While waiting for the tray to be completed, we continued our exploration and finally arrived at the boss room on the fourth floor of the Vale Labyrinth.
Having Roxane around is convenient, but it makes exploration difficult.
Even if we know which direction a monster came from, if itâs on the opposite side, we have to retrace our steps.
Itâs also hard to detect the smell on the other side of hidden doors, so we might end up going back and forth in the same place.
Should we prioritize exploration or hunting?
The Vale Labyrinth is different from the Coultar Labyrinth, which we enter early in the morning when no one is around.
In the Coultar Labyrinth, we have a map, so thereâs no need to conquer it.
However, even if we wander around the same place multiple times, we wonât find any magic crystals or treasure chests, so we have to move around to some extent.
We arrived at the boss room on the fourth floor of the Vale Labyrinth after some time had passed and we had gotten used to the exploration method.
The boss on the fourth floor is a Beehive Level 4, a cow-like monster similar to a Minotaur.
I planned to leave the front to Roxane and just attack from behind with Durandal.
But I wonât tell you that I was startled when it kicked me.
I slashed at it relentlessly.
From the right, a diagonal slash, from the left, another diagonal slash, and then an upward diagonal slash from the lower right to the upper left.
After defeating this terrifying enemy with a variety of attacks, we moved on to the fifth floor.
The first thing Roxane found was a Minotaur Level 5.
One swing of Durandal didnât take it down.
It seems that even with Durandal, I can only one-shot monsters up to the fourth floor.
Most of my jobs focus on increasing intelligence, and I donât have any jobs that boost strength except for the Hero class.
I took it down with two swings.
After putting away Durandal, the next thing Roxane found was a Cheap Sheep.
In the Coultar Labyrinth, this monster appears on the fourth floor, but in the Vale Labyrinth, it starts appearing from the fifth floor.
It looks quite aggressive, with a defiant expression and horns.
I cast a Fireball, but as expected, three casts werenât enough to take it down.
Thatâs understandable.
While Roxane dealt with it, I moved to the side and cast a Fireball diagonally to finish it off.
It gets tricky when three of them appear at once.
Roxane can avoid groups of three, but she canât perfectly detect the number by smell, so itâs impossible to completely avoid them.
If we keep running away, we might not be able to handle a situation when it really matters, so we need to actively target them.
Basically, the more we defeat, the more we earn.
However, when we target them, they donât always appear in groups.
Sometimes itâs just two, or three with one being a Kobold Level 5.
A Kobold Level 5 can be taken down with two magic casts.
Roxane, as she declared, completely ignored the two monsters.
Neither the Minotaurâs attacks nor the Cheap Sheepâs attacks even grazed her.
She elegantly and effortlessly dodged them by a hairâs breadth.
"Roxaneâs movements are so incredible, Iâm not sure if I should take her as a role model or if itâs impossible to mimic her, so I shouldnât."
"I think even you can do it, Master."
Her self-awareness is also off.
Roxaneâs opinion isnât very helpful.
We finally encountered a group of three: one Cheap Sheep, one Minotaur, and one Green Caterpillar.
"Roxane, Iâll leave it to you."
First, I cast three Firestorms.
Just as I cast the third one, the Minotaur caught up.
Then the Cheap Sheep and the Green Caterpillar followed.
Roxane stabbed the Minotaur with her scimitar and easily dodged its horn.
She dodged and struck again.
I used my wand to block the Cheap Sheepâs horn that came from the left.
"Here it comes."
Roxaneâs warning rang out.
I glanced to the side and saw an orange magic circle forming under the Green Caterpillarâs chest.
It was about to spit a thread.
Itâs no big deal.
I calmly cast the fourth Firestorm.
If the Green Caterpillar falls, the thread will disappear.
Roxane jumped back, the Green Caterpillar spat its thread, and my fourth Firestorm activated almost simultaneously.
Amid the sparks, the white thread spread out, covering the surroundings and stretching.
A bit of the thread caught me.
At the same time, the three monsters fell.
The monsters turned into smoke, and the thread dissolved into the air.
"Phew. The Green Caterpillar is troublesome because of this."
I took a deep breath and lowered my wand, which I had been holding at the ready.
"Yes, this time it managed to position itself to target both of us."
Roxane was about a meter behind me.
The thread didnât catch her.
She dodged it.
"Can you dodge if it spits a thread?"
"Maybe. This time the monster fell before the thread could hit. If it hadnât, I would have moved further."
Even after jumping back a meter, she could still move.
"Nice job. If you can cast the fourth spell while it spits a thread, we should be able to handle the fifth floor."
"Yes, if you can handle one of the three, I can fight more easily."
Itâs not easy even when handling two.
But we can manage with three.
We should be able to fight on the fifth floor.
Since we managed to fight on the fifth floor of the Vale Labyrinth, we decided to move to the fifth floor of the Coultar Labyrinth.
The next morning, we advanced to the boss room with the fourth-floor map.
Cheap Sheep Level 4
This seems to be the boss of the fourth floor of the Coultar Labyrinth.
Itâs just a regular sheep that makes a lot of noise.
Iâm used to its aggressive appearance.
I left the front, where it has horns, to Roxane.
While being cautious of its attacks, I moved to the side and attacked from behind with Durandal.
An orange magic circle appeared under the Cheap Sheepâs feet.
I struck it again with Durandal to interrupt the spell.
"What skills does the Cheap Sheep have?"
"I donât know."
I asked Roxane, but she didnât know.
It probably doesnât spit threads like the Green Caterpillar.
If it did, we could use a Fire Wall to block it, but since we donât know what skill it has, thereâs no way to defend against it.
The only option is to attack with Durandal, which has a spell interruption skill.
I attacked again with Durandal, and this time the sheep bent its front legs.
This means it will kick with its hind legs.
When the Cheap Sheep kicked behind, I jumped back.
Stupid.
Iâve experienced being kicked by the hind legs of a Beehive.
If I watch carefully, I can handle it.
I jumped back more than a meter, like Roxane did when dodging the Green Caterpillarâs thread.
I carefully observed the Cheap Sheep to see if it would counterattack.
An orange magic circle appeared under the sheepâs feet.
Oh no.
I raised Durandal and rushed over in a panic.
I was the fool.
The Cheap Sheepâs goal was to buy time to cast its skill.
It probably pretended to be gathering strength to make me jump back.
I fell for it perfectly.
I raised Durandal, but it was too late.
Even if I cast Overwhelming now, it wouldnât be in time.
The sheep, which had been bleating, emitted a warning sound.
...
...
...
Guh.
Suddenly, the Cheap Sheep rammed into me.
I staggered back a few steps and barely managed to hold my ground.
What happened?
Roxane was also attacked.
She was holding her stomach.
Teleportation?
Or an indiscriminate simultaneous attack?
"What happened?"
I managed to block the next headbutt from the Cheap Sheep with Durandal.
It would be terrible if it kept repeating this attack with its horns.
The first attack hit my leather armor cleanly.
That was probably a good thing.
If it had hit a different spot, it might have pierced through.
"I donât know. I was suddenly attacked."
I deflected the sheepâs attack with Durandal and created an opening.
During the sheepâs attack, I cast a healing spell for Roxane.
I can heal with Durandal, but Roxane canât.
Since her level is low, itâs better to prioritize her healing.
"I was also suddenly attacked."
"You didnât move for a while."
"I didnât move?"
"Yes, like you were asleep."
I see.
The Cheap Sheepâs skill must put the enemy to sleep or knock them out.
I lost consciousness when it emitted the warning sound.
I regained consciousness when I was attacked.
Thatâs why it felt like a sudden attack.
"The skill puts the enemy to sleep."
"Yes, that seems to be the case."
When that skill is used, we will definitely take at least one hit.
We canât let it use that skill multiple times.
I stuck to the monster, ready to attack with Durandal at any moment.
I donât know how much damage Roxane took.
I canât even tell how much damage I took and how much Iâve healed.
Iâll cast the healing spell three times just to be safe.
I tried to move to the side since we were facing each other.
The sheep followed, still facing me with its horns.
Did it realize that I was in a better position?
I blocked its horn with my sword and struck it as it swung.
Another horn came at me.
I quickly pulled back my arm to dodge the attack.
The Cheap Sheep crouched slightly and took a half-step back before charging at me.
I leaned back to avoid it.
Iâve been on the defensive the whole time.
Meanwhile, Roxane was also attacking, but her scimitar probably didnât deal much damage.
The sheep crouched slightly.
It kicked behind.
Roxane moved quietly to the side and attacked its extended leg.
It was a perfect example of how to dodge an attack.
She moved parallel without changing her bodyâs axis.
She dodged at the last moment, so she didnât let the enemy escape.
In contrast, I created an opening by jumping back.
Even though I was on guard for a charge, I couldnât attack.
I deflected the sheepâs horn, which it used to feint, and finally landed a hit.
The Cheap Sheepâs head moved to the right, and it swung its horn.
I leaned back to dodge the horn and struck its neck with Durandal.
Durandal cut through the soft neck.
Finally, the monster fell.
It left an item and turned into smoke.
"Finally, itâs down. Are you okay?"
"Yes, Iâm fine. Iâve been healed several times, so Iâm okay now. Thank you."
"If you have any remaining damage, let me know. Healing is the top priority."
"Understood. Iâll let you know."
With Durandal still drawn, we moved to the fifth floor.
Roxane led the way deeper.
The fifth floor has fewer people than the fourth floor, but there are still quite a few.
Collagen Coral Level 5
The monsters on the fifth floor of the Coultar Labyrinth seem to be Collagen Corals.
They are round, rock-like creatures.
They have one leg at the bottom and hop towards us.
I attacked with Durandal.
I thought it might not be hard because of the name, but its surface was solid.
Itâs a rock, as it looks.
No, itâs coral, not a rock.
It didnât fall with one hit, so I struck it again to take it down.
Coral Jelly
The smoke cleared, leaving an item.
The item is definitely collagen.
"Are you going to make jelly?"
"Jelly?"
"Never mind."
I asked Roxane, who picked it up and handed it to me, but it seems different.
"Coral Jelly is an adhesive. It becomes sticky when dissolved in hot water. It can be used to stick carpets to walls."
It seems to be a useful item.
The Collagen Coral Level 5 also couldnât be taken down with three magic casts.
It didnât roll around, but it jumped at us when we got close.
Roxane dodged it with a half-step.
I hit it with the fourth Fireball as it landed.
"It jumps?"
"Yes, it seems so. I was a bit startled because I couldnât predict when it would jump."
But she dodged it gracefully.
Unlike animals that bend their legs to jump, the Collagen Coralâs leg doesnât bend.
Itâs hard to predict its preparatory movements.
"Maybe weâll get used to it."
"Yes, I think we will if we observe carefully."
Iâm not sure I can handle it.
The surface of the Collagen Coral is bumpy.
It might hurt if I hit it.
Still, itâs less scary than the Cheap Sheep with horns, so I took the lead when we encountered a group of three.
I can handle the body slam with my wand.
I donât dodge it; I use the wand to deflect the body slam, so I can react even after it jumps.
Itâs basically one-on-one.
I wonât worry about the wolf who can dodge two at once.
I think Iâd lose if I worried about it.
With Roxane leading the way, we sometimes explored dead ends.
We have to move around to find magic crystals and treasure chests.
A hidden door opened, revealing a small room.
We entered.
It was a typical small room, but the center seemed slightly raised.
"Master, itâs a treasure chest."
"A treasure chest? This?"
"Yes, thatâs it."
This is a treasure chest.
It looks more like a bump on the floor.
Roxane stabbed it with her scimitar without hesitation.
Is there no trap?
"Is it safe?"
"If itâs a mimic, thereâs no other choice but to defeat it."
Thanks for the confident answer.
I wish you had said that when I had Durandal out.
The floor was cut by the scimitar and peeled back like a newspaper.
Leather Gloves (Arm Equipment)
A single gauntlet came out.
Itâs just a regular piece of equipment.
I see. It seems that the equipment of fallen adventurers in the labyrinth appears as treasure chests.
I silently prayed for the original owner and took the equipment.