On the last day of the three-day weekend, I ventured into the dungeon. I took the shortest route to the fifth floor and proceeded towards the stairs leading down to the sixth floor, defeating horned boars along the way.
Just like yesterday, three horned boars were lying near the stairs.
"They're here again. What should I do today?"
Yesterday, throwing a stone had failed. But today was different. On my way here, I had tested the 'Swing' spell, and it proved to be even more effective than 'Push'.
Of course, a normal 'Swing' spell only gives a small, annoying tap that would merely irritate the monsters. However, a triple activation of 'Swing' generates a series of three elongated D-particle plates that strike down rapidly.
When the boar took a hit to the head, it staggered as if concussed. Confident in my 'Swing' spell, I decided to launch a surprise attack with a triple activation of 'Swing', which I dubbed 'Triple Swing'.
I leapt from my hiding place behind the trees and charged directly at the boars. I wasn't noticed until I was within five meters. Once I crossed that distance, the boar on the right noticed and started to get up.
I closed in on that boar, launching 'Triple Swing'. The spell's range is about two meters, allowing me to attack enemies from a short distance.
I lightly flicked my hunting knife with my wrist, triggering the spell. The elongated D-particle plates—what I called 'Keisaku Plates'—struck the boar on the right with a snapping sound, freezing its movement. Meanwhile, another boar beside it started moving.
I activated 'Triple Swing' again, and the 'Keisaku Plates' struck the second boar.
The last boar, which was slightly farther away, began its charge towards me. I launched a 'Triple Push' to send it flying.
From there, it was a race against time. I needed to finish off the boars with my hunting knife before they could recover.
"Huff, huff... I did it."
Even in the dungeon, lifestyle magic is useful. My confidence in my lifestyle magic grew.
I descended the stairs to the final floor. This floor is inhabited by labyrinth wolves. They are as large as big dogs, tough, and dangerous killers.
The first sight of the sixth floor was burned into my memory. A vast snowy mountain existed within the dungeon. The mountain was covered in pure white snow, creating a cold and desolate landscape.
It was quite cold. I took a down jacket, which I had rolled up in my backpack, and put it on.
"The students must have searched every corner of this vast place."
The students had apparently walked all over this floor searching for the stairs leading down to the seventh floor. Even after thorough searching, they couldn't find the stairs, so it was concluded that the sixth floor was the final floor.
I started walking towards the snowy mountain. There is a dungeon exercise where students reach a cave in that mountain and pass if they arrive there.
Something was running towards me from the direction of the snowy mountain.
"A dog? No, it's a labyrinth wolf."
Against enemies that jump or charge at me, the 'Push' spell is the easiest to use.
The labyrinth wolf, after hitting the D-particle plate, rolled on the snow and got up. These wolves seemed tougher than the horned boars.
Growling, the labyrinth wolf stood up and attacked again. This time, I countered with 'Triple Swing'. The 'Keisaku Plates' struck the labyrinth wolf's head.
The counterstrike caused significant damage. As the labyrinth wolf fell onto the snow, I thrust my hunting knife into its neck. The labyrinth wolf disintegrated into particles of light and vanished.
Those light particles were supposedly D-particles. Therefore, some of them were absorbed into my body, increasing my D-particle count.
Again, I heard a thumping sound from within my body.
Using the 'Self-Analyze' spell, I checked and found that my lifestyle magic had reached level 4.
"Reaching my goal of level 5 might be tough."
Despite reaching the final floor, I was only at level 4. At this rate, it seemed unlikely I would reach level 5 in a single day.
I proceeded towards the cave in the snowy mountain. On the way, I encountered two more labyrinth wolves, but I managed to defeat them using 'Push' and 'Swing'. I arrived at the cave a little past noon.
I made it to the goal. Now, I'll mine some black iron and head back. Cautiously, I entered the cave. It was dark, so I used the 'Light' spell.
As I advanced through the cave, I reached a fork and took the left path. It led to a large dome-shaped chamber. This was where I could find the black iron ore.
Black iron, like red iron, is a variant of iron transformed within the dungeon. It is harder and more durable than steel, so it sells for a high price at the Adventurer's Guild.
I located a black iron ore vein and began extracting ore with my mattock. I packed the ore into my backpack, intending to convert it into black sand iron at a safe spot like the stairs.
I returned to the fork and took the right path this time. The principal had mentioned a surprise on the final floor, and I wanted to find out what it was.
"I wonder what the surprise is? Could there be a dungeon boss?"
A dungeon boss is a monster that resides on the final floor of a dungeon. Defeating this monster is said to yield special items.
However, in beginner dungeons like the Giant Tree Dungeon, there isn't always a dungeon boss. Beginner dungeons often don't have bosses, containing only regular monsters instead.
I speculated that the surprise the principal mentioned might be the presence of a dungeon boss. Nonetheless, I also thought it would be challenging to defeat a dungeon boss alone.
The principal probably didn't expect me to reach the final floor, so I only intended to confirm the surprise and nothing more.
I ventured deeper, arriving at another dome-shaped chamber similar to the one with the black iron ore. Peeking inside, I saw a massive wolf lying down. It was a gigantic wolf, the size of a cow.
Whoa, could that be the dungeon boss? I don't think I can defeat something like that right now. Better retreat.
As I turned to leave, a labyrinth wolf stood in my way. Reflexively, I activated 'Triple Push'. Although I knocked the wolf away, I lost my balance and stumbled backward.
As a result, I ended up entering the dungeon boss's chamber unintentionally. The entrance closed behind me the moment I stepped in.