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Volume 13 Chapter 2 Part 1

Chapter 62: Stockings

『Roxanne』
Current Levels & Equipment:
Knight Lv.44

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

「Well, here we go. 」

We are continuing the farming of the materials from the Floor Boss of the 44th floor. It’s going smoothly so far. It’s going wonderfully smoothly – extremely smoothly, I would even dare to say.

The Silver Caterpillars are just the right mixture of tension, just the right amount of exercise, and just the right amount of training. Fighting them is not as easy as Roxanne said, but it’s stable enough that we’re not in a desperate pinch and I don’t have to worry about any of us getting seriously hurt in case we make a mistake somewhere. There’s no slacking on our part, but there’s also no pressure on us. It’s like a stable and clear pilgrimage through the Labyrinth over and over again.

Even Roxanne can’t be dissatisfied, as she enters the Boss Room looking and sounding happy and enthusiastic every single time. If this isn’t something going smoothly, then what is? It’s going smoothly. Very smoothly. Comfortably. Frighteningly so, but free of any negative elements.

And of course, at the end of the day, there’s a supreme moment waiting for me to soothe my fatigue and release my stress. If this isn’t joy, then what is? It’s going smoothly. Such progress is comfortable, and it is the best course of action for someone with a Sex Maniac Job like myself.

Well, I feel like I could get by without the Sex Maniac Job at this point, but on the other hand, it would be tough to go at it every day without its boost to my sexual stamina and vigor. I’m going to just treat it as an insurance for myself, so like that, it should do just fine.

As we entered the Boss Room, green smoke gathered at the center of it, and two Silver Caterpillars appeared. They were large caterpillars with platinum-colored skin. Roxanne and Vesta stood in front of our formation, each taking charge of one monster.

Halfway between the two, diagonally forward, Sherry stood firmly in her position, holding her Steel Spear of Authority as she glared at the Floor Boss. The Steel Spear of Authority was a weapon that could cancel the activation of skills and magic, which meant that when used at the right moment, it could seal the strongest attacks of just about any monster.

This works for the Floor Bosses as well, and once they have their strongest moves sealed, all they can do is to just stand there and wait for their downfall at our hands. After all, for normal attacks, Roxanne and Vesta were more than capable of handling them without receiving even the smallest scratch.

Rutina unleashed a spell on the spot, while Miria and I circled around to face the monsters from the sides. Moreover, Miria first chose a monster she wanted to face, while I moved in after her after deciding on my position, so I ended up having to circle around the outside of the two Floor Bosses.

There was a surprising amount of movement involved with this battle, which means that the key to winning it is once again going to be Miria with her weapon’s Petrification Skill. Naturally, Miria rushed in first, and I came right behind her. I knew that it couldn’t be helped that she needed to take priority, but a part of me was still feeling a little disappointed at being relegated to a supporting role like that.

I feel like a maid, or a programmer just before an important game’s release. I’m made to run like a workhorse, or like a demon here in order to keep up with Miria. I’m made to run like a high school rookie baseball team member who – through nothing but sheer luck – joined a strong team that regularly reaches Koshien (the High School National Championships) despite not having any significant achievements in middle school.

But such is the fate of someone like me, who has a lot of utility instead of focusing on just a single specialization. I can cast magic, heal, use a sword, and do a whole lot of other things. I can do a lot of things, in fact; but because of that, I am a man who doesn’t stay in one place. That’s me. I’m big-hearted like that. I’m different. I can do this and that, so it was only natural that I went around behind Miria on my way to the Floor Boss.

Supporting her is a role that only I can do. It is a feat that only I can do. By going behind, I also had the advantage of being able to attack the Floor Boss from behind like this.

I wasn’t facing the monster directly, so I could attack freely, however it pleased me, but then…

「Ugh! 」

The Silver Caterpillar attacked me with its rear end. It’s just a caterpillar though, so there was not much more that it could do, and without being able to use its sticky threads shooting Skill or any magic, it could only thrash around with its oversized body.

「I did it, desu! 」

Oh, Miria managed to turn it to stone with her next attack! It stopped moving!

Since it was focusing so much on trying to crush me with its backside, it couldn’t pay sufficient enough attention to Miria, so it got hit squarely by Miria’s attack and was turned to stone. In other words, it’s no exaggeration to say that this particular petrification has been achieved thanks to my valiant efforts.

「Okay. Well done! 」

Good job, me. Now that we didn’t need to worry about that Silver Caterpillar, we attacked the other one. I went around behind Miria again. It couldn’t be helped. The top priority was for Miria to join the attack on the other Silver Caterpillar as quickly as possible.

「I did it, desu! 」

See? Once again, Miria had turned the Silver Caterpillar to stone. And it was all thanks to me. A little…. But I feel like I have contributed at least 10% here. Probably.

The battle with the Floor Boss on the 44th floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar has remained stable like this. There are two bosses to begin with, so with Roxanne and Vesta standing in front of them, the front line is stable and there are no interruptions to the flow of combat once it starts. Everything is safe and secure, just the way I like it. Good, really good.

A Floor Boss round with nothing but good things happening, that is what I need in my life as much as possible. However, the end of this idyllic routine is steadily approaching, because we were accumulating the Mithril Threads much faster than I was originally anticipating.

Up to this point, even Roxanne, as expected, has not said anything about going to the higher floors quickly. After all, this is to make the socks that she has become interested in. That, and she is probably afraid of the backlash that will come towards her if she tries to force us to go too high up the floors of the Labyrinth, so she just obediently fought the enemies and collected the drop items that they were leaving behind. I wonder if she would always be so eager to go up the floors of the Labyrinth as fast as possible?

No. We have a map of Quratar’s Labyrinth, so we always know where we should be going, but it would be a different story if she was taken to an unknown Labyrinth, there one in which she has only been guided to the entrance. Even Roxanne, would have a hard time doing anything about a place she was completely unfamiliar with, and it wouldn’t be easy for her to go up.

She would still explore with gusto, but that’s probably about it. That much can’t be helped. In fact, it is fine for her to be exploring the Labyrinths with enthusiasm. She is more than welcome to do so.

There’s a chance that we could go and move on to try and reach the Floor Boss of the 45th floor once we get used to the one on the 44th floor enough, but that doesn’t seem likely though. I might just go and suggest it… no, there’s a risk that I’ll be abandoned if I’m going to be too weak for it.

What’s the right thing to do here? I have many worries on my mind right now.

「Oh. 」

As I was pondering what should I do about it while cutting away at the petrified Silver Caterpillar with my Durandal, the body of the Floor Boss turned into a cloud of green smoke and disappeared, leaving behind yet another Mithril Thread.

「Ah. Now we’ve got everything we need. 」

「Umu. 」