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Chapter 99: Ruler of the Dead

The 5th floor was a large room type floor.

A large number of monsters were gathered near the center of the room, making it look like a “sudden room” for a moment.

High-ranking skeletons such as D-rank Skeleton Soldier, Archer, Mage, and even higher C-rank Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Horse, Skeleton Magician, and A-rank Bone General, Guardian Skeleton, and Bone Bishop were mixed in.

Just looking at this alone, this floor is quite dangerous from the point of view of an ordinary adventurer.

Simply having too many is dangerous enough. In addition to that, there were also monsters ranging from rank A to D. In the midst of combat, having to instantly judge the enemy’s rank and taking appropriate defensive and offensive measures would be mentally exhausting. However, what was truly terrifying was the presence in the last row.

≪Be careful, there is a lower S rank Lich in the back.≫

≪How troublesome. If I remember correctly, I’ve heard that Liches can create new skeleton-type monsters.≫

≪Yeah, it’s just as Nelfie says. There is a possibility that the number of skeletons will increase much more if we’re inefficient.≫

≪Bro, what will be our strategy?≫

≪Hmm. Since this is our first dungeon as a party, let’s take some safety precautions.

Let’s divide this room vertically into 4 parts and each person will take one part and annihilate the monsters with area magic, except for Nelfie.

I want Nelfie to give priority to A-rank monsters and pursue the surviving monsters with magic arrows.»

≪Aun-sama, with my ranged magic there will be a lot of missed shots. How should I proceed?≫

≪Nn. Then I will be take the part next to you, Shinku.≫

≪Good. If Kinu is next to you, there won’t be a problem. Once the lich is the only enemy remaining , everyone will go on an all-out attack. Nelfie, you will handle the newly created monsters.≫

≪Understood.≫

To be frank, this is a brute force approach. It’s a strategy that other adventurers can’t imitate, but if it’s our party, where all members can use area magic to some extent, this method would be the quickest to annihilate a large number of monsters.

In addition, this room and the cube-type floor would normally cause us to be at risk of being overwhelmed by the amount of monsters, but if our annihilation power is superior, the environment would work in our favor instead.

Even while we were having a strategy meeting, the skeletons were gradually closing in on us, and the Lich at the back was steadily mass-producing new skeletons.

Now then, it’s time for the big cleaning.

≪Black Thunder, spread out and annihilate!≫

≪≪≪≪Roger!≫≫≫≫

As I gave the command, everyone began to annihilate the skeletons with ranged magic. The formation spread out so that Shinku and Drake were in charge of both sides.

Our formation will be completed in a few minutes, and monsters below C rank will be unable to do anything against our area magic.

The A rank Bone General, Guardian Skeleton, Bone Bishop cannot be defeated with magic alone, and the bishop tried to offset our magic.

However, Nelfie responded by accurately firing magic arrows at the bishop.

The key to this strategy is undoubtedly Nelfie’s ability to make judgments and the accuracy of her shots.

About 10 minutes after the start of the battle, the total number of enemies was about 30% of what it was at the start.

Our mana was also reduced to about half, but unless something unexpected occurs, it seems we can annihilate them.

After the lich’s mana ran out and no new monsters could be created, the skeleton army was soon annihilated, leaving only the lich.

「Now then, only the Lich is left!」

「It looks like it doesn’t have any MP left. Let’s attack it all together.」Drake.

I somewhat felt like the lich was frightened. But it would be a problem if the Lich’s MP recovers. Besides, the door visible behind the lich is probably the door to the boss room.

We have also expanded a lot of mana, so I want to quickly defeat it and take another break.

　

『The gap in power is this huge, huh…』

「Eh? Did the Lich just speak?」Drake.

「Hmm, Yaou of Plainevelt was also able to speak from the beginning. It seems that among the monsters with high rank and high intelligence, there are those who can speak the human language.」

『I can’t do anything anymore… kill me…』

「Well, if we don’t defeat you, the next door won’t open…so don’t resent us.」

『But even if I’m defeated–』

「Attack!」

The four immediately responded to my instructions and attacked the lich while he was talking.

I’m sure he wasn’t going to say anything good anyway. Our main goal is the boss ahead.

A lich whose MP is exhausted couldn’t even resist much. His body was burned, shot through by arrows, crushed by rocks, destroyed by Red Ogre’s Iron Rod from above, and finally cut in two by my sword. The lich was destroyed to pieces and was absorbed into the dungeon.

In other dungeons, a lich would have been a boss, and a very difficult boss at that. However, in this dungeon, he was treated like a mid-boss. It seems like we should pay close attention to what kind of monster the boss in the room ahead could be.

As I was thinking about that, a red treasure chest appeared from the floor.

「Wow! A red treasure chest! This is pretty rare!」Drake.

「Indeed! Who’s going to open it?」

「I checked with my Observation. There is no trap. In this case, isn’t it better to have Aun open it since he has the highest luck stat?」Nelfie.

「Is it okay if I’m the one who opens it everytime?」

I looked around while saying that, and everyone nodded.

「If so, I’ll accept it… Give us good loot!」

≪Magic Bow [Moon Sakura]: Attack power 5 – 18, an article made from the millennium sakura tree, which easily transmits mana. Difficulty of handling is high, but it is said that its true value will be demonstrated depending on the user.≫

「Rarity red! A big hit! But this bow looks like it’s going to be difficult to handle… Only Nelfie can use it. Do you think you can handle it?」

Saying so, I handed Nelfie the magic bow, and her eyes widened.

「This bow is quite a bit stubborn… My accuracy will not drop, but it looks like it’s going to be quite difficult to control the mana flow. But I’ll definitely master it! However, are you sure? We can get a lot of money by selling this.」

「Hasn’t it been decided that strengthening our party is the top priority… Do your best to master it.」

It seems to be difficult to handle, but I’m sure an archer like Nelfie will be able to master it. Besides, Nelfie’s performance against Lich was a sight to behold.

During the ranged magic attack, she found Bone Bishop among a large number of enemies and took them out without fail. Her wide field of vision, speed of judgment in battle, and skill with the bow cannot be imitated by others. Nelfie is always humble, but she’s definitely one of those people whom we call a genius.

「Well then, ahead of this door seems to be the boss room. We’ve used up a lot of mana in the last battle, so I’m thinking of taking a break here again until everyone recovers. I don’t think new enemies will reappear in this room, but just in case, let’s stay alert.」

「Understood. We had to change our strategy for the last battle, but for the boss battle, I shall be at the forefront to generate enmity as usual.」

「Right. We’ll go with the strategy we discussed earlier at the safe area. I’ll make sure to use telepathy for instructions during battle. I gave instructions out loud during the last battle. I’ll prepare myself too.」

After everyone’s mana recovered, we stood in front of the boss’s room and I slowly opened the door.

After confirming that the door was fully open, we proceeded through the door with Shinku at the front.