Chapter 68 - Chapter 68: Arrival at Floor 7
We are attacking the deep layers of the dungeon with a joint effort from top guilds, but we are stuck, blocked by monsters on our way.
When the mana of the mages runs dry, it takes time to recover.
It is because we lack the Mana Recovery Potion [Magic Potion].
It is slightly less effective, but it seems the hot spring water I obtained can serve as a substitute.
Just reducing the recovery time from 12 hours to 6 hours is a huge improvement.
Yuuki, the mage, acknowledges this as well.
At the campsite, I tried making a new weapon.
A simple magic weapon where you swing a magic stone infused with mana and smash it into something――that is what it is.
If this works, clearing the Wraiths that made us stuck will become easy.
Two nights at the campsite on Floor 6.
――Wake up in the morning, everyone eats a meal.
Parties without an Item Box seem to make multiple round trips inside the dungeon, stocking up on food and supplies at the campsite before repeatedly attacking the deep layers.
Such a troublesome amount of time and effort, but with my Item Box, it is unnecessary.
Moreover, I can carry a massive amount of supplies.
Not limited to the Item Box, items like Magic Bags or Magic Bags appear in fantasy.
Perhaps there are drop items like that too.
If not only drops but also creation via magic becomes possible, the logistics of the world would change.
"Gya gya!" "Gya!"
I give food to Gigi and Chichi, the two Harpies.
"Good girl, good girl. You are relied upon today too."
"Gya!"
"Those guys are following you because Darling is feeding them, aren't they?"
Well, Iroha might be right about that.
"Hahaha, maybe so. Well, they are useful anyway."
"Indeed."
After eating, we set off together with the Harpies.
After moving for a while, it gets noisy above.
"Gya gya!"
"Enemies!"
Everyone entered combat formation at the Princess's voice.
No one doubts the Harpies' vigilance anymore.
"Goro goro goro goro..."
Darkness above was dominated by an eerie silence, as if a night curtain had fallen.
Breaking that silence, a low, deep sound echoed from afar.
The sound was heavy, as if squeezed from the deep depths of the earth, vibrating the air.
Like distant thunder, but not sharp like thunderclaps, the bass continued to resonate continuously.
"What kind of sound is that?"
If this were outside, it might be some natural phenomenon, but this is a dungeon.
It feels like an invisible giant creature is growling deeply and lowly, raising goosebumps.
Unease swirls within us, but we soon understood the true nature of that sound.
"Goro goro goro..."
A giant bird-like monster flew before us.
A bird? No, a monster with wings?
I twisted my head, but it didn't look like a living creature at all.
While I was troubled, someone seemed to know its true identity and shouted.
"It's a Gargoyle!"
"A Gargoyle, you mean those flying stone statues?"
"That's right!"
I pondered a bit at the Princess's reply.
My university teacher――she said there are no contradictions in dungeon creatures, but this one is full of contradictions.
A stone statue that moves, and flies in the sky.
Well, it must be flying with magic or something.
"If stone statues fly with magic, that means there is magic that allows flight, right?"
"That is correct!"
Yuuki replied to my question.
He seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.
"Goro goro..."
Stone statues are flying in the sky.
Just like Golems, they are hard to defeat, yet the reward is small.
They are the worst monsters.
Golems had large Magic Stones, but since these are small, their Magic Stones must be small too.
"So――we have to knock them down first and then crush the Magic Stone?"
"We always ran away."
For a battle-crazy Princess to say run is quite something, but this time there are many of them, just like the Wraiths.
We cannot escape this time.
Golems were an easy win with the Earth Turn technique, but these are flying, so that cannot be used.
"Damn it! This attack is the worst!"
Iroha is grumbling.
As expected, from the perspective of any adventurer, this monster is a troublesome existence.
"Light Bullets! Strike my enemies! [Magic Missile]"
Magic flies from the mages emitting light, but even if it hits, it doesn't seem to deal much damage.
It seems simple magic won't bring them down.
They don't burn with fire, and since they are stone, electricity won't work either.
They won't drown in water either.
Stone against stone――so, would magic like Stone Bullet or Stone Cannon that throws rocks work?
I do not participate in the battle, observing the enemy closely instead.
They fly straight, attack, and then ascend immediately――they don't seem to have much maneuverability.
Well, they are stone after all.
In that case――I take out a catapult and rocks from the Item Box.
There is no Stone Bullet magic, but I have this.
Setting the rock, I spin it around and aim at the approaching Gargoyle.
The enemy comes in a straight line, so aiming is easy.
I release the catapult string towards the enemy's head.
"Oryaaaaa!"
The flying stone statue has wings, but they probably aren't the reason it flies.
If it has a head, maybe it is flying while visually targeting us with it?
That is why I aimed for the head, but I wasn't certain.
A rock flying at hundreds of kilometers per hour directly hits the Gargoyle's head.
It is an attack of righteous mass――the stone statue's head shatters.
The enemy could not even recover and crashed straight into the ground.
My thinking was apparently not wrong.
"Alright! I'll knock down the Gargoyles, you finish off the enemies that fall below."
"Wow, Darling."
The voices of the Princess and Iroha overlap.
Finishing off means destroying or removing the Magic Stone to stop the statue's movement.
Just like with Golems.
Iroha, who rushed there first, bisects the monster's body and kicks up the Magic Stone.
If the Magic Stone, the energy source, is gone, it naturally stops moving.
"Next, let's go!"
"Ooh!"
We knock down Gargoyles one after another and finish them off.
Once they fall to the ground, they cannot attack, so we have low-level mages remove the Magic Stones.
It is a chance to level up.
Golems are too difficult, but this is possible.
"Hii!"
A girl mage is scared of the Gargoyle that has lost its head and is flailing around.
It is a bit cute.
Well, I don't have time to say such things, so I knock them down one after another.
With this method, we can save the mages' mana, killing two birds with one stone.
No, killing two Gargoyles with one stone.
For now, it seems the spawning has been crushed and the battle is over.
Proof of that is the girl mages leveling up one after another.
Girl mages glowing white in the darkness.
In between, I gnaw on a calorie bar with the Princess.
I did not participate in the battle, but Kaorulko looked like she wanted to eat, so I gave her one.
"Gya!" "Gya gya!"
Gigi and Chichi came down too, so I gave them chocolate, and they eat it deliciously.
Whether it is for food or not, it is fine as long as they help us.
Thinking about such things, they cling to me whenever they get a chance, sitting on my shoulders and heads, so it is true they are tamed.
Well, they are cute, so I will allow it.
While eating the calorie bar, the Princess and I watch the girl mages glowing from leveling up.
"Leveling up doesn't start until the battle ends, right?"
"That's right."
Sometimes you get attacked by other enemies while leveling up, but you are in an invincible state.
"So there is an existence monitoring the end of the battle."
"Everything is in the palm of that supernatural thing."
"Well, physical laws are bent by magic and teleportation, and there are incomprehensible creatures and item drops, all things we cannot understand."
"Who is making us dance? A god or a demon――"
"I can't imagine a god doing such a thing, so it must be a demon."
"..."
Kaorulko enters there.
"The Labyrinth Cult teaches that such things are trials given by God."
"Well, I don't want to think that what we believe in is a demon."
"Yes, indeed."
Yuuki arrives there.
"Most of my girls were able to level up. Thank you."
"Yeah, on this floor, even if we defeat them, it doesn't add anything to our levels."
"That is what Darling says."
"Hahaha, I leveled up too."
Iroha joins in laughing.
As expected, since we couldn't enter from the entrance of Floor 7, everyone is stuck at the level around Floor 6.
The Princess and others before meeting me must have secured the maximum level obtainable on Floor 6.
"If we were sent to Floor 9 like us, we could level up all at once?"
"Don't joke! It would be strange to survive if sent to such a place and returned alive!"
"Indeed! Without Darling, it would have been absolutely impossible for me and Kaorulko."
"It wasn't just me; we were able to return because of the Harpies' guidance."
"Oh, that's it! Darling relies on those Harpies!"
Iroha slaps her knee.
"That's right. If they weren't here, we would have run out of food while searching for the path upwards――something like that."
"Umm."
If everyone trusts the Harpies like this, that would be good.
After a short rest, we set off again into the darkness.
We are blocked by many monsters and cannot advance easily, but it seems we are gaining experience points, so it is not in vain.
After moving for a while, the Harpies are noisy above again.
"Enemies!"
"We know!"
"Hehehe!" "Hahahaha..."
White mist began to fly in the darkness.
Again, Wraiths, but this is convenient.
I can test the weapon I made.
I take it out from the Item Box, spin it around, and jump towards the enemy.
"Oraaa!"
The magic stone I am swinging is infused with mana and glows blue.
It draws a circle in the darkness and crashes into the Wraiths' white mist.
"Gyaaa!"
The white, transparent monsters screamed and scattered.
"It worked!"
After landing, I pick up the Magic Stone that fell below and throw the weapon I made to Iroha.
"Darling!"
"This one is usable!"
"Yay!"
"If you spin it too hard, the string might break."
"Alright!"
She spins the weapon around and rushes into the Wraith swarm.
It seems she is using it without problems.
I take out a string from the Item Box and make the same weapon using the picked-up Magic Stone.
I hand it to Koeda, Iroha's partner.
"Infuse the mana yourself."
"Y-yes."
"If you have the string, you can make the same weapon and easily defeat Wraiths."
"Eh?! I don't have a string!"
The girls are panicking, so I give them the string.
Yuuki receives it and makes a weapon too.
"Hahahaha!"
Even during that――Iroha, laughing loudly, is slashing the Wraiths, so the Wraiths seem to disappear quickly.
"Kyaa! Kyaa! I-it won't disappear!"
A girl is swinging at the approaching Wraiths, but it seems ineffective.
"Mun!"
Yuuki's magic stone, which he was swinging up, hits there.
"Gyaaa!"
The white mist screams and disappears.
The girl's Magic Stone didn't work, but Yuuki's was effective――meaning――.
"Could it be related to the amount of mana infused into the Magic Stone?"
"That is possible..."
Yuuki nods at my words.
Then it is simple.
I can just infuse mana into the girls' Magic Stones too.
Since I cannot use magic anyway.
It is useless to hold onto unusable mana carefully.
"Eh!" "Kyaa!"
When the Magic Stones swung by the girls hit the Wraiths, they scream and disappear.
"See! Just as I thought."
"Amazing! We will level up again with this?! Yay!"
The girls are giggling when a warning comes from Yuuki.
"Do not let your guard down!"
"Okay!"
It seems even girls can use it.
"We can eliminate Wraiths so easily! Can we stay here for a while to level up?!"
The Princess reacts to Iroha's voice.
"If we stay here too long, there is a possibility that other enemies will spawn!"
"Indeed!"
It seems everyone made and equipped weapons with Magic Stones attached to the ends of strings.
"Oh, right."
I thought of something.
No matter how many enemies on this floor I defeat, it has nothing to do with my level, but...
I wrap the string with the Magic Stone around my fist and spin it.
Shadow boxing in that posture, I charge straight into the Wraiths.
"Ora! Lever, temple, chin!"
The Wraiths scatter after taking my uppercut.
It works.
"Eh?! 'Chin'? What is 'chin'?" "Chin..."
The girls are reacting to my "chin".
They might have mistaken it for some lewd word.
"Jaw, jaw. In boxing, the tip of the jaw is called chin."
"I see!" "..."
They have faces that are half untrustworthy, but it is the truth, so it cannot be helped.
"Oh! Darling, there is such a way to use it! That's interesting!"
My way of attacking is being received by Iroha.
Indeed, she seems to like this kind of thing――and right away, she mimics me, blowing away Wraiths with punches.
Her punches scatter Wraiths one after another.
"Hahaha! Interesting, but it feels empty and boring!"
Since we are leveling up, we are adjusting the number by watching the enemy spawn.
No matter how much we do to the enemies here, it has nothing to do with me or the Princess, so we just keep an eye on the surroundings and help if it gets dangerous.
I give Magic Stones to Gorilla, who is sulking in the rear.
It would be good if he levels up a little and helps everyone.
It seems the current level is about the same as the girl mages who are providing support.
Then it is just right.
We should just level up together.
Well, if the level goes up, he might get cocky again.
If we continue doing such things, eventually people will drift away, and no one will help.
It is what he deserves.
"Ahaha! The Wraiths that were so troublesome are now weaklings!"
As Iroha and the mages are leveling up with Wraiths, the atmosphere of the dungeon changes.
"Iroha! Something is strange!"
"Huh?!"
She seems to have noticed the dungeon's anomaly too.
"Gwoooo!"
Black, hairy creatures with red glowing eyes appear from the darkness.
"It's a Troll!"
Someone's voice echoes.
Yes, the same type of monster I defeated outside before.
A giant club is held in the right hand.
"I just leveled up! I'll do it!"
Iroha shouts at the appearing monster.
"Koeda! Give me a buff!"
"Yes! Physical Up [Physical Up]!"
When the mage casts the magic, blue light seeps into Iroha's body.
"Kitakita kitakita!"
She puffs out her chest, showing off her powered-up body, and charges at the black enemy.
What Iroha holds is the sword I handed her yesterday, which seems to be enchanted.
Could it deal more damage than a normal sword?
――She might be testing that.
"Gwoooo!"
"Ora!"
She slips through the giant club the monster swung down, and a white trail runs diagonally at 45 degrees.
The tip of the sword she slashed bisected the monster's arm.
The club rolls on the ground, and the vibration reaches my feet.
"Ggyaaa!"
A scream rises from the Troll.
"Oryaaa!"
She jumps up aiming at the raging monster, and the sword swings down on the black head.
The tip is swallowed by the long hair, splitting it in two up to the enemy's shoulder.
Black liquid sprays out.
"Yay!"
Cheering rises from the girls.
"Gwooo!"
While everyone is excited, the next Troll appears from the darkness.
It seems the popping monsters have changed again.
"Light Bullets! Strike my enemies! [Magic Missile]"
Five magic arrows had already manifested around Yuuki, who had already charged his mana.
When the magic is released with a flash, the five arrows head towards the Troll.
"Gaaa!"
The magic pierces the Troll's thick fur, and the monster, full of holes, collapses to the ground.
"Leader! Yay!"
When we defeated two Trolls, the surroundings were once again wrapped in silence.
"Is it over?"
As proof that the battle ended, each person began to be enveloped in the light of leveling up.
Iroha and the girl mages are also leveling up.
What is interesting is that the girl who cast the buff magic on Iroha is also leveling up.
Even if you do not directly participate in the battle, is experience distributed by contribution points?
I asked Iroha about that after leveling up was finished.
"Yeah, not only with support magic, but even just participating in the battle seems to give a little experience."
"I see――when I defeated a Troll outside the dungeon, I was given a Defense Up magic, but at that time, the girl mage showed no change..."
"Oh, I heard that story――wasn't the spawn inside the market?"
"Yes."
"In that case, the influence of the dungeon might have been too thin..."
"I see."
It seems the influence of leveling up and such systems becomes vague if not near the dungeon.
So, could it be that a dragon pops up in the city, and even if you defeat it, you don't level up?
Well, outside the dungeon, missiles and cannons can be used.
Even a dragon could be defeated.
Since Wraiths stopped appearing, the simple leveling up time is over.
Other enemies might come pouring out if we stay here.
To compensate for the stamina consumed in battle, we have a simple meal and aim for the next floor――Floor 7.
After fighting several times――we arrived at Floor 7.
Before our eyes, a huge space spreads out.
"Light! [Light]!"
Someone cast magic to create light.
The ceiling is so high you have to look up, its height is 100m.
A huge wall stretching everywhere stands tall, and we cannot proceed further from here.
The wall has no gaps or doors at all, completely blocking our way.
The only entrance and exit is the rock platform at a height of 100m where we descended.
The hall is empty, wrapped in unnatural silence.
Today there are no adventurers, and the air of the empty hall chills the skin.
The floor is dark as if swallowing light, and countless shadows seem to flutter, but there is nothing moving around.
"Waaa~"
The girl mages, who seem to be visiting here for the first time, are looking up at the ceiling.
When we escaped this place, the homemade rope we lowered from the ceiling had already disappeared.
It was probably absorbed by the dungeon.
I pointed to the platform near the ceiling where thick shadows were formed by the magic light.
"Can you see it? The entrance and exit here is only that platform over there."
"Eeeee~?!"
"No, I heard it before, but is it really true, Darling?"
Iroha is also looking up at the ceiling.
"Of course, the Princess and I also came down and returned from there."
"So, to proceed further from here, we have to climb up to there, right?"
I answered Koeda's question briefly.
"That is correct."
"..."
Everyone looking up at the ceiling falls silent.
Of course.
The entrance and exit of Floor 7's wall, where we didn't know the capture method, is on top at 100m above ground.
They must have realized the stubbornness of this dungeon again.