Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Elana (1)
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"Um, over there... You're heading to the 3rd floor?"
"Yes."
As I made my way to the dungeon entrance, I briefly outlined the plan.
The theme of the underground dungeon's 3rd floor was a forest.
If we ran into orcs, the idea was to trap them in Bubble and bolt.
Normally, monsters' aggro would automatically drop once you put enough distance between you.
I wasn't entirely sure if it worked the same way here, so I planned to test it out against the Lizardmen on the 2nd floor.
Hunting orcs right now would be inefficient anyway.
They had high stamina and high attack power, so they took forever to kill.
Plus, there was only one of them.
On the 3rd floor, it made far more sense to go after packs of Silver Wolves instead.
I also explained how the two of us could use Bubble like a protective shield.
Bubble blocked only physical damage—it didn't interfere with mana flow.
But it did restrict movement.
That meant the key was timing it perfectly with enemy attacks: cast it fast, drop it at the right moment.
It demanded perfect coordination and sharp instincts.
From what I'd seen so far, hers were top-notch, so we'd be fine.
"Ah......"
Ilana's expression darkened a little as she listened.
She looked like she had something to say again, her mouth opening and closing hesitantly.
Was she lacking confidence?
Well, it was a tricky tactic to pull off right away.
"If it's too much, you don't have to come."
"Ah, no, it's not that... It's nothing......"
The last time she'd joined that 1st-floor boss-clearing party, I'd confirmed her magic worked fine on orcs—the monsters from the 3rd floor.
So there was no real cause for worry.
If it was tough at first, she could just pick it up gradually.
"Um... Would it be a burden if I only use support magic......?"
"Not particularly."
That was the whole reason I was bringing her along.
Or did she have some attack spells after all?
"Do you have any other magic?"
"Y-Yes? Ah, no! I don't, nothing!"
Ilana jolted in surprise and practically leaped back.
She emphasized over and over that she had zero attack magic.
...Hadn't she used Fireball last time?
"If you haven't even learned basic spells, I'd recommend checking out the city hall or the library."
I didn't need it myself, but you could pay the Training Captain a fee for extra lessons on your first day.
For mages, that usually meant picking up a handful of basic spells.
The library let you buy magic tomes for a price too, once you shelled out the cash.
The catch was you had to be able to read them, so it was a bit tougher.
This city had solid perks for beginners, though. If she needed to, she could learn it all.
"Ah... H-have you been there, Rain......?"
"No need for me. My family deals in magic."
I casually name-dropped my family.
I hadn't gotten anything from them, but it made for a perfect excuse.
The legendary spells from runes fell into two categories.
Either no one used them and they were just rumors,
or the users were so rare that most people didn't even know they existed.
Either way, if anyone asked, I'd pass them off as my family's secret arts.
I had no obligation to spill more if they pried.
"M-me too, I'm fine... I was just wondering if support magic alone would be okay......"
"Support magic only is fine. It won't be as simple as you think."
Starting on the 3rd floor, you could really feel the dungeon's madness in your bones.
Magic potency dropped by about 20% compared to normal floors from there on.
Bubble's durability would suffer too, so if you blinked, it'd pop—not exactly straightforward.
Lost in those thoughts, we'd already reached the dungeon entrance.
"Can you clear the 1st floor?"
"Yes? Ah, yes......"
"Then we'll meet up once on the 2nd floor before heading to the 3rd."
I told her the meeting spot on the 2nd underground floor.
Once she reached the 3rd, she should just stay put there.
Up to the 3rd floor, knights and plenty of others stood watch at the entrances and exits, so it should be safe.
I'd head down first and come find her.
"Alright."
We crossed the gate together.
---
"Th-this way!"
We made it to the rendezvous on the 2nd floor without a hitch.
Ilana had beaten us there, so we plunged into the dungeon interior to hunt for the boss room.
Assuming its position hadn't shifted, it shouldn't be far.
'...This.'
I'd considered stashing the staff in my inventory, but ended up just gripping it in my right hand.
Ilana had her quirks... but hiding a perfectly good item felt off.
"Let's test it first. Hit that Lizardman with Bubble, please."
"Y-Yes...!"
Ilana crept up to a lone Lizardman and cast Bubble on it.
Plop- A massive bubble swallowed it whole, enveloping the thing. Trapped inside, it finally clocked what was happening and let out an enraged roar. With it successfully contained, we sprinted straight ahead.
"Huff... huff......"
"Just a bit farther."
We tucked ourselves just out of sight around a distant corner. Then we observed the Lizardman trapped in the bubble. It was stabbing away at the bubble relentlessly with its spear—so it'd break free soon. Five seconds. Ten. Twenty....... One minute. ...Something was off with the bubble's state. Last time, it'd popped around thirty seconds in, but now it was holding strong past a full minute.
"Sh-should I pop it......?"
"...You've been controlling the duration manually this whole time?"
"Eh? Ah... y-yes......"
"......"
I nodded for her to dispel it first. Bang! The Lizardman burst free. It panted furiously for a moment, scanning the surroundings quick—but showed no sign of charging after us. The test was a success. Aggro did release after enough distance, same as expected. Just...
"S-success...?"
I glanced at Ilana, who was glued tensely to my back. What in the world was this girl's deal? Fallen nobles got only passing mentions in the game—I'd never actually seen one, so info was scarce.
"Um... why are you looking like that......?"
"Success."
I gave a light nod in response. Everyone had their secrets. That said, I pulled the ring I'd gotten last time from my inventory and slipped it on. It wasn't that I didn't trust Ilana, but better safe. Even with a big level gap, we could escape to the 3rd floor via teleport scroll if needed. They might wait for my mana to bottom out, so I'd keep the ring on to regen just enough for Blink.
"Let's head straight to the boss room, then."
"Yes!"
I gathered mana into the staff first, floating Mana Bolts in the air. On the way to the boss room, I picked off any Lizardmen that popped up. Pew- "Eek, s-so startling......"
Ilana jumped at the Lizardmen dropping dead out of nowhere, but she adapted quick. It wasn't long before we arrived.
"Here it is."
A stone door etched with a skull—starkly different from the others. The 2nd underground floor's boss room. I pushed it open. Grind- The sturdy door slid inward slowly. It wasn't as heavy as it looked; it opened wide enough for two people abreast.
"This way."
The boss hadn't respawned yet, so we headed all the way inside. Beyond the altar-like space, a crimson gate flickered at the back. The passage to the 3rd floor.
"Just stay put once you're on the 3rd."
Crossing this gate dropped you at a random one of five points. A one-in-five shot to land together, but usually parties scattered—so we needed a meetup spot. Since Ilana had no attack magic, I'd be the one coming to her. It might take time, but with Blink, it'd work out.
"G-going in!"
"Yes." Humm- We stepped through, and my vision melted away smooth. When I came to, I was deep in a lush forest. The 3rd underground floor brimmed with grass and trees towering over my height. It almost tricked you into thinking it wasn't a dungeon at all. I swept aside the foliage right next to me. There was the familiar drab dungeon wall from the floors above. It was just a wider space—nothing truly open about it. The dungeon's madness was twisting it bit by bit, that was all. Still, things stayed relatively normal up to the 3rd. I pressed forward to find Ilana first. No luck landing in the same spot, it seemed. On the 3rd floor, treasure chests were in just two locations. One was really close by. Conveniently on the way, so I'd swing past and check. -Squeal! The sounds of a battle with an orc echoed from not far off. I approached to find a single knight locked in combat with it. Every time the knight swung his sword, the orc got shredded. Less than a minute later, it was diced to pieces. Knights varied, but... this one was seriously skilled. From the 3rd floor on, they periodically culled the monster population for safety.
"Hello."
I gave the knight a light bow and passed him by. How much farther did I go? "...Hey. Don't come any closer. This is Azure Dragon Guild territory."
At the spot hiding a treasure chest, a bizarre scene unfolded. A long corridor packed wall-to-wall with people. A human barricade. Seeing it like this was a fresh twist. Back when the game was at its peak, folks mobilized hordes of alts just like this to blockade paths and monopolize chests.
"Just pass on through. Touch a hair and we report you to the knights."
The guy guarding the front of the human wall waved me off. Now I saw most of the barricade crew looked miles from combat classes. More than that... most were dressed like beggars.
"You a newbie? I get what you're thinking... but don't get any naive ideas. Those guys are all here to make a buck."
The Azure Dragon Guild guy who'd caught my stare jabbed a thumb back at them. "Blocking's high-profit easy work. No reason not to, right?"
"......"
I had no plans anyway. I shrugged lightly and moved on. How much farther?
"......"
"......"
Voices drifted from a spot nearby—multiple people chatting. Still near the entrance, so running into other parties was common. I meant to slip past them.
"Th-then... let's try going a little slower...!"
But that all-too-familiar voice made me turn my head. A woman with long purple bangs draped over her eyes. Ilana. The girl I'd just partied with was right there, teamed up with Dawn Guild members. She and the rest of them were covered in clear signs of battle. As if they'd been hunting together all day long.