We stopped dead in our tracks upon hearing the sound.
“That came from inside the boss room, right?” Brod asked, turning around to face us.
“Yes. Looks like someone got here faster than we did,” I replied.
“That explains why we couldn’t find any traps or treasure chests on the last few floors. Whoever’s in that room right now must be quite strong to have gotten this far.”
I nodded. “They’re definitely above average, that’s for sure.”
If I remembered correctly, when we’d come across dullahans in the Labyrinth of Wiles, Brod had said that someone would need to be at least A-rank or equal in strength to defeat even one of them. Then again, it seemed to me that the dullahans we’d encountered in that labyrinth were stronger than the ones we’d just fought, though I couldn’t tell if it was because we’d gotten stronger or simply that this labyrinth’s monsters hadn’t been able to make use of their main advantage—the darkness—against us.
All I could do now was pray that whoever the strong individual(s) in the boss room were, they wouldn’t summon the Wicked One and turn into the undead.
“Either way, all we can do for now is wait for them to be done,” Brod said.
“Monsters keep coming our way, though,” Ketty pointed out.
“Should we turn off our lights, sir?” Kefin asked me.
I’d become quite good at making my moves match my vision, so I felt like I wouldn’t struggle too much through the rest of the labyrinth. Plus, if we stayed in front of the boss room, we wouldn’t risk falling into traps. Some of my companions might want to fight more monsters to level up or sharpen their battle instincts, so I decided to ask them for their opinion on what we should do.
“I think we can probably turn off our lights, yeah,” I replied to Kefin. “What do you think, master, Lionel? If you’ve reached your level-up goal, we’ll put away our lanterns so as not to attract more monsters.”
“Don’t. I haven’t had enough yet,” he replied.
“If it’s all right with you, I’d like to keep boosting my skills just a while longer, sir,” Lionel added.
Just as I’d thought, they still wanted to fight.
“What about you, Ketty?”
“There are so many monsters, this kitty’s feeling a little mentally exhausted. But I can keep going.” She didn’t seem to want to fight anymore, but we could all tell that she was feeling just fine.
“And you, Kefin?” I asked next.
“I would like to keep going for a bit. We’re going to Blanche when we’re done with the empire, right?”
“Yeah. Well, nothing’s set in stone yet, but that’s the plan, at least.”
“Then I would like to hone my abilities a little before then,” he said.
He was already thinking that far into the future, huh? Blanche was a human supremacist nation, so I understood why Kefin would want to be stronger before our trip there. He glanced at Ketty, and it was clear why he was so determined to become more powerful.
“Estia?” I asked our last companion.
“I’m not feeling particularly tired, but I’m starting to worry my weapon might be reaching its limits,” she told me. She was still using the holy silver sword I’d given her ages ago.
“Got it. Everyone else including master is using weapons crafted by Grand, right? I’ll commission new weapons from him when we go back, Estia. In the meantime, I think I must have something you can use in my bag.”
I rummaged through my magic bag and handed her the mithril and holy silver swords Brod had given me as a parting gift when I left Merratoni.
“You don’t mind if I give them to her, do you, master?” I asked just to be sure.
“Nah. Weapons are made to be used. If anything, keeping them stored away is a crime.”
I chuckled. “Estia, how about you try them out for a bit and tell me which one you prefer?”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll borrow them from you, if you don’t mind.”
“All right, let’s keep fighting until the match in the boss room is over or our moves start getting sluggish. If that happens, we’ll put down some casks of Substance X to chase away the monsters and turn off our lights,” I announced.
“Sounds good.”
“All right!”
“Yes, sir.”
And so, we decided to keep fighting the labyrinth’s monsters for a while longer. Just like before, we mostly ended up facing dark and shadow knights and dullahans, along with gorgons—those eerie creatures with human faces and snakes for hair.
Lionel blocked the attacks with his shield, then cut down the monsters’ limbs one by one before finishing them with a grand slash of his sword. Meanwhile, Ketty and Kefin worked together, attacking from both sides, leaving Estia to deal the final blow. I kept a watchful eye on my companions, ready to heal them if needed, all while shielding myself with my new magic wall and slashing at the enemy with my mana sword.
“Your mana-infused sword’s power truly is out of this world. One hit is enough to take down any enemy,” Kefin remarked, clearly impressed.
Now that I understood how to utilize different attributes by focusing my consciousness on the mana I channeled into my sword, I was determined to practice that technique until it felt as natural to me as it had to Reinstar.
“Thanks, Kefin. Hearing you say that makes me more confident. But rather than focusing on offense, my goal is to learn how to avoid fatal wounds. I have a feeling that will significantly boost my chances of survival.”
“You’re not going to put your life on the line to win fights anymore?” Ketty asked teasingly, referencing the scolding my master had given me about my reckless behavior in the past.
I chuckled and replied, “I only did that because it felt like I’d die if I didn’t. If I can help it, I’d rather avoid it from now on.”
“You say that, but I have a feeling you’ll do it again for sure, chief,” Ketty chimed in.
“It’s our duty to ensure he doesn’t have to resort to such reckless tactics,” Kefin replied.
Ketty let out a sigh, disappointed that her fun had been spoiled.
“Without him, we wouldn’t have any barrier to protect us or healing magic to cure our wounds, which would drastically weaken our offense,” Estia pointed out. That was a pretty accurate description of our party.