My Gift Is “Beauty”. I Think It’s Useless, but It Seems to Be an S-Rank Gift With the Strongest Buff Effect for Beautiful Girls

Chapter 31.2: Dungeon Tour (3)

Kirino, who created the structure, appeared slightly exhausted from magic use clearly.

The fall was dangerously high. Even with snow, crashing into the ground was likely. Kirino, inspired by a Winter Olympics snowboarding event, created a steep slope for participants to slide down, climb the opposite slope, and stop calmly.

“Those awake are the adventurers and Koharu,” Kirino noted quietly.

“Hiroyo and Hibiki are…” Mizuki trailed off worriedly.

Nearby, Hiroyo and Hibiki lay unconscious, embracing each other tightly. Their breathing confirmed they were safe thankfully.

“Thank you, Kirino. I’m so grateful,” Mizuki said sincerely.

Three from Tenchi Guild approached and thanked Kirino warmly. More joined them shortly.

“You saved us,” Maki said gratefully. “I never thought a civilian had such power. That fall could’ve killed us.”

“I offer my thanks too,” Hirakawa added respectfully.

“No…” Kirino replied shyly.

Maki and Hirakawa from Black Wolf Guild thanked Kirino sincerely. They appeared uninjured visibly.

“What floor is this? That fall suggests maybe the lowest,” Maki wondered aloud.

“Falling from the lake to the lowest floor seems too easy,” Hirakawa countered skeptically.

“No, falling usually means death,” Maki argued logically. “It’s a high-difficulty shortcut route.”

“I heard that man’s voice,” Mizuki added gravely. “This isn’t a C-rank dungeon. Probably B-rank… or mid-tier A-rank.”

Mizuki, Haruka, and Maki discussed and assessed the situation actively. Mizuki suspected from the start that the high temperature with snow was odd for a C-rank, a trait of higher dungeons.

They began planning their escape strategically.

“Hm, let’s gather the participants and try the escape scroll again,” Mizuki suggested thoughtfully. “If it fails—”

“We’ll find a way up,” Haruka finished determinedly.

The discussion inevitably concluded with that as the only option. They started gathering unconscious participants to one spot carefully.

“Up we go…” Koharu grunted effortfully.

Koharu and Kirino carried a participant together laboriously, struggling due to their lack of strength significantly.

“That girl…” Kirino said curiously.

“You know her, Kirino?” Koharu asked surprisedly.

They carried a woman with beautiful light green hair, appearing their age roughly. Kirino stared at her face intently.

Then—

“Ugh…” the woman groaned softly.

She woke as Koharu and Kirino set her down gently. She blinked and looked around curiously.

“Where am I?” she asked calmly.

“Under the frozen lake,” Koharu answered kindly. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, my friend who came with me—” she began worriedly. “There she is.”

Surprisingly calm, she made Koharu and Kirino exchange glances curiously.

“Thank you for carrying me,” she said politely.

She stood, bowed courteously, and approached her frightened friend, comforting her calmly.

“Do you know that girl?” Koharu asked again.

“I… I can’t recall,” Kirino admitted hesitantly. “She seems familiar, but…”

“You’ll remember eventually,” Koharu reassured kindly.

Kirino couldn’t recall ultimately.

“Phew, almost done,” Koharu sighed tiredly.

“Yes, let’s keep going,” Kirino agreed encouragingly.

As they nearly finished gathering everyone, a beastly roar echoed from the cave’s depths suddenly.

“Asumi, Haruka! You two from Black Wolf Guild too!” Mizuki shouted urgently.

Mizuki reacted instantly, drawing her sword swiftly. Other adventurers braced themselves alertly.

“Everyone, stay back!” Mizuki commanded firmly.

She addressed the awake participants loudly, though some remained ungathered.

“They won’t let us escape this deep so easily,” Maki growled determinedly.

“We’ll make that man pay, even in death!” Hirakawa vowed fiercely.

Maki and Hirakawa burned with rage against the man who replaced their teammate vengefully. They refused to die here and aimed to capture him for the police resolutely.

Heavy footsteps approached with the roar ominously.

“No way…” Maki gasped in disbelief.

The creature appeared clearly: a ten-meter-tall giant with a bull-like face, two horns, tree-like arms, and a club as thick as a temple pillar.

“Minotaur Lord… five of them,” Mizuki identified grimly.

Minotaur Lords, evolved from C-rank dungeon minotaurs, were immensely powerful. Even one was tough to defeat solo. Typically, two A-rank adventurers were needed per Minotaur Lord, meaning ten were required for five.

Only five A-rank adventurers were present, making it impossible to face all adequately.

The Minotaur Lords’ presence confirmed one fact clearly.

“An upper-tier A-rank dungeon… that’s it,” Mizuki realized gravely.

As A-rank adventurers, Mizuki’s group had cleared mid-tier A-rank dungeons but never upper-tier ones, despite their rank from accumulated achievements.

“Still, we have to fight—” Mizuki declared resolutely.

She gripped her sword tightly. The Minotaur Lords charged simultaneously.

“Ahhh!” several participants screamed in terror.

“Full power from the start!” Mizuki shouted commandingly.

“Yeah!” Maki roared fiercely.

The battle began intensely.

Five minutes later—

“Huff, huff, huff…” Mizuki panted heavily.

They barely managed four Minotaur Lords. The last one proved difficult, requiring another fighter urgently.

“Ice!” Kirino shouted desperately.

Kirino joined the battle bravely. Since the signboard incident, she trained relentlessly, and her efforts shone now brilliantly.

Multiple ice pillars pierced a Minotaur Lord’s body repeatedly. But as an upper-tier A-rank, it didn’t stop easily.

“Kirino, Hibiki, Hiroyo!” Koharu cried fearfully.

Koharu trembled helplessly in the rear, unable to act.

“I have to do something…” she muttered desperately.

Koharu had already fulfilled her role significantly. Her “Grant Seeker Search” reduced pain for all, still active briefly, so adventurers felt little pain. Black Wolf Guild’s healer supported from the rear too. Koharu could only watch helplessly.

Then—

“Ugh!” Maki grunted painfully.

Maki wielded a great axe and faltered noticeably.

“It’s not enough!” Hirakawa shouted desperately. “Our party needs Shinji to be complete!”

Hirakawa mentioned the real Kirihara, whose support magic could have empowered them, unlike Koharu’s pain reduction.

Maki weakened gradually—

“Argh!” Maki cried in pain.

“Ryogo!” Hirakawa shouted worriedly.

A Minotaur Lord’s club sent Maki crashing into a wall forcefully.

“Mizuki, it’s bad! Ryogo’s down!” Haruka yelled urgently.

“Damn it!” Mizuki cursed angrily.

Haruka fought one Minotaur Lord with lightning, unable to leave. Asumi handled another with fire, equally occupied.

The Minotaur Lord that struck Maki approached the participants menacingly. Screams of despair rose, and Koharu froze in terror completely.

“Someone, anyone!” Koharu pleaded desperately.

The club rose like a tree, promising death with one blow. Even with Koharu’s pain reduction, bodies would shatter.

But she refused to give up. She believed their time together would continue strongly.

“Koharu!” Kirino called urgently.

Nearby, Hiroyo and Hibiki lay unconscious still.

Seeing their faces, Koharu stood instinctively. She could do nothing but stood resolutely.

The Minotaur Lord prepared to swing its club downward.

(I…) Koharu thought determinedly.

She gripped her pants’ hem tightly and noticed something in her pocket suddenly. She grabbed and clutched it firmly.

Instantly, something within Koharu changed drastically.

A deadly blow approached with a roar.

“Reduction Barrier!” Koharu whispered urgently.

An invisible shield formed before her, blocking the Minotaur Lord’s club completely.

The “Black Jade of Magic Soul,” a relic Asumi obtained from a mid-tier A-rank dungeon, enhanced Koharu’s gift by one level. Asumi gave it to her after her hospital discharge, saying only to keep it always.

Its effect’s timing was unpredictable, and “Appraisal” revealed little. But it responded to Koharu now undeniably.

“Koharu!” Kirino shouted worriedly.

“It won’t last long!” Koharu warned shakily.

Her trembling body held the barrier with outstretched hands. As a civilian, Koharu lacked an adventurer’s magic, but her DV survival experience barely held the attack.

Her fleeting barrier changed everything.

A massive shockwave struck from above, splitting the attacking Minotaur Lord in half instantly.

“What—” Koharu gasped in shock.

She couldn’t comprehend what happened. Dust cleared gradually.

“A black… goat?” Koharu muttered confusedly.

Before her stood a mysterious figure in a black goat headpiece, wearing a white dress, clearly female. She held a bloodied axe as large as Maki’s effortlessly.

“Ah…” the black goat girl mumbled softly.

She turned, checked behind her, and faced forward again, vanishing instantly.

She disappeared completely, as if never there.

“What!?” Mizuki exclaimed in shock.

One Minotaur Lord fell.

“What’s that!?” Maki gasped in disbelief.

Another fell.

“This is—!” Haruka shouted in awe.

A third fell.

And—the last one.

“Ahh…” the black goat girl murmured faintly.

In under ten seconds, with one axe swing each, she slaughtered all Minotaur Lords single-handedly.