I retraced my steps.
The place where I was first transferred,
The place where I fought a survival battle against the monsters,
The upper area,
The desert-like zone.
From here onward is uncharted territory.
"I did not mark anything along the way, so I cannot be absolutely sure... but I believe I have not gone this way before..."
I walk cautiously through the area of fine, flowing sand.
I must have walked for two or three hours.
I stand in front of a huge, distorted semicircular hole.
"...Let's go in."
I step forward.
Hyooooooo
Wind sound?
There seems to be airflow.
That said, it is unlikely to conveniently lead straight to an exit.
I have not encountered any monsters so far.
It feels like there is no presence at all.
Is this an area where neither Minotaurs nor bird heads live?
I touch the black rock surface.
Pit.
It is slightly smooth.
The ground here is also quite uneven.
Ash-like sand pools in puddle-like spots.
The standing small rocks are monochrome.
They almost look like rocks covered in snow.
As I advance, I emerge into a wide open space.
"Amazing..."
It feels like a vast limestone cave.
There is a swamp, so I approach it.
Dark green water.
Bloop bloop,
Pop pop,
Popoo...
It is bubbling...
This gives off nothing but poisonous swamp vibes.
There is a piercing smell too.
No matter how I look at it, this is not drinkable water.
If I could find potable water, I could use the plastic bottle.
I stare intently down at the swamp.
"Hm?"
Something floated up... a skull.
Probably a human skull.
Did someone fall here?
But this also serves as proof.
Someone managed to get this far after breaking through Minotaurs and bird heads.
There were discarded heroes who fought hard.
I search for the path to the next area.
"Oh."
A gentle slope.
It is shaped like a spiral staircase where someone completely lost motivation.
Or like thinly stretched crepe batter?
In short, the incline is that gradual.
"Should I climb this...?"
The scenery is a vast limestone cave.
No matter how you look at it, this is a dungeon.
What even were the ruins?
Right after I started climbing the slope—
"This is—"
There is something in a depression in the ground.
A lot of bones.
And not just human ones.
Probably bones of the monsters here...
From the shape, that looks like Minotaur bones?
There are some that look like bird heads too...
I swallow.
Probably here too,
There... is... something.
"...Hm? What is that?"
I hear a sound.
Somewhere, a cry-like—
Doo, gaaa aan!
A violent sound of rock shattering.
"What— —!?"
I instinctively raise my arm to shield my face.
A boulder rolls past me with tremendous force.
I catch it in the corner of my eye.
"...Huge."
There is a massive hole in the rock face to my left front.
Bechin!
Footsteps.
Doro,
Pit, pit...
"This thing is"
I look up at the enormous figure.
This appearance—I can guess.
A dinosaur-like head.
Hollow eye sockets.
Clinging black-purple rotten flesh.
The lines of rotten flesh faintly emit orange light.
The dim light outlines its silhouette.
Exposed bones starting with the ribs.
Large bone wings with little rotten flesh.
A wriggling half-flesh half-bone tail.
Sharply pointed massive claws.
An overwhelmingly large body.
The thing opens its mouth.
"Hyo ooo o o—"
Some kind of skeleton type?
Or ghoul type?
Probably this is what is commonly called—
"Gi— aaa aaa aaa aaa—!"
A dragon zombie.
Whoosh!
The wind pressure from its roar.
A rotten stench pierces my nose.
"Gyo e— gyo, gyoe, e— ge, ge...!"
Something is seeping from around its teeth.
Drip,
Plop,
Sizzle sizzle sizzle...
That is acid too.
"Fushyua aaa aaa— a, a, a—!"
The dragon zombie extends a long thin tongue.
It wriggles like a fast-forwarded earthworm.
The rotting dragon clearly has me in its sights.
For a moment, its presence is overwhelming enough to freeze me in place.
This wide limestone cave area.
"So this is your den?"
And the bones in that depression are the remains of sacrificed discarded heroes.
The dragon zombie's trash bin.
I understand—its killing intent.
I raise my arm.
I can only thank you.
Thank you for directing killing intent at me.
Now I can kill you without hesitation,
Without mercy.
So thank you.
For stepping into the field of survival competition yourself.
The dragon zombie raises its foreleg.
Perhaps it judged I am frozen in fear.
It seems intent on crushing me into mince.
The intense appearance of the dragon zombie.
Overwhelming impact.
I am indeed sweating after seeing it.
But—what wells up is joy.
A new monster: dragon zombie EXP.
"[Paralyze]"
Crack,
Snap—
"I!? Gi, hi... yo, yo...?"
The dragon zombie freezes with its foreleg still raised.
"[Poison]"
▽
"About time."
The first [Paralyze] gauge is almost gone.
"[Sleep]"
A blue gauge appears.
After waiting a while, the yellow gauge disappears.
Thud!
The dragon zombie, now free of paralysis, collapses on the spot.
It falls as if its legs could no longer support its weight.
It is like gravity suddenly applied and crushed it.
The eye sockets are hollow so it is hard to tell,
But
"It seems to be sleeping..."
I sit cross-legged.
Right in front of the massive dragon's head.
The discolored dragon bones.
Now changed from white to purple.
Status abnormality skills.
It seems they work properly even on so-called undead types.
"Zuu... zuuu..."
Is that its sleeping breath?
A sour smell.
The smell of rotten flesh.
This green part—is moss, perhaps.
There is no sign of it waking.
All that is left is to wait for death.
However, I cannot take my eyes off it.
I cannot let the paralysis and sleep combo lapse.
"..."
I should check my status too.
"Status open."
While keeping an eye on my back and the gauges, I check my status.
[Touka Mimori]
LV 501
HP: +1503
MP: +12403 / 16533
Attack: +1503
Defense: +1503
Stamina: +1503
Speed: +1503
Intelligence: +1503
[Title: E-Class Hero]
"Seeing LV 501 written out has a certain impact..."
However, aside from MP... can these really be called high?
I keep bringing him up, but Oyamada had stamina +500 at LV 1.
Of course, not all heroes necessarily follow "initial value × LV."
If they did, Oyamada would surpass my stamina correction just by reaching LV 4.
In the worst case, Mimori Touka might have below-average growth rate...
I recall the shitty goddess saying something like that.
Even with this dramatic level increase, I might only be on par with a decent mercenary or so.
"In that case"
The correction values other than MP might not be worth focusing on too much.
What matters most to me right now is reflexes.
Activating my skill before the enemy acts.
Reacting to sudden ambushes.
If I cannot rely on correction values here—
I need to hone my own reflexes.
Well, in these ruins, I will probably get plenty of practice through combat.
"So the reduced MP is—"
From what I infused into the pouch and what I used on the dragon zombie.
I still have no immediate worry about MP remaining.
This amount should be plenty.
The skills are
[Paralyze / LV 2 / MP Cost 10 / Multiple Target Designation]
[Sleep / LV 2 / MP Cost 10 / Multiple Target Designation]
[Poison / LV 2 / MP Cost 10 / Multiple Target Designation]
All skills now have the [Multiple Target Designation] entry added.
The MP costs are displayed for all.
I see—leveling up improves performance.
"Even so..."
I place a hand over my mouth.
Even after leveling up, the MP cost has not changed.
Considering the current one hundred percent success rate and effect duration,
"This performance is completely broken..."
I cannot help but groan.
E-class hero.
The lowest rank.
"Is this really the skill of the absolute bottom rank...?"
I recall before being transferred here, Kirihara questioned why S was the highest when ranks were alphabetical.
"Hmm. But why is S the highest?"
The shitty goddess answered:
"It stands for 'Special' S."
Alphabetical ranks adjusted to match our world.
"...English words, huh."
My status abnormality skill.
If E is the lowest rank, its performance is far too broken.
"For example—"
An idea comes to me.
Pure hypothesis.
No evidence whatsoever.
Completely spontaneous.
But what if E alone is "different" from the other ranks?
Special meaning.
Exceptional meaning.
Extra meaning.
In other words, it could be interpreted as "outcast" or "misfit."
The English spelling starting with E—
EXTRA.
"If the E in E-class stands for 'EXTRA' meaning exceptional or outside the standard..."
Then that would explain everything.