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Volume 12 Chapter 2 Part 1

Chapter 57: Next Time, Gozer Dies

『Roxanne』
Current Levels & Equipment:
Shrine Maiden Lv.41

Equipment:
Rapier
Steel Shield
Dragon Skin Jacket
Wind Resistant Damascus Steel Headband
Leather Gloves
Hardened Leather Boots of Willow
Sacrificial Misanga

We’ve spent the next several days fighting the monsters on the 44th floor of Quratar’s Labyrinth.

Rutina should’ve already gotten used to battling in the Labyrinths together with us, but it’s still too difficult for me to say whether we should finish the grind and move forward or stay here for longer.

We obviously cannot stay in the 44th floor forever, but I still feel like going to the higher floors would be like going through a railroad crossing.

I thought that we might be able to stay on the 44th floor comfortably for a while longer, but right now even Sherry was already asking me about my exit strategy, which in her mind must’ve been the right thing to do and a valid concern.

It would’ve been nice if I could get my hands on some even more powerful Jobs, but unfortunately, getting them is not going to be as easy as it was until now. And if it was easy, then I would’ve already gotten more of them by now.

The next one of my Jobs that is going to reach Lv.50 is going to be the Hero Job, but it still needs more time to do so. And besides, I have no idea how easy the battles with the monsters are going to get once I get the Job that’s going to unlock when Hero reaches Lv.50.

Priest would’ve probably also reached Lv.50 right about now, if only I was not levelling it up alternatively with the Monk Job. However, as unfortunately as it may sound, these days I have been switching between Priest and Monk quite frequently, because Monk was better when a single unit needed healing, while Priest was more useful when an entire group needed to have its HP restored.
When facing against even more powerful enemies in the future, their blows are definitely going to be heavy and hard to recover from, so that is why I need both Monk and Priest Jobs to be able to use their healing abilities as effectively as possible to cover all possible scenarios of my Party getting hurt.

At this point, however, I am not really sure which one of these two Jobs I am going to need more, and that is why I am using levelling both of them up as an excuse to keep us from going any higher for the time being.

Should I have focused more on one or the other instead? Well, maybe I really should’ve, but there’s no helping it right now, since I know that I wouldn’t be able to decide between the two.

That is the reason why I wanted to stay on the 44th floor, because going to the 45th floor without getting as many stronger Jobs as possible is going to be an incredibly steep road.

No, if it was just about me, then I could’ve waited a little longer.

No, if it was just about me, then maybe I I should to is to go and try my hand at tackling on the 45th floor. If it turns out that I can fight there just fine, then all will be good, and if it is still going to be too much for me to handle, then I’m just going to turn my tail and run. There’s nothing shameful in running away if the challenge is proving to be too difficult, especially if I were to be there just by myself.

If it was just me, I could do it without worrying about embaarassement, shame, or rumors spreading about me, right?
Then I should do it like that.

If I am perfectly capable of doing that, then it would be wrong of me to not do it.

So it should be done.

「From now on, I want to continue fighting on the 44th floor for a little while longer.」

「Of course.」

I told my plans to everyone while we were eating breakfast. It was necessary for me to explain everything to the girls in order to not be misunderstood by them.

Avoiding unnecessary misunderstandings as much as possible has always been a personal policy of mine, so I need to convey my feelings to them with the utmost sincerity without running away from the issue even a little.

「I want to fight there some more. That is basically it.」

「Yes.」

「I wonder if we are never going to experience what is it like to fight on the 45th floor at this rate.」

「You are exactly right.」

So Roxanne is not buying that excuse of mine after all? Yeah, it looks like she’s totally not buying it at all.

Unwillingly, I mean.

No, no, that’s exactly right, because it really is just like that.

「It feels like we’ve been on the 44th floor for long enough already, so now might not be a bad time to go to the 45th floor after all, and I think that there is currently little grounds to deny us that possibility, but if there is a valid one, then I will acknowledge it.」

「Yes, I agree.」

「In that case, from around today, if there is going to be a proper chance for it, I think we should start fighting there, or at least I think so.」

「I think that is a great idea as well.」

No Sherry, that is no a great idea. If at all possible, I wanted you to be the one who would criticize it, but…

「Yes, thinking about it now, that might be a good idea after all.」

… I ended up agreeing with Sherry’s words anyway.

Surprisingly to me, Sherry seemed to be in unusually high spirits.

Since this world is the one that has actual monsters that need to be fought in it, there are also many dangers, and I think that is what is causing the inhabitants of this world to develop the tendency to ignore small risks, and that is what caused even Sherry, who is normally calm and composed at all times, to become not cautious.

I guess that just goes to show how harsh of a world this place really is.

「U-Umu. So after we finish the battle with the Floor Boss and get to the 45th floor, be sure to let me know if there is a group comprising of only a few monsters nearby, okay?」

This is exactly the problem.

If we absolutely have to go fight on the 45th floor, then I want o fight against the small groups of enemies first. I don’t want to go to an entirely new floor only to fight groups of six monsters out of the blue.

I would be extremely happy if we could start f=from fighting against just a single monster, but I know that when you’re as high as the 45th floor a convenience like that might be extremely hard to come by, so I am going to be content with just two monsters at once, or maybe three at worst.

However, in order to have this ideal scenario, the cooperation of Roxanne and her sense of smell is absolutely necessary, so I have no choice but to follow along with her every demand. That is also the reason why I am explaining everything to Roxanne like that.

「Of course. Leave everything to me, master!」

「However, at the very, very least, I’d also like for the main training ground for today to be the 44th floor. I don’t plan on fighting on the 45th floor all that much today, but we should make sure to have at least one fight on the 45th floor, even if it would have to be the last one we’re going to do today.」

「Understood! I will make sure to fight that battle with all my heart!」

No, I don’t think you’re going to have to go that far, unless… you’re planning to take us to a place that’s going to have a group of six monsters waiting for us there, aren’t you, Roxanne?

「U-Umu. I don’t know why, but it feels like it’s going to be the culmination of our entire day today.」

「It’s going to be a culmination indeed.」

「That’s right, a culmination. That’s why we only need to fight on the 45th floor once while betting everything we have on it. I also don’t want to fight any more than just this once on the 45th floor today. If it turns out that we can fight there without any issues, then we can do some more fighting there tomorrow and gradually increase the amount of battles there. Let’s make this our plan for getting used to fighting on the 45th floor, okay?」