Volume 4 - CH 13

In the first layer of the dungeon, we are attacked by a group of skeletons.

The trouble is, these guys are the end result of heroes and adventurers, and they even seem to have skills.

I had an image of skeletons as being rather weak, but now that they have skills, I think I should change that.

In addition, the archer in the rearguard on the other side of the line has several good skills in this area.

It's a distance that is usually unreachable and impossible to hit.

Anyway, I'm going to take [Arrow Flick Lv1] for now.

This consumes 4 points. I have 24 points left.

I also take [Calm Lv1].

With 2 points consumed, I have 22 points left.

It would be nice if I could raise my level again or get that lamp from the treasure chest that increases my skill points all at once, but I don't want to use up all my points.

If you don't leave them behind, I won't be able to take action when the situation changes.

If my level doesn't increase even after defeating these guys, I might want to reconsider going to the second layer.

But for now, we need to focus on this battle.

I've learned that if I use my skills poorly, I could be in danger like I was earlier. No, I mean, I should have expected that.

I think I underestimated my skills a little too much.

"Kuhh! I can't hit it! Why!?"

"It's probably evasion or some skill like that. Try changing your attack pattern."

I remain huddled behind a pillar and give advice to Serina.

"No! I still can't hit it. This guys is so strong!"

"No, your level is higher than them. Take the [Hit] skill."

"Oh, that's it!"

Little by litte, Serina's attack who's acquired skills [Hit] has begin to hit it.

"No, it's not a clean hit."

"Don't rush. I'm almost ready to move. I can pin them down."

"Leave it to me."

Ione heard this and came to the aid of Serina.

It's a coordination technique that can be done in close proximity. After all, a party is no good if it's scattered. It's just a solo army.

The skeleton bandit who was slashed from behind by Ione was easily torn apart.

"Gotcha! Thank you, Ione, I was saved."

"No need to thanks me. Now let's get the rest of them out of here."

"Yeah!"

The two of them immediately noticed the effect of the coordination and used it again to defeat the enemy. Meena also saw this and joined in, further accelerating the speed of defeat.

"Me too!"

"No, Lily, you need to keep the others in check. They alone is enough."

"Okay."

I'll change Lily's attack target since they're getting overkill.

"Clear!"

Five more bodies were put away, and there were only three strong skeletons, and not all of them seemed to be a heroes.

But I guess this is where the heroes party got wiped out.

"Next."

This is no time for sentimentality. The archer are still waiting over there.

"Then, Alec, you wait there. Let's go!"

"Yes!" "Yeah!"

The three vanguards made a dash for it and easily took out the archer on the other side.

We had a hard time at first, but I guess they're just a skeleton.

"Oh, uh, Alce-san?"

"Ah, Nene, It's okay now."

The pain of my agony was almost gone.

"No, Uhm, it's just that Skeleton-san anger hasn't subsided yet. ......"

"Oh? I don't give a shit about these people."

I kicked a bone that had fallen there.

"No, don't."

"Hmm?"

The femur or some other bone that rolled away with a clank rolls on and on.

That bone rolls a lot. It's because it's light.

...... No, something is wrong with it.

"Watch out! There's still something!"

I say, getting a bad feeling about this.

Then all at once, the bones start to move, and oh, damn it, that's what they say!

"U-uwahh, the bones are going back together again!"

Lily says in surprise, but that's because they're undead.

Skeletons come back to life after a certain amount of time.

That's a promise, isn't it?

If this was just a monster, that smoke would have come out right after defeating it. I would have noticed it right away, too, but I didn't think of it as the end of an adventurer.

"Eehhh? How are we supposed to defeat this thing!"

Serina shouted on the other side.

"Just come back here, idiot. It looks like these guys can't regenerate once you break their bones."

Some of the skeletons have recovered, but some are missing one hand and some haven't gotten up yet.

"The legs! Then go for the hands!"

Ione immediately noticed and said.

"Hyaahh, Eh, Eii!"

Nene seemed to have regained her composure and moved to attack. But in her case, her strength is so weak that she's just hitting the bone.

It's impossible to break it.

It's not impossible to win.

But if this enemy keeps coming back, we'll have to be prepared for quite a struggle.

This is the first layer, huh?

To be honest, I was underestimating it. [The Labyrinth of No Return].

Just as I was about to make up my mind and deliver my best shot at the skeleton in front of me, I heard a voice from somewhere else.

"Move!――Wood becomes charcoal. Light into darkness. Awaken! Scorching heat of hell!　Rise from the chaos, dark flames of darkness, and burn all to ashes, Dark Fire Castle!!"

With a sharp chant from the girl, flames erupted all around the place. It was a castle of flames, and I almost got hit.

"Oi, you, can't you help me in a more thoughtful way?"

I was grateful for the help, but I didn't like the way she helped me.

"Fine, it was a bit of a scare, but I didn't get involved, and this is the quickest and most efficient way to do it."

A magician woman wearing a dark purple robe said. She was rather small, maybe fifteen years old.

"There are Serina and the others on the other side. ......"

The wall of flames has split us up, and they won't be able to join us for a while.

"Ah, ahh, I'm sorry, are the people over there are weak?"

She was a little flustered and apologized to me, but I guess she doesn't have the personality to be a bystander.

"No, they're strong, but we don't want to split up the party because then we won't be able to work together."

"I see."

It seemed that she was little impressed didn't seem to have noticed much about it, even though she could use so much great magic.

It feels little uncomfortable.

"Hey, Alec! Are you okay over there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. The magician saved me."

"Yeah. Can you help me with the skeleton next?

"I'll take care of them."

She replies.

It looks like we'll be able to get rid of the skeleton now.

The battle is not over yet, but I'd like to thank her first.

"I'm Alec, the leader of the group, and I'd like to thank you for your help, but we could have done it on our own."

"Yes. But since you had the mage hit them with her wand, she must have run out of MP. It's better not to push her too hard."

"Oh, she's isn't apprentice yet. Oh, by the way, I had her learn Fireball."

I completely forgot what I was doing. Nene was a magician.

"Huh? No, no, no. What's a magician doing attacking with a punch? You should at least protest. I've never seen such an arrogant leader."

She with the pointy hat says to Nene, who also has a pointy hat.

"Oh, no, Alec-san is a kind man."

Nene says, but of course. I haven't touched Nene, who has just joined, and I just being gentle with her.

Of course, once she gets used to it, I'm going to enjoy it.

"What? Are you the type of person who orders your slaves to praise their master or something like that?"

The girl raised her eyebrows and scorned me without permission.

"No, I'm not. You're ...... for now, what's your name."

I decided to change the subject for the time being, since explaining it would be useless without Meena and the others coming over.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I'm Letty. As you can see, I'm a lone wizard genius. Fuh."

She grabbed her pointy hat with one hand, waved her wand, and struck a pose. There's another troublesome guy came out .......

"It's true! I've got a mage B-class license, and I'm already an A-class mage! But when it comes to those big mages with their fossil-like heads, ......Kehh!"

"Well, calm down. I don't doubt your ability."

I mobilized all my skills [Pick up Lv2], [Counseling Lv1], [Convince Lv1], [Sycophancy Lv1] and told her nicely.

"What? Oh, really?"

"Yeah, sure."

I give here big nod.

"Yeah, yeah. T-thanks, ......."

The girl fidgeted, and I felt like I had succeeded in picking up a girl.

It's not necessary to pick up a girl right now, though.

Pirorin♪

『Job【Scammer】now become level 2』

『【Pick Up　Lv２】【Counceling　Lv１】【Convince　Lv１】【Sycophancy　Lv１】skills have been combined and upgraded to 【Art of Conversation Lv.1】』

I don't want to do that, but I'm getting more jobs....

Well, that's fine.

The flames were finally extinguished and the skeletons were wiped out.

If the flames can reduce even bones to ashes, it's no wonder she's a B class magician.

Serina and the others came back.

"Thank you, Letty. You saved me a lot of trouble."

Serina said with a smile. It looks like she used her appraisal skills, so she already knows her name.

"No, Y-you see, adventurers need to help each other, right?"

"Huh? Fufu, you're right"

"Then, as is customary, take this, Letty."

I held out a silver coin.

"Wha!"

Mmmm, did she think it was too little indeed? That's why it's so delicate to get a high level guy to help you. ......

I also got 600,000 gold from the auction, and having a lot of money down the road hurts.

I've also paid Maria's store to buy Nene, but that still leaves me with 430,000 gold.

The market rate for rewarding a life saver was half of what you have. If she asked for half, I would lose 220,000 gold.

"Oh, silver coins! Thank God, I won't be kicked out of my house this month!"

But who would be cheeky enough to accept a single silver coin?

"Um, it sounds like you're in need of money, but with your level and ability, you should probably take the quest."

Serina advised Letty.

"I'm taking it. But the traps in this dungeon can be surprisingly hard. ...... I almost died on the third layer, and I was thinking of going to look for another request."

Letty said.

"Eh, you're solo?"

"Murgh...... What's wrong with being solo!?"

"Huh? No, it's not like that."

"Letty, I used to be a solo. Let's do our best with each other."

What's wrong with being solo? Yeah, that's a good word.

I have Meena, and I'm not going to go back to being solo.

"T-that's right! My friends and the guild staff told me not to do that, but it's not impossible! You can even go to the ninth layer!"

"Ah, no, I'm not talking about the dungeon here..."

It would be a bad aftertaste if I gave her confidence and let her die.

"Huh? Yeah. ......"

"Hey, Alec."

Serina poked me lightly with her elbow.

I was going to say, "What it is?" but I soon realized it too.

"Yeah, I guess so. How about this, Letty. How would you like to earn a little money as Nene's teacher? I'll pay you about ten thousand gold."

I try to negotiate.

"I'll do it!"

She answered immediately. A strong-looking B-rank mage, get it!