In the evening, I was surprised to announce the return of Grandpa Ken, who said he was running for the town, to hold an operational meeting tomorrow.

The place is a secluded room we rented for dinner on the first day.

"Well, I'd like to have an ops meeting tomorrow as soon as I'm done eating, okay?

"Mmm, don't rush it like that. You can still hang out with me for dinner..."

"No, you can't just get drunk and have an ops conference, just be patient, Grandpa Ken. That's it, because if I make it through, I'll give him a secret drink."

I have no choice but to be a grandfather.

Well, he looks exceptionally tired today, and all I can say is that it's bad between us.

Apparently, he liked sake a lot, so I'd like to give him a drink if I could, too.

"Well, please, Mr. Caivon,"

"Okay. Well, what about today's exploration?"

Tell him it was a place where we could probably not break through without locating the keys, in a hierarchy almost like a passage alone.

Then we can accidentally get the key early, and we'll tell you that Nao found the hidden keyhole.

I'm not talking about rocks, they're going to freak me out.

I know you're a big shot yourself, don't you?

"So you're pretty sure that beyond that hidden door is the Hierarchist's room?

"At least there doesn't seem to be any more rooms in that hierarchy. But the problem is..."

"Um, I don't know how many opponents we're gonna have."

Yes, that's the problem.

Now is the time, Nao. Your level is up to 47. You can say it's a higher level if you look at it competently.

But still inferior to the lowest gatekeepers.

If we can even hit his biggest offense, we'll be able to fathom that level of opponent.

But the fact is, he can't even knock down that gatekeeper yet.

I mean, even the first gatekeeper still struggles, Nao, is it okay to let you fight the second gatekeeper, the Hierarchist? That's the problem.

"Nao, I think they're pretty strong next time."

"... Dear Nao, to be honest, I think it's pretty dangerous all this time too. It's my downfall watching the dungeon levels on this continent sweetly."

"The first stage of the gatekeeper was the adult dragon... this time close to the sky, if you do poorly, the wing dragon may be lurking"

However, it's also a strange story that Winged Dragon is waiting across the locked door.

Well, that's what I'm saying.

Dungeonization in the first place is like disregarding nature's cooking and laws.

Isn't that what dungeonization is made of some invisible god or something?

"But I still... I want to be strong. Dominate that dungeon..."

"... even if you win with my help, you want to win and gain strength, is that what you're saying?

Naturally, there must be some hindsight.

Because he wants someone stronger than himself to help him defeat an enemy he obviously can't defeat, and he wants his experience.

I'm not saying that's bad.

Raising your abilities only quickly is one hand.

And if that's cowardice, and you're aware it's a disgraceful act, that's good too.

He is a hard worker. Even if the order in which they become a little stronger is reversed, it is believed that they make an effort commensurate with their strength.

If he's serious about that, why don't I take his side?

"All right, I'll obey your will, Nao. If there's a guy out there who's seriously gonna suck, if he promises not to get lost, I'll go out with him."

"Lord Caivon! So Master Nao... are you serious?

"Hmmm... If Kai says it's good, let's really try it too"

But, Nao, I'm gonna ask you to risk yourself to a certain extent, too, okay?

The next day, in front of the inn.

They both dropped me off despite the early morning because I told Rue and Reyce that there might be a strong enemy today.

At first he said, 'Shall we accompany ourselves, just in case?' Asked, 'but just in case, I asked him to stay in town.

Anyway, the place in the dungeon is the place, just in case.

Does Lue understand that, too, today she is dressed in more rigorous gear than usual and has a Rin look on her face.

"Lue, Reis. That sounds outrageous, but when you do, you know?

"Of course. We can't die. But I'm going to do my best."

"I, too, have a slight power, but I'll help. Fortunately, my regenerative technique works well with wide area magic guidance."

"Please don't push me though. Rayce and Lue, if you want to force each other, pull it, but you gotta run."

... Why are you two suddenly pulling together?

Join you, Nao, in front of the volcanic cave.

It's the same inn, and you can come with us, but they often wait for us first.

But only today, Nao, there will be a big problem with your feelings.

Anyway, I could really risk my life today.

"You kept me waiting. Well, I'll leave today's lead to you, Nao."

"Okay. Well, let's get going."

Tightening his expression more than usual and taking a big step forward, his appearance was one that entered the hall as far as he could no longer be called a former high school student who came to another world.

He was only passing through every day, already completely branching off, and figuring out where the trap is.

The enemies who appear are no longer his enemies, but slash everything under one sword.

This dungeon, I think, is too weak for the other enemies compared to the gatekeeper.

Maybe that's some kind of malice working: crushing people in tune with abrupt, powerful enemies.

But Nao, you still didn't miss your daily workouts.

I kept waving my sword alone in that mountain the day I wasn't there, until I finally elevated the moves I taught to my moves.

That's why I can... use this power with confidence.

Just in case, today's ability configuration is different than usual.

[Attacker's Testimony (Fight)]

[Life Extreme Enhancement]

[Dragon god blessing]

[Sky Champion]

[HP +20%]

[HP +30%]

[Double Ability Effect]

Protection of the Ice Emperor

[Crystallization]

[Lucky]

As you can see from this configuration, I'm going to activate [Sacrifice] on you today.

If recoil reduces HP by half, you can increase it.

If you want to replace the damage, you should heal.

If he's capable, I can't imagine he'd take enough damage to take all my HP in one blow.

I see I deserve this ability to be more complex and thought-provoking than the description.

At the end of the day, the underlying causes of this ability are Readiness to Sacrifice Yourself and Can You Trust Your Opponent?

I think I can trust Nao himself for at least this short period of time.

That's why I drew his will this time.

So, please, show me.

I was chosen by an invisible God, your power that could one day be my enemy.

"This is the hidden door. There's a key hole in the corner."

"Here you are... well found"

"Well, if you're ready, let's unlock it."

I'll check my HP.

My default HP has increased from 9022 to 10055 due to the evolution of my occupation from swordsman to life-taking knight.

There [HP +20%] and [HP +30%] plus [2x Ability Effect] to 20110.

It has further doubled due to [Life Force Extreme Enhancement] and has even increased to 40220 and numbers that can no longer be reached.

Activate [Sacrifice] on it and halve HP.

This gives Nao protection with little change in numbers from his usual HP.

Moreover, the speed of action in battle is increased by 2.5 times, which is also reflected in the MP recovery speed [Attacker's Testimony (Fight)].

When I thought that it had been validated before, it also firmly applied to the natural recovery rate of HP.

This results in an automatic recovery of 3% of the maximum HP every 0.5 seconds.

I'm sorry, I said earlier that I was prepared to sacrifice myself, but I figured you should do everything you can and do everything you can, right?

Not to say chicken, this is the guy who says wand without falling.

"Nao, I'll hang auxiliary magic on you before I go."

"Oh, my God! Can Kai also use the kind of magic!

"When it comes to being hung by others, is it a light attribute... that's the strongest warrior in Endoresia..."

Oh, what's that title? It's my first ear.

"Thank you! How does this work......?

"This isn't magic that makes you more capable. In response to your courage, I can only help you once. Well, you can think of me as a amulet."

"Courage...... ok, I'll do my best!

I will certainly not tell you the real effect.

It can lead to chronic distress, alarm, and fear.

He must be more afraid of someone else getting hurt than he is.

Because I guess that's how gentle he is and the temperament he's not meant to be in the fight.

The blunt sound of a loud object rubbing echoes, and the rock wall in front of him slacks to the side.

The light leaking out of that gap is probably caused by sunlight.

I couldn't tell by the sonar, but apparently the ceiling in the hall was blown out.

And at the same time, he was going to let us know that Grandpa Ken's predictions were infinitely close to the right answer.