We continued to fight zombies and skeletons as we made our through the dungeonâs third floor. The traps were getting more dangerous, but Serkanâs abilities let us breeze right through them.
Weâve managed to progress at a pretty good pace without tiring ourselves out.
All thatâs left is for us is to find the Spirit Eater Jean was looking for. If things go well, we might even be able to conquer the dungeon while weâre at it.
ăSo what kind of magic beast is this Spirit Eater thing anyways? Whatâs it look like?ă
ăHahahaha! I have absolutely no idea.ă
ăWait, arenât we supposed to be capturing it? You should have some sort of idea at leastâŚă
ăIts appearance used to match that of your average zombie, but the consumption of its peers has led to its evolution. It had become a giant the last time I laid eyes on it, and I believe it has likely evolved even further. I can no longer fathom its form.ă
ăWhereâd you last see it?ă
ăMy last sighting of it was just outside the dungeonâs entrance. It was a member of what I believe to be a squad the dungeon master called upon to drive me away.ă
ăCouldnât beat them?ă
ăIndeed. It is regrettable, but I have to admit that not even my experience in necromancy was enough allow me to forge a plan that would lead to my victory. All of the schemes Iâd conjured had led only to the Spirit Eater throwing me down its hatch.ă
ăSounds like quite the opponent.ă
ăYes, but that is precisely why I would not mind if we are unable to succeed in its capture. We have no idea as to its whereabouts, and I only desired for it because I wished to use its powers to conquer the dungeon. Iâve no need for it with companions like yourselves by my side.ă
ăSo we donât have to go looking for it?ă
ăThat is correct.ă
And with that, we continued to advance through the dungeon, our sights set on only its deepest depths.
It took us two days to traverse its top eight floors. By the time we got to the ninth, weâd already ran into some rank D monsters like Hellhounds, Zombie Nagas, Skeletons and Dark Paladins.
Jeanâs support was quintessential. We honestly probably wouldnât have made it this far without him. His ability to make purify and take control of the undead within a dungeon composed solely thereof allowed him to act like something along the lines of a Joker in a game of cards.
The items he brought along were super useful too.
His skull shaped lamp turned out to be something incredible. It could create safe zones that warded off the undead so long as we stayed inside of them. Thanks to that, we were able to get ourselves a good nightâs rest despite the fact that we were in the middle of a dungeon. Though, I did feel a bit revolted by the fact that zombies would end up circling the safe zone while making the ever so anticipated âahhhhâ sounds. I couldnât help but feel a sense of awe and respect for both Fran and Jean, as both were able to get right to sleep despite the zombies.
That said, it was pretty obvious that Jean was still much more comfortable with our conditions than Fran was. Jean would put up a safe zone whenever we stopped to eat, and naturally, zombies would end up circle us just like they did when we went to bed. Fran would end up making a bit of a disgusted face as a result, but Jean was able to keep eating as if nothing was wrong at all.
I knew he was a necromancer and figured that he was probably used to stuff like this, but honestly, I was still a bit shocked. I mean, those are zombies, you know? Theyâre literally walking, rotting corpses. Some of them even look like theyâre falling apart at the seams.
On a side note, I tried shapeshifting a few times as we fought our down into the dungeonâs depths.
I was able to transform into an axe, a spear, and even a dagger, not that any of those forms ended up being of much use. There were quite a few problems with the skill. First and foremost was that it continued to consume an incredible amount of mana so long as I remained transformed. There was also the fact that we didnât point any other weaponâs arts. The most annoying part of it all was that my mass had to stay constant, so I couldnât even turn into any sort of larger weapon either.
Iâm sure that thereâs gotta be some other way to use the skill, but itâs going to have to sit on the backburner for now.
ăLooks like weâve reached the ninth floorâs boss room.ă
The dungeonâs been set up so that each floor is a labyrinth of sorts. The only thing about thatâs really stayed constant is the fact that every floorâs ended with a large room with a boss in it.
Itâs marked by the same kind of door every time too, so I know for sure that the room weâre about to enter right now is the bossâ room.
The bosses weâve fought thus far are as follows: an ogre zombie, a skeleton tiger, a dragonoid zombie, a naga skeleton, an orthrus zombie, a chimera skeleton, and an elder zombie (Great Superior Rank). Each boss was stronger than the last, and the elder skeleton we fought on the eighth floor was even equipped with a magic spear. It knew how to use divine spear arts and divine spear techniques, so it made for an extremely difficult foe.
It even managed to drop Franâs HP below the halfway point. Though, on the bright side, defeating it allowed us to gain access to both Divine Spear Arts and Divine Spear Techniques. I wonder if that means my spear form might end up seeing some use after all.
ăNow, why donât we go ahead and open the door?ă
ăNn.ă
The room was filled with naught but a single skeleton. What kind of foe will it be, I wonderâŚ
ăFlare Blast!ă
ăHexagonal Tornado!ă
ăHell Blaze!ă
ăArooo!ă
We start with our usual strategy. All four of us simultaneously bombard the skeleton with magic.
ăIt is still capable of movement!ă
Thatâs a bit of an understatement. In fact, it doesnât feel like weâve done any damage to it whatsoever.
The skeleton begins to rise. I feel a sense of urgency overcome me as its crimson bones rattle within its golden armour. The sheer amount of magical energy emanating from its body tells me that itâs threat level is no lower than B.
Itâs a monster on par with the demon we slew. Itâs status reveals that itâs got far fewer tactics at hand; its skills were instead focused on enhancing its defensive prowess.
It was in possession of Lv 8 regeneration, Lv 9 resistance to abnormal status, Lv 9 resistance to mental abnormalities, and Lv 9 magic resist. On top of that, it even wore orihalcum armour, a type of armour that focused on boosting its magic resist even further. All those resistances meant that attacking it with spells simply wasnât going to get us anywhere.
ăJean, pull back.ă
ăOf course. It appears that Iâve got quite the poor matchup against this here skeleton. I will focus on Healing.ă
ăUrushi, your job will be to protect Jean. Make sure you keep an eye out too, just in case any other undead show up.ă
ăWoof!ă
The skeleton would end up facing off against Fran.
ăMaster.ă
ăSure thing.ă
Fran puts the phantom sword she was using back into her dimensional storage. She could tell at a glance that she wouldnât be able to beat the legendary skeleton lest she gave it her all.
She grabs ahold of me and takes up a stance, a situation that makes me feel much more natural.
ăNn. Much more natural with Master.ă
ăHahahaha!ă
ăNn?ă
ăNothing, donât mind it. Thereâs no way we can lose if the two of us work together, right?ă
ăOf course.ă
ăAlright! Thisâll be the first hard fight weâve had in awhile. Letâs do this!ă
ăNn!ă
TL Note: Divine (Weapon) Arts/Techniques are not necessarily of the holy element. It simply means something along the lines of âSword Saint,â but âSpear Saintâ sounds awkward, so Iâve decided to standardize them as Divine Arts. Please let me know if you believe this to be an issue and if you have any suggestions for improvement.
TL Note 2: Iâve been using the word Spirit. Itâs important to note that these refer specifically to spirits of the dead as opposed to a race of spiritual beings. Iâve attempted to imply this through the connotations. Please let me know if thereâs anything better for me to change this to going forward.
TL Note 3: Wolfy -> Urushi again. A certain individual pointed out the authorâs intent. Props to them.