The eighth underground floor.
We make our way through the dungeon, which resembles a waterway, riding aboard a boat-type mini porter.
Paddle wheels on either side of the boat spin, propelling us forward at a reasonable speed.
We were making progress, but a problem soon arose.
"Collecting these treasure chests is such a pain."
I strip off my padded raincoat, leaving myself nearly in my underwear, grab a knife in one hand, and step off the boat into the water.
Once the water reaches my chest, I head toward the glowing protrusions beneath the surface.
Using the knife, I strike the treasure chest submerged in the water. I shatter the rock and retrieve the treasure, only to find once again—.
"How many is this now?"
A yellow-green gemstone—peridot.
When gems keep appearing one after another like this, you'd almost start to believe there's some deeper meaning behind it.
Or perhaps this dungeon really is a special one that drops magic-infused gemstones at an unusually high rate.
I collect the gemstone and head back to the boat, where Aria offers me her hand. Using it to climb back aboard, I take a towel and dry myself off.
I hand the gemstone to Miranda, who portions it out into leather pouches.
"That's the seventh one. Once you've found this many, the gratitude kind of wears off, doesn't it? We're definitely in the black for this dungeon subjugation, though."
Consumables, rewards for party members, necessary expenses... When you factor in all those costs against the profits from a dungeon, going into the red is simply not an option.
After all, there's no point in making money if you're just going to spend it all.
Monica sits at the back of the boat, looking frustrated.
"If I'd been in the center, all of Chicken's attention would've been mine alone."
Novem watched that Monica with a faintly amused smile. But I noticed her glancing multiple times at the Jewel Miranda was holding.
Aria was—
"If we recover both of those, we can split evenly among the nine of us. That's a pretty decent amount."
Hearing that, Miranda looked exasperated.
"Aria, you haven't forgotten what this party's objective is, have you? If you're worried about splitting earnings evenly, we'll never accomplish our goal."
Aria started to retort at that... but held back. There was no way Aria could ever win a verbal argument against Miranda.
Since I'm the one who goes into the water, I drape a blanket over me to ward off the cold. That's how we make our way through the Dungeon, but having a means of transportation really did matter.
From inside the Jewel, the Sixth Generation's voice came.
"That's a pity. If there had been plenty of other adventurer parties here, we could have earned a decent sum shuttling people around."
Like Aramsass, we could have certainly made money ferrying adventurers and their cargo. But this time, it was difficult.
Not impossible, but from the sixth underground floor onward, only parties that had received official commissions from the Guild were allowed to attempt it.
The numbers were too few. Rather than bother with that, it'd be easier to just defeat the Monsters ourselves.
On top of that.
"Looks like we've finally spotted our destination."
I muttered while gazing down the corridor, and there—unlike the smaller side passages we'd seen until now—was an entrance of an entirely different scale.
Novem spoke up.
"Lord Lyle, shall we head in right away?"
When she asked that, I shook my head.
"No, let's take a rest first. Also, something's been tailing us from behind, so we should deal with that first."
As Aria and Miranda gripped their spears, Monica pulled a mace out from beneath her skirt.
As the mage, Novem took the vanguard position, but there wasn't even time to turn the boat around.
Sahuagin and Frogmen — underwater, they were a troublesome bunch.
However—
"I'll strike first. Ice Arrow!"
Novem conjured dozens of ice arrows and launched them at the monsters closing in with the waves.
The ice arrows rained down on the monsters, and two Sahuagin endured the volley and lunged at them.
The remaining Sahuagin and Frogmen floated on the water's surface. Ice had formed along the paths the arrows had taken across the water.
Even the floating monsters had frozen sections on their bodies where the ice arrows had pierced.
Monica swatted the two lunging ones away with an oar, slamming them into the wall. I steered the boat closer to the wall, and then Miranda and Monica both moved in to finish them off.
I watched the battle while keeping my eyes on Novem's staff.
From within the Jewel, the Fifth Generation spoke.
"That's definitely a Mana Tool. It's boosting her magic's power — no, more than that, her Speed has increased. She seems to be holding back the power, though…"
The Seventh Generation added:
"One of the Mana Tools House Foxes possesses was a staff, wasn't it? That might be it."
The Fifth Generation hummed thoughtfully.
"Now that you mention it, there was one. But the shape is different."
When I first saw it, I thought it looked like the staff that was a heirloom of House Foxes. The shape was slightly different, but I had seen it hanging on the wall when I visited their home.
(Novem said she bought it, but could it really be just a Mana Tool?)
That was one possibility, but from the Fifth Generation onward, they all seemed to think Novem was hiding something.
The Third and Fourth Generations, on the other hand, weren't inclined to be so suspicious.
As Miranda and Aria began collecting the Magic Stones, I scanned our surroundings.
"After the break, let's head to the boss's room. If it doesn't work out, we'll turn back and that'll be that. Hopefully we can make a run for it, though."
Cracking jokes, I waited until the Magic Stone collection was done, then moved the boat into a nearby room.
Once we'd finished resting and confirmed our equipment, we stuffed the collected Magic Stones and gems into the Mini Porter and tucked it inside the Box.
Just the boat.
Then, with only the boat and the unneeded gear left behind, we headed for the boss's room.
After the break, I confirmed that my mana had recovered to some extent.
I wanted to defeat the boss, check out the ninth underground floor early, and get back to the surface. We'd been living on the boat, but frankly, I'd had enough of the awkward tensions and uncomfortable silences.
(With this group, I'm never tackling a Dungeon again.)
That's what I decided.
As I steered the boat toward the boss's room, the atmosphere among the members shifted. A sharp, prickly tension descended the moment we crossed the threshold.
The back of the room.
Looking toward the entrance to the ninth underground floor, I saw that it was dry land.
"So the waterway ends here? Well, I guess that's better."
Sitting on that stretch of land was a massive Monster.
With only the lantern light mounted on the boat, I could see nothing but a silhouette.
It looked like a quadruped. Its head seemed elongated. It had a long tail as well, with a fin-like structure at the tip.
During the break, I'd been reading the book Clara gave me, but with several candidates matching the creature's appearance, I couldn't pin down what it was.
"Should've brought a brighter light."
Grumbling, I drew my Saber as everyone raised their weapons. I still needed to steer the boat, so I wanted to avoid using magic as much as possible.
Activate Skills.
Full Over
Select
UpDown
Dimension
Spec
Getting the opponent's information always feels a bit disheartening.
The water's deeper than it's ever been. At least four meters.
"Don't fall in—it's too deep to touch the bottom. Also, the enemy seems to be immune to electric shocks. What's worse, it can use them itself."
Since we're in water, I was thinking a lightning-based magic spell would take it down easily. That's the kind of simple judgment I'd made, and of course, the boss that shows up is the one type that's completely unaffected by it.
Miranda quipped lightly.
"If it grabs us underwater, we're done for. What's the plan?"
I pointed to the landmass further ahead.
The boss had submerged its massive body beneath the water's surface and was trying to come at us from below.
"Let's move over there first. If we can hit it while it's climbing up, that'd be ideal... Look, it's already here!"
I spun both water wheels and immediately moved away from the spot. The boss emerged from the water's surface and lunged straight at us.
The boat dodged, and by getting closer, we finally got a good look at it.
Monica said.
"So it's a catfish that walks on four legs. Honestly, this world never gets boring. Given its size, I'd like to use a large hammer, so could you kindly move us to land first, you Chicken?"
As Monica turned back to look at me, I sheathed my Saber, formed the Jewel into the shape of a bow and arrow, and launched a counterattack.
I was steering the boat at the same time, so the power of my arrows inevitably suffered.
"Don't be reckless. This is me going all out, you know."
I didn't think it was impossible for me to take the thing down alone. But if I did that, the members I'd brought along would never get any experience.
When I abruptly changed the boat's heading, Aria lost her balance and plopped down on her rear.
"Hey! Don't make sudden weird moves like that!"
Right then, the boss burst out from where it had been moments ago, its body rocketing forward like a headbutt. I loosed a light arrow that pierced it and triggered an explosion.
It did explode, but—
"This thing..."
Novem raised her staff. She pointed the tip straight at the boss, and then—
"Magic Shield."
A translucent wall that gave off a faint glow materialized, wrapping around us and the entire boat in a protective embrace.
The boss revealed itself at the water's surface, then unleashed an electric discharge from its body, violently bathing everything in blinding light.
Miranda drew a knife and took aim. The moment the discharge ended and Novem dropped the Magic Shield, she hurled it at the boss.
But the blade never sank into its flesh—instead it deflected away as if sliding off the surface. The creature was slimy, sure, but more than anything, it was just that kind of body.
Its hide was impossibly thick, and whether from a layer of fat or something else, attacks simply couldn't penetrate.
I hurriedly steered the boat toward shore, but it was faster than us.
It stretched an arm out of the water and cocked it back to smash down onto the boat when Aria batted the boss's arm away with her spear.
However, at the same time, the boss's bodily fluids rained down on all of us.
Sticky, and slick—the worst feeling imaginable.
Miranda pulled an item from the bag at her waist. It was a small barrel, something that looked like a vessel you might use for pouring drinks at a tavern.
"Hey, that's..."
"No problem. I wonder where it'll come from next?"
I used my Skills to point out the spot where the boss would burst out.
I adjusted the boat's direction to dodge while pointing toward the spot, and Miranda hurled the small barrel and cast her magic.
The boss burst from the water's surface.
"Get blown away. Fire Bullet"
A fireball shot from the tip of Miranda's right hand and struck the barrel dead-on. At the same time, a massive explosion erupted. The boss thrashed its body violently, sending both the water's surface and the boat rocking hard.
Monica said.
"That's quite the flashy hidden weapon you've got there again. A bomb? No fuse, and you detonate it with magic... impressive."
Miranda waved her hand dismissively.
"Tools are all about knowing when to use them, right? Besides, that was my last one, so don't get your hopes up. Those things are pretty expensive."
It looked like she packed them with gunpowder, but Miranda probably couldn't get her hands on that many on her own.
Aria spoke up.
"You did well holding on to that. It wasn't going to blow up on you, was it?"
Miranda explained to Aria.
"There aren't any fire-using Monsters around here, so it was fine. Well, there was a chance they'd get soaked and become unusable, but it all worked out in the end."
If she was carrying something dangerous, she should have declared it. Novem seemed to feel the same way.
"Miranda, if you're carrying something like that, you really ought to tell Lord Lyle about it."
At that, Miranda's expression soured.
"You're right. But maybe you should mention that staff of yours properly too, shouldn't you?"
Monica clapped her hands twice, then shouted.
"You lot, stop fighting out here and listen to what the Chicken says! Now, Chicken, hurry up and give us our orders!"
While keeping my eyes forward, I watched the landmass drawing closer.
"Everyone, grab onto something. And keep your mouths shut. We're going ashore."
Saying that myself, I grabbed the boat's railing and crouched down. Once everyone had grabbed onto something and crouched, the bow of the boat ran up onto the land that lay at the back of the chamber.
The impact nearly threw me from the boat, but I used the footholds attached to it to step onto solid ground.
Once I stepped down, I looked around.
Because we hadn't defeated the boss, the entrance to the ninth floor was firmly sealed.
Once everyone had jumped off the boat, they stood there with weapons in hand, watching the enemies moving through the water.
Monica set the oar she'd been holding inside the boat, then pulled an oversized hammer from her skirt, gripping it with both hands.
"This is the first time since Aramsass! I'm gonna pound them with this!"
Watching Monica looking so delighted, I returned my bow to the Jewel and hung it around my neck. The magic consumption had been higher than I'd expected, and I didn't want to use it too much here.
Besides, I wanted to leave this to my companions.
The Jewel spoke as well.
The Third Generation said nonchalantly:
"I've never fought this type of Monster before. The ones in the lake weren't this big."
The Fourth Generation:
"Ugh, looks like a pain, but I wonder what we can harvest from them… Let's hope it sells for a good price."
Even the Fifth Generation chimed in:
"At this size, you really can't call them cute, huh. Keeping one as a pet would require a pretty big lake."
The Sixth Generation said, exasperated.
"You're really going to keep one of these as a pet? I've thought so for a while now, but you have seriously terrible taste."
The Seventh Generation, meanwhile:
"Grotesque things do tend to fetch higher prices, actually. But wait — have you actually fought monsters on the surface to some extent? Hmm, I suppose you haven't fought many of this particular type."
As always, they were perfectly at ease. I was the one doing the fighting, so that probably had something to do with their confidence.
I didn't share it.
I drew the Saber again, and the boss — still furious over Miranda's earlier attack — charged toward us.
Novem was already preparing a spell. Aria was—
"I think it's mad about Miranda's attack. Listen, it's making even weirder noises than before."
The boss thrust its head above the water's surface, crackling with electricity. Calling it a roar felt like a stretch, but it was definitely making some kind of sound.
A bellowing cry, almost like a cow.
It echoed through the room and was incredibly grating.
Miranda, half-joking:
"Well, that's fine, isn't it? Pissing it off and making it leave openings is important. The thing is, I don't really have any attacks left that could finish it off."
She was already beginning her own spell preparation, just like the others. Aria stepped forward, drove her spear into the ground, and activated a spell.
"In that case, I'll hold the line here."
Aria conjured a Magic Shield as well. Not quite on Novem's level, but she was still positioning herself in front of the party and blocking the boss's lightning strikes head-on.
I started preparing my own magic.
"Aria, once you've blocked it, fall back immediately."
The moment the lightning subsided, the three of us — Novem, Miranda, and I — unleashed our spells.
"Stone Needle!"
"Ice Needle!"
"Fire Wave!"
Stone spikes erupted from the water one after another, and immediately after, pillars of ice surged toward the boss, threading through the gaps in the rock.
Pierced by the pillars of ice and unable to move, the boss was engulfed by a wave of flame.
Monica, who had been watching the spectacle, casually stowed away her hammer with a bored look.
"What's with that—magic, seriously! I could do that just as easily if I had options... yeah, as long as I had options."
Seeing Monica looking so vexed, I managed a wry smile.
(But man, that really drained my magic. If I'd had just a little more to spare... huh? Wha—?)
The rocks crumbled, the ice pillars melted, and as the flames still licked across the surface of the water burning the boss's body, I dropped to my knees.
Sudden, extreme fatigue—and pain... It had caught up with me.
"Lord Laiel!"
Novem rushed over, but in the next instant—
"Chicken!"
Stepping forward to shield me from the dungeon walls was Monica. When I turned to see what had happened, countless hands were reaching out from the walls. And on top of that, hands so large they could easily engulf my entire body.
Moreover, there was something distinctly feminine about them.