Chapter 9: The Morning After the Frenzied Feast, We Dive Into Our Second Beginner Upper-tier Dungeon: the Tsukumo Bamboo Grove Dungeon.
"Alright! Time for another dungeon run today!"
"Yeah! Let’s go clear the dungeon!"
"Oh, oohh, oohh!"
We left Marie-senpai’s shop and headed for the ShouDan.
Lana and I being hyped up was nothing new. Hanna, who tried her best to keep pace with us, really was such a good kid.
"Hanna, you don’t have to force yourself to tag along, you know?"
"N-no. I want to do this too. I’m still inexperienced, but I’ll catch up!"
"I think you might be headed in the wrong direction, though."
Sierra pressed a hand to her cheek and looked at Hanna with concern.
"Will we eventually be going in there too?"
"This is troubling… and Princess Lana being in the center of it makes it even worse. Ester, shouldn’t you be keeping her in check?"
"Yes. But Lady Lana has been so much more cheerful since joining <Eden>. If her smile remains, I think it’s fine to loosen the reins a little. And if something really happens, Sir Zephyrus will stop her."
"…I see. As her guard, I’m not sure that’s really acceptable to say, but… since Zephyrus is here, maybe it’s fine. He really does look after everyone, doesn’t he? At first glance, it seems like he only enjoys what he wants, but he always lends a hand to others. Princess Lana is smiling again—just like she did back when Crown Prince Yuri was still at the palace… Still, Princess Lana seems to be heavily influenced by Zephyrus. Is that really okay?"
"I think it’s perfectly fine. Lady Lana is wonderful as she is now."
"You really are head-over-heels for her, aren’t you?"
I could hear Sierra and Ester whispering behind me, but not well enough to catch every word.
"Hey, Sierra, Ester—what’s up back there?"
"It’s nothing at all~."
Hmm. I felt like I caught some kind of meaningful look, but maybe it was just my imagination.
Anyway, the real issue was right here: the ShouDan.
"We’ve arrived at our destination. I’ll go in first. Everyone else, wait for my signal before entering."
"Don’t really get it, but okay! Good luck in there!"
"Eh? What’s going on, Zephyrus-kun?"
I ordered the group to wait and slipped alone to the entrance gate of the dungeon. If I leaned just slightly, I could peek inside.
The mood: infiltration unit soldier. No—make that unit commander. That sounds cooler.
Anyway, this was the day after yesterday’s chaos. I had no idea what state they would be in.
It was even possible that those researchers who got carried away yesterday were still going, having transcended their "special high" and awakened into some new state of being.
After all, yesterday they went totally wild from before to after… Who could even guess how far gone they’d be after a full night?
A bead of sweat slid down my temple.
Honestly, since coming to this real-life <DanKatsu>, I’d never been this tense before.
"Deep breath… Okay—here we go!"
I steadied myself with a deep breath, then slipped inside.
What I saw there—
"Repeat after me! Unique Skill! 『Muscle is strongest! Everything else is useless!』!!"
"""""『Muscle is strongest! Everything else is useless!』!!""""" chorus of five voices
…What the hell did I just walk in on?
This… was not what I pictured. Not even close.
Since when did the lab-coat researchers shift focus to muscles? This wasn’t just off—it was off the charts.
"Listen up! You’ve all endured harsh and grueling training! People say ‘Muscle is powerless against ghosts’—but that ends today! Believe in your hard-earned muscles! Against so-called <Muscle Killer>, even if you fall, show them muscles that rise again like the phoenix!"
"""""Yes, Commander!!""""" in perfect unison
…Muscles that revive? What does that even mean?
What I saw at the ShouDan was five first-years being thoroughly indoctrinated by Instructor Davidev.
If I recalled correctly, they were from <Machos>, that guild made entirely of 【Muscle Warriors】. The one everyone questioned if they were sane.
From what I’d heard, they’d been wiped out by <Debubu> a few days ago, and since then had done nothing but train and grind levels. No doubt they were about to go for a rematch.
…But seriously? No mages? Are you guys actually sane?
The heat radiating off them was incredible—I swear I could see mirage-waves shimmering from their bodies. Physically stifling.
Can I just… pretend I didn’t see this?
Either way, I decided to head back to rejoin the others.
"Ah, you’re back! Hey, Zephyrus, how was it inside? Was that… festival still going on?"
"Ah… probably ended…"
"‘Probably’? What do you mean!? Didn’t you actually check!?"
Well, it’s not like I had the luxury of looking around that much…
Yeah. I’d been way too distracted by the muscle shockwave and totally forgot to check the inside of ShouDan.
But I hadn’t caught even a glimpse of them, and I didn’t hear those crazed voices anymore either, so it should’ve been over.
I did my duty.
"Geez, you’re hopeless. Fine, I’ll go see for myself then!"
"Ah—"
She caught me off guard while I was still shaken, and Lana slipped into.
Crap. I’d better get her out before she gets contaminated by muscles!
"…Muuhh. It really is over."
When I followed her inside, Lana greeted me with a somewhat disappointed look.
I scanned the area, but the muscle squad was nowhere to be seen.
Ah, there—Instructor Davidev. Looks like the others weren’t around.
Apparently, they’d already entered the dungeon. Thank goodness.
Looking around again, the mess from yesterday had been cleaned up like it had all been a lie. I exhaled in relief. I don’t know who did it, but I’d like to say good job. Thanks for ending that madness.
With the ShouDan back to its usual calm, we got back on track and decided to head for one of the Beginner Upper-tier Dungeons we planned to challenge today.
—Later, I learned the details.
According to Academy Information, the headmaster himself had marched in after seeing the images of those researchers going completely off the rails, and forcibly shut down the party.
Apparently, it was because it would damage the academy’s image. So yeah, that broadcast really was a bad idea…
Anyway, time to switch gears.
Today, we came to one of the Beginner Upper-tier: the <Tsukumo Bamboo Grove Dungeon>
All around was a bamboo forest, giving off a strangely tranquil atmosphere.
But the monsters that appeared were anything but tranquil.
"There, it’s heading your way! Ester, be careful!"
"Yes! 『Long Thrust』!"
"B-b-beep!?"
Letting out a mechanical-sounding cry, the monster fell silent and disappeared.
"Battle over. Nice work, everyone."
"Good job. Hey, Zephyrus, what was that monster? It looked really weird."
After the first battle in this dungeon, Lana asked the question everyone clearly had on their minds.
Here in the <Tsukumo Bamboo Grove Dungeon>, monsters known as "inorganic types" appear—basically, objects brought to life.
The one we just beat was a mechanical doll-type monster with wheels: <Oyutaro>. It carries hot water on a tray and splashes it at you, so you’ve got to watch out.
And since it has wheels for legs, it’s surprisingly fast. Huh? That’s not the point?
"It was such a tiny doll, but not cute at all!"
"Indeed. It was the kind of doll that just made you want to stomp on it instead."
Even Hanna and Ester, usually lovers of cute things, were merciless this time.
Well, <Oyutaro> did have a really sleazy-looking face.
He’s only about fifty centimeters tall—perfect stomping size. Though honestly, I feel like if you stepped on him, he’d enjoy it… But that’s probably just my imagination.
"Well, that one’s in a special category. The other monsters are normal—and cute—so you can relax."
"No, that’s not really the issue here."
"Yeah, what does ‘cute’ have to do with feeling safe?"
Fair point.
But listen, <Oyutaro> is dangerous! Think about it—he splashes hot water at you! If thin clothes got soaked, well… you can imagine. It’d be a real problem.
Of course, the game never actually showed that kind of detail, but some players made a certain doujinshi about it, and it got really popular. Out of respect, players started calling him "Oyutaro-kun." Can’t go into more detail, though.
※ <DanKatsu> is rated B (12+)
Man… not being able to explain is killing me.
"Well, anyway, let’s move on. Inorganic-type monsters move in really strange ways, so stay sharp."
"Got it. I’ll be careful."
As we advanced, I explained to our tank Sierra the quirks of inorganic monsters and how they attacked.
Since they aren’t living creatures, their movements are bizarre. Heads and arms spinning a full 360 degrees, joints with no limits—you really had to watch out for that in real life.
From there, we fought a wagon-type monster <Basket> and a haunted kimono-type monster <Hanten> as we pressed onward.
As expected from a Beginner Upper-tier Dungeon, even a ghost-type enemy appeared—only one type, but still. The difficulty was definitely ramping up.
Sierra really seemed to struggle against <Hanten>. She was taking a bit too many hits.
And there was another troublesome type in this dungeon.
"Ah, there’s a <Chirinrin>!"
"Take it out before it calls for backup!"
The <Chirinrin> was a wind-chime–type monster.
These things were dangerous because they summoned allies, so the key was to focus them down the instant they appeared.
In other games, "calls for help" enemies were a great way to farm exp, but in <DanKatsu> boss runs already provided more than enough. Here, they were nothing but a nuisance. Spending time on them only cuts down the number of runs we could do. They were instant–kill priority.
"Ah, a gathering point over here!"
"Nice, let’s dig it up!"
Since this was a bamboo grove, of course bamboo shoots could be gathered here.
I wanted Hanna to keep making us good meals, so securing ingredients was always a priority.
By the way, the <Gentle Shovel> we were using for gathering right now was something I’d bought with my own pocket money. But going forward, the guild had decided to fund gathering tools, so the one million miru it cost me had just been reimbursed. That felt pretty good.
From now on, all gathering tools would be bought with guild funds, and we’d agreed to get a full set together. I wanted the best—ideally, more of the <Gentle Gathering Series>, which all had the 『Double Yield』 skill like the <Gentle Shovel>.
Laughing and chatting, we pressed on, opened three hidden doors, and secured three <Silver Chests>.
Inside were: a cooking item <Recipe> (bamboo shoot edition), an arm slot <Knuckle Guard>, and an <MP High Potion> that restored 500 MP.
The <Knuckle Guard> was rare equipment and had great stats, so I decided to equip it myself.
That said, it didn’t really match visually with my <Sky Series> gear. Guess this would be my first trip to the <Design Paint Modifier>. I’d ask Marie-senpai to fix it when we get back. For now, I stowed it away.
This run wasn’t about gathering—it was about leveling.
So we went straight for the shortest path to the bottom floor.
By noon, we’d reached the <Safe Zone> on the final floor without incident.
Now for the boss fight—I was looking forward to it.
We had plenty of time. Let’s farm it as much as possible!
"Today’s boss runs are all about farming mats. Ideally, I want Hanna and me to hit job level 40 by the end of the day."
Right now, I was 【Hero Lv37】 and Hanna was 【Alchemist Lv38】.
We were just one step away from unlocking the third-tier tree. Almost there.
As for the <Princess Job> girls, all of them were still Job Lv35. It was iffy whether they’d reach 40 in this run—probably not.
"Mmm, so you and Hanna will get there ahead of us, Zephyrus."
"Lady Lana, that’s just how it goes."
"True enough. Honestly, I should be grateful you’ve given us such efficient leveling to begin with."
Despite her words, her face screamed envy.
"Relax—by tomorrow you’ll all be Lv40 too."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie? It’s true. You’ll unlock the third-tier tree tomorrow, so look forward to it."
"Mm… yeah, you’re right. Got it. …Ehehe, Lv40 tomorrow, huh?"
See? There it was, that mushy smile.
She thought she’d muttered that part under her breath, but we could all hear it. Lana had such a clear, pleasant voice that it carried easily. Honestly, it was kind of cute.
And of course, everyone else could hear too—but nobody bothered to warn her. They all appreciated that side of her.
"Anyway, Zephyrus—what’s today’s boss?"
As I was enjoying Lana’s softened expression, Sierra asked while setting up camp.
I helped her out as I answered.
"Ah, the boss of the <Tsukumo Bamboo Grove Dungeon> is <Takewari Taro>. It’s made of bamboo, rides a mechanical two-wheeler, and attacks with dual axes. Since it moves on wheels, it’s pretty fast, and it never stops moving, which makes it a tricky opponent."
Basically, it was the boss version of the Taro-type monsters we’d seen along the way.
It looked like a giant doll riding a Segway. At nearly three meters tall, it had an imposing presence.
Unlike <Oyutaro-kun>, its face wasn’t sleazy. Instead, it had a kabuki mask–like face, which only made it look even more intimidating.
Picture it: a kabuki-faced giant doll, zooming at you full-speed on a Segway.
…Yeah, it’s terrifying.
On top of that, <Takewari Taro> charged around the whole room, making it hard for the tank to pin it down.
It even did charge attacks, so the backline had to be careful not to get caught in its path. Anyone standing where it rolled through would get trampled and take massive damage—possibly knocked out instantly.
So, was it just a speed-based boss? Not at all—it was dangerous even when standing still.
Because its weapons were axes. Dual axes. Each swing dealt heavy damage.
And to top it off, the axes were elemental. Normally, the right axe carried fire and the left carried ice. Anyone with a weakness had to be extra careful.
Luckily, our current gear was all weakness-free, so no problem there.
And once its HP dropped to the red line (10% remaining), it entered Rage Mode—both axes turned to lightning, and its attack power skyrocketed.
We <DanKatsu> players used to call this <Thunder Old Man Mode>. Even tanks at the same level sometimes got blown away. It was a seriously powerful phase.
However, there was a countermeasure for this.
If we focused our attacks on the bamboo Segway, we could force it into a slip-down state. All we had to do then was unleash everything before it could get back up, and the problem was solved.
That said, if we knocked it down during the normal phase, it would develop resistance. So until it entered <Thunder Old Man Mode>, we had to avoid hitting the Segway itself.
I explained all of this to everyone while we rested.
"Thunder Old Man Mode…"
The first to murmur it was, surprisingly, Ester.
Did that phrase stir up some kind of memory for her?
"Don’t mind her. She’s just remembering something from long ago."
Sierra chided me when I found myself staring at Ester.
Right—those two had known each other since childhood. Maybe she had an idea of what Ester was recalling.
That only made me more curious.
"Well, I still don’t really get what a Segway is, but I understand that it’s fast and strong!"
"That’s more than enough. If things get dangerous, I’ll shout out, so stay calm and dodge. And when it enters its final form, <Thunder Old Man Mode—"
"I know! First, we focus all attacks on the Segway, then hit the boss with everything we’ve got once it’s down!"
"Also, don’t forget to conserve your spells. If the cooldown locks you out at the critical moment, we’ll be in trouble."
"Leave it to me!"
Lana only had two attack options: 『Blade of Light』 and 『Pillar of Light』. That meant we couldn’t afford to have even one of them on cooldown.
So we agreed that once the boss’s HP started dropping, she would stop casting attack magic and switch to support and healing.
"Ah, but won’t 『Pillar of Light』 hit the Segway by accident? Since it attacks from below."
"A little damage won’t matter. A dozen blasts from 『Pillar of Light』 isn’t enough to flip it over."
"Then that’s fine! I’ll spam it to my heart’s content!"
Good. Lana was set. Next was Hanna.
"All right, Hanna—it’s finally time to show them that."
"Yeah! I can’t wait!"
Last time she’d worn herself out from too much gathering, and couldn’t manage any alchemy.
Now, holding one of the items she’d crafted that morning, Hanna could barely contain her excitement.
And for good reason—this item could temporarily transform her into a magic attacker. Not permanently, of course—that’d cause problems—but for a short while, she could stand on equal footing.
No wonder she was excited.
And that item was—
"Ta-da! <Maholitan R>!"
"Oooh!"
Hanna proudly pulled out the <Maholitan R>.
Its effect: for a certain duration, swap your INT and RES values.
Hanna’s current stats were INT 10, RES 155.
Using <Maholitan R> would flip them—making her INT 155, RES 10 for a limited time!
This category of consumables had a wide variety, and while temporary, they were extremely useful in all sorts of situations.
Back in the game days, no one really used production jobs in battle, so <Maholitan R> had little chance to shine.
I never thought the day would come when we’d actually rely on it.
But if not now, when? This would massively boost our firepower. Hanna would be our party’s magic attacker!
(Well… Lana was still stronger. But now at least Hanna could pull her weight too.)
"Oh, and you brought the <Magic Orb>, right?"
"Y-yeah. But honestly, I’m still not used to them."
"Take your time with that. We’ll ease into it."
I had given Hanna a little homework: Orbs Swapping.
If she could master it mid-battle, she might even bypass cooldowns altogether.
For example: fire off every spell in <Magic Orb 1>, then immediately swap it out for <Magic Orb 2>—which would still have fresh spells ready to go.
In the game, mid-battle core swapping was disabled by design.
But in reality? I’d just discovered it was possible. A huge breakthrough.
If Hanna could rotate them smoothly, she’d grow even more terrifying.
Not even a magic job, yet on her way to becoming a universal mage.
Honestly, even I couldn’t predict how far Hanna could go now.
Real-life <DanKatsu> was seriously insane.
For now though, her swapping still took too long. By the time she finished, even 『Flare Lance』’s cooldown was already back up.
But I trusted Hanna. She’d figure it out.
Do your best, Hanna. Let’s see how far we can go together!
And with that, our discussion of the boss ended. It was time.
"Bzzzzzt!!"
At 1 p.m., after finishing our break, we entered the boss chamber—where a kabuki-faced automaton I remembered all too well from the game was already zooming around in wild laps.
I still couldn’t figure out why, despite being a clockwork doll, it made such weirdly mechanical noises.
"I’m ready anytime!"
Fueled up on her <Maholitan R>, Hanna was on fire. She’d gotten so reliable.
"First, I’ll grab the aggro. 『Guard Stance』!"
"Don’t bunch up! Keep some distance so you can move freely!"
While Sierra stepped forward to take aggro, I gave instructions to the whole party.
Grouping up only limited our escape routes and raised the odds of accidents. For beginners, the first rule was to make sure you had space to move.
<Takewari Taro>’s charges weren’t target-based—they were pure rampages. If you could sidestep its route, you didn’t need to worry about being run over.
"Bzzzzzt!!"
<Takewari Taro> lunged, charging straight at Sierra and swinging down with its axe.
"『Fire Guard』! 『Freeze Guard』!"
"『Blessing of Protection』! 『Rain of Life』!"
Sierra activated her guard skills, cutting elemental damage by 20%, and blocked with her shield.
At the same time, Lana buffed her defenses and layered a regen spell, making the tank even tougher.
"Attack now! Stack as much damage as you can before it moves again! 『Brave Slash』!"
"Buffs incoming! 『Blessing of the Lion』! 『Blessing of Holy Magic』!"
"Haaah! 『Long Thrust』! 『Precious Thrust』! 『Lancer’s Charge』!"
"『Fireball』! 『Flare Lance』! 『Ice Lance』! 『Fireball』!"
"『Blade of Light』! 『Pillar of Light』!"
"Bzzzzzaaaghh!?"
<Takewari Taro>’s opening moves were mostly scripted. It never went berserk right out of the gate—first, the tank locked it down, then everyone unloaded. That was the textbook strategy.
And the new Hanna was pulling her weight. Her spells shaved off a chunk of its HP with a satisfying bam.
Sure, her firepower wasn’t as strong as Lana’s, but she made up for it in sheer volume. 『Fireball』 had only a three-second cooldown, giving her solid rapid-fire.
"『Shield Smite』!"
"Bzzeeehh!!"
"Ughh!"
"Sierra! Don’t force attacks while you’re still getting used to tanking! Focus only on defense first!"
"…Got it!"
As the barrage scattered the boss’s hate, Sierra tried to pull it back.
But she got greedy, going for damage—and paid the price. <Takewari Taro>’s counter blew through her 『Shield Smite』.
『Shield Smite』 was a strong damage skill despite its narrow range, but since it relied on bashing with the shield, it often left you open to counters. Sometimes, you’d even eat a critical knockdown.
In short, it wasn’t a great fit for <Takewari Taro>.
"『Provoke』!"
Sierra reasserted her aggro—but <Takewari Taro>’s behavior shifted.
"Bzzzzzzt!!"
"Watch it! Charge incoming!"
Here it was—<Takewari Taro>’s signature rampage charge.
It tore around the room with reckless speed. No way Sierra’s slower tank job could pin it down. This was one of its toughest patterns.
But that didn’t mean there wasn’t a counterplay.
"『Sonic Sword』! 『Hate Slash』!"
"Bzzt!?"
As <Takewari Taro> barreled past me, I dashed into its side with 『Sonic Sword』, a quick-movement slash. Riding that momentum, I chained into 『Hate Slash』.
It was the first time I’d used this skill. Like Sierra’s 『Shield Smite』, it carried a provoke effect—but firing it off right here had a special purpose.
"『Appeal』!"
I immediately followed with another taunt, shifting the boss’s target from Sierra onto me.
"Bzzt bzzt!"
"Gotcha! 『Defense』!"
"Brrgh!?"
The moment its axe came down on me, I was ready.
I raised my shield and triggered 『Defense』—and just as predicted, its blow landed straight into my guard. With a loud clang, the strike was deflected, and I won the clash outright.
<Takewari Taro> staggered back in a heavy knockback. I wasn’t letting this chance slip!
"Haaah! Unique Skill activate—『Brave Slash』!"
"Bzzzzzghh!?"
A big hit during knockback guaranteed a down.
My 『Brave Slash』 slammed right into the reeling <Takewari Taro>, dropping it flat just as planned.
"Now! Full burst!"
"Hyah! 『Long Thrust』!—!"
"Nice one, Zephyrus! 『Blade of Light』!"
Ester, who’d been closest, was the first to strike, followed by the rest of the party unleashing their attacks. Each blow sank into <Takewari Taro>, tearing away a massive chunk of its HP.
We’d completely shut down its rampage.
One countermeasure against the reckless charge is the "target switch" tactic.
In other words, the aggro Sierra had been holding switched over to me.
Back in the game, whenever the target changed, the system AI would alter its behavior patterns. By exploiting that trait, you could force the boss to go after the nearby target—in this case, me.
Since I already knew it was coming, all I had to do was follow the flow. A normal attack was the perfect bait for Defense. With the timing nailed down, there was no way I could mess it up.
It was one of those old DanKatsu combo techniques, and sure enough, it worked just as well here in reality.
"Biii-biii-biii!"
"『Provoke』! 『Guard Stance』!"
<Takewari Taro> staggered back to its feet and still had its sights set on me. Sierra quickly pulled aggro to take it off my hands.
She had to use both skills because just 『Provoke』 alone wasn’t enough to drag the target back. Knocking the boss down racks up a lot of hate, and I’d generated too much.
Guess I’ll hold back on skills until Sierra’s cooldowns reset. If I pump in too much damage again, the aggro might swing back to me.
From there, the fight stayed stable. Even when it tried another rampage charge, no one got run down, and we whittled it down smoothly—until its HP finally dipped into the red zone.
"Bzzzzzzzt!!"
"It’s here! <Thunder Old Man Mode>!"
"Thunder Old man or not, we’ll bury you right here!"
Ester roared, fire in her eyes.
Seriously, what happened between those two in the past?
"Take out the Segway! Smash it! 『Brave Slash』!"
"『Blessing of the Lion』! 『Blessing of Holy Magic』! 『Blade of Light』!"
"『Long Thrust』!"
"『Fireball』! 『Flare Lance』!"
Everyone’s attacks converged on the bamboo Segway. A loud BOOM rang out, and the thing exploded.
"B-b-biiiii!?"
The Segway broke!?
That gimmick never existed in the game!
Since it was bamboo, maybe in reality it can break!?
I froze in surprise at the discovery—but then something even wilder happened.
<Takewari Taro> ditched the Segway and bolted forward on foot like a track athlete.
Wha—wait, it can run!?
My eyes went wide in shock, and I completely froze up. That was a mistake. <Takewari Taro>’s target was Hanna.
"Hanna!"
Her final 『Flare Lance』 had blown up the Segway, earning her a mountain of hate. The boss’s attention was locked on her. Not good!
But Sierra came barreling in at the last second.
"『Cover Shield』!"
"Bii!"
"Hrraahhh!!"
"B-b-biiiii!?"
Sierra met <Takewari Taro>’s charge head-on, didn’t flinch an inch, and used her flowing shield technique to throw it off balance, slamming the monster to the ground. Slip Down!
"Sierra, you goddess! 『Sonic Sword』!"
"I’m right behind you! 『Lancer Charge』!"
"Now’s the chance! Full assault!!"
We poured everything we had into the huge opening Sierra carved out.
Under the relentless flurry of blows from the entire party, <Takewari Taro>’s HP dropped to zero before it could even get back up, and it dissolved into a storm of effects.
It got dicey there at the end, but we managed to pull off the win.
"Nice work, everyone. Sierra, that 『Cover Shield』 was pure divinity. You saved our skins."
"Good work. It wasn’t anything special. Since it was partly my fault the aggro shifted in the first place, covering was only natural."
If we’re pointing fingers, then I’m at fault too—I got distracted by a move that never existed in the game, and that gave <Takewari Taro> a chance to go after Hanna. Definitely a boss fight with plenty of lessons learned.
"Um… thank you, Miss Sierra."
"I’m just glad you’re safe, Hanna."
"Yeah, seriously. I never expected it to pull a stunt like that at the very end. I was slow to react, so I’m really grateful Sierra stepped in."
"Now that you mention it, didn’t you say its behavior was different? Something about the Segway—attacking it was supposed to cause a slip down, wasn’t it?"
Exactly. Who would’ve thought it’d actually explode and break apart…? Well, I was the one who yelled to smash it, so I guess that’s on me.
I glanced over at the spot where the Segway had shattered earlier. It had already disappeared, but this was my first time ever seeing the bamboo Segway break, or Takewari Taro ditching it mid-fight, or—hell—even watching a puppet go sprinting like an athlete.
In other words, none of this ever happened in the game. Back then, no matter how many times you attacked, the Segway couldn’t be destroyed—it was just part of the design. So this is another way reality diverges, huh? Really caught me off guard.
But at the same time… it was fun.
In <DanKatsu>, I’d already seen every boss action, every skill, every pattern. It’d been ages since I’d had that "first-time" feeling.
Why did the Segway break? What were the conditions? How does <Takewari Taro>’s behavior change once it’s destroyed? How much damage does it take? Does it still rampage?
Questions kept piling up.
My <DanKatsu> knowledge-hunger was screaming at me: Investigate everything about <Takewari Taro>, down to the last detail!
Damn, it had been a while since I felt like this.
"Zephyrus-kun, why do you look so excited?"
Whoops—Hanna had seen right through me. No surprise, considering she’d been with me the longest.
"Ah, I’m just itching to start another run!"
"We just finished. Shouldn’t we collect the drops first?"
"Oh, right. What’d we get this time?"
"A <Wooden Chest>."
"Next run, let’s go!"
The moment Sierra spoke the words <Wooden Chest>, I fired back reflexively.
Ah, now I get it. That’s why Hanna’s here. Understood.
<Wooden Chests> are duds. Even if you got gear, it’d be plain with no special effects—straight to the vendor pile. Recipes too. In other words: worthless.
So let’s grab the mats and move on to the next run!
By the way, boss drops are normally fixed at five, but this time we got six.
Another Beginner Low-tier boss, the <Alligator Lizard>, has a gimmick where cutting its tail nets you an extra drop.
Most likely, destroying <Takewari Taro>’s Segway gave us the bonus. Definitely never happened back in the game.
No way—boss drop increased!? Guess we’ll be smashing that Segway every time from now on! (Takewari Taro: "B-b-bii!?")
For some reason, the puppet’s kabuki mask looked like it was trembling in fear, but that was probably my imagination.
Still, if this confirms the existence of new destruction gimmicks, we might have to reevaluate all the <DanKatsu> bosses.
Oh man, this is getting me even more fired up.
For now, <Takewari Taro>’s the focus. There might be one, two, maybe even more destruction gimmicks hidden in that puppet’s body. It is a mechanical doll—plenty of breakable parts, right?
Time to beat <Takewari Taro> to a pulp and see what breaks!
Hell yeah, this is getting fun! (Takewari Taro: "B-b-b-biii!?")
Thanks to my ridiculous motivation, the following runs went insanely smoothly.
No more mistakes like before—we were charging hard from the start.
Our opener was always the same: destroy the Segway first thing.
Watching <Takewari Taro>’s behavior deviate completely from the game’s version was just fascinating.
Ahh, my <DanKatsu> knowledge-hunger was being satisfied at last…
"『Brave Slash』!"
"Bzzz…zzzt…"
By the time we hit our 25th run, my 『Brave Slash』 brought <Takewari Taro>’s HP to zero again.
At this point, everyone had the fight down so well that there were hardly any close calls.
My curiosity was mostly satisfied too.
Didn’t look like there were any new patterns left—though I couldn’t say for sure yet. For the last ten runs, at least, we hadn’t seen anything new. Maybe we’d hit the limit?
"Ah! <Gold Chest>! And there are two of them!"
"What!? Two <Gold Chests>!?"
At Hanna’s words, my excitement gauge, which had been fading, instantly shot back to max.
Double treasure chests—this had to be <Lucky Cat-sama>’s blessing!
It doesn’t happen often, and for it to trigger with <Gold Chests> of all things—!
"Thank you, <Lucky Cat-sama>!"
I couldn’t help but offer a little prayer on the spot.
"Guess we’ll have to go buy some expensive meat later."
"Of course! We’ve got to make a proper offering!"
Hanna was really starting to get it.
<Gold Chests> are <Lucky Cat-sama>’s gift.
Prayer and offerings are the basics—and so is wishing for good drops!
Alright. This time, we’ve finally got our first <Gold Chest> from a Beginner Upper-tier dungeon.
What could be inside? Oh, wait—before that, there’s something we need to settle.
"Okay, who’s opening it?"
"Me!" "Me!"
Both Lana and Hanna shot their hands up. Hey, wait a second—Hanna just multiplied into two!
…No, not quite. Another person had raised their hand. Yep, me.
"Weren’t we supposed to take turns?"
Sierra coolly cut through our little competition, ignoring the three of us with our hands raised.
"If I remember right, wasn’t it me who opened the last one? From that <Debubu> run?"
At Sierra’s words, everyone’s eyes slid over to the <Manalite Staff> Hanna was holding.
"No, Sierra, you’re misremembering. We got a few <Gold Chests> during those <Battle Wolf> runs, remember?"
"Oh, right. But wasn’t that during the rare boss <Beauti-Four Phenomenon>? Everything kind of got messy back then."
Lana and Hanna dug deep into their memories, but the conclusion was obvious—nobody actually remembered whose turn it was.
Which meant…
"Hanna."
"Hm? What?"
"You and I already opened during the <Emperor Goblin> rematch, so we’re sitting this one out."
"Eh? Aww…"
Hanna drooped her shoulders in disappointment at my words.
Yeah, most likely the most recent <Gold Chest> was from that Saturday rematch with the <Emperor Goblin>. Hanna and I had each opened one, so this time it was only fair to hand it over to the <Princess Job> girls.
Well, no problem. Next time a <Gold Chest> drops, I’ll take my turn again.
In the end, we decided Lana and Sierra would open this one, and the two of them stepped into position.
"Mmm~. I just love this moment right before opening a <Gold Chest>. Makes me want to experience it over and over."
People usually call that an addiction.
But I totally understood what she meant. The thrill felt just like pulling a guaranteed ★Special★ gacha. You always wished you could keep rolling forever.
"Shall I open it, then?"
"Hold it. Did you pray to <Lucky Cat-sama> first? If you don’t, the good stuff won’t drop."
"…Fine, you’re right."
Sierra looked like she wanted to say something snarky, but in the end she followed the local custom. Lana prayed, Hanna prayed, Ester joined in, and of course, I prayed too.
Please, let us get something good! <Lucky Cat-sama>, we’re counting on you!
With the ritual complete, Lana was the first to open hers.
"It’s… an axe! Ugh, it’s so heavy, I can’t lift it…"
"An axe!?"
From a <Gold Chest> off <Takewari Taro>, there was only one thing that could mean.
Left? Right? Or… Rage!?
I peered at the weapon Lana was struggling to lift, her face red with effort.
"It’s <Takewari Taro’s Rage>! Jackpot! Ultra rare!!"
"Zephyrus-kun, that’s a hit!?"
"Oh yeah. A massive hit! Ultra get!"
From <Takewari Taro>’s <Gold Chest>, three types of axes could drop.
As you might’ve guessed, they were the very weapons <Takewari Taro> itself wielded—the boss’s own gear.
There was the left-hand fire axe, the right-hand ice axe, and the thunderous axe of rage.
Boss gear is usually stronger than ordinary drops. I mean, come on—it’s boss gear, the boss of gear. (Okay, maybe not literally.)
And out of the three, the Rage axe with thunder element was by far the strongest. Truly a blessing from <Lucky Cat-sama>. Two <Gold Chests> really are on another level.
We immediately checked the stats with <Medra>.
──────────
<Battleaxe of Takewari’s Rage: ATK 56 / Lightning Attribute>
<『Bamboo Split Lv5』『Anger Axe Lv7』『Rage Lv1』
──────────
Insanely strong. An ATK of 56 was unheard of. For Beginner Upper Dungeons, there simply wasn’t a drop that could beat it—not even rare bosses. Axes already tended toward high attack power, but this was absurd.
It was lightning-elemental, too, meaning even normal attacks would carry the attribute.
On top of that, it came with three skills.
『Bamboo Split』 was a straight damage skill—pure power, no gimmicks.
『Anger Axe』 was an elemental attack skill stacked with lightning. At Lv7, it was brutally strong.
Finally, 『Rage』. A self-buff. At Lv1, it boosted attack by 1.8× while active, but locked you out of using skills. Basically, a berserk state.
So yeah—this was a massive pull.
Back in the game days, I would’ve forced it onto a party member regardless of synergy, but now? Everyone in our party already had stronger gear.
We could put it up for auction, or keep it guild-bound to lend out if anyone needed it. On the market, it’d fetch at least 8 million miru—maybe even break into eight digits.
Still… It’s hard to let go of a prize like this. Best to discuss it with everyone once we’re back.
"Next is me."
After all the excitement over Lana’s draw, Sierra opened her <Gold Chest>.
"…Looks like a recipe."
"A recipe drop from a <Gold Chest>!?"
"Wha—hey! Don’t yell right next to me, you startled me!"
"Sorry! Just… let me take a look at that recipe."
"…Fine. Here."
I took the recipe from Sierra.
…but I couldn’t read it. Not even enough to figure out what category it belonged to.
"Hey, Zephyrus! Well? Is this one a jackpot too?"
"No, I can’t read a recipe before it’s deciphered either. But one thing’s for sure—it’s definitely a jackpot."
After all, this was a recipe from a <Gold Chest>.
Like I’ve said before, recipes are made for mass production. If it came from a <Wooden Chest>, it would just be ordinary stuff. From a <Silver Chest>, though, it’d mean a recipe for rare gear—and its value would skyrocket.
Why? Because it would let you make items and equipment that normally only dropped from <Silver Chests>. And you could craft them over and over again. Of course its value would explode.
So then—what if it came from a Gold Chest? Yeah… we’re talking big. Really, really big.
And more than that—I had a hunch about this one.
The whole reason we came to the <Tsukumo Bamboo Grove Dungeon> was to grind job levels and collect boss materials.
Why collect boss mats? Because Ester needed a ton of inorganic materials to make full use of a certain skill that unlocks at the third stage of her job tree.
But if this recipe turned out to be some kind of mechanical construct recipe that used those inorganic materials, then Ester would get an even bigger power-up.
There was now a real chance we could craft a Gold Chest–tier version of the very thing I’d been planning to make.
Yeah—this was huge.
Too bad I didn’t have the item needed to actually decipher the recipe on me right now. The suspense was killing me.
I’d just have to borrow Marie-senpai’s <Young Dragon> for the job. No two ways about it.
"Alright everyone, that’s it for today’s run. I want to get this recipe to Marie-senpai immediately. Anyone object?"
"I think that’s a good call. The sun’s about to set anyway—perfect time to wrap it up."
"Then I’ll take care of cleaning up the safe zone."
"Oh! I’ll help you, Miss Ester."
No one raised a hand against my proposal.
Come to think of it, Sierra was right—it was already late enough that the sky was starting to dim. Guess I got a little too caught up in those boss runs.
We finished tidying up together, then returned straight home.
After splitting up at the ShouDan, I headed directly for Marie-senpai.
This time, we had a recipe from the <Gold Chest>. Please let it be exactly what I need.
<Lucky Cat-sama>, I’m begging you!
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