Chapter 233: A New Companion
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 233: A New Companion
Just moving through the 3rd floor was an ordeal.
My feet sank deep into the snow with every step, and the constant snowfall narrowed my vision, making it the worst possible environment for exploration. At least the 2nd floor had a wide field of view.
I shuddered to think what it would have been like without Diana, my personal human furnace.
The other adventurers must be dealing with even worse conditions than us. I couldn’t imagine what possessed them to explore a place like this.
Come to think of it, was Silvia doing okay?
Even my feet were sinking this much; what about her, clanking around in full plate armor?
I turned to check on the girls.
Sara, with her naturally light movements, glided across the snow as if she were sliding. She barely left any footprints, like a master from a martial arts novel treading on snow without a trace.
The Hero job really was overpowered, no doubt about it.
Leia, too, was surprisingly walking with light, easy steps. Now that I thought about it, being a Beastkin, her physical abilities seemed quite high.
Unlike Diana, she rarely seemed to get tired as her level increased.
Meanwhile, Diana, whose job level had long since hit its cap and whose stats were maxed out, was currently riding on my back.
And Silvia, who I’d been most worried about, was also having a surprisingly easy time.
No, in fact, it felt like her feet were sinking even less than mine.
Her armor looked expensive, so maybe it was perfectly lightweight, even if it didn’t have any cold-resistance features.
Silvia seemed to be at ease even during a march like this. When our eyes met, she blushed and flinched, looking away. Then, as if realizing she hadn’t been the one staring first, she mustered her courage and met my gaze again. With a beet-red face, she smiled shyly.
Don’t do cute things like that. I might get attached.
I turned my gaze forward again.
As I turned my head, I saw Silvia’s expression fall, but I was going to ignore it.
I’m going to ignore it! I have enough on my plate with my own girls!
“Anyway, nothing’s showing up. Monsters, I mean. Maybe they all froze to death. There’s not a single sign of life.”
“Hmm. It is strange, indeed. It wouldn’t be odd for a beast or two to have appeared by now. It’s as if… Ah.”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Everyone, watch your step!”
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
As if it had understood her, a tremor shook the ground the moment Diana shouted.
The snow beneath our feet collapsed, breaking our party’s formation, and in that instant, a creature revealed itself from beneath the ground.
A massive body made of a translucent material.
It was what you’d call an Ice Golem.
Right. If something like this was hiding, of course we wouldn’t sense its presence.
It was enormous, standing nearly three meters tall.
So this was the 3rd floor. The scale of the monsters was no joke, right from the get-go.
“To think there would be a golem. This one was careless. It seems the place we are is not the entrance to the 3rd floor.”
Ah, that made sense. So this wasn’t the entrance.
From what I’d heard while walking, the 3rd floor, much like the 1st, was a space with multiple layers descending downwards.
In other words, to use the 1st floor as an analogy, this wasn’t where the rabbits appeared, but more like the area where goblins and orcs started showing up.
We hadn’t descended for that long from the ant nest, so I’d assumed we were right at the entrance to the 3rd floor.
Then again, the ant nest itself had rooms that sometimes led downwards, so it wouldn’t be strange if it connected to the middle of the 3rd floor.
It was an unexpected situation, but there was no need to be afraid.
We were the party that had cleared the ant nest—said to be as difficult as the 2.5th floor—all the way to the boss in a single day.
Even if this was the 3rd floor, if we were going to be scared by a single normal monster, we never would have come down here in the first place.
Besides, there was no need to fear an opponent with such an obvious weak spot.
Since its body was made of ice and was translucent, the spot where its magic stone was embedded was completely visible, making it look easy to deal with.
Like the wolfdogs I’d neutered before, if we just attacked the magic stone, it would probably go down surprisingly easily.
Fwoosh!
Sara must have had the same thought. Before I could even get into position, she stood up and fired an arrow. But…
Thunk.
Even for Sara, it seemed impossible to completely pierce the golem’s thick torso with an arrow that wasn’t imbued with mana.
Her arrow stopped just short of the magic stone, unable to penetrate any further.
Was Sara’s attack power that incredible for getting it that deep, or was the golem’s defense just that immense since its weak point was so exposed?
Whatever the case, I needed to draw its aggro first.
I gently set Diana down from my back, activated Saint’s Sincerity, and charged the golem.
And just as I was less than a meter away from it, a thought suddenly struck me.
…Huh? Wait. Will my skills even work on something like this?
At a glance, the thing didn’t even seem to have sensory organs. No, it wasn’t even a living creature to begin with.
Logically speaking, it was an opponent my Saint skills should never work on.
But I had the experience of making even Silvia, who had no erogenous zones, feel pleasure.
Maybe it would work on this thing, too?
Whether it worked or not, the fact that I had to draw its aggro didn’t change. Besides, I was already right on top of it. I had to land a hit and see.
CRACK!
My fist and the golem’s fist collided, creating a deafening roar.
My Strength was 250, so the golem’s fist cracked slightly from the impact.
But the difference in weight class was unavoidable.
While it didn’t budge a single step, I was sent flying nearly a meter backward through the air.
And damn, that was bone-chillingly cold!
I’m not kidding.
The moment our fists met, a cold that felt like it was freezing my very bones shot up from my fist and through my shoulder.
Looking at my health gauge, I’d taken as much damage in one hit as I would from being bitten by a soldier ant over a hundred times.
For a normal monster to do this much damage was strange. My Durability was 250.
If it were a magic attack, maybe… Ah. I see. Could it be that its basic attack was a hybrid of physical and magical damage? What a tricky bastard.
But that wasn’t even the trickiest part.
The damage I took was quickly healed by a recovery spell from our angel, who flew over right after.
As expected, the Saint skills had no effect on it.
While I was sent flying backward, the golem ignored me and started heading toward the back line.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going in the middle of our playdate!”
I quickly closed the distance and started wailing on its legs, but it seemed to have decided that Sara’s and Diana’s attacks were more dangerous than my punches.
Ignoring the cracks spreading through its leg as it began to shatter, the golem continued to move its massive body toward Sara and Diana and swung its enormous fist.
But I’m not the only tank in this party!
Silvia, who had dashed forward at some point, stood in the way, holding a sword so ornate it looked like a decorative piece, and blocked the golem’s fist.
And what’s more, Silvia wasn’t even sent flying. And she was much smaller than me.
I guess in this world, level really is everything.
“Nice one, Silvia!”
To be honest, the golem was as slow as it was big, so even if Silvia hadn’t blocked it, there might not have been much damage.
Sara could have dodged with her light movements, and Diana had her shield. Leia was positioned behind Diana, so there was nothing to worry about.
But that was no reason not to praise Silvia for her actions.
At my praise, Silvia glanced at me with a brief smile before her expression returned to a neutral mask as she faced the golem.
A blank expression that almost looked bored. Come to think of it, that’s how she looked when we first met.
I’d gotten so used to not seeing that look on her face that I’d completely forgotten about it.
In any case, Silvia now took up the defense in earnest.
She didn’t seem to have a taunt skill either, as the golem continued to focus on Sara or Diana, but each time, Silvia would step in front to block, performing her tanking duties flawlessly.
It was a kind of movement I, who had grown so accustomed to the aggro-drawing ability of my Saint skills, would find difficult to imitate.
While Silvia held it off, Sara and I continued to attack the golem’s body.
Just as my fists shattered one of its legs and Sara’s arrows destroyed both its arms, Diana, having finished her incantation, unleashed a powerful flame spell that struck the golem’s body.
Fwoosh-hiss-s-s.
No, to say it struck the golem would be an understatement.
I don’t know how much power she put into it, but the golem’s body began to melt before the flames even reached it, turning into a pool of water and leaving only its magic stone behind.
“Hmph. My apologies. It seems it takes a bit of time to use temperature control magic in conjunction with an attack spell of this magnitude.”
Diana, having finished it off in style, replied as if it were nothing.
Ooh. She looks like the Archmage again for the first time in a while.
“No, you did great. You too, Silvia.”
“Ah, it was nothing.”
Silvia blushed and averted her gaze again.
And if I look away, she’ll just go back to staring at me, won’t she?
How does one even think of stalking someone while being that shy?
“So, Diana. Do you have any idea where we are?”
“Mm. I believe we are about three layers down from the entrance of the 3rd floor. And quite far from the standard route, at that.”
“Where’s the teleportation magic circle for the 3rd floor?”
“It is located on a layer below this one. It wouldn’t do to install it in a place so prone to collapsing from the snow, after all.”
So that meant if we went down further, the ground wouldn’t be made of snow.
In any case, since we were far from the standard route, it seemed pointless to stay here any longer.
“Should we head back for now? I think we need to prepare a bit more before we explore the 3rd floor any further.”
We hadn’t intended to go on a full-blown expedition, so I hadn’t stocked up on much food in my inventory.
Of course, I had enough to last a few days just in case, but if we kept running into inedible things like that golem, there would be a limit.
No, in the first place, I don’t really have a reason to explore the dungeon anymore.
Why would I risk my neck wandering around a dungeon?
So, in the end, we decided to halt our exploration and return to town.
We used Diana’s magic to clear a path through the snow back to the ant nest, and from there, we would exit back to the 2nd floor.
I thought it would be a simple matter of just walking, but surprisingly, ants were still popping out of the nest here and there.
“It seems we didn’t manage to exterminate all of them.”
“Yeah. I guess we didn’t check every single one of those tangled rooms.”
“Hmph. In that case, we may have to face that Queen Ant again when we return.”
“Huh? Even if we come back, this passage is far from the main route anyway. You want to come back?”
“But of course. That magic stone where the Queen Ant was is a specimen well worth researching.”
Ah, right. There was that.
Damn it. It was getting annoying, so I was planning on not coming back to the dungeon for a while. Did this mean I had to come back again after all?
Looking at Diana, she seemed to be burning with motivation, as if she’d found a new research topic after a long time.
“Besides, if my skill works on you, you should be able to surpass your limits.”
Well, whether it would work or not was anyone’s guess.
Honestly, I personally thought the chances of it not working were higher.
“Hm? What do you mean by that?”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t tell you. I passed level 100.”
“Wha-What?! Why are you only telling me this now! D-Does that mean?!”
Diana lunged at me as if to grab me by the collar.
“Yeah. The skill I told you about before, I learned it. Whether it’s actually usable or not is another matter, though.”
“Test it at once!”
“Hey, calm down for a second.”
“How can I be calm! If what you say is true, my life’s ambition may finally be fulfilled!”
“Hey. This is a Saint skill, too. You know what that means, right? And you want me to use it here? In front of everyone?”
“Urk!”
It seemed that even if she denied it, she was aware of her peculiar fetish.
Diana appeared to be in a state of serious conflict, torn between her desire to fulfill her lifelong wish immediately and the fact that if she got turned on by a Saint skill here, there would be no turning back.
“Ugh, ughh… Then tonight, you must…”
“It’s Leia’s turn today. You already skipped your turn when you barged in on Sara last time.”
“Ugh! Ughhh!”
What do you want me to do? Use your words.
As I spoke teasingly, Diana started patting my chest over and over.
After a few pats, she finally gave up and looked over at Leia.
Then, raising her eyes slightly, she tried her best to make a cute and adorable expression as she opened her mouth.
I could see she was forcing an unfamiliar expression, but her base features were so beautiful that even that looked charming. Her face was a cheat code.
By the way, if you’re going to make a face like that, you could at least do it for me.
“Um… Miss Leia. I have a favor to ask of you…”
“Yes. Go ahead. Diana, who ignored my turn last time and kidnapped Guwon.”
Whoa. That was a surprise. Our angel just landed a counterattack.
I guess after locking her door and crying her eyes out like that, even an angel would hold a bit of a grudge.
“Ooh-ooh.”
Hit by the counter, Diana couldn’t say a word and just teared up.
Seeing her like that, Leia immediately looked troubled and stammered.
“I-I was just joking a little. Please don’t cry.”
“I-I’m not crying!”
“You want to switch turns, right? Yes. That’s fine.”
“R-Really! Thank you!”
Hey. If you cry and then laugh… no, even if she grows hair there, I’m the one who’s going to see it anyway, so let’s not finish that thought.
My girls don’t grow hair there!
“It’s alright. It will be a little hard to endure, but in exchange, I get to monopolize Guwon for two days.”
Our angel was an angel after all.
With this, Diana must have realized the greatness of our angel.
“Alright, then let’s hurry back! Quickly!”
Diana excitedly grabbed my arm and started pulling me along.
If you interpreted this scene with a slight twist, it looked like Diana was begging to have sex as soon as possible.
Thinking of it that way, even her excited expression started to look lewd.
Heh. A toast to my powers of imagination.