Chapter 117.1

117 Part 1

Let’s be an Adventurer! ~Defeating Dungeons with a Skill Board~ 117

Let’s Explore The Secret Room!

“…”

“…”

Haruki and Karen silently looked at each other.

— Well, that takes care of the nuisance.

— Ok then, let’s resume our exploration of the 15th floor, shall we?

Haruki and the others communicated these thoughts at each other with their eyes, as if such a conversation had taken place.

“Phew… I thought I’d die!”

“Tsk!”

So when Chep turned into light and returned safely, Haruki couldn’t help but click his tongue.

— I thought that annoying thing had finally disappeared.

— What a tenacious little fish.

But the new information they got from Chep’s foolish act proved to be a breakthrough regarding this wall.

This wall could be pushed through.

“Did you see anything on the other side, Chep?”

“I didn’t see anything!”

— Wait, why are you so proud of that?

Haruki unconsciously brought his hand to his forehead and exhaled a deep sigh.

“Should we try pushing through the wall for now?”

“Are you sure it’ll be okay?”

Karen seemed a bit uneasy.

She appeared to be worried about monsters. If there were monsters on the other side of the wall, they would be forced to fight them with their backs against a wall from the get-go.

However, Haruki wasn’t particularly worried.

“It should be fine. After all, my Detection doesn’t seem to be picking any sings from the other side of the wall, and Chep came back unharmed as well.”

It wasn’t more than a “probably” statement.

There was no more information available at the time.

In this case, there was nothing else to do but to venture forward.

To go ahead and make the unknown known.

That’s what adventuring was all about.

— Well then, shall we get ourselves an adventure?

Haruki licked his lips and reached for his short sword.

He quickly pressed against the wall, ready to deliver any kind of counterattack.

Then…

“Oh!?”

When his push reached a certain intensity, he could no longer feel the wall.

It was similar to the feeling when you think there was one more step remaining in a staircase, and then it turns out that there wasn’t.

Haruki pitched forward into the wall with a slump, without having time to instantly reverse the force he had put in before.

Having reached the other side of the wall, Haruki quickly got back on his feet and got ready for battle.

He expanded his Detection range and remained vigilant.

One second passed. Then another second.

Haruki’s eyes didn’t catch any movement, and his Detection found no sign of monsters.

— Seems to be okay…

There was no more risk of being attacked by monsters as soon as he entered the room. Haruki breathed out and calmed down a little.

The place where Haruki appeared looked like a cave, unlike the floor he was in just a few moments ago.

It seemed to be as big as a basketball court.

There was nothing but stone everywhere.

Haruki had been imagining that there could have been some kind of treasure inside, but he felt a bit disappointed where he didn’t find the slightest shadow of treasure.

While Haruki was looking inside the room, he felt a slight shove on his back.

“Waah!? Ah, it’s you, Karaboshi… Y-You surprised me…”

“Ah, sorry.”

An astonished Karen held her staff behind Haruki.

Haruki had been standing at the entranceway, so Karen bumped into him as she came through the wall.

Karen was swaying uncomfortably without getting closer to or getting away from Haruki.

— Did she get hurt or something?

When a worried Haruki tried looking at Karen’s face, she suddenly turned away.

Her cheeks were slightly red, and she was pouting a bit.

— Hmm, perhaps I made her angry?

As that thought emerged on his mind, he felt a snapping noise at the back of his head.

“Ow, it hurts.”

“(Hmph!)”

The one behind that slap on the back of Haruki’s head, Rhea, also turned away.

— Wait, why are you angry now?

He couldn’t understand Rhea’s feelings at all.

Haruki started walking towards the center of the room while rubbing the back of his head.

“So this is a secret room?”

“Maybe.”

There were no monsters. There was no treasure chest. There was no sign of any treasure at all.

No sacred swords stuck on stone pedestals, no fairy fountains.

There was nothing to be happy about in this place, contrary to Haruki and Karen’s expectations.

All there was in there was an egg-shaped stone about 10 cm in diameter in the center of the room.

It was no wonder that Karen had asked “Is this really a secret room?”

“Could this be the treasure of this hidden room?”

“Hmm, there is a possibility, but…”

But it’s tremendously low. That’s what Haruki thought.

“There’s… Nothing else in here.”

“Yeah…”

The flow of energy in this room was constant.

There didn’t seem to be any other secret rooms past this one.

Also, when he searched the room, he couldn’t find even the “T” of a treasure chest.

Only the egg-shaped stone and other rocks placed on a pedestal.

“Could this be the treasure after all?”

— Let’s take it home and show it to Akane if we can…

As he thought about that, he unintentionally touched the stone.

Then…

“Uoohh!?”

A sudden flash of light.

He didn’t know what happened, but Haruki still stepped back right away.

He took out his short sword and got ready for battle.