Chapter 74

This is a work of fiction.

The characters, organizations, and names are all fictitious and have no relation to any real entities.

■■■■■■■■■■

069 - Boss Battle of the 7th Floor of the Royal Capital Dungeon

■■■■■■■■■■

On the 7th floor, in addition to the Reis, Zombies and Mummies, which are mummies wrapped in bandages (I don't know if they are male or not), appear. They sometimes appear individually, but more often in groups of five or more. Sometimes they fill the corridors like in a horror movie.

Reis are handled by Lin and me, taking turns. Annelise also prioritizes dealing with Reis. Zombies and Mummies can be defeated with physical attacks, so Gandarban and the others handle them.

The skeletons, ghouls, and ghosts summoned by Solidia are also active. The battle between the undead was a bit eerie, but the subordinates who had undergone subordinate synthesis were all strong and overwhelmed the monsters.

As we progressed through the 7th floor, a group of explorers came from ahead. It was a group of 15 people.

Explorers form parties, but this was the first time I had seen a party of 15.

"From what I've heard, on the 7th floor, multiple parties sometimes explore together," Gandarban told me in a low voice while on guard.

"We're going through."

"We're going through too."

The representative from the other party and Gandarban exchanged words.

We split to the ends of the corridor to pass through. The corridor was wide, so there was no chance of bumping shoulders.

Still, their smell wafted over. It was a terrible smell, like sweaty gym clothes that had been left damp for days after a few PE classes. Even from about 10 meters away, the smell was noticeable, so it must have been quite strong.

There were women among the 15 people, and they seemed to be used to being in this smell.

If we rush through this dungeon, we can reach the boss room on the 1st floor in about an hour. It takes 1 hour and 30 minutes for the 2nd floor, 2 hours for the 3rd floor, 4 hours for the 4th floor, 5 hours for the 5th floor, and about 6 hours for the 6th floor.

These are the times it takes for us, at our high levels, to move the shortest distance. If we fight monsters while exploring, it takes longer, and we also take breaks, so it's not a good reference.

At our level, we can rush through multiple floors in a day on lower floors, but generally, we don't. The more you run, the more tired you get.

You never know what might happen in the dungeon, so it's normal to conserve your strength. Even on lower floors like the 2nd or 3rd, you can die from traps.

When we get tired, we can use Dungeon Move to go to the 1st floor of the dungeon and then exit to rest outside. We can go back to the mansion, take a bath, and rest in a warm bed.

However, typical explorers camp in the dungeon for days. That's why they smell like that.

There's no way to replenish water or food in the dungeon. Sometimes monsters drop meat and other food, but you can't eat anything that needs to be cooked. You can't make a fire, so you can't eat it.

Therefore, you need to bring enough water and food for the days you plan to explore. If you have an item box, that's great, but if not, you need to pack it in a large backpack.

Even with an item box, there are limits to the number of slots, so you can't bring everything. You need to carefully select what you bring and use the empty slots to carry back dropped items. It's a lot of work.

"Is that you, Annelise!?"

It sounded like a phrase I had heard before. A female swordsman from the other party called out.

"Yes, it's Annelise. It's been a while. Sharon."

"You've been freed from the curse. I'm glad."

Those were the words of a former companion, thanks to that Grissom guy. Yes, yes.

The female swordsman said she was really glad and left with her party. There were tears in her eyes, and from the atmosphere, it seemed she had been genuinely worried.

"Hey, Gandarban."

"What is it?"

"Does exploring the 7th floor with 15 people bring in a lot of income?"

"If they stay for days on the 7th floor and collect items, it should be quite a bit."

They stay as long as they can, and the more items they bring back, the more their share.

In Kelniffi's "Baldark Labyrinth," the magic stones dropped by the attribute lizards on the 7th floor could be exchanged for 25,000 grims each.

If they bring back 15, each person would get 25,000 grims. Since it takes days to go back and forth on the 7th floor, they would want a higher exchange rate. Maybe they stay for half a month. With that smell, it's probably more than half a month. It's tough.

I had thought it was simple, but being an explorer is a harsh job. I'm glad we have Dungeon Move. I really am.

While slaughtering the undead monsters, we came to a strange room.

"This is... interesting."

Gandarban was smiling wryly.

More than half of the room had no floor. There were several pillars about a meter in diameter. We were supposed to move across them. Gandarban, being a large bear beastman, seemed to be bad at this.

On the other hand, Lin, a cat beastman, was good at it and hopped from pillar to pillar.

I carried Annelise and moved across the pillars. I have the assassin's skill,立体機動 (Three-Dimensional Maneuver), so I can create a foothold in the air if needed. It's quite convenient.

After a short rest, we entered the boss room on the 7th floor.

"Wow, it's like Biohazard."

"Did you say something?"

Annelise tilted her head at my muttering.

"No, nothing."

There were about 30 monsters. Each one wasn't much, but dealing with that many was a hassle.

"Lord Toi. Can I take care of this?"

Annelise puffed out her chest. Her chest jiggled. It was a feast for the eyes. I should appreciate it.

"Alright, I'll leave it to Annelise. I want to see the power of your evolved job."

"Yes, thank you."

A surge of magic power emanated from Annelise, enveloping her in a fantastical aura.

"Beautiful..."

It was a heartfelt comment.

The light of magic was beautiful, but Annelise was the most beautiful of all.

"Circle Thunder"

It was the Circle Thunder she learned when her job evolved to Sage of Love, created with the skill Magic Creation.

Flashes of light and thunder roared.

Countless lightning bolts pierced multiple enemies.

The shockwaves from the lightning pierced us, but the power was even more impressive.

"Wow, almost wiped out..."

"The power of magic increased significantly after evolving to Sage of Love."

It was a good smile. Most of the monsters were devastated by Annelise with that smile. The smile and the action didn't quite match.

"Alright, I'll go too."

"Be careful."

Gandarban and the others had already started attacking the remaining monsters.

The remaining monsters were one Dullahan and three High Reis. The Dullahan seemed to be the leader of the bosses, with the highest level at 38.

This "Jorze Labyrinth" in the capital is slightly higher in level than Kelniffi's "Baldark Labyrinth." Comparing the levels of the 7th floor bosses, the Light Lizard at level 35 in "Baldark Labyrinth" is 3 levels lower than the level 38 here. Even the rare boss, the Dark Lizard, is only level 37, so this is higher.

Lin and I each took on a High Reis. The Dullahan was being attacked by Gandarban and the others but was blocking the attacks with a shield and sword. He was quite skilled.

When Rosalina's attack hit, it made a hard sound. I was worried her fist would break.

"Here goes!"

I swung my mithril greatsword. The High Reis looked slow and sluggish, but it was surprisingly fast. I didn't expect it to dodge.

A black mist stretched out. Touching it could cause paralysis.

"Saint Attack"

I flew backward and cast the holy magic Saint Attack. The High Reis, already pierced by Annelise's Circle Thunder, disappeared with a final scream.

At the same time, Lin also defeated a High Reis, and we joined the attack on the Dullahan.

My attack was blocked by the shield, but Lin's holy spear attack made the Dullahan back off.

"Lin, go for it."

"Okay."

We set up an attack with Lin as the main attacker. Thanks to the Dullahan's wariness of the holy spear, our attacks were easier to land.

With Lin drawing it in, we used our skills to strike the Dullahan.

The angry Dullahan spun like a top and attacked us with its sword and shield.

"Whoa!"

Gandarban activated the skill Iron Wall to stop the Dullahan's movement.

"This is the end, Saint Cross!"

The holy magic Saint Cross was absorbed into the Dullahan's body. In an instant, holy light burst out from the Dullahan's body, destroying it.

The Dullahan disappeared, leaving behind a shield. It seemed to be a dropped item.

The other monsters also dropped items, including a lump of metal. It was unclear which monster dropped the metal, and there shouldn't have been any monsters that dropped metal. This must be the rumored high-rare drop!

Formally known as a high-rare drop item, it is an extremely rare irregular item dropped by unspecified monsters. A magic book is said to be one of them.

- Death Knight Shield: DEF +35, VIT +5, MIN +10, 10% chance of instant death attack when shield skill is activated, low HP auto-recovery, low auto-repair, durability 100/100

- Gormodia: A metal harder than mithril and resistant to degradation.

I already have a Defense Shield I enchanted, but the Death Knight Shield is more interesting. The abilities are not bad, and the instant death attack is a good feature. The 10% activation rate is low, but it doesn't need to be the main focus, so I'll give it to Gandarban.

"Use the Death Knight Shield, Gandarban."

"Thank you."

Now, I'll ask Bacchus to forge a sword with this Gormodia. Bacchus' job is Master Smith, thanks to being a dwarf. He's more than just a beer-loving old man.

Thank you for reading.

I hope you continue to enjoy this work.

Please also bookmark and like it.

If you enjoyed it and want to read more, please rate it.

You can rate it from ☆☆☆☆☆ to ★★★★★, with a minimum of ★1 and a maximum of ★5.

★★★★★ will really motivate me!