ZAP – Chapter 75: Eugene challenges the Zenith Tower

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“This is Floor 101 of the Zenith Tower…” (Sumire)

“It is true that the air here is different.” (Sara)

Sumire and Sara look around the dungeon with a serious expression. 

By the way, I was interrogated about what happened last night with Eri inside the dungeon elevator. 

In the end, I was freed with the condition: ‘You will be doing the same with us!’. 

…Will my stamina hold on? 

I was thinking that as my eyes were stolen by the scenery of Floor 101. 

Floor 99 was filled up with many monsters, so Floor 101 looks silent in comparison. 

There’s a number of big buildings deep in the green prairie.

The buildings were tattered even when seen from afar. Basically, ruins. 

—A city where a single civilization fell. 

That’s the impression it gave me. 

(From here on…it is the real Last Dungeon…) (Eugene)

That’s what Eri told me. 

It is from Floor 101 that the real deal of the Zenith Tower begins.

I couldn’t help but get excited when told that. 

“L-Look! Someone’s there!” (Sumire)

Sara and I look in the direction Sumire pointed at. 

There was a living being there standing on two legs like a human, but their skin is green which is clearly different from that of a human. 

It seems to have noticed us, but isn’t saying anything and just staring at us.

(……That’s…) (Eugene)

I remember one of the warnings from the Angel Rita-san before coming to Floor 101. 

“Dungeon Folk!!” (Sara)

Sara hurriedly took a stance with her Holy Sword. 

“Calm down, Sara. They won’t attack unless we do.” (Eugene)

“…Really?” (Sara)

“It is staring at us the whole time. It is a bit scary…” (Sumire)

Sara was still on guard and Sumire hid behind me.

The Dungeon Folk, who is slightly taller than me, stared at us for a while, and then disappeared deep into the ruins without saying anything.

“Alright, it is fine now.” (Eugene)

“Hey, Eugene-kun, what are Dungeon Folk? Are they not monsters?” (Sumire)

Sumire asked. 

You don’t learn about Floor 101 and on in the Normal Department. 

You are apparently taught in the Legendary Hero Department that Sara is in though. 

Because of that, Sumire and I have to learn about it by ourselves. 

“Sumire, from Floor 101 and on, you can’t use the Resurrection Drop, so you can’t come back to life when you die. I explained that to you, right?” (Eugene)

“Y-Yeah.” (Sumire)

“Sumire-chan, the shadow of a dead explorer…is what a Dungeon Folk is.” (Sara)

“……Eh?” (Sumire)

Sumire froze at the words of Sara. 

“They are normally treated like undead. They don’t age, and continue serving for the sake of the Zenith Tower. It is not like they are always hostile. It is said that they mirror their personalities when they were alive. If they were aggressive explorers, they will become aggressive Dungeon Folk. There’s apparently also intelligent Dungeon Folk.” (Eugene)

“…That’s my first time hearing that. In the Legendary Hero Department, the only thing we learned was that it is hard to communicate with Dungeon Folk, so if one gets close, bring them down.” (Sara)

“That’s because the current Dungeon Master is aggressive. Transactions with the Dungeon Folk was apparently a common thing when the former Dungeon Master was in duty. The current Dungeon Master has the tendency of increasing the difficulty of the Last Dungeon and that has apparently affected the Dungeon Folk. But the Dungeon Master seems to have reconsidered lately…” (Eugene)

“W-Wait a moment! Where did you hear that from?!” (Sara)

“Rita-san taught me this in Floor 100. She told me she wanted me to talk to her in a more casual manner.” (Eugene)

It is apparently something that’s okay to explain to A rank explorers.

‘Everyone just doesn’t ask me much questions-ssu yo ne~’ -is what Rita-san said with a sad look. 

“Chatting with an angel-sama is too much of an honor…” (Sara)

“I see, then I will go talk to her next time.” (Sumire)

The way Sara and Sumire treat an angel is pretty contrasting. 

— *Rumble Rumble Rumble*… *Zuzuzuzuzu*

At that moment, I heard something big moving from afar. 

The ground also trembled. 

“Eh? Earthquake?” (Sumire)

“No, Sumire-chan, this is most likely…” (Sara)

“The dungeon’s self-defragmenting and reconstruction. So it was just at the time when it was reconstructing itself, huh.” (Eugene)

The inside of the Last Dungeon is always changing to begin with. 

When it comes to Floor 101 and on, that happens constantly. 

I heard there have been people who have been caught in it and died. 

Now that I look closely, there’s one building crumbling.

“It is far.” (Sara)

“Today is our first exploration, so let’s not go too deep.” (Eugene)

“That said, there’s no monsters at all.” (Sumire)

The moment Sumire said this…

*WHOOSH!!*

A loud sound of cutting wind rang and a giant shadow passed overhead. 

“Wa?! Is that…!” (Sumire)

“D-Dragon?!” (Sara)

“A medium size one. It would be troublesome if it were to find us. Let’s hide.” (Eugene)

We erased our presence and moved from the prairie to the ruins. 

The ruins were dilapidated and the grass was growing freely on the floor. 

There’s a lot of crumbled walls on the buildings, so they are barely blocking the view. 

I checked the surroundings just in case, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any monsters. 

“That was a surprise…” (Sara)

“Hey, aren’t dragons Floor Bosses?!” (Sumire)

Sara sighed in relief and Sumire asked me. 

“From Floor 101 and on, the Floor Bosses until now will be showing up like any normal enemy.” (Eugene)

I was taught this by the Angel-san, too. 

And so, a Storm Dragon might land in front of us all of a sudden, and we could even encounter a nest of a Killer Bee Queen. 

“Uuh…Floor 101 is scary.” (Sumire)

“Your spirit won’t last long if you are scared the whole time… I am a bit scared, too.” (Sara)

The expressions of Sumire and Sara were stiff from how nervous they are. 

…*Rustle*

I heard a faint sound from behind. 

“Eugene!” (Sara)

“There’s something here.” (Eugene)

“Eh?!” (Sumire)

I draw the white katana on my waist. 

The weapon I got from the Angel-san that allows even me to use Mana Blade.

I pour white mana and take a stance.

“““……”””

Silence continued for a while. 

…*Tatata*

A demonic beast that looked like a mouse ran off.

“Whew~.” (Sumire)

Sumire let out a sigh in relief.

“Kieeeeeeeeee!!!” 

Something jumped out from the shadows. 

“Kyaaaaaa!!” 

“Twin Heavenly Sword Style – Wind Form: [Kamaitachi].” (Eugene)

I couldn’t see it well, but since we were attacked, I sliced its head off.

“You really swing before thinking as always…Eugene.” (Sara)

“W-What was that~?” (Sumire)

Sara held the hand of Sumire who had lost the strength on her knees. 

I approached the monster I defeated and it was an undead. 

This is the first time I see this type of monster, but if I remember correctly, this is…

“A zombie.” (Sara)

“W-Wasn’t it fast for a zombie?!” (Sumire)

“This is a Zombie Assassin. A rare monster.” (Eugene)

“There’s something like that?!” (Sumire)

I heard it is a rare monster that comes to existence when a skilled assassin becomes a zombie. 

“That’s Floor 101 for ya!” (Eugene)

I was getting excited by this, but Sara and Sumire directed cold eyes at me. 

“Eugene-kun, you seem to be having fun.” (Sumire)

“Eugene, we are not playing around here, you know? Don’t get all giddy.” (Sara)

“O-Of course, I know. We are just testing the waters for today, so let’s leave it at that here.” (Eugene)

We decided to wrap up our first exploration in Floor 101 early. 

It is good that we got to know the atmosphere today. 

We were not ambushed on our way back and arrived at the dungeon elevator. 

After that, Sara was busy with the preparations of the school festival, and Sumire with helping out the martial arts club, so the explorations will be once every two days. 

We will only go up the floors when all 3 are present. 

Any other time, I will be training solo. 

◇A few days later◇

—Lykeion Magic Academy, in the student council building. 

A giant screen set at the entrance of the student council building.

The state of various floors from the Zenith Tower are shown there. 

But the eyes of the student council members were currently nailed at a single screen. 

What was shown in the screen is the exploration party in Floor 102: Eugene, Sara, and Sumire.

“That bastard Eugene…with Council President Sara…” 

“Just give up. You would need to get through the Trial of Gods in Floor 100 if you want to save Council President Sara…” 

“Has there been any explorer party who has been able to get through the Trial of Gods as of late?” 

“The party of Eugene is the latest.” 

“Or more like, isn’t the Trial of Gods of Floor 100 outrageously hard lately?!” 

“The difficulty is whack…” 

They were having that conversation. 

“You know, ain’t this weird?! Why are they clearing Floor 102 with only a party of 3?!” 

“You normally make an exploration party of around 10, right?” 

“5 at least! They are insane!” 

“You…calling Council President Sara insane…” 

“T-That’s not it! I am complaining about that damn womanizer.” 

“Ah, a griffin showed up.” 

“What?!” 

“W-Will Council President Sara be okay?!” 

“Eugene-kun sliced off the head of the griffin just now.” 

“““……”””

The screen showed Eugene defeating the monster and Sumire hopping around in celebration. 

“Ah, this time around it is a horde of orcs and an orc king.” 

“No way, Council President Sara!” 

“Damn it! If we were by her side!” 

“The Fire Storm of Sumire and the Rain of Light Sabers from Council President Sara wiped out the horde of orcs in an instant.” 

“…What about the orc king?” 

“Got its head lopped off by Eugene-kun right from the get-go.” 

“What’s up with that guy?!” 

“Well, he is the winner seed from the coming martial arts tournament.” 

“That boosted bastard!” 

“He defeated the Demon Lord Erinyes in the Trial of Gods, you know? Can you do the same?” 

“……I definitely wouldn’t want to fight a Demon Lord.” 

“I feel like I would fall on my butt if I encountered Cerberus…” 

“It feels as if he has gone off somewhere far away.” 

The student council members sigh. 

The enforcement department members of the student council are exemplary. 

But rather than seriously clearing the Zenith Tower, they mostly have the objective of getting good grades and returning to their own country to build their lives after graduating. 

That’s why there aren’t many who aim for Floor 101 and higher which carries the risk of losing your life. 

Everyone there realized that the man that they looked down on before had climbed far beyond their reach.

They could only watch through the screen the male student called the faulty swordsman with zero attack power.

◇Eugene’s POV◇

(…I can feel stares.) (Eugene)

I thought at first it was monsters or Dungeon Folk, but it wasn’t the case. 

The Dungeon Eye was looking down at me from above. 

Footage is sent to the Satellite System through the Dungeon Eyes.

There’s a sharp decrease in explorers from Floor 100 and up, so the Dungeon Eyes naturally end up sticking to you the whole time. 

By the way, today is a solo day. 

Sumire and Sara have business to attend, so they are not participating in the dungeon exploration. 

I wandered around Floor 103 for a while and was attacked by an aggressive Dungeon Folk. 

By the way, the color of the Dungeon Folk that attacked me was red.

Red Dungeon Folk are apparently dangerous. 

Rita-san also said that deep colors like purple and such were hostile, too. 

(…That was strong.) (Eugene)

As expected from an explorer that had overcome Floor 100 in their past life. 

I managed to somehow fight it off, but couldn’t defeat it. 

I am currently at some ruins on the verge of falling, and am eating the food I brought. 

I can’t enjoy my food while wary of my surroundings. 

I opened my mouth wide and finished a quick lunch.

(What should I do…?) (Eugene)

Sumire and Sara warned me not to push myself too much.

I already fought a stray wyvern and a horde of ogres. 

I saw an Earth Dragon, but I escaped from that one. 

Fighting an adult dragon solo would be insane. 

“…Let’s walk around for a bit and end the exploration for today.” (Eugene)

I muttered this and drank some water from the canteen I brought. 

I don’t feel the presence of monsters around. 

…That’s how it should have been.

“You…are nice.” 

I heard a voice right by my side. 

I immediately looked there and vermillion color eyes like that of blood entered my vision.

(A red Dungeon Folk!!!) (Eugene)

I let go of the canteen, put a hand on my katana, and was about to swing at full force—but barely managed to stop.

The one there wasn’t a Dungeon Folk.

I was spoken to after all. 

“Nice to meet you, Eugene Santafield.” 

White skin.

White hair. 

Yet, bright red eyes. 

What stands out the most is the red robe -red like blood. 

That person spoke to me with a smile that felt out of place. 

I couldn’t respond. 

The one smiling creepily at me was a young girl that’s not even 10 years old. 

■Comment Response:

>The difficulty apparently spikes after Floor 100, so I am looking forward to the hardships Eugene and the others will have once they resume clearing the dungeon. 

→I don’t know if I managed to depict the increase in difficulty well, but it would be great if you feel like the atmosphere is a bit different from how it was before. 

■Author’s Comment: 

I have requested an illustration of Sara for the 2nd volume (to the publishers).

We can finally see the drawing of Sara…!! 

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