I switched to the Python without missing a beat.

"Gah!? Bughk!?"

"Discharge discreetly!!"

The melting creature collapsed right in front of us, spilling jelly everywhere.

"You took it down with a gun? That melting thing?"

"Become a Fleshlight."

[Green Spiked Fleshlight (Masterpiece)]

[High-quality Fleshlight whose interior tightens as if rotating]

[Health +3]

[Strength +3]

[Agility +3]

[Dexterity +3]

[Magic Power +3]

"How about that?"

"When did you get so strong, Ren?!"

"It’s all thanks to the magic potion you gave me."

"Kyaa! Don’t say it like that!"

Aria blushed and playfully punched me in the side.

*Bang, bang.*

Where was the next area?

"Ren, look up there."

Elle pointed toward the ceiling with her wooden staff.

About six meters up, a tunnel leading to the next section was clearly visible.

Did we have to climb the wall?

I could probably manage it, but what about the girls?

I had a feeling the difficulty would scale with breast size.

"What should we do?"

"Why don’t you put everyone in the Fleshlight Inventory and just climb up yourself?"

"Alright. Nami, get in."

I stored Nami inside the Fleshlight Inventory.

"Are we going in too?"

"Let’s check if there’s another way first."

I really hoped putting a heroine into the inventory would stay a last resort.

Maybe my thoughts reached her, Aria quietly began searching the surroundings.

"Elle?"

Elle simply stared at the tunnel.

She seemed to be trying something with her Wallwood Staff.

"A spell I just learned. Let me try it."

Levitation magic, maybe?

We watched carefully to see what she could do.

Elle’s posture with those breasts was criminal!

"...."

"...."

Nothing happened.

Elle pressed the staff against her large chest and lowered her head.

"Uhm... if you keep staring... I can’t concentrate because I’m embarrassed."

"...Okay."

I wrapped an arm around Aria’s shoulders and led her to a corner.

"Let’s give Elle some space to work."

"Mmm. Elle should also get the benefit of Ren’s guidance."

"Is he that strict?"

"Of course. A squad held back by one member can never be a good squad. I’ve seen it enough times to be sick of it."

A squad held back by one person.

I knew exactly how that felt.

But had Elle really held us back in our first dungeon? She had actually performed better than I had.

Just because she acted timid and gloomy at the academy didn’t mean she was the same inside a dungeon.

After spending time with her at her house I had seen her brighter side and realized how hard she worked.

This wasn’t about taking advantage of anyone.

If it was Elle, she would prove herself.

"...It’s ready!"

Aria and I locked eyes and immediately ran back to her.

Had she managed some kind of floating magic?

Had she already gone up through the tunnel?

[Crimson Eye activated]

[Void Step]

[Class C Support Skill]

[Creates a foothold using magic power. Duration and stability depend on magic power. Weight capacity is light.]

Elle had skillfully built a series of platforms for us to climb, one step at a time.

Impressive, wasn’t it?

"Amazing, Elle!"

Aria instantly recognized the value of the skill and praised her.

"Oh, it’s not that big a deal..."

"Not a big deal?! Most wizards only focus on offensive magic and dealing damage... Wait, let me rephrase that."

...Damn it.

I already had a pretty clear idea of how most wizards thought.

"It’s far from trivial! This is a utility magic that massively helps with dungeon exploration. Wizards who can do this are highly sought after in any squad."

"...Really?"

"From now on our squad won’t need climbing gear at all. We’ll be able to travel much lighter."

"...Hehe."

Elle smiled shyly.

Sweeping her bangs aside had been the right decision. I could see her beautiful green eyes and lovely face much more clearly now.

"Should I, the heaviest one, go up first?"

"If we go one at a time it should be fine."

"Duration is about two minutes?"

I needed to hurry.

I moved quickly toward the tunnel entrance.

Aria followed right behind me.

"Elle, run!"

"Ah... yes!"

Even though she had created the stepping stones herself, Elle’s movements were slow. She climbed carefully, almost hesitantly.

At the very end she nearly slipped because she was lagging behind

"Elle!"

I shot out a hand, grabbed hers, and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Tightly...

"S-Ren..."

"We made it."

"...Ehehe..."

I gently patted her head, praising her for a job well done.

"You can come out now, Nami."

"Seems Master was busy cuddling."

"Now we’ll be busy fighting."

From the look of the chamber, this was clearly the boss room. In the center stood a massive pink star coral the size of a house, shining exactly like a star. Behind that coral, far larger than any of the melting fish we had faced,

stood two shark giants, each well over four meters tall. One carried an enormous harpoon that looked like a siege ballista. The other rested a ship’s anchor on its shoulder. Their presence alone was intimidating.

"Blue Shark Giants... this won’t be easy."

"Is this the B+ grade?"

"Yes. Even for three A-class novice hunters these would be tough opponents."

Aria took out a shimmering feather, an escape item from her inventory and toyed with it.

"There’s always the option to give up and leave."

"But the reward should be huge, right? They’re guarding that thing so carefully."

Nami pointed at the giant star coral.

She was right.

"They say a special demonic force appears in this dungeon. It’s worth challenging."

"...."

Aria still looked lost in thought.

"Let’s give up on this one. Someone could get seriously hurt."

"Is that the leader’s decision?"

"Yes. Even if Nami and I take the front, marking both of them at once is too much."

This was the assessment of Aria, who regularly soloed B-class content.

It was almost certainly accurate.

She judged that Elle and I currently lacked the combat power to handle this safely.

Aria had far more experience than I did and insisted it wasn’t possible, yet it was hard to accept.

Did I want the demonic power that badly? Did I need the money from selling Fleshlights to a demon merchant that desperately?

Those were reasons, sure, but...

Aria seemed to be saying, "Nami and I will be fine, but Elle and Ren are in danger."

"You said it yourself, Aria. A squad held back by one person can’t be a good squad."

"Knowing when to avoid danger is also the mark of a good squad."

"What if there was no need to protect anyone?"

"Hmm?"

"What if both of you could fight with everything you have?"

Aria blinked.

She clearly didn’t understand what I was getting at yet.

"If you didn’t need to protect me and Elle, could you fight freely?"

"We could fight, but..."

"Then let’s do it. Elle doesn’t want to back down just because of herself, right?"

Elle nodded repeatedly.

"I don’t like... not being able to fight because of me."

"This isn’t only about that. Once they start attacking, this tunnel becomes useless. They’ll chase us all the way back to the first area without stopping."

"..."

A muscular shark monster over four meters tall,wielding weapons that could crush a person in one blow.

Yeah, that was more than a little terrifying.

Part of it’s my fault. I don’t have a skill strong enough to stop the Shark Giant."

Nami raised her hand as well.

"Neither do I. I can only pull its attention for a short time."

"So it’s a misunderstanding if it sounded like the mage and the gunner were the ones holding everyone back.

If there was a mage who could one-shot these things, she wouldn’t be paired with a swordsman of my level in the first place."

"There’s a way to create space where they can’t easily reach us."

Everyone turned to look at me.

The key was Elle’s skill.

"The ceiling."

I pointed at the submerged ceiling that enclosed us like an aquarium dome.

"Using Elle’s Void Platforms, we can make the Shark Giants’ life a lot more difficult."

I laid out the strategy.

In the dome-shaped chamber centered around the giant Star Coral, we first build a tiered set of platforms. Elle and I climb up first.

Then we create another Void Platform on top of that.

We stay airborne until the magic runs out.

During that time I can provide long-range support so Nami and Aria can focus purely on fighting.

That was the best plan I could offer.

Aria rested her chin on her hand and thought it over carefully.

"Elle, how long can the platform last?"

"If I don’t use any attack skills and pour all my mana into it, about five minutes."

"For a single platform?"

"We’ll have to test it, but if it needs to be thick enough for two people, better assume three minutes."

Since we needed to reach a height of eight or nine meters,

there would be almost no mana left afterward. In the end we could only hold that high position for around six minutes total.

"Six minutes..."

"Worst case, I put Elle into the Fleshlight Inventory and run straight down the tunnel. That should buy us up to eight minutes."

"Is it worth trying?"

Nami asked.

"With Nami here as well... maybe."

"In my opinion a truly great squad is exactly this. What we can’t do alone, we accomplish by lifting each other up."

"Master is aiming for ideal team play."

"In practice it will be easier than it sounds."

I applied the Fleshlight buff to Aria.

"Ah!"

"A blade should be more effective than fists, don’t you think?"

"Ah... I’m being treated like a Fleshlight, aren’t I...?"

Even though Aria’s cheeks turned red, she gave a small nod, accepting the necessity.

"It’s a necessary measure. We don’t have a choice."

「I have chosen this Fleshlight」