Chapter 34: When You Dig, You Get Money

Today’s climbing goal is the 12th floor.

From Area 1 to Area 5.

This time, I brought a new tool.

“Is this a saw for cutting trees?”

“That’s correct. The spider webs kept getting thicker, so scissors seemed a bit inconvenient.”

Now, it’s almost embarrassing to even call them spider “webs.”

They were hanging down, almost as thick as my forearm.

Of course, the saw isn’t as convenient as scissors in terms of usability, but it’s more useful for cutting thicker things.

Also, there was a scene I really wanted to see.

“Saha?”

“Ugh……”

“Saha~?”

“Huuuuh……! Why, why are you calling me…?”

Go……!

Every time I called her name, she flinched and tried to cover her chest with her arm.

This is truly a feast for the eyes.

I could feel a slightly disdainful gaze from the side, but I decided to ignore it.

“Would you like to give this a swing?”

A double-up-sized, extra-large saw specially made for Saha!

Saha cautiously picked up the saw that had fallen to the ground (it was too heavy for me to lift) and infused it with magic, causing flames to erupt from the blade.

“Wow! That’s awesome!”

“Woof!”

As if transforming her shame into power, Saha effortlessly lifted the saw and cleanly sliced through the spider webs with a few smooth motions.

A bikini-clad doom girl instead of armor!

Movements filled with love and romance!

I couldn’t help but be moved and clapped.

Saha’s face turned even redder.

With Saha’s doom girl performance leading the way.

Today’s dungeon breakthrough formation.

Top: Saha (in a swimsuit).

Role: Clearing the path by wielding the Inferno Flame Giant Saw (tentative name).

Gradually calming her shame, she swung the saw with her usual serious and cold expression, and it swayed wildly.

Watching her, I felt like I could die without regrets.

Mid: Mounted Ark (operated by Tina).

Since the ceiling was much higher than the 11th floor.

I gave Tinya, who is tiny, a piggyback ride to secure her view and allow her to respond immediately.

Her nape is so soft!

Bottom: Arihena.

Just a regular bottom duo.

Ari is good at CS.

With stable role distribution, we started diligently clearing the path.

“There are so many monsters…………….”

Ari muttered while lightly picking up the CS dropped by the top.

Indeed.

The monster density was on a completely different level compared to the 11th floor.

Previously, we just cleared out groups of monsters in sparse rooms or open spaces.

Now, they were popping out everywhere—on the path, from the ceiling, between walls.

………….Actually, the reason I evolved into a mounted Ark.

Was because a spider falling from above almost twisted my neck 180 degrees earlier.

The difficulty has increased.

And quite threateningly.

But?

If we change our perspective?

“Hehehe……!”

Drop item n-times event.

Materials are pouring in!

Even monsters that originally didn’t appear until the 15th floor occasionally peeked out.

But our hero party, armed with enough firepower to break through up to the 20th floor, devoured them all.

In the process.

“Nyaha! Master, you’re doing great!”

I finally started pulling my weight.

The ‘Mammonite Pistol’ had an overpowered hidden feature not listed in the tooltip.

Although its attack power was at the level of a BB gun.

If I shot a spider in normal mode?

[Mark of the Miser LV.1 (Max LV.10)]

[Enemies marked have a 10% decrease in critical resistance. When a marked enemy dies, the item drop rate increases by 10%.]

It actually debuffs the monster!

And with a pretty decent effect!

So far, our heroes have only managed to get about 10% critical rate from their equipment.

But with this debuff?

Instead of 1 critical hit out of 10.

It becomes 2 out of 10!

Plus the drop rate increase!

Although there’s a minor side effect.

“Kyu—!”

Marked enemies prioritize attacking me, which is a taunt effect.

“Rumi!”

“Woof!”

Our jungler Rumi swiftly grabbed the spider’s front legs as it leapt at me and slammed it to the ground.

“Meow!”

And Tina fired a Magical=Beam with a poing!

The explosion was a bit more sparkly, so it must have been a critical hit!

A perfect team fight.

Let’s keep this up!

***

If the same stimulus is continuously applied at the same intensity, the sensation eventually dulls.

However.

“Kyaa, kyaa, kyaaa……………!”

Those crazy heroes kept delivering fresh and new stimuli to Arachne every time.

Yesterday, they used a strange blade with two crossed edges to slice through.

But that was only a brief sting, so it was bearable.

I thought I had prepared perfectly by increasing the hardness of the threads to the point where mere metal couldn’t cut them.

But.

“Wh… what is that……! Kyaa, kyaa……! What is thaaaat……!”

The heroes’ new weapon, with a blade surface that looked like it had been gnawed by a beast, making it jagged.

One crazy knight, shamelessly wearing just two pieces of cloth, swung it around.

“Kyaaa……!”

First, an ant-like pain bit at my toes, spreading sequentially.

Moreover, an itch flared up in the bitten area, tickling my brain.

Swish, swish.

Swish, swish.

It took less than 3 seconds to cut through one spider web.

And less than 3 seconds to move to the next one.

[Area 1 of the 12th floor has been breached.]

“Huu, haa, kyaaa…………….”

As a demon tasked with protecting the tower, it was a very impious thought.

But I was relieved that the breach ended the pain, and thought that at least with the number of monsters summoned, it wouldn’t be easy.

Arachne sighed in relief.

However.

[Enemies have entered Area 1 of the 12th floor.]

Almost immediately, the crazy hero party entered again, leaving Arachne flustered.

“Wh… why………..? Area 1…………?”

Instantly, three hooks were summoned.

And.

Instead of heading straight for the exit.

“No… nooo…………!”

Arachne screamed as she watched the heroes thoroughly search the entire labyrinth.

Even in other areas, there were many objects like prey storage and ancient hero tombs, making it hard to place treasure chests.

Arachne had placed most of the treasure chests in Area 1.

Realizing her mistake.

She hurriedly tried to change the tower’s settings.

[Object placement cannot be changed while the Revelator is present. Please try again later.]

“Ugh…… ughaa…..!”

At the cold message that appeared.

Arachne despaired.

***

“Woof! There’s one here too, woof!”

Kya.

Is today some kind of event day?

The rewards are insane!

Exaggerating a bit, just sticking your face into a corner would reveal a hidden treasure chest.

Of course, they were cunningly hidden behind spider webs or placed on the ceiling.

“Sniff sniff, woof! Over there, woof!”

The scent expert, Lygen.

Even when playing in the square, he would appear wagging his tail and perking his ears as soon as I started cooking.

Rumi Velos!

Rumhaya.……………was there.

After sniffing the first treasure chest for about 3 minutes.

From then on, it was a breeze.

Exaggerating a bit, it seemed like treasure chests appeared wherever Rumi went.

“Rumi, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Woof! Master’s cooking is all delicious!”

How can she be so sweet?

Of course, not all treasure chests contained good rewards.

Occasionally.

“Gasp! Master……! The chest bit me…………!”

Tinya, who had jumped off my shoulder, tried to open a treasure chest and got bitten by a mimic.

“……? What’s this?”

“Hyahaaak……?!”

Sometimes, a book written in an unknown language I couldn’t read was the only thing inside.

Probably written in demon language, as Tinya had a fit upon reading the title.

“Ti, Tina can’t sayyyyy…………!”

No matter how much I pressed, she wouldn’t tell me the name.

I couldn’t identify it through item info either.

I’ll have to ask Ellis later.

Most of the rest were.

Lots of gold.

Or growth materials.

Rare ores.

Stuff like that.

It wasn’t enough to cover the losses from yesterday’s full deployment.

But it was enough to reopen the shop.

In the meantime.

I tested the pistol’s performance.

To see if just having gold coins in my inventory counted as “possessed amount.”

Phew!

“Pik!”

The spider’s head slightly caved in.

Roughly, it’s about the power of a BB gun, equivalent to a hard punch.

While keeping an eye on the heroes.

I also tested the Decisive Weapon mode.

Of course, not showing off, holding the pistol modestly with both hands.

Fire!

Bang!

“Ugh.”

The recoil was quite strong, causing the aim to shake.

And it missed the targeted spider, instead creating a big hole in the wall.

The power is pretty good, huh?

“Ark? Don’t tell me…”

“No, it’s fine. I’m okay.”

Quickly making an excuse, I checked my inventory.

……………10% of my money was gone.

Decisive Weapon mode is also sealed for now.

Better to just steadily save money.

Even in normal mode, it’s better to create planet-destroying weapons.

Money doesn’t grow on trees!

“Here, there’s a buried treasure chest, woof!” Woof!

“Step aside. I’ll dig it up.”

……Is it right?

Maybe it does grow on trees?

Moreover.

“Ark! The treasure chest looks unusual!”

At Ari’s words, I approached and looked into the pit.

“Oh…….”

A slightly different, special and cool-looking design compared to the treasure chests I’ve seen so far!

My anticipation soared even higher.