Side Story 4: The Isolated Island 09

Fran defeated the Rank 6 fighter, Kokuto.

We were supposed to have our next match against Rank 5, but that ended up being postponed, as the top rankers had yet to return from the dungeon. Apparently, it was pretty common for the dungeon team to take a day or two longer than expected.

Either way, they’d need at least a day to rest even if they made it back today.

If it meant being able to fight her opponents in peak condition, Fran was more than happy to wait. And since we had nothing better to do, Fran decided to check out the dungeon in the meantime.

A dungeon with only golems did sound rather interesting, after all.

「It’s that rocky mountain?」

「Indeed.」

Old man Gekkou guided us to the dungeon, but it looked so out of place that it was obvious at first glance. There was an enormous mountain sticking out of the forest at the center of the island. The dungeon entrance was at the base of that mountain.

Apparently, there were magical beasts living in this forest, but we didn’t encounter a single one. Probably because Fran and Urushi made no effort to hide their presence. All of them must of sensed us and fled.

The magical beasts of the forest were supposed to be pretty strong too, but they’ll have to wait for now. The dungeon was our current objective.

「That small hut is the reception desk. Anyone is free to enter after registering there.」

「Anyone? Even children?」

「Yes, even children. All who enter become responsible for their own survival.」

W-What a Spartan approach! As expected of an island of warriors!

I shuddered at the thought, but apparently, they gave their children a strict education so that none of them would attempt such reckless challenges. I suppose it comes naturally if the entire island is run under that philosophy.

The registration process was incredibly simple. We gave our names, shook hands with the man at the reception desk, and he let us in. That was all. Apparently, the handshake wasn’t even necessary.

Gekkou and the others sent us off without a hint of concern on their faces. Fran was far stronger than any of them, not to mention an adventurer specialized in exploration. Rather, they repeatedly asked us not to conquer the dungeon.

Wouldn’t it be impossible to conquer a fifty-floor dungeon in a single day, even for someone with a divine sword? Well, maybe we could do it if we used Divine Sword Release and went all out?

Not that we intended to try. Fran was only here to train, after all.

「Hmm, a golem.」

『Just a Wood Golem, huh. Matches the info we got.』

The cave was a single straight corridor about ten meters wide and ten meters high. Apparently, all of the early floors looked like this.

Standing in our way was a humanoid figure made out of wood. About two meters tall, at a glance. The Wood Golem was rather thin and didn’t look particularly strong.

Well, it’s probably intended for beginners. Appraisal showed that it was exactly as it looked, a complete weakling. Its only skill was Fist Mastery Level 1.

『Fran, the enemies around here aren’t worth fighting. Let’s ignore them and go further in.』

「Nn.」

For now, we decided to skip all the floors with Wood Golems, Clay Golems, and Stone Golems. Fran and Urushi sped through the dungeon completely ignoring the enemies along the way.

We ran into a few branching paths as we went deeper, but that didn’t give us much trouble. The floors themselves weren’t very large yet, so any wrong turns only cost us a couple minutes of backtracking.

All in all, it took us about three hours to reach Floor 16. From this point on, we should encounter Bronze Golems, but…

「Found one. A golem made out of metal.」

「Woof!」

『It has Sword Mastery Level 5, Hardening, and Regeneration.』

「I’ll fight it.」

This one had a metal body, decent swordsmanship, and fairly quick movements. I could see it giving lower-ranked adventurers a hard time.

Not that it was any match for Fran though!

「…Let’s go deeper.」

『Yeah, seems like we don’t have much of a choice.』

With our current strength, we could slice through most metals as easily as tofu. Not even an Iron Golem was likely to pose much of a challenge, so we decided to head to Floor 28 in search of a defense-specialized Crystal Golem.

Once again, we raced through the dungeon ignoring any golems we encountered. As expected of a dungeon intended for training martial artists, there were no traps to be seen. The golems never fought in groups either. It seemed specially designed for people to enter alone and fight one-on-one.

Maybe we really can make it to Floor 50 in one day?

Of the several martial artists we saw along the way, even those with a party only sent in one person at a time. I guess the others were there as insurance in case something went wrong.

We continued onward, startling the people we passed, before bumping into someone on the floor just above our destination. This time, however, it was a familiar face.

A young man with pink hair tied into a Japanese-style topknot.

If I remember correctly, his name was Ouri the Rank 46 fighter. I remembered him because we saw his promotion match on our first day here.

And to our surprise, Ouri-kun was facing off against a Crystal Golem with his bare hands.

「Seyaaaaaah!」

「Goorh!」

「Tch!」

It looked like Ouri was trying to grapple and toss the golem, but he wasn’t having much success.

The golem was simply too powerful, and his Grappling skill was a mere Level 3. The difference in strength was apparent. If his goal was to level up his skills, then I think he should practice on a shallower floor.

「Gorh!」

「Gwah!」

Oh man. He got punched by the golem right when he was about to throw it. Seems like a pretty dangerous situation. Guess I’ll intervene.

I activated Telekinesis to twist off the Crystal Golem’s head, causing the mass of crystals to collapse onto the ground. Ouri stood there watching in a daze.

I could have left it to Fran, but he might find it easier to accept the excuse of “the divine sword acted on its own”. That should prevent Fran from becoming the target of possible resentment.

After all, martial artists seemed like the sort who might complain about being saved. Well, if he throws any semblance of a complaint at Fran, I’ll be sure to make him regret it!

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