"So I am going to be exploring the Zenith Tower all by myself, huh…" (Eugene)
I muttered to myself after stepping off the dungeon elevator.
Sumire and Airi didn't join the exploration.
"No way! Eugy-kun, I'm exhausted!" (Sumire)
"Eugy… What's with your stamina…?" (Airi)
The two of them treated me like some kind of weirdo.
I was the only one still with extra energy, so I came alone to the Zenith Tower.
I'm currently on Floor 119; the highest floor accessible by the dungeon elevator.
Sumire, Sara, and I had previously reached this point, just before challenging the Floor Boss, but we stopped there.
Above Floor 100, the monsters that appear are random, so there's no need to wander to other floors in search of specific creatures.
Besides, the Dungeon Master, Anemoi Babel, seems to dislike floors below the 99th.
The Dungeon Master resents the use of Resurrection Drops to guarantee survival, which is why I suspect she will only show herself on floors above the 100th.
Floor 119 is a vast field dotted with ruins.
There are plenty of places to hide, but I deliberately walked through the open areas.
It naturally didn't take long for monsters to find me.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!* Heavy footsteps echoed.
"GRRRAAAAAAH!"
A Minotaur swung a massive axe down at me.
I dodged the attack and decapitated it with a technique from the Twin Heavenly Resonance Style.
"…"
A zombie assassin silently crept closer behind me, but I avoided its attack and sliced off its head as well.
(Nothing out of the ordinary so far… It'd be great if I could run into that berserk dragon the Club President mentioned though.) (Eugene)
I've encountered a variety of monsters, but I haven't seen a dragon yet.
It's been about three hours since I started wandering around Floor 119.
Rather than exploring, it feels more like training.
I'm deliberately roaming obvious spots, luring monsters to me, and defeating them.
(Still, I don't feel particularly tired…) (Eugene)
I've always had decent stamina, thanks to my training at the military school, but it seems to have improved even further lately.
I don't feel fatigued no matter how much I move.
(Is there something weird with my body…?) (Eugene)
I consulted the school nurse, but she found no abnormalities.
While it's convenient to have this much stamina and I feel no discomfort, it's a bit unsettling.
Maybe I should ask the Principal about it sometime.
And that's when it happened.
"Hey, why aren't you challenging the Floor Boss, Eugene Santafield?"
The voice was teasing, almost childlike in tone.
Yet the sheer mana behind it was enough to make the air feel oppressive.
It was none other than the master of the Last Dungeon and a walking calamity, Anemoi Babel.
(One of my targets has appeared.) (Eugene)
Being addressed by this figure usually meant trouble.
I'd normally curse my bad luck, but this time, it works in my favor.
"I don't fight bosses alone." (Eugene)
I kept my response short and pretended to stay calm.
"Being cautious is good. But someone like you wouldn't hesitate against a boss on Floor 120, right? How many Divine Beasts have you defeated already?" (Anemoi)
The Dungeon Master laughed gracefully, covering her mouth with her hand. She seems to be in a good mood today.
"I didn't do it alone. I worked with everyone." (Eugene)
"But you could handle a Floor Boss on your own, couldn't you? Someone with your strength shouldn't be wasting time on these lower floors. I was watching you just now and you looked like you were finding this easy." (Anemoi)
The Dungeon Master smacked my back in a familiar manner.
(So she wants me to challenge the Floor Boss, huh…) (Eugene)
Sumire and Sara might get mad at me later if I fought the boss on my own.
But going along with the Dungeon Master's wishes might make her more willing to talk.
"Fine, I'll give it a shot. But if things go south, I'm running." (Eugene)
"Eh?! Really? You'll do it? That's the spirit!" (Anemoi)
The Dungeon Master's face lit up with excitement.
I headed toward the staircase leading to Floor 120, which I'd already located earlier.
The Dungeon Master followed a short distance behind me, humming a cheerful tune.
Looking at her now, she seemed like an innocent child.
(Alright, let's subtly probe her.) (Eugene)
"By the way, I heard you've been up to something interesting lately." (Eugene)
I didn't have any solid evidence, but I tried to bait her into talking.
The Dungeon Master loved to boast, so surely…
"Oh? You're quick to catch on. Yes, I've been thinking about tweaking the timing of Divine Beast summons in the Zenith Tower. Like when you fought Cerberus on Floor 20, I thought it'd be fun to summon Divine Beasts outside the usual Floor 100 or 200. It might improve the quality of explorers, don't you think?" (Anemoi)
"I'd advise against that." (Eugene)
This Dungeon Master just said something outrageous.
"Why?" (Anemoi)
"If explorers face a Deus Discipline without proper preparation, they'll fail and lose confidence." (Eugene)
"If that's all it takes to break them, they weren't worthy anyway. True explorers would rise to the challenge!" (Anemoi)
"That's a harsh way to screen people…" (Eugene)
This Dungeon Master clearly had no concept of guiding or teaching others slowly.
She is the polar opposite of the Principal.
"But it has worked for you, hasn't it?" (Anemoi)
"M-Me?" (Eugene)
"Of course! You've fought four Divine Beasts in such a short time and emerged victorious every time. Keep growing like that! If we had more explorers like you, conquering the Zenith Tower would be a breeze!" (Anemoi)
"…I see." (Eugene)
I wanted to argue that the Demon Lord Eri wasn't a Divine Beast, or that I shouldn't be used as an example, but I knew the Dungeon Master wouldn't care.
"Have you placed any unusually strong monsters aside from those in the Zenith Tower lately?" (Eugene)
I decided to be direct.
"Monsters? Like what?" (Anemoi)
"Stronger dragons than usual, for example." (Eugene)
"Not that I know of." (Anemoi)
She denied it immediately.
Of course, she could be lying.
"I see." (Eugene)
But I had no way to verify her answer.
However, I have a feeling she'd brag about it if it were her doing, so this might be unrelated.
In that case, the strange dragon that the Club President mentioned might be unrelated to the Dungeon Master.
I reached Floor 120 while pondering this.
The scenery of a wide grassland dotted with crumbling ruins wasn't much different from Floor 119.
However, the moment I set foot on Floor 120, a heavy scent of blood filled the air.
(What's going on…?) (Eugene)
There shouldn't be any battles in the boss's domain since only the Floor Boss resides here.
There's no way it would smell like blood.
The blood could mean the boss was feeding, but this amount seemed excessive.
"How strange…" (Anemoi)
The Dungeon Master murmured behind me.
Wait, aren't you the master of this dungeon?
I suppressed the urge to retort and focused on scanning the surroundings.
Two weeks ago, the Satellite System showed the current Floor Boss of Floor 120 as the Flaming Twin-Headed Serpent, a massive snake monster with a full body of red scales capable of swallowing a horse whole.
Veteran exploration teams had barely escaped from it.
It is pretty big, so it should be easy to find, but…
(This is…?) (Eugene)
But after wandering on the floor for a while, I found 'that'.
—The corpse of the Flaming Twin-Headed Serpent, its heads savagely bitten off.
The smell of blood was coming from this.
The supposed absolute ruler of this floor was dead.
This is an extremely familiar scenario.
I quickly turned behind me.
"Anemoi-san, have you already started your irregular Divine Beast Summons?" (Eugene)
"N-No! I was just about to! I'm still gathering opinions from other angel administrators!" (Anemoi)
The Cerberus on Floor 20 had been her doing, but this time she wasn't involved.
"Then it's a Floor Boss replacement." (Eugene)
"Most likely…" (Anemoi)
Sometimes, a Floor Boss is killed by another boss, causing an unplanned replacement.
This nullified all prior intel obtained through the Satellite System.
As I contemplated searching Floor 120 for the new boss…
*Kiyiiii… Kiyiiii…*
A grating, high-pitched screech approached.
"…"
I drew my white blade, readying it toward the sound.
*Buzzzzz…*
The buzzing of enormous wings filled the air.
"That" had a peculiar appearance.
Its body resembled that of a dragon.
However, mounted on its neck were three heads: a lion, a goat, and a bear.
Its limbs were equipped with talons like those of an eagle.
On its back sprouted wings that resembled those of an insect.
"An Aberrant Chimera…?" (Eugene)
It was a grotesque amalgamation of various monsters.
These aberrant chimeras, once created during a past war, are now prohibited from being manufactured.
This was my first time seeing one in person.
So even in the Zenith Tower, aberrant chimeras can make an appearance, huh.
I was still reeling in surprise, but I readied my white katana and addressed my Explorer Badge.
The Floor Boss had appeared.
In that case, I had to declare my challenge.
"Eugene Santafield challenges the Floor Boss—" (Eugene)
It happened then.
"Kyyaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
The Floor Boss let out a screeching cry and attacked the Dungeon Master.
"…Hah?" (Anemoi)
The Dungeon Master had her mouth agape.
(It is this one!!) (Eugene)
A crazed entity that attacked the Club President, who is a mixed with the blood of a Divine Dragon, despite being a dragon.
And now, a monster from the Zenith Tower attacking the Dungeon Master?
Clearly, something abnormal is happening within the Zenith Tower.
But I have to defeat this crazed monster attacking the Dungeon Master first. I dashed toward the monster.