Chapter 20: “Dragon’s Cradle,” and to the Beastkin Village 08
The next day, we started from the 11th floor.
From here, the marble-like floors and walls transformed into a texture resembling white plaster. The fact that the floor, walls, and ceiling were completely white created a strange, almost eerie feeling.
The passageway was still about 10 meters wide, which was a blessing for “Soul’s Guidance.”
As we advanced in formation, a giant earthworm appeared, about 7-8 meters in length. Its head was a circular mouth with rows of saw-like teeth arranged in a circle. This “Huge Worm” was quite a visually striking monster, but the problem was that these grotesque giant worms lined the entire passageway. There were probably about 30 of them. If anyone disliked worms, this sight would be enough to stop their heart, not just give them goosebumps.
But of course, no one in “Soul’s Guidance” would be intimidated by something like that.
With a barrage of magic from the rear guard and relentless physical attacks from the vanguard, the Huge Worms, which lacked special attacks, were quickly exterminated. To their credit, these monsters are normally resistant to magic, and even slicing through their bodies with a sword is difficult.
The dropped item was, surprisingly, unidentified meat. According to Marishielle, “It’s a delicacy highly prized in the Imperial Capital,” but even the gluttonous Larni, Karma, and Shizuna didn’t want to eat it. We collected it all anyway, just to sell it.
From the 13th floor, we encountered “Orichalcum Bugs.” These were superior versions of the “Iron Bugs” and “Steel Bugs” we had fought before, giant pill bugs with orichalcum shells.
As expected, they boasted incredible defense, and they rolled at super speed in balls about 3 meters in diameter.
However, Freinir’s “Divine Halo” weakened their crucial defense, making preemptive magic attacks effective, and the vanguard’s attacks worked without issue. If necessary, I could crush them all, so there were no problems.
The dropped item was, of course, chunks of orichalcum.
The 15th floor was a vast space swarming with countless “Legion Ants,” giant ants about 3 meters in length. At the far end, we could see a queen ant about 10 meters long, which was the boss of this floor.
There were probably at least 500 Legion Ants. It was a staggering number, but not particularly surprising for “Soul’s Guidance.”
“When I came here before, there were only about 50, but this number is just laughable,” Marishielle said with a smile. The other members were also full of motivation.
“I’ll crush everything in the front. Take care of the ones coming from the left and right,” I instructed, and everyone, already accustomed to this, split up to prepare for the attack.
Once the initial “Divine Halo” was cast, the rear guard’s wide-range magic was unleashed like a carpet bombing, instantly turning over 100 ants into black mist.
Undaunted, the Legion Ants, clicking their massive mandibles, surged forward like a black tsunami. The vanguard, including myself, met them head-on.
I simply spammed “Crushing Wave” in the center. The black, shiny giant ants were crushed into pieces and vanished en masse.
The Legion Ants approaching from the left and right were successively slaughtered by Larni and the others with a single stroke of their blades. Any that slipped past were knocked down by Shizuna’s Spirit iron dolls.
The tide of the battle turned in about 10 minutes. Only a handful of Legion Ants were still moving, and the boss queen ant, sitting in the back, was on her last legs after being hit by another volley of magic. It seemed that she was the type of boss who relied on numbers and wasn’t particularly strong on her own.
“Soushi, can you ‘Plunder’?”
“No, I don’t sense anything.”
“Then I’ll finish her off. Everyone, let’s go!”
Larni said casually, and together with the vanguard, they dismantled the queen ant as they defeated her.
“Ah, a silver chest means she wasn’t a Rare Boss.”
“It seems she was just a boss with a large number of soldiers.”
Larni and Shizuna looked bored as they looked at the remaining treasure chests.
Even so, more than 20 treasure chests appeared, probably because we had defeated such a large group. Inside were all translucent spheres the size of basketballs filled with a viscous liquid. And since five came out of each box, there were over 100 in total.
“What is this?”
“These are ‘Legion Ant Honey Orbs.’ They’re a super high-class ingredient,” Marishielle answered immediately, and Dorozitte also made a cheerful sound with a somewhat happy expression.
“It’s honey used in high-end sweets in the Imperial Capital. It’s reputed to be good for the body, and the demand for it is even greater than its taste. Of course, the taste itself is said to be heavenly nectar.”
“Could it be that we’ve already eaten it without knowing?” Freinir asked, and Marishielle nodded.
“Some of the sweets served at the Imperial Castle parties should have used it. However, the castle chefs don’t boast about their ingredients, so it’s more of a subtle thing.”
“The sweets at the castle always seemed to have a different fragrance, so maybe it was from this honey. Sir Soushi, would it be alright to taste this tonight?”
“It seems like it would be good to put on bread and eat. Of course, I think we can afford that kind of luxury.”
“Yes, thank you!”
I hadn’t noticed before, but Freinir might like sweets. She seems to have a small appetite, but as an adventurer, she eats more than the average person. It’s great that she finds enjoyment in food.
In any case, we rested in the safe zone and descended to the 16th floor.
While insect-type monsters appeared on the 11th to 15th floors, it seemed that slime-type monsters would appear on the 16th to 20th floors.
As we descended to the 16th floor and advanced a little, we saw translucent, gel-like monsters clustered together, covering the white passageway. They were not only on the floor but also stuck to the walls and ceiling, and they were so densely packed that it was impossible to count them.
“Sir Soushi, I apologize, but this is no longer the 16th floor that I know at all,” Marishielle said, her face slightly strained, probably because she disliked slimes.
Even without her advice, there was only one thing to do, so there were no problems.
“Sfenia, can you burn them away with fire Elemental Magic?”
“Yes, I think there won’t be any problems. Shizuna can also use advanced fire magic.”
So, we decided to have the rear guard use their magic to their heart’s content and proceed.
It seemed that the “Crystal Slimes” that appeared on the 16th and 17th floors were slimes with extremely high defense. Even Marishielle and Somyule, from the Water Lily Lion party she belonged to, couldn’t destroy their cores with a single blow. Magic was also said to be ineffective, but that was not the case for the members of “Soul’s Guidance.” Thanks to the effects of Freinir’s “Divine Halo” and my “Vessel of the Commander,” we had literally amazing “firepower” and quickly cleared the passageway.
What remained were countless Magic Stones and the dropped item, “Crystal Orbs.” “Crystal Orbs” were essential materials for Magic Tool production, and Geshura said, “These ‘Crystal Orbs’ are of very good quality. With this many, my research will progress,” as she skillfully used her tail to collect them. It was rare to see her so happy, so I threw them into the Item Box while picking them all up, even though it was difficult.
On the 18th and 19th floors, we encountered the same slimes, but they looked like liquid metal. They looked like mercury spilled on the floor, but they were larger than a hug.
They had a very strange appearance, but their silver bodies contained potent poison, and magic was almost completely ineffective against them.
“Do these guys not run away easily?”
“No, they’re monsters, so they don’t do things like that… is there something you’re concerned about?” Marishielle asked with a puzzled look at my pointless question.
“No, I just thought so,” I said, brushing it off, and I blew them all away with “Crushing Wave” to defeat them. I shouldn’t say stupid things.
The dropped item was silver ingots. They were valuable as decorations, and also as materials for Magic Tools in this world.