38. Prayer Stone of Benevolent Rain

We knew there was likely a passage behind the wall, but the question was how to get to it.

"It’s no use. It won’t budge, even after a good bash with my shield," Rei said.

"What about Sally’s magic?"

"Hmm, I can try, but I doubt it’ll work. I don't really have any spells that deal blunt impact."

Dungeon walls were incredibly sturdy; they weren't the sort of thing you could break with just any old spell. Rei had tried ramming it with her shield and Sally had tested her magic against it, but the surface remained completely unmarred.

"Tort. What about that thing you used when you found Shiroru?" Dolga-san asked.

He was likely referring to the Gambler’s Staff. That item had turned out to be far more dangerous than I’d expected.

"I still have it, but it’s tricky to handle. I’m not skilled enough to time letting go of it the exact moment it misfires on purpose. I only got away with it last time because I was lucky."

To be honest, with my Luck stat, I probably could pull it off, but the experience had been terrifying. I didn't want to repeat it if I could avoid it.

"Even if you don't force a misfire, wouldn't it explode if you just hit it with fire from a distance?"

I hummed thoughtfully. Since I didn't actually know why it had exploded in the first place, it was hard to say for sure. Still, it was worth a shot. It was a useless item anyway, so I wouldn't be heartbroken if we lost it.

With that decided, we leaned the Gambler’s Staff against the suspicious wall and retreated to a safe distance. From there, I asked Sally to target the staff with a <Fire Arrow>.

Her flaming projectile hit the mark perfectly. A deafening roar shook the corridor. Just as Dolga-san had predicted, the staff detonated.

The sheer power was staggering. If a single <Fire Arrow> could trigger that much force every time, I started to suspect this was the intended use for the Gambler’s Staff. It felt less like a magic weapon and more like a blasting charge.

"Stay sharp! They’re coming!" Rei warned.

She was right. There were monsters on the other side of that wall.

As the dust settled, Slashing Coyotes and Poison Spiders emerged from the breach. It was a strange sight to see coyotes and spiders working in tandem, but such odd pairings were common in the Dungeon.

The Slashing Coyotes weren't a major threat. Granted, I’d be in serious trouble if one actually hit me, but they were famously easy to provoke. As long as Rei kept their attention, there was almost no chance of them coming after the rest of us.

The Poison Spiders were more annoying, but Sally’s magic could dispatch them easily. My job was simply to harass them, making sure their venomous spit and webs didn't target Sally or Halfa.

Across the way, Shiroru was doing the same. Watching her small form darting nimbly between the spiders was adorable, yet she was doing a brilliant job of keeping the enemies off-balance.

The fight ended much faster than I’d expected. It felt like we were finally becoming strong enough to handle the Fifth Floor with room to spare.

Once the monsters were dealt with, we proceeded into the uncharted territory. The path was a straight shot with nowhere to get lost, eventually leading us to a grand door similar to the one where I’d first encountered Shiroru.

"A Boss Room? Do you think the Prayer Stone of Benevolent Rain is inside?"

『I wonder. But I think there is a good chance!』

Since this area wasn't mentioned in the old records, we wouldn't know until we looked. The real concern was whether a boss was waiting for us. Unless there was another irregularity like Shiroru, a fight would be inevitable.

You couldn't afford to be optimistic when facing a boss on the Fifth Floor. Our eyes instinctively turned toward Dolga-san.

"Well, I suppose I’ll have to lend a hand. The fate of the town is on the line, after all."

The recovery of the stone would decide the city's future. It was a relief to know Dolga-san would be backing us up.

"Right. Let’s move out. But remember, don't overdo it. Once we confirm the location, we can always fall back and leave the rest to the other adventurers."

Rei was right. Finding the hidden room was already a mission accomplished. We didn't have to be the ones to fight the boss.

However, having come this far, I wanted to see it through to the end. Besides, there was no guarantee that Ludovis’s lackeys weren't lurking within the Adventurer's Guild. If news of this room leaked out, they might swoop in. If possible, I wanted us to secure the stone ourselves.

We stepped cautiously through the door as it slowly groaned open.

The atmosphere inside was different from the place where I’d found Shiroru. The room was brightly lit from the start, and the door didn't slam shut behind us. It seemed this wasn't a Boss Room after all.

It wasn't particularly large—about the size of a standard small chamber found throughout the dungeon—but the vibe was unmistakable. At the far end stood a statue of a goddess, and before it sat an ornately decorated pedestal. Nearby, a stone tablet was engraved with unfamiliar characters.

"Ah, this is... Sacramental Script."

"Sacramental Script? Can you read it, Halfa?"

"Yes... I think this is the <Song of Soothing>."

Incredibly, the tablet contained the secrets to the <Song of Soothing>. Halfa stared at the stone as if trying to sear the words into her mind.

I wondered if this would allow her to learn the spell. I wasn't sure how one acquired Singing Magic, but I decided to leave her be for the moment. It was better to let her concentrate.

Still, we had come looking for the Prayer Stone of Benevolent Rain and found the <Song of Soothing> as a bonus. Talk about luck. Then again, if these were meant to be countermeasures against the Plague-Cursed Black Wolf, it made sense they would be kept together.

Now then, if the tablet was about the song, then the object on the altar had to be the stone.

"Shiroru, is this the Prayer Stone of Benevolent Rain?"

『Oh, yes. I am sure of it. It looked just like that.』

The stone was about the size of my fist and sparkled like a rare gem. It was a pale, watery blue, but as I moved, it caught the light and shimmered with the colors of a rainbow.

"So this is it. Mission accomplished."

"Yeah. I'll put it in storage for now."

"Right—Tort, look out!"

The moment my fingers closed around the Prayer Stone of Benevolent Rain, Rei tackled me. I was sent sprawling just as a sharp whistle sliced through the air. Something had just streaked past where I’d been standing. I looked up to see an arrow embedded deep in the Goddess Statue behind the pedestal.