"I wish these things would just take a hint and give up already...!"
Elena’s whip-sword extended like a lash, piercing a skeleton’s jaw from directly below. With a sudden jerk, she used that momentum to wrench the skull clean off its spine.
"Tell me about it! Talk about persistent!"
Ara swung her Power Axe in a heavy horizontal slash at the headless skeleton. The force was devastating; the axe shattered the monster's left arm, buried itself deep in its ribs, and crushed the magic stone lodged within its chest.
"..."
With its magic stone—the core that animated the undead—destroyed, the skeleton collapsed into a heap of silent, disconnected bones, finally returning to an eternal slumber.
Beside the two women, Kyuste and Vel worked in tandem to handle the remaining skeletons.
And behind them...
"Flame, follow my will and burn my enemies."
Rei chanted the incantation, and a fireball roughly thirty centimeters in diameter manifested at the tip of the Death Scythe.
"Fireball!"
As he triggered the magic, Rei swung the Death Scythe down. The sphere of flame launched from the blade, striking the zombies that had been closing the distance from the rear.
Next to him, Seto took a deep breath and unleashed its Fire Breath, engulfing a cluster of zombies in a searing wall of flame.
In terms of pure destructive power, Rei’s Fireball was enough to incinerate a zombie in a single blast, but it was limited to one target at a time—offering, at best, a small amount of splash damage to surrounding enemies. In contrast, Seto’s Fire Breath carried less individual power but covered a much wider area. They had settled on a simple tactic: Rei picked off the zombies that managed to get too close, while Seto thinned out the distant groups with its breath.
Initially, only skeletons had appeared, and it seemed like Rei and Seto would have an easy time supporting the others. However, as if echoing the trap they had just escaped, zombies began to swarm from behind. Consequently, Rei and Seto took responsibility for the zombies—whose stench and putrid fluids were a foul nuisance—while Elena’s group handled the cleaner, bone-only skeletons in the vanguard.
Once Rei and Seto finished wiping out the rear flank, they moved in to assist the skeleton unit, bringing the skirmish to a swift conclusion.
"Phew. We can't harvest materials from these things, and since we have to smash the magic stones to stop them, we can't even get the proof of subjugation parts. This is just a waste of stamina."
Rei nodded with a wry smile at Vel’s complaint.
"True. If these were higher-rank skeletons, we could at least sell the bones as materials. As it stands, it’s a classic case of breaking bones for nothing."
"What was that?"
Elena asked, tilting her head curiously. Rei watched her vertical rolls sway as he explained.
"It’s a proverb my master taught me. It means putting in a lot of effort for zero profit. Though in our case, we were quite literally breaking bones."
"Heh. True enough. In that sense, Ara was doing the most 'bone-breaking' work of all."
"Hey! That's mean, Vel!"
"No, no, I mean it. Ara was already famous as a mighty sword user, but now that she’s switched to an axe, she's practically a Destruction King! I think the title fits."
"...Oh? In that case, maybe I should try 'destroying' that motor-mouth of yours?"
Ara lifted her Power Axe with a menacing aura. Sensing immediate danger, Vel scrambled away and ducked behind Kyuste, who had been pointedly ignoring Rei.
"I-It was a joke! No need to get so serious! Right, Kyuste? Tell her!"
"Don't drag me into your pathetic squabbles. Though, on second thought... yes, it might be for the best if someone finally broke that mouth of yours. Ara, I'll leave it to you."
"With pleasure. As expected of the escort unit captain—excellent judgment."
Kyuste grabbed Vel by the shoulders and offered him up like a sacrificial offering. Vel looked back, eyes wide with betrayal.
"Hey, Kyuste! Are you really selling out your best friend?!"
"Who's your best friend? Certainly not me."
"There, there. Your 'best friend' Ara is right here. Just hold still."
"Wait, stop! You're actually mad, aren't you?!"
Watching the comedic banter, Rei turned his gaze toward the skeletal fragments scattered across the floor.
(If these were the bones of high-level undead, it would be a total haul.)
Rei was getting better at harvesting materials, but he still made mistakes during the delicate processing. To him, the idea of simply picking up bones and selling them as-is was incredibly appealing.
...Of course, that would require him to destroy the magic stones physically like Elena's group had done, rather than vaporizing everything with flame magic.
As he stared at the remains, Elena clapped her hands to focus the group.
"All right, let’s resume the exploration. Maintain the same formation."
They quickly fell into line and began walking. A few minutes later, Rei spotted something familiar up ahead.
"Elena-sama, I see doors. Two of them."
Directly in Rei’s line of sight, two doors faced each other from opposite walls. Elena frowned slightly at the report. It was a natural reaction; the first door they had encountered on this floor had led to the infinite loop trap.
"...Should we ignore them?" Vel asked.
Elena shook her head immediately. "No. We can't risk missing the stairs to the next level. It would be a bad joke if we passed these by only to find out later that the exit was inside. Vel, check for traps. Be thorough—I don't want a repeat of last time."
"Alright, alright. Which one first? Right or left?"
"Whichever you prefer. We're checking both eventually."
"Gotcha. Right side first. Keep an eye out, everyone."
Vel bypassed Rei and Seto and began inspecting the door on the right. Elena’s group spread out in a defensive fan to protect him. Her plan was to allow everyone to recover some strength while Vel worked, but that hope was short-lived.
"Huh? This door isn't trapped at all. It isn't even locked."
"...What?"
"See?"
Confident in his appraisal, Vel boldly pulled the door open. The others tensed for a split second, but when nothing happened, they lowered their weapons.
"Vel, I appreciate the speed, but try to be more cautious. What if there had been a delayed trap?"
"Trust my eyes a bit more, would you? Now, let's see what we’ve got... Oh. Yeah, this is a dud."
Vel poked his head inside and sighed. The others peered in behind him, their faces falling in unison.
"Well, that's disappointing," Ara muttered.
The room was utterly empty. Unlike the previous room, which had at least contained a mimic-chest to lure them in, this one held nothing but a thick layer of dust.
"...Vel, I’m sorry, but search the room anyway. There might be a hidden door or stairs."
"What? You want me to comb this room?"
"I do. Get to it."
"Fine, fine. I'm going."
"The rest of you, rest while keeping watch," Elena ordered. "It’s about noon. We’ll finish our own meals quickly while Vel works."
"Wait, Elena-sama! What about my lunch?!"
"You can eat after you finish the search. Don't worry, once you've eaten and rested, you'll be checking the left room next."
"I feel like I'm being worked to death in this dungeon... Well, I knew what I was signing up for, so I guess I can't complain..."
Vel grumbled as he began tapping the walls. The fact that Elena didn't feel the need to nag him was a testament to her trust in his competence, despite his constant complaining.
"Alright, then. For lunch, we have meat pies and vegetable consomme soup. Seto, I have the orc meat I grilled this morning. That should do for you, right?"
"Guruuu!" Seto chirped, though its eyes drifted toward the meat pies Rei was pulling from his Item Box. "Guruu."
Seto tilted its head with a pleading look. Rei chuckled and nodded.
"Alright, alright. I'll give you a taste of mine."
Due to his artificial constitution, Rei’s metabolism was quite high, leading him to eat more than the average person. However, since he still ate less than Seto, his food expenses weren't completely astronomical. Since his equipment was self-maintaining and he spent little on anything besides books and basic supplies, he could afford to indulge his partner.
"Oh, wow! This is delicious! The pastry is so flaky, and it's packed with meat and mushrooms."
"Ara is right. This consomme soup is excellent. The skill of the cook who prepared this is truly impressive."
Beside Ara and Elena, Seto let out a satisfied purr after receiving a bite of meat pie. Kyuste sat on the opposite side of the group, eating his meal in silence.
"Every time we eat, I'm reminded of how invaluable your Item Box is, Rei," Elena remarked gracefully. "Even with a supply unit, we wouldn't be eating like this on a march."
"Is it really that extravagant? For a noble, I thought this would be considered modest."
"By noble standards, perhaps. But when traveling with the Knight Order or the army, rations are fundamentally simple. I believe you were given some military rations in Gilm? That is the standard. Of course, some ranks eat better than others, and there are always foolish nobles who insist on bringing personal chefs to the field... but in the Kerebel Army, we believe that commanders and soldiers should eat the same food to build unity. From that perspective, being able to enjoy hot, freshly prepared meals in the middle of a dungeon is the height of luxury."
Rei finished his last bite as Elena spoke. Just as he was packing away the remains, Vel emerged from the room.
"I could smell that from inside... It's incredible that a nose numbed by this undead nest can still sniff out something that delicious. ...By the way, I finished the search. It's just a plain, empty room. No hidden stairs, no secret passages."
"Good work. Get your food from Rei and eat. We’re almost finished, so we’ll take over the watch while you rest."
"Got it. Finally! Meat pie and consomme soup? Now that's what I'm talking about!"
With a broad grin, Vel took the food from Rei and bit eagerly into his lunch.