We had used magic to drench the reptila in water and then freeze it. Although it was a monster, it apparently had some traits in common with normal reptiles, because that method had weakened it a lot. Next time we faced a reptila, we could play it safe and freeze it from the get-go.
“That said, I believe we should avoid advancing farther until we’ve gotten strong enough to slay reptilas without taking advantage of their weakness to cold,” said Estelle. “We were lucky that your plan worked, but if it hadn’t, we could easily have died there.”
“Yeah, I was really nervous the whole time. I seriously thought I was dead when the reptila sent me flying with its tail.”
My brain had actually failed to process that I’d hit the wall and slid to the floor. It had all happened in a flash. As I reflected on that, a dry laugh escaped my lips.
When Estelle noticed my reaction, she pouted and glared in a cute way. “Please—this is no laughing matter. I was horrified when it happened!”
“Sorry, sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“One sorry is enough. Anyway, for now, we should prioritize training,” said Estelle. “Given that you got hit by a very obvious tail attack, you need to work especially hard, Sai. I need you to become familiar with your new weapon.”
“Y-Yeah, good point.”
As Estelle said, I should have seen the incoming attack, but I hadn’t noticed until it hit me, and I still wasn’t capable of using my spear to its full potential. She was right that I had a lot of work to do.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure you have it in you to become stronger,” said Estelle. “This is your chance to get started. Good luck.”
I really felt like she was using a carrot-and-stick approach here. She gave me a gentle smile and a pat on the shoulder, then took a step back, revealing a night weasel behind her. Night weasels were kind of a pain—they were small and hard to land good hits on—but they were also too weak to be a good warm-up for Estelle. I psyched myself up, held my spear at the ready, and stepped forward.
★★★★★★★★★
I took care of every monster we encountered from the first to the fifth floor. I was only able to pull it off thanks to backup from Estelle, who kept the monsters pinned down, but still, the battles turned out better than I’d expected, and I improved at wielding my heavy spear. Estelle fought by my side like normal from the fifth floor onward, and we made steady progress with no setbacks. We deliberately avoided using magic to conserve our mana and get better at fighting in the dungeon for extended periods of time, and anyway, none of the monsters we ran into really required the use of magic.
“I thought we would struggle a little as a party of two, but maybe I was wrong,” I said.
“I spent most of my career as a solo adventurer, so from my perspective, having a partner certainly makes a difference,” said Estelle. “Besides, we survived the eighteenth floor and made it out of the dungeon, so even if we were holding back, there’s no reason we would struggle here.”
“Yeah, the monsters here are nothing compared to the ones on the lower floors,” I said. “I remember you being able to cut your way through them pretty easily, though.”
“The ability to defeat monsters in one-on-one battles and the ability to safely explore the dungeon are two different things,” said Estelle. “Back then, the perilous circumstances forced me to focus, but I can’t do so indefinitely. Just so you’re aware, I really felt like I was on thin ice at the time.”
Estelle’s explanation made sense to me, and I also understood that she couldn’t maintain extreme focus forever. Right after we’d escaped the dungeon together, she’d looked totally beat, and for that and other reasons, she’d skipped the victory party and headed right back to her room to rest. Taking all that into account, the best floors for exploring daily to earn money were the ones populated by weaker monsters that Estelle wouldn’t have to go all out against.
“Now that I think about it, back when you were on your own, you used to explore mainly around the eighth floor, right, Estelle?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s right. As a solo adventurer, you can’t expect help from anyone, so even a little bit of fatigue can be dangerous if it slows you down,” Estelle replied. “I’d decided that the eighth floor was my limit—that was the farthest I could go without getting into areas where I wasn’t confident I could survive an unexpected emergency. I realize you have to take risks sometimes to grow as an adventurer, but...”
As an adventurer, you had a choice between sticking to the safe, familiar floors to earn a steady income or pursuing greater heights. Option number one was perfectly fine for career adventurers, but it was out of the question for us considering what Estelle wanted to achieve. Still, even on lower floors, you could suffer serious injuries as a result of taking risks. It wasn’t easy getting stronger. Did Estelle feel like she hit a wall staying on the eighth floor for so long? It would make sense if she accepted my invitation to form a new party for that reason. I just happened to meet her at the perfect time.
As I was savoring my good luck, Estelle gave me a confused look again. “What’s the matter, Sai? You’re smiling in a weird way again.”
“Can’t you just say I look happy?! No, wait, I mean, it’s nothing major. I was just thinking how glad I am that we became partners.”
“Candidly, I feel the same way. A lot more is possible for a party of two.”
We had already made it to the ninth floor, which neither of us would have been able to accomplish this fast on our own—this was where stronger forms of goblins, like goblin fighters, started showing up—so Estelle was definitely right.
“It seems like there’s basically nobody else here,” I said.
“Stronger forms of goblin are hard to defeat,” Estelle pointed out. “They aren’t really worth the money either.”
“Yeah, you’re right. They’re good sparring opponents, but...”
The new types of goblins we’d run into on this level were fighters, archers, and scouts. Individually, they were just armed monsters that were a bit stronger than regular goblins, but you could also run into all of the monsters that had shown up on the other floors, which could be dangerous distractions during combat. Worst of all, their magicites weren’t even worth a single gold coin apiece. Battling monsters on the eighth floor would have been a more efficient way of earning money, and if you didn’t want to do that, you could just make a break for the twelfth floor, where the goblins stopped showing up. But our goal was to train and get stronger, so we slowed down and took turns fighting.
“At least from my perspective, you seem to have gotten more comfortable with your spear, so I’d say this was a fruitful training session,” said Estelle. “However, let’s call it a day. We can tackle the tenth floor tomorrow.”
“Sure, I’m down for that. I am starting to feel like I could use a break.”
We’d been using a map to avoid wasting our time, but we’d still fought a lot of battles—we’d really blazed through the dungeon. I’d been swinging a heavy spear that whole time, so my muscles were aching. Truth be told, I wasn’t just “starting” to feel like I needed a break; I was pretty much at my limit. Back when I was adventuring with Adonix-san’s party, our expeditions were never longer than two or three days, so if I was going to be taking longer trips with Estelle, I probably needed to start lifting weights. I don’t want to get as buff as Adonix-san and those guys, though. I’m too short—it just wouldn’t suit me.
“Hmm. Can we rest in that small room ahead that we passed through earlier?” I asked.
“Sure,” Estelle replied.
★★★★★★★★★
We laid a thick mat in the corner so we could lie down without the stone floor chilling us. I sat down first, and Estelle sat a short distance from me, leaving enough space for a third person between us. When we had first met after falling down the pitfall trap, we had sat facing each other, but she’d kept much more distance. Maybe we were starting to get physically and emotionally intimate. I really hope I’m not just imagining it.
While I was wondering, Estelle started making tea. She poured it into two different mugs and handed one to me. “Here you go, Sai.”
“Thanks, Estelle.”
Hell yeah, this is what life as a teenager in another world should be like! Exploring a dungeon with a beautiful girl who serves me tea while we’re sitting next to each other... I’m finally a normie! I bet I’m living the best second life of any dude in my class, ha ha!
✦ ✦ ✦
