Chapter: 186
At the 10th Floor of the Menestel Dungeon.
Back when it was just me, Karl, and Alsatine, we solved things by shooting arrows at the core, but today’s different.
We did nothing.
Benedict assured us that there was no need for anything.
Laughing heartily, Benedict watched the Golem assemble around the core in front of him, relaxing his shoulders.
“Sir Benedict. Buffs.”
“No need for that, Bishop Johan. What on earth would we need those for to handle something like this?”
As the Golem’s form was completed, it landed with a thud, shaking the cavern and announcing its presence.
Then, spotting Benedict at the front, it raised its massive arm.
That was a punch.
A simple, unremarkable punch.
If an ordinary person swung their hand like that, the onlookers would probably chuckle.
But the owner of that punch was a Golem.
With overwhelming size and weight. And strength.
The Golem’s attributes transformed that simple punch into a disaster.
It carried a power that made me think I wouldn’t be able to block it.
But Benedict, who had to take that hit, was calm.
He didn’t use magic.
He didn’t receive buffs.
He didn’t draw his sword.
He just stretched his arm back to intend to catch the Golem’s punch.
To anyone watching, it was almost insanity.
No matter how big Benedict was, he was still classified as human.
How could he withstand the fist of a giant that could crush him by the sheer size of its fist?
He looked like a grasshopper trying to block a wagon. No matter how high his morale was, the outcome seemed clear.
But Benedict straightforwardly denied the concept of common sense.
BOOM!
As the Golem’s fist collided with Benedict’s, shockwaves erupted, causing my hair to flutter.
In that moment, an odd sight caught my eye.
The Golem’s arm was trembling.
The punch that should demonstrate the fundamental gap in power had come to a halt.
Looking away, I turned to see Benedict’s face, shaded by the shadow of the fist.
His expression, accepting the Golem’s weight, was still filled with a smile.
“Is this all you’ve got?!”
As Benedict, who was effortlessly enduring the weight, flexed his arm, cracks began to spread from the point where his arm met the Golem’s fist.
Like the ice on a lake that breaks apart in early winter, the cracks spread rapidly as an ominous sound echoed, and the Golem’s arm lost its form and collapsed.
“It’s weakening! Step back! You think you can raise your spirits with just this much?!”
The Golem, being devoid of reason, soul, and pain, swung its remaining arm at Benedict.
But the result was the same once again.
The giant’s arm could not defeat a human’s punch and crumbled.
“Shall we end this?”
Benedict, having watched the stones falling under gravity, said this and leapt upwards.
Even while clad in heavy armor that thudded with each step, as he hopped onto the stones, his body seemed feather-light.
Before long, he reached the Golem’s head and, in a precarious position with no solid footing, aimed his fist at the Golem’s core.
BOOM!
After a sound that resembled a bomb exploding, what I saw was the center of the Golem, so cleanly emptied that I doubted whether anything had been there at all.
Landing on the ground before the collapsing Golem, Benedict kicked up dust and turned to look at me, proudly puffing out his chest.
He was clearly seeking a compliment like “Wow, Dad, you’re amazing!” with those sidelong glances toward me.
Benedict’s cluelessness was remarkable.
You’re supposed to be cool by acting nonchalant about such epic feats after the fact.
But by showing off like this— “Look at how awesome I am!”— it’s hard to give praise.
This rebellious instinct that springs from natural behavior.
Could this also be the influence of the Mesugaki skill? Or am I simply a bad person?
After some contemplation, I concluded it was both.
Alright. I’ll just ignore it.
[Benedict keeps stealing glances at you, though?]
‘I know and I’m ignoring it.’
<...Is it puberty? >
‘Not really, but…’
It wasn’t impossible to smash that Golem with my bare hands.
It’s true that the 10th floor boss of Menestel is a gimmick-style boss, but its specs are absurdly robust for a 10th-floor boss.
If a user appears matching that overwhelming spec, it’s doomed to fall apart.
But that doesn’t diminish the fact that Benedict is impressive.
The minimum specs required to take down the Golem, disregarding the gimmick, would be around level 100 during the game’s latter stages.
Considering that Benedict didn’t exert himself and casually overwhelmed the Golem, he must be much stronger than that.
This guy’s on par with an NPC appearing in the late game!
He is not a character that should appear at this point! Talk about a sudden power creep!
Hey, Shoddy God. Wouldn’t it be better to make Benedict an Apostle instead of me?
Isn’t he more reliable and cooler than that Mesugaki brat who has nothing going for her besides being cute?
Huh?
…Hmm.
No answer, huh?
Guess that won’t work, huh?
Well, it’s true that our Shoddy God is a perverted sadist masochist, after all.
Damn it. If the wall of this Shoddy Trash God was just a bit more normal, I wouldn’t have to bend myself over backwards like this!
As I was internally cursing that sicko perverted God, I noticed Benedict had come closer with a pitiful look in his eyes.
Whoa. That’s intense pressure.
Okay, okay. I get it. I’ll stroke your ego!
“Wow! Benedict! You’re amazing! You really tore that Golem apart!”
“What? Foolish Dad! You want to be praised for smashing such a tin can? Wow, pathetic!”
No! Hey! At least give some decent compliments to me, you wretched Mesugaki skill!
Talking down like that made Benedict lose his confidence!
Ahh, damn it. I get it. You want me to say it directly, right?
Fine! I’ll say it!
“Still, that was kinda cool. For a pathetic Papa♡.”
After desperately thinking, I finally got the words out, and Benedict’s face lit up.
“Right? This Papa is cool, isn’t he?”
Forgetting that we were in a dungeon, Benedict got all hyped up, making me think of other things so I could ignore him.
If I didn’t, I felt like I might burst out with insults toward him.
During the meeting held earlier that morning, my first order of business was to check if anyone had ever conquered the Menestel dungeon.
If we could use that system to head straight to the 46th floor, then we could prepare for the big fight against Karia right away.
Count Georg was naturally someone who had seen the end of the dungeon, and Benedict confirmed he too had experienced it in the past.
‘I’ve never conquered the Menestel Dungeon.’
The issue came with Johan.
As a member of the clergy who had served his whole life in the church, he would never have the reason to visit such a dangerous dungeon.
But it wasn’t a major problem since the force gathered here was beyond exceptional.
Each one was worthy of being called a hero. What difficulty could there be in conquering the Menestel dungeon?
It was simply a matter of inconvenience.
So I suggested that we crash through to the 46th floor in one day, take a break, and then attack Karia the next day.
After that, we began a meeting about how to progress with the dungeon strategy, but it ended before lunch.
The reason was simple.
While conquering the Menestel Dungeon, we could solve most of the challenges with the abilities of the three of us.
The main issue, the heat in the dungeon, could be nullified by Count Georg’s magic.
Thanks to that, I hadn’t felt even a hint of heat throughout the entire journey alongside them.
All the monsters that appeared in the dungeon didn’t dare to approach us, terrified of the killing intent emanating from Benedict.
As a result, we reached the 10th floor without experiencing a single battle.
Even if we came across injured adventurers, a single gesture from Johan would perfectly heal them, so there was no reason to waste time.
Given these circumstances, all I had to do was ignore all other elements and map out the shortest route.
A boss battle? With this amount of power gathered, would that even be an issue?
Regardless of gimmicks or whatever, the moment we spot them, they’d just get obliterated like that Golem!
This wasn’t a bus.
Comparing it to a bus would be disrespecting these people.
No, it was more like a train, no, an airplane.
I was a passenger in this airplane, and these were the pilots steering it.
But there was one thing that I found quite unsatisfactory.
The comfort of this flight was terrible.
Not in a metaphorical sense, but physically.
“Alright. Lucy. Let’s go quickly. We’ve got a long way ahead of us.”
While I was lost in thought, the ruckus ended, and Benedict scooped me up, sitting me on his shoulder.
Yeah. Just like I once ran with someone on my shoulders during the Academy Dungeon, now Benedict is carrying me through this dungeon.
I hadn’t planned on this from the start.
I had trained hard to keep up on my own, thinking I would run after him.
But I quickly realized that was my arrogance.
My physical condition was not good, and the specs of the other humans were simply too high, leaving me with no choice.
So, I became a burden, needing to ride on Benedict’s shoulder.
No matter how I thought about it, this was the most efficient way, so I had no choice.
While I clung on, coming down through the dungeon, I internalized that the ancient sage’s words were indeed true.
They call it empathy, right?
When you are the one being carried, you don’t notice it, but once you become the weight, the struggle is real.
I’m sorry! Visi! Phoebe!
If something like this happens again, I’ll ensure to consider you both!
“Then let’s go! Lucy!”
Ughhhh.
Someone save meeeeee!
*
It took only 6 hours to reach the 46th floor of the Menestel Dungeon.
This was also somewhat generous considering it proved just how monstrous this party was.
Benedict was still going strong,
Bishop Johan seemed to enjoy having some exercise for the first time in a while,
And Count Georg, familiar with dungeon raids, didn’t seem to struggle at all.
“Alright then. Let’s head back and rest.”
Hearing Benedict’s declaration, I internally cheered.
Finally, this hellish raid was coming to an end!
Haa, I think this was the hardest dungeon raid I’ve ever done.
If I had been in better shape, it might have been easier.
But it’s fine. Now I can return to the lodging and rest comfortably.
Tomorrow, we only have to conquer Karia, so there’s no need to rush…
— DING!
The system alert chimed.
Just as I was about to lift my head to check it.
Suddenly, Benedict, who was right in front of me, swung his arm.
Huh? What?
Before I could understand the situation, a sound of impact brushed past my ear and I saw the figure of a woman being pushed back, daggers crossed.
Karia’s emotionless gaze was beyond Benedict, staring directly at me.
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