While Revell and the others were making great progress, Agito and the others were about to reach the 19th level.

''Hah!''

　Agito wipes out the C-ranked monsters that appear along the way.
　His moves are dynamic, but Agito's swordsmanship also possesses the subtlety that comes from practicing over and over again.
Agito was not proud of himself even though he was given such a talent as the top-ranked swordsman.

"...... huh, huh.

　But battle after battle after battle, Agito was out of breath.
　That was as it should be.
　Agito had defeated almost all of the enemies he had faced since entering the dungeon all by himself.

''Are you sure you're ...... okay?　By the looks of it, I'm afraid we're going to lose to a twenty-level minotaur.

　Karina, the A-ranked adventurer who had taken this quest for Agito, said with concern .

''What are you talking about ......, it's supposed to be fine .

You've got a mouth on you.

"It's you. ...... This is what I asked you to do, because I forced you to do it. So I'm the only one who will fight.

He's stubborn in some weird way.

　This kind of exchange had already been done many times, but Agito isn't going to reconsider at all .

(This is my fight. ...... I won't let anyone get in my way.)

　Agito challenged Revel with all his might and lost.
　A satisfying defeat has made Agito even more skilled.
　Agito is more than just a sore loser.
　He accepts his loss and will win next time.

I'll never lose. ....... There's no way I'll ever become an S-ranked adventurer that surpasses my dad if I stand still here.)



'Mr. Agito, we're almost at the 20th level!　Let's go for it!

I'm rooting for you!

　Two of the remaining party members encouraged Agito.

''Shut the f*ck up, ......!

'Yes!'

　But Agito shouted at them both.
　But they still respect Agito, who is younger than they are.
　The members of the Red Wolf know him well.



　They've arrived at the 19th level.
　The 19th level is a large space that is easy to pass through and easy to avoid.
　Karina knew this, of course, but she felt something was wrong.

(A large number of monsters ......?　No, no . (This is ......!)



Everybody, this is the Monster House!



　When the dungeon is filled with magical elements, it turns into a monster house where a large number of monsters appear.
　An emergency situation has occurred right before the 20th level, the target.



　◇



Okay, we're almost at the 19th level!

I'm glad it went so well.

Yeah. It's all thanks to Fea, isn't it?

　Fear will put in an attack before a distant enemy attacks.
　D-ranked demons can kill them before they attack, and C-ranked demons are quite large enough to leave C-ranked demons wounded .

''It's not like that ...... .

　Maybe it was because he always had a gun with him, but Fear reacted a little differently than usual, but he looked somewhat embarrassed.
　As they descended the stairs to the 19th level .

...... something strange.

...... Yes, I've noticed something different too.


...... Maybe there's something not so good going on here.

Yeah, be careful out there.

Yeah. Fia, brace yourself for a different hierarchy than the one you've been on before.

All right. But what kind of anomalies are you two sensing?

I got a bad feeling about this. This magic emanating from deep within is uncanny.

That's true. It's as if the magical elements in the air are being sucked into the 19th level. This has never happened on any level before.

...... I kind of get it.

　If you advance to the 19th level, you'll see that Agito and his friends are surrounded by many demons.
　And they're not just monsters.
　There are also B-ranked monsters that don't occur on the 19th level.

''Is this the ...... monster house!

It's also a vicious monster house. You don't see this amount of demons very often, and unlike normal monster houses, there are even demons that appear at levels lower than this one!

　Karina said while fighting the demons with her dagger .

　The structure of the 19th level is wide, and it's easy to avoid fighting and get through the demons, but if there are this many demons, it's a different story.
　There must be at least a hundred of them.
　And they're still growing even now.

Mr. Revell!　Watch out!

　Carina let out a loud voice in a hurry .
　From right beside her, a B-ranked monster bicorn was rushing towards her with two horns pointed at her .





　It's okay, I noticed.


　After what happened with the Nightmare, I'm still working on it.



　I've already got all the skills I was going to get, with the exception of the chef.



　──────────────────── ...
　Skill "Domain
　By filling a spherical space within a certain range from you with a thin layer of your own magic, you can instantly detect anything that enters the space. As your strength increases, you can make it larger and larger. However, it is hard to penetrate liquids and almost never solid objects.

　Conditions for acquisition
　Expand the magic power into a sphere with a radius of 10 meters or more around you and maintain it for 24 hours .
　──────────────────── ...



　The Domain is a very useful skill.
　The larger the area you deploy, the more magic it consumes, but you can see it even when you're not looking inside the space you're deploying in.
　When I visited the 19th level, I was able to notice the bicorn's attack because I had deployed the area with a 20m radius.





The Hard Sword!



　I'm going to cut the bicorn in two!
　I guess the Strong Sword will be enough against B-ranked opponents...


...... Hahahahaha, as expected of you, you've beaten our agito. Did I worry you too much?

'No, thank you!　I'm heading over there now.


　We've been bidding against each other, but this situation will change that.
　We have to work together to overcome this predicament.

...... I don't need your help. Get out of here.

　When we joined them, Agito said grimly .

　When I looked around, there are monsters everywhere.
　The reason why the number of demons doesn't seem to decrease even after we beat them is because they keep appearing.
　We don't even know how many demons will appear.
　At worst, the demons will keep appearing until our energy is exhausted.
　But even if we continue on to the 20th level, we'll still be sandwiched between the minotaur and the monster horde and things will get worse.


　...... My goodness, I'll have no choice but to concede victory.


''It looks like you're at the limit of your strength, but you've got some serious guts to be able to talk that much.

Are you trying to pick a fight, man?

"...... I'm going to lose. So go to the 20th level and defeat the minotaur.

Is ......?

But you have to take my guys with you. I'll hold them off myself.

Revell, you can't be serious.　Even you can't take on these numbers by yourself.

　Kurt said.

"This is the safest way to get through this. And I don't plan on beating all of these demons. I'm just going to hold out until you kill the minotaurs.

But ......

"Ha!　I don't agree with you like you're giving away the win, but I'll take you up on that.

Then we should increase the number of people on level 19. There are monsters out there that are equivalent to the Minotaur.

　Kurt stubbornly refused to admit to me that he thought I was right.

"No, I'm not so sure about that. The minotaur that's waiting for us down the road might be a bit special.

　Carina said with a grim expression.
　I agree with you.

I think so too. The magic element is unusually concentrated at the 19th level, and there's no sign of magic flowing in from the 20th level. It's possible that the 20th level is just as filled with magical elements as the 19th level.

You're right. If we make the wrong choice, people will die.

Yes, that's why I was left alone with my...

　Then my words were cut off.

I can't sacrifice Revell alone. That's why I'll stay behind with you. What will you do with the rest of us?

　Agito, Kurt, Fear, and two adventurers whose names I don't know .
　I certainly think it's going to be okay.

I don't have a problem with being alone.

　With that, Agito took the lead in descending to the 20th level, and the two unnamed men hurriedly followed him.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that you can't get your hands on any of them. ...... I'll go clean up the Minotaur in a minute.

Yeah, I'm counting on you.

Mr. Revell ...... please don't die.

And of course, don't let Fear die.

　Kurt and Fear also went down to the 20th level, although they didn't seem completely convinced.

''Well, let's see if we can't make a go of it.

Yes, let's keep each other in line.


　C-ranked and B-ranked demons surround us.
　There are many different kinds of demons on this 19th level, it's a hellscape.



　...... I wanted to deal with this many demons alone, but it's no use.

　The reason I stayed behind was for everyone's safety, of course, but that was not the main reason.





　Mostly because this monster house gives me a chance to practice when I'm facing multiple enemies.



　Most of the time the situations I've fought against are one-on-one.
　But now you're going to run into a lot of situations where that's not the case.


　This is, in a word, training for it.


　It's quite fortunate that you came across the ...... monster house.
　And your demons are of excellent rank.



　Well, let's learn something.