Giant Frogs (Chapter 21)
The group reaches an entrance that'll lead them to the Fifth Level. Though taking the entrance is easier said than done as it doubles as a domain for giant frogs who are eager to make a meal out of the adventurers.
Aboveground (Chapters 22-23)note
While the Touden Party navigates the castle town preparing themselves for their ultimate showdown against the Red Dragon, Mr. Tansu speaks with the Island Lord about his findings and learns some unsettling news about the Western Elves.
"Giant Frogs" contains the following tropes:
Tentacle gnocchi, frog suit
- Acquired Poison Immunity: The tentacles that have infested the dungeon entrance are said to be rather poisonous yet the frogs are able to frolic around them as their bodies have become immune to them. Laios realizes this and creates frog suits for his party to wear so they can navigate through the tentacle infested stairway without being hurt.
- Amphibian at Large: The monsters of the segment are giant colorful frogs.
- Appeal to Flattery: Laios convinces Marcille to try on the frog suit by saying that she'd look really cute while wearing it.
- Big "NO!": Everyone minus Chilchuck scream this after he's eaten by the orange frog.
- Chekhov's Gun: Chilchuck thinks to himself on how troublesome tentacles are when they get stuck in a dungeon's trapping system. He ends up using one of them to trigger a trap to defeat a giant frog.
- Continuity Nod: Chilchuck questions the validity of the map that the Orcs gave them.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Defied. Chilchuck notices that the tentacles aren't affecting the frogs and asks Laios if he noticed why. Laios looks like he has an answer, but then he sheepishly admits that he doesn't know.
- Ghost Town: The Fifth Level is revealed to be a castle town which was once inhabited by the Orcs. However, after they were forced to flee because of the Red Dragon, the town was completely abandoned.
- Hard-Work Montage: While Senshi prepares the frog and tentacles for their next meal, Laios works with Chilchuck to make protective suits from the frog's skin.
- Say My Name: Laios and Marcille call out the names of their respective weapons after the frogs catch them and throw them down the staircase.
- Oh, Crap!: Marcille has this reaction when she realizes that her cute frog suit won't come off.
- Skewed Priorities: Realizing that the frog suits have stuck on to them because the blood dried up, Marcille expresses fear over looking like an idiot when she reunites with Falin.
- Tentacled Terror: Tentacle monsters have inhabited the walls of the entrance way. Chilchuck even brings up how the tentacles moving about the walls runs the risk of them activating the traps that were installed in the entrance.
"Aboveground" contains the following tropes:
Fried giant frog cutlets
- Adaptation Distillation: The anime merges Chapter 22 with Chapter 23, which details the Touden Party's plan for facing the Red Dragon.
- Adapted Out: The anime leaves out Namari and the Floke Twins' conversation in a tavern about resurrection.
- Affectionate Nickname: Kiki refers to her boss as "Grandpa" Tansu.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: The story switches to Namari and Mr. Tansu's group as they return to the surface world.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Laios brings up that all dragons, even red ones, have less scale protection on their necks, meaning that the party should strike there if they want to win.
- Bad Vibrations: The group realizes that the dragon is coming when the plate that Laios put on the floor starts to shake.
- Bathos: As Mr. Tansu contemplates using Laios for his nefarious schemes, the camera shows him and his friends with silly faces.
- Cliffhanger: The Red Dragon appears once more. And after Marcille casts a protection spell on her friends, they all rush off to their respective positions.
- Continuity Nod:
- Mr. Tansu mentions how there's been a rise in Orc sightings and how they've been causing "problems" for everyone.
- Senshi wants to make bread again after finding flour sacks belonging to the Orcs. He even says it'll be okay to use since they gave the Orcs their vegetables.
- Death from Above: Laios comes up with the idea of blowing up a large structure to make it fall on the dragon, weakening it enough for them to attack it's weak spot.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: In the past, each member of Laios' party played a role in defeating dragons. Falin would cast protection spells, Laios, Namari and Shuro would fight the beast and Marcille would weaken it with explosive magic. But with many of their party members missing, the current party will have a harder time fighting the Red Dragon.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Marcille brings up to Laios how the Red Dragon has been unusually active based on the Orcs' testimonies along with several wargs that have been burned to a crisp. Given its recent activity, Marcille fears that they won't stand a chance against an awake dragon compared to a sleeping one.
- Fantastic Racism: The Island Lord belittles the dwarf race by referring to them as troublesome moles.
- Hardwork Montage: Laios, Marcille and Chilchuck get to work in planning out the best route to trap the Red Dragon.
- Immortality Seeker: Tansu theorizes that the Elves want the dungeon back so they can study it's magic and learn the secret to immortality. He proposes that he and the Island Lord discover the secret first so they can use it to their advantage.
- Luminescent Blush: Namari gets this after a dungeon mortician calls her out for not getting Falin's age right.
- Non-Action Guy: Chilchuck firmly reminds everyone that he will have no involvement when it comes to fighting the Red Dragon.
- Think Nothing of It: Laios gives a passionate and sincere speech to his friends thanking them for their talents while apologizing for all the trouble he's given them. They quickly tell him it's no problem while Chilchuck calls him cringe.
- Worldbuilding: We learn some new facts based on the dungeon world.
- To start, there was once a great war between the Elves and Dwarves with the latter group making camp in the underground area that would one day be the modern day dungeon system.
- The magic runes that Mr. Tansu found are speculated to have been made by the Mad Mage himself.
- The Island Lord brings up how his territory was given to him by the King of the Elves but laments that the Elves of the West are demanding the dungeon back.
