Chapter 5: The Chain of Encounters – Part 5
The next day, I informed Mariane at the guild of our destination and set off towards the E-Class Dungeon located in Euron.
Coincidentally, Larni had already cleared the E-Class Dungeon by the river, but there was another one that remained unexplored. Such small strokes of luck were indeed appreciated.
Now, this other E-Class Dungeon was situated at the foot of a rocky mountain, resembling a cave opened up in a cliff.
With me, Freinir, and Larni lined up, we made our entrance. From this point on, I decided to assign the mapping duties to Freinir. In lower-class dungeons, monster ambushes were rare, but dividing tasks was one of the advantages of having a party.
As we progressed through the passage that was essentially a rocky cave, I sensed a reaction from my Presence Detection skill. There were seven of them—quite a lot for the first floor.
What appeared were the higher-tier version of the Rock Lizard, known as the Hard Rock Lizard. It was merely a larger lizard with tougher skin, but it posed a threat to a party lacking in offensive power.
“I’ll cast magic,” Freinir announced.
The Holy Light spell she had prepared pierced through one of the creatures, taking it down.
“Larni, can you handle two of them?”
“Leave it to me!”
Larni dashed ahead of me, using Swift Run to overtake me, delivering a blow to each of the two lizards to draw their attention.
I charged at the remaining four, smashing their heads with my mace one by one. The sheer force from my Strength, Stability, Herculean Strength, and Heavy Impact skills shattered their rocky exteriors. It was an overkill of epic proportions.
As for Larni, she had just thrust her flame-infused magic sword into the mouth of one lizard, taking it down, while the other remained behind her.
“I can cast magic!”
“Larni, fall back!”
As I shouted, Larni took a step back, creating some distance. The Holy Light spell struck the last remaining lizard, completing our extermination. Our teamwork was surprisingly effective.
Larni returned, sticking her tongue out playfully. “I really struggle against tough ones. Well, I guess that’s to be expected, but Freinir’s magic is powerful too. I didn’t think there was magic that could pierce through that skin.”
“That’s Holy Attribute Magic. It’s a skill I acquired during my first collaboration with you, Soushi.”
Freinir’s words struck me oddly, but I brushed it off—there was probably no deeper meaning behind it.
“It’s important to complement each other’s weaknesses. I suppose I’ll have to leave the swift monsters to you, Larni.”
“Yeah, I’m good at that. It’s nice that the leader understands me.”
With a wag of her tail, Larni patted my shoulder. Freinir, witnessing this, seemed to want to touch me too, but she suddenly blushed and stopped, as if realizing something.
Could it be that she was craving some physical contact? Though, I certainly couldn’t initiate that.
After that, we encountered several Hard Rock Lizards, each time facing a larger group. It seemed to be the reason behind Larni’s title as the God of Plague. Honestly, while it increased our materials and provided good practice for our teamwork, it was likely because we were strong for E-Rank adventurers. A typical party would find it overwhelming to face seven Hard Rock Lizards at once.
When we descended to the second basement floor, the number of monsters increased, with a maximum of ten appearing at once. I managed to crush them with a bit of effort. As long as they were vulnerable to physical attacks, they posed little threat. Freinir kept exclaiming, “As expected of you, Soushi,” and I felt Larni’s gaze on me shining brighter. It was important to show my strengths as a leader.
“By the way, Freinir, your Divine Halo weakens monsters, right? It worked on the lich, but does it affect regular monsters?”
While collecting the magic stones and metal scraps left by the Rock Lizards, I voiced a thought that had crossed my mind. The Divine Attribute Magic seemed to consume a lot of stamina, so I hadn’t been using it much.
“Let’s try it the next time a monster appears.”
“Are you sure you have enough stamina?”
“Yes, I believe I’m stronger than before, and I have the Consumption Reduction skill. Plus, I have this staff.”
So, in front of the stairs leading to the third floor, we faced eight Hard Rock Lizards, and Freinir used Divine Halo.
As the dungeon was momentarily filled with light, the movements of the lizards visibly slowed.
Curiously, when I struck one, it felt as if the rocky skin had softened. I wondered about the principle behind it… but perhaps it was pointless to think too deeply.
“Your attacks should work now, Larni.”
“Really?”
When Larni struck a lizard, her heated blade effortlessly sliced through its skin, severing its head.
“Whoa!? What is this? Amazing!”
With a gleeful bounce, Larni dashed around, taking down all the lizard heads with her Swift Run.
“Freinir’s magic is incredibly powerful. If everyone knew about it, scouts would be swarming us.”
I intended to compliment her, but Freinir clung to me with those puppy-like eyes.
“I will stay with you, Soushi. I won’t join another party.”
“Huh? Oh, of course, I’d prefer that too. Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you until you say otherwise.”
“I will never say I dislike it. So, we will always be together.”
Freinir said this and continued to cling to my arm for a while.
Larni shot me a knowing glance at the sight, but I could only shake my head in response.
Upon descending to the third floor, we encountered a new humanoid monster made of earth, the Mud Golem, standing about two meters tall.
However, being purely physical, it posed no threat to me. I shattered its swinging arms with my mace and delivered a blow to its torso, reducing it to rubble.
With relatively low defense and not particularly fast movements, it seemed to be a favorable opponent for Larni as well. She danced around it with agile movements, dismantling its limbs with her wind-infused longsword.
On the other hand, it seemed that Holy Light was ineffective against it, so I only had Freinir use Divine Halo when there were many of them.
By the way, the Mud Golem was said to occasionally drop gems in addition to magic stones, and thanks to Larni, we encountered a good number of them, allowing us to pick up one gem.
“This is all thanks to Larni,” I said, and she wagged her tail excitedly, clearly pleased. It must feel good to have a part of herself that she once considered a flaw now be useful.
We continued to defeat Mud Golems on the fourth floor, progressing further. Our skill levels and adventurer levels were rising nicely, but facing more than five at once became a bit cumbersome. Well, with Freinir’s magic, we wouldn’t struggle too much.
On the fifth floor, we encountered a monster known as the Iron Eater, a rat-like creature. They appeared in large numbers and were said to eat weapons and armor, but as long as we took them down first, it wasn’t a problem. With their low defense, Larni’s rapid attacks were quite reassuring.
Thus, we reached the boss room without much difficulty.
“It’s my first time reaching the boss this easily. Isn’t this party amazing?” Larni exclaimed, her tail twitching as she stared at the door to the boss room.
“I think this might be my first time reaching the boss on the first try too. Having Larni join us made a big difference, and Freinir’s magic is incredibly powerful.”
“I believe it’s also because Soushi’s instructions were spot on. Plus, you’re strong yourself.”
“True. In a straight fight, it might be a bit unfair for the monsters. It’s reassuring to have such a reliable leader.”
Yeah, I’ve been blessed with good members who motivate me to take on the role of leader.
“Alright, let’s meet the boss. Are we all ready?”
“Ready!” “Yes, I’m ready!”
We opened the door and stepped inside. As usual, black mist filled the room, but this time it was denser.
“There’s a chance we might face two bosses. Stay alert.”
“Wait, is that even possible?”
“Yeah, it happened once before.”
As I answered Larni, the black mist began to take shape.
Before us stood a humanoid monster made entirely of rock, the Rock Golem, towering at about two and a half meters tall. Just as I expected, two of them appeared.
“Freinir, use Divine Halo. Larni, keep one of them occupied. Focus on evasion until magic takes effect.”
“Yes, Soushi!”
“Got it, leave it to me!”
As usual, Larni struck one and then retreated, drawing its attention. The golem’s movements weren’t particularly fast, so I didn’t expect to take any hits.
One of the golems turned towards me, seemingly targeting Freinir. In that case, I had to confront it head-on.
As I stood in front of it, the Rock Golem swung a massive punch at me. It was an easy attack to dodge. I countered by slamming my mace into its abdomen, but I couldn’t shatter it in one blow. Still, the impact sent it staggering back a few steps.
Larni was keeping the other golem occupied with hit-and-run tactics. However, it seemed she wasn’t dealing much effective damage. Wind magic was said to be effective against earth types, but if the defense was too high, even wind blades wouldn’t penetrate easily.
The golem I was facing regained its balance and charged at me again, raising both arms to bring them down like a hammer. I stepped back to avoid it, but it advanced while swinging its arms.
If I retreated any further, Freinir would be in danger. I stepped in before the golem could fully raise its arms and thrust my mace into its chest. The golem lost its balance and fell backward.
“I’m casting magic!”
With Freinir’s voice, the boss room was enveloped in light. Seeing the golem’s movements slow, I struck its shoulder with my mace as it tried to rise.
Unlike before, the upper half of the golem shattered into pieces. It collapsed and ceased to move. The weakening effect of the Divine Attribute magic felt a bit too strong.
It seemed that Larni’s wind-infused sword was now effective, as she unleashed a flurry of strikes, scraping away at the golem’s surface. As the golem’s arms fell off and its head disappeared, it crumbled to the ground.
“Phew, it’s over. I can’t believe I could take down such a tough golem. Freinir’s magic is incredible!”
“This magic is possible thanks to you, Soushi.”
“Oh come on, Freinir, that’s all you ever say. I know you like Soushi, but saying it all the time makes it lose its impact.”
“N-no, it’s not about liking! I’m just expressing my gratitude!”
For once, Freinir blushed and flustered, clearly caught off guard. Being a girl of her age, she probably wasn’t used to being teased like this.
As I pondered such old-man thoughts, the skills arrived. With two bosses, it was indeed two skills.
I received Paralysis Resistance and Grasp. The former was straightforward, but Grasp seemed to be a skill that provided a strong bonus when grabbing objects. It allowed one to hold on without needing to grip tightly. Depending on how it was used, it could be an interesting skill. Not dropping my weapon would also be a significant advantage.
“I got Life Attribute Magic and Poison Resistance. So, with two bosses, we can gain two skills, huh, Soushi?”
“Yeah, it seems that way. We were lucky again this time.”
While I was talking with Freinir, Larni was bouncing around excitedly.
“This is amazing! Getting two skills at once is super lucky! Is this even a thing? By the way, I got Vital Strike and Herculean Strength! Both are skills I wanted, so my attack power might go through the roof!”
My Bad Luck skill and Larni’s God of Plague might create a good synergy. With Freinir around, we could likely take on monsters of a higher tier, making this party perfect for getting stronger.