Raid Dungeon Battle (5)

In the end, since Niku won the battle between the two pilots, Rei went on break.

… With Nerune and Kinue also taking a break, it raised the question of who would handle the sub-pilot role—but stepping up here was…

"… Not bad, Feni. I didn't think you'd be able to keep up with my piloting."

"Pii!"

… Rokuko's pets.

Right now, the Phoenix, Feni, was operating the Golem as the sub-pilot.

Granted, they were named monsters and totally had the necessary authority, but watching blatantly animal-shaped pets calmly piloting a Golem was honestly a pretty bizarre sight.

"Oh come on, we're humanoids and we control things like mice, don't we?"

"… Is that really the same thing?"

"It is. Mikan's dungeon even has a rabbit piloting monsters, you know?"

Now that it's mentioned, I guess it's not strange at all.

"Still, they seem pretty capable in combat."

"Why not just make them their own custom units? I'd be thrilled."

"I'll consider it."

It would be a present for the pets and a boost to Rokuko's defensive power. Definitely worth building.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

And so the dungeon conquest continued smoothly.

We were taking it easy to keep pace with those around us, but our seniors apparently didn't see it that way.

[We don't know which core it is, but someone is blitzing through a dungeon at incredible speed. The map's huge.]

[Yeah, with a map like this, it's only natural the conquest is fast, but… maybe we shouldn't assume this is normal. Or wait—if a core capable of this joined a faction, maybe this will become the norm?]

"Oh, that's my subordinate, senpai."

[For real? Ah, those rats being launched from the Golem earlier—was that it?]

Oops, Zombies—Golem Tackle! As its limbs flew apart, the seniors finished it off neatly with magic! Alright, let's keep pushing forward.

[You're making us look bad as seniors here.]

[Totally.]

"By the way, senpai, is this kind of monster extermination thing common?"

[Hmm? Yeah, maybe once every ten years or so. But this is the first time we're going up against a top-tier core like Number 10.]

Apparently that's how often traitors were revealed and hunted down. Chatting as we conquered the dungeon made for good intel-gathering. Since we're sharing too, I guess it was a pretty fair exchange.

Still, even though our enemy was supposedly a strong one—it was Core Number 10 after all—we were treating it so casually.

Oh, Skeletons. Armed ones, too… Golem Tackle! The shattered bits were cleaned up neatly with magic by the senpais! Alright, onward!

[Ah, a poison swamp. I don't think the Golem can handle this one.]

"Nah, since it's a Golem and a Slime, poison doesn't work on them."

[That's convenient. But… is the depth okay?]

[Oh, looks like it's fine. Mind if we hop on?]

I told them it was fine and let the senpais ride the Golem across the toxic swamp. In fact, the Golem even acted as a bridge with its own body. Alright, onward we go!

[By the way, giving monsters DP and summoning them on-site? That's a clever idea. I'm going to copy that.]

[Aren't you embarrassed copying a rookie like that, Myconid? Well, I'm gonna copy it too… Hey, are you secretly a veteran core or something?]

"Nah, I'm a newbie Dungeon Core. Somewhere in the 600s."

[Wow, in the 600s, huh… wait, seriously? You're insanely talented. Now I feel bad about myself.]

A chuckle escaped from the dog-like senpai. Apparently the others were in the 200s or 300s. Since personal info was kept secret, this was probably just barely what we could exchange.

Oh, animal-type Zombies. A bear, huh… Golem Tackle! Missed a little, but the senpais finished it off neatly! Onward!

"Well, technically I'm not the core—I'm the Master."

[Oh really? A Master's skill, huh… same with Myconid's. Those with Masters are on a different level. Though you seem even better for a Master.]

[Hey Vampire, are you throwing shade at my Master? If you're picking a fight, how about this—whoever takes down the next enemy first wins.]

[Ah, enemy spotted.]

Golem Tackle! If it's not in a group, ghosts are no problem. Crushed clean with the magic gauntlet.

[Hey, Golem Driver. Weren't you supposed to leave that one for us?]

[It couldn't be helped.]

"Hahaha, it was just too satisfying to run it over. If you want a fight, let's save it for the next one, senpais."

[Honestly, you're hogging all the glory. But hey, I'm not complaining. I don't need Haku-sama's rewards that badly. As long as we're participating and don't get targeted, easy mode sounds perfect.]

And so we casually blazed through Core Number 10's dungeon despite it swarming with unchanging undead.

After taking a few breaks along the way, we finally reached the boss room on the 50th floor.

[… This has to be the deepest level, right? Incredible—we might be the first ones here.]

"Huh? Already? I didn't really feel like we faced anything difficult though…?"

[No, no, no. This isn't supposed to be this easy.]

[We definitely went through some rough patches… but you just powered through without even noticing. You're way too reliable, junior.]

Apparently, reaching floor 50 is generally considered a big deal.

… Come to think of it, Ontentoo's dungeon was around 50 floors too.