Chapter 41 - Chapter 41: Is This a Mid-Boss?
I was thrown deep into the dungeon by a woman of the Labyrinth Cult, where I met two women and we are now heading for the surface.
They too are victims of the Labyrinth Cult.
On the surface, adventurers have been going missing one after another, so the Labyrinth Cult must be involved in that as well.
That is not all.
There is a possibility that they are also harming children who have settled in the dungeon, working in partnership with a certain guild.
No, it is not just a possibility — judging from the scene I encountered, it is certain.
In order to expose them, we must return to the surface.
I am worried about Ren, who triggered my encounter with the Labyrinth Cult, and the children who were kidnapped — but.
There is nothing I can do about it right now.
Right now, we can only focus on heading upward.
We have defeated numerous monsters and overcome the dungeon walls separating the floors, but a large wall has once again blocked our path.
This floor is almost connected to the floor where we were thrown and encountered the Dragon.
The high ceiling is common, and the ground is stepped.
A vast, empty space, a dungeon that simply spreads out endlessly.
Even for us, it is impossible to grasp where we are right now, and clearing it will be extremely difficult.
We are heading straight for the surface, but that is all thanks to the Harpy.
Without her, we would not know how many days, weeks, or months it would take to escape.
If we were to do this by the orthodox method, we would probably place stone monuments or concrete markers and gradually clear the way.
Even if we brought markers from the outside, they would be absorbed by the dungeon if we did not use them...
It is a troublesome place, isn't it?
"Gya!"
The Harpy landed on the wall in front of our eyes and cried out.
It looked like the wall reached the ceiling, but there seems to be a gap.
This place has not been cleared yet, nor has it been maintained as a dungeon.
If it were maintained, places like this would be cut away to create stairs or slopes.
Machines cannot be used, so is it manual labor?
No, perhaps heavy machinery powered by steam, like that used at the Nuclear Power Plant Ruins, might be used.
If we gather magi, we will not have trouble heating the boilers.
Even so, I still do not know which floor this is.
"Hmm, about 15 meters high?"
"Yes, it seems so."
"Shall we climb again?"
"Hmm, with a cliff like this, can't we destroy it with magic?"
Kaorulko used explosive-type magic during the Dragon battle.
We will use that to blast it.
If we can destroy even half of it, climbing will be much easier.
I don't know what is above, though.
"...Probably... we might make it..."
"Alright, let's try it. In the future, this might become the bridgehead for clearing this floor."
"What is 'Kyoutouho'?"
It seems Kaorulko did not know this word.
It sounds like military terminology.
"It means something like a fortress for clearing."
"Oh, I see."
She seems to be following my idea and trying to collapse the cliff.
Since it is a flashy scene of great magic, I will film it.
"Hey! Harpy! I am using magic, so stay away!"
"Gya!"
Did she understand my words? She flew away.
"Void..."
As her incantation began, blue light gathered in front of her.
I and the Princess hid behind rocks taken out of the Item Box.
"Explosion Magic 『Explosion』!"
A terrible light flashed, tearing through the darkness.
The blue flash of magical power changed form into orange flames of explosion.
The roar pierced our ears, the surface of the cliff instantly turned red-hot, and shattered along with countless sparks.
The sight of the cliff collapsing was as if heaven and earth were being torn apart.
Illuminated by the light of the burning flames, the giant rock masses danced into the air and plunged downward, pulled by gravity, clearly visible.
The rock masses collided with the ground one after another, the impact sounds breaking the silence of the darkness.
Every time the rocks hit the ground, the earth trembled, sand and dust rose, and the entire area was instantly covered in a thick fog.
The light of the burning flames dyed the dungeon, casting flickering shadows on the rocky ceiling.
On the ground revealed by the cliff's collapse, various-sized rock masses were scattered carelessly, each one seeming to feel the afterglow of the explosion flames.
That scene conveyed the terrible destruction brought about by the power of magic without leaving anything out.
I stopped the camera.
"Whoa~ even with the power of such magic, you couldn't take down a Dragon."
"At that time, Kaorulko was hungry and not at full power, but it seems enemies in the deep layers have resistance to magic."
The Princess checked the surroundings.
If there were adventurers nearby, wouldn't this be a good marker?
Or would monsters come gathering?
No, since this is the boundary between floors, I think it is a safe zone...
"Even with such enemies, my missiles couldn't stop them, haha."
"Normally, no one would think of using such weapons."
Well, if an adventurer has a longing for games or stories, they probably want to do a scene where they use a sword to cut them in two...
But I have absolutely no such desire.
Anyway, my thinking has not changed: defeat monsters, earn money, and retire early.
The cliff became easier to climb because it was collapsed by magic.
I carried Kaorulko in my arms and cleared the collapsed cliff.
After climbing the cliff, the ceiling became high again, continuing straight to the back.
"Eh?!"
Waiting for us after climbing the cliff and walking for a while was a wall blocking our way.
It is not even at the level of being passable.
The wall filled up to the high ceiling — about 40 meters?
"Could it be a dead end?!"
"That's ridiculous!?"
The Princess shouted.
"Or, is there a gap above like the previous wall —"
"Daisuke-san!"
Kaorulko pointed to the Harpy flying in the sky.
"I see — if she came from above — there must be a way out somewhere after all."
"Probably, that is so."
"Is it faster to ask her? Hey!"
"Gya!"
The Harpy cried out briefly and disappeared into the gap in the ceiling.
There is probably a hole near the ceiling.
It is the same pattern as before, but higher and with higher difficulty.
"Eeeee?! No way, is that the only way through?!"
"Do we have to climb that far?"
The Princess looked up at the ceiling.
"If there is a hole along the wall, we might manage, but in the air, it is impossible."
The place where the Harpy disappeared was about the middle of the ceiling.
Unless we build a scaffold like a tower there, we cannot climb up to that point.
"Can't we use what is in Darling's Item Box?"
"Hmm, we still have big tanks —"
Previously, we had stacked them flat, but the tank size is 10m x 5m x 4m, so if stacked vertically, one side is 10m.
Indeed, if we stack four of them, it will reach 40m, but...
"Can we stack them vertically?"
If placed horizontally, they can be stacked like blocks even with some deviation, but vertically it is quite severe.
Also, if stacking on top of a 10m height, we would have to climb the tank before using the Item Box.
Can we perform such severe control in that state?
"Is it difficult?"
"It's a bit."
I tried challenging to take out the tank vertically.
Normally, it only comes out horizontally.
Well, that is how it is when stored...
After several attempts, I finally managed to take it out vertically.
The white tank stood upright.
Even horizontally, it is 10 units — can we stack them?
"It's high!"
"We have to stack the same thing on top of this, but I don't feel like we can do it."
"I see... climbing this to 40m... even for high-level adventurers, if it collapses or you fall, it won't be free."
The Princess crossed her arms and nodded.
"In that case, it might be faster to look for an entrance."
"As Kaorulko says. Stacking the tanks will be the last resort."
"Understood."
The three of us came in front of the wall.
"Well, what should we do?"
"Alright! For now, let's try collapsing it with Kaorulko's magic!?"
The Princess suddenly proposed brute force.
"Eh~?"
"Darling, do you oppose it?"
Well, we collapsed the cliff with magic too, so this might happen naturally.
"It's not that I oppose it..."
"Then it's fine, isn't it?"
"Princess, you should think a bit more..."
Kaorulko also has a somewhat dumbfounded expression, so my sense was not wrong.
"I am thinking!"
Is that so? Maybe so...
Well, if we can collapse it and take a shortcut, that would be best.
Kaorulko used great magic just now, and she seems fine too.
"Void..."
After her incantation ended, the wall was enveloped in a flash of light, and the crimson explosion flames destroyed part of the giant plane.
"See! Just as I said, it collapsed!"
Just as the Princess pointed proudly, a black hole was there.
A path wide enough for a person to pass through if they bent over slightly.
"Light 『Light』"
Kaorulko lit a magical light, and looking inside, a pitch-black passage continued to the back.
The three of us exchanged glances and entered.
After walking about 10m into the dark hole — a sensation that freezes the spine rushes over.
The pitch-black darkness covering the surroundings seems to be holding its breath like a living creature.
Listening closely, my own heartbeat feels strangely loud.
Cold sweat spreads slowly on my back, fine hairs stand on end — the air is heavy, humid, and suffocating.
In my head, a warning bell rang that I should not proceed any further.
A faint wind blew from the depths of the cave, and the coldness further incited fear.
Gradually, I felt a sensation that something unknown was crawling on my back, and a presence that something was approaching.
I involuntarily turned toward the Princess.
"Isn't this strange?"
"Darling?"
"A path that looks like it was just patched up in a place casually collapsed by magic."
"Indeed, that is so."
Kaorulko also seems to feel a sense of incongruity.
"Even if we make a hole in this dungeon, it doesn't necessarily connect to the next one, right?"
"Is this like a hole made by moles?"
Moles are those who dig holes in the dungeon to find passages or discover other floors.
The floor where I first contacted the Labyrinth Cult was also discovered by them.
"I don't have certainty — if we proceed here, we might not even be able to return to the original place."
"Princess Sakurako, let's stop!"
"Y-yes..."
Listening to the conversation, the Princess must have thought this passage was unnatural too.
We turned back and exited the hole.
"Phew."
Once outside, the bad feeling disappeared.
"What should we do? Split up and search?"
"Yes."
"Then, Princess, go with Kaorulko to the right."
"Understood."
"I will go left."
I took out a bicycle from the Item Box.
"Ah! A bicycle!"
Kaorulko pointed at my mount.
"It seems this is a safe zone, so it should be okay to use. Didn't the Princess use one?"
"We were moving by train."
"Oh, as expected of the wealthy, haha."
Well, they are both originally very wealthy.
They are not earning daily wages by defeating monsters.
No, I am not in a position to make snide remarks.
We must find an entrance.
I mounted the bicycle and dashed.
Since it is flat ground, I could easily reach about 60km/h.
There were no obstacles.
Could this whole area be a safe zone?
If dungeon clearing progressed this far, it might become a major base.
While running, looking for an entrance and gazing to the right, a wall soon came into view.
"There was no entrance like this until here... hmm?"
There was a hole where the wall blocking the way intersected with the side of the dungeon.
Is there an entrance in such a place?
No, normally people come down from above, so maybe this is the exit?
I peeked inside a bit — it is pitch black.
We will need magical light for this.
I got on the bicycle and decided to return to the two of them.
Passing through the hole opened by magic and proceeding, the Princess and the others were waving their hands at the right end of the wall as a signal.
"Hey!"
"There is an entrance!"
I was surprised by the Princess's words.
"Eh?! There was one on my side too."
"Eh?!"
Kaorulko looked surprised at my words.
"Then, it means there were entrances on both sides."
The Princess crossed her arms and seemed satisfied on her own.
"Is that so... maybe they are connected inside."
"Perhaps."
The three of us headed toward the entrance the Princess and the others found.
It seems — it looks like the same shape as what I found.
In short, isn't there an entrance, or rather an exit, at both ends of the wall?
Probably, they are connected inside?
There is no point in worrying.
I decided to enter immediately.
"Light! 『Light』"
Kaorulko's magic illuminated the inside, and immediately upon entering, we turned left at a right angle.
The ceiling is high, but it is a so-called passage-type dungeon, stretching straight ahead endlessly.
"This really is like the passage I saw extending from the opposite side and merging."
"Probably, that is so."
With a passage-type dungeon, we must be wary of traps.
I proceeded while hitting the ground and walls with a mace taken out of the Item Box.
Proceeding cautiously while wary of traps, something appeared on the front right.
Fortunately, this long road seemed to be just a passage, there were no traps, and we did not encounter any monsters.
Maybe this is also a safe zone.
"A door?"
"It looks like a door."
As we proceeded further, a huge door came into view.
"Look! Princess Sakurako! The place we collapsed outside is not inside, is it?!"
"So, that hole might have connected to some other place after all."
The Princess refuted my words.
"There is also the possibility that the collapsed place is not here!"
"Then, shall we walk to the end?"
"Grrr..."
The Princess was being pushed by Kaorulko.
"Well, well — for now, since there is an entrance right in front of us, that is good enough, isn't it?"
"As Darling says."
"She ran away."
For now, I tried pushing the door.
There was no sign of movement.
"Oryaa!"
"I will help too."
I pushed the huge door together with the Princess.
If it does not move even with two high-level adventurers pushing, it is probably impossible with normal methods, isn't it?
"Well, how shall we open it?"
"Blow it away with Kaorulko's magic?"
"Wouldn't it be bad to use big magic in this passage? We might get caught in the explosion, and the passage might collapse."
"If it collapses, the door will break too, right?"
"That is true, but..."
No, no, did you forget the place we collapsed with magic just now?
"Princess, you should refrain from brainless remarks. It will give Daisuke-san a bad impression."
Kaorulko was whispering.
Well, I could hear it.
"Where is it brainless! That is a proper answer!"
"Wasn't the wall we collapsed just now like that too? If we collapse this and it connects to another place, there might not be a passage to return."
"T-then, what should we do!?"
"Hmm."
I scratched my head but thought of a good idea.
"We might not need brute force."
"Does Darling have a good idea?"
"Well, I thought of it before, but I hadn't tried it."
I stood in front of the huge door and put my hands on it.
The cold touch of the door was transmitted.
"Store!"
I put only the huge door in front of me into the Item Box.
I thought of this when I got caught in a trap on the suspended ceiling before, and it succeeded again.
This would have been impossible if the door was judged the same as the dungeon wall.
The moment the door disappeared, the view in front of my eyes brightened.
"It disappeared!?"
"Daisuke-san, amazing!"
"You put only the door into the Item Box? Isn't that brute force?"
"Well, since it disappeared, it counts, right?"
"I don't know? It might have connected to another floor."
"If what the Princess says is true, we would be stuck here."
Probably, even if I take the door out of the Item Box, it will not return to the original state.
Well, if this place fails, we have no choice but to aim for the hole in the ceiling where the Harpy flew in.
For now, looking inside — it is bright.
It seems lights are lit, and it became a hall with a high ceiling.
Proceeding inside cautiously and looking up at the ceiling, something complex was visible above.
The floor was also made of stone tiles, quite an elaborate construction.
Can't we use something like this for some architecture?
Well, it is troublesome to carry it out of the dungeon...
While checking the surroundings with the three of us, we moved to the center, and on the opposite side, there was a door similar to the one I had erased.
"From this, I deduce — normally, you open that side to enter, and then the mid-boss battle starts here?"
"And, upon winning the battle, the door Darling erased opens —"
"We came from the opposite side, so the event flag hasn't been set, right?"
"Since it is a dungeon like a game, it is not strange to have such gimmicks, is it?"
"Y-yes, that is true..."
The Princess looked suspicious.
"Also, this place does not feel bad."
"Y-yes! That is it."
There is no point in staying in a place where nothing happens.
We headed toward the opposite door.
We can put this one in the Item Box too.
"Store."
The huge door disappeared from before our eyes.
Beyond it was a pitch-black maze-type dungeon.
This is a dungeon that feels like a dungeon.
"Wow — this looks like it will take a lot of effort to get out..."
Kaorulko had a tired expression.
"Princess, do you recognize this dungeon?"
"No."
"I see — the surface is still far away..."
"Yes."
The three of us left the room, but for some reason, the Princess turned back.
"Princess?"
"Then — what happens if we enter from here?"
"Wait, wait, wait!"
As I tried to stop her, the hall inside began to glow, and white mist began to swirl.
I hurriedly prepared the camera.
It gathered in the center, spun around like a tornado, and took the shape of something.
A skull with glowing red eyes — a blue robe embroidered with gold thread and decorated with gems.
It reached its hands toward us, but there was no flesh, only bones were visible.
"This is undead, right?! Eh —"
The Princess looked up at the monster.
"Probably, it is called a Lich or a No Life King!"
Kaorulko seems to know the true identity of the monster.
"No Life King is too long, let's call it Lich."
"Yes."
"I returned to the event area, so a normal event occurred."
"Do we have time to discuss this!?"
I picked up the Princess and went out of the hall.
Normally, the pattern would be that the door closes immediately upon entering and we are trapped, but unfortunately, that barrier was stored in my Item Box.
Now, we can run freely.
"Kooooo!"
Is this the voice or cry of the undead?
A high sound echoed in the hall.
The monster chased after us, but stopped at the place where the door had been.
It did not attack and remained stopped there.
"Ah?! Could it be — we can't get out of that hall?"
"Isn't this a chance! Doesn't that mean we can attack freely from here?"
The Princess was eager.
"Melee attacks are dangerous, how about Kaorulko's magic?"
Kaorulko accepted my proposal.
"I'm going! Light Bullets! Strike my enemies! 『Magic Missile』"
The blue light gathered in front of her became multiple shining spears and was fired toward the enemy.
"Kooooo!"
It hit the monster's robe directly, but scattered and did not seem to deal damage.
"Useless? Is that blue robe blocking magic?"
"Possible..."
"If only we had priest-type magic."
It is a game-like dungeon, but I have never heard of an adventurer manifesting priest-type magic.
"Turn Undead? Speaking of which, doesn't undead turn healing magic into an attack or something..."
"But, my healing magic is not that powerful..."
"Then, physical attacks?"
We decided to split up left and right with the Princess and attack from near the walls.
Like in a game, poking the enemy from a safe distance.
"Yaaaaa!"
The Princess's limbs holding a sword danced, and the raised tip swung down toward the enemy.
"Mooooo!"
The blue robe was cut by the sword.
It seems only magical attacks can be blocked.
"Oh? Something different is happening? Is it working?"
She readjusted her sword stance.
"It looks like the robe is cut and it is just angry..."
The Princess laughed at my words.
"This lacks a decisive blow, haha — as mentioned earlier, normally one would clear it using priest-type magic."
"Since we don't have that, we have to force it — wait."
If healing magic becomes damage, won't healing potions (potions) also deal damage?
I took out a tank from the Item Box and stood on top of it.
This gave us the advantage of looking down from above.
"Darling, what are you doing?!"
"Well, just watch!"
I took out a healing potion (potion) and set it on the catapult I took out together.
Spinning it around, I aimed.
"The target is the Lich's head!"
Exposed and likely to deal certain damage is the skull.
"Oryaa!"
The healing potion (potion) that left the catapult hit the Lich's skull at hundreds of kilometers per hour.
Not only the impact power, but the container of the medicine broke and the contents scattered.
"Gyaaa!"
White smoke rose from the body covered in the clinging medicine.
"It's working! It's working! Next! Oryaa!"
I repeated this dozens of times.
Since it is a healing potion (potion), we have plenty of them.
The damage to the Lich was surely accumulating as the bottles of healing potion (potion) were fired one after another.
The majestic monster gradually sat down on the spot and began to become limp.
With this, it is practically defeated.
Being defeated by such cheating feels a bit pitiful.
"Um, Daisuke-san..."
"What is it? Ah, I see! Should I let Kaorulko deliver the final blow?"
"No, it is not that, I would like you to try something..."
She raised her hand slightly.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"The Item Box does not contain living things, right?"
"Yes — ah! Undead are not living things, so they can go into the Item Box?"
"I tried it too, but it failed. I thought it might be because the capacity was small..."
"I see, let's try it."
"If it succeeds, the undead battle will be much easier."
"That is exactly right."
"I apologize for the trouble."
It looked interesting, so I decided to try it too.
I shouted at the Lich sitting on the floor.
"Store!"
The monster disappeared from before our eyes!
It seems our thoughts were not wrong.