My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! Volume 14 Chapter 2

 CHAPTER 2

Too bad! My adventure ends here! Hahaha!

"Even though it's called a prison area, it's still a dungeon in the end, right?"

Inside the pyramid in the sky castle field, Hanakawa Daimon, Ninomiya Ryouko, and Carol S. Lane were in the prison area. They had come this far aiming to meet up with Yogiri.

Hanakawa's class was Monk, so he wore a kung fu outfit. Ryouko was a Samurai, so she wore a haori and hakama, and Carol was a Ninja, but she didn't seem to be sneaking around and wore a flashy red ninja outfit. Wearing class-appropriate attire provided stat bonuses, so they had to wear them, even if they looked a bit strange.

"Isn't the prison part just that you can't get out once you enter?"

Carol said without giving it much thought.

"I find it strange that monsters attack in a prison as well."

While cutting a lizard-man in half with a single stroke, Ryouko said.

"Hmm, guards?"

"They just seem to be attacking indiscriminately, and there's no sign of any intention to control things."

"It's a bit of a letdown for a final dungeon, isn't it? There don't seem to be any major gimmicks."

"It's kind of spacious, and it doesn't feel much like a dungeon, does it?"

The passageway was about ten meters wide and high. There were branches here and there, making it somewhat complex like a labyrinth, but there were no traps or mechanisms to be found. Moreover, when holding a Philosopher's Stone, the direction to the gate leading to the next level was revealed, so there wasn't much chance of getting lost.

To pass through the gate, a Philosopher's Stone was needed, so that could be considered a mechanism. However, all party members had a Philosopher's Stone, and they could be used any number of times, so there was no need to think about this aspect.

"But as we progress, I feel the monsters are getting stronger. We shouldn't let our guard down."

"Indeed. No matter what has happened so far, this is still the last dungeon, and a monster has appeared!"

As they followed the guidance of the Philosopher's Stone, five moving skeletons appeared ahead.

When Hanakawa used his appraisal skill, they seemed to be as strong as the monsters they had encountered thus far.

"Why don't you fight, Hanakawa?"

"I think the two of you cooperating will finish things more smoothly than if I join in!"

"Um, we might seem like a combo, but Carol and I don't have some kind of telepathic connection or anything."

"Oh! That's cold! I'll show Hanakawa a four-dimensional killing technique that's impossible for him!"

In reality, Ryouko and Carol easily dispatched the monsters, so Hanakawa didn't have a chance to participate. Although Hanakawa's Monk level had increased, and he was a somewhat useful combatant, he would likely only hinder their progress if he interfered.

Hanakawa decided to watch their backs and wait for the battle to end.

"Well... We've come this far, sort of just going with the flow... Is this alright? Takatou might be planning to return to our original world by killing everything in his path, but... I don't particularly want to go back..."

If their goal was to return, they should just stay close to Yogiri. They didn't know how many people could return at once, but being near Yogiri would likely offer the highest chance. Yogiri may seem cold but has a sweet side. If they had forced their way into accompanying him, he probably wouldn't have turned them away with a cold expression.

However, Hanakawa wanted to enjoy the other world since he had come all this way. Just because something happened twice doesn't mean it will happen a third time. It's probably more realistic to assume that he will not be involved in another world transfer again.

"So, if we decide not to return... that's troublesome in its own way, isn't it?"

This world is far too dangerous. It would be nearly impossible to survive with just a little cheat. Even if Hanakawa were to find a seemingly safe place with his abilities and enjoy a laid-back harem life, there is a high chance that he would be caught up in unpredictable situations.

"No... After all, this is a critical moment in my life. If I just go on like this, I won't be able to turn back when the time comes!"

Hanakawa decided to consider the possible cases from here on.

First, the case where Yogiri somehow returns home.

In this scenario, the powerful people heading to subdue Yogiri would likely all be defeated. The Sages and the Great Sage would not overlook Yogiri's return, and they would eventually end up in a fight and fall.

"Hmm... Is that a better case? If all those unstoppable monsters are defeated, there might be room for me to live leisurely..."

However, thinking that all the powerful people would be defeated by Yogiri might be overly optimistic. There should be some people who are just watching this situation unfold. In that case, the power to survive in a world with such people would be necessary.

"Perhaps it's better to return with Takatou... There are manga, anime, and games I'm curious about... No! After all, even if I return, my future will be bleak! Compared to a dead-end life, a little danger is nothing!"

So, how should he acquire the power to survive?

A simple option would be to continue developing his Monk powers. Since he has a level cap breaking skill, he should grow just by training.

"However, the power I would gain would only be a little better than that of a healer..."

Considering the people he had encountered so far, he couldn't imagine that his trained Monk powers would be effective. It would be the end when a god-like being appeared.

"Should I rely on the power the Great Sage is going to give me? Will that power remain even after the Great Sage dies? Can Takatou even defeat the Great Sage?"

Another case.

Yogiri is killed by someone, and the world restarts.

In this scenario, the problem would be the point from which the world restarts.

"Or should I say, would the restart be before the school trip bus arrives?"

The Great Sage recognizes that various problems have arisen due to Yogiri coming to this world. Currently, there are issues with restarting the world due to Yogiri's influence, but if the world restarts and Yogiri comes again, it will just be a repetition of the same thing.

In other words, if the world restarts, there is a chance that Hanakawa and the others would not be able to come to this world.

"No, no, no! That would be bad, wouldn't it? In that case, is it best for Takatou to return after all? No? If I negotiate with the Great Sage in advance, can I be summoned by myself?"

"What are you mumbling about?"

"Oh! When did you start listening?!"

Carol had come to Hanakawa's side, perhaps because the battle was over.

"I'm not particularly interested in what Hanakawa is saying, but I just thought it was creepy!"

"Well, you could be a little more interested in me, you know? I might be up to no good!"

"Hmm. The moment I feel that, I'll chop your head off!"

"Stop talking like you just remembered something"

"Let's go."

Ryouko was trying to go ahead alone. Hanakawa and Carol hurriedly followed.

After a while, they found a wall partially turned pitch black. This was a gate that could not be entered without the Philosopher's Stone.

Upon entering, there was a staircase leading to the upper floor. Looking back, the gate they had passed through was gone, replaced by a wall, meaning they could not go back once they moved forward. In other words, it was the same as before.

As they climbed the stairs and went through the gate on the upper floor, the atmosphere changed completely.

A strange premonition came over them.

"There's... something here."

Ryouko became cautious.

It wasn't just her imagination; the air was unmistakably raw and warm.

"Is this like a mid-boss? I thought it was too easy up to this point."

"Hanakawa hasn't done anything special, though."

"If I had a chance, I would have played an active role!"

"Then I'll give you a chance. Go ahead."

Carol stepped back and pushed Hanakawa forward.

"Eh, really?"

"It should be fine. Based on what we've experienced so far, I can't imagine the difficulty suddenly skyrocketing!"

"Well... That's true. This Cavern Quest has a kusoge¹ feel in places, but the game balance isn't too broken..."

Hanakawa looked around. They were at the end of the passage, so they had to move straight ahead. There was a T-junction a little further ahead, so they would have to choose whether to go left or right.

They could sense the next gate on the left side, so logically, they should go left.

"Doesn't Hanakawa have any scouting skills?"

"No, I don't. I have a status appraisal skill for information, but it only allows me to check the status of opponents I can see."

Since they didn't know where the enemy was, they had to proceed cautiously. Hanakawa timidly walked towards the T-junction.

He stopped just before the junction and peeked out to check left and right.

When he looked left, he saw red.

Before he could question what it was, Hanakawa found out the hard way.

His face was scorched by intense heat. In other words, he had witnessed a flame coming at him.

His eyeballs burst, his throat was seared, and his face was charred in an instant. He could no longer stand and fell forward.

--This is bad!

Normally, there wouldn't be any room to think about such things, but his Monk endurance allowed him to avoid instant death. Due to his resistance to pain, he could remain relatively calm in this situation.

Carol pulled the fallen Hanakawa.

As he was dragged in front of the T-junction, Hanakawa recovered thanks to his auto-heal.

"No... If I were still a Healer, I would've been in big trouble!"

To activate magic skills, one needs to either vocalize or operate the Battle Song UI.

However, with a destroyed throat, one can't vocalize, and operating the UI requires vision. In other words, in a state where both eyes and throat were burned, he wouldn't have been able to actively cast healing magic. He was saved because of the Monk's auto-heal, which automatically activated healing magic.

"Hanakawa, that's disgusting!"

"Is that the first thing you say to me, who experienced danger firsthand?!"

"Seeing your charred skin falling off and pink skin regenerating is unbearable!"

"More importantly, what happened?"

As Carol made a disgusted face, Ryouko asked for confirmation.

"Well... I thought something was coming, and then suddenly I was charred..."

"You're useless!"

"No, now we know there's something that attacks suddenly, so it's not entirely pointless."

"As expected of Ryouko! You understand my value!"

"So, what will you do?"

"It seemed like a fireball came flying. It didn't look like it was unavoidable, though."

As Carol and Ryouko were discussing, they heard footsteps.

The sound and vibrations were like an earthquake, indicating a huge creature.

Without any time to consider their next move, it appeared around the corner of the passage.

A dragon.

Its height was about five meters. It had a giant lizard-like appearance as it walked on four legs, and it had folded wings on its back. Flames were leaking from its jaws, so it was probably the source of the fireball from earlier. It was clearly in a different league from the monsters they had encountered so far.

"Hanakawa, it's your turn!"

"From zombies and skeletons to suddenly a dragon, this game is such crap!"

The dragon opened its mouth wide and fired a fireball.

Ryouko and Carol dodged to the left and right, and the fireball hit Hanakawa, who was in the middle.

However, this time, he knew the attack was coming, so he was able to intercept it with his ki bullet. He extended both hands forward and released energy. He couldn't completely neutralize it, but he managed to endure the attack somehow.

Hanakawa wanted to complain, but the other two were already taking their next actions.

Ryouko approached the dragon and attacked its front leg with her sword, while Carol threw a shuriken at its eye.

The blade was repelled by the tough scales. The dragon swung its front leg down, and Ryouko jumped back. The attack was swift for such a large body, and if Ryouko hadn't escaped immediately, she would have been hit directly.

The shuriken accurately hit the dragon's eyeball, but that was all it did. It didn't pierce the surface and slid off, flying in the wrong direction.

"Doesn't Ryouko have any dragon-slaying techniques?" Carol asked with a wry smile.

"I don't. By the way, I just used a skill called Iron-Slicing Sword, but it doesn't seem to have any effect at all."

"What will happen to us, then?"

"After all, I'm just an ordinary person with slightly higher physical abilities who has received ninja training in assassination! Ryouko, do you have any secret weapons?"

"Don't expect too much from a Samurai. I can handle youkai extermination at best."

"Too bad! My adventure ends here! Hahaha!"

"This is no time to laugh!"

It seemed that Carol had realized the difference in their abilities after a brief exchange.

"Even if we can't win, I think there's a chance to move forward when there's an opening!"

"No, that's impossible, isn't it? Ah, if one of us acted as a decoy, it might work!"

"Eh?"

Suddenly, Carol disappeared. Soon after, Ryouko's figure also vanished. It was probably a ninja skill.

"Hey, hey, hey! That skill can be used on the third person too, right?!"

"If everyone disappears at once, it'll be unnatural, won't it?"

Only Carol's voice could be heard.

"It's already unnatural with two people disappearing!"

"Even so, it's natural to deal with the visible enemy first, right?"

"Ugh! Fine, I'll use the ki concentration technique!"

The Monk's ki concentration is a skill for accumulating ki. The accumulated ki can be utilized in various ways, so it's never a mistake to concentrate ki while observing the situation. However, the accumulated ki must be used within a certain period, so it couldn't be used continuously.

By the way, can I use ki concentration for detecting enemies?

Hanakawa realized that concentrating ki enhanced his senses. With enhanced hearing, he could detect something far away.

As he focused, he heard footsteps moving away. They seemed to be trying to silence their steps, but they couldn't do it completely.

In other words, Carol and the others had already moved behind the dragon.

"I thought you guys were pretending to ignore me and actually planning to ambush it after disappearing!"

The two didn't even react to Hanakawa's cry. They were doing their best to get away from there.

The air stirred.

Hanakawa immediately jumped up. The massive tail swept through the space where Hanakawa had just been.

His enhanced senses allowed him to detect the attack.

"Oh? Maybe, just maybe, I could..."

For a moment, he thought that if he could master the Monk's power, he could compete with the dragon. But as he saw the incoming fireball, Hanakawa realized it was a fleeting dream.

He quickly used the accumulated ki for defense. He was blown away by the direct hit of the fireball, but he barely managed to avoid severe burns.

He hit the ceiling and rolled on the floor. Hanakawa quickly got up, but the dragon's front leg was right above him.

As expected, it could move quickly despite its massive body.

The dragon's huge leg swung down.

He had used up all his accumulated ki.

There was no time left to dodge or defend.

"Someone, help!"

Hanakawa didn't really think anyone would conveniently come to his rescue in this situation; it was a desperate cry.

"Sure."

So Hanakawa was genuinely surprised to hear a response.

With a loud explosion, the dragon's body tilted. The leg that was swung down hit the floor without touching Hanakawa.

Hanakawa hastily retreated and looked towards where the voice came from.

There stood a girl dressed in a stage outfit like an idol.

"It's terrible to leave a classmate behind, isn't it?"

"Ah, I vaguely feel like I've left someone behind before..."

Speaking as if she had forgotten about abandoning her classmates right after being transferred was Akino Sora, a classmate of Hanakawa.

1. Kusoge - Lit. "shitty game."

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