Waves of the Undead
Before departing the Western Labyrinth city, they were conducting their final exploration. The even stronger Dorne and his party members stood before the portal to the third floor.
"Really, we had it easy thanks to Eresa's 【Inventory】, but I wonder how other explorers manage their food and water for such a long expedition. They're all amazing."
As Inoi said, this exploration had taken an unusually long time. It wasn't as rushed as their raid expeditions, and bad luck had dropped them far from the descent portal. An ordinary party might have considered retreating due to running out of supplies.
(Deep-diving parties venturing further in would carry portable water generators that create water from magic stones to lighten their load, but that's out of reach for low-floor explorers.)
The Dorne Party reviewed the information about the third floor of the labyrinth that they had received from Torman's party.
"We're heading to the third floor now, but before that, let's go over it one more time. Eresa, you tell us."
Eresa perked up her ears and started counting on her fingers.
"First, unlike the first and second floors, zombies appear here, usually in groups of ten or more. Zombies and vampires fight each other, which can produce elite zombies and elite vampires that grow stronger in the process. Finally, all the monsters patrol like they're on rounds."
"Good. Let's head to the third floor. Everyone, don't get too complacent."
Dorne was trying to keep his party members on edge, at least inducing some tension to prevent carelessness, but with the full-body armor—including a helmet that consumed 100 mana—it was impossible to maintain that sense of urgency during the exploration.
Dorne, who wanted his party to stay tense, and the five companions who weren't particularly on edge, used the third-floor descent portal.
-Clank clank
-Grraaah
The moment they arrived on the third floor, a group of monsters swarmed the Dorne Party. The skeletons had thicker bones, and the zombies—which they'd never seen before—weren't as sluggish as those described on Earth.
The three warriors quickly reformed their ranks, shielding the three non-warriors behind them. With her hourglass no longer a concern, freeing up her hands, Inoi shone her lantern, while Lucian and Eresa fired magic and arrows at the unfamiliar zombies.
-Whoosh
-Thwack!
The zombie, engulfed in flames and struck in the chest by an arrow, charged undeterred.
-Slash!
The flaming zombie was easily dispatched by Dorne's shield and sword, which now consumed an additional 50 mana.
-Crash
The last skeleton crumbled under Lilia's spear thrust, ending their first battle on the third floor.
Dorne addressed Lucian.
"Mr. Lucian, it might be best not to use magic on zombies."
He was thinking that a burning zombie could end up inflicting burns on their own side.
"Yes, I agree. Unlike skeletons, they don't die from cumulative impact—they seem to require a severed head for certainty."
"Wouldn't smashing the head work too?"
"I think so. Let's confirm in the next fight."
Dorne agreed with Lucian and decided to create a hammer instead of a sword for the next battle. The shield and sword dissolved into violet mana and were reabsorbed into Dorne.
"Mr. Dorne... You said there's no loss when creating and dispelling weapons?"
"Yes. I can't know the exact numbers, but it feels that way. Even if there's a slight loss, the 【Mana Core】 would offset it."
Lucian wore an entranced expression.
"Truly... Mr. Dorne's ability is one that every magic researcher would covet. Perfect mana efficiency..."
Dorne, weary of Lucian's repeated praise for the 『Ironclad Giant』, just ignored him with a wry smile.
The Dorne Party pressed forward toward the fourth-floor descent portal.
The Dorne Party explored the fourth floor without any major incidents. The monsters there posed no significant threat either. Skeletons Knights and Mages had been added to the mix, forming stronger forces that patrolled the labyrinth, but with Dorne and the three warriors handling the zombies and vampires at the front, Lucian's magic disrupted the skeletons' joints, making defeat impossible even if they tried.
Inoi didn't even use her blessings. (After the raid, Inoi had acquired the Divine Affinity 1 ability, enabling blessings. Blessings temporarily enhanced the recipient's abilities and could infuse attacks with divinity—a nightmare technique for the undead.)
-...A hammer!
-...Run faster!
As the Dorne Party walked steadily through the corridors, distant human shouts and the clamor of intense battle reached their ears.
Eresa, ears perked and listening intently, activated [Danger Sense].
"Dorne! [Danger Sense] picked it up. Tons of monsters!"
Mindful of the unexpectedly devout and righteous priestess Inoi, Dorne asked Eresa,
"Is it beyond what we can handle?"
"Hmm. If we reinforce the front line with the party being chased, it doesn't seem unbeatable."
Dorne turned to Inoi.
"We should help, right?"
In the harsh world of labyrinth exploration, Inoi knew well that a party's principle of risking losses for good deeds was heavily influenced by personal convictions. She nodded uncomfortably, her original belief in practicing justice as a given now tempered by her time with the Dorne Party. She'd realized her blind pursuit of justice made her seem foolish, and her companions were generally calculating and cool-headed. Yet their consideration for her touched her heart.
"Rear guard, manage your stamina and follow. Warriors, we'll go ahead and form the front line."
At Dorne's gesture, Raon and Lilia matched his pace and ran. A shield and sword formed in the hands of the sprinting 『Ironclad Giant』.
-Clack clack clack
The iron-plated leather boots—spoils from reverse-raiding in the Eastern Labyrinth—and the iron boots conjured by ability clacked against the floor. As they ran, moonlight through a window revealed the faces of five fleeing explorers.
The full-body armor conjured by the 『Ironclad Giant』 consumed 100 mana, with the helmet taking 50. Thanks to the helmet's special ability, his unobstructed vision clearly showed the faces of the two fleeing warriors.
-Huff huff huff
It was the face of a third-year senior they'd shared a carriage to the Western Labyrinth city with and met again when they first spotted the bon dragon.
They kept running into that senior.
Dorne dropped unnecessary formalities and shouted orders to the fleeing party.
"I'm Dorne! Warriors, join us to solidify the front line. Non-warriors, link up with the Dorne Party's rear guard and form a barrage!"
"Huff! No way! Huff, there's no law saying we have to die... Huff!"
They were fleeing an overwhelming number of monsters, but they weren't fools—they knew surrounding themselves with even more would seal their doom. Their slim hopes were stumbling upon an exit portal or, luckier still, encountering a deep-layer expedition team en route.
Not quite deep-layer, but by fourth-floor standards, the clearly powerful Dorne Party had appeared. And they were offering help instead of ignoring them.
"Huff huff, thank you!"
The scout, mage, and priest rushed past Dorne to join the rear. The two warriors, known as third-year seniors, huffed but held their ground, aligning with the three warriors.
Seeing the oncoming monster wave, Dorne's blood boiled. Strangely, whenever facing an overwhelming wave, he'd felt this heightened, awakened state multiple times.
Dorne sought justification to charge in alone. First, the height and reach difference with his allied front line was too vast. To fully utilize his abilities, he needed to swing his long sword horizontally at the soft-bodied undead, but not with allies flanking him. Second, protected by full-body armor, he was an unstoppable warrior. Third, ah, this could work... Anyway, chicken out?
Dorne raised his sword tip to the sky and charged into the monster wave, shouting,
"You hold the front line no matter what! I'll thin out the enemies ahead!"
With a plausible excuse, Dorne dissolved his shield back into mana and invested more into the sword, enlarging it. His conjured shields were tougher and simpler than his armor, costing less mana to repair—a boon against threats, but a luxury here with no enemies capable of breaching him. Without needing to block and counter, reallocating to the sword for faster kills was more efficient.
-Raaah!
Dorne roared and swung at the wave. The horizontal slash, with a blade seemingly over 2 meters long, carved a path of skeleton dust and blackened zombie blood.
The monster wave crashed against Dorne's sword stroke and surged back. Covered in black blood, the monsters naturally stepped forward into Dorne's second swing, crashing back again to engulf their rear.
Violet mana rippled from Dorne's back, assisting his dual-handed swings. The four warriors left in the front line dealt with the remnants swept by the ultraviolet calamity.
The undead wave filled the temple's wide corridor. In its midst, the lone violet 『Ironclad Giant』 pulverized it.
The third-year senior warrior, who had once resented the world's unfairness, shuddered realizing an acquaintance had leaped to an unattainable height. It was astonishing to witness this new history firsthand. Even the symbolic color was the most luxurious purple.
'It's as if the gods arranged it themselves...'
-Splash!
The more Dorne rampaged, the faster the assisting mana depleted. Restoring the dulling, filth-covered blade after slicing bones and rotten flesh also consumed mana.
-Slash!
Huff huff
After Dorne cleaved through the vast wave to a depth of 5 meters, at the rear of the wave were elite zombies and elite vampires who ignored the chase, hunting fellow monsters—zombies and vampires—until they locked eyes and fought each other.
-Thud thud- Thud...
The vampire, resembling a human, and the zombie with impressive agility halted upon spotting Dorne. Glancing between each other and Dorne, they seemed to reach some unspoken agreement and turned toward him.
The days of Dorne gasping from poor lung capacity were gone. After a refreshing battle aided by mana, he quipped,
"Monsters acting politically?"
The vampire and zombie sneered wickedly and charged.
Dorne invested 50 mana into a long sword, then reverted it to his standard sword and shield.
-Boom!
Crack crack!
The zombie lunged at his left shield, unleashing a barrage. The vampire easily dodged his blocking swing and raked claws across Dorne's face and chest before he could react.
Dorne backpedaled hastily, shoving the vampire with his sword hilt, and adjusted his strategy. He focused solely on thrusting the sword tip with his right hand. Now, he could follow up slashes on the vampire dodging the tip to halt it.
-Boom! Boom!
The zombie charged wildly, the vampire lurking for openings. Both were within fist range if caught, but their speed and cunning made opportunities scarce. Dorne barely maintained the status quo as his mana dwindled.