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Chapter 98: Trap

As we climbed down the stairs leading to the third floor, a passage-shaped area with walls and ceilings surrounded by stone came into view.

The rank of monsters has risen slightly. The monsters with stone bodies called “Gargoyle” and undead B-rank monsters equipped with armor called “Living Armor” have appeared.

Gargoyle has strong resistance to magic and so we need to deal damage with physical attacks, but Living Armor has strong resistance to physical attacks. It’s a typical combination where even monsters that are easy on their own can become difficult to subdue depending on their combination.

「Shinku, gain enmity and divide the enemy. Kinu and Nelfie, take care of the Living Armors with magic. Drake and I will take on the Gargoyle.」

「Nn. Got it.」「Understood.」

「Aun-sama, I will attract the gargoyle first.」

「Ok. Let’s crush it quickly.」

Shinku activated [Provocation] toward the gargoyle. As the gargoyle swung down its arm at her, she repelled it with her shield and dealt counter damage with [Guard Impact]. The gargoyle shot an earth bullet while bending backwards, but that was also blocked by Shinku’s earth attribute magic [Earth Wall]. Drake and I launched our attacks from the back, and destroyed the gargoyle to pieces.

When I looked over at Kinu and Nelfie, right about when the gargoyle was defeated, they used magic to damage the Living Armor.

After Nelfie’s special training with Quereble in the snowy mountains, she had enchanted the Able Ark with mana itself, and had learned to shoot “magic arrows” with wood-attribute magic. Although it doesn’t deal physical damage, it can shoot magic like an arrow, and it seems to be more convenient for Nelfie than the way she used magic up until now.

Of course, it is also possible to deal physical damage by firing normal arrows, greatly improving her ability to respond from a distance.

When the Living Armor was hit by the two’s magic, it fell apart and was absorbed into the dungeon helplessly.

「It doesn’t seem to be a problem as long as we don’t make a mistake. For the time being, let’s explore as far as we can, and if there’s a safe area, let’s take a rest there.」

After that, we defeated about 10 living armors and gargoyles and proceeded smoothly through the area on the 3rd floor. We still had plenty of HP and MP left.

However, the moment we entered the next battle, Nelfie’s panicked voice called out from behind.

「Aun, Drake! Jump back!!」

In that instant, the floor where we stepped through suddenly collapsed. I immediately activated [Air Dance] and jumped back to the rear, and I saw that Drake also avoided falling with [Flight]. Living Armor caught in the collapse and could no longer be seen.

「That was dangerous… I had let my guard down. A trap, huh…」

「I was too impatient!」Drake

「I’m sorry! I should have noticed sooner… I’m not qualified to be a scout…」

「No, it’s not your fault Nelfie. It’s my fault that I placed you as the rear guard. Could you take the vanguard from here on?」

「Okay. I won’t make this mistake again.」

It’s true that we were complacent just because things were going smoothly. The feeling that a dungeon is a dangerous place had faded. Let’s just say that it was good to re-recognize that a slight carelessness could be fatal in this place.

After that, as Nelfie led the search, we found three traps that were set on this floor. The last trap we found was set on the treasure chest right before the stairs. I was hesitant about disarming it, but I decided to prioritize capturing the dungeon first, so this time we skipped the treasure chest and went down the stairs.

As we went down the stairs and entered the 4th floor, there was a stone floor similar to the 3rd floor, but it was a small room and seemed to be a safe area. Just in case, we decided to hold a strategy meeting while taking a short break to recover HP, MP, and relax.

「For the time being, let’s be vigilant against traps as we proceed forward. However, in order to avoid sudden encounters with monsters, I will also be at the front row and use the [Detection] skill.」

「Nn. I think that would be good too. It will also reduce the burden on Nelfie.」

「That’s right. Nelfie’s [Observation] can’t detect the presence of monsters, and it’s a heavy mental burden, right?」

「Fatigue does accumulate, but I’m happy that I could be of use to the party. In fact, there are many situations where I rely on everyone else in combat, and I don’t want to be a hindrance.」

「But if Nelfie wasn’t here, I think we would have been caught in a lot of traps. Besides, you can keep an eye on the whole battle scene and assist where needed. You aren’t close to a hindrance at all.」

「Because I am the one who clearly has the lowest fighting power among all of us. When we are fighting together, it makes me want to improve myself further.」

「I have a lot to learn from Nelfie-san. When there are more monsters than I can handle, you appropriately pull the enemies towards me, and I also think it’s really amazing that you can see the whole battlefield.」Shinku.

「Thank you, Shinku. After this, Aun will be by my side, so I can concentrate on the traps without worry.」

「Indeed. Also, I’d like to think about how to deal with boss monsters in advance. It’s the first time I’m actually facing a boss as a party.」

「That’s right! Shall I and Shinku-neesan be the vanguard?」

「Yeah. We’ll change the formation as soon as we encounter the enemy. Considering the pattern of multiple enemies appearing, Shinku will immediately use [Provocation] to control enmity and defend. Drake will assist Shinku as much as possible while annihilating enemies that can be dealt with quickly.

Nelfie will fall back to the rear and dispose of the small fries and attack the boss’s weak points depending on the situation.

As the center guards, Kinu and I will use magic attacks and melee attacks. Kinu will also take care of healing the party. I think managing the MP would be difficult, but I will leave that part to you.」

「Nn. Also, it might be better to use telepathy during the battle.」

「Indeed. We may not be able to hear any instructions or alerts due to the noise of battle. Let’s make sure to communicate. Also, if we’re fighting a boss for the first time, Shinku should use buff skills early regardless of the rank of the boss. If Shinku collapses, the party itself could collapse.」

「I understand, Aun-sama. However, is it likely that this dungeon will have such a dangerous enemy?」

「Hmm… Actually, I learned a lot while remodeling the Plainevelt dungeon. How to accumulate dungeon points, how much dungeon points are needed for which rank monsters, and so on.

So, when you think about the composition of this dungeon, there were 16 A-rank golems with attributes on the 1st floor, and dangerous traps were set on the 3rd floor, right? I don’t know how many floors there are from here on, but at the very least the boss is likely to be higher than the A rank of the first floor.」

「Certainly. If you think about it, even S rank or higher monsters could appear!」Drake.

「Yeah, if it’s an S-rank monster, we’ll get a lot of experience points even at our current level, but it’s also dangerous. We should definitely brace ourselves for a tough fight.」

After finishing the strategy meeting, we took a short break in the safe area and went down the stairs leading to the next floor.