Earth Dungeon 105.1

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Chapter 105.1. Annihilation

In the Snow Slime Dungeon's 5th floor, Shizuku received the thoughts from Sakimori-san. I smiled faintly and revved the accelerator of the snow bike she was straddling. Until now, she had been leisurely defeating Frost Trees and Snow Wisps, but there was no need to hold back any longer.

The surroundings were corridors of ice mixed with Frost Trees. Ice passages were created, blocked by trees, and the view ahead wasn't clear. However, I had already summoned the map of this dungeon from my memory. I wouldn't get lost anymore.

Making the engine roar loudly, I accelerated, kicking up the snow.

"Hyee, w-what's happening?"

Konoha, sitting behind her, screamed and clung tightly, so I chuckled like a mischievous imp.

"I got tired of battling Frost Trees and Snow Wisps, so I decided to head to the lower floors. Wouldn't you like to see the boss, Konoha-san?"

The branches of Frost Trees, growing along the way, swung sharp branches with a glass-like edge. I dodged the attacking branches, leaning the bike to one side and avoiding them. We could ignore the motionless Frost Trees just by doing that.

"Hyoee! It grazed me! It grazed my hair!"

"Hold on tight. I won't come back to pick you up if you fall."

"What about our contract?"

"It was a job to get snowflakes, right?"

"I'll add protecting the captain next time!"

Konoha clung firmly to my waist. It seemed she had some complaints about the contract. I thought about telling her that if she added protecting the captain, the contract fee would increase tenfold.

With a smirk, I advanced without hesitation towards the shortest route to the lower floor.

Several Snow Wisps, about the size of a volleyball, appeared and blocked the way, but she ignored them and charged. Snow Wisps could attach to enemies and drop the temperature to minus 50 degrees. 

However, with the speed of the snow bike, even if they attached, it would be just for a moment. By wearing winter clothes, the cold was almost negligible, so I could actually ignore them.

This Snow Slime Dungeon was truly a bonus dungeon where you could earn Dungeon Cores to your heart's content. A bonus time once a year.

"The success reward is 3 billion. Even if we fail, it's still 1 billion, right?"

"Yes! I thought you wouldn't seriously try to conquer it!"

Konoha had been summoned to Shizuku for this event. She had asked her to participate, and she agreed. For that reason, she was taking separate actions from Sakimori through [Summon All Unit].

"I intended to target the Snowflakes from the beginning. There are probably hardly any monsters left on the way to the boss room."

While looking at the ice fragments on the way, I answered Konoha. It was a piece of an Ice Golem. 

It was hard and had high attack power, but it was weak to fire. It melted easily with a single strike of fire. So it couldn't compete with well-equipped soldiers.

It couldn't compete, but I couldn't just pass them by on the snow bike. Their size was too large, and even grazing them would cause significant damage. 

That's why snow bikes were left around here. From here on, we would proceed on foot, while other teams were moving.

"W-were you planning to do hyena tactics?"

"It's rational and efficient. It's exactly the strategy of the Lion, the king of beasts. Do you know? Lions apparently steal more prey from hyenas than the other way around. That's how a king is. The name fits."

"It's an unpleasant king of beasts. I understand what you're saying, but your sarcasm is too much."

Konoha shouted to overcome the wind pressure of the accelerating bike. Coincidentally, I turned off the audio of the two cameras. 

That's why the conversation itself wasn't transmitted to others. The reason Konoha wouldn't be embarrassed even if she screamed.

Kicking up the snow, we advanced while other teams were walking slowly. It seemed those teams were tired from marching in the snow. They looked at Shizuku's group with surprised expressions, but Shizuku ignored them and aimed for the bottom floor.

"I wonder if Mother will be angry with this tactic."

"The drawback of this tactic is that it starts slowly. By the time we reach the bottom, there's a high possibility that another team will have cleared it."

Shrugging my shoulders in response to Konoha, who was concerned about her position, I returned. It might be considered unfair, but it was also a strategy. I laughed again, finding it amusing, saying I couldn't become the protagonist of an anime, maybe a villain would be more suitable.

"If a protagonist-like character appears, this tactic would be defeated as the cunning one, but that's where the gamble lies."

We already had 9 dungeon cores, and without Sakimori, I couldn't absorb more cores. So, the plan was to have the captain touch them, making it a high-stakes gamble.

"Is that so? Well, if not, then who else...?"

Konoha was about to accept Shizuku's explanation of the drawbacks when a member from another team waved and approached them.

"Hey! Seems like something happened! Stop!"

"It seems something did."

Avoiding the man's weaving movements, I spoke to Konoha behind me. While there might be some genuine concern, the main intention was to obstruct their movements.

"I thought I bit my tongue. We're receiving communication. What about Rei's communication device?"

"I'll leave the communication to Konoha-san. Subordinates follow the captain's orders."

"Do you only treat the captain when it's convenient? Well, setting that aside, we've received word that the event is being canceled."

Unexpected words caused me to furrow her brows. Why would it be canceled? Was the cheating exposed? I thought maybe the black snake moving in the snow had been discovered, but Konoha brought an entirely different piece of information.

"It seems that in front of the boss room, an unknown monster appeared. Miyoshi Team, Minamoto Team, and Ashikaga Team seem to have been wiped out. Because of the powerful monster, they're canceling the event."

Applying the brakes on the snow bike, I came to a stop. 

In the flurry of snow, I turned to Konoha to confirm.