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Alan threw the drops into the magic bag and urged us to move on, but Vinnie and Margot’s magic power, okay? I checked to make sure. The answer was that the amount of magic had increased a bit in the past month, so both were still in good shape.
I decided to mark Killer Spider on the parchment map and proceeded onward.
As we continued onward through the hall, we saw the entrance to the stairs leading downstairs ahead of us.
The members of the team remained in place, with Huey moving on my shoulder as I asked him to get smaller.
We descended the stairs and reached the next floor.
On the second floor, I quickly used [Exploration], scout the area, and draw out a map.
I write down the location and number of monsters on the map and tell everyone.
“In this level, there are many places where the paths diverge and merge, or turn at right angles. Slimes, goblins, killer mantis, and other monsters are hiding in the blind spots, so they will probably suddenly appear and ambush us.” (Louis)
I suddenly remembered something like an adventure movie from the situation as we were advancing and asked everyone.
“Are there any traps in a dungeon? If you step on something, a big round rock will fall and chase you, or there will be a pit, or a spear will suddenly jump out from the side…” (Louis)
Alan gave me the answer to this question as well.
“I can’t say for sure, but if the dungeon grows and the paths aren’t made of stone, I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve heard that dungeons with traps can appear after they’ve fully grown.” (Alan)
“Huh, is that how it goes? I see.” (Louis)
Once again, I show the map to everyone and tell them the points where the monsters are.
Every time I turn a corner, monsters can attack us, so I can’t let my guard down, but there’s a slightly wider space where I can take a break and there are no monsters around the halfway point, so we’ll go there and take a break for a while. Then, we decided to proceed.
The two vanguard members accurately killed slimes, goblins, and other small fries.
About 150 meters before the midway point, they killed two Killer Mantis, and Alan threw the dropped Killer Mantis Scythe into his magic bag and proceeded on, arriving at the midway point.
Time is hard to observe in the dungeon. Since there is no sun, we can only measure time by our physical senses.
My sense was that it was 5:00 p.m. or so in the evening, so I asked everyone else.
Everyone agreed that it was probably around 5:00 p.m., so we decided to have dinner here.
Since we didn’t want to cook in the dungeon and have the smell attract the monsters, we provided pre-cooked food.
We provided grilled rice balls and orc cutlets. The cabbage was shredded right here.
After we finished eating, we discussed whether we should proceed or take a big break to get some rest.
I spoke up first.
“I think we should discuss it after we finish this level. I would like to discuss again whether we should go forward or back. The problem is that we have to go back by the same route if we go to the lower level and spend more time there than we did at the break. We’re going to have to fight that Killer Spider again.” (Louis)
“I agree. If you can destroy the dungeon core, you will be transferred to the entrance of the dungeon, but no one here has any experience in this area, and there are instructions not to destroy the dungeon core. I’d rather return safely than investigate all the levels.” (Alan)
Alan said, and everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
This floor is just ahead of us, and if we turn the corner several times and proceed after defeating the small fry monsters, we will find two Big Flower Mantis in a hall about the same size as the hall where Killer Spider was located.
We had fought these monsters once before, so I knew their names through [Exploration].
We kept our guard up at the turn and proceeded to defeat the monsters.
When we arrived at the square where the Big Flower Mantis were, we saw two of them standing there, just as we had seen them before
We had discussed countermeasures in advance, and we positioned ourselves so that one of them was always in the back of the hall from our point of view to avoid being pincered from both sides.
Within 10 minutes of the start of the battle, Huey, who had been sneaking up on one of the Big Flower Mantis, was able to stop it with his mucus, and we went on the offensive at once.
The one that wasn’t trapped, dived towards us, ducking from the scythe that was swinging at me, and Keith succeeded in shoving the spear into its chest, nailing it to the ground. While we were buying time here, the others moved to take out the other one.
Vinnie shot a Fireball at one of the scythes, creating an opening, and Alan ran at once to close the distance, jumped, and sliced off its head with a flash of his sword.
The remaining one was hit by Keith’s spear in a series of blows. As Keith was moving away, I Psychokinetically launched a large number of stones and gravels at it, knocking it to the side, and Keith, not missing an opportunity, finished it off with his spear.
Both Big Flower Mantis crystallized and disappeared, one dropping a white petal called “Petal of Mimicry” and the other dropping “Big Flower Mantis’s Sickle”.
When Alan collected each of them, we took a big break and discussed whether to proceed or return.
“I’m feeling remarkably well today. I’d like to keep going if we could.” (Alan)
Keith appealed that he too was in great shape.
“I think I’ve got three more fireballs to go. What about Margot?” (Vinnie)
Vinnie answered, looking to Margot for an answer.
“I think I have four more [Heal], and five more [Water Ball] or [Wind Cutter], though it is just one or the other. How about Alan?” (Margot)
Vinnie, who uses fire magic more often because it’s more effective against insect-type monsters, seems to be a little more worn out.
“I’m in good shape too. But considering the overall exhaustion and stamina, let’s move on to the next floor, have Louis make a map using [Exploration], and then retreat this time. What do you think, Louis.” (Alan)
We were only expected to check 3 floors, and I think it’s a reasonable idea.
“I agree with Alan. If there are more than four layers, a full-scale survey team will be formed. I think the Tiger’s Roar will lead the dive, along with this map.” (Louis)
Hearing my words, Alan said, “And Louis, too, huh?” He chuckled, and we settled on a plan for the rest of the day.
We proceeded through the hall and down the corridor in the same arrangement as before.
We proceeded through the stairway entrance and descended to the third floor, just as we had done when entering the second floor.
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