Chapter 20: Disturbance

The Luna Stars duo were completely dumbfounded by Karen-tan’s aggressive energy. To be honest, so was I.

“Wait, you’re Minase Karen-san, right? What are you even doing here?”

“Why, isn’t it obvious? I’m Taichi’s best partner!”

“??”

This is bad. I need to do something about her—fast.

“…Ah, Satou-san! Looking forward to working with you today!”

Kanade, seemingly uninterested in the chaotic exchange, was the first to notice me and ran over. Shion and Karen-tan followed right behind her.

“G-good morning. Everyone’s full of energy already, huh…”

“Of course! We’ve been looking forward to this day!”

“Obviously, so have I!”

“Um, Satou-san, are you… acquainted with Minase Karen-san?”

Kanade timidly asked me.

“Well, sort of…”

“Sort of?! What’s that supposed to mean? We’ve explored dungeons together as the ultimate best partners, remember!”

“Think of her as… a chaperone or something. Don’t worry about it.”

Shion and Kanade both gave Karen-tan a look of mixed understanding and skepticism.

Karen-tan, on the other hand, radiated pure enthusiasm, entirely unaffected by their stares.

“By the way, how do you two even know Karen-san?”

I asked Kanade about something that had been bothering me.

“Uh, how? Because Minase-san is a world-famous explorer, of course.”

“Famous?”

“She’s the only SS-ranked explorer in the world, you know!”

“Wait, really…?”

“…Don’t tell me you didn’t know that?”

Kanade looked at me as though she were seeing an alien.

Well, I don’t watch TV or anything, so…

“Well, not that I could ever hope to surpass Taichi, though.”

“I can’t believe someone like Minase Karen would say that… Satou-san, you must be an incredible explorer!”

Shion looked at me with eyes full of admiration.

All I could do was offer a vague smile in return. I’m not some big deal—just a lone guy doing his best.

After brief introductions—which were mostly unnecessary since everyone already seemed to know each other—we entered the Garden of the Gods.

The first floor didn’t pose much of a problem for us.

A few Archangels appeared, but Karen-tan and I quickly took them down. Shion and Kanade seemed a little shocked; they probably didn’t expect Karen-tan to be this strong.

“So this is the power of an SS-ranked explorer…”

Shion murmured in awe.

Meanwhile, Kanade pulled out a notebook and started scribbling something.

“This is what we call teamwork! Burn this sight into your memory!”

Karen-tan struck a triumphant pose.

We ignored her entirely and proceeded to the second floor.

Still, something about the monsters’ behavior felt… off.

Their numbers were higher than usual, and they were way too organized. Monsters aren’t supposed to operate with this kind of coordination.

It was as if… there was a will behind their actions. It was unsettling.

I mentally compiled all this information to report it to Minase-san later.

The second floor wasn’t much different from the first, other than a more complex map and an increase in monster numbers.

But a complex map presents dangers far beyond what words can convey.

First, it creates more blind spots.

This makes it easier to miss approaching monsters or, worse, get surrounded. Being surrounded is one of the most dangerous situations in a dungeon, and experienced explorers always proceed with caution to avoid it.

Second, it makes retreating harder.

While safe zones, called Safe Points, exist between floors, nowhere else in a dungeon is guaranteed to be secure.

Historically, explorers often got lost in complex maps, couldn’t find their way back, and ended up being wiped out.

Nowadays, with better information available, such disasters are rare. However, unexplored dungeons still carry that ever-present risk.

Regarding the Garden of the Gods, I’ve researched up to the eighth floor, which is where documented information ends. Beyond that, it’s uncharted territory.

That’s why I make it a point to meticulously explore each floor, gathering monster data and map details. As a solo adventurer, crisis management is a skill I’ve had to master—just as my mentor taught me.

After clearing the second floor with little trouble, we moved on to the third.

“What… is that?”

What I saw there was a never-before-seen angelic monster, its form an unsettling blend of black and white.