DELICIOUS IN DUNGEON
Hey, you guys? Are we sure this is the right way?
Yup, this is correct.
According to our trusty map,
these stairs should lead right to the fifth floor,
near the orc settlement.
Seems pretty sketchy.
This is amazing.
Look at all these different Tentacles.
The orcs must have pulled a fast one on us.
There's no way they would leave this be.
-I don't know. -Hmm?
It does connect to their settlement.
Makes sense they'd want to keep people out.
Let's press on for now.
I think it would save us time and energy
if we just found a different way.
Huh?
Careful. Don't get too close to the wall.
These monsters like to hide their bodies inside of them.
Lots of Tentacles usually means
that the walls are hollowed out.
Those things love to set up camp in there.
They interfere with devices, grow on treasure chests,
and are just a general pain in the ass.
I hate them almost as much as I hate Mimics!
There.
I think we've made very good progress…
Huh?
That's weird.
The orcs should've passed through here to get to the third floor.
But how'd they get through all this?
Huh?
Something's here.
Be careful.
Kensuke!
Ugh, Giant Frog!
Ugh, gross!
No! What have you done?
Stand back! Aslam!
Hey!
Ambrosia!
Hmm?
-Senshi, behind you! -Huh?
Don't let go, okay?
Do you have a plan?
-M-My magic should do the trick! -No! We're too close!
This is bad. What should we do?
Wait. That Tentacle.
Something about it seems… out of place.
I'll bet it's all tangled up in a trap.
I wonder if there's any way I can make use of that.
But how?
If I touch it directly, I'll be in for a world of hurt.
-Hey, Laios! -Huh?
Why don't the Tentacles seem to be hurting the Giant Frogs at all?
Uh…
I don't know. That's just how they're made?
Real helpful, Mr. Monsterpedia!
Ah, the curiosity of youth.
Whatever.
Wait, what are you doing?
It doesn't hurt! I can do this!
What the…
It won't come out!
Come on!
Chilchuck! No!
All right, quick, let's get him out!
-Phew. He's alive. Uh? -Show me your hands!
No way. They're not hurt?
This frog skin.
You used it like gloves to protect your hands.
That's really smart.
Hmm…
Uh, Chilchuck?
-Huh? -This here is a great idea!
Start an incision at its belly,
and completely skin the frog.
Uh, hang on, I--
For the Tentacles, peel the skin.
Huh?
Gather the parts that have thin tips, set them aside,
and boil the thicker parts.
Once done, mash them up and mix them with flour.
Shape them into cylinders, and gently press with a fork,
then boil once more.
Senshi…
-Hang the skins… -Huh?
…of the Giant Frogs to dry,
take measurements, and begin sewing.
Add olive oil, garlic, and chili peppers,
then the frog leg meat, fry it all up, and…
It's ready!
TENTACLES GNOCCHI, TENTACLES PASTA, FROG SUIT
I can't believe these guys!
Could you both take turns?
Before I could even pick who to stop first, it was too late!
Don't be like that. Just try it on.
Yes, yes, come on. Go and take a little bite.
I told you to take turns!
Hmph. No way you're getting me to wear that.
Hmm…
If you wore this, Marcille, we think you'd look real cute.
It's great! Really.
What a nice color on you.
So neat how the eye parts make it look like we have little ears.
Let's go.
Yes, ma'am.
Amazing! It doesn't hurt a bit!
Ugh, this stuff is giving me the heebie-jeebies!
So beautiful.
And yummy.
Kensuke!
Ambrosia!
-Guys? -Hmm?
The castle town.
We're already on the fifth floor!
Looks like they left in a hurry.
So the orcs were telling the truth then.
And that means the Red Dragon can't be far off.
Let's stay on our guard and see what else we can find here.
Right.
-Hey, uh… -Hmm? Hmm…
Laios… is this frog blood?
It hardened onto my clothes and now I can't get this thing off of me.
It's because I didn't really have the time to completely tan it.
We're fighting the dragon like this?
Forget the dragon!
How am I gonna look Falin in the eyes, huh?
Answer me!
Hmm?
-My insides don't feel so good. -Kiki, Kaka.
Show Namari to the guest room.
Hmm.
While you do that, I will go report to the Island Lord.
So, how was the dungeon?
The thing to be most concerned about
is that it has become more perilous.
Treasure down to the third floor
has been stripped bare.
Hideouts for outlaws are on the rise.
And orcs have been appearing on the upper floors
and are frequently causing problems.
I would suggest sending in troops
or offering a bounty.
Hmm…
How did they even manage to find their way in?
Perhaps the pathways were connected from old dwarven tunnels.
Orcs have been known to settle in such places.
Dwarves, you say?
What a truly troublesome lot they are.
They're like moles.
No matter how many holes we close, another pops up.
Long ago, when the elves and dwarves
split between east and west because of a war,
the dwarves hid in these lands, waiting for the elves to attack.
Even after the war ended, they continued digging holes,
eventually turning the Golden Country into a dungeon.
I've even heard that the dungeon continues to grow
because of the descendants of those very dwarves.
Let us move on from unsubstantiated rumors.
Here are the drawings of the magic circles.
They are in the usual Elvish language.
And according to the penmanship, it is the same author.
And there are no signs of anyone else modifying them at all.
There's no mistaking it, the lord of the dungeon,
or should I say the Mad Mage, drew these magic circles.
Is this individual an elf?
I cannot say with certainty,
but it's unlikely a tall-man or dwarf cast it.
This is concerning.
-Hmm? -The thing is,
the other day, I received a letter from the elves of the west.
It said, "The dungeon belongs to us. Relinquish it."
How utterly conceited!
They're the ones who gave the lands to the humans
after taking and squandering those lands from the dwarves.
Just ignore them.
This land was bestowed to me by the king of the elves.
So I'm afraid that's not possible.
They'll take the entire island.
I certainly hope not.
There is most likely a vast amount of riches
still in the bowels of that dungeon.
My Lord,
their objective is not any material treasure,
but the immortality spell cast on the dungeon.
This spell that tethers the soul to the body
is still a great mystery.
And once that mystery becomes unraveled,
its value will far exceed any amount of gold.
We should solve it before the elves do.
So we should trace all of the magic circles and study them?
That's not enough!
A powerful spell such as this is bound to have a schematic.
You should seek it out.
After we get our hands on it,
then you can agree to give them back the dungeon.
Once they realize we possess that valuable knowledge,
the elves will see you as an equal.
No, they will kneel before you to curry your favor.
You… you think so?
So where do you think it might be?
Isn't it obvious?
The lord of the dungeon would have possession over it.
So we should keep sending in adventurers to search the premises?
That is correct.
Monster extermination
and buying artifacts from the dungeon is pivotal.
Spend your coin and aid those adventurers.
I understand.
I will put out a reward for the orcs.
And my reply to the elves?
I will pen something that buys us some time.
"Laios" was his name, yes?
He was quite the skilled adventurer, but I wonder just how far he will go.
-Good morning, Namari. -Huh?
How are you feeling?
Wait! Where's my axe?
Your stuff is there.
Also…
this is from Grandpa Tansu.
Isn't this too much?
You can think of it as a retainer,
for when he needs you in the future.
Oh. Thanks a lot.
I appreciate it.
Do you need a town guide?
So, where are you staying?
You must be going to rest up.
Huh? Not yet. I'm going back to the dungeon.
-Hmm? -Mm? Oh, my.
You're returning already?
No, no. I just have some business at the temple nearby.
Business?
Business.
Revivals.
Huh? Oh, Namari!
Those are the eyes of someone looking for something.
So, is it a thing or a person?
Person.
A female tall-man, hair light brown.
Length would be about down to the shoulders.
Her age is…
somewhere from teens to forties.
Hang on. Is this Laios' sister?
There's no question that girl is in her twenties.
Go get your eyes checked out.
Give me a break. How should I know, huh?
Hmm.
Nothing by that description has been brought here yet.
I see.
The fifth floor,
exiting the Golden Castle, leads to the castle town.
The area has expanded and distorted due to magic,
but you can still sense phantoms of its former glory.
A person passing by just out of sight.
The sound of someone whispering.
These strange feelings linger like a dream.
So this is where the orcs set up their post.
Looks like they left here in a hurry too.
Their food storage is a complete mess.
What a horrible smell.
Must have been ransacked by nearby monsters.
Looks like the flour and alcohol are okay.
Oh.
Let's make some bread.
If the orcs come back, they'll be mad.
Nah, we gave them vegetables, so we should be squared away.
Wargs.
Was this… the Red Dragon?
Seems so.
Looks like they all got hit by its fire breath attack.
Going by the smoke, it must have just been here.
Hey, Laios?
I remember you saying that dragons aren't really active,
that they mostly sleep a lot.
But going off what the orcs said and seeing all this,
it's been moving around ever since,
and might even be wandering around nearby.
I think we could have won against a sleeping dragon,
but… can we really defeat it now?
What if we lose, or…
what if she's already been digested?
Hey, it's all right.
Take a deep breath.
Let's just think it all through.
Well, whatever you decide,
don't forget you'll have to fight it with just three people.
Just three?
Don't look at me like that!
I told you that I'm not built for fighting!
My job was to help get all of you here, and that's all!
We know that.
We weren't blaming you.
I… may have overreacted.
So, how are you defeating dragons before now?
Well, it depended on a bunch of different factors, but…
Falin would cast protection spells against fire.
Namari, Shuro, and I would slow its movement.
Marcille would weaken it with explosion magic.
And Shuro would deliver the final blow.
-I think that's how it would go at least. -Hmm…
But that's not gonna work with the party we have now though.
We have to think of a plan that'll work for the three of us.
Dragons are covered in super tough scales.
Making them resistant to magic and weapons.
But under its neck,
there's an inverse scale that serves as its weak spot.
If we strike there, we can win!
Under the neck?
And about how big would you say this Red Dragon is exactly?
How to explain…
Oh. See that there?
It's about as tall as that crumbled passageway.
I mean,
that literally looks like the dragon bonked his head there.
Oh, that makes sense.
It's quite huge.
It'll be no easy task striking the scale from that height.
Yeah, you are not kidding.
Hmm… Let's try getting up there.
It's pretty high up.
What if we jumped on the dragon's neck from here?
-You can't do that! -What she said.
I can cast abjuration spells,
but they won't be as good as Falin's.
If you fall from this height, you'll definitely hurt yourself,
and it'll all be over.
And that's not all. What about its fire breath?
None of us can outrun that.
Oh, yeah. Namari also said
that Senshi's axe won't stand a chance against it.
What about your weapon, Laios?
You'd have to keep it occupied
while I'm charging up a strong explosion spell,
one that will knock it unconscious.
And after that, someone will have to fatally wound it.
Do you think you and Senshi can pull all of that off?
Of course. I'm sure we can.
Okay. How?
Hmm… Huh?
Instead of hitting the dragon,
what if we were to blow up a structure instead?
There are lots of houses and bridges that extend between buildings.
We blow one up when the dragon goes and walks under it,
and the rubble should slow down its movement.
With all that rubble weighing it down,
the inverse scale will be within striking distance.
We won't be able to buy much time when we're actually fighting it.
But we can lure it somewhere we want while we're running away from it.
These paths are narrow for a Red Dragon.
It should also be tired from being so active.
With the proper route, we can tire it out even more.
I see. Well, I can probably help with that then.
Really?
Thank you, Chilchuck! I'm so happy!
But I wonder why the dragon's not sleeping though.
And why did it show up on floor five?
It seems to be wandering around narrow areas that it doesn't like.
Maybe it's mating time?
Probably not.
Oh, hang on a sec.
Didn't Namari say Senshi's pan is made out of a really cool metal?
What was it?
Something about "blocking the dragon's fangs"
and "smashing through its bones", I think?
Oh! That's right!
She said that blacksmiths dream about the stuff!
If that's true, it must be able to block its fire breath!
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Well, that's one of our problems taken care of.
Sure that knife isn't also made from something special?
We should've had Namari look at it, huh?
I'm starting to feel like we can do this.
Like they say, "If there's a will, there's a way."
Right! Let's finish planning out our attack.
Hmm?
Ah, you're back.
Senshi, why did you wander off? We were wondering where you went.
I was making bread.
You know we're about to fight a dragon, don't you?
Of course.
This will be quite the task, don't you think?
A good meal is most important.
We've already lost once to this dragon because of an empty stomach.
This time will be different, right?
Oh! There's wine!
I went and borrowed a few things from the pantry.
Not until we beat the dragon.
We don't have any eggs,
but we should still be able to make that.
Shave down some bread with a grater,
season the Giant Frog meat with salt and pepper.
Dip the meat in a water and flour mixture,
work in the breadcrumbs.
Then heat some olive oil, and fry.
Boil down some red wine and seasonings to make a sauce.
Hmm. It's ready!
CUTLETS TO CONQUER THE RED DRAGON
Looks delicious!
Once I started smelling it, I got really hungry.
Let's dig in, everyone!
It's so crispy!
What's wrong, Marcille?
Knowing these monster meals will come to an end soon
just got me a little emotional.
Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Everyone, I want to say something.
I don't think I would've been able to make it this far on my own.
Senshi, thank you.
We were strangers but you were still kind to us.
Your food not only filled our stomachs but… my heart as well.
Chilchuck, if you weren't with us,
we would've lost days taking the long way down.
That helped us so much.
And Marcille,
I'm sorry for putting you through everything.
When you said you'd come with us, I was really happy.
Everyone, thank you so much.
O-Of course!
You're so cringe!
Sorry.
Uh?
Is that…
It's even bigger than I remembered it being.
No kidding. Can we really defeat that?
Oh. Huh?
We'll be fine.
We all got this far, didn't we?
Let's review the plan.
Marcille has her spot, which we'll lure the dragon to.
Everyone ready?
As soon as our health is in good shape.
All right.
Let's go!