CHAPTER 5 Part 2

“I-I’m tired…”

“Affirmative. I need to rest.”

“Woof.”

After we managed to defeat the Gluttony Worm, I crouched down.

Although we were not injured in any way, facing an attack power of 100,000 was mentally exhausting. The threat forced us to fight while being conscious of the fact that even a single blow was dangerous.

If it were only about status, it would be close to Mithril Boar or something like that, but no matter how I looked at it, the Gluttony Worm was by far the stronger opponent.

After all, as the name [Violent Eating] implies, it would eat anything. Moreover, since it compresses the food it eats inside its body and spits it out at super high speed, it is powerful both as a long-range and a short-range attack…

Furthermore, even though I defeated such a powerful enemy, my level did not increase. Seriously…?

Then, Ouma-san and the others who had been watching our battle approached us.

“Hmph. Why don’t you take that thing down as quickly as possible? Even though the arrogant Evil from before can do it… the current master should be able to handle it as well. That’s how strong you’ve become, you know?”

“N-no, as expected, I can’t be compared to Avis, but still, it was strong, and there’s no way I can have any leeway fighting it. If anything, it’s one of the strongest monsters I’ve ever fought…”

“What are you talking about? It’s good to be humble, but it’s also true that the results of your daily training are showing. You need to compliment yourself a little bit, too.”

“That’s…”

“But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re still inexperienced.”

“Which one is the right one?

I don’t know if I can compliment myself if you say so.

As I let out a sigh at Ouma-san’s words, I looked at the dropped items with my [Identification] skill.

[Violent Eating Helminth Skin] :: The skin of the Gluttony Worm, which is said to devour everything with its limitless appetite. The skin of the Gluttony Worm is constantly secreting slippery mucus from its surface, making it incredibly soft and difficult to cut.

[Magic Stone : S] :: Rank S. A special ore that can be obtained from monsters with magic power.

[Violent Eating’s Cleaner] :: Rare drop item for Gluttony Worm. A cleaner that bears the name of one of the Seven Deadly Sins, “Violent Eating.” It only sucks in objects that its owner recognizes as garbage. On the other hand, it does not suck in anything that the owner does not recognize as garbage. There is no limit to the amount of garbage it can suck in, and the garbage it sucks in can be converted into energy. However, it cannot suck in living organisms. It is very light and does not require a power source because it works by converting the garbage it sucks in into energy. A portable cordless cleaner that is easy to use. It is the only cleaner that does not change its suction power.

“What the heck is this?”

Nothing was shocking about the skin or the magic stone. If I had to say one thing, it would be that the skin of the Gluttony Worm was a material that slipped on the surface even when I slashed it with my [Omni-Sword], so it literally didn’t stand up to the blade. As for the magic stone, I thought it would be at least an SS grade if I were to consider the monster’s strength alone, but it’s not. That’s ridiculous. I wonder if it had something to do with the amount of magic power it possessed in its body.

Well, I was able to defeat it, so that’s good, but what’s more shocking is the cleaner!

It had been a long time since I’ve had a drop item among the daily necessities series, but I didn’t expect a cleaner! And there’s a violent sounding name to it!

…No, let’s look on the bright side. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with it; it’s just nice. It’ll make cleaning a lot easier!

After I stored the dropped items in my item box, Ouma-san took the lead again and started to go further.

“Are you done? Then let’s go ahead.”

“Oh, yes. By the way, how far are we from the destination?”

“What, we’re almost there.”

He just smiled meaningfully as he said that but didn’t give me any details.

Then, after a while, I realized that what Ouma-san said was true.

“Here.”

“T-this is…”

As we walked through the wilderness after that, it suddenly appeared.

(This hole is…)

“Astonished. I’ve never seen a hole this big before.”

“Woof.”

“Buhi.”

“Pipi?”

Yes, we were suddenly in a place where there was a hole in the ground. The diameter of the hole was so large that I couldn’t even tell.

And when I peeked down lightly so I wouldn’t fall in, all I saw was a pitch-black space.

While suppressing a terrible feeling, I asked Ouma-san.

“E-err… this place is…”

“Ah, this is the deepest part of the [Great Devil’s Nest]. It is also our destination this time. Well, to be precise, it’s the depths of this hole.”

“…..”

I had a hunch that I didn’t want it to come true, but it did. Or rather…

“No, no, no, this is impossible! Look at this hole!”

“Yeah, it’s a hole.”

“I’m not talking about that. How are you going to get down? What is this hole in the first place?”

There are so many things I want to say that I feel confused and more confused, but Ouma-san just laughed.

“This is the place that connects to the planet’s core.”

“The planet’s core?”

(Wha?)

As I twisted my head around, unable to keep up with the imagination, Merl-san seemed to have understood the exact meaning of Ouma-san’s words and was in shock.

(T-this is the hole that connects to the planet’s core? And in such a bare place? Do you realize that? The core is synonymous with the heart of the planet! How can it be in a place where it’s so easy to reach…?)

“As you say, beyond this point lies the core, the heart of the planet. But don’t get it wrong, okay? This place hasn’t been bare from the start. It’s just bare like this because of that Evil idiot. If it were in its original state, people would not be able to come here. It’s in the innermost part of the Great Devil’s Nest, after all.”

“T-that’s right…”

It was only after Ouma-san’s explanation that I understood that this was the deepest part of the Great Devil’s Nest that I had always wanted to reach.

…I didn’t think there would be a hole like this, but I guess it’s still an important place for this planet.

“But why is there a hole in the ground?”

“A long time ago, the Sage showed interest in the core of this planet. However, as you can imagine, he couldn’t open a hole leading to the center of the planet in a crowded place, so he chose the innermost part of this Great Devil’s Nest, where people wouldn’t bother him. It would be impossible for a human being to reach here, and there is no sign of anyone around.”

“What are you doing, Sage-san?”

You’re drilling a hole that connects to the core of the planet just out of curiosity? Isn’t that a bit out of the ordinary?

As I was surprised by Sage-san’s outrageous story, Merl-san’s voice trembled as if she had noticed something.

(Huh? C-could it be that… you are planning to use the planet’s core to power my ship? If the planet’s core disappears, this planet will be destroyed!)

“Eehh?”

I was surprised by the sudden word ‘destroy,’ but Ouma-san let out a sigh.

“Are you stupid? As a matter of fact, I would never do such a thing. Rather, this planet will not allow it.”

“The planet won’t allow it?”

“…I won’t bother you with the explanation. If you’re lucky, you’ll find out about it.”

“Y-yes…”

“Anyway, the planet’s core itself will not be used. However, there will be energy crystals overflowing from the core lying around the core. I thought of using those.”

(I-I see…)

I’ll have to go in to find out the details, but there may be something there that can power Merl-san’s spaceship.

“But if we were to go to the end of this hole, how would we get down? Besides, if we are going to the center of the planet… it must be very hot, right?”

I had an image of the center of the planet, but it didn’t sound like a place where people could go because of the magma.

But Ouma-san didn’t seem to mind and looked at the hole.

“Oh well. My magic will protect you from the heat, as I’m sure you can’t do anything about it. And… as for the way to get to the bottom of the hole, as long as you follow the right procedure, you’ll be fine.”

“Procedure?”

“Just watch.”

As Ouma-san approached the edge of the hole, he suddenly began to release a tremendous amount of magic from his body.

Then something like a magic circle appeared above the hole.

“If you pour in a certain amount of magic power like this, a magic circle will appear to help you get down the hole safely. If you ride this, you can safely reach the center of the planet without falling and being killed.”

“I-I see…”

As I nodded to Ouma-san’s explanation, a pale blue light gently enveloped my body.

“Look, I’ve cast a spell on you. This way, you won’t die from the heat or the lava. Although it’s a bit of a hassle, I’ll also protect your clothing. Now, you will have no problem soaking in the lava. Do you want to give it a try?”

“Eh, I’ll pass…”

As expected, I don’t want to be soaked in lava.

“Or rather, how does Ouma-san know about such things?”

“Hey, Yuuya. You didn’t forget that I’m the Genesis Dragon, didyou?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“Did you really forget that?”

“N-no, um… I mean, I know that you’re the Genesis Dragon, but I had a stronger sense of you as a family than that, so…”

“Ugh… Y-you can’t fool me by saying that! Good gracious…”

Ouma-san got on top of the magic circle in anger.

“What are you doing? Come on, get your ass over here!”

“Ah, yes.”

“Shame. Ouma-san, you’re embarrassed.”

“Eh?”

“Yuti!”

Even though Ouma-san was angry with her, Yuti got on top of the magic circle without seeming to care. Night and the others and me followed, and finally, Merl-san stepped onto the magic circle with some hesitation.