Episode 17.18-19

The three day break is over in the blink of an eye, it's time to start exploring the dungeon once again.

Since they've got <Mark> on floor 31 already, they're resuming from that floor.

"We've fought enough on this floor previously. Not to mention the crowd of adventurers here, let's skip ahead and fight only as necessary."

Despite saying that, the arrangement of these pointy rocks is complex and vast, even Lecan and his <3D Perceptions> doesn't know the optimal route.

He recalled something and felt like using <Appraisal> on the dungeon, but he still couldn't figure out how to do <Graph Making>.

Their lineup is like before. Lecan rushes ahead, Arios and Heles raid from the sides. On top of that, Eda lures the enemy with her bow first, then once the fight is over, she goes in the sand pit and heals the injured.

Heles is still bewildered.

Even though Lecan charges from the center, he won't shy away from moving to either side to dodge the magic beast. Hence, Heles who's on the left would sometimes experience surprise visitations from Lecan. Heles would go further to the left as a result, but then the magic beast chasing Lecan would jump out from behind him, nearly flattening Heles in the process.

Arios would see through Lecan's goals and never rigidly hold his position on the right, and instead would go find somewhere he can launch his attacks. Since Lecan had told them he would take care of baiting magic beasts, Arios understood that he needed to find a spot where he could safely attack the magic beast.

However, Arios mostly relies on his extraordinary swiftness in attacking and moving around, he's not that good at foreseeing things. Arios's movement is one forged for interpersonal combat, it's not applicable on magic beasts.

Even so, on their sixth day fighting together, Arios has gotten more used to it, and Heles has managed to occasionally throw some hits at magic beasts while silently dodging Lecan's huge sword.

At the rate this is going, both Arios and Heles should learn how to coordinate between them in a few more floors.

They walked toward the floor's exit as Lecan was thinking that.

At this time, he's gripping an unsheathed <Sword of Agost> on his right hand, but the <Shield of Wolkan> on his left is in its gauntlet state.

Of course Lecan is not letting his guard down. In fact, he was constantly probing the surroundings with <Life Detection> and <3D Perceptions> even while walking.

However, Lecan had forgotten.

How <Life Detection> and <3D Perceptions> aren't omnipotent.

While you're on a dungeon floor, you cannot detect sounds or presences coming from stairways or another floor, a rule that also applies to <Life Detection> and <3D Perceptions>.

Though since people don't come out of a floor's exit because you use <Warp> to go upstairs in this world's dungeons, not being vigilant toward an exit may not be necessarily careless.

Also, this floor's cliffside exit was situated to the left of where they come from, the blind side of Lecan's bare eyes, an unfortunate coincidence.

As such, it took him a bit of time to recognize Veta coming out of the floor's exit.

Which is enough time for Veta to shoot her preliminary casted finishing move.

"<Ice Fang (Cyluegi)>!"

A white violent torrent was generated from the wand she held out.

Lecan who heard her casting the spell had enough leeway to dodge this magic.

However, if he did that, this spell could hit Eda who was standing behind him, that thought made him hesitated for an instant.

A terrifyingly powerful offensive spell was allowed to manifest due to that moment of hesitation.

However, Lecan wasn't panicking.

He believed his <Overking Bear>'s overcoat that had stopped many attack magic aiming at him in the past would protect him once again.

Lecan should have not forgotten.

Veta is the trump card of <Jaira>, a party that has conquered this dungeon thrice, capable of defeating any kind of mighty foes in one or two hits.

The spell penetrated through <Overking Bear>'s overcoat, gouging out Lecan's stomach before coming out of his back.

<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka.com >

Swordsman Kagaru, glaive wielder Takuto and shield bearer Mazu rushed out from behind Veta.

Arios and Heles rushed out from behind Lecan.

Arios dashed out faster than anyone else. There was not much distance between them. He quickly arrived before Veta the mage.

However, Veta was right next to the exit, Mazu the shield bearer stood in Arios's way.

Veta has begun a preliminary casting. She cannot be allowed to cast another magic.

Arios mowed down the ground.

No, that's not it, he cut off Mazu's leg.

With his left leg gone, Mazu fell forward as Arios cut off the tip of a wand Veta held.

Lecan faced off against Kagaru who came to finish him off. However, his body won't move. His legs stagger.

The area around the part Veta's magic pierced him has been frozen over. The silver ring on his left hand has failed to stop this abnormal status.

Lecan barely managed to block the sword Kagaru swung down with the <Sword of Agost>.

Takuto the glaive wielder went for Heles.

The glaive swung down with his enormous physical strength possessed hair-rising force within.

However, Heles has trained well in interpersonal combat. She estimated the glaive's reach and put herself slightly out of it.

The glaive that had lost its target broke apart dungeon rocks, sinking deep into the ground.

By that point, Heles had already stepped forward in her quest to defeat the enemy before her.

Lecan blocked Kagaru's second blow.

Befitting of <Jaira>'s leader, Kagaru's blow weighed heavily.

Kagaru pushed his sword further.

That was when Eda's casting resounded.

"<Recovery>!"

Heles underestimated the reflexes and strength of dungeon depths adventurers.

The glaive blew apart rocks holding it and then swung horizontally.

Heles got hit hard on her side by the glaive's blade, and got sent flying before crashing into a rock.

Takuto pulls his glaive greatly to the right.

Lecan could feel his body recovering as it was wrapped in a warm light.

He's overflowing with strength.

His frozen body has been restored back, perhaps it's the silver ring at work.

Lecan sent Kagaru's sword flying and swung down his own sword at Kagaru's now exposed body.

Kagaru is still a veteran adventurer. He promptly jumped backward.

However, he couldn't dodge Lecan's attack completely, his left wrist got cut off.

Just as Takuto was about to swing his glaive at Heles who had passed out from the crash, his right arm suddenly got cut off.

After hitting Veta at her vital point, Arios swiftly moved away and attacked Takuto from behind.

Just as Lecan and Arios were about to deliver the finishing blow, someone called out to them to stop.

"Hold it! Hold your horses!"

After shouting that, the man gasped to catch up to his breath.

It's the owner of <Jade's Restaurant>.