Published at 26th of December 2025 7:37 am

Chapter 425: I Cant Stay Calm Even if I Have Room to Spare When Theres a Limit on the Number of Times

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

After that, I formally submitted a request and officially employed Anemo-san as our instructor. Naturally, we also registered as explorers, and now were fifth-class explorers.

Anemo-san, who was as delighted as if it were her own achievement, guided us daily, teaching us not only the knowledge of being explorers but also the common sense of this world Three days later, we once again passed through the gate and came outside the town.

Well then, from today well start practical training. Are you both ready? Anemo-san asked.

Yeah! I responded.

Yes! Tia chimed in.

We replied to Anemo-sans words. Tia, in particular, was full of energy, seemingly enjoying the unknown to the fullest once again.

By the way, Tia and I were carrying matching backpacks. Theyre quite heavy, packed full of supplies, but Tias had a weight-reducing magical device attached to it, which we had splurged on a bit.

The fact that such things could be bought at a reasonable price makes me feel the technology level was somewhat skewed, but if I were to point that out, this entire world seemed to be built on rather skewed principles, so I decided not to worry about it. No use thinking too hard about it anyway.

Great responses! Now, lets review what I taught you until yesterday. Tia-san, whats the most important thing in dungeon exploration?

Um not fighting enemies?

Thats right! Enemies Encounters cant be defeated by just fighting normally. Depending on the degree of damage, theyll regenerate at a fairly quick pace as long as the dungeons mana remains. What we do about that is this Nukimizu.

(T/N: Yeah encounters is, I believe, the name of those enemies)

Saying this, Anemo-san took out the water bottle she had when we first met from her waist bag.

This bottle contains special water that drains mana from objects its applied to. Well, to be precise, its water with extremely low mana content, and by utilizing the movement of mana that always tries to maintain a constant state, it averages out the targets mana with the flowing water, resulting in absorbing the mana.. Anyway, with this, we can drain the mana from Encounters and return it to the dungeon. However

Anemo-san paused and sloshed the water bottle in her hand.

As you can see, this is a consumable item. Once its out of the bottle, it absorbs the surrounding mana, so we cant collect and reuse it. In other words, the amount we can carry directly corresponds to the number of Encounters we can defeat.

So its like a battle with limited uses We cant just defeat them and leave them, right?

Yes. For example, in a situation like the one you two defeated earlier, even though it appears to be just a rolling stone, its actually considered an Encounter. If a stone suddenly came under foot while walking normally, you might trip over it, let alone during combat. Needless to say, it would be extremely dangerous, wouldnt it?

Ugh, thats nasty. You mean we might not even notice until its too late to avoid?

Well, if it has consciousness, itd probably roll at a timing thats hard to avoid.

Attacks or obstructions from outside ones awareness, no matter how trivial, could lead to fatal consequences. But it was unrealistic to be wary of every single stone lying around.

Thats right. So Encounters that are half-defeated are actually more troublesome than those that attack normally. To avoid creating such man-made trapsExplorers are obligated to process defeated Encounters with Nukimizu. We dont expect you to do this when youre about to die, but in malicious cases, your explorer qualification might be suspended, or in severe cases, you could even be arrested, so be careful.

Yes! Tia and I responded in unison to Anemo-sans explanation. This world-specific restriction was quite troublesome for us, but it was something we couldnt ignore.

Of course, I could use my power to end them indefinitely but the mana circulation system seemed to be fundamental to this world, and I honestly didnt want to do anything rash. I didnt want to end up breaking the circulation just because it was troublesome and end up with the world being destroyed. That wouldnt even make for a funny story.

Well then, now that weve finished reviewing, shall we start actual dungeon exploration? Ill take the lead at first, so you two follow behind me, okay?

Got it. Ill take the rear, so Tia, you stay in the middle.

Understood. Well then, take care of us, Anemo-san.

Leave it to me! Ill work hard for the reward! Hehehe

Anemo-sans face relaxed for a moment as she thumped her chest. It seemed Anemo-san was short on money and was excited about what to buy with the reward we paid her.

By the way, in my first playthrough, I met Anemo-san in a similar way and accompanied her investigation not as a client but as an assistant. I was somewhat useful and gradually gained her trust but then I intentionally started slacking off and ended up being fired and exiled. It was a rather bitter memory.

Ed-san? Shall we go?

Ah, yeah. Sorry.

I hurriedly replied to Anemo-san, who was looking at me curiously, and followed after her. My chest ached a little as I watched her small figure walking energetically ahead.

At that moment, in the dungeon interior where no wind should blow, a gentle breeze unexpectedly caressed my cheek.

( Tia?)

Its different now, isnt it?

Tia, who had turned back slightly in front of me, spoke with her jade eyes. Yeah, that was right. It was fine to occasionally indulge in memories of the harsh past, but it was wrong to let that stop me now.

Thanks.

I wasnt not sure if Tia heard my quiet murmur. She smiled and turned forward, and I also refocused my attention, staying alert to our surroundings as we moved forward. Soon, we discovered two stone humanoid figures, Encounters, at the end of the passage.

There they are. It seems they havent noticed us yet.

What should we do, Anemo-san? This is a single path, but

If this were deeper in the dungeon, wed turn back and take a detour. Also, if they were Encounters of that size, running past them and escaping would be an option, but thats only if were being chased from behind or if its an area weve already explored. Its a bad move to engage and then try to escape when we dont know whats ahead.

Thats true. No matter how many enemies we can actually defeat, itd be the worst to run away to save resources only to find enemies ahead and get caught in a pincer attack. But still, we dont meet either of the conditions you mentioned now, right?

Thats right. So here, well go with the third option well defeat them.

Is that okay? Didnt you say we should avoid them as much as possible?

Tia tilted her head, but Anemo-san replied with a knowing smile.

Fufu, thats certainly true, but Explorers of third class and above are encouraged to properly defeat Encounters found near town. Its easy to return and resupply, and if left alone, they could be dangerous for non-Explorers moving through the dungeon.

So its about following the basics, but not being obsessed with them, huh?

Oh, Ed-san, you say some clever things. Well then, now its a test for you. Id like to see both of your abilities, so could you fight alone first, Ed-san

Me? Ah, sure.

Grinning at Anemo-sans words, I put down my luggage and stepped forward, passing between the two. The two Encounters also noticed my presence and took defensive stances.

Well then, lets get a little exercise, shall we?

Share