Episode 18.14-15-16

Looks like the paralysis was gone by the time they arrived at the town, Heles asked Lecan to let her walk on her own.

Lecan noticed his mistake on their way walking to the inn.

(Ah crap.)

(Forgot to finish Snow off.)

That's someone who would be a pain in the rear if left alive.

The spearsman is alive too, and since it's supposedly a six-man party, they've got five enemies now sans the one that died.

He's probably long gone already even if he goes back now, and Lecan has no idea which one's their mansion. In any case, since the incident of rescuing a woman from her abductors is already over with, fighting them now would make his side the assailant.

High-ranking adventurers are well respected in this town.

Those guys also boasted how they were invited to a town lord's banquet.

Meaning they have connections to the authority.

No idea what house is Paizalun, but it's apparently a noble's.

It's possible they'd try to alter the truth and push all faults on Lecan alone in this matter.

Telling the truth might work, it might not.

Either way, it's going to be an annoyance.

And Lecan hates annoyances.

Besides, Snow's group could come at them anytime.

If they attack Lecan's group in the middle of the town, there could be collateral damage among the populace.

(Hold on.)

(If we're gonna get attacked anyway.)

If they're gonna get attacked anyway, might as well let it happen in a dungeon.

Killing them inside a dungeon won't count as a crime.

And come to think of it, they've only got a few days remaining anyway.

If they just conquer the lowest floor and leave this town quickly, whatever Snow is gonna do won't be a concern to Lecan at all.

(Alright.)

(Let's go to the dungeon.)

(Everything will get resolved then.)

By the time they got the inn, Lecan had made his decision.

Both Eda and Arios had also just got back to the inn when Lecan and Heles arrived.

"We're going to the dungeon now."

"That's sudden."

"That's master for you."

"I will abide by Lecan-dono's decision."

The group headed for the dungeon.

Heles went to Adventurer Association to fetch some luggage she had left in their custody.

Then, on the 18th of month six, Lecan's party began their final expedition in Dungeon Ninae.

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

The group <Teleport>ed to floor 40's entrance.

Lecan asked Eda to cast <Purification> on Heles.

Eda did as she was told.

Heles and Arios were dumbfounded.

"I-It can't be, <Purification>?"

"And I had just sworn myself to stop getting surprised."

"Keep this ability a secret."

They passed through floor 40.

Engaging in three combats in total.

Lecan picked the optimal route with <Graph Make>.

This <Graph Make> ability ignores finer details of the terrain and shows whether a path is passable or not. And that's not all, it even displays magic beast locations.

Truly a magic tailor-made for exploring dungeons.

They had dinner and then breakfast in the morning of the next day.

"From floor 41 to 44, the enemies are the greater variant of Octocular Great Spiders. They're even sturdier than ever. Magic attacks don't work on them. I mean, not very effective at all. They seldom spit venom, but they have three very troublesome abilities in <Sleep>, <Instant Death> and <Destroy>."

"But didn't so many magic beasts we faced before have <Sleep>?"

"The effectiveness is on a whole other level. It's pretty much a different ability. It's said that you have to arm yourself with multiple equipment to resist all those here."

"Is <Instant Death> a venom?"

"No, it's not. It's a curse. It can come from any direction once you're within the range. There is no way to dodge this. Hence, you need equipment to repel curses."

"What does <Destroy> destroy?"

"Metal. Be it swords or armor, once bitten by a spider, there's a chance of it breaking. It will break into pieces. The chance of activation is quite high, you have to keep that in mind if you're bitten."

"Is that it. Let's go then."

The group went down floor 40 stairs.

Lecan took <Guardian Jewel of Zana> from his <Storage> and equipped it.

They got to floor 41.

There's one other party in the back. A six people group.

Lecan's party would encounter their first enemy soon.

Lecan charged ahead. Followed by Arios and Heles.

If these spiders don't spit venom, petrification, or white breath, then first thing first is to face it head-on.

Lecan swung <Sword of Aghost> overhead then swung it down the magic beast's head.

A head that was distinctly harder than all other spiders they fought so far.

However, his destructive force boosted by <Guardian Jewel of Zana> far exceeded even that.

The spider met its demise with its head cracked open.

"Just what, what happened?"

"And I had just renewed my resolve not to get surprised earlier."

"Is it a Red Purple Potion? No, I didn't see him drinking one, besides this is impossible even if he did."

"I was surprised too, but eh, it's Lecan 'fter all. I'm used to surprises by now."

"Think of the remaining four floors as a whetstone to grind yourself sharp."

"Yes."

"Un!"

"Acknowledged."

They engaged in five battles on floor 41.

They had lunch and descended to floor 42.

On floor 42, there were times when Lecan couldn't end the fight in one hit.

In one such case, Arios and Heles would jump in to attract the magic beasts' attention while Lecan finished them off with a second strike.

Their coordination was going smoothly.

They fought six battles and camped near the exit.

"Relaxing before a campfire, drinking soup like this inside a dungeon where so many scary magic beasts prowl all over the place. It all feels so wondrous."

"It really does. Makes you question if the world inside dungeon is the real world."

"Fufufu. Both Eda-dono, and Arios-dono are such romanticists."

"Does Heles-dono not have someone you're engaged with?"

"No, I have none."

What an awfully prying question, thought Lecan.

Though, marriage and stuff might not necessarily be a private matter to high-ranking nobles.

"It's normally unthinkable for a lady my age to not have a fiance let alone unmarried. Well, please don't pry any further if you would."

"Don't you ever have anyone you like though?"

"Haha. I spent all my time bettering myself in military arts, I couldn't afford to even think about that. Besides, every one of them just lagged behind me, a woman."

"Oh you said every one of them, so you got applications then."

"Haha. There might be some."

"I mean, it's Heles-san after all. You must get like 100, 200 men proposing you, right?"

"I wonder about that. I never counted, but those numbers sound about right."

"But all of them were weak, weren't they."

"Not even worth considering."

"Even if you didn't have someone you like, isn't there someone you wouldn't mind falling for?"

"No... Not really."

"Ah, you stole a glance at Lecan just now, didn't you?"

"I did not."

"You did, didn't you?"

"I am telling you I did not."

"Lecan really is a bad person."

"I agree with that one."

"How do I say this, that's a conversation you don't want to stick your head in."

"Eat meat."