Chapter 34 - After the Hot Spring
An energetic, middle-aged woman had gone full streaker-battle mode.
If she hadn’t been turned into a fairly attractive middle-aged lady by the spring on the sixth floor, that whole scene would’ve been a straight-up death sentence.
That was the thought running through my head as I watched the captain dash naked across the grassy plains.
“Man, I really wish I could see their actual combat stats sometime. Just how strong are knights who explore beyond the twentieth floor?”
There was no doubt they were stronger than the Second Unit—even accounting for the bit of “cheating” I’d done by having them bounce back and forth between the tenth- and eleventh-floor hot springs for training.
I couldn’t imagine the girls in the current Second Unit punching out a ninth-floor monster barehanded while completely nude.
According to Peta-chan, no dungeon in the world had ever been conquered past the thirtieth floor.
So that meant... even with their power, the thirtieth floor was out of reach?
“Hey, Peta-chan. The biggest dungeon in the world tops out at floor twenty-eight, right?”
“That’s what I’ve heard, yeah. Though it might’ve technically been built beyond that already.
The thing is, barely anyone’s ever made it down to floor twenty-seven in the first place.
Just like you were worried about before—creating a twenty-eight floor would basically be a total waste of resources.
No one can even get there.”
Hmm. So just how deep could Captain Touji’s squad actually go?
It wasn’t like they were the strongest force in the world or anything.
Even within the Kingdom of Sepans, I figured the First Unit of the male knight order had greater numbers and firepower... Probably.
That said, the male knight order was tied up with national defense responsibilities. You couldn’t just tell them to go investigate hot springs without getting approval from the generals. Unlike the female knight squad, which answered directly to Queen Yuzha and could be dispatched at will.
“Hey, Master, try this! I just came up with the ultimate way to enjoy coffee!”
“Looks like a normal cup of joe to me... Whoa, it’s hot!”
The temperature was absolutely absurd—but even if I chugged a boiling drink like this, my body wouldn’t take any damage anymore.
I took a sip of the mystery coffee, unsure how many hundreds of degrees it was. The searing heat blasted down my throat, a sensation unlike anything I’d experienced in my life.
Then, all at once, the drink vaporized in my throat, releasing thick steam that burst through my nose with a rich, roasted aroma.
“See? You hit your throat with the heat, then it vaporizes mid-sip and releases the scent straight through your nose. Intense, right?”
“Whoa... Yeah. This is actually amazing. I’ve never had coffee like this. It’s delicious.”
Peta-chan puffed out what passed for her chest and grinned proudly at the straightforward praise.
“But, uh, a human would die drinking this, you know?”
“They’d die?!”
“This thing’s gotta be over 200°C. Humans can burn their throats even drinking 90°C liquids too fast. This? It’s hotter than frying oil. One sip and they’re toast.
This is a drink strictly for dungeon cores or dungeon masters.”
And just like that, Peta-chan had started creating weird fantasy cuisine.
Sure, it was tasty... but I was a little worried now. If she kept going down this path of making non-human-exclusive dishes, she might accidentally serve something lethal to an actual human someday.
Trying to teach her human standards for heat tolerance and flavor was... not going to be easy.
“I thought a high-temp dungeon-only dish like this would really catch on... but I guess it’s a bust, huh?”
“Well, I like it. Make it again for me now and then.”
With that, I took another sip of the devilish brew, letting the scalding heat burn my throat as steam burst from my nose and mouth. The superheated vapor occasionally ignited in midair, filling the area with a toasty, roasted fragrance.
...God help me, this demonic drink really was delicious. I had officially crossed into inhuman territory.
Meanwhile, the monitor showed the knights finishing their soak and starting the long trek back to the ninth-floor entrance.
The captain—usually a scowling mass of tension—now had a relaxed, almost cheerful look on her face.
With the pain in her body gone, it seemed like she no longer needed to be on such constant alert.
And two days later, the knight squad finally made it back to the ninth-floor entrance.
With this crew, floors ten and eleven wouldn’t be much of a challenge. I had no doubt they’d slip through without any issues.
“Now then, about the tenth-floor spring,” said Vice-Captain Vihita. “There’s a working theory that it temporarily boosts the effects of training.”
“A theory?”
“Yes. Training results are hard to measure directly, so we can’t make any definitive claims.
But over the past few months, the effects have been noticeable, so it’s probably safe to assume the theory holds.”
“In that case,” Touji chimed in, “wouldn’t it have made more sense to soak in the tenth-floor spring, then run full speed back to the ninth-floor one?”
“...You’re not wrong.” Vihita tilted her head. “We didn’t have a good landmark to find our way back before, so that wasn’t really an option. But now, maybe it is.”
The two of them chatted like that, casually tossing around suggestions.
They made it sound simple, but... was something like that even possible?
“Hey, Peta-chan. Could that actually work?”
“Hmm... Well, the training boost on the tenth floor gets weaker the higher up you go because the miasma thins out, but it should still have a decent effect on the ninth floor.”
So, in other words: yes, it was possible.
Still, since the deformity-healing hot spring didn’t require multiple soaks, it made more sense to just press on to the eleventh floor than to trek all the way back to nine.
“We made it to the tenth-floor spring without any trouble. Let’s go ahead and soak.”
And so they slipped into the waters of the tenth-floor spring.
“Phew... So, Vihita, is that weird training field we saw in that big plaza up next?”
“Yes. Lately we’ve been going back and forth between here and there nonstop—it’s been a solid workout.”
“...Well then, once we’re out of this bath, hand over all your gear. We’ll carry it.”
“Huh?”
“This spring’s supposed to boost your training, right? We’d like to feel that effect for ourselves.”
Captain Touji grinned broadly.
Once we finished our soak, we handed over all our bags to the First Unit. Our role as guides and porters was effectively over—we were now running unburdened.
“All right then. Lead the way—and step on it.”
The implication was obvious: the First Unit intended to carry our heavy gear... and still keep pace with us.
“Very well then! Allow us to guide you at full speed. We’ve gone back and forth through the 11th floor more times than I can count, so we should be able to dash all the way to the hot spring.”
We’ll guide you as fast as humanly possible!!
As a result... We ended up vomiting for the first time in ages.
They kept shouting at us to hurry, hurry, from behind—this group lugging enormous baggage—and pushed us far beyond my limits.
How are they even keeping up with us while carrying all that? These people are not human.
“Ugh... W-we’ve arrived...”
“Well done. You guys have more stamina than I expected—color me impressed. I guess it really is true that the hot springs on the 10th floor enhance physical endurance.”
With a wide, cheerful grin, Captain Touji looked at us—collapsing and half-dead—with genuine delight.
The rest of the First Unit were watching us too, with expressions that said, “Not bad, you guys,” but honestly, we weren’t happy at all. We were dying.
“L-let’s get in the hot spring quickly... The water here doesn’t just make your skin beautiful, it helps restore stamina too... Ughhh...”
Slipping into the hot spring on the 11th floor, we finally caught our breath.
“Ahhhhh... I thought I was going to die.”
“My heart nearly exploded...”
Soon, the members of the First Unit joined us in the water, and before long, the hot spring’s effects started to show—transforming their skin into something smooth, youthful, and radiant.
The change was so dramatic, everyone widened their eyes in astonishment.
To be honest, we were just as shocked.
Was this really the same First Unit that once looked like a pack of wild hounds?
The blemishes faded. The wrinkles vanished. Even old scars disappeared. Their skin now looked as soft and flawless as that of teenage girls.
...Honestly, right now, the group standing before us looked like nothing more than a crowd of strikingly handsome and beautiful women—with nothing scary about them except their sharp eyes.
Comments
Post a Comment