This idiot had absolutely no sense of danger, stepping into traps everywhere.
As a result, Aqua single-handedly triggered one mechanism after another, forcing the entire team of four to flee for their lives.
Even Darkness ended up falling off a sheer cliff after one misstep, forcibly teleported back by the dungeon spirit Celine.
Soon after, Megumin and Aqua fell victim one after the other, leaving Damien alone.
With no other choice, Damien opted to jump off the cliff and restart.
"AQUA!!!"
"Waaah~~"
Seeing that Damien was truly angry, Aqua quickly started shifting the blame.
She claimed that as a normal person, how could anyone resist pressing a button right in front of them!
Those words nearly drove Damien to the brink of fury.
In the end, Damien ignored Aqua's goddess aura entirely and pinned her over his knee for a resounding spanking.
The sight left Megumin trembling in fear.
Darkness, on the other hand, had a hint of barely concealed envy in her eyes.
Next, the four began their third attempt at the adventure.
As for the outcome...
"Darkness."
"Is it your turn to play my role this time?"
Damien watched Darkness in the midst of a monster horde, drawing all the aggro firmly onto herself.
Then he glanced at Megumin nearby, hugging her staff and on the verge of dozing off, and Aqua munching on snacks...
"Don't look at me!"
Megumin couldn't act because she only knew Explosion Magic: "The environment here is too narrow... Captain, you said yourself we can't use magic!"
"Crunch crunch~~"
"Don't look at me either."
"Darkness is so tough; the monsters can't even scratch her."
Aqua didn't need to act because Darkness's defense was too high... she hadn't lost a single drop of blood.
As for Damien...
He was diligently grinding through the monsters.
The problem was, this was already the seventeenth wave that Darkness had pulled.
"Forget it..."
Damien sent Darkness a telepathic message: "Tina, hold the monsters for now and protect Megumin and Aqua. I have something to take care of; I need to return to the other world for a bit."
"Huh?"
Darkness was stunned but quickly recovered: "Understood, Lord Damien, you can count on me here!"
"Alright."
Before leaving, Damien casually sent Rimuru a telepathic message: 'Not bad at all.'
Only then did he activate the God of the Void and depart from the Konosubaverse.
"Eh?"
On the other side, Rimuru... also embroiled in a tough battle... saw Damien's message.
"Is this guy mocking me?"
Rimuru's team was faring much better than Damien's, at least without as many pitfalls.
Look at her lineup.
The high priest Cecily, the great mage Yunyun, and the thief who was also the goddess incarnation, Chris.
With a party like this, clearing the first floor of the dungeon should have been a breeze.
But alas, Cecily... this walking disaster... had single-handedly gotten Rimuru killed twice!
Celine's dungeon wasn't just about stat-based monsters; it had all sorts of death mechanics.
Like falling off cliffs, instant-death breath from curse frogs, percentage-based damage traps, and terrifyingly strong mimic chests.
Cecily was reckless and impulsive, practically an undercover agent sent by Damien to sabotage her, causing trouble at every turn.
Chris was reliable enough, but her gaming skills were honestly subpar.
If it were a dungeon from the Konosubaverse, Chris's experience would suffice.
However, this underground Dungeon designed by Damien was a masterpiece of frustration.
All sorts of insidious setups tormented Chris to the point of exhaustion.
Worse yet, this goddess of fortune was overly confident... the epitome of being bad at the game but loving to play... driving Rimuru to her wits' end.
As for the remaining Yunyun, Rimuru didn't even know what to say about her.
In Rimuru's view, Yunyun was the type who'd get scammed and then help count the money for the scammer.
She remembered how the girl, upon seeing a sign on the ground that said 'You can jump down ahead,' actually believed it and leaped off!
Who could imagine the collapse Rimuru felt inside at that moment.
She'd barely endured Cecily's sabotage and helped Chris deal with those disgusting mechanic monsters.
Then, in the blink of an eye, their main damage dealer, the great mage Yunyun, had jumped off a cliff to her death.
"This game is unplayable!!"
The absurdity of the Konosuba folks finally broke Rimuru's composure.
Rimuru admitted it... this time, she had lost.
"You're stronger after all, Damien."
Both were leading teams of three incompetents, yet Damien could send her a mocking 'Not bad at all.'
It was clear he was close to clearing it.
"Is this Damien's true strength?"
Rimuru looked at the first floor, which she'd only progressed through less than 10% of, and felt utter despair: "This gap... it's impossible to catch up!!!"
Little did she know, Damien's team was actually stuck at 5%, unable to budge.
And per their agreement.
The loser had to fulfill one reasonable request from the winner.
"Damien, what's your request?"
"What?"
Damien, back in the Cardinal World, received Rimuru's message and was a bit confused.
"Alright, I lost this time."
"Just say it."
"A bet's a bet; whatever the request, I'll agree."
"..."
Truth be told, Damien was a little unclear on the current situation.
'Wasn't I the one who lost?'
For a moment, Damien even wondered if he'd fallen under some illusion that distorted his perception.
He checked the progress on Celine's side for both teams.
"I'm at 5%, Rimuru at 10%."
"Though neither has cleared the first floor, per our agreement, Rimuru still wins."
"So why..."
Soon, Damien figured out the key point.
Without a doubt, Rimuru had misunderstood.
'Can it really work like this?!'
Damien felt an immense surge of joy: 'Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding! She clearly conceded on her own!'
He admitted his team was only at 5%.
But Damien hadn't conceded!
As long as he didn't concede, no one knew how far he could ultimately go.
Unlike Rimuru.
Once she conceded, it was a true loss.
"Ahem!"
Having figured out Rimuru's thought process, Damien cleared his throat and feigned nonchalance: "Since you're being so reasonable, I'll go easy on you."
"Uh..."
Rimuru dejected, "Go ahead."
"Listen up... my request is!"
"For the next month, you'll be my dress-up doll and wear the outfits I prepare for you!"
***
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