Chapter 248

Having taken a short rest, Leah seemed to have completely returned to normal.

So after confirming she was alright with dispel magic, everyone left the room where Jeanne had fought.

Then all four doors that had been placed turned to dust and disappeared, leaving only the door leading to the enormous boss.

"--With this, this long dungeon is finally coming to an end."

"The last part was so tough I thought I'd go crazy, but everyone got results that made it worth it."

"Of course. First, everyone here has grown to level 50 or above."

"Plus, we got skills that we might not have been able to get anywhere else."

"And we secured lots of materials!"

"Peewee"

"Neigh"

Everyone gazed at the last large door while feeling satisfied that they had obtained powerful abilities different from when they first entered.

"--Well then"

"Yeah"

"Peewee"

"Neigh"

"Yes indeed"

"Yes!"

"Yes sir~"

Everyone with the same feeling moved forward-- first, they turned on their heels.

[Heyyyy!? Everyone, why aren't you going? Right now is when you're supposed to go based on the atmosphere!?]

"Don't be stupid. The next fight is the boss battle. And the opponent is a dragon."

[So you're turning back out of fear?]

"Fufu. You're naive, Dungeon-chan."

[--!? This is the first time I've been called with -chan!]

Tatsuro was exhausted by the Dungeon's unexpected joy at this.

"No. Don't focus on that...... Of course, we've come this far. We're definitely going to challenge it until the end."

[Then?]

"Obviously we're taking a break here. Just what have you been observing about us? Dungeon-chan--"

[.................Come to think of it. You always lingered around wherever you could talk with me.]

"That's right. Besides, Leah seems to have used up quite a few weapons in the previous boss battle. We need to replenish those, and since it's a dragon after all. We want to prepare perfectly so we can strip it bare down to the bones."

[It's a child that could destroy countries though. When you say it, it sounds like you could actually do it, I feel sorry for that child! This is their first battle since becoming a level 10 dungeon too.]

"Well, we're risking our lives to challenge it, so you'll have to put up with that. And actually, there's something I want to ask."

[? No monsters will appear here? I told you that before, right?]

"Yeah. I heard that so it's something else. You. The allocation of all the bosses until now. You decided after seeing our composition, right?"

[Oh my. Was I found out?]

"And you also upgraded and tweaked their skill compositions a bit specifically for us, didn't you?"

[Well, I didn't do anything too elaborate, but I did make some adjustments.]

"I knew it"

From the fact that no monsters were waiting when they first entered the room, Tatsuro had thought this might be the case.

And all the monsters having skill compositions that couldn't be affected by [Level Eater], plus hearing about the monsters Cardina and others encountered, he couldn't help but think they were meant to make them struggle.

[But, please forgive me for that. Those children also wanted to have a proper fight to send them off at the very end. Besides, they were monsters that would help you grow too, right?]

"Well yeah, so I'm not angry. I just wanted to confirm it, that's all."

[Then that's good. Besides, I'm glad it was you all who defeated those children.]

"Glad? What do you mean?"

[You see... If it wasn't for people like you with outstanding individual abilities who cleared this, Challengers would probably form many large groups and come flooding in here. I absolutely refuse to hand over my cute children's souls split into pieces to people who would overwhelm them with sheer numbers.]

"I see"

[That's right. Also, I thought you all wouldn't die in trivial places and would live for a loooong time. So those children could also enjoy the outside world for a very long time.]

"Well, even though we're just human races, we're still young. We don't know if we can live up to your expectations, but we don't plan on dying early. You can count on us for that."

[Yes. So, do you have any other questions?]

"Nope. Thanks for talking with us about various things."

[Thank you too. Well then, until you leave here--]

And so the conversation with the Dungeon ended.

The first thing Tatsuro and others did after ending the conversation was to set up their house and have meals and rest for a day.

Then from the next day, they spent busy days helping Leah and such.

They spent about twenty days thoroughly preparing, perfectly completing the replenishment of Leah's consumable weapons, and adjusting and repairing Tatsuro and others' weapons and armor.

In their spare time, they even trained their new skills and existing skills, not neglecting to improve their techniques.

They had confidence that they had done all the preparation they could.

The opponent was a dragon. And probably a high-ranking one at that. If they overestimated their own power, they might face harsh consequences.

Everyone had firmly reminded themselves of such cautiousness, so there was no conceit.

All that's left is to go all out to take it down.

"So, after today's meeting, everyone should rest well. Then tomorrow, let's challenge it in a state where we can perform perfectly."

Tatsuro could see everyone nodding together as they sat in their respective chairs in the living room.

So Tatsuro started talking about how to deal with the boss dragon for final confirmation.

"First. What I want to do most this time is to give everyone the [Dragon Slayer] Title. So if possible, I want everyone to deliver the final blow together."

"That means those of us who already have that title, me and Tatsuro, right?"

"Yeah. There's meaning for us too, Leah."

Here Tatsuro turned his gaze to Leah who was sitting next to Nana on the left side of the circular table, and she quietly nodded in affirmation.

"Yes. By stacking the [Dragon Slayer] skill, we should be able to add + values."

"So that's why I want everyone to remember to do it together if possible. If we can do that, we can increase dragon power with dragon meat, and everyone should be able to get stronger."

"That's exciting~"

Athena, still full of ambition to reach greater heights, was already burning with fighting spirit for the yet unseen dragon.

Since Jeanne scolded her that it was too early for that, Tatsuro moved on to the next topic after Athena returned to her normal state.

"Next, if possible this time-- with that caveat, I want to defeat it by only absorbing its skill levels without absorbing its body level."

"To get massive experience points and secure more high-grade materials, right?"

"That's right. When we killed the dragon with Ai, Cardina, and I, when we made it level 1, the quality of materials dropped too. This time we have a chance to get a large amount of high-level dragon materials. Along with the experience points, I want to aim for that if possible."

"The level adjustment of dragon meat works better with higher base levels too."

"Yeah. That's another reason. Of course, if it seems impossible, I plan to take everything, so don't worry."

"Life takes priority!"

"Yeah. That's the most important thing."

While saying this, Tatsuro reached out his hand to pat Nana's head who was sitting a bit away.

"Also if they have self-healing abilities. If possible, I'd like to harvest fangs and scales during battle."

"And when it heals, harvest again. You're a demon!"

"Well, that's only if we really have room to spare, so just keep it in mind as a possibility."

Even level 1 dragon materials were quite useful, so he just couldn't completely give up the desire to get lots of higher-level materials if possible.

Having finished explaining the overview, he now moved on to more detailed content.

"The first thing we'll do is have Leah expose all its skill composition."

"If we understand the opponent's skill composition, we'll naturally understand how to deal with it. Leave that to me."

"And while Leah-chan is observing, we'll handle the dragon and guard her."

"Yeah. Until we completely reveal the opponent's hand, it's probably safer to just harass it from afar with light attacks."

"After we understand, we start counterattacking. During that time, Father will absorb skill levels with [Level Eater]. When the levels are gone, everyone beats it up-- that's the flow."

"But there might be skills without levels too, so we should be careful about that."

"Of course. Depending on the level, if there are too dangerous skills we might need to consider ending it early. Also what I predict is, this dungeon hasn't had a single floor without water from start to finish. So it probably has some water-related skills. Or I think there's a high chance the battle will be in a field where water spreads."

"That means it could be bad footing for us and advantageous for the opponent. Actually, the place where Jeanne fought was like a water tank filled with seawater, right?"

"Neigh"

Jeanne, in her [Child Form], cutely nodded while sitting in her chair as if affirming.

"Jeanne is big and has physical strength so it probably wasn't much of a problem, but it would be hard to move for the other members without flight-type skills."

"We might not have the luxury of creating footing while fighting a dragon either."

"If that happens we'll have to float platforms in advance. Does anyone else have anything they're concerned about?"

Saying this, Tatsuro looked around at everyone's faces, but no one seemed to have any particular concerns.

Of course, they wouldn't have concerns when they only had vague information that it was probably a strong dragon, so Tatsuro ended this discussion here.

After that, they faded into detailed talk and casual conversation and decided it was about time to wrap up the meeting.

"Well then. Tomorrow is finally the final battle of this dungeon. As I've said many times, I want you to absolutely prioritize your own life and your companions' lives. So when it's dangerous, don't hesitate to use the return stone immediately."

Looking around at everyone again, they all faced him with straight gazes and nodded clearly.

Tatsuro nodded back at that, making it the final closing.

"Tomorrow we'll depart after having breakfast and taking a short break. Until then, make sure you're in perfect condition physically and mentally. That's all, dismissed."

And so, they each scattered to their most relaxing places, and Tatsuro and Ai decided to flirt together in their room to get their mental state into the best condition as well.