Volume 3: Chapter 3 - Erina, First Dungeon
A few days later, Erina entered the dungeon equipped with 【Full Steel Armor】, a 【Mithril Tower Shield】, and a 【Steel Mace】.
On the first day, Souka was the only one to accompany her for a while.
「How is it? Isn't it heavy? I wish I could have prepared Mithril Armor, but unfortunately, we don't have any.」
「No, it's totally fine. It's lighter than I thought it would be, and it's easy to move around in!」
Erina said, waving her hands up and down as she held her large shield and mace.
It was quite an extraordinary sight to see her, a small and slender woman, moving around in her heavy full-body armor, swinging a large shield that looked as tall as she was and a mace that looked heavy, so lightly.
「Fufu, it seems that your level-up and skills are working well.」
Souka's mouth twitched at the sight of Erina.
After joining, Erina had been strengthened using the Exp crystals and skill orbs possessed by Valkyries.
Her level has been raised to 6, and her innate skill <Shield Technique> has been ranked up to "R."
In addition, she has learned <Armor Technique UC> and <Hammer Technique UC>.
Her physical abilities have increased as she has leveled up, and thanks to her various skills, she is now able to handle her equipment better.
Although you can still level up if you want to, it is not recommended that you only improve your status without much experience.
Therefore, in most cases, it was common to leave your level at level 6, where two "UC" rank skills could be learned, or around level 4, with one "C" rank.
「Well then, let's move one」
At Souka's command, Souka and Erina boarded the dungeon's transfer circle.
The group entered the grassland area on the first floor and started walking with Erina in the lead.
Soon after, they encountered a slime.
「Don't worry. With Erina's equipment and level, you will not be damaged on this floor.」
「Yes, ma'am.」
Erina replied in that way, but she seemed nervous because it was her first battle.
「Let's see, ...... Erina, try to get into position.」
「What?」
「Don't worry, it's better to be attacked once, on purpose, so you'll feel more secure.」
「......I understand」
Erina took a stance and walked up to the slime, leaving her unprotected.
When the distance between the two was less than one meter, the slime jumped at her.
「Uuhh......!」
She almost prepared her shield in a panic, but she held back and continued to stand.
――Thud!
Erina received a slight shock in the stomach area, but that was all.
It would have been more damaging to drop the pudding on her bare skin.
「See, no big deal, right?」
「Yes!」
「Now, let's kill the slime!」
Erina looked down and saw the slime lying on the ground.
「Eeyy!」
Erina shouted and swung her mace down.
The slime crumbled with a crunching sound and soon disappeared, leaving behind a cube of gel and a small crystal.
「Congratulations on your first victory」
Souka clapped her hands.
「Ehehe...... um, thank you very much」
I wonder how many years it has been since I have been praised by someone.
Erina thanked Souka with a look of dread on her face as she thought of this.
After that, she encountered the slime several times.
From the second time on, she first used her shield to catch the enemy's body blows and then used her mace to smash them.
Through the shield, she doesn't feel any impact at all, but she can still tell when an enemy hits her, probably because of her skill.
The first-level boss, the Horned Rabbit, was also easily defeated by Erina alone.
As with the slime, she simply repelled the rush with her shield and struck with her mace when a gap appeared.
Erina did not even break her posture when the Horned Rabbit, which boasts of being as big as a large dog, charged at her.
Although the Horned Rabbit is in the form of a rabbit, it is quite huge and has vicious horns and appearance, so killing it is not that much of an aversion. Erina also appreciated the fact that the corpse would disappear.
「All right, that's about as good as it gets on the first day.」
Erina thought she could go on, but she followed Souka's words and left the dungeon.
And when she arrived back at the party house and took a break from removing her equipment, she felt surprisingly heavy.
「How is it? Much more tired than you thought, right?」
「Yes...... it seems so」
At Souka's words, Erina nodded, her shoulders slumped.
「It's hard to know how you're feeling when you're in a tense state. That's why it's a basic rule of the exploration to round up while there's still time.」
「Oh, now that you mention it, it's written in the "Guide" ....... I'll keep that in mind.」
For a while after that, Erina proceeded with her exploration under the supervision of Souka.
She proceeded one floor a day and increased her exploration time by taking detours as the days went by.
By doing so, she developed her basic physical and mental abilities and stamina without relying on her status.
During this time, of course, her level increased.
The Exp required to level up can be obtained by winning battles without using crystals.
It is said that the exp gained in battle and the exp gained as crystals are equal.
However, the exp gained in battle is allocated according to the contribution of the participating party members.
「In other words, Souka-san receives almost no Exp?」
「That's right. I'm just watching, even though I'm nearby, so it's probably only a few percent of the total.」
「I see. ......」
Erina felt kind of bad that very little exp was allocated to Souka, who was accompanying her for safety reasons.
「What, the exp you get from the monsters around here, even if you get 100 percent of it, it's not much for me. So don't look so apologetic.」
For Souka, who is already over level 40, the exp at the lower floors is nothing to help her level up.
「Rather than that, it's more of a blessing for us that you're getting stronger now.」
「I understand.」
By the way, the other party members, Yui and Yumi, are still newcomers and are diving around the 15th floor to train.
Although they were the same party members, they were too far apart to allocate exp from each other's battles.
After that, the exploration continued smoothly, and they finally reached the boss area on the 5th Floor.
「Gegyagegya!」
A goblin appeared before Erina.
It was the first humanoid monster she had encountered.
「Now, come at me!」
She provoked it by slamming her shield with her mace.
「Gegigiii!」
The goblin, looking a little angry, raises its club and rushes forward.
Erina looks at it with a calm gaze and readies her shield.
「Gegyaaahh!」
The goblin that approached Erina swings down its club.
BAM! After that sound, the enemy whose attack is repelled lost its balance and staggered.
「Haaahhhh!」
Erina took a large step forward and swung her mace down.
The goblin's head was crushed and it fell helplessly.
「Haaah ...... haaah ......」
Erina remained poised and looked down at the fallen goblin.
Its body convulsed several times, then vanished, leaving behind crystal and flimsy bones.
「Phew......」
Convinced of her victory, she released her stance and exhaled loudly.
「How are you feeling?」
Turning around at the sound of Souka's voice behind her, Erina smiled a little awkwardly.
「I'm fine.」
Apparently, she was ready to be an explorer.
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