Dungeon Refrigerator 279

Test

Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Clawed Beasts

It’s been 40 years since then…

Or maybe not that long. It’s been, what, four or five days at most?

But time flies when chatting with friends, and without thinking, I got caught up in the thrill of easy conversation.

Ah, no need to worry about the details. As long as the first number’s right, the rest falls within the margin of error.

So, I had Tomo follow a training menu suited to his current condition, leveling him up to 3 in the Crab Dungeon. I had him go in, gain some stats, then acquire Life Energy to experience how it speeds up his growth.

That should do for now.

But it felt like something was missing, so I used the [Plunder] skill to overhunt some giant mussels and handed him a skill orb as well.

And the skill Tomomichi got was [Shell].

“Hehehe… Time to go, Master Jung! Now, activating skill!”

[(…poof!)]

But what appeared was just a small shell about the size of a clam…

“Nooooo! Master Jung!! This can’t be happening!!”

He cried, pressing in on me.

“Ah, no! That’s because your level’s low, and your magic hasn’t developed enough yet!”

“Really?! With just one tiny shell, I can’t fight monsters at all!”

“Don’t worry. With more training and getting used to the skill, you’ll be able to use larger shells for shuriken and even shell shields!”

I reassured him, urging him to keep up with his daily training, and I returned to Ruu’s place.

…

But when I got back, I found out that the three had fought a boss-level monster without me.

“Hey! You can’t do that! You didn’t even have any healing potions. That was way too risky!!”

“““Sorry…”””

I scolded the three of them quite harshly this time.

I mean, this has never happened before. In a dungeon, you never know what might occur. If things go badly, you could end up dead, or worse, with life-altering injuries.

Just like how I lost my left leg.

“But we never thought a boss-level monster would appear on such a shallow floor…”

“Sorry, but we’d heard from Coach that boss-level monsters only appear on the 5th floor, so we didn’t think there’d be one on the third.”

“Coach, um… we’re sorry…”

After being sternly reprimanded, the three seemed genuinely remorseful.

“Hm… Likely due to the Dungeon Stampede, boss-level monsters that would normally be deeper had risen up. But remember, besides bosses, there are ace-level monsters with comparable strength, so don’t ever let your guard down.”

“““Understood…”””

“Ace-level monster” is a term I made up myself.

They’re monsters clearly stronger than average ones, though not quite at boss level. Like the Bloodsucking Carrot on the third floor of the Plant Dungeon or the Pixie Queen, for instance.

We don’t fully understand how boss or ace-level monsters emerge.

But while boss-level monsters seem to have some deliberate purpose, ace-level monsters feel more naturally occurring. Though, that’s just my speculation.

“So, when you defeated that boss-level monster with [Plunder], all three of you raised your [Slime] skill to level 3?”

“Yes, that’s right, Coach.”

Seira Machi

Level: 23

Species: Human

Occupation: Narito Special Student

Abilities: Around 340 each

Skills:

[Acid], [Agility], [Strong Arm], [Slime 3], [Flight]? (Suit-enhanced)

Nina Shizue

Level: 22

Species: Human

Occupation: Narito Special Student

Abilities: Around 330 each

Skills:

[Acid], [Agility], [Good Legs], [Compound Interest], [Slime 3]

Kateshina Ruu

Level: 22

Species: Human

Occupation: Narito Special Student

Abilities: Around 330 each

Skills:

[Acid], [Plunder], [Speed], [Defense], [Slime 3], [Charge 2]

Hm… All three leveled up by one.

It’s interesting that Senra and Nina both gained skill levels through Ruu’s use of [Plunder].

Between me and them, there’s a bond from teacher-student and the connection formed when I transferred Life Energy to them.

That bond explains why Ruu’s [Plunder] affected them as well, but since Ruu and the others are all special students, it’s unlikely the same mechanism applies here. Perhaps it’s Ruu’s strong desire to be in sync with everyone that influenced the skill’s effect…?

“But still, a giant centipede-like worm, huh… Hmm, that must be a clawed beast.”

“““A clawed beast…?”””

It seems none of the three know about it. So, in our next class, I’ll explain what clawed beasts are.