Chapter 73

We were sent to the entrance of the thirtieth floor, seeing off by Orun.

"How about it? Does it suit me?"

Carol, who was showing off the necklace she had just received from Orun, asked.

"Yeah, it suits you."

"Thanks! It suits Sophie too!"

"R-really?"

I looked at the red necklace I had received from Orun, hanging around my neck.

(A gift from Orun... Hehe, I'm so happy.)

"Both of you, focus. Even though it's a safe zone, we're inside the Great Labyrinth now, okay?"

Log warned us.

However, his face was a bit awkward, as if he was trying hard not to smile, which made his warning less convincing.

"Even if you say that with that face..."

As expected, Carol pointed it out.

"I-I can't help it! I never thought I would get a gift from Master! It's too sudden!"

I think Log has changed a lot over the past month.

Until a little while ago, he used to look down on everyone around him, but now that attitude is completely gone.

Did Orun, not just as a black dragon, also defeat the unpleasant parts of Log?

Just kidding.

"Anyway, let's confirm the route and strategy one more time, okay?"

I suggested a final check to the two of them.

I want to keep looking at the necklace I received, but we came here to conquer the thirtieth floor.

We're challenging this with just the three of us, asking Orun to let us do it.

I want to show Orun how much we've grown.

I don't want to disappoint him.

The two of them agreed with my suggestion.

I took out the map of the thirtieth floor from my storage magic tool and did the final check.

I have almost memorized the terrain of the thirtieth floor, including the route to the floor boss.

I've also decided on escape routes for various places just in case, so it should be fine.

In terms of combat, Carol is the front-line fighter, Log is the mid-line, and I am the back-line.

Carol and I are the damage dealers.

Log will cast buffs on us and switch between front-line and back-line as the situation demands.

This puts a lot of pressure on Log.

As Orun said, we need to avoid prolonging combat as much as possible.

"Okay, this should be fine. We have Orun's approval, so let's keep our guard up and move forward!"

"Ooh!!"

We proceeded along the decided route, keeping our surroundings on alert while trying not to be overly tense.

"Stop! I hear footsteps coming from ahead."

Log is in charge of scouting for our party.

Log has activated the [Enhanced Hearing] skill that Orun taught him, significantly enhancing his hearing.

It seems that Log's enhanced hearing has picked up the footsteps of the monsters.

"Can you tell what kind they are?"

"Sorry, I can't tell. But probably three of them."

This is a narrow path, so using magic would be better for combat here.

There are enemies in the thirtieth floor with ranged attacks, but their power is low, so it's not a big concern.

"If they're coming from ahead, Carol and I will use magic to intercept them. Carol, please check if any monsters are coming from behind."

"Got it," "Aye aye, sir."

While giving instructions to the two of them, I began to construct the spell.

Then, four goblins walked towards us from ahead.

They haven't noticed us yet.

"Sorry, I got the number wrong."

"It's okay. We'll take them down with magic as planned! I'll take out their legs, so Log, please take the three on the right! I'll take the left! [Wind Blade]!"

A wind blade, as wide as the corridor, cut off the goblins' legs from the knees.

"[Earth Spikes]!"

Spike-like protrusions from the ground accurately pierced the vital points of the three fallen goblins.

"[Lightning Arrow]!"

I used the spell I had constructed just after [Wind Blade] to take down the remaining goblin.

I still can't construct spells in parallel very well.

Log seems to have already mastered it and can cast spells faster and more accurately than me, a mage.

It's no use wishing for what I don't have, but it's still frustrating.

I'm a mage, so I should be the best at attack magic in this party!

I need to work even harder...!

"Good job, both of you!"

"Sophie's instructions were accurate and made it easy to move. Now I understand why Master said my instructions were poor the other day..."

"I still have a lot to learn. My sister is teaching me a lot, but I can't do it well at all."

"You two are being too negative. It's only natural since we have different levels of experience. We have a long way to go! I think it's too early to compare ourselves to the senior explorers."

"Yeah, you're right. I feel like I've grown a lot over the past month thanks to Orun. Let's work even harder to catch up to the seniors!"

"Alright! To do that, we need to conquer the thirtieth floor and advance to the middle layers! Then we'll join the third team and start our real explorer activities! Let's do our best as a team of three!"

"Ooh!!"

...Huh?

If we join the third team, we won't be newbies anymore.

Does that mean we won't be able to learn from Orun anymore?

Orun is supposed to be guiding us as part of the newbie training.

If we conquer the thirtieth floor, will we no longer be able to receive Orun's guidance?

That would be sad...

But we can't keep relying on Orun forever.

We need to become full-fledged explorers as soon as possible.

Thank you for reading to the end.

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