Down in the depths, I met the arrogant Demon Lord Spellvia-san, and we ended up making a contract.
Spell-san has this special skill called Magic Perception. Thanks to it, we were able to round up every single hero's remains scattered around the area.
- The Pot Hero
- The Needle Hero
- The Boot Hero
- The Broom Hero
- The Mirror Hero
That's five in total.
"Counting Shortsword-san and me, that makes seven… So many just abandoned here…"
『This is only on this floor, mind you. There might be more on the upper levels.』
"Upper levels…?"
『This dungeon goes down 250 floors. This is the very bottom.』
"The very bottom!? No way…"
So at least seven heroes got stuck down here and never made it out.
There could be even more heroes trapped somewhere in this place…
…But honestly? I got super lucky.
Thanks to my Summon Item bag, I never had to worry about water or food.
And more importantly, I befriended the biggest roadblock to escaping—the Demon Lord Spell-san herself.
By choosing friendship instead of fighting, I get to leave here completely unharmed and without any real hassle.
Alright then.
"Pot-san, Needle-san, Boots-san, Broom-san, Mirror-san… I'm going to make good use of your powers, okay?"
I stored the five heroes' remains inside my bag.
I'm not sure if bringing their bodies back to the original world is even possible.
But at least this way they're not just left rotting down here, forgotten by everyone. That felt better than leaving them behind.
So yeah, I'm taking them with me.
『When you put a hero's corpse into the Hero's Bag, you can acquire the skills they possessed.』
Here's what I picked up:
——————
・Pot Hero
→ Cooking (Supreme), Absolute Severance, Heating
・Needle Hero
→ Sewing (Supreme), Anesthesia Needle, Steel Thread
・Boot Hero
→ Walking, Air Walk, Instant Step
・Broom Hero
→ Cleaning, Purification, Gust
・Mirror Hero
→ Mirror Sight, Reflection, Illusion
——————
"Whoa, fifteen new skills in one go."
『They're all ridiculously powerful. I wonder why they were discarded.』
"Hmm… Probably because none of them look like flashy holy weapons. A needle? Boots? Stuff like that."
Same goes for my bag, honestly.
The royals probably judged them worthless based on appearance alone and tossed the heroes down here.
What terrible people!
All these skills attached to holy weapons are insanely strong!
"Even if they weren't great in direct combat, they could've helped out in support roles or something…"
『That queen—Walujo or whatever her name was—just turned out to be a complete idiot who judges people by looks.』
"Yeah… Totally. What a jerk."
Anyway.
『Shall we head out then?』
"Umm…"
『What's wrong?』
"To be honest, I'm not sure we can escape that easily. According to my Mapping skill, even after leaving your room, it's still a pretty long way to the surface."
Water and food are covered by Summon Item.
Fighting monsters… Well, with Shortsword-san and the other discarded heroes' powers, plus Spell-san (who's a Fenrir), I feel like we could manage.
But…
"The thing I'm most worried about is getting hurt. No matter how many hero skills or holy weapons I have, I'm still just a normal 15-year-old…"
I'm not some battle-hardened fighter.
I can't go trading blows with monsters like some manga protagonist.
『You have the Hero's Bag that can suck up anything. There won't be any real fighting—you just store them away.』
"Yeah, but… what if I get ambushed? Or caught off guard…"
『My Magic Perception will catch every single ambush from monsters.』
"Okay, that helps… but what about pitfalls or traps? I really don't want to get injured and be unable to move."
『You're surprisingly forward-thinking. Didn't your sister call you the type who never thinks ahead?』
"Well… yeah. But after seeing all those discarded heroes turned into skeletons… I can't help worrying if I'll really make it out."
I keep picturing myself ending up like them—stuck here forever, bones bleaching in the dark.
『Don't worry about injuries. There's something good here.』
"Something good…?"
『Indeed. For now, let's head back to the place where I was sealed. There's what we need there.』
Was there something in that room…?
I don't want to doubt my new friend, so I follow her back to the chamber where she was sealed.
『Look—around the wall where I was sitting. See those huge purple crystals growing out?』
"Whoa, yeah. They're beautiful…"
Big, sharp purple crystals—like some kind of power stone from a game—were jutting out from the ground and walls.
I was so freaked out by Spell-san the first time I didn't even notice them.
They're seriously pretty…
"Appraise."
・Magic Crystal (Highest Quality)
→ A crystal formed from ambient magic accumulating over a very long time. Extremely fragile.
"Magic Crystal… so it's a lump of pure magic?"
『Yes. Magic tends to pool in damp places like forests or underground. And here, combined with the magic leaking from me, it's become an incredibly dense magic pool.』
"Ah, so that's why there are so many. What about these crystals?"
『Look closely at the tips. See something dripping?』
Just like she said, droplets were falling from the points—plink… plink…
I scooped some up with my hand and appraised it.
・Demigod Water
→ Liquid overflowing from magic crystals. Drinking it heals any injury or illness. It cannot regenerate lost limbs, but as long as you keep drinking, your lifespan will not end.
"Demigod Water… Whoa. So this is like an ultimate healing potion!"
『Exactly. If you fill your bag with plenty of Demigod Water, you can heal any injury.』
Nice!
Wait a sec…
『What's wrong? Aren't you going to store the Demigod Water in your bag? I'll help.』
"No… I just had a thought. If I take the whole magic crystals with me, wouldn't I get unlimited Demigod Water forever?"
If I just store the liquid, I'm limited to however much I collect now.
But if I take the entire crystals, I could have an endless supply!
『That's difficult. The higher the quality, the more fragile they are. Try touching one lightly.』
I poke one gently with my finger.
CRAAAAAACK!
It shattered into powder instantly.
『If you had supreme-level Mining skill, you might be able to take them. Even then, maybe one success out of a thousand attempts.』
"Seriously? Highest-quality ones are that hard to collect…"
『Pretty much impossible. Good idea, but mining and carrying them away isn't feasible.』
…Hmm?
Mining and carrying them isn't possible…
Which means…
If I don't mine them—if I don't damage them at all—maybe I can take them?
"Got it…"
I open my Hero's Bag wide.
"Store!"
WHOOOOOOSH!
A huge gust blows from the bag's mouth.
The magic crystals growing from the walls get yanked out with a *zup*—and every single highest-quality one in the room gets sucked inside.
『[Magic Crystal (Highest Quality)] stored.』
『[Demigod Water] stored.』
Yes!
Just like I thought!
By storing them directly with the bag's power instead of mining, I can take them without breaking anything!
"Spell-san, look!"
I reach into the bag, focus, and pull one out.
"Ta-da!"
『!? A magic crystal!? Without any Mining skill—how!?』
"I stored it in the Hero's Bag. Remember how it could store even that weird absolute barrier thing? So I figured maybe the crystals too…"
But this crystal feels… different.
When I poked it earlier, it shattered instantly.
Now, holding it? It's solid. No cracking at all.
Next I pull out some Demigod Water.
"Whoa, what the… a black box…?"
In my hand is a sleek black box.
I open the lid and tilt it.
Trickle trickle…
"Demigod Water's coming out of the box. Yep, looks like it stored perfectly… Uh, Spell-san? You okay?"
Her mouth was hanging open in total shock.
『Unbelievable… Achieving the impossible—collecting highest-quality magic crystals… That's incredible.』
And so, I gained a ton of skills from the discarded heroes.
Plus, I scored a massive haul of highest-quality magic crystals from Spell-san's lair—and basically infinite Demigod Water.
With all this, escaping might actually be doable!