When our group descended to the 36th Floor, we heard a cry from the distance.
âWoof, woof, woof!â
It was getting closer.
âWoof, woof, WOOF!â
A pack of dogs appeared. They looked like giant Doberman dogs about the size of Fer.
âArenât those Black Dogs?â
[8]
Black Dogs. I heard about them from [Pentagram]. According to the party members, these Black Dogs are a pain to deal with.
Fatima said, âThe most annoying thing about the 36th Floor had to be the Black Dogs.â
âGolems might be stronger,â begin Alek.
âBut theyâre slow enough so we can escape if it looks like we canât deal with them,â continued Axel.
âOgres are a bit faster and we do get overwhelmed by numbers if weâre not careful.â
âSo long as we pay attention, we can still escape with our lives.â
âHowever,â all of them agreed, âitâs impossible to run away from Black Dogs.â
Then, Aldemira-san added darkly, âBlack Dogs can use magic, you know? They can increase their agility with Wind Magic.â
âThe higher ranking ones could even inflict Panic through their howls,â muttered Fatima-san.
âAfter expanding a lot of energy fighting Golems and Ogres, no one has the stamina left to deal with agile and persistent Black Dogs. You either kill them or you die.â
Samuel the Dwarf sounded especially bitter. It sounded like he had a grudge against these Black Dogs.
[8]
âHey, are you fine against Black Dogs?â I asked, a little spooked from remembering all the information from [Pentagram].
âHumph, do you think weâd fall to those stupid dogs?â
Then, Fer breathed in deeply and⌠roared at the group of growling Black Dogs.
âW-wannnânnâŚâ
The large group of Black Dogs whimpered and flinched.
A short while laterâŚ
âWoof! Woof! Wooof!!â
The Black Dogs were roaring and barking at us again.
âHumph, looks like these idiots donât realise the difference in our strength, typical dogs.â
Fer snorted dismissively as he lifted a forepaw.
Slashâ!
Black Dogs fell apart and died in an instant. When their bodies disappeared, small magic stones were left behind.
âLooks like the information we got from [Pentagram] is good,â [9] I said as we collected the stones. We also picked up a piece of skin.
[6] Skin drops from Black Dogs were pretty rare, but they were favoured as armour. Adventurers hated fighting Black Dogs due to their tough skins, but love using their tough skins for armour.
Just as we were almost done picking up the Drops, another howl reverberated through the dungeon.
[5a] ââI swear, they are as persistent as those annoying monkeys,ââ muttered Dora-chan as he flexed his wings, clearly ready to rumble.
By âannoying monkeysâ, I expect he meant the Black Baboons? Aaarghh, that just brought back memories of a red tornadoâŚ
[6] Iâm glad that bodies in a dungeon just disappear.
âWhatever, theyâre boring. Just take them out quickly and leave,â ordered Fer.
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ââArrgh, just die! Just die!ââ
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Dora-chanâs Ice Spears stabbed relentlessly into wave after wave of dogs.
ââSui will defeat you!!ââ
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Black Dogs taken down by Acid Bullets flopped to the floor in gruesome puddles, but thankfully disappeared soon after.
The fight was mostly done by Sui and Dora-chan with the occasional Claw Slash from a clearly bored Fer.
âWoah, even skipping the rooms did nothing to increase our pace,â I said, hoping to distract myself from the endless slaughter.
ââAnnoying! Annoying!ââ
âMuuuâŚâ
ââYay! Pew! Pew! Pew~!ââ
[9]
âHey, um, Fer?â I said, making conversation with Fer should be more acceptable than looking at all the bloody slaughter. âI heard that high-ranking Black Dogs could cast magic?â
âUmu, so what? Didnât I tell you that it wonât work on us due to the Blessings?â
âY-yeah, I know that. Iâm just asking.â
âMu, fine, Black Dogs could cast Panic and Blindness spellsâŚâ
âWait, what? Blindness spells?!â
âBlindness could only be cast by the really high-ranking ones,â said Fer boredly. âHowever, since itâs also an abnormal condition, it doesnât work on us.â
[5b]
âI see,â
ââHere I go!!ââ
Ah, Sui had just charged into the Boss Room⌠[5b]
Multiple pew pew pews!!! was followed by Suiâs cheers.
â⌠âŚâ
[5b]
ââYouâre the last one~! Sui will destroy you~!ââ
I peeked inside to see the largest Black Dog thus far rushing at Sui. It received a large Acid Bullet to the face and⌠the head of the huge dog just⌠disappeared. [5]
ââYay~! Sui defeated you~!ââ
Sui was bouncing around happily in the corpse-filled room that quickly (and thankfully) became a Drop filled room.
[5b]
My cute SuiâŚ
Why do you have to be so violent�
Still, when Sui brought the magic stones and skins over, I patted her and said, âGood job, Sui.â
Ah, the way she trembled with happiness is so cuteâŚ
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The next floor is, of course, the 37th Floor.
The other party with the S and A Rankers were presumably on the same floor too. According to [Pentagram] those guys were pretty prideful. [10] The guy who lost his arm to the Ogre had been a bit vague on the details on the 37th floor. I get the impression that the elite party was a bit snooty, but, well, the dungeon floor was pretty wide, so hopefully we wonât meet them.
When I say wide, I meanâŚ
âThis is really, really spaciousâŚâ
[11] It was one thing to hear from [Pentagram] that the corridors alone were four or five times wider than the already wide Brixt dungeon corridors. The ceiling was so high it felt almost like being in a cathedral with all these stone walls than a mere featureless passageway.
As for monstersâŚ
Well, the [Pentagram] people said they tried to get some information on monsters from the 37th Floor, but there was nothing in the older records. Also, the party leader from the elite team just snootily said, âWho would share important like that?â at them when asked.
In short, âWe have no idea whatâs coming, so please be carefulâŚâ
âI know whatâs coming,â said Fer.
âEh? You do?â
âUmu, I can recognise their smell. Itâsââ
Gumooooooo!!!
An echoing roar.
Followed byâŚ
âMinotaurs? Wait, arenât these Minotaurs a bit too big?!â
Indeed, a Minotaur-like creature with a gigantic axe as befitting their huge body was stomping toward us.
When I used [Appraise] on itâŚ
[Gigantic Minotaur]
Larger species of Minotaur, S Rank monster. Meat has a good amount of marbling, very delicious.
âFuhahahaha! Looks like meat has finally appeared! Dora, Sui, that thing is delicious!â
ââWhat seriously? Awesome!!ââ
ââMeat~ meat~ Sui likes meat~âŞââ
Sui was⌠bouncing around and singingâŚ
âFufufu, you know what to do, yes?â
ââOf course!ââ
ââYes~âŞââ
âWait, you guys, donât tell meââ
âLetâs hunt them all!!â
ââHyaaahahahah!!ââ
ââMeat~~âŞââ
[5]
[Gumihou: Deleted Mukoudaâs surprised-pikachu-face reaction at Suiâs activities. Like, come onâŚ]
[1] Structural Change: Combine 2 paragraphs
[2] Structural Change: Combine 3 paragraphs
[3] Structural Change: Combine paragraph & dialogue
[4] Structural Change: Change passive sentence to dialogue
[5] Delete Repetitive or Pointless Information⌠starting to delete pointless scenes now
[a] Deleted more, they are persistent etc to Dora-chanâs they are as annoying as Black Baboons
[b] Deleted OMGâ!! Sooo much worryy for Sui!! Chase after Sui into the Boss Room!!
[6] Additional Information for Aesthetic Purpose
[7] Add Dialogue Tag
[8] Creative Licence Taken â Give out the information in a more natural way.
[9] Adjust so exposition, dialogue and action happened simultaneously and naturally.
[10] Adjusted text so that itâs more than just âwe dun have info, they too proudâ and give a reasonable reason why [Pentagram] have limited information on the 37th floor.
[11] More detail beyond, âlike itâs wide, really wide!!â