Chapter 158: Strategy(3)
Chapter 158: Strategy(3)
A legendary-grade item that helps a mage grow stronger.
The Archmage's Pendant.
When I told the White Witch about it, she was overjoyed.
She’d said that such special artifacts were incredibly rare, and that if my talent were combined with that item, the explosive growth I could achieve would be unimaginable.
It was even more significant because I was learning magic through intuition and talent, not theory.
Archmage, here I come!
My motivation shot through the roof.
To be honest, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I’d prepared so thoroughly for this dungeon crawl just to secure the Archmage's Pendant.
Thankfully, the party followed my orders diligently and without any complaints. I was truly grateful.
After putting in all this effort, I have to get it.
A week of grueling training. Even after it was over, I was also handling the basic preparations and equipment for the dungeon. That was all my job.
For a whole week, I was so busy I barely had a proper meal with the party.
Now, the fruits of that labor were about to be revealed.
Lina's party walked toward the dungeon. The castle grew more distant behind them. On the day they left, the atmosphere among the soldiers was like a funeral, even though they'd barely even spoken to the party.
The closer we got to the Valley of Screams, the thicker the eerie atmosphere became.
The vibrant land was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a dead landscape of withered trees and fog.
“Everyone, please be prepared. From what I know, the Valley of Screams is by no means an easy dungeon.”
Of course it isn't, it's a legendary-grade dungeon. But our training and preparations are perfect.
The party was practically in a state of having completely memorized the standard strategy manual.
Natasha spoke, her expression full of motivation.
“Don't worry! After our husband's special training, we're not to be trifled with!”
Victoria was just as confident.
“Lina, your constant worrying is your biggest flaw.”
Arwen seemed a little scared, as this was her first dungeon, but as long as she performed as she had in training, there would be no problem.
“I-I'll do my best too!”
The Saintess just walked in silence.
She scanned our surroundings with a frown, clearly displeased with this gloomy place.
It would have been better if the Grandmother hadn't come along, but we had no choice.
We had to clear the dungeon and cross the border quickly, and leaving her at the castle would have meant a troublesome trip back.
It's fine. The Grandmother is a great shaman. She has the power to protect herself.
Besides, I had the shield from the relic-grade bracelet, so even if something happened, protecting one old woman would be no trouble at all.
“We’ve arrived. This is the dungeon entrance.”
A desolate valley spread out before our eyes.
It looked like we could just walk through it, but an invisible force had drawn a boundary.
As I tried to step into the valley, a message appeared.
[Will you enter the dungeon 'Valley of Screams'?]
The party members looked at each other.
Their eyes held a mutual trust and a powerful resolve. The training had made them look even more like a true hero party.
Lina’s party entered the dungeon at the same time.
In an instant, the view before us changed. It felt like crossing from one world into another. A complex and subtle feeling.
[You have entered the dungeon 'Valley of Screams'.]
[The clear condition is 'Defeat the Executioner'.]
“It’s begun.”
The atmosphere in Lina’s party grew serious.
Even Natasha, who loved to whine, and Victoria, who loved her lewd jokes, were serious in this moment.
The dungeon’s atmosphere was that overwhelming.
This felt different from anything before.
Perhaps it was the chilly fog, but the moment we stepped into the dungeon entrance, the hairs on my arms stood on end.
Something of an unknown shape was flying through the fog, and it was utterly terrifying.
Just then, a bizarre laugh echoed faintly.
“...Hee... hee.. hee.. hee.... hee...”
What an annoying laugh.
“Who’s there?! Show yourself!”
Natasha shouted, her voice trembling slightly. Lina shook her head.
“They are not people. They are likely the victims who were sacrificed in this dungeon. Wraiths who want us to suffer the same fate as them.”
“....”
What kind of rotten spirits were these?
Come to think of it, the dungeon description did say that those killed by the Executioner would wander the dungeon for eternity.
So if I die here, I'll end up like them?
Kerry smiled. There was no way that would happen. Poor bastards. They could laugh all they wanted. Just as long as they didn't show their faces. That would be scary.
“Let’s hurry. There’s no good in staying in a place with such a foul aura for long.”
The party nodded.
After that, things went just as I had predicted. As always, monsters appeared to obstruct our progress.
The type of monster was...
“Shit! Those are straight-up ghosts! I hate ghosts more than anything!”
“...So there is something you're afraid of, Kerry.”
Ghosts are scary. Back in my beloved home country, I avoided horror movies if I could help it.
Besides, I'm just a normal person, not a seasoned hero like Lina.
Look at the way their eyes are glaring. They look just like the virgin ghosts from a horror movie.
Dozens of virgin ghosts roamed the air, letting out bizarre laughs.
It felt stranger that the rest of the party wasn't scared of this.
Seeing my reaction, the Saintess muttered to herself.
“Unexpected...”
Well, from her perspective, a bunch of low-level wraiths like these were probably less than a handful, so I guess it was unexpected.
But this wasn't a matter of strong or weak. The problem was their appearance!
“Just get rid of those disgusting mobs already, Saintess.”
I already knew from the Goddess's Eye that wraiths would appear, but facing them directly was a different story.
The Saintess scattered her divine power at the swarm of wraiths before her.
“Judgment of Light!”
As the sacred golden light struck the hazy spirits, the wraiths screamed and vanished. Filthy ghosts.
One of them, noticing I was scared, even rolled its eyes back more grotesquely and acted up.
Lina looked at the Saintess after she had used her divine power.
Why? The Saintess's divine power feels a little weaker...
[Saintess's Divine Power – 99 > 85]
It was because I'd been draining her divine power.
It was only at this level because I'd stopped drinking her breast milk in preparation for the dungeon crawl.
Looks like Lina noticed the Saintess has gotten weaker.
But there was no need to worry. Even with just 85 points of divine power, she could still wipe the floor with most high-ranking priests.
The Goddess needs to show up to solve the Saintess's divine power problem.
She said she was coming, but who knows what she's doing. Anyway, now wasn't the time to think about that.
It was time to focus on the crawl ahead.
Lina’s party continued to advance through the dungeon.
The progress was incredibly smooth.
When a monster appeared, the party prepared for battle under Kerry’s command.
“Multiple Death Knights ahead! Blocking their charge is the top priority! Victoria, guard the rear as usual! Saintess, focus your divine power on Victoria.”
“I will, Kerry!”
“Natasha and Lina, I need you to attack the Death Knights from the rear. Everyone else, focus on tying up their feet!”
The charge of the mounted Death Knights was terrifying, but once stopped, their rear became a weak point.
Horses can't turn around as quickly as people.
Just like that, the Goddess's Eye revealed the monsters' weaknesses as clearly as a strategy guide.
The party’s coordination was perfect.
The Grandmother cast a debuff on the Death Knights with her shamanism. Their charging speed dropped drastically.
Arwen, following my command, also helped tie up the Death Knights by summoning spirits. Plant stems shot up from the ground, trying to bind their feet.
The Death Knights resisted by cutting the stems with their swords, so it didn't stop them completely, but their speed had already been reduced as much as possible.
Finally, Victoria erected a massive barrier in front of the Death Knights, bringing them to a complete halt.
The Death Knights were completely blocked by Victoria's barrier.
“Neeeigh!”
The blocked Death Knights' ghost horses whinnied fiercely.
After that, it was Natasha and Lina's time to shine. The two women sliced through the Death Knights with movements like a gale.
A single Death Knight is a mid-tier or higher monster that's tricky to deal with outside, but they're getting sliced up in an instant.
Lina's performance, in particular, was incredible.
Her Spirit Sword, with its sharp edge, cut through the Death Knights' armor as if it were tofu.
It made sense.
The Spirit Sword Lina possessed was a legendary-grade weapon. Besides, there was another reason she had wanted the Spirit Sword so badly.
Though she wasn't using that secret weapon just yet.
Natasha watched Lina's Spirit Sword with envy. I'll have to get a decent one for her later.
The crawl was going smoothly.
A legendary-grade dungeon was definitely not an easy one, yet our progress was smooth. It was all thanks to the party's perfect coordination.
And it was thanks to Kerry's command, which maximized the efficiency of that coordination.
No matter the monster, Kerry could instantly see its weakness and command the party based on that information.
Lina watched him, filled with admiration.
“You're all amazing. I can feel how much you've grown. The effects of your training are clearly showing, Kerry. As expected of you.”
“What did I do? The party is the one that worked hard.”
The others also seemed pleased by Lina's praise.
“Hehe. The training was worth it.”
“We still have a long way to go to show the full results of our training. This is nothing.”
“I really did my best!”
Lina sent a heated gaze toward Kerry.
Her gaze was even more burdensome than before, filled with trust.
Kerry instinctively turned his head away. Please. Stop looking at me like that, Lina.
Well, I did work hard.
But Lina's stare was still too much.
After that, the dungeon crawl continued to go smoothly. Neither traps nor monsters could stop Lina's party.
They didn't even get lost in the dungeon's complex paths.
Kerry watched the smooth progress with a sense of pride. The hard training was paying off.
But that feeling was short-lived.
Kerry started to grow anxious.
The more smoothly the crawl progressed, the more flustered Kerry became, breaking out in a cold sweat.
No, damn it. Why is everyone so good at this?
“Kerry? Are you all right? You don't look well...”
“Yes. I'm... I'm fine. There's no... problem.”
There was a problem! A very serious one! At this rate, I might not be able to get the Archmage's Pendant.
No, they're not just good, they're too good! Seriously, isn't this going too far?
Normally in a dungeon, you're supposed to be thrown into a panic by unknown attacks.
It's normal to fall into traps and find yourself in danger.
But for the hero party, no such crisis existed.
Shit. I trained them too well!
I never imagined I would shoot myself in the foot like this.
The condition for obtaining the hidden reward I wanted, the Archmage's Pendant, was as follows:
[Hidden Reward Condition]
[Summary – Find the remains of the Archmage somewhere in the dungeon. Collect the remains there and move the Archmage's spirit.]
This was very troublesome. If the dungeon crawl ended without any issues, I wouldn't even have time to go look for the Archmage's remains.
“.....”
“Kerry, we're not far from the dungeon boss now. Even if you're having a hard time, please bear with it a little longer... I'll try to clear it as fast as I can.”
“....Yes, Lina.”
Seriously, just be moderately good. You're making it impossible for me to find an excuse to look for the hidden reward.
“Husband, are you having a hard time? Should I just end this all right now?”
It would be impossible for Natasha to do it alone, but even if she could, she absolutely must not!
“Kerry, you're looking worse and worse. We should hurry.”
I wished Victoria would stop fanning the flames of her determination.
The Grandmother, finding the situation amusing, chuckled.
“My, my, everyone's going crazy for the adventurer gentleman. Heh heh heh. Ah, youth. Youth.”
“....”
The Grandmother, who always seemed relaxed and to be taking it easy, somehow became even more annoying.
The Saintess shook her head from the back and said.
“Everyone's making such a fuss just because he doesn't look well. It's not like he's actually sick. And even if he were, I could just heal him.”
For a moment, Lina's party glared at the Saintess.
The Saintess, not expecting to receive so much hostility for a single comment, quickly changed the subject.
“...I-I meant that there's nothing to worry about since I'm here.”
Only then did the party relax their glares. Watch what you say. You could get yourself killed.
Though I hadn't intended it, for some reason, the party's will to clear the dungeon was now burning brighter than ever.
I'm fucked. The crawl was already too fast to find the hidden reward, and now it's going to get even faster.
At this rate, we would head straight to the boss room and clear it in one go. Then my dream of becoming an Archmage would vanish into thin air.
My dream of becoming an Archmage cannot be crushed! No matter what!
I had struggled and even cut back on sleep for this day. At night, I planned the party's training schedule, and during the day, I trained with them.
While everyone else was resting, I was out buying special equipment myself.
It was no exaggeration to say that the party's current performance was thanks to my sweat and effort. But who knew that very effort would come back to bite me.
They say hard work never betrays you. But I worked too hard and now I'm paying the price!
I wanted to grab whoever said that by the collar.
Even at this very moment, Lina's party was clearing the dungeon at a terrifying speed.
They were burning with motivation, thinking that my physical condition was poor. It was a truly frightening pace.
...My physical condition is poor?
That's it!
An idea flashed in Kerry's mind.
An idea that might be the only way to get his hands on the hidden reward, the Archmage's Pendant.
Kerry looked for the right opportunity. As the monsters in front of us were being dealt with, he carefully glanced around.
When no one was looking at him, Kerry collapsed to the floor with a thud.
“....”
It was all a surprise show to get the Archmage's Pendant.
But the shockwave from that surprise show was more than just panic.
It started with Natasha's piercing scream.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaak! Husband! Husband! Our husband collapsed!”
That's a more extreme reaction than I expected. Lying on the floor, Kerry spoke in a faint voice.
“...Na-Natasha... I'm fine.”
It wasn't just Natasha. Victoria, who had been finishing off monsters at the front, ran over with wide eyes.
“Kerrrry! Kerry! What happened all of a sudden! Are you all right! Get a grip! Kerry!”
“...I'm fine... cough... cough...”
Even Lina rushed over in a panic. Hey. I said I'm fine, stop freaking out.
“Kerry! What in the world— Saintess! Heal him, quickly! What are you just standing there for!”
Arwen, who had come to my side, hiccuped with wide, startled eyes.
“Ke...rry? Kerry? A-Are you okay?”
“I'm fine, Princess Arwen. It's just that my body for a moment...”
I said I was fine several times. Anyone would think I was actually dying.
“Now! Heal him now!”
“Husband, you can't die! You absolutely can't! Quickly... quickly, someone do something, please!”
“Kerry! Get a grip! You have to hold on tight to your consciousness! Brace yourself!”
“Kerry... you can't die... sob... waaaah...”
“....”
The dungeon was thrown into absolute panic. I'm so, so sorry...