The girl who introduced herself as Agetha was incredibly powerful. She would summon a sword from thin air and effortlessly slay A-rank level monsters with it.
Following her, it seemed like we might indeed conquer the dungeon.
"Hey, Kiska, am I strong?"
"Yeah, you're really strong."
"See?"
She wore a proud expression.
Her monster-slaying was going so smoothly that we had the luxury of having a conversation.
"Hey, where are we in the dungeon?"
"Well… probably around the 45th floor."
The 45th floor. It seems we've ventured quite deep.
"Which way are we heading now?"
"Toward the dungeon boss."
She said it casually.
"Shouldn't we head back to the entrance?"
"Unfortunately, once you've come this far in the dungeon, there's no way to return to the entrance."
"…Is that so?"
If that's the case, it was inevitable to proceed to the room with the exit, or rather, the dungeon boss.
"Are you feeling uneasy, by any chance?"
"Well, saying I'm not anxious would be a lie."
"Don't worry; it's okay. I'll protect you."
"Is that so?"
From then on, she continued to slay the monsters that came at us with her sword one after another. When she disassembled the defeated monsters, they disappeared into thin air.
"Hey, you've been making things appear and disappear, how are you doing that?"
"Oh, this is a skill called 'Item Box.' Convenient, isn't it?"
Come to think of it, I remember seeing 'Item Box' in the list of skills that can be obtained with the 'Crystal of Wisdom.' If she's storing various things in the 'Item Box,' then it makes sense.
Then, she collected materials from the defeated monsters, including magic stones, and stored them in her 'Item Box.'
"Um, Agetha-san, why were you…?"
"Just call me Agetha. I look younger, after all."
"Oh, I see. Agetha, why were you in a place like that?"
"Oh, I was sealed a long time ago. Because I was betrayed by someone."
Betrayed, huh. Maybe she's been in a similar situation to mine.
"Do I need to return the skills I received from you, Agetha…?"
"You mean 'Save & Reset'? Once a skill is given, it's not easy to take it back. So, it's yours now."
"Is that how it works?"
"Well, I'm really glad that you came to me like this. So, I'm very grateful to you."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is. If you hadn't come, I would have been sealed there forever. So, Kiska, you're like a savior to me."
"That sounds a bit too grand."
"Not at all."
"Well, thanks to Agetha's skills, I've been able to survive like this too. It's mutual."
"Haha, you're right about that."
Our dungeon conquest with Agetha was going smoothly. It was almost too smooth, to the point of being unnerving. However, I hadn't really done much.
"So, this is the room where the mid-boss is."
Suddenly, Agetha stopped in front of the door.
"What's in there?"
"Well, I don't know the details, but don't worry, Kiska. I'll protect you."
"Oh, thanks."
It's honestly embarrassing to be told by a girl that she'll protect me, but she's stronger, so I guess there's no help for it.
Anyway, we entered the room with the mid-boss.
"A Rock Golem, an S-rank monster."
In front of us was a massive creature that easily exceeded ten meters and resembled a colossal rock-like golem.
"Kiska, stay back."
"Oh, I got it."
After that, a fierce battle unfolded between Agetha and the Rock Golem.
Agetha fearlessly charged forward with her greatsword.
Her movements were agile and powerful.
She showed no hesitation even against the colossal Rock Golem.
"Impressive…"
With this level of skill, she might be able to defeat even the Rock Golem easily.
"Argh!"
I thought that just before it happened.
Unable to block the Rock Golem's attack, Agetha was sent flying.
This was bad; the Rock Golem was preparing to attack Agetha again while she was off balance.
"Hey, look over here!"
Before I knew it, I had used my skill " Provocation."
Immediately, the Rock Golem turned toward me.
"No, Kiska!"
Agetha said in a hurry, but I couldn't just keep receiving help from her.
I had plenty of experience dodging the Armored Bear Bugbear's attacks.
If I could use that experience, avoiding the Rock Golem's attack should be a piece of cake.
"Hey, target me!"
I continued to use Provocation on the Rock Golem.
Upon seeing this, the Rock Golem unleashed its attacks on me repeatedly.
It's okay, the Rock Golem's movements were slower and more predictable compared to the Armored Bear Bugbear. With careful observation, evasion was easy. At least I could buy some time until Agetha recovered.
"Thank you, Kiska. Now I can defeat it."
Agetha said this while holding a radiant greatsword.
While I had the monster's attention, she must have been preparing for a technique that took some time to activate.
"Holy Way Sword Technique, Dragon Slayer!"
Saying this, she swung her greatsword, and the Rock Golem split in two.
It was clear to anyone that she had defeated the Rock Golem.
"Kiska!"
Saying this, Agetha leaped into my arms.
I hastily caught her.
"We did it!"
"Yeah, it seems that way."
I nodded.
Everything was going smoothly, and at that moment, I truly believed it.