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Pale blue lights emitting out of rocks on floor 100 dimly shined on five people.
<Life Detection> shows only these five. Nobody else is on this floor right now.
"Let's do this."
Lecan led the way with the four following after him. You won't encounter magic beasts in this dungeon's passages. Hence, all of them was relaxed.
No, all except Lecan.
He kept his guard up even while walking nonchalantly. Wolves are a watchful creature.
On floor 100, there's a passage in the middle with a room on each side. That continues for four passages until a room at the end. This farthest room is where the stairway is located, confirmed through intel and <Graph Make>.
Then, encircling the nine rooms is a corridor.
Both the main passages and the corridor are slightly curved, thus you cannot see the stairway room even if you stand in the center.
Lecan headed right from the floor's entrance, and stopped in front of a room to the right.
"This must be an entrance."
"So this is."
"Ooh."
"Hee."
A huge part of the blue light emitting rocks is hollow, it's covered in a whitish fog that also emits a pale light. Like a cloud lit under the moonlight.
"I'd like to check some things first. Bear with me for a bit."
After saying that, Lecan walked through the corridor without hesitation. He got to the right end, then turned left before immediately turning left again.
Everywhere in the the corridor is fully lit in soft lights.
"Here it is."
"Lecan-dono. This is?"
"The exit of the room earlier."
There's another cavity covered in fog just like the entrance part. However, the fog is dull ashen colored.
Lecan tried to go through it. But he couldn't.
"I see. Looks like you really can't get in through the exit then."
"Wait, were you doubting that."
"Why didn't you just go in the entrance?"
"Didja think you could get in through the exit, Lecan."
"I'm trying to get a grasp on floor 100s' structures. I'm getting there."
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"Hou?"
"Let's get to fighting now. Don't even need to go back to this room's entrance. We got another for the next room right behind us."
Turning around, there really is an entrance to another room. The second room to the right from the center of the floor.
"Alright. We're entering the inner passage. Yoana take this."
"Eh? You're giving me another today?"
Lecan handed over a Mana Restorative to Yoana.
Up until now, he would hand one after their first battle of the day ended, during the recess before the second battle.
But they're fighting on floor 100 today.
Lecan judged that letting her take it before their first fight would be best.
Her first time taking the restorative seems to have left a very strong impression on her, Yoana keenly believes in the medicine's effects almost to the point of blind faith.
Yoana took the pill, chewed on it and let the powder circulate in her mouth. Lecan told her that doing so would make the effect manifest quicker.
Lecan got in the inner passage.
Inner passages are passages that connect floor's corridors to the rooms where the magic beasts spawn.
Once all five got in the passage, Lecan tried to get back out, but a white fog-like thing pushed him back in. This too goes just like he's heard. These inner passages are a one-way street.
"Oh."
The thing he had anticipated beforehand happened.
Five blue dots suddenly emerged in the previously empty room.
His guess is proven right.
From floor 100 down, magic beasts spawn in the rooms the instance intruders get in the inner passages. Lecan figured as much as he was listening to various tidbits regarding these floors.
He's seen dungeons like this in his previous world. However, there were no inner passages then. Magic beasts would spawn right in front of adventurers soon after they entered a room. Also, no more adventurers can get in the room once the magic beasts have spawned back in that world.
And since he got this point right, that one other guess he has is likely correct as well.
However, that fact doesn't appear to be public knowledge. At the very least, the three <Grindam> members, and Nark don't seem to even consider the possibility.
Those in the know probably exist. In the past, and even today. They kept their knowledge to themselves.
(Well fine.)
(I can check it out later.)
(Gotta concentrate on the foes before me now.)
Lecan observed the insides of the room with <3D Perceptions>.
It's a spacious room.
Almost perfectly round with around 100 steps in diameter. The ceiling is pretty high up too. It's shaped like an upside-down bowl, around 30 steps high in the center.
The five magic beasts there are smaller than any magic beasts thus far. They share similar physiques with Arios's.
Five of them are lined up in the middle of the room, watching Lecan's group's direction.
They're aware of his group.
All five magic beasts are holding weapons.
While Lecan was surveying, Yoana cast defensive magic and finished preliminary casting for <Great Flame Slash>.
"<Deploy>!"
Lecan equipped <Shield of Wolkan> on his left arm and spoke to the four.
"The room is round-shaped, 100 steps in diameter. Five beasts are lying in wait in the center. Lined up horizontally, facing our direction. Not huddled up together. About five steps away from each other. All got weapons."
The four are looking at Lecan with serious expressions. This inner passage is dimly lit compared to the corridor outside. Which brings about a weird sense of tension.
Lecan's line of sight stopped at Arios's chest.
A jewel, <Drop of Life> is embedded on the right side of Arios's chest. <Mana Detection> clearly shows Lecan the jewel's mana.
There's another thing filled with mana, in the middle of his chest, right under the light armor. It's the size and shape of a jewel.
Arios never had those things before. Which means he must have taken them out of <Box> and hid them under his light armor.
"Arios gets in first. Bruska, you're to his right. Tsuinga to the left. I stand behind you three. Yoana is to the left behind me."
Lecan waited for the four to properly digest his instructions before moving to the next.
"The enemies' weapons from right to left are halberd, short sword, battle hammer, scimitar, longsword. Bruska, you take on the halberd user at the right end. Tsuinga, face the longsword at the left end. Yoana, shoot at any of the three in the middle. Don't have to be decisive, can just to buy time. Arios and I will take care of the other two. Yoana."
Yoana nodded. She can't speak since she's in the state of keeping preliminary casted magic.
"I may be fighting on the front line but I will absolutely keep you safe. You move into position where you can attack."
Yoana nodded once again. Lecan looked at the four once again.
"We're not changing up formation even if our foes do. Focus on beating the enemy before you. All good?"
The five stood in line in front of the foggy entrance.
Lecan drew <Sword of Odo>.
Arios keeps his sword sheathed.
"No need to rush. Get a good grasp of your footings once inside. Keep the distance between ourselves at five steps."
Only one thing bothers Lecan.
It is said there is no power gap between all five <Armored> that spawn on floor 100 and below. And yet the short sword <Armored> clearly possesses much superior mana than the rest.
Lecan has no idea if this means anything. No sense in wondering that now either.
Lecan gave his order.
"Let's go!"
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