Bending down, he picked up the fifteenth magic stone that glowed with a faint purple light.
Zyhark weighed it in his hand.
That fingernail-sized, feather-light weight made him purse his lips.
"tsk tsk, a Goblin's magic stone is worth only 100 valis."
The complaint sounded casual.
But his gaze fell on Yukino ahead, who had just dispatched a "goblin" with ease.
Yukino's breathing was steady, her cloak still immaculate.
"That said, we've farmed several waves this run, haven't we?"
"Counting the magic stones."
"And those two drop items, 'Goblin's Tooth' and 'Gremlin Claw.'"
"In total… seems a little over three thousand valis."
"On the first floor, monsters are weak, the respawn is slow, and the cost-performance is low."
He took a few steps to draw level with Yukino, walking at her side, turning his head to take in her cool profile.
He made a suggestion:
"Why don't we call it for today?"
"For a first dive, this result is already pretty good."
"Let's go back and update your Falna, see how you grew."
"Tomorrow we head straight to the next floor—efficiency might go way up."
At his words, Yukino's azure eyes slid to him, calm and faint.
Her longsword traced a little flourish, as if shaking off some invisible drag.
Then her clear, cold voice cut with its usual sharpness:
"Already fretting over such a trivial amount of funds?"
"It seems your adaptability isn't quite as effortless as you make it look."
"Or did you expect me to be like heroes in fairy tales—"
"Raking in gold from day one?"
Zyhark shook his head:
"That's not it; I'm saying we should end today's adventure here!"
Yukino's stride never faltered; she said nothing.
After passing several forks, before they knew it they'd reached the far end.
Her eyes went to the stairwell leading down, her tone carrying a touch of decision:
"Fights of this level aren't even qualified to make me get serious."
"Rather than wasting time here, waiting for monsters to 'grant' us their slow respawns—"
"Let's go below and see."
"Perhaps deeper floors will offer challenges and rewards that meet my expectations."
With that—
Leaving Zyhark no room to dissuade her, she strode straight for the stairs to the second floor.
"Hey, hey, that decisiveness… really makes a god both love and hate you."
Zyhark hurried after her.
The corner of his mouth lifted into a teasing arc.
"But…"
"Seeing you so fired up, even I, as the patron god, feel embarrassed to slack off."
"Guess I should start considering the likelihood of being kept by you in the future?"
Yukino didn't look back; her venom lanced cleanly through the air:
"If you could spend that wagging tongue on thinking how to run our Familia effectively—"
"Or at least plot out a more efficient route, I imagine our situation would improve much faster."
"Also."
"The prerequisite for being 'kept' is to possess potential worth investing in, or at least viewing value."
"Other than that face which might deceive ignorant girls—"
"What else do you have?"
Zyhark wasn't annoyed at the jab.
He chuckled, a bit roguish:
"Don't make it sound so harsh."
"Look at you—such delicate brows and eyes, yet the words are so sharp."
"I bestowed you power to fight monsters; isn't a Familia member keeping her patron god only natural?"
"And my greatest edge is probably a keen nose for treasure."
"And… skin thick enough?"
"Doesn't that count as a unique talent?"
Half jest, half truth.
While self-deprecating, it neatly dodged the substantive question.
"Hmph, keen nose? I'm more inclined to call it a blind cat finding a dead mouse."
"Or merely a vile joke of fate."
Yukino snorted coldly; their bickering didn't slow her steps at all.
In the dim, silent corridor, their footfalls thudded over packed earth.
Trading their usual barbs, they stepped onto the second floor.
The second floor resembled the first, but the pale-blue rock walls were rougher.
The space seemed a bit more open.
In addition to the familiar goblins and gremlins,
Dungeon Lizards began to crawl along the walls, and Needle Rabbits with powerful leaps appeared.
However—
Before Yukino in full form, they were paper-thin.
She didn't even need to chant again.
Relying only on that longsword still wreathed in a trace of lingering chill,
And the physical boost from the Falna,
Yukino moved like an ice dancer, weaving freely among the mobs.
Sword light flashed—precise and efficient.
Dungeon Lizards were hewn in two.
Needle Rabbits, before they could spring, were cut down by a blade that arrived in an instant.
The battles ended without a sound.
Only the light clinks of falling magic stones proved they'd existed.
Zyhark followed behind, mainly gathering the spoils.
Watching Yukino's ease—and that appraising poise as she evaluated her own forms—
The last bit of worry he'd had about her adaptability dissipated.
Drawing on memories of the original work, Zyhark knew the first three floors, for a talented newcomer,
Weren't that dangerous so long as you didn't overextend.
"Looks like my intuition really was right this time."
He murmured, the corner of his mouth lifting.
Second-floor take came to roughly 2,500 valis.
When they reached the passage down to the third floor,
Yukino paused a fraction.
Sensing no particularly dangerous presence below,
She moved downward again.
This time, Zyhark didn't try to stop her.
He simply followed in silence, assessing:
"The third floor is mainly Kobolds."
"Stronger than goblins, but with what she's shown, there shouldn't be an issue."
Sure enough—
On the third floor, the Kobolds still couldn't trouble Yukino's blade.
Her swordwork seemed to fine-tune itself in real combat, growing ever more concise and efficient.
On this floor,
They collected around 2,800 valis in stones and materials.
Standing before the mouth of the tunnel to the fourth floor—its damp reek heavier—
Zyhark gave a reminder based on memory, his tone turning a shade more serious:
"Starting on the fourth floor, there's a monster called 'Frog Shooter.'"
"They're good at ranged attacks; their tongues strike fast, with stickiness and a faint corrosiveness."
"Be careful—don't get blindsided."
Yukino nodded.
Her face didn't change much, but the focus in her eyes said she'd taken it in.
She adjusted her breath,
Gripped her sword again, and took the lead down.
To avoid running into other adventurers, and to cut needless trouble,
Zyhark trusted his gut
And guided Yukino along a relatively out-of-the-way, unofficial route.
All the way, it was quiet—only their footsteps.
Not long after entering the fourth floor,
They met their first Frog Shooter in a larger cavity.
The monster hid high on a dim rock dome, gills swelling.
With a snap, it spat a scarlet tongue like a whip at Yukino's neck!
However—
Yukino was faster!
As if she'd sensed it early from the flow of air and the faintest sound,
She slipped lightly aside, her sword sweeping up from below!
Shiiing—
The blade flashed.
That disgusting length of tongue was cut clean, still writhing where it fell.
Wounded, the Frog Shooter tried to leap away, but Yukino was already upon it like a ghost.
Her point struck true; the body collapsed into black ash.
"Looks like 'trouble' is only a relative term."
Sword sheathed, Yukino stood calm, voice flat.
Zyhark caught a flicker of approval in her eyes.
He was just about to answer with a smile—
Something like, "In the face of your absolute strength, any trouble auto-downgrades to a small trouble."
However—
"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!!!"
A bellow, thick with feral brutality, thundered like a bomb blast.
It erupted from deeper within a larger hole on the far side of the chamber!
That shocking roar rolled out with a suffocating pressure.
Zyhark knit his brows.
This sound…
That signature roar…
In his mind,
Scenes from the original work flashed.
The raging bull that had chased the original protagonist into a miserable scramble!
A Minotaur—its latent potential at Lv.2!
…
…
(End of Chapter)
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