After a nice little break in the thirtieth floor’s boss room, we proceeded deeper into the dungeon.
“From this point onward, we don’t have a map. Enemies will likely use the darkness to their advantage and attack us. So let’s stay on our guard, everyone,” I said.
“Should we turn on our magic lanterns, sir?”
“Not yet. We can still see where everyone is, and the light might attract monsters. Plus, I feel like this added tension will help me recall the feeling I used to get when I was able to anticipate my enemies’ moves—that prickly sensation that ran through my skin.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s go.”
With that, we shifted into full exploration mode. We dispatched the monsters that tried to creep up on us from the shadows, disarming traps as we encountered them, all while mapping out the labyrinth. Of course, we also had to have full-blown fights along the way, and we ran into a few dead ends and monster rooms, which slowed down our progress. But this all helped to heighten my sense of urgency.
Don’t get me wrong; I wasn’t expecting a dramatic change to occur just because I was suddenly focusing on the monsters. But by honing in on their presences, mana signatures, and killing intents, I felt like I could predict the timing of their attacks better, linking it to the images in my mind. That synergy caused me to become more aware of my companions’ movements as well, allowing me to have a clear vision of my surroundings and, in turn, to adapt my strategy accordingly.
But something weighed on my mind; not only was Brod getting wounded a lot more often than before, but he flat-out refused to let me heal him unless he really was in danger.
I was so focused on the monsters—and worried about my master—that I didn’t even realize how much progress we’d made until we found ourselves standing before the entrance to the fortieth floor’s boss room.
“We reached floor forty already?” I asked.
“You were focusing on the monsters, so it’s no surprise you lost track of time,” Lionel said. “However, you should try to relax a little. Your body might feel fine, but you will make mistakes if you’re so tense.”
“Then let’s take a break after we’re done with the boss.”
“Stay alert, everyone,” said Kefin.
“Will do.”
He opened the door, and we cautiously made our way to the middle of the boss room. There, we found countless monsters that looked like turtles wearing helmets, just like in that one famous game.
“Oh, met-turtle bombs,” Kefin said.
“You know about them?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes. I’ve heard that on top of having hard shells, they can also use magic. But they have their weaknesses: First, they are almost completely immobile, and second, they will detonate the moment they take any damage.”
“They shouldn’t pose much of a threat, then.”
“Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t. If you encountered them in the wild, you could easily provoke them into self-destructing by throwing something at them from a distance. However, if we try that here, it’ll trigger a chain reaction, causing the others to explode as well. And given we’re in a closed room, that probably wouldn’t end well for us.”
I tried to envision the potential outcomes of our situation. If the explosion simply caused the turtles’ shells to fly at us, I could cast Area Barrier on Lionel and have him protect us with his shield while healing him continuously. But if it was the kind of explosion that was accompanied by flames, the temperature of the room would shoot up, and we might not be able to withstand the heat.
“Is there really no way for us to deal with them safely?” I asked.
Kefin shook his head. “This is beyond what I expected.”
“Master, do you have an idea?”
“Just use wind magic to blast the flames away and water magic to cool the room down. Then, you can let the Lion handle the rest,” Brod said.
That was my master for you. He was able to come up with a plan on the spot.
“Lionel, can I leave the defense to you?”
“Of course, sir.”
I nodded. “Everyone, fall back to the entrance. I’ll follow master’s suggestion. First, I’m going to create a wall of ice. It’s going to completely drain my mana, but I’ll drink a potion to recover as much as possible to prepare for the explosion. If things get dicey, I’ll use the Wind Dragon’s powers to contain the flames.”
My companions agreed and did as they were told.
“Lionel, I know it won’t be easy, but do everything you can to withstand the explosion, all right?” I said.
“Yes, sir.”
“Kefin, can you shoot something at the turtles from here? Any turtle is fine.”
“Yes, sir. They’re not too far from us, so I can reach them.”
“I’ll do it,” Brod volunteered, and Kefin agreed to let him take that role.
“Oh, okay then. I’m leaving it to you, master,” I said as I turned my Illusion Sword back into its staff form and channeled my mana into it. “Let’s go with brute force here. Can you target the monster farthest from us?”
“Sure can.”
“Throw the dagger on my mark, then immediately go behind Lionel and me. Everyone, wait where you are too,” I said.
“Got it!” my companions replied in unison.
I cast Area Barrier and told Brod to attack the turtles. He hurled the dagger at one of the monsters, and the blade grazed its leg. I worried the cut was too shallow but decided to trust Kefin’s information and immediately chanted, “Water Dragon, shield us behind a frozen barricade and block any attack that might come our way!”
In an instant, most of my mana was drained, and a massive wall of ice appeared in front of us. An instant later, a boom echoed in the distance, followed by more explosive sounds. It was like a string of firecrackers going off one after the other.
I’d made it so that my wall would automatically regenerate itself if it broke or melted, but that had been unnecessary. It took less than a minute for all the monsters to explode, and my wall was still standing at the end, not having melted in the slightest.
“The power of the dragons truly is incredible,” Lionel said, impressed as he placed his hand on the wall.
“It is, but it also costs a ton of mana to use. Conjuring this wall just drained eighty percent of my maximum mana.”
“Eighty percent of a sage’s mana...” Lionel muttered, falling deep in thought.
“It’s a bit chilly behind this wall, chief,” Ketty chimed in. “Can you undo it already?”
“I could, but given how huge that explosion was, part of the room is definitely still on fire. We might be hit by a wave of heat if I take down the wall,” I replied.
Ketty pouted. “Guess this kitty will just have to stay cold, then.”
“Doesn’t your robe have a temperature-regulating function?” I asked.
“It used to, but it stopped working at some point.”
“You should have told me when you noticed it wasn’t working.” I handed her a white robe from the Church.
“Oh, it’s been a while since I wore one of those. Thanks for lending it to me, chief.”
“No problem. Everyone, if you ever notice some defect in your equipment, please let either me or Dhoran know, all right? We’ll repair it for you.”
We killed time for about an hour, at the end of which I finally lowered the wall. Then, I purified the room, we sat down to eat, and when we were done, I decided to take a little nap to speed up my mana recovery rate.
Well, that was the plan, but...
“Where am I?”
I always woke up with my stamina fully restored after sleeping on my angel’s pillow, but this time, things were different. Something was wrong with my surroundings. I had definitely fallen asleep in the labyrinth, but I was currently sprawled on the ground outside, somewhere surrounded by mountains.
I had stood up and tried to make sense of the situation when a voice called from behind me, “Don’t panic; you’re still dreaming. I’m currently guiding your consciousness.”
Turning around, I saw Estia—well, the Spirit of Dusk controlling her body—standing there.