The next week passed rather Anticlimactically. Billy sold the magic crossbows to the other two parties, and then things on the first layer got pretty calm. The monsters spawned every minute now. Even on the second layer, the adventurers began to explode with a lot more ease. Still, when they found the entrance of the seventh floor, Billy realized that only those three parties and his group had arrived at such a point. The power-up of the monsters was one of the reasons. The other was the nature of monsters… As usual, Billy decided to take a peek on the next floor when he found it.
Purple Chameleon - Lv 176
HP: 1055/ 1055
MP: 1055/ 1055
SP: 488/ 448
Strength: 215
Speed: 85
Magic: 215
Endurance: 102
Dexterity: 46
Status Points: 00
Skills: Poisonous Bite Lv 113, Hard Tail Lv 65, Cold Breath Lv 98
Spells: Invisibility Lv 95, Poisonous Cannon Lv 129, Earth Wall Lv 155
Passive: Earth Resistance Lv 105, Fire Resistance Lv 105, Wind Resistance Lv 105, Cold Resistance Lv 105
Skill Points: 00
Billy and his friends barely could see that thing when it spawned, but they could feel its breathing. Thanks to that, Billy managed to use Appraisal. As for his friends, they were a bit less curious than him, so Alexander used two improved Light Spears toward the two of them in the front, while Sarah froze the ones in their back with all her might.
"For four of those appeared as soon as we arrived…" Alexander said. "I can see now why only three parties reached this point."
Billy's weapons improved things on the lower layers, but it seems that Francis and the others had yet to find the ninth floor, so it seemed that Billy would have to think of something else. Otherwise, he will face the same or perhaps even more problems on the third layer.
"It will be hard to fight so many of those creatures at the same time," Alexander said when they were leaving the dungeon. "We now can fight for quite long, but even so… a single mistake and we might be taken out of the commission."
The chameleons could spawn from the ceiling, ground, walls… and their patterns were quite wild, so it was impossible to tell with precision where they would appear. Only when they emerged was it possible to feel them completely. It was a problem that they emerged already invisible.
"It seems you all are completely fine, even though you stayed there for two days," Paule said.
"Do you know much about dungeons?" Billy asked. "Have you ever heard of monsters that could emerge already invisible?"
"I never heard of monsters that could become invisible," Paule said.
Only now Billy could tell how much despaired Jean was when he asked Billy for help. If those chameleons were to escape the dungeon… it wouldn't be weird if the state were to be wiped out. Billy and his friends didn't let them use their skills, but they could guess that they could wipe out entire cities in a single night with their spells.
"Is Francis still inside the dungeon?" Billy asked.
"Yes, but the other two parties are outside," Paule replied.
"Let's leave them alone since they didn't like that I sold the crossbows for them later," Billy said. "We will return in two days, so tell Francis that I want to talk to him about his impression of the third layer."
"All right," Paule said and then nodded.
While Billy will eventually get a good feel of the third layer, he still wants to save some time. The invisibility and the number of enemies wasn't a problem that could be solved with magic weapons. Well, it could… But not by other parties. Billy considered that using an improved version of his crossbow at a high level would help. Still, he had a feeling that it wouldn't be so simple given the chameleon's skills and spells.
"Rest up as much as you can, things will be hard from now on," Billy said when they returned to the capital.
The tunnel to the dungeon was already halfway completed. Hence, the traveling time decreased by thirty percent, but that was just a minor detail considering Billy's problems.
"Having a hard time in that dungeon?" Kate asked.
"A little bit," Billy replied.
"You act cool all the time, but in the end, you always need our help," Natalie said.
"We can count with the fingers of a single hand the number of times I actually needed any help," Billy said. "Ah, I forgot to get the materials of the chameleons…"
"It is a bit late to realize that…" Natalie frowned. "I wish we could help you, but we really can't and we shouldn't leave the kids behind for so many days.."
"At least you are mature enough to realize that," Billy said. "Anyway, don't worry about that. People have been struggling in that dungeon for six years, and we are past the halfway point in just two weeks. This is just a nunor problem that we are facing."
That was a problem that Billy had to solve by himself since he was the party and guild's leader. If he couldn't do that, then he wouldn't have any right to give the others orders.
After a good night's of rest, Billy thought of some countermeasures, but he decided to slow down on anything definitive until he met Francis the next day. Fortunately, he was considerate enough to wait for Billy instead of heading to the dungeon as soon as possible.
"You want to hear my thoughts about the third layer?" Francis asked. "Well, the fact that a single attack can put everyone in a dangerous position is the main issue. Aside from that, the fact that the enemies can appear anywhere around our group is another… Also, the longer we fight each group, the more they can contaminate the floor and the contamiend areas stay like that for days. Covering our faces with pieces of cloth isn't enough."