I Found Tiny Dungeon That Can Only Produce Metal Slime - CH 16

Chapter 16: Red Dungeon

The following day, Yuuma woke up thinking that he had used the “Magic Ore”.

――So it really wasn’t a dream.

He wanted to know whether he could use 【Hardening Transformation】 again but, today was Monday.

He had to go to school.

――I might be in huge trouble if the transformation was permanent.

“Well, let’s try the transformation ability again after school.” That was what he thought after he finished his daily metal slime slaying and preparing to go to school.

On the evening of that day, Yuuma went up to his room, locked the door of his room, and then stood in front of the mirror.

「Become hard, become hard, become hard!」

After he wished inside, a black metallic colour started to appear on his hands and face and then spread to his entire body.

「… Cool.」

Yuuma was in awe of the power of the magic ore in the dungeon.

And just like yesterday, his transformation came undone after around five minutes.

「Haha, Interesting. Can I do this again I wonder?」

But then, no matter how much Yuuma wished for his body to become hard after that, the transformation didn’t happen again.

「So I can only use it one time for one day huh…」

Though it had some cons such as the transformation being limited to five minutes per day, or a limited number of uses, it didn’t change the fact that it was a cool ability.

Yuuma was thinking about how to utilise his abilities properly while still in awe of the said abilities.

――It’ll be a badass ability when I use it in a quarrel against some thugs. Their punches and kicks wouldn’t do any shit to me, while my punch was akin to hammering them. That was already a huge advantage.

Yuuma was imagining such a situation but in fact, he actually never been involved in such trouble until now.

He ended up feeling dejected since the situation that he imagined only happens in drama and anime.

――If that’s the case, how’s its effect in the dungeon? Since I can literally make an enemy’s attack invalid, I can play more roles if I dive in the deep floor…

Yuuma’s dream expanded again.

He heard that monsters from the deep floor of the dungeon had strong resistance against physical attack. Even the army’s bombardment couldn’t leave a scratch on it.

Thus, the “Magic” that allowed the explorer to defeat such monsters was truly convenient.

Something like punching with a metal fist was akin to a physical attack. Moreover, the most troublesome fact about monsters on the deep floor of the dungeon was the fact that they can also use “Magic”.

Dragons could breathe fire, a mystic bird could create wind, an ogre’s body clad in electric static, and there was even a spirit who could manipulate water and ice. In short, fighting against those monsters with his metalized body which is weak against cold and heat was dangerous.

「Hard body alone ain’t enough…」

Yuuma hung his head down as he sat in the chair. The “Magic Ore” that he got from metal slime after months of effort was dirt cheap, nor did it was useful for him.

「A~h dammit! Should I just stop hunting metal slime every morning? Not that there’s any merit in doing so!!」

Yuuma went as far as considering the option of reporting the dungeon in the garden of their family house since he didn’t want to bother with it anymore.

But, due to regulation, he had no idea whether 「I found it just now!」 would pass as the reason.

Once before, his mother found out about the hole in the garden and asked Yuuma about it.

Since he had already defeated the slime by then, all that was left was the hole but, Yuuma lied to his mother with 「The hole has collapsed. So it has filled up.」

If his mother shared that story outside, it might resolve Yuuma’s problem.

“Okay, let’s just focus on defeating those jiggling slime from tomorrow!” Was what Yuuma thought as he made such a resolution.

◇◇◇

Nine months later――

Japan’s deepest dungeon in Ibaraki, 【Red Dungeon】.

An event happened on the 3rd floor. That day, a big company whose business related to dungeons, ‶DeNA Elcid″ opened a hands-on experience of dungeon diving for their future applicant.

Properly speaking, normal civilians weren’t allowed to enter the 【Red Dungeon】. But, thanks to their connection with the government, Elcid received a special permit to do such an activity.

There were twenty people led by five professional “Seekers(Explorer)”.

Their objective was to hunt lava turtles which could be found on the 3rd floor. Though it shell could generate heat, its movement speed was slow, so the degree of danger in hunting it was really low but――

「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

A woman who fell on her rear raised a scream. Before her was a huge lizard.

The lizard spewed flame from all over its body. The monster who shouldn’t be found on the shallow floor, “Salamander” was eyeing her.

The woman’s body stiffened, and she raised a short scream since she couldn’t move from there.

An explorer who noticed her predicament didn’t make it in time to enter in between the two.

When the woman shut her eyes, waiting for the last moment of her life to arrive, the salamander suddenly raised an agonizing scream.

When the woman opened her eyes again, the first thing she saw was the back of a man.

Before anyone realized it, a knife stabbed into the giant lizard’s head, and the man’s fireproof clothes protected him from the flame spewed by the lizard. The knife which was enchanted with water magic dealt tremendous damage to the lizard.

The lizard lost its power and died.

「Are you okay!?」

Several explorers rushed in to approach the two. They were worried about the man who defeated the salamander but,

「Don’t worry, I’m safe.」

「Just to be sure, let’s check your vital signs. Can you tell us your name?」

The explorer took medical equipment from their base in the back. The man showed his entry ID to answer the explorer’s question.

「Amasawa Rui, a 3rd-year high school student.」