Explorers who venture into dungeons always equip a bracelet-like device called Dive Gear.

This is an essential tool that fixes the wearer’s presence in relation to the officially named “Otherworld Deep Zone”—a term abbreviated as Dungeon. Without it, they say, you’d end up becoming one of the dungeon’s monsters. Scary, huh?

At the same time, it’s also a tool for summoning weapons.

Weapons summoned from magical energy vary greatly depending on the user. Many weapons come with magical effects.

Narou Kei is no exception, and his weapon has a special effect.

The effect? Poison.

The small dagger’s poison, dripping from its tip, can paralyze an opponent. It’s weak.

But it worked perfectly for Kei, who used it to stab the protagonist, then kick them while they were paralyzed. It’s perfect for a disposable role.

“For me, though, this crappy reach weapon is just so hard to use!”

In the beginner dungeon, I just float around and slash at targets.

This forest-like area is quite vast, and I was told by Mizuhi-senpai at the start that there’s a danger of getting lost.

“Paralysis doesn’t work on virtual enemies, anyway. Damn, I wish I had a weapon just for me.”

For each Dive Gear, only one weapon can be registered.

Unfortunately for Narou Kei, he registered a useless weapon, meaning no other weapons can be summoned.

By the way, Dive Gear isn’t cheap—it costs at least a million. So, it’s not something you can buy casually. Huh? What about the cross-dressing gear? Shut up about that.

“If I could join dungeon rescues, I’d probably make more money, but I gotta get stronger first.”

The ultimate goal is to claim a TS Dungeon a year from now.

By defeating the boss inside and obtaining the core, you gain ownership of the dungeon.

To do that, I first need to acquire new Dive Gear.

Also, skill is necessary.

“This outfit was advertised as ‘battle-ready goth loli,’ but it’s surprisingly easy to move in… The mask is just suffocating, though.”

Every time I swing my dagger, my outfit flutters at the edge of my vision. I swish my skirt, fighting elegantly. Yep, I’m a beautiful girl.

“I don’t have time for weaklings like you—Wait, what!?”

I slice through the target, striking a pose and delivering a line.

Normally, even in this body, my voice is androgynous, but if I tighten my throat, it sounds really cute.

Maybe a slightly downbeat tone fits this look better, though.

Huh, these moments are when I really feel alive.

“I feel like I could fight all day today. My soul’s shining brighter than ever!”

The power of explorers comes from a mysterious energy called magic, which is closely tied to the soul. Right now, my magic is overflowing.

In this world, magic isn’t used for spells; it’s mainly used for physical enhancement, so when cross-dressing, I get a kind of buff.

If just cross-dressing gives a buff, that’s a good deal.

“Slice, slice, and slice again!”

I slice through the targets swiftly and decisively.

Nothing can stop me now.

The body I’d once had difficulty managing as a disposable character, and the soul shining with the brilliance of the sun.

At this point, I could probably even defeat the boss.

“According to Mizuhi-senpai, dungeon bosses are just big, slightly creepy humanoid monsters. I’ll just slice them up and take their corpse to have some fun playing ‘beautiful girl’ with it.”

Nothing strange about that.

And so, I began searching for the boss.

The clue? A large figure.

So, if I stay in the forest, I should find it quickly, but I couldn’t seem to locate it.

“It’s not here… Maybe it’s not out at night?”

As I started to consider other possibilities, I caught sight of something in my peripheral vision—a cave.

There was a strangely exposed rock surface in the forest, and right in the middle, a large hole had formed.

Being the genius I am, I immediately understood what it was.

“It’s the boss’s lair!”

Dungeon monsters need magic to survive, but otherwise, they’re just like ordinary creatures. The guidebook mentioned that some monsters sleep at night.

Following that logic, the boss should be sleeping now. I’ll take it to heaven, then.

“One swift strike to the back of the neck should do it… Wait, would that even be good practice?”

I drew my dagger and entered the cave.

Less than ten seconds later, I ran into a dead-end wall.

“Is this a trap? What the—”

Wait, it’s not a wall; it’s a huge door.

I lit up the door with the light from my Dive Gear.

It was covered in rust and dirt, but it was a mechanical double door.

“What’s this?”

I pushed on it as a test.

Well, of course, it didn’t open, but—

“Oh, it opened.”

The door crumbled from where I touched it, eventually creating a hole wide enough for me to pass through.

This wasn’t so much opening as it was breaking.

“Excuse me!”

I crawled through the hole and entered.

By this point, I knew the boss wasn’t here, but I was curious about the clearly hidden room.

Inside, there was a large semicircular space.

The ceiling was covered with something like glass, letting in natural light, revealing the stars outside.

In the center of the room, illuminated by the moon hanging in the dungeon sky, was something.

A large scythe, black and ominous in appearance, giving off a biological vibe.

The massive scythe was resting on a pedestal, about as tall as me.

“What is this… I’ve never seen anything like this in the original.”

I carefully navigated around the numerous tubes leading to the pedestal and approached the scythe.

This was clearly no ordinary object.

“I guess this is a holy relic.”

Sometimes, magical objects manifest as holy relics in dungeons. They come in all shapes and sizes, and the original protagonist, Touraku, also obtained some overpowered holy relics… but I’ve never seen anything like this.

“Weapon-type relics are supposed to be incredibly rare… Would something like this really be in a beginner dungeon?”

I quickly realized that it might be something special for Fectom Comprehensive Academy, but I immediately dismissed the thought.

Fectom Academy, always short on funds, wouldn’t just leave a relic this valuable lying around.

Judging by the door’s deterioration, it had likely been left here for a long time, and no one knew about it.

If no one knows about it…

“Guess I’ll sell it☆”

It should fetch a good price, and I bet Mizuhi-senpai and the others would be thrilled. Those people mostly just eat soybeans.

I entered the academy just for the TS, but those three are surprisingly nice, so if I can, I’ll help them out. And when I finally become a girl, I’ll want to join their group.

TS yuri does exist (extremist).

“Alright, let’s take this now.”

I moved closer to the scythe, rubbing my hands together.

I didn’t want to touch it with bare hands, so I used the black lace gloves from my goth-loli outfit.

“I think I want some meat tomorrow~”

Just as I reached for the scythe…

An intense, never-before-felt pain suddenly shot through my body.

“Ugh!? What is this…?!”

It felt like my insides were being turned inside out, an instinctive discomfort and pain surged relentlessly.

It hurt 0.5 times more than getting hit by a truck!

…Okay, maybe I can handle it.

“Ugh! Grrr—!”

The pain was overwhelming, as if the scythe itself was rejecting me.

But there was no way I was letting go.

I was going to sell this! I’ll turn it into money, get praised by my senpai, and eventually join their yuri party!

Whether it was my noble resolve that made it stop, or simply time running out, the pain abruptly vanished.

Good, good. You’re a good item. I’ll clean you up and sell you.

“Alright! Rare item acquired!”

I lifted the scythe from the pedestal, triumphantly. I was thrilled.

“Well, the boss doesn’t seem to be here, so let’s head back… Huh?”

There was a hallway continuing further in.

It didn’t even have a door, just an open space, waiting for me.

“…Guess I’ll go in!”

There might be more holy relics deeper inside.

I decided to move forward.

The moment I slung the scythe over my shoulder…

The weight disappeared.

“Ouch.”

Suddenly, pain shot through my left arm.

It was like a strong flick, and the pain lingered on my left wrist.

When I looked, the scythe had disappeared, and a dark red bracelet was now around my left wrist.

“What…?”

I stared at the bracelet for a while, and it seemed to be sucked into my wrist, vanishing.

“What!?”

A faint red mark was all that remained, but both the bracelet and the scythe were gone.

“Wha—where did it go?! Did it… eat it?”

That couldn’t be, but it had definitely disappeared as if absorbed into my body.

I shook my left wrist, but it wouldn’t come out. There was nothing I could do. Dammit… Sorry, senpai.

“Well, now I really need to get a holy relic from further in.”

The experience of losing something valuable pushed me deeper into the dungeon.

Just as I was about to take a step forward, I felt something.

“…What?!”

The ground beneath me began to collapse.