"Still nothing but caves on the eighth floor, I see."
"Well, Vihera did warn us that it stays like this until the tenth floor, didn't she?"
Rei spoke up as Elena muttered her observation while they trekked through the cavern. Elena nodded, acknowledging his point, but she still let out a heavy sigh as she surveyed their surroundings.
"True, but don't you find this endless march through dark caves a bit oppressive?"
"I get what you mean, but that's just the nature of this dungeon. Not much we can do about it."
Rei gave her a small smile as he replied. The fact that she was willing to vent her frustrations to him was a sign of how much she trusted him—a realization that warmed his heart.
For now, it's business as usual... I suppose.
They had endured some awkward moments recently due to the situation with Vihera, so the fact that they could converse naturally again felt like a stroke of luck to Rei.
"Rei? Is something the matter?"
"No, it's nothing. Anyway, it's almost noon, so I was thinking about lunch. Is there a good spot nearby to take a break?"
"Wait a moment... Let's see. According to the map, if we continue down this passage, we'll reach a crossroads. If we head right from there, we should hit a small room at a dead end. Assuming there are no traps, we should be able to eat there. What do you think?"
"Sounds like a plan. Set."
"Guruuu."
"Kyu!"
At Rei’s call, Set purred in understanding, and Ielo, perched on the gryphon's back, let out a small chirp of his own.
However, their group came to a dead stop just before reaching the crossroads. Rei and Elena knew exactly why Set had halted; they had seen this behavior several times before.
In other words...
"A trap, then."
"Most likely. Honestly, I don't know if it's other people or the monsters setting them, but they’re always placed with such irritatingly perfect timing."
Rei let out a weary sigh, while Elena knit her brows in displeasure. Realizing that standing around would only waste time, the two of them focused their attention on the crossroads ahead.
They started by scouring the floor. It was the most logical place for a trap to be hidden, given that adventurers had to walk to progress.
"...There it is."
"Indeed, no mistake. It's hidden quite cleverly, but it's clear as day once you know what to look for."
Elena nodded, following Rei’s gaze to a small, switch-like mechanism on the floor.
"See anything else?"
"Not as far as I can tell."
"Then let's just step around it."
"Right. It would be ideal if we could disarm it ourselves, but..."
"We aren't thieves, so that's probably asking too much of us for now."
Thanks to their time with Byune the previous day, they had become proficient enough to spot most of the traps on this floor. However, identifying them and disarming them were two very different skill sets.
In truth, even though Byune had taught them the fundamentals, the fact that Rei and Elena had become capable of spotting traps after only a single day was quite extraordinary. An ordinary thief usually required a lengthy training period just to master the basics of trap detection. In that sense, the pair’s rapid progress was just another testament to their abnormal capabilities.
Of course, Set’s senses were even sharper than theirs, allowing him to find traps through something bordering on pure instinct.
The group carefully navigated around the switch—which was located slightly to the left of the center of the crossroads—and turned into the right-hand passage.
"Kyu-kyu!"
"Guruuu!"
The switch must have piqued Ielo's interest. The small dragon let out a chirp and tried to hop off Set’s back to investigate, but Set sensed the movement and stopped him with a short, stern growl.
"...Ielo, I appreciate the curiosity, but not right now," Elena added with a sigh.
"Kyu..."
Chastised by his master, Ielo lay back down on Set's back with a dejected chirp. He fluttered his wings and wagged his short tail, looking thoroughly pouted.
Amused by the heartwarming interaction, they continued down the passage for about twenty minutes until they reached the dead-end small room indicated on the map.
However, as they arrived...
"Gurururururuuu."
"I figured as much. A dead-end room like this is the perfect place for a monster to take a nap."
Set growled a low warning, his sharp eyes fixed on the darkness of the room. Though the occupants were still out of sight, Rei and Elena could feel several presences radiating from within.
"Indeed. But you have no intention of leaving them be, do you? Especially if there’s a chance an Anomaly Species is among them," Elena said, seeing right through him.
Rei gave a small shrug in silent confirmation.
"Kyu-kyu, kyu?"
Ielo seemed to have regained his spirits during the walk. He chirped and looked between Rei and Elena, his eyes bright with anticipation.
Rei lightly patted Ielo’s head, then braced his Death Scythe and spoke.
"So, what do you think we're looking at?"
"Well, the room looks fairly large. Perhaps more Puppet-type monsters, like Golems?"
Though the map called it a room, it was actually just a large, doorless space at the end of the tunnel. The monsters inside surely heard their voices, yet nothing came charging out.
Rei found this odd. If they were Mud Puppets or Stone Puppets, they should have mindlessly rushed at the first scent of humans.
If they aren't Puppet-types, then maybe Wind Bats? I could blast the whole room with flame magic... No, better not.
He considered wiping them out in one go but quickly reconsidered. While the room was full of monsters, there was no guarantee they were the only things inside. Since he didn't hear the sounds of a struggle, any adventurers in there were likely already dead, but it paid to be cautious.
"...No point in standing here all day. Elena, Set and I will lead the charge. Stay right behind us and be ready to provide support."
"Understood. I shall watch your back."
Elena nodded with firm resolve. A small smile touched her lips, heartened by the fact that he was relying on her. After the incident with Vihera, his continued trust felt particularly precious to her.
Unaware of Elena’s internal thoughts, Rei gave Set’s head a quick pat and then bolted into the room. Sensing the danger, Ielo flew off Set’s back to stay out of the way of the one man and one beast, watching silently as Elena followed close behind Rei.
"Kyu," he chirped softly, frustrated that his small size kept him from being more useful to his beloved master and friend.
The moment Rei entered the small room, a sharp, piercing ringing echoed in his ears.
What was that?!
He tensed, suspecting an attack, but the sound vanished in less than a second. Though the noise bothered him, there were no other immediate effects, so he pushed it to the back of his mind and surveyed the darkened space.
The interior was pitch black; unlike the tunnels outside, the walls and stalactites here provided no bioluminescent glow. However, his instincts screamed as something approached through the gloom. He swung the Death Scythe in a wide horizontal slash.
"Kikikikiiii?!"
A shrill, screeching cry rang out as the Death Scythe's blade tore through something. A moment later, he heard the sound of a small body hitting the floor.
The weight felt light. Definitely not a Puppet-type. And given the height of the strike...
The image of the bats he had fought before flashed through his mind.
"They're Wind Bats! They're using the darkness to ambush us!"
Rei shouted the warning as he felt another presence closing in. He swung his scythe again, meeting the same light resistance. Without waiting to see the result, he barked an order to his partner.
"Set! King's Intimidation! Then follow up with Fire Breath!"
He continued to swing his scythe as he directed Set. Having scanned the room during the initial exchange, he was certain there were no presences other than the Wind Bats. Confident in their coordination, he gave the order for the decisive blow.
"Gurururururururuuu!"
Set opened his beak and let out a thunderous roar. The King's Intimidation took hold instantly, causing every Wind Bat in the room to freeze mid-air.
Set didn't miss the opening. As the bats began to plummet, he opened his beak wide once more.
Fwoosh!
A torrent of flame erupted from Set’s beak. The gryphon swept his head across the room, incinerating over a dozen Wind Bats before they could even hit the ground. The creatures touched by the Fire Breath vanished instantly, their bones and magic stones reduced to ash that drifted to the floor.
Crap, that was too much power.
Rei clicked his tongue inwardly as the light from the flames revealed the overkill. But what was done was done.
"Set! Dial back the power on the Fire Breath!"
"Guruuu."
Set gave a short purr of acknowledgment and lowered the intensity of the flames. Now, the fire was just strong enough to kill the Wind Bats without turning their loot into ash. Set continued to swing his head, raining fire upon the swarm and leaving a trail of roasted Wind Bats on the floor.
Rei and Elena joined the fray, careful to stay clear of Set’s wide-range attack. Both of them possessed their own powerful area-of-effect skills and magic, but the room wasn't large enough for two men and one beast to unleash such attacks simultaneously without getting in each other's way.
"Haaaaah!"
With a sharp cry, Elena lashed out with her whip-sword. Infused with her magic power, the weapon took its whip-like form and traced a complex, deadly path through the air, shredding multiple Wind Bats with every strike. Some had their wings clipped and fell to the floor, while others were sliced clean through, scattering blood and viscera.
"Flying Slash!"
Nearby, Rei unleashed a series of Flying Slashes, the vacuum blades tearing through the swarm. Though they weren't trying to match Set's scale, the efficiency of their coordinated strikes would have looked like a massive wide-range assault to any observer.
Rei pushed further.
"Wind Hand!"
A wind tentacle extended from the butt end of the Death Scythe, snagging a Wind Bat and yanking it toward him. As it was pulled into range, he cleaved it in two with a single swing.
The frantic battle lasted for several minutes—more than five, but less than ten. In that short window of time, the entire swarm that had nested in the room was completely wiped out.
"...Phew. That takes care of that."
"Indeed, though I think you might have gone a bit overboard," Elena remarked, looking around.
Rei scanned the room, his eyes now fully adjusted to the darkness. The floor was carpeted with the corpses of countless Wind Bats. The ones roasted by Set's Fire Breath filled the air with a surprisingly savory, toasted aroma.
"Guruuu."
The scent clearly whetted Set's appetite. The gryphon purred and rubbed his face against Rei, silently asking for a snack.
"Alright, alright, I get it. But only eat the bodies. Leave the eyes; those are our Proof of Subjugation Parts."
"Guruuu!"
"Kyu!"
Ielo, who had flown in once the fighting stopped, chirped happily at Rei’s permission.
Leaving the two beasts to enjoy an early lunch of roasted Wind Bat meat, Rei and Elena began the task of harvesting materials, magic stones, and proof parts. They worked quickly; the delicious smell of roasted meat was bound to attract other hungry monsters sooner or later.