Published: January 22, 2026
When I arrived at the plaza, the meeting place, all the members of the ninth and tenth squads were already gathered.
As usual, Logan was glaring at me with hostile eyes.
For now, since I decided to let Logan do as he pleased, I called out to Caroline.
"Caroline, today try to focus on the defender’s movements."
"Ehh, why? And do we even need coordination in the first place?"
Caroline complained, then asked about the necessity of coordination.
Do I have to explain that now...?
She should have been taught this in the clan already.
"I'm strong, right?"
Caroline continued talking.
Compared to other rookies around her, she’s definitely overwhelmingly strong.
If she keeps growing steadily like this, she’ll probably become a famous explorer.
"I think it won’t be long before I become the ace of this clan! So I’ll kill the demonic beasts, and everyone else just needs to support me."
How selfish...
"That’s not going to work. I’ve heard that Mr. Albert, who used to be the ace of the silver rabbits of the night sky, also emphasized coordination. There’s a limit to what one person can do. That’s why everyone forms parties to explore the dungeon, right?"
Albert Sensible.
He was a member of the silver rabbits of the night sky until last year, known as their absolute ace explorer.
Last year, he lost his life in the battle against the black dragon, the floor boss of the 92nd layer, which the silver rabbits challenged.
His death triggered various troubles within the clan, but I’ll skip the details here to avoid a long story.
"As a result, he died protecting his comrades, including the defender. That guy was stupid. He must have known that if he died, everyone’s smiles would disappear."
I felt a strange pressure from Caroline’s murmured words.
She seems to carry some kind of darkness. As an outsider, I feel this is a territory I shouldn’t intrude on.
In the end, not only Logan but Caroline was also allowed to act freely.
...I hope they’re strong enough to handle it.
For now, I’ll just prepare to step in immediately if things get dangerous.
Now then, the characteristics of the layers we’re going to explore, from the 36th to the 50th—
"Um, Mr. Orun...!"
"Hm? What’s up, Sophia?"
As I recalled the structure of today’s floors and the features of the demonic beasts, Sophia spoke to me.
"I’m sorry about my party members’ rude behavior! Um, I would like to continue receiving your guidance, Mr. Orun. Could you please teach me?"
Sophia looked straight at me with serious eyes.
From observing Sophia these past two days, I felt she was trying too hard.
Even on the day we first met, she went into the dungeon with a party formed in the wild, despite Ms. Selma forbidding it.
I think her earnest personality is a virtue.
But it seems it’s somewhat counterproductive.
I hope it doesn’t go in a bad direction.
That said, it would be bad to dampen her enthusiasm, and since I’m not giving instructions to the tenth squad today, I have a lot of leeway.
"Of course. What do you want me to teach you?"
"Um, then, what do you think I’m lacking?"
Lacking, huh...
She’s already met the level expected of a rookie.
So I guess I just need to teach her what’s necessary to reach the next stage.
"Got it. It’s time to enter the dungeon now, so I’ll teach you when we have some spare time inside."
"Thank you very much!"
Sophia gave me a dazzling smile.
◇
As before, the guided exploration began with Ms. Selma’s command.
After stepping into the 36th layer, I spoke to Sophia while staying alert to the surroundings.
"First, I want to know how well you understand magic. Try explaining it."
"Y-yes! Um... first, as a premise, magic is the power to utilize the mana existing in the air to cause various phenomena. However, magic can only be used by demonic beasts. — Magic techniques are technologies created based on magic. By channeling mana through techniques, humans who originally couldn’t use magic can trigger phenomena similar to magic."
Mostly correct.
To be more precise, technique construction is the 'procedure that converts mana into phenomena.'