Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: The Lever of Grades
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Sssswipe.
Just as planned, we summoned the [Demon Slime].
When I placed my hand on the mural, a semi-solid creature—like it was filled with black ink—popped out.
“Poing! Poing!”
The moment it spotted us, it let out an adorable sound and started bouncing in place.
But was that its way of showing anger?
“Poing!”
It charged straight at us.
Boom!
Crack, split!
We immediately put some distance between us, and the ground where the slime landed began to crack and fracture.
“Whew. Like a downgraded version of my hamburger?”
Looks aside, the [Demon Slime] was a creature with tremendous strength.
Its specialty was slamming down on foes, using its power and sheer weight to crush them.
If it landed on you even once, you were looking at broken bones at minimum.
‘Still just a mid-grade demon, though.’
The instant it dropped, I drew on the mana of the entire party.
Then came the barrage of spells.
Kwaaaaang!
“Poyii…….”
Under the devastating combined assault, the [Demon Slime] let out one last cute whimper as it seeped into the floor.
Now only one mural remained.
But unlike before, we didn’t approach it rashly.
First came the discussion.
“What is this one?”
“Tsk…… No real defining features at all. Anything come to mind, dwarf sir?”
“Hmm. Everything up till now was stuff I recognized, but this? No clue.”
But nothing came of it.
Which made sense—who could make heads or tails of that pitch-black mural?
Even I, a ten-year veteran of [Devil Fantasy], had zero idea.
“Then let’s talk about this first.”
We set aside the unsolvable puzzle and changed the subject.
To the mysterious lever attached to the side of the mural.
“Looks like a pull-down lever? Wanna give it a tug?”
“Uncle, come on……! You don’t know what might come flying out!”
“……Ugh. Fine, fine, redhead miss. No need to get so mad.”
Kayla had a point.
Pulling that lever without thinking could lead to who-knows-what.
But.
“……Worth a shot.”
I thought the opposite.
“……You serious? Number one?”
“Yeah. It’s not like we have any other options right now.”
We were already stumped by the mural itself.
Better to pull the lever than drag out this endless debate.
And it wasn’t like I was talking out of my ass.
First point: the dungeon’s difficulty.
“Judging by everything that’s happened so far, this isn’t a dungeon we can’t clear.”
Take the first room.
I touched one block, and that blue figure appeared to show us the exit, right?
If we weren’t after rewards, we could’ve bailed that way easy.
A truly brutal dungeon wouldn’t have something like that in the first place.
‘No need to make two escape routes.’
And it wasn’t just that.
This room was the same.
[Demon Gargoyle], [Heretic Inquisitor Skeleton], [Demon Golem]……
The murals had been ramping up in strength, only for it to suddenly drop to a [Demon Slime].
From all my dungeon crawls, a real nightmare wouldn’t pull a stunt like that.
Meaning this place wasn’t one—and the odds of that lever unleashing a trial too much for our group of four were slim to none.
I laid out my reasoning.
“Makes sense.”
“Hey, number one’s always right in my book.”
The others nodded along without much pushback.
All but one.
“Hey, Yoo Han. You’re saying pull the lever just because of that? Isn’t the evidence kinda weak?”
Kayla still looked worried, her face clouded.
I shrugged.
“It’s all we’ve got right now.”
“I get that, but……!”
Her voice rose.
I got it.
Truth was, I knew my case was flimsy too.
‘What now.’
With everyone’s safety on the line, I couldn’t push if even one dissented.
I was racking my brain for a solution when—
“Uh!”
Thud!
Out of nowhere, Thompson slipped and tumbled backward.
“……Uncle, you okay?”
“Ugh…… Why’s it so slippery here……!”
We helped him up and glanced at the floor.
Just like he said, there was a sticky black puddle.
And its source was obvious at a glance.
“Slime?”
A remnant of the [Demon Slime].
Looked like a chunk had broken off when we took it down and splattered here.
It hadn’t dissipated yet, and Thompson had stepped right in it.
No big deal, so we were about to brush it off.
“Wait. What’s that?”
Thompson, fuming at the innocent floor, suddenly pointed at something.
Near the wall he’d crashed into.
‘Huh?’
Something was definitely off.
One of the blocks embedded in that wall was giving off a faint glow.
“See? Another hidden one right here.”
“Hmm.”
Curiosity piqued, I touched it right away.
Click! It depressed like a button.
Then, something familiar materialized in the center of the room.
“That’s…….”
“The ghost from before?”
It was the blue figure from the first room.
We naturally focused on it, and as if waiting, it began to move.
Step, step, step.
The figure, which had appeared in the room’s center, took a few steps before stopping.
Right in front of the fifth mural.
“What’s it up to……?”
As that question crossed our minds—
Rattle!
“……!!”
The figure abruptly pulled down the lever next to the mural.
Caught off guard by the sudden action, we didn’t even have time to compose ourselves before changes swept the room.
Shrrrrk!
The fifth mural began transforming rapidly.
Like a slot machine, the images were spinning.
It wasn’t spinning too fast, so we calmly took it all in.
‘[Demon Goblin], [Demon Kobold], [Demon Nymph]…….’
In the midst of it, one thing stood out.
Every creature on the wall was a “low-grade demon.”
‘So the fifth mural spawns low-grade demons?’
The thought didn’t last—Barundel shouted.
“The figure’s moving again!”
‘What?’
Sure enough.
Rattle!
The thing, which had been staring blankly at the mural, yanked the lever once more.
‘It wasn’t all the way down!’
That’s when I realized it had stopped partway.
And judging by this pull……
‘……Two more to go?’
That was the conclusion.
A lever with four stages total.
‘Focus on this for now.’
I shelved the thought and turned back to the mural.
No further changes.
Just the images cycling.
Of course, it wasn’t completely unchanged.
‘……The types shifted.’
[Demon Orc], [Demon Troll], [Demon Slime], [Demon Ogre], and so on.
Ones we hadn’t seen before now filled the mural—and they shared a common trait.
All the same grade.
‘Mid-grade demons.’
That clicked everything into place for the fifth mural.
I shared my theory with the group.
“Looks like the further you pull the lever, the stronger the demon that spawns.”
“That true? Number one?”
“Yeah. Check it out—first pull was all low-grade demons. Now? Nothing but mids.”
“Huh, you’re right.”
“Could be coincidence?”
Barundel asked curiously.
“Well, not impossible…… but unlikely.”
Not one or two—all the same grade.
Out of countless demons, the odds of that happening randomly were vanishingly low.
Thompson nodded, as if reaching the same conclusion.
“So…… we get to pick what we summon?”
“Exactly.”
Just as he said—the fifth mural let us choose the grade.
‘Feeling bold? Crank it all the way.’
One thing to consider, though.
‘So what do we get out of it?’
Was it worth the harder fight?
I pondered briefly, but the answer came quick.
“Probably better rewards the tougher the demon.”
What other reason for this setup?
The others nodded in agreement.
“Figured as much.”
“No way they’d add this for nothing.”
“Yeah, nothing else fits.”
Even as we talked, the blue figure kept pulling the lever stage by stage.
Rattle, rattle!
Upper-grade demons, then top-grade.
Over twenty variants cycled through, and we silently scanned and memorized them.
Finally, the images stopped—and the blue figure vanished.
“Well then…….”
Time to decide.
“What’ll it be?”
I looked each of them—Barundel, Thompson, Kayla—in the eye.
Rewards or not, opinions could still split like before.
We’d have to hash it out again.
Luckily, no need this time.
The eyes staring back were all crystal clear.
Thompson spoke first.
“No point overthinking it.”
“Yeah?”
Good to know I wasn’t alone.
“Right then.”
“We’re going top-grade.”
Just like he said—no real choice to begin with.
***
“Huu…….”
A man seated at an abnormally low table let out a breath.
“This just never ends.”
It was Bagran, the dwarf busier than anyone.
As the dwarf leader, he had mountains of work even after the war.
Reestablishing ties with the elves, compensating the infected, prepping for future conflicts.
Endless piles that showed no sign of shrinking.
“Take it slow. Slow…….”
Finally, he stepped out of his study to clear his head.
And that’s when.
Tata-tat-tat!
“Ba-Bagran, sir!”
A dwarf came dashing toward him in a panic.
“What now!”
He was sick of it.
Had to be another urgent matter.
But this time, the report was a bit different from expected.
“R-right now, unknown magi is leaking from the Altar Rock Zone.”
“……What? Altar Rock Zone? You sure?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Damn it…….”
The Altar Rock Zone.
That was where the mage party—visitors to Kazandur just recently—had gone off to hunt.
His own nephew was part of that group.
‘Magi from there?’
Something had gone wrong.
Bagran made his call on the spot.
“We’re mobilizing every available soldier to the Altar Rock Zone—now!”
Whatever it was, those were Kazandur’s benefactors.
He had to help them, come hell or high water.