Otoko Nara Ikkokuichijou no Aruji o Mezasa Nakya, ne?

Year 7444, Month 5, Day 25

Morning, I woke up before daybreak and before having breakfast I think while running. Angela is keeping up behind me as I run. These guys, don't they get tired of that? Just like this Zulu and Angela switch out daily under the pretense of fortifying as my bodyguards. The only times they don't come with me are long holidays like the end of the year and when I go to the capital, also if I'm just randomly wandering around the town.

It's not like they're particularly causing any trouble for me so if my slaves can relax better like that then I'm just letting them do as they please. It's not a bad thing to run after all. It leaves a good impression that as long as I don't talk to them first they have no intention of interrupting my thinking as well. I run up the crater-like hills surrounding the town of Baldukk as a warm up and once I get to the summit of the crater I increase my speed running the roads. I wonder if I can't increase my Endurance a bit more already? I started running when I was 10 years old but I've still only gained 1 point in Endurance from my daily running.

There was an early dawn sky when we left but it's gradually started to get brighter. After breakfast yesterday, because of the exhaustion from the dungeon I took it easy for a day and thought about various things. In regards to the continued casualties in Rokis's party.

Since I'm sure that Rokis's party had enough ability to make it to the 2nd floor, even if their members were in their late teens to early 20s, I didn't think they were all that foolish(or reckless) in their behavior. Since they were able to make it to the 2nd floor they should have properly been producing a map and being reasonably careful.

However, it's a fact that you never know what will happen in the dungeon and as a result of that there were some casualties. If I remember right then the first one was the Bunny-man died in combat to an Ork. Next was the Tiger-man who died from a crossbow trap. I don't know if the Bunny-man died on the 1st floor or the 2nd floor but since they're a party that goes to the 2nd floor it should have been there. In regards to the tiger-man the crossbow traps come out on the 2nd floor as well so it's a very possible story.

After that, two people have died in boss rooms on the 2nd floor. It's unknown if they died as a result of the combat or traps but just going off information from the surface there's nothing strange there either. If it's at that level, it's really something that happens all the time.

However, the next one is the problem. On the 1st floor, while in combat with a Giant Spider in the boss room, one more died from stepping on a trap. It takes some guts to enter the dungeon after 4 people had already died and combat ability has dropped but it's not all that strange. It was after he made reservations for three combat slaves after all, I'm sure he wanted to earn even just a bit. In the first place, we only had four people when we first challenged the dungeon. And if it's at the level of the 1st floor it's not like there aren't people who enter it alone so it's not all that strange.

Giant Spiders are a large spider that have a body of around 50 cm, they're individual combat ability isn't as high as Gargantuan Spiders. However, different from Gargantuan Spiders when they come out in the boss rooms they come in groups. They have poison as well and are reasonably fast so depending on how you think about it they could be seen as more troublesome than Gargantuan Spiders. However, they don't usually have webs in their nest like the Gargantuan Spider so if you make sure to fortify your defenses they aren't all that much of a problem. Unless they manage to jump on you and bite somewhere there's no armor or clothes you won't take much damage either.

That's why, if most adventurers have confidence in their skills they can just kill them in one thrust of the speed or quickly run through the room shaking them off. If you were to say something extreme then as long as you properly fortify your defenses it will take time but even some newcomers can deal with them. I doubt there's any newcomers who properly fortify their defenses though. Their magic stones are roughly the value of 2 goblins each and since they have poison, it's common to just run past them or ignore them, that level of monster. After all antidote medicine is 20,000 Z (2 silver coins) for even the cheapest ones. And you never know when other monsters might come attack you while you're fighting them so most people just choose to run past them.

The reason why Rokis and the others chose to fight against the Giant Spiders, I can only imagine as to being they thought they wouldn't take much damage and if they're careful they could retreat before any other monsters came, though that itself is fine. Even when it comes to stepping on a trap in combat, it's not a good thing, but well it happens. There are times when you can't always pay attention to your feet in combat after all. There's no surprise you might step on a trap if there is one. The problem is that trap was supposedly in the boss room.

Up until now, at the very least until the 6th floor we're at we've never discovered anything like a trap in one of the rooms. I guess you could say there's something small that is similar to that though. Though I think the possibility we just overlooked them is high. I think that that but somehow I can't just accept that. The only time traps that come out that kill in a single hit are the crossbows starting from the 2nd floor. Even then it's only if you take it to the face, neck, heart, or vital organs, in many cases it won't kill you instantly. Though in reverse you could say it's plenty enough to kill you.

The only traps on the 1st floor are pitfalls, unless you fall in head first they shouldn't be anything that you would lose your life from. Since it seems to have been in combat, it might have been possible when he had some momentum going he tripped and rolled in head first, is a possibility as well but in that case I wonder if they would say "stepped on a trap"? Well, that was just something Ralpha heard from rumors, so I don't think it's all that trustworthy but...

In the first place if you interpret "stepped on a trap" as "activated the effects of a trap" then it's no problem. The problem is that trap was in the boss room on the 1st floor and it's unknown what kind of trap it was. In some meanings you could say it's only common sense that it's either a pitfall or alarm if it's a trap on the 1st floor(even on the map we produced of the 1st floor there's nothing but those two types) but I can't deny the possibility there's even a crossbow. There's even worse traps than that on lower floors after all, it wouldn't be unnatural at all if a huge metal ball suddenly came rolling, the ceiling suddenly falls, or some spears come flying. I've heard that there's a case on the 2nd and 3rd floors where the wall is a pitfall (if you lean on it then the wall pushes in), as well.

I wonder if we should investigate it?

If you think about it realistically then I'm sure it's impossible. However, after thinking about it this far I realized that what was bothering me was something different. Or rather, since I just don't want to think about it I was thinking more about investigating traps. I noticed it yesterday morning. In the first place the first victim the Bunny-man, they say he was killed during combat with an Ork. I wonder if this is true? It's hard to imagine a party of adventurers who can make it to the 2nd floor dying to a monster other than the boss rooms.

Putting aside some newcomers, these are guys who were exploring the dungeon for over a year. It's unthinkable that they let their guards down and their skill shouldn't be bad either.

Were they killed by someone else while in combat with the Ork? Since it seems they retreated they weren't able to confirm the corpse of the Bunny-man. Whether it be a sword or spear wound, an arrow, or maybe even spell (If it comes to {Air Cutter} or {Winder Cutter} from a glance they look like sword wounds). In any case, they aren't idiots so if they notice the situation is a disadvantage to them they'll start running. If during combat with multiple orks someone were to fall, it makes sense they'd run if they can. Just like Orks do in that case.

The second victim, I heard that the Tiger-man who picked a fight with me died from a crossbow trap. I wonder if this was during combat as well? During a time when they're fighting with multiple monsters the guy next to them makes a mistake and falls. After the combat when they check him and there's a bolt from a crossbow in one of his vital organs. There weren't any other monsters. Ah, this guy, so he stepped on a trap huh? Otherwise someone else stepped on the trap and the bolt unluckily hit him. Here..after searching there's a switch nearby. This is a trap.

It's not strange thinking that way. Rather it's only obvious.

It's the same for the ones after the third. The fact that they died during combat was the same as the first and the fifth one is said to have died from a trap but it's not said to be a pitfall. The only trap that's come out with a specific name so far is the crossbow. A considerably shocking death through falling into a pitfall it would be stranger for them not to mention it.

Shit. Is this the revival of {Bright Blade}. If you're going to ambush the opponent then you want at least two to three times the enemy in numbers. Since if you don't crush them all at once you it's easy to end up taking damage on the attacking side. You gradually reduce their numbers starting from those with the flimsiest equipment, once they've been reduced to a certain number you wipe them out all at once. Since the limit that you can enter the dungeon with is 10 people the first objective would be to reduce them to 5 people or less.

Previously, the timing that {Bright Blade} attacked us was perfect. A powerful enemy like the {Frost Lizard} appeared, we used magic consecutively to get rid of the gargoyles, and all of the {Slaughterers} were focused on attacking the {Frost Lizard}. After some amount of damage was done to the {Frost Lizard} they tried to use focus fire on me who seemed to be out of mana and can use magic, next up would have been to finish off the archer next to me right away. By that time the rest of the party would have been exhausted from combat with the {Frost Lizard} so they would have had trouble dealing with a sudden attack. The only method for the {Slaughterers} to survive in that situation would be at best to have the dwarf girl using the spear move around to guard the rear while somehow quickly finishing off the {Frost Lizard} then all trying to attack at once.

If I hadn't been there, no, if I had been out of mana then the probability we would have been wiped out was really high. However, that was a strategy that could be used because we were in combat with the {Frost Lizard}, no, because we were in combat in a boss room on the 5th floor. And in the first place, the {Slaughterers} only have 8 members. Putting aside the vampire that came out on the 4th floor, if it's just at the level of the 1st or 2nd floor one person can remain to keep the monster in check while the rest of the members could have done some damage to {Bright Blade}. Of course, in the end {Bright Blade} probably wouldn't lose but if there's a possibility they would take some kind of damage I'm sure they wouldn't try initiating such a reckless attack.

It's only obvious but {Bright Blade} has already been wiped out so it's someone new.

I don't know how they're following after Rokis's party but it's not like there's no methods at all. I'll try thinking about the several methods that are possible.

A.

1. First off they start by doing something to reduce the number by even one. This is fine even if it's a coincidence.

2. Next time by coincidence as well..

..It's only obvious that's impossible. What kind of out of the world probability would that be?

B.

1. First start off by somehow reducing their numbers my one. This is fine as a coincidence.

2. After the next time, one of the attackers uses the spell {Invisibility} and sneaks in when they teleport together.

3. Use a crossbow and watch out for the chance during combat..

..Rejected. {Invisibility} is a spell I wouldn't even know if I hadn't heard about it from Karl. I can't imagine there are many people who can use it. There's also the problem of the duration and their equipment.

C.

1. Have one of their allies sneak into Rokis's part. Bribing one of them is fine as well.

2. After that..

..How are they going to meet them in the dungeon. It's impossible. Rejected.

D.

1. Have one of their allies sneak into Rokis's party. Bribing them is fine as well.

2. That person looks for the chance and shoots a bolt from a crossbow at them.

..It seems difficult but it's probably not completely impossible. It doesn't have to be a bolt but magic is fine as well. After killing them if you pretend to be the first one to discover their corpse and point to a bolt nearby it could work. On hold.

E.

1. Go ahead and wait in the teleport room on the 1st floor for them.

2. Split the party into multiple groups, while they're in combat aim or guys who are spacing out they aim for with a crossbow and kill with a bolt. It would require a considerably high level of skill.

3. In this case, they wouldn't have had their eyes set on Rokis's party from the start. It's possible that they just happened to succeed twice and after that they tried putting priority on them as well.

It's an extremely difficult thing to manage but not as much as A. It doesn't just have to be the 1st floor but if they wait in one of the areas leading towards the center of the dungeon not far from the teleport room then it's not a completely impossible method. Though they would need enough skill to deal with the monsters on the 1st floor alone...On hold.

F.

1. There's a method of using the teleport crystal rod that I, no, that isn't commonly known. For example if you chant the same incantation as the previous party you can teleport to the same location...Since there's supposedly people that have tried this that shouldn't be the case but there might be some method that isn't known.

I'm sure the probability is low. For the time being, On hold.

G.

1. There's someone who has some sort of Unique Ability that let's the attacker know the current location of their target.