Chapter 388: A Demon God in the Dungeon?
Chapter 388: A Demon God in the Dungeon?
After finishing breakfast, we came to the Guild to head into the dungeon. No matter how things unfolded, we needed strength first to deal with it.
Besides, I was confident that nothing major would happen until we reached the 6th layer.
Seeing as the Goddess had praised me for obtaining eternal life, I figured there wasn't any particular time limit.
For now, let's build up our own strength by running the dungeon until Leia's skill cooldowns are back up.
That's what I decided.
Oh, for the record, I didn't say anything to the others about my suspicions.
Judging by their reactions last time, it seemed they all trusted the Goddess without a shred of doubt.
Even Diana was like that, so I felt there was no need to say anything unnecessary until I had more clues.
In the first place, the idea that the Goddess might stab us in the back was just a possibility to keep in mind; I had no evidence, only a gut feeling.
So, just like always, we reported our party members and entered the dungeon right away.
For some reason, I felt like Rachel was looking at me with eyes full of expectation, but it must have been my imagination, right?
“We’re starting from here again?!”
As soon as we entered the 3rd layer using the teleportation circle, Matilda spoke with a slight whimper.
Well, it's not like I don't understand how she feels.
Besides, Matilda isn't used to the dungeon.
After hearing Diana's explanation that the very aura of mana in the dungeon is different from the surface, I understood her reaction even better.
But if it's that hard for her, she could just stay back and rest at the mansion.
But she must not want that either, because she follows us every time we go to the dungeon.
“It can't be helped. We haven't registered the 4th layer's teleport point on our adventurer cards yet. Now, let's go. Our goal this time is to hunt on the 4th layer, so we'll move faster than before.”
“Uuuu…”
Pushed along by me, Matilda finally trudged forward with slumped shoulders, like a cow being led to the slaughter.
In any case, after several days of exploration, we arrived back at the room where the 3rd layer’s boss had been.
Whether we had timed it perfectly or another party of adventurers had dealt with it right after it respawned, there was no sign of any monsters there.
I had been thinking it was about time for it to respawn, too.
Well, even if it had, we would have just killed it again. It wasn't a difficult opponent.
“Oh, now that I look, the Giant Magic Stone is gone.”
“Hm? Did you not know? The dungeon has a tendency to maintain its terrain. That is why maps, once made, remain useful. The Giant Magic Stone, too, has been buried in the glacier again according to that principle.”
I see. I guess it makes sense, since the Giant Magic Stone supposedly affects the entire layer.
I wonder if the terrain maintenance is also done by magic.
“More importantly… look, that is the passage to the 4th layer.”
The place Diana pointed to was the exact spot where the layer boss used to be.
Below a collection of branches that seemed to be the layer boss’s nest, I could see a downward-sloping passage, just like the others.
“…It’s blocked by water.”
After walking down the passage for a while, we reached a point where it was completely flooded.
Don't tell me we have to dive through here?
“Hm. Is that not obvious? The entire 4th layer is water. There should be a small bag among the items Vanessa packed for you. Take it out.”
Right, she did give us something like that.
As Diana instructed, I took the bag out of my inventory and examined its contents.
“What is this?”
“I've never seen anything like this. What is it used for?”
Sara peeked into the bag and tilted her head in confusion.
Well, unlike Sara, I wasn't asking because I genuinely didn't know.
When I said ‘What is this?’, I didn't mean I didn't know its purpose, but more like, ‘Are we really using something like this?’
Because inside the bag was something that looked like a gas mask you'd see in the military.
The only differences were that it didn't have a filter canister, there was a magic stone embedded in the center of the forehead, and it was transparent.
Now that I say it, it might be more accurate to call it a transparent mask rather than a gas mask.
Anyway, the military really messes you up.
In any case, they showed us something that looked like this in a situation where we have to go underwater. You can pretty much guess its use, right?
“It is a magical device that allows one to breathe underwater. I could accomplish the same thing directly with my magic, but one never knows what might happen inside the dungeon. It is better to use a tool if we have one. It has the drawback of needing its magic stone replaced periodically, but inside the dungeon, that drawback is not a major issue.”
“Wait a minute, Diana.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“So when you said the 4th layer is water, you didn't just mean it’s covered in water here and there, but that it’s literally underwater?”
“That is correct. I believe I said as much from the beginning.”
Seriously? Was I the only one who misunderstood?
“In any case, that is how it is, so everyone equip these magical devices. Ah, for your information, due to its nature, conversation is difficult on the 4th layer. Everyone be especially careful.”
Following Diana's explanation, we each put on the magical device.
It didn't squeeze my face tightly like the gas masks from the military, and once on, it wasn't uncomfortable at all.
And most importantly, thanks to its transparent material, it didn't hide the beauty of my girls.
At a glance, it looked like they were bare-faced with just a jewel on their foreheads.
As expected of a fantasy world. The technology is no joke.
“So we can breathe underwater with this. Shall we go?”
“Yes.”
With everyone wearing the devices, we entered the water.
As we swam through the passage, we suddenly emerged into a wide-open space.
How should I describe this sight?
It felt like I was scuba diving into the deep sea.
No matter where I looked—front, back, left, right, up, or down—it was filled with an endless expanse of water.
However, just like the other layers, light was coming from somewhere, brightly illuminating the surroundings.
Well, it was still underwater, so visibility wasn't that great.
As I was looking around, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned to see Sara mouthing words while pointing at something.
A few shark-like monsters were rapidly approaching us.
This is what we get right after arriving on the 4th layer?
Well, given our party's skill, even on the 4th layer, we shouldn't have much trouble with regular monsters.
Feeling no particular tension, I immediately started swimming toward the sharks.
In that time, Sara fired an arrow at them.
Because we were underwater, her arrow of ki was much more visible, but was it just my imagination, or did it seem strangely weaker than usual?
And sure enough, the ki arrow didn't do much damage to the sharks.
No, to be precise, it did do some damage, but it wasn't a satisfactory amount.
It only ended up leaving a scratch on the sharks' skin.
Of course, Sara hadn't imbued the arrow with mana—it was just a normal attack—but this result was a bit shocking.
This was the same Sara who had mercilessly slaughtered monsters on the 3rd layer with just her basic attacks.
It seemed the monsters' defense had increased on the 4th layer, and combined with the heavy resistance of the water, it produced this result.
After being hit, the sharks immediately switched their target from me to Sara.
Damn it! If this keeps up…!
I immediately tried to use my Saint's power, stretching out my arms and legs to touch the sharks as they swam past, but even that wasn't easy.
No matter how high my stats were, this was underwater.
It was impossible to move as freely as I could on land.
I barely managed to touch one, but that was it.
The rest of them swam past me with ease and headed straight for Sara.
Sara!
I let out a shout that couldn't be heard and tried to follow them, but that too was difficult.
For one, it was impossible to swim faster than fish underwater, and for another, the one shark I had managed to touch was relentlessly harassing me.
I quickly tried to punch it to finish it off, but even that didn't do much damage.
Of course, my low Martial Artist level had something to do with it, but more importantly, since my feet weren't planted on the ground, I couldn't put any real power into it.
Damn it. At this rate, I have no choice!
This wasn't the time to worry about my party members getting caught in the crossfire.
Just as I was about to use Holy Ground Proclamation to draw the aggro of the remaining sharks, a sphere of air suddenly appeared around them with a whoosh.
It was Diana's magic.
Suddenly thrown into the air, the sharks fell straight down under the force of gravity, which managed to delay their attack on Sara.
‘What are you doing! Focus!’
Diana's shout echoed vividly in my head, likely through magic.
I see. So wind magic can be used like that.
If I had put my mind to it, I could have done the same thing using the wind spirits.
If I had, I could have properly drawn the aggro of all the monsters, and we wouldn't have had such a hard time from the start.
I was too complacent.
I felt a pang of self-reproach, but this wasn't the time for that.
The priority was to deal with the enemies in front of me.
I calmed myself, carefully adjusted the range of Holy Ground Proclamation so that only the sharks were inside, and activated it.
The sharks swarmed toward me, but this time, I didn't flail around, unable to control my body like before.
Following Diana's demonstration, I used the wind spirits to create pockets of air in the monsters' path.
I briefly considered surrounding my entire body with air, but then I would just fall to the bottom and be submerged again, just like the sharks I saw earlier.
So, blocking their path like this was the best option.
However, after I blocked their path a few times, the monsters started to get used to it and began to leap over the air-filled spaces as if jumping.
Well, I'm still not used to controlling the wind spirits.
There's also the mana issue.
I think I deserve some praise just for being able to obstruct the sharks' path so effectively.
Besides, the ones that jumped over the air pockets to reach me had slowed down considerably, so I was able to dodge their attacks well enough even in the water, where it was hard to move. There was no problem.
Of course, in this state, I couldn't really attack either, but that wasn't very important.
My role in the party these days is the tanker, after all.
As long as I held their aggro, the others would take care of the rest.
As if to meet my expectations, an arrow of ki, fully charged with mana, flew in and pierced a shark's body.
In that time, Diana seemed to have completed a large-scale spell, and the currents around the sharks changed drastically.
The rapidly swirling flow of water, like a whirlpool, tore the bodies of the shark school to shreds.
Is it finally over?
I wonder how long it's been since I struggled this much against regular monsters.
It was a fight that felt like the dungeon was warning us not to underestimate it, especially after we'd so easily handled the 3rd layer's boss and entered with such confidence.
As soon as the fight ended, Diana beckoned us over with a flick of her fingers.
When Sara and I approached, Diana created a large bubble of air that connected around our heads.
“You. What was that initial response? And you, Sara. Attacking a monster you've never seen before the vanguard has drawn its attention. What were you thinking!”
“Sorry.”
“I’m sorry, Diana.”
Faced with a scolding from Diana for the first time in a while, we had nothing to say but apologize.
“Have you all gotten too lax from fighting nothing but easy monsters lately? Dungeon exploration is no joke.”
True. I couldn't deny that.
Almost all the monsters we'd fought recently were one-shot kills.
Even I had just been thinking about how long it had been since I struggled against a regular monster.
We let our guard down.
“Sorry. I'll be more careful from now on.”
“Me too. I was too complacent. I’ll be careful.”
“Hmph. Both you and Sara are capable when you put your minds to it. If you are a bit more cautious, you should not struggle much against the monsters of the 4th layer. The abilities of the regular monsters themselves are on par with a Transcendent Species from the 3rd layer.”
Ugh. Scolding us and then comforting us… our dear Diana's grandmotherly—no, sisterly—delicate consideration is about to bring me to tears.
“More importantly, why haven't the others come… ah.”
“Hm?”
I followed Diana's gaze and saw three people who couldn't swim, flailing desperately as they sank deeper and deeper.