The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter

Searching for Yomir Herbs, we entered the deeper part of the forest.

For something that’s worth so much, of course it’s not going to be easy to find.

Everything else was just only poisonous grass.

If I didn’t have Item Appraisal, then it’s going to be even harder to collect them.

Let’s just ask Great Philosopher.

–Where is the closest Yomir Herb?

[Answer. From the current location go 210 meters straight, three stalks of Yomir Herb exist there.]

It’s good that I almost didn’t feel any headache.

Going as the Great Philosopher’s advice, as the information stated the herb was there so we collected it. Its appearance was similar to poisonous grass and it would have been impossible to distinguish them.

The request states that they need one stalk of Yomir herb and if I bring more, they’ll buy it 10,000 Ria each. Let’s just take some more and go home.

As I told Emma that, her face looked a little uneasy.

「But, didn’t they say that Trolls come out around the places where Yomir Herbs grow.」

「Yeah they did.」

「Troll’s have very high attack power so if you get hit just once it’s going to be serious you know~」

「I see… Then it’s better if we stop and go home, huh?」

「That was what I thought but I remember someone saying that a troll’s tongue is delicious. If you eat it, your LP will go up.」

「That’s… by all means, I want to taste it.」

「If we do a surprise attack, then we’ll somehow able to kill it. Can you find it by using the Great Philosopher?」

「Wait a bit.」

After asking the Great Philosopher, it seems that we’ll find a troll if we go 300 meters to the east.

「How about if we lure and trap it?」

「Not a bad idea. But it depends on the target. If the troll’s level is high then let’s run away.」

「Okaay-!」

We discussed about how to do it. As result, we decided to dig a pitfall.

I brought out the shovel I used recently to dig at the park with Storage Skill. I choose a place with soft soil and then started digging a hole.

Because of my Digging Skill, I could easily dig the ground.

I heard that a troll’s height was more than 2 meters and its body width was quite wide.

I created a hole in front of a big bush.

If it’s coming from the east, the dense bushes would make the hole hard to be seen and it will be caught in the hole easily.

The troll’s intelligence isn’t that high either, so I think it would go as planned.

After the preparation, we moved to the place where the troll is. We walked without any sound, but then we heard a shriek that sounds like “Gieeh”

That shriek sounds like goblin.

—Whoah, there it is!

From the shade of the trees, we examined the troll’s condition.

As I thought, its body was huge and its limbs are thick.

Its skin was reddish brown and its face was like a noh-mask. Also its eye are sunk in. (TN: … this is fantasy world right? Why did he know about noh mask?)(ED: otherworldly wisdom knows no bounds)

What we have to be vigilant about was its weapon. It looks like it’s swinging about a whole tree as a weapon.

Its destructive power was shown by how a goblin’s whole body was crushed by it.

Without words, I nodded to Emma. Roughly at the same time, we attacked. Emma shot a clump of wind, [Wind Shot] and I shot a 40 cm rock bullet.

The reason why I choose 40 cm of bullet was because if I maxed it out at 100cm then the speed would decreased accordingly.

「Buhooh-!」

It seems its reflexes are good. With one swing, the troll could defend with both wind and stone attack.

Its level is 25 with 3 skills which are [Strength UP] [Physical Resistance UP] [Poison Resistance UP]

「Over here! Follow me!」

「Mr Ogre, over here–! Kiss my ass, bweee」

Emma…. it’s not ogre, you know. What’s up with that stupid provocation?

「BFOOOOHH!!」

Whoah, looks like it was effective. I’ll apologize to Emma later.

We’re running with all our might, because of it, the troll furiously chasing us.

It was as slow as it appeared, so the distance between us and the troll has opened quite a bit.

While maintaining the speed so we were not too far from the troll, we matched our breathing and jumped.

「Hup! 」

Passing the bushes, we successfully jumped to the ground without the hole!

Thud thud, with the sound of troll’s step, it’s coming closer.

Didn’t notice the hole, it falling down!

However it seems that the troll realized that there’s something in front of it.

「HUP!」

It long jumped by mimicking us, even our shout. Yes, not just jump but long jump.

It leaped over our heads.

The troll showed its face to us who were looking up because of amazement, landing behind our back.

「Noir, I saw something on its crotch….」

「Yeah, that was not good for our eyes…..」

While the tension breaks, we stood up. The pitfall strategy failed so it became a direct battle.

If I compare it with the Shinigami, it’s not that much of an opponent but its offensive ability is high, so we have to be careful.

「BUFOH, BUFOH, BUFOH!」

Matching its shout, it swings around its weapon (the tree). Its movement in itself were dull so it won’t reach me or Emma.

However we couldn’t get any closer either.

Although being hit by Emma’s Wind Shot, it could bear the blow. My rock bullet was of physical damage so no meaningful damage could go through its defense.

How about I burn it with White Flame?

Nah, if I did so then its tongue would be burnt.

「Noir, could you distract it for just a moment? I’ll aim for its neck.」

「I understand. I’ll try to do it.」

For distracting an enemy, I wonder what I should do to obstruct its movement. I put my attention to the troll who was beating around with a tree like an idiot.

How about this kind of skill?

[Weight Addition 200 kg 200 LP]

So one kilogram per LP huh.

Though, 800LP is needed to grant the skill to the troll.

My remaining LP wasn’t even 1,000. It seems this method wasn’t possible.

How about using the skill on its weapon instead of its body?

….oh, it seems possible, only 50LP needed. Because it was only a tree, so the rank was the lowest.

With 250LP used, I quickly increased enemy weapon’s weight.

「—FOOH!?」

The weapon the troll swung around immediately fell to the ground. It seems the troll couldn’t lift it any more.

The troll’s eyes were wide open wondering what was going on.

「Emma!」

「Leave it to me!」

Slash-slash—

Emma’s dual knife pierced both sides of the troll’s head. With this, it’s game over for the troll. It’s a victory for our team work.

After its humongous body fell, Emma leveled up.

After confirming the death of her enemy, she said “What did you do?” with a curious face to me.

「I added weight to its weapon」

「As expected from you! We’re both uninjured so its a success~」

「Yeah, I agree, let’s take its tongue and go home.」

But its tongue is surprisingly long, that troll. Moreover the color was pink.

We returned to the guild before the night falls.

We successfully finished the request by delivering one stalk of the herb. The other two stalks were sold at 20,000 Ria so we split it equally in half.

「See you tomorrow! Bye-bye–」

「Bye-bye」

After separating with Emma, I walked home.

When I offered the troll’s tongue for mother to eat, she smiled brightly.

It seems she has eaten it in the past. Seeing that reaction, perhaps I could expect something good out of it.

That way, Stargia family’s dining table was a little more gorgeous. The thing that was standing out was the troll tongue which was medium roasted and the black insect thing.

「….Is that locust made into tsukudani?」 (TN: Tsukudani is small seafood, meat or seaweed that has been simmered in soy sauce and mirin. –wikipedia, In this case, locust.)

「Yes, it is–, because we have a lot of it♪」

Mother was humming a song while showing her smile. Opposite to her, father and Alice’s eyes looks like they don’t have any strength in them and look like dying animals.

Well, yeah.

The carcasses of insect laid out in a flat dish… to think that it’s grotesque is normal.

「I poured some soy sauce and sugar to the locust and lightly fried it. Noir, you’re eating it too right?」

「Eh, yeah.」

By the way, soy sauce is a seasoning widespread by a cook who was lost from otherworld some hundred years ago.

Besides soy sauce, it seems that they also passed down many things like Miso, shichimi seasoning, cooking recipes and others. Chopsticks are also one of them.

Our family mainly uses fork though.

「Was locust tsukudani also the other world’s wisdom?」

「You’re right. Although they weren’t thankful about it. Well, then…」

‘Hurry, hurry’ Mother reminded me to eat the tsukudani.

I stab one of them with a fork and I placed it in my mouth just like that.

It needed some bravery. That’s because I put something that is not only dead, but a mysterious creature in my mouth.

—Eh? This is more than edible isn’t it?

When I chomp it down, its aroma was more delicious than I thought. It tastes sweet.

I’ve eaten small shrimp tsukudani, perhaps this taste close to those. It doesn’t smell bad. Perhaps the locust itself were flavorless.

To Mother who is waiting for my impression, I told her what I feel honestly without any restrain.

「As I thought you’ll absolutely understand how I feel」

She seems so happy.

It was because even in the family, she was the only one who liked food that no one else does.

Because she feels like she has a comrade, perhaps she couldn’t hold her excitement.

「….Dear Brother finally became the person of that side.」

「Don’t say it. Noir that we know is no more. He’s not here anymore!」

「Dear Brother, please come back….」

「Papa is sad… 」

Father and Alice were exaggerating from me eating a locust.

This, doesn’t taste that bad, you know. It feels like It’ll become a habit.

The troll’s tongue too, its taste was something that makes the tension higher.

It’s only seasoned by a bit amount of salt but its texture was extraordinary.

It tastes like ox tongue that I had ate a long time ago.

Grind-grind, it feels like I could chew on it forever. It tastes good, the more I chew it the more of its flavor exudes.

My LP increased by 1,500!

Moreover, today I gained more than 1,000,000 Ria. It was the best school entrance ceremony!