Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Kaiden Party
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From floors 1 to 12: four days.
From floors 13 to 15: one day.
Floor 16: one day.
From floors 17 to 19: two days.
In just over a week, we managed to reach floor 20.
"...I never thought we'd arrive here so easily."
Kaiden, stepping into floor 20, muttered to himself.
Of course, the other party members didn't say it out loud, but they all wore slightly deflated expressions.
And for good reason—floor 20 was the deepest they'd ever reached.
"We've only got two floors left until floor 22, our goal for this dungeon run."
And that meant my business was just about wrapped up.
"Do we have a roadmap for the floor 20 area?"
I asked Miella, who had a minor slip-up on floor 16 but had since focused up and led us smoothly through floors 17 and 19.
"Oh? Yeah? Well... unlike the upper floors, we haven't mapped out much of floor 20. We do know where the return stone is, though."
"I see."
"Yeah... like I said, things got a bit tough from here on out."
Even so, after standing watch and chatting through the nights over the past week, we'd built up some rapport. Miella answered with her usual mild demeanor.
Knowing the return stone's location was about all they had, I suppose.
"It'll probably take a bit longer from here on."
Each floor of the dungeon was vast in size.
It wasn't a place where you could leisurely survey the land, so no one had precisely measured them, but floor 1—the easiest to gauge—was estimated at around 100,000 square kilometers.
Roughly the size of South Korea per floor.
From the west entrance to the north.
With eight directional dungeon entrances, the route you take afterward depends entirely on the data your party has accumulated.
There wasn't just one staircase area connecting floors—there were thousands—which is why the path varies so much depending on your route choices per floor.
That's also why, from a certain floor depth onward, you rarely run into other crawler parties inside the dungeon.
And info on those routes is like a secret family recipe to crawlers—they don't share it lightly.
The Kaiden Party had solid routes established up to floor 19, but floor 20, their deepest record, seemed uncharted territory.
They at least knew the return stone spot, but any party that couldn't find it wouldn't be able to retreat anyway.
'Still, two floors should take a generous week at most, right?'
Miella's combat prowess was lacking for the mid-layers, but her sense of direction was top-notch.
As long as the party's battle execution held up, exploration wouldn't be an issue.
"Shall we get going, then?"
I smiled at Kaiden, subtly urging him on.
The sooner we wrapped up the tough stuff, the sooner we could rest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ If floor 20 had a theme, it'd be mountainous terrain.
The core monsters? Surprisingly, those classic fantasy orcs.
Not crispy or juicy, but with their smashed-up faces, bulging muscles, and green skin—yep, those guys.
And they were the race that had made Kaiden and his party hit a wall on floor 20.
"...I thought we'd prepared plenty back in the dungeon city before entering floor 20."
There were orcs in the dungeon city too.
Orcs weren't originally native to this world, but during past wars, they were one of the races scattered across the globe that adapted here.
Of course, history branded them as monsters with discrimination.
Still, mid-layer crawlers tackling floor 20 and beyond often requested training from the orcs in the city.
"But in actual combat, all we could do was endure and survive."
You could make excuses, like the party wasn't at full strength.
But as you push into the mid-layers, supplies and stamina drain with every floor.
Food, protective charms, holy water, herbs and bandages for wounds.
The deeper you go, the deadlier it gets, while your combat readiness only worsens.
Kaiden and Rask's armor interiors were covered in countless scars.
That's why a skilled crawler includes how well you preserve your strength after each fight.
"So... being able to compare then and now so clearly... it's a bit unsettling."
Kaiden wiped the blood and grease from his sword, glancing around as he spoke.
The area was littered with orc corpses.
Not the 1.7-meter scrawny skeletons, but hulking masses over 2 meters tall.
They had charging power and destructive force from their mass, plus coordinating intelligence, and if there was a shaman among them, magic too.
Physical and magical prowess.
All-encompassing monsters lay cold on the ground.
In contrast, his party looked far too relaxed for post-intense battle.
"That field you cast earlier. It was a blessing I'd never seen before. Exactly what does it...?"
"[Thrill-Purga]. It's a blessing that invigorates allies within the field."
If there's anything as crucial in battle as strength or destructive power, it's stamina.
A regular person without proper training tires out swinging punches in the air for just 2-3 minutes.
That's why pro fighting rounds are limited to 3 minutes.
And that's just punches—even superhuman crawlers won't find it easy swinging metal chunks against muscle masses full-tilt.
It cost some mana, which was annoying, but skimping and taking injuries would be even more trouble.
"Ah, I see. That explains why we weren't getting tired so easily."
Maybe because I'd shown them various blessings on the way up.
They were taking new ones in stride now.
"Battles with orcs feel routine now... but honestly, it feels kinda pointless."
"Heh. It's a combat style that wouldn't work without Arjen."
"Now we need to work on not getting too used to this sensation."
Superior mobility and destructive power than usual.
Overflowing stamina that let you ignore pacing.
Confident movements born from knowing you'd be healed no matter what.
"I didn't realize not having to worry about risks would feel this good."
"Like I said, I can't revive someone whose brain is smashed or who's stone dead."
I cautioned Kaiden against getting overconfident.
It was a classic mistake for parties new to priests.
Though if you gut them within 30 seconds, I could usually save them even from heart wounds.
"Of course. Like I said, we should try to forget this sensation... for a while after this dungeon run."
'For a while.'
Meaning they planned to team up with me again someday.
'One fixed client party added?'
A new party entry on my client list.
"Mia. Laira. Think we're about done?"
"Yeah. We took it pretty easy this time."
"Haha... last time we were too busy running for our lives."
Miella and Laira approached, sacks in hand, having gathered key materials from the orcs.
After adding them to Kaiden and Rask's packs, Kaiden looked relieved, flashing a relaxed smile as he looked us over.
"Let's move on."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Miss Arjen. Have you ever fought a troll before?"
"Of course."
"With our party as is now, do you think we could take one?"
"If you mind the precautions, it won't be as tough as you think. Do you have any flame flasks?"
"We brought about three, just in case."
"Quality-wise... hmm. Not bad at all. You're quite thorough."
I nodded after inspecting the flame flask's quality.
Definitely high-grade.
From experience, this level would sufficiently halt a troll's regeneration.
Floor 20's mountainous terrain had orcs as the main monsters.
But just as floor 16 had more than skeletons—like death specters and wraiths—floor 20's ecosystem featured various monsters beyond orcs.
Mountain trolls, harpies, manticores, and more.
A diverse bunch forming the ecosystem in the floor 20 mountains.
Among them, forest trolls were elite monsters, overwhelmingly powerful as individuals even on this floor.
"...You're really gonna try to take that thing down?"
Miella stared at the mountain troll lumbering about—a small building at over 5 meters tall and 3 meters wide—with a queasy expression.
The sheer intimidation from its size made it hard to even imagine fighting.
"If it was just us, we'd dodge it for sure. But with you here, Miss Arjen, I think we should give it a shot."
"...I guess... but it seems kinda dangerous."
"...Honestly, I'm a little scared too."
Kaiden admitted his tension frankly in response to Miella.
"Any advice?"
"You two should ditch the armor first. If you get hit by that thing, armor won't make much difference. Same for shields."
"...Ah... right."
Considering the mountain troll's physical power, boosting mobility over blocking seemed best—but Kaiden looked even more tense.
"Even if you mess up and take a hit from the troll, as long as it's not instant death, I can heal you. So don't worry too much."
"......"
...Is that not it?
His expression seemed to sour even more.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -Ping!
Kraaaang-!
With the twang of a bowstring, a streak of light embedded into the troll's head.
The arrow sank into its skull—the toughest part—like it was being planted.
But matching its massive size, the skull was thick too—Laira's arrow didn't reach the brain.
"Kraaaahhh!"
Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!
With a pained screech, the troll scanned around wildly, spotted Laira nocking another arrow atop a tall tree, and charged with a roar.
Crack-! Crunch-!
Young saplings in its path crumpled underfoot.
Its huge stride covered ground fast without even hurrying—quickly closing in up the slope.
Nearly 100 meters shrank to about 10 in a breath or two.
In that time, Laira loosed three more arrows into it, but they only stoked its rage, not slowing it a step.
And as it swung what could barely be called a club—a raw tree trunk—toward Laira—
"Now!"
On the woman's signal, two shadows burst from beneath the troll's feet on either side.
"Hah-!"
Kruuuuuhhh-!
With fierce shouts, twin flashes of light slashed past the troll's Achilles tendons.
BOOM-!
Its weight, already shifted low from the swing, gave out—sending the troll tumbling forward.
"Hurrgh-?"
More confusion than pain in its baffled voice, as if it couldn't process the sudden turn.
"That wound'll heal in a minute! Hurry!"
Clang-!
"——!"
On her cue, with a shattering sound, an indescribable agony spread from its ankle—the troll let out a silent scream.