"O blades of wind, rend my enemy!"
The incantation was cast, and magic began to reshape the world as wind magic power coalesced around Elena.
"Air Cutter!"
With those words, the spell reached completion, unleashing nearly twenty invisible blades of compressed air.
The unseen scythes tore into the Mud Puppets as they approached with disgusting, squelching footsteps. The creatures were sliced apart multiple times, their bodies losing the cohesion necessary to maintain their forms until they collapsed back into the muck from which they came.
All that remained on the cavern floor was magic-imbued sludge and the magic stones buried within.
"I see. So while flame magic is off-limits, wind magic presents no such issues," Rei noted.
"Exactly," Vihera agreed, nodding. "The problem was that the heat evaporated the moisture, turning the material into useless dirt. Wind magic leaves the mud perfectly intact."
Nearby, Byune had already set to work, plucking the magic stones from the sludge and handing them to Rei.
"Nn."
"Yeah, I've got it."
Rei drew the Dagger of Flowing Water from his Misty Ring. Channeling magic power through the weapon, he produced a stream of water to wash the magic stones clean before stowing them back in the ring.
Next, he produced several barrels. The four of them worked together to fill the containers with the Mud Puppet mud before Rei stored those as well.
"This is unexpectedly tedious," Rei muttered with a sigh.
The cleaning of the stones was one thing, but packing the mud that had once formed the puppets' bodies into barrels took roughly ten minutes each time. They had already repeated the process thrice. Stopping to recover material every time they defeated a monster was certainly slowing their progress.
However...
"When you consider how long it takes to perform material stripping on other monsters, this is actually quite fast, don't you think?" Vihera asked.
"I suppose so."
Rei had to admit she had a point. In terms of sheer profit, every bit of the mud could be sold as alchemy material, meaning there was no waste to discard.
Of course, the sheer weight of the mud meant that collecting it was impossible without a porter or similar help. Since most parties didn't have access to something like Rei's Misty Ring, they would usually have to prioritize high-value items like magic stones over heavy mud. For a normal party, a Mud Puppet was far from an efficient target.
Fortunately, Rei had plenty of empty barrels stored away, so transport wasn't an issue. Usually, harvesting Mud Puppet mud or Stone Puppet stone materials was a luxury reserved for those with an Item Box or, like Elena, a Magic Pouch.
There were even some reckless adventurers who utilized teleportation devices to move directly to specific floors with carts in tow, specifically to harvest the materials of these golem-types in bulk.
Once the harvesting was finished, the group continued their trek through the caves of B6F.
They encountered traps from time to time, and Byune would signal for them to stop, showing Rei and Elena the triggers and explaining the disarming process. Since the girl rarely spoke, her teaching style was one of silent apprenticeship—"watch and learn."
As they moved through the tunnels, Byune, leading the way, suddenly raised a hand to signal a halt.
"Another trap?" Vihera asked.
"Nn!"
Byune gave a small nod. Leaving Rei and the others behind, she crept five meters ahead and crouched down to begin her work.
The fact that she hadn't invited Rei or Elena to observe suggested that this one was particularly dangerous. Looking closely at the area where Byune was working, Rei spotted a thin, spider-like thread stretched about twenty centimeters above the ground. The thread was anchored to the cave wall and stretched upward toward the stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
Seeing that, Rei could easily guess the trap's mechanism. One touch of the thread would likely bring the overhead stalactites crashing down.
What made it truly insidious was how light the trigger was. Most adventurers were encased in armor and would likely never feel the thread snap as they walked past. Even Vihera, despite her revealing attire, wore greaves that reached her shins; she wouldn't have noticed a thread at twenty centimeters. Set might have sensed it through instinct or spotted it with his sharp vision, but for a human, it was a death sentence.
"That's a nasty one," Rei remarked.
"Oh, you noticed?" Vihera looked at him, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. Rei nodded.
"Hm? Did you figure out what it is?" Elena asked. She hadn't been able to identify the threat just by looking.
"Yeah. Simply put, it's a deadfall. It drops stalactites on your head. Given their size, anyone caught unaware would be killed instantly. It seems the danger level of these traps has spiked now that we're on B6F."
"It has," Vihera said. "In fact, many novices who reach this floor end up dead or crippled because of these traps. The guild issues warnings, but overconfident parties who think they're invincible just because they reached the sixth floor fall for them all the same."
"There are fools like that in every rank... Hm?"
"Guruuu."
Just as Rei started to reply, Set let out a low, warning growl. His eyes were fixed on the tunnel ahead.
"Looks like new company. Is it another Mud Puppet?"
Rei murmured the question but immediately dismissed the idea. He couldn't hear the squelching footsteps that usually preceded the puppets. Nor was there the heavy grinding sound he expected from a Stone Puppet.
If it's not a puppet, then is it a Wind Bat? Rei wondered. Or perhaps another monster entirely, given the traps.
As he pondered, he felt something flying toward him and reflexively swung his Death Scythe.
There was a sharp crack as the Death Scythe's blade collided with something invisible. The projectile shattered instantly. Having seen similar attacks before, Rei recognized the nature of the assault.
"A Wind Blade?"
"It seems so," Vihera said. "A Wind Bat, most likely. Byune!"
"Nn!"
Byune, who had been moving back toward them, gave a short nod and ducked back toward the trap she had just disarmed.
"Hey, Vihera, what are you doing?" Elena asked.
Vihera simply watched the tunnel ahead with a smirk, ignoring the question.
Their objective became clear a moment later when a giant bat, roughly one and a half meters long, glided silently from the shadows.
"Now!"
At Vihera's command, Byune—who had been suppressing her presence near the trap—snapped the thread and dashed back toward the group.
The trap triggered instantly. A cluster of stalactites broke free from the ceiling and rained down, not on Rei's party, but directly onto the Wind Bat.
"Hey, are we clear of the drop zone?" Rei asked, watching the jagged stones impale the bat and slam into the floor.
Beside him, Set watched the falling rocks with a worried trill.
"It's fine," Vihera replied casually. "The range for traps on this floor isn't that wide—only a few meters around the trigger. That's why we had to lure the bat into position."
She watched as the Wind Bat was pulverized beneath the stone. The sheer volume of falling rock had created a small mound. The creature was buried so completely that not even a drop of blood was visible to the naked eye.
However, the group was comprised of people with superhuman senses. Rei, Elena—who held the Ancient Dragon magic stone—Set, and the dragon Iero could all smell the copper tang of blood wafting from the pile. Even Byune and the battle-hungry Vihera had senses sharp enough to confirm the kill.
"You see? If you have a thief, you can use the dungeon's own traps to damage monsters," Vihera explained. "It might not be as useful for warriors like you and Elena, but it's a lesson worth learning."
"It's certainly a different way of looking at things," Rei admitted. "I hadn't considered turning the environment against them like that."
"Well, naturally, it takes a certain level of skill to pull it off. I don't think amateurs like me, Elena, or you could do it on our own."
"I'm aware. I don't have a single thief bone in my body."
"My, how unexpected. I thought for sure you'd have some witty comeback." Vihera looked slightly surprised; given their history—and specifically their encounter the previous night—she hadn't expected him to agree so readily.
Elena let out a soft snort. She brushed back her golden vertical rolls with a grace that might have enchanted any man watching.
"I certainly have thoughts about you... many, many thoughts," Elena said, glancing sideways at Rei, who let out a quiet sigh of relief. "However, a dangerous dungeon is no place for such discussions."
She fixed Rei with a firm look. "I expect a full explanation from Rei once we exit the dungeon today. Until then, there is no need to dwell on it."
"Oh, I see," Vihera chuckled. "It must be quite the burden to have such a jealous lover."
Rei shot Vihera a deadpan look, his eyes practically screaming that this entire mess was her fault.
Vihera ignored him, turning her attention to the mound of stones. "What should we do about the bat? We can move the rocks for the fangs and the magic stone, but material stripping will be difficult given how badly it's crushed."
"The materials were... wings and eyeballs, right?"
"Yes. But the head is surely flat, and the wings are likely shredded."
"I'll check anyway. I haven't collected a Wind Bat magic stone yet," Rei said, stepping toward the debris with Set.
While the stalactites were large, many had shattered upon impact, making the individual pieces manageable. With Rei and Set's strength, clearing the path was simple work.
"They stop glowing once they fall," Rei noted, tossing aside a stone the size of his own torso. "Is it because they're detached from the ceiling?"
The stones on the ground were now dark, indistinguishable from ordinary rock.
"Exactly," Vihera said wistfully. "If they stayed lit, more adventurers might bother to collect them. But like the glowing walls, they lose their light once they're separated from the dungeon's influence. If we ever solved that mystery, we could make every city in the world bright at night."
As they talked, Rei and Set finally reached the remains of the Wind Bat.
"Guruuuu," Set groaned, nudging a stone with his paw. He sounded disappointed.
As expected, the bat was unrecognizable. The only thing intact was the fangs needed for the proof of subjugation part, as the rest of the head had been crushed. It was a gruesome sight that would have turned a civilian's stomach. Rei reached down and plucked the fangs.
"The magic stone is gone," Rei sighed. The stone had been pulverized along with the creature's torso.
"Just as I thought," Vihera said. "Well, at least you got the proof of subjugation. Byune, how are we looking? Any more monsters?"
"Nn!"
"Elena?"
"All clear. Though, with Byune watching, my own vigilance feels almost redundant."
Vihera gave a meaningful smile. "Perhaps. But our time with Byune is a lucky coincidence. It's better that you stay sharp. If we're ready, shall we move on?"
With Vihera's lead, the party resumed their journey deeper into the cave.