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Contagious Heroism – Part 04

“Selyse? Something on your mind?” Sara asked.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing.” Selyse shook her head. She had been standing stock still, thinking about the past. “Shall we proceed?”

“Someone’s coming from behind.”

Numerous people entered the spacious chamber.

“Hey, fellas. I see you’re still only here.”

It was the Rank B adventurer party, Kinga Wolf.

Kinga, leading the way, had his arms draped around the shoulders of two women, showing no sign of exploring the dungeon at all. It begged the question of their readiness if monsters attacked or traps were sprung.

“You look pretty worn out. How about letting us lead the way?”

Azure Blade Nebula and the Four Eastern Stars had exterminated the monsters that Gerhardt’s group missed, allowing the trailing party to stroll leisurely through the monster-free passages. Unlike the somewhat exhausted two parties, Kinga Wolf showed no signs of fatigue.

“Are you serious?!” Lisa, the cleric with golden-framed glasses, snapped. “You’re only unharmed because the Azure Blade Nebula defeated the monsters. Besides—”

“Lisa, enough,” Marius stepped in. “Kinga, if you want to go ahead, feel free. The 6th floor is likely ahead. Gerhardt should be there, but they might have been wiped out.”

“Hah! Is that a threat?”

“I’m simply stating objective facts.”

“And? The Beastman King could be in danger, and you guys are just resting here?”

“I believe we should enter fully prepared.” Marius glanced briefly at Selyse.

“We’re of the same opinion,” Selyse said.

Kinga clucked his tongue, seemingly annoyed by her siding with Marius.

“Well, then. We’ll go ahead. If there are plenty of ferocious monsters on the 6th floor, there’ll surely be lots of treasures to snatch!”

Female members of his party squealed with excitement. On the other hand, the male members, luggage carriers and fully-equipped tanks, looked exhausted.

Ah, I see.

Selyse grasped why Kinga Wolf, who she assumed were treasure-hunting on the upper levels, had descended to the 5th floor.

Lower floors obviously mean better loot. They were conserving their strength.

Kinga Wolf took the stairs leading to the 6th floor.

“Are you sure about this, Marius?” asked a member of Azure Blade Nebula.

“What do you mean?”

“We haven’t found any actual treasures so far. The untouched areas start from the 6th floor. If we can’t secure those, we’re in for a big loss.”

They shared the same thought as Selyse. Many nodded in agreement. Adventurers explored dungeons despite the danger because of the treasures they housed.

“If people learned we entered the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas just to clear the way for other parties, we’ll be a laughingstock.”

“There has to be valuable magic items here!”

The twin Mages voiced their frustration too, but Marius remained calm.

“Our current commission is to thin out the dungeon monsters, with an additional mission to rescue Gerhardt. I’ve explained that these two are our top priorities, haven’t I?”

“But still—”

“And besides,” Marius addressed his discontented companions, “there’s no doubt that the monsters on the 6th floor are formidable. We know how strong Kinga Wolf is. So, if they’re willing to fight first, we can gauge just how tough the monsters are.”

Marius intended to use Kinga Wolf as a sort of test driver.

“I-I see. You’re surprisingly cunning.”

That seemed to be enough to convince Marius’s companions.

Marius looks exhausted, Selyse thought.

Injuries could be patched up with healing magic, but the backbone of the Azure Blade Nebula was Marius’s enchanted blade. While swapping out the magic gem could recharge the sword’s power, unleashing its devastating attack also carried significant risks if it missed. Marius must be grappling with significant mental fatigue.

Is his age catching up to him?

Marius’s looks and demeanor appeared largely unchanged, but he might be taking these breaks because he was aware he couldn’t push himself too far.

The Four Eastern Stars, on the other hand, had Serika and her abundant magical power, so Selyse’s group felt relatively fresh.

“Should we press on, or wait for Azure Blade Nebula?” Sophie asked.

“Let’s wait for now,” Selyse replied. “We need to rethink our approach to the 6th floor—”

“Nyo way! If you’re staying, I’m going on ahead,” Sara interjected. “I am not letting Kinga Wolf beat us to the punch.”

“I agree!” Serika said. “Practicing caution is good and all, but we need to be quick too!”

Selyse was at a loss for words. She didn’t want to take risks in a dangerous, uncharted dungeon, but she found their arguments reasonable.

“Serika. What’s the range of your relay spell?”

“Whispering Wind can travel up to 500 meters on a calm, straight path! Perfect for dungeons!”

“All right. Let’s give it a shot.”

Selyse realized she was being overly cautious. Blindly rushing ahead wasn’t wise, but…

Perhaps I’ve been too concerned about Marius.

Marius, her senior in Distant Dawn, had fought side by side with the person she revered, Sandra. It was hard to ignore him.

I still don’t know if I’ve managed to surpass Sandra in her prime.

Sandra had retired from adventuring long ago. She’d fallen in love with a fellow member of Distant Dawn, had a child, and settled down. Perhaps now she was running a business using the funds she saved from her adventuring days, or simply enjoying a quiet life.

Upon learning of Sandra’s retirement, Selyse made two decisions.

First, no men would join their party, as they often disrupted harmony. If a member, like Sandra, had a child, they’d leave the group. So, Selyse barred men from Four Eastern Stars, as well as untrustworthy women. She had invited Hikaru to join her party, but they wouldn’t be working together even if he accepted the offer.

And the other one was…

Marius wielding the Blue Flash is much stronger than Sandra ever was. If I can outshine Azure Blade Nebula during this mission… If I can prove I’m stronger than Marius, maybe I’ll have surpassed Sandra.

If only she had the strength to fend off the Thunderbolt Wolf when her parents were attacked… If she had Sandra’s strength, her parents could have made it.

Selyse joined Sandra’s crew and aspired to be like her because she admired her strength. Strengthening the bonds within an all-female party was also essential for maintaining that “strength.”

The core of Selyse’s adventuring spirit was this hunger for “strength,” and she held firm to the belief that strength could conquer any challenge.

With manners refined by aristocratic upbringing, she might come off as cunning to Hikaru, but to other adventurers and regular folk, she was an elegant adventurer with real skills.

“Selyse, you going on ahead?” Marius asked from his seat among the group.

Selyse nodded. Some of Azure Blade Nebula didn’t seem pleased, likely feeling the girls had it easy while they did all the hard work, and now they were going on ahead.

Sara ran down the stairs ahead, followed by Selyse, Serika, and Sophie. The staircase was wide enough for a carriage to roll through.

As they descended the lengthy staircase, Sophie’s expression grew tense.

“I sense a massive presence! There’s no doubt there’s an evil monster on this floor, and a very powerful one at that.” She hugged herself, shuddering.

“Is it really that bad?”

“Yes. It might be wise to tell Sara that if she spotted an enemy, she should retreat without a fight.”

“Got it!”

As soon as they reached the bottom, Serika cast a spell to communicate with Sara. They were in a straight path as wide as the staircase, perfect for using Whispering Wind.

The wall depicted a large number “6”.

“O’ wind elementals, carry my voice to a distant friend.”

As Serika softly recited the incantation, green lights gathered around her—the wind elementals.

Whispering Wind wasn’t a rare spell, but it wasn’t widely used due to the scarcity of wind magic practitioners. Wind magic was handy for controlling air currents but lacked direct offensive power like fire magic or earth magic that could hurl projectiles.

However, spells that could be used like radio were unique to wind magic. An ordinary mage using Whispering Wind would only be able to transmit their voice for several meters at most, but Serika could send hers to a distance of 500 meters. All of Serika’s magic was at level 5 on the Soul Board. It was this mastery that allowed her to do what she could do.

Moreover, being from Earth, Serika possessed basic scientific knowledge, understanding the role of air in combustion and its potential for extinguishing flames. This made her adept at using wind magic. Blending magic and science made her spells versatile and highly efficient.

“Got it!” Serika said after ending her communication with Sara. “Kinga Wolf seem to have stopped and are on high alert! There’s a straight path, and she can hear a loud roar ahead!”

“A roar?”

The first thing that crossed Selyse’s mind was the powerful monster Sophie had mentioned. Was it the entity that created the Evil Dragon? But would it make sense for a lurking monster to be roaring as if beckoning others?

No. That roar means…

Selyse realized what was happening on this floor.

“That roar might not be from a monster.”

“What do you mean?!”

“What if it’s Gerhardt?”

Serika quickly tapped into her magic again. “Sara says the same thing! It doesn’t feel like a monster’s roar!”

“Just as I suspected.” Selyse was certain her hunch was right. “Gerhardt and his team are in battle as we speak. That roar is a call for reinforcements to whoever’s coming in later.”