[Good News] After My Childhood Friend Was Stolen by a Playboy, I Woke Up With a Crazy Fast Level-Up Ability and Turned My Life Around in One Year ~ Then a Famous Streamer Broadcast Me Without Permission and I Went Super Viral!~ - 89

Chapter 89: Conquering (?) the S-Rank Dungeon ‘Dragon’s Nest’

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“I’ve heard the rumors, but… you… you really are incredible.”

The battle had ended, and Ikeda approached me afterward. I felt as though he looked slightly older than when I first saw him.

“In every one of your commands, I didn’t see a single moment of hesitation… I found myself staring in spite of myself. To be shown something like that… I… I was a coward who let his comrades die and could do nothing. Ogawa-kun, I am truly sorry.”

Ikeda dropped his knees to the ground and performed a prostrate bow toward me. What a truly pathetic man… I thought he was doing well when I first saw him, but this… it was a complete turn-off.

“You really don’t understand anything, do you?”

“Eh…?”

Ikeda raised his head, showing me a dazed expression. What I wanted wasn’t an apology or words of gratitude. I wanted to hear a positive thought or some determination toward the future—anything would have been fine—but a prostrate bow? It meant he had neither pride nor self-respect left.

Exasperated, I let out a deep sigh before speaking.

“…With this, the contract between your group and ours has been modified. As promised, I’ll be taking my freedom. The dungeon you desired has been conquered. I’ll let you have the magic ore the boss left behind, so pick up what you need to pick up and get out of here right now.”

In the direction I pointed, a swirling blue door had appeared, allowing return to the original world.

“Get out…? What on earth do you intend to do?”

“We still have things we must do. We won’t leave until that’s finished.”

“I-In that case, won’t you let us help!? If you’re looking for something, we have the manpower! By the way, what exactly are you looking for…?”

Unable to suppress my irritation at Ikeda’s reckless remark, I grabbed him by the neck.

“You’re saying you’ll help because you have manpower? Look behind you! That ‘manpower’ you’re talking about is a group of injured people! Have you become so blind that you can’t even see your own situation!?”

“Ugh…”

I shoved Ikeda back and released his neck.

“What you should be doing is getting the wounded and the casualties outside and dealing with them immediately. You should know that if you just think about it… This is the last time I’ll give you advice. Get out of here, quickly.”

“…”

Ikeda looked down for a moment, then stood up slowly and turned toward his own party.

“C-Captain?”

“I’m sorry… Shiina, take the injured and leave here first. I’ll follow after I carry the magic ore and Kishida.”

“…Understood.”

Ikeda finally listened to my words and gave quiet instructions. The explorers who were physically unharmed, including Shiina, took the injured toward the door and began returning to the original world. I wouldn’t have to look after them anymore.

Now then, for me, the real work started here. The reason I came here in the first place was to find a location that fit the phrase “The Dragon Beneath the Great Tree.” Since entering this dungeon, there had been nothing particularly unusual up until the boss room, so this room was our last hope.

Now that the boss and the nuisance party were gone, I began investigating the surroundings of this room. I decided to search every nook and cranny of the room using 【Presence Detection】 and 【Magic Detection】.

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“We haven’t found a single thiiiing…”

About thirty minutes had passed since we started the search, but there was still no progress.

“Danna-sama, there was nothing up above.”

I had Momiji search near the ceiling of the room as well, but as expected, there was nothing. When nothing was found even after going this far, anxiety gradually began to surge.

Is there really nothing after coming all this way? Was coming here a waste of time? If there’s nothing here, where should I look next? Can it even be found in the first place?

The worst-case scenario crossed my mind.

“Let’s do one more lap.”

Unable to give up, I resumed the search. In the distance, Ikeda, who was gathering magic ore, watched us with a look of extreme wonder.

And then… one hour after starting the search… in the end, nothing was found.

“I can’t do it anymore… my feet are going to swell…”

Piyoko, who had been searching with me, sat down on the spot out of exhaustion. Just as I thought, nothing was found… it was a failure. I felt frustrated, and the strength in my clenched fists tightened. I knew I had to give up, but a part of me wanted to justify all the actions I had taken to get here, and I didn’t want to stop searching because I couldn’t let go.

“Ke… Keita-kun.”

When I turned toward the voice, I saw Ikeda with a large hemp bag slung over his back.

“I’ve finished what I needed to do, so I’m leaving soon… but, um, what about you?”

“…”

My companions were also at their physical limits, and further searching would likely be meaningless. However, the desire not to admit failure kept my feet from moving toward the return door.

“I’m… staying a bit longer.”

“I-I see. I’m not in a position to speak… but please don’t overdo it. Thank you so much for today. I’m praying that you find what you’re looking for.”

After telling me that, Ikeda turned around and started walking toward the return door. Looking at Ikeda’s back at that moment, for the first time, I felt envious of him.

(Must be nice… a person with nothing to carry…)

Suddenly, such a jealousy was born within my chest. How much easier would it be if I could just give up like this? If I just said one word, “We’re going home,” we could leave. Even so, my personal feelings of frustration wouldn’t let me utter those words. Having things to carry was truly this painful.

However, even if I said that, I couldn’t allow the time and stamina of those around me to be consumed by something meaningless anymore. I had to admit it—this time was a “waste.”

“Piyoko, today is enough…”

Just as I was about to say “We’re going home,” Adam displayed a message as if to cut off those words.

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The passive skill 【Sixth Sense】 of 【Traveler God Mercurius】  activated automatically, faintly sensing a hidden mana reaction. The mana reaction is to the ‘South’.

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“What…?”

Following the message, I immediately turned around and started running toward the ‘South’ that had been indicated. When I hit the wall, Adam’s message updated.

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Ultra-weak mana reaction detected directly ahead.

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Impossible? This was a place I had searched many times while using 【Magic Detection】. There was no way I could have missed anything in the search…

“Is it true…? Momiji! Come here!”

I called Momiji and had her stand in front of the wall where the mana reaction was.

“Momiji, try cutting this wall with your ‘Munechika’.”

“Understood… Hah!!”

Momiji swung her katana toward the wall I pointed at, just as she was told. Then, the moment the blade touched the wall, the effect of the passive skill 【Mirage Break】 held by the ‘Demon Blade Munechika’ activated. The wall vanished like mist, and a new passageway appeared before our eyes.

“Eh!? No way!?”

“A path appeared!?”

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《Discovered the path to the Hidden dungeon: Secret Dungeon》

Recommended Level: Unknown You will not be able to return until you defeat the Secret Boss. Will you challenge the Hidden dungeon?

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A hidden dungeon… it was a place with a secret boss, just like when I found Momiji. The fact that it was under such powerful illusion magic that it didn’t respond to normal detection skills meant I could assume something extremely important lay ahead. This might be the very chance that God had granted me.

“I’ll challenge it.”

In response to those words, the passageway began to glow, showing the path we should take.

“Piyoko, the return is cancelled. We’re going ahead.”

I started walking down the path without waiting for Piyoko’s reply.

“Keita-sama, let’s take a little break before we go!? My feet are gonna sweeeeell!!”

While saying that, Piyoko also began to follow me down the path. Having discovered a new path through the power of a divine skill, we set foot into the hidden place, without knowing that the person watching from behind was following us silently…

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