I woke up in the morning still holding Roxanne in my arms.
It felt as though the bath had made her skin even more supple and moist. She was wonderful to hold—soft, smooth, and warm.
The bath was definitely proving its worth.
As I stroked her skin, Roxanne leaned in for a kiss. She extended her tongue, intertwining it with mine. I matched her fervor, savoring the deep, lingering kiss. Only after I’d had my fill did I finally pull away.
"Good morning, Roxanne."
"Good morning, Master."
"We’ll start with the Quratar Labyrinth this morning."
I donned my gear, grabbed the map, and we headed into the Labyrinth.
Now that we had cleared the Fourth Floor of Vale, the Fourth Floor of Quratar was our next objective. According to reports, the monsters here were Cheap Sheep. In the Vale Labyrinth, these creatures didn't show up until the Fifth Floor, but in Quratar, they appeared a floor earlier.
Since I could take them down in a single hit with Durandal, they posed no threat.
Perhaps due to the crowds of other adventurers, we managed to reach the Boss Room without having to fight much. Fortunately, the Waiting Room was empty, so we stepped inside immediately.
Smoke coalesced in the center of the chamber, and the boss materialized: a Beep Sheep Lv 4.
The moment it appeared, the Beep Sheep began to bleat. It was a standard "baa-baa" sound, nothing like a beep. It seemed like a perfectly ordinary, albeit noisy, sheep—except for its ferocious face, which I was finally starting to get used to.
I left the front, where the horns were, to Roxanne. While staying alert for any sudden movements, I circled to its side and slashed at its rear with Durandal.
An orange magic circle formed beneath the sheep’s hooves.
I struck it again with my sword, triggering a Chant Interruption.
"Roxanne, what skills does a Beep Sheep have?"
"I'm afraid I don't know, Master."
She didn't know either.
It didn't look like it would spit thread like a Green Caterpillar. If it did, I could have used Fire Wall to block it, but since I was flying blind, I had no choice but to stay on the offensive. I would have to rely on Durandal’s ability to interrupt chants.
As I moved in for another strike, the sheep buckled its front legs. It was preparing to buck.
The moment it kicked out with its hind legs, I leaped backward, putting plenty of distance between us.
Fool. I’d already dealt with this move when fighting the Hachinosu. As long as I was watching for the tell, I wasn't falling for it. I retreated over a meter, just as Roxanne had done when dodging the Green Caterpillar’s silk.
I held my ground, watching the Beep Sheep closely to see if it would follow up with a charge.
Suddenly, an orange magic circle shimmered beneath its feet again.
Oh, crap.
I hoisted Durandal and rushed forward in a panic. I was the fool. The sheep had telegraphed that kick specifically to make me back off and buy itself time to activate its skill. I’d been played for a fool.
I swung Durandal down, but I was too slow. Even if I tried to trigger Overwhelming now, I wouldn't make it.
The sheep, which had been bleating normally until now, emitted a sharp, electronic warning tone—beep.
...
......
.........
Guh!
Suddenly, I was sent flying as the Beep Sheep slammed into me. I staggered back three steps, barely managing to keep my footing.
What just happened?
Roxanne had been hit too; she was clutching her stomach in pain. Was it teleportation? Some kind of area-of-effect attack?
"What was that?"
I barely managed to catch the Beep Sheep’s next headbutt on the flat of Durandal. Even with the armor, those horns were lethal. The first hit had slammed right into my leather breastplate, which was probably the only reason I wasn't currently disemboweled.
"I don't know. I was just... suddenly struck," Roxanne replied.
I parried another thrust from the sheep to create a momentary opening. In the brief window between its attacks, I glanced at Roxanne and willed the First Aid skill to activate.
I could heal myself by dealing damage with Durandal, but Roxanne didn't have that luxury. Since her level was lower than mine, she was the priority.
"I felt it too," I said. "I was just suddenly hit."
"Master, you were standing completely still for a moment."
"Still?"
"Yes. As if you were asleep."
I see. So I was asleep.
The Beep Sheep’s skill must be a sleep or stun effect. That warning tone had knocked me unconscious, and I only came to when the monster’s physical attack landed. That's why it felt like an instantaneous strike.
"A sleep skill, huh?"
"It certainly seems that way, Master."
What a terrifying ability. If it landed that skill, you were guaranteed to take at least one clean hit. I couldn't let it keep doing that. I stayed glued to the monster's side, keeping Durandal ready to strike the moment it started a chant.
I wasn't sure exactly how much damage Roxanne had taken. For that matter, I only had a vague sense of my own health and how much my skills restored it. I decided to cast First Aid on her three times, just to be safe.
Our positions had gotten scrambled, so I tried to circle around it. The sheep followed my movement, keeping its horns locked onto me. It seemed to have realized I was the bigger threat—or perhaps the easier target.
I caught a sweep of its horns on my blade and landed a counter-blow. It swung again immediately. I yanked my arm back, barely dodging the tip of its horn.
The Beep Sheep crouched and charged. I leaned back sharply, letting it graze past. I was being forced onto the defensive. Roxanne was chipping away at it with her scimitar, but she couldn't deal the kind of heavy damage needed to end this quickly.
The sheep crouched again, prepare to kick back.
Roxanne shifted—a tiny, quiet movement to the side—and sliced into its leg as it extended. It was a textbook dodge. That was how I should have been doing it.
She didn't break her center of gravity at all, moving in a smooth, parallel glide. By dodging at the absolute last second, she stayed well within her own striking range. It was the complete opposite of my clumsy, wide leaps that left me wide open.
Even now, I found myself hesitating to attack, fearing another charge. I managed to parry a light feint from its horns and finally landed a solid hit.
The Beep Sheep’s head jerked to the right as it prepared a powerful swing.
I saw this one coming. I ducked under the horns and slammed Durandal into its exposed neck. The blade tore through the soft flesh.
Finally, the monster collapsed. It dissolved into smoke, leaving an item behind.
"It's finally down. Are you okay?"
"Yes. You healed me several times, so I'm perfectly fine now. Thank you, Master."
"If you feel even a little bit of pain, tell me. Your health is the top priority."
"I understand. I will do so."
Keeping Durandal out, we moved up to the Fifth Floor.
"How does the Fifth Floor look?"
"There are fewer people here than on the floor below. There's a monster just ahead. Shall we?"
"Let’s go."
Whether it was the time of day or just the difficulty spike, the Fifth Floor of Quratar was much less crowded. It was better to get some combat experience, so we pressed on.
Roxanne led the way to a rounded, rocky creature: a Collagen Coral Lv 5.
It looked like a ball of stone with a single leg poking out from the bottom, which it used to hop toward us. I slashed at it with Durandal. Despite the name "Collagen," its exterior was incredibly hard. It was definitely more coral than jelly.
One hit wasn't enough to kill it, so I swung again. It seemed that from the Fifth Floor onward, even Durandal required two strikes.
The monster vanished into smoke, leaving an item on the ground.
It was Coral Gelatin. So the drop was actually collagen, even if the body was rock-hard.
"Do people use this to make jelly?" I asked.
"Jelly...?" Roxanne tilted her head.
"Never mind."
She picked it up and handed it to me. "Coral Gelatin is an adhesive. If you dissolve it in hot water, it becomes very sticky. It’s often used for things like mounting carpets to walls."
That sounded surprisingly practical.
"Is it not used for food?"
"I have heard that it can be used as a binder when making sausages."
"I see."
So it was edible, in a sense.
"There are people further ahead," Roxanne noted. "If we double back to the left, there are no monsters, but no people either. To the right, we might find enough space for you to use magic. What is your pleasure?"
It was still early, and while the Fifth Floor was relatively quiet, it wasn't empty enough for me to go all out without being seen.
"Is one piece of Coral Gelatin enough for a carpet?"
"I believe so."
"Then there’s no need to push ourselves here. Let’s head back to the Vale Labyrinth."
I preferred to keep my more powerful abilities out of the public eye. This brief excursion to Quratar was enough. If we needed more gelatin, we could always come back.
Thinking about it, I’d been putting off the carpet situation for a while. I’d been preoccupied with the Minos, but I was finally getting used to them. Between the Minos and the Cheap Sheep, we could handle the Fifth Floor of Vale without much trouble.
It was probably time to look into buying a carpet. I had no idea how much they cost in this world, but since they weren't even for sale in Vale, they were likely quite a luxury. I needed to save my funds, and I really didn't want to break into my gold coins if I could help it.
After breakfast, Roxanne and I decided to visit the Imperial Capital.
I warped us to the wall of the Capital’s Adventurer Guild and stepped out into the street.
Tall buildings lined the opposite side of the road. The Adventurer Guild itself was an impressive structure, flanked by other tall edifices. By "tall," I didn't mean modern skyscrapers, but the area was packed with five- and six-story buildings made of earthy, brown brick.
Without the sleekness of modern architecture, the height actually felt more oppressive. It felt as though I had stepped into ancient Rome or Baghdad at the height of its power. I’d never actually been to those places, obviously, but this was exactly how I imagined they’d feel.
The road before us was wide and stretched out in a perfectly straight line. I remembered reading in a history book that medieval cities were usually a maze of narrow, winding streets designed to confuse invaders. The straight roads of the Imperial Capital suggested a high level of security and peace.
"This is my first time seeing the Capital properly. It’s a magnificent city," Roxanne remarked.
"Yeah. The roads are so wide and straight."
"I believe they are built that way so that if a monster appears, it can be spotted from a distance."
So it was a safety measure, then.
Now that I thought about it, the roads in Vale and Quratar were straight too. Vale used a grid system, while Quratar was designed with roads radiating out from a central plaza. Being able to see all the way to the horizon meant you’d know the moment a monster started wandering the streets.
There might not be any wars between nations, but the world was definitely "peaceful" in a very different way.
"Makes sense. Well, shall we walk for a bit?"
I began wandering through the Imperial Capital to see what kind of shops were available. I felt like a total tourist.