Chapter 86
『Haa… Haa… Haa…』
Whew, I’m tired because I ran for the first time in a while.
But, the passages in the Fáfnir Dungeon were wider than I expected, which helped a lot.
Even I could pass through them easily.
Thanks to that, I managed to shake off that weird monster.
『That was close…』
「You could have just fought it, couldn’t you?」
The girl on my back says something, but I ignore her.
Anyway, I was relieved that I managed to escape.
But what floor am I on now?
According to Elibel’s records, the map of Fáfnir only goes up to the 53rd floor.
Even when comparing with that map, I can’t find a place that matches this one.
…Could it be that this place is even deeper?
Yeah, my bad hunches usually turn out to be correct, so it’s probably just that.
I activate my magic sense.
Wow… I can feel a dense magical power.
Especially, there are four creatures that seem particularly dangerous.
We’re still far from them, so it’s okay.
They’re almost at the same level as Heleb and the Gwyve. This is bad, isn’t it?
According to Elibel’s records, there seems to be a monster acting as a floor boss every ten floors in Fáfnir, and you can’t go to the next floor unless you defeat that monster.
And of course, the deeper the floor, the stronger the floor boss becomes.
Well, even the 50th floor boss was beaten up by Elibel’s magic.
…She’s really a monster.
By the way, it seems that the floor bosses revive after a few days to a few months.
Like the golems in my dungeon.
Well, unlike mine, this dungeon can produce a variety of monsters other than golems.
Elibel said that she got bored with defeating the same enemies over and over and stopped.
『Phew, I guess I can relax now that I’ve come this far.』
I say, leaning against the end of a hallway whose location I don’t know.
This area seems to be free of traps, too.
I’m glad there was no particular mechanism in the corridor…
There were some surprises, like pebbles flying at me or firecracker-like contraptions.
Aside from the monsters chasing me, everything was fine.
「Why didn’t you fight?」
A voice comes from my back.
It’s the girl who for some reason has clung to me.
Perhaps because of her ghost-like appearrance, it feels a bit strange carrying something that has no weight to it.
Curious.
I don’t know if I’m tired or possessed, haha.
『There’s no way I could fight such a scary monster.』
I’m not Ann, after all.
When I heard that she had faced Heleb before, I doubted her sanity.
Probably, she would rush in even against that monster.
「Hmm… I’m not sure about that.」
What’s not convincing you?
Well, I don’t care about her doubts.
What’s important now is where this place is.
『Hey, do you know where we are?』
I ask, putting the girl down from my back.
「We’re in Fáfnir. I told you before.」
『No, I mean, I’m asking about the floor…』
「Floor?」
The girl tilts her head curiously.
「…The one at the sea?」
That’s seaweed. (Sub29: Wordplay; 階層=floor. 海藻=seaweed. Both has the same pronounciation, kaiso (かいそう))
Floor (kaiso), alga (kaiso), recollection (kaiso), remodelling (kaiso), forwarding (kaiso). Haha, Japanese is difficult.
I got distracted again.
How should I ask?
『Um, I want to know where we are in Fáfnir…』
「Hmm… Deep place?」
She puts her hand on her mouth and answers.
Argh, this is useless.
There’s no point in asking.
Sigh… Can’t be helped.
Until help arrives, I’ll have to hide somewhere safe.
「By the way, Mr――Lizard.」
『What?』
「Behind you.」
『Eh?』
As I turn around.
「Garurururu…..」「Kishi! Kishi! Kishi!」「Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii」
「Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!」「Kisshaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!」
「Goffguff!」「Garururururu」
「…ooooooOOOOOOOO」
『Uwah…』
………..There were a lot of them.
Some look like dogs, some like snakes, some like spiders, some like horses, and there’s also one that looks like the monster we saw earlier and is indescribable.
They are diverse, but all of them have a red gem on their forehead.
And every single one of them is filled with killing intent.
Their bloodshot eyes are staring at me.
Oh no…
I carelessly stopped paying to attention to my surrounding.
「Garurururururu」
Ah, we made eye contact.
I need to look at somewhere else.
『―――Wait, this is not the time to think about thaaaaaaaaat!』
「Hup!」
The girl sticks to my back like glue.
I dashed away.
「Gugaaaaaaaaa!!」「Kishaaaaaaaaaa!!」「Shushushushushu!!」「――――ooOoooOOOOOOOO」
They’re chasing us!
Of course, they would! But please stop chasing me! Please!
『Someone help meeeeeee!』
「Mr Lizard, you’re going to attract more if you scream! Wouldn’t it be better to fight?」
『No! That’s impossible! I can’t fight!』
There’s a clear difference between me and the girl.
In fact, why am I in this situation?
Did I do something?
『Ann, Elibel! Please come quickly!』
In my heart, I sent out a distress signal to my reliable companions as hard as I could.
My prayer, please reach them!
Help me!
Meanwhile, at that time.
At the depths of the dungeon――――
『「――――!?」』
Ann and Elibel looked at each other.
「Ann…」
『Yes, Elibel, did you sense it too…』
Elibel nods.
『I heard Lord Earth’s cry for help!』
「I heard a cute voice of a young girl!」
『Eh?』
「Huh?」
Earth’s prayers seemed to reach some of them.
In the depths of Fáfnir――――
『Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!』
I was running.
It was a full-speed sprint.
Behind me, I could hear the screams of the monsters.
Super scary.
「Wheeeee」
The girl clings to me, looking quite happy.
I don’t get it.
Even though I’m running so hard, how can this child is enjoying this?
Besides, who is she?
Thinking about it, isn’t the cause of my suffering comes from this girl?
Probably, she’s the one who made that passageway. If she hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place, wouldn’t I?
Such questions crossed my mind.
But, let’s save that for later.
For now, I just need to keep running.
――――Click!
Hm?
Did I step on something…?
Ouch! Pebbles flew at me again.
I might be imagining things, but I think I can hear screams of monsters behind me, but for now, I have to prioritize running.
Oh, the number of monsters chasing me is decreasing!
Great, they must be getting tired from running too!
Go me!
―――――Click! Click! Click!
Really, what’s with this sound?
Ouch! I tripped on a step!
The passage seems to be getting narrower too!
Guh, I can somehow squeeze through!
Thud! Now a stone fell from the ceiling!
What’s happening!?
Well, it’s good that the number of demons is decreasing.
And then, I kept running frantically for a while.
『――――Haa… Haa…』
Oh, no, I’m running out of breath.
Even an Earth Dragon gets a stitch in its side when it runs too much…
That’s an insignificant discovery I wish I hadn’t made.
The last time I sprinted like this was during my fight with that damn Wald.
I activate magic sense.
Yeah, I can feel a group of monsters behind me.
It seems like I’ve shaken off quite a few, but some are still stubbornly chasing me.
Bastards.
「Ah, it’s bright over there」
The white girl, who is ignorant of such things, speaks in a leisurely tone.
Seriously, who is she really?
Even though I’m so tired.
Well, let’s go towards the light for now.
As we walked down the corridor, we came out into an open space.
It’s a different construction from the hall we were in before.
It’s still made of white stone, but it’s built with a more intricate design overall.
And it’s quite spacious.
It’s about the size of the Abyss Room in my dungeon.
But there’s no light source.
It’s too dark to see in the back.
…Huh, the monsters aren’t chasing us anymore?
What happened?
Well, it’s good that they are not chasing us anymore..
Let’s rest here for a while――――
「――――Fuhahahahaha!!! Well done, intruder!」
A very loud voice echoed.
I have a bad feeling about this…
At the same time as the voice, a nearby light magic stone shone.
Starting from where I was, the light magic stones lit up one after another, making the back visible.
And then, at the very back of the hall―――I look in the direction of the voice.
Yeah, there was someone there who looked like an enemy.
The red gem on his head is the definitive proof of that.
He has an appearance of a medieval knight.
The embroidered blue cape looks cool.
He is about two to three meters, I guess?
It’s hard to tell from this distance.
「You have traversed many traps and have finally arrived here! My name is Ragin! I am the 80th floor boss of Fáfnir!」
So it’s the floor boss…
Ah, I see.
So this is the boss of this floor.
That’s why the monsters didn’t come in…
Wait, this is the 80th floor?
I have far surpassed Elibel’s last visited floor.
Hahaha… what should I do…
In contrast to my confusion, the knight seems to be in a good mood.
But, were there traps?
Oh, did I miraculously pass through a route without traps?
Fufu, you’re still naive, Fáfnir.
In my dungeon, there are no safe routes!
Every route is a death route.
「Fuhahahaha! You are the first invader to make it this far! I never expected the first invader to be from the same race as our lord, but that is trivial! Now, invader! Show me your power!! I’ll turn you into rust on my sword!」
I don’t want to become rust. I don’t even have any intention to fight. Please let me go.
Somehow I feel the same smell as that damn dragon slayer.
It’s that battle-crazed one.
The gushing magical power. The tension is high.
Yeah, it’s the type I don’t like. I don’t think we can be friends.
But this is bad…
This guy is much stronger than that huge strange monster I saw earlier.
I think he’s one of the four presence I felt earlier.
「Come on―――let’s do it!」
The floor boss knight is approaching with his sword drawn.
…What should I do?
I’m in a real pinch, ain’t I?
An uncomfortable sweat starts to pour out.
Ann, Elibel, Pururu, someone――――
Please help me quickly…
As soon as possible, please.
A quick note
Crushing Bullet: One of the traps set in Fáfnir.
Super high-speed rock bullets.
If it hits a person, it can easily turn them into pieces of meat.
→Pebble
Heat Blast Decor: One of the traps set in Fáfnir.
If you step on it, it reacts to the target’s magical power and causes it to explode.
→Firecracker
Underworld Passage: One of the traps set in Fafnir.
At first glance, it looks like a normal passage, but as you pass through, it absorbs your magical power and physical strength.
Eventually, when you are too tired to move, the walls close in and crush you.
→Out of breath
There were also various other traps set.
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