Genocide Reality - Chapter 21 - Back To the Depths of the Earth

I had crossed the first and second floors smoothly with Rindou Kazuha, but the third floor was filled with a wide variety of monsters.

 

My luggage, Rindou Kazuha, had been subjected to a somewhat customary series of attacks from monsters as we went along.

 

A gigantic venomous spider had spewed its silk, binding her legs and leaving her suspended from the ceiling.

 

She had a petty knife1; all she had to do was cut the silk and escape. Instead, she hung there in mid-air, swaying.

 

I slashed down the giant poisonous spider with a single stroke of my sword and came to Kazuha.

 

Because she was hanging upside down, her skirt was already turned upside down.

 

The roundness of Rindou Kazuha’s shapely buttocks made me inadvertently admire her. It was truly a remarkable sight.

 

Surprisingly, Kazuha’s buttocks were much more rounded than I had expected, and the proportions were much more fleshy than I had imagined. I guess this kind of thing is called a peach butt.

 

“Surprisingly, it’s black, huh?”

 

“No! Don’t look, just help me!”

 

Didn’t you say you’d rather not be a burden? Should I help you or not? 

 

After admiring the surprisingly mature-looking panties, I cut off the spider threads and took them down.

 

I was intentionally being mean, partly because I genuinely wanted to see Kazuha’s panties, and also because she’s Nanami’s cherished childhood friend. I didn’t want her to like me too much.

 

I had to help her in the end, but I didn’t want her to like me too much.

 

Could she like me? … I may be overly self-conscious, but after what happened with Ussa, I’ve become more cautious.

 

If I got involved with a girl that Nanami likes, it would only make things more complicated.

 

I have a bad reputation at school as a delinquent.

 

I couldn’t care less about my classmates’ opinions now, and being seen as a perverted, tactless guy suits me just fine.

 

When Kazuha landed on the ground, she didn’t exclaim, “Oh my god!” or anything, but she hurriedly adjusted her torn clothing, tucking the shortened hem of her skirt back in place. Her face turned as red as a beet, all the way to her ears.

 

Yep, it’s the usual routine. Well, as long as she’s not hurt, that’s what matters.

 

“Shinjo, you’re terrible…”

 

“I told you to drop the naive idea that I’m going to help you. I don’t care about your underwear.”

 

I thought it was interesting to see them, so I took the time to observe them, but in a situation like this, looking at the black lacy underwear and the healthy, lustrous thighs of a high school girl only made me think they were beautiful but did not bring up erotic feelings.

 

If I were a good-looking guy like Nanami, I would probably blush a little and turn away, but I would probably help her in a gentlemanly manner and make myself more likable to my childhood friend.

 

But I think that is just an act to look cool.

 

Even high school boys who are in the mood for sex are not always horny. On the battlefield, where lives are at stake, they get cold feet. The circuits are temporarily shut off, like getting aroused by looking at a girl’s underwear.

 

“Are you saying I’m not attractive?”

 

“That’s not what I’m saying, we’re on the brink of life or death right now. This is no time to be worrying about whether or not I can see your panties or not. You need to get your head on straight, too!”

 

An enemy on the third floor or so is a piece of cake for me, though.

 

You never know what’s going to happen in GenoReal, so I’m not going to let my guard down. If I think that I might die the next moment, human desires like that get pushed aside.

 

Thinking about it, the blonde’s group who attacked Kazuha were fatally lacking in crisis awareness.

 

Because they didn’t imagine that they would die, they foolishly gave priority to capturing a woman in front of the enemy’s eyes.

 

If they were as alert as I am, they would be able to handle it even if Kazuha suddenly became an enemy and attacked them with her petty knife the next moment.

 

It’s guys who don’t have that kind of imagination that die in the dungeon.

 

“Sorry, I was wrong. Shinjo-kun is right, in the dungeon, I shouldn’t mind if you can see my undies, shouldn’t I?”

 

Saying this, Kazuha personally rolled up the front of her skirt herself.

 

The sight of a classmate lifting up her skirt in front of me and showing me her underwear was so unbelievable that I involuntarily stiffened.

 

“Y, you… What are you doing all of a sudden?

 

“What, you said you diddn’t care, but maybe you gave a little thought to it, after all?”

 

I got so flustered that I unintentionally brushed off Kazuha’s hand as she lifted her skirt by herself.

 

Even if I deny it, my actions just now imply that I care. Damn it!

 

“Oh, screw it, you should have bought some decent underpants before the leather armor, let’s get the hell out of here and push through the third floor!”

 

“Wait, Shinjo-kun!”

 

Now the surprise sexy scene was quite effective.

 

The power of imagination to break through my circuit-blocking shutout with an unexpected action. I don’t know if she came up with it by accident or did it intentionally, but Kazuha may be much more capable than I thought.

 

If I get upset at this level, it means I’m still not critical enough.

 

I wish I could be a cool guy who doesn’t get upset about anything, but I guess I’m still a work in progress.

 

※※※

 

It took some time, as Kazuha was caught up in every single tentacle and sprayed with gooey bodily fluids, or suspended in a spider’s web again, but she finally broke through the third floor and stepped onto the fourth floor.

 

This is the zone of the dead. On the third floor, it was still a laughing matter when we were attacked, but from this point on, the atmosphere changed. Kazuha would die in an instant if she took a flick.

 

“Wow, there’s a corpse walking around!”

 

“I told you this is the dead zone. There will be lots of zombies and ghosts.”

 

I’m greeted near the entrance by a bunch of zombies. I change my weapon to the spirit sword ‘Onsatsumaru’ and slash at the necks of the zombies that come walking by.

 

The undead are physiologically disgusting, so I’d like to pass through this floor as quickly as possible in a straight line.

 

I have no choice but to go up to the hidden room ‘Garden’ where I plan to drop Kazuha off.

 

Just using my spirit sword won’t cut it; I might as well finish them off at once by hitting them with an extra-large fireball.

 

“Hai Ia Foi(Advanced Flame, Fly)!”

 

And then, fail.

 

The flames I shot out of my palm were quickly snuffed out. I guess I still can’t shoot perfectly at my rank.

 

“Midor Ia Foi(Intermediate Flame, Fly)!”

 

I regained my focus and unleashed an intermediate-level Fireball. With this, the front four were blown away, and I continued by grasping my spirit sword and plunging forward.

 

I sliced and diced the limbs of the zombies that filled the large room, rendering them incapacitated.

 

“Shinjo-kun…”

 

She certainly remembered the mental preparation I had drilled into her on the battlefield, so she didn’t pull any stunts like panicking and running away or clinging to me.

 

Kazuha, who is afraid of the undead, is looking around in the corner of the room with her legs trembling.

 

It’s good that she’s not getting in the way, but she’s still a bit of a liability.

 

I slowly walked over to Kazuha and hugged her body tightly.

 

“Eh!”

 

“You’re letting your guard down, you idiot!”

 

A ghost was coming from behind Kazuha. The range of human vision is narrower than you think. Even if you look around, it won’t mean anything if you don’t look behind you.

 

With a single thrust, the ghost let out a high-pitched cry and vanished.

 

It’s a nasty enemy that ignores the terrain and slips through walls, but the only thing that helps is that it’s not that strong.

 

“Do you remember the spell to expel enemies that don’t have substance?”

 

“Yes…”

 

“Well, just do it to the next ghost that comes along. They’ll be drawn to us anyway and come back.”

 

Weak enemies basically swarm, and it’s unlikely that there will be only one coming out.

 

Just as I was thinking that, a ghost appeared from the wall again. There you go, Kazuha!

 

“Lo Ansu Piri(Beginner anti-spirit)!”

 

“Again!”

 

The blade of anti-spirit magic, like transparent glass, flew towards the ghost, but a weak attack couldn’t defeat it in one shot.

 

“Lo Ansu Piri(Beginner anti-spirit)!”

 

“Good! You did it all by yourself.”

 

Even though it was a beginner’s level, it was brilliant to hit two shots without missing.

 

Cooks don’t have any physical plus bonuses, but maybe there’s a slight plus bonus for the magician rank.

 

“Um, Shinjo-kun…”

 

“Well, it means that even you can do it with some training.”

 

“No, it’s not that. Could you please back away soon? I’m sorry, you told me not to mind, but…”

 

“Oh, I see. Sorry if it bothered you.”

 

Somewhere along the line, I had embraced her tightly.

 

With her head down, Kazuha’s lips trembled and she blurted out something in a muffled voice. She even turned red to the ear. Did she dislike being touched by me that much?

 

I thought for a moment that I should just hold her in my arms for a while to harass her, but I decided not to.

 

Holding a girl over my hard leather armor wouldn’t be amusing or interesting, and… wait a minute, if it were her exposed thighs or buttocks, maybe it would be fun to squeeze them.

 

But that was just a joke, of course.

 

It wouldn’t be a problem if she disliked me, but if I tried to touch her butt or something, she might scream and run away.

 

Kazuha had just been almost raped by some guys, and it wasn’t a good idea to provoke her too much.

 

It’s not like Kumiko, playing pranks in a dangerous place is a fool’s errand. I was probably already disliked for handling Kazuha roughly, so there was no need to act like a creep.

 

If it was Seki, I would probably be able to get away with a sexually harassing joke.

 

But I didn’t really understand girls, so I didn’t know what to do. I should just quickly get her to a safe area.

 

“Um, you know… It’s not that I hated it.”

 

“Let’s move on quickly, our destination is just around the corner.”

 

The fourth floor is full of dangerous enemies, and I want to get past them quickly. It was more nerve-wracking for me when I wasn’t alone.

 

Disregarding Kazuha, who was still saying something, I quickly proceeded with my search to the next large room.

 

Fortunately, the effect of me passing through twice and killing undead seemed to linger, as the number of monsters wasn’t too overwhelming. I reached the small room in the back that led to the ‘Garden’ without much trouble.

 

I poke the floor with the tip of my sword, exposing the trapdoor.

 

I hammered a stake into the ground and lowered a rope. With my foot against the wall, I descended smoothly.

 

I descend to the bottom and look up to see Kazuha peeking over the top.

 

“Hey, Shinjo, I need a moment with this…”

 

“What, you’re too scared to come down? I’ll catch you if you fall, so hurry up.”

 

When I urged her, Kazuha seemed to gather her courage and descended down the rope.

 

I could do it with ease, but now that I thought about it, a three-meter rappelling descent might be challenging for a girl.

 

“Kazuha, muster your courage and loosen the hand holding the rope. You’re wearing gloves, and in the worst-case scenario, even if you fall and get hurt, you can heal with a health potion. It’s all about determination now!”

 

“No, it’s still a no! I can’t find that determination…”

 

Weak.

 

It’s surprising she made it this far with such a lack of spirit. Alright…

 

“Your panties are completely exposed!”

 

“Eek!”

 

I teased her, and she hurriedly descended.

 

It felt like she was about to fall, but I caught her securely when she reached the bottom.

 

“You’re lighter than I thought you’d be.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“How’s your hand? Does it hurt anywhere?”

 

“No, I’m fine, thank you.”

 

After setting her down, I examined her palms, which were unscathed thanks to her leather gloves.

 

I also checked her body front and back, but it seemed she hadn’t bumped or rubbed against the rope.

 

“Hey, you look shaggy.”

 

I put some life into Kazuha, who is staring at her glove and looking blank.

 

As expected, she must be tired, but our destination is just around the corner.

 

“All right, then. Beyond this gate is the safe zone where you’ll stay.”

 

The bars are further in, and I move diagonally across them slip past them and, enter the back.

 

“Huh? How did you get through?”

 

“You need to move from the wall on the side there, like simultaneously forward and to the left.”

 

“Huh? I can’t move through the wall at all.”

 

“Well, it takes a bit of practice.”

 

I went back and hugged Kazuha, who was slamming her body against the wall.

 

It seemed I had been disliked by her. Every time I touched her through the leather armor, I got resistance, making it quite troublesome.

 

“Huh? Waaa!”

 

“Rindou, just stay still! Calmly move in accordance with the movement of my body, and slowly move as if you were sinking your body into the wall.”

 

I was already holding her and forcibly pushed Kazuha’s body into the wall.

 

“Ah, I’m in…”

 

“It’s easy if you try. It’s the same feeling when you get out, but you don’t have to get out because you’re stuck in here and don’t have to come out until the game is over anyway.”

 

“Yeah, amazing…”

 

“What? Come on, get your ass over here.”

 

Every single movement was slow, maybe it was just a girl thing.

 

Kumiko would be more agile at times like this, even if she does joke around, but it would be impossible to tell Kazuha to do that.

 

I pull Kazuha’s hand and we continue down the corridor.

 

At the end of the corridor, I open the buttoned door and find myself in a large, brightly lit room.

 

“Beautiful…”

 

Looking up at the brilliant sunlight falling from the sky, Kazuha murmured in admiration.

 

When I saw it for the first time, I too was impressed by the mysterious and beautiful sight. This is the only ‘garden’ area in this dungeon.

 

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1. I didn’t notice earlier but it seems calling it petty knife is a Japanese thing. So, the petty knife gets its name from the French word ‘petit’, meaning ‘small’. It is smaller than a chef’s knife with a curved, lighter blade that makes it perfect for most kitchen applications.