Ossan Saikyō Chapter 10 Part 02
The following morning, we informed Mariane at the Guild that we'd be spending the next 3 days conquering the dungeon, then headed for the D-Rank dungeon.
Our party was already C-Rank, so technically this dungeon was beneath us. Still, it was a 15 floor deep dungeon that had stopped countless adventurers in their tracks. There was no reason to let our guard down.
About an hour and a half's run from Euron, the dungeon stood atop a low hill.
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a giant sinkhole in the ground, but one side had been carved into a staircase, allowing people to descend into its depths.
“Everyone ready? We'll only be going to the 5th underground floor today. We've got plenty of time, so let's take it slow.”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
“You mean don't get careless? Got it.”
“I think the most important thing is not to be overconfident. Let's do our best.”
After confirming that everyone was on the same page, we descended to the 1st underground floor.
The first monsters to appear were Hobgoblins.
They were essentially oversized goblins, but at nearly 2 meters tall, they were an entirely different breed. At least they were only armed with clubs.
Thanks to Rani's【Jinx】, around 15 of them appeared at once, but Freynil and Sphenia's opening spells immediately cut their numbers in half, so they posed no real threat.
Collecting their livers, apparently used as medicinal ingredients, we continued down to the 3rd underground floor.
From the 3rd underground floor onward, Assault Tigers appeared again, also in groups of around 15.
The opening barrage of magic was just as effective here, and Rani absolutely overwhelmed them with her speed, carving through tiger after tiger until I barely had anything left to do.
Their pelts were mainly used to make carpets.
On the 5th underground floor, Bear Wolves, the former F-Rank dungeon boss, began appearing in packs of up to 7.
As always, three or so were wiped out immediately by our opening attacks.
Rani handled one, while I obliterated the rest with single blows.
Their meat was considered a somewhat high quality ingredient that even inns served.
Since every monster we had encountered relied on close range physical attacks, we reached the mid-Boss room without any real danger.
“The Boss is a Minotaur. If we handle it the same way as before, we shouldn't have any problems.”
“Hope it's a rare Boss!”
Listening to Rani's carefree comment, I pushed open the door.
The amount of black mist was normal.
When it cleared, a single Armored Minotaur stood before us.
Looks like we'd successfully rolled the rare boss.
GROOOAAAH!
The Armored Minotaur let out a mighty roar...
Only to be weakened by Freynil's «Divine Glory», frozen in place by Sphenia's《White Heron Arrow》, and finished off by a single slash across the neck from Rani.
Well... it was a lower ranked dungeon, but that felt almost unfair.
Then again, I probably would've killed it in one hit too.
“Oh, the treasure chest is a different color.”
Just as Rani said, the chest that appeared was silver.
Apparently it was a rare treasure chest.
“It's Fray's turn. Go ahead and open it.”
“Yes. I'll try.”
Freynil lifted the lid.
The chest quietly faded away, leaving behind an exquisitely crafted glass vial filled with potion.
“Huh? It's not equipment. That's disappointing.”
Rani pouted, but Sphenia shook her head.
“No, it may be worth even more than equipment. I believe this is an《Elixir》. The highest-grade potion capable of curing every condition except death.”
“An Elixir...? The same medicine that even the Aashram Church keeps as one of its greatest treasures?”
Freynil asked.
Sphenia nodded.
“It wouldn't be surprising. Depending on the circumstances, it would likely fetch no less than 50 million Rom at an auction. I'm amazed one could appear in a D-Rank dungeon...”
Elixirs were familiar items from games, but if they really existed, they'd naturally be worth a fortune.
Anyone in power would desperately want one.
“Well, since we've got it, let's not sell it. We'll keep it as our party's last resort. It'd probably be best if nobody knew we had it.”
“I agree. If word got out that we had something like that, every shady person around would come after us.”
Rani had a point.
Once I stored the Elixir inside my【Item Box】, the three girls all looked noticeably relieved.
Still, if this really was because of my【Bad Luck】...
Then I possessed an even more ridiculous skill than I'd imagined.
Our party certainly never lacked things that had to be kept secret.
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“Hey, Soushi. Don't you think it's about time our party had a name?”
That evening, after pitching our tents in the safe zone and sitting around eating dinner, Rani suddenly brought it up.
“I agree. I think it should be a name that reflects Soushi-sama's power.”
“Come to think of it, I'd never heard your party's name. So you really didn't have one.”
Ignoring Freynil's reasoning for the moment, I'd actually been thinking about it myself.
Still, naming our own party just felt embarrassingly cringeworthy for an old man like me.
“If any of you have good ideas, let's hear them. I'm terrible at this sort of thing.”
“Ehh? Usually the leader throws out the first suggestion. But if you insist... How about〈Wolf Pack〉? Sounds cool, doesn't it?”
“I think...〈Lord Soushi's Guidance〉would be nice.”
“Let's see... How about〈Saul〉? It's the name of an ancient god of strength who wielded a great hammer. I think it suits your image, Soushi.”
All three offered completely different ideas.
Freynil's suggestion obviously couldn't be used as it was.
〈Wolf Pack〉certainly sounded cool, but it didn't really fit a party made up mostly of girls.
As for〈Saul〉...
I'd heard that name in my previous life too.
(E/N: Apologies for the interruption but the katakana for Saul is ソール, which is how "Thor" is written for in MCU lore by the Japanese. トール is actually how "Thor" is written in Japanese literature, referring to the God of Thunder. That's why Ossan says he had heard of the name. But when transliterated, ソール is written in English as Sool or Saul or Saur.)
Using a God's name directly somehow felt disrespectful.
“〈Wolf Pack〉is a good name, but it doesn't suit a party with so many girls. And personally, I'd rather avoid using a God's name directly. How about〈Saul's Guidance〉instead?”
“I guess wolves don't really fit Fray or Sphenia.〈Saul's Guidance〉sounds good to me.”
“So Soushi-sama is the reincarnation of Saul-sama. I think it's wonderful.”
“I agree, I too think it's a lovely name.”
Freynil's interpretation was... slightly concerning.
Still, hopefully the Gods would overlook a little misunderstanding.
“Alright then. From now on, our party will be called〈Saul's Guidance〉.”
It was a relief to finally settle something that had been hanging over us.
Now we could focus completely on tomorrow's dungeon exploration.
◇◆◇
The next day, we once again descended to the 6th underground floor before any other parties.
The first monsters we encountered were High Orcs.
They were a superior species of the Orcs we'd fought before, noticeably larger and wielding single edged battle axes.
About 10 appeared at a time, but they couldn't keep up with Rani's speed in the slightest.
Their drop was a large block of meat.
If you ignored the fact that it came from a humanoid, it looked remarkably similar to delicious pork.
From the 8th underground floor onward, Iron Lizards began appearing.
They were superior versions of the Rock Lizards we'd fought before, boasting incredibly tough hides.
Unfortunately for them...
Against my mace, they were no sturdier than paper.
Rani's【Sever】and Sphenia's【Pierce】had needed some effort to get through, so they certainly weren't fragile monsters.
Their material drop was iron ore, which was apparently pure enough to be used directly as iron.
On the 10th underground floor, Hunter Hawks appeared.
These bird type monsters were troublesome thanks to their high speed diving attacks, especially since they deliberately targeted Freynil and Sphenia in the back line.
Fortunately, once Freynil erected a «Barrier», they simply crashed into it and knocked themselves out.
It was reassuring to see how much stronger her【Barrier Magic】had become.
Their drop was bird meat.
Unlike the orcs, this one looked genuinely delicious.
With that, we entered the second mid-Boss room on the 10th underground floor.
“Aw... it's just the normal one.”
Just as Rani said, the Boss that appeared was the standard Gigant Tortoise.
Its shell alone measured nearly 10 meters across.
Its bite was dangerous enough, but its true threat was undoubtedly the full force charge of its massive body.
Even after Freynil weakened it with «Divine Halo», its shell remained incredibly durable.
However...
The moment it lunged at me to bite...
I countered with a single swing.
Its head disappeared.
Needless to say, an awkward silence followed until Sphenia finally broke it.
“T-That truly was akin to Saul's Strike!”
The treasure chest was opened by Sphenia.
Inside was a golden circlet.
After trying it on, she said she could feel her concentration improving.
Its effect was confirmed to be『Concentration +1』.
“I already have a ring with the same effect, so I think Fray should wear it instead.”
With everyone's agreement, the circlet went to Freynil.
Once Freynil put on the golden circlet, she looked every bit like a princess.
...Then again, she really had once been a girl who might have become one.
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E/N:
From Ossan's increasing OPness to Fray-chan's absurd obsession with him… There's a lot to say but I'll stop.
Anyway, hope y'all like the party name, Saul's Guidance. I wanted to go for Saul's Odyssey but well, that's hyperbole!
Stay tuned!
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