“Hmm. Shall we head to the boss battle then?”
“That would be for the best,” Roxanne agreed.
“On one condition. We aren't going any further than that today, and if possible, I don't want to fight on the twenty-fourth floor either. Got it?”
I made the declaration as firmly as I could. If I let Roxanne drag me around, she’d have us charging into higher floors at a breakneck pace before I could blink. I had to put my foot down here. No strange risks. No reckless stunts. We needed to proceed slowly and safely.
“The twenty-fourth-floor boss battle will be tomorrow, then,” she replied.
Hey.
This was exactly why I couldn’t let my guard down around Roxanne. She was relentless.
“...Ah—”
“I believe it’s best not to decide everything just yet. First, we should see how we fare in the twenty-third-floor boss battle,” Sherry added, trying to mediate.
That didn't actually help. I was terrified Roxanne would take an easy victory as a sign that we should immediately storm the twenty-fourth floor.
“W-well, that’s a fair point,” I conceded.
“I understand.”
I didn’t have the courage to ask what exactly Roxanne understood. I entered the waiting room in silence. By the time we reached the twenty-third floor, the labyrinth was reasonably empty; there was no one else in sight. The door to the boss room opened immediately.
“The boss of the Gumi Slime is the Jelly Slime,” Sherry began her briefing. “Like its lesser counterpart, it is highly resistant to physical attacks but weak against magic. Specifically, it is vulnerable to the three attributes other than earth. However, starting from the twenty-third floor, two regular monsters will appear alongside the boss.”
So it was a Jelly instead of a Gumi. And the boss’s entourage had increased to two monsters, whereas there had only been one up to the twenty-second floor. That sounded like a significant jump in difficulty. I really wished she had mentioned that part sooner.
Roxanne and the others were already filing into the boss room before Sherry could even finish. Was this really going to be okay?
No, I was the one who was the least prepared. I still had Durandal drawn from our previous encounter. Since this was a boss fight, I had kept it out as a matter of course, but if we were facing three enemies at once, maybe magic was the better play? Especially since physical attacks were less effective against slimes. I’d need the Rod of Himorogi for that.
Well, Durandal would do for the opening. Even if my swings didn't do much damage, the healing it provided meant it wasn't a mistake to keep it equipped.
As we stepped into the boss room, smoke swirled and coalesced into three distinct forms: a Jelly Slime, a Gumi Slime, and a Clamshell.
“I’ll take the boss. Miria, handle the Gumi Slime. Vesta, take that one,” Roxanne commanded.
“Yes.”
“Understood, desu.”
I see. Once the fighting started, Roxanne’s instructions were so precise that we didn't actually need a pre-battle meeting.
I cast Status Ailment Resistance Down on the Gumi Slime Miria was targeting, followed by a Water Storm. Then, I circled around the Clamshell that Vesta was tanking and drove Durandal into its side. Just because I had the sword out didn't mean I’d unequipped the Mage job. Since the fight had only just started, there was no reason to hold back.
Even without direct orders, Sherry had positioned herself perfectly to strike both the Jelly Slime and the Gumi Slime.
“I did it, desu!” Miria chirped.
By the time I finished off the Clamshell, Miria had successfully neutralized the Gumi Slime. With those two down, the rest was easy. We swarmed the remaining Jelly Slime and beat it into submission. No matter how powerful the boss was, it couldn't lay a finger on us as long as Roxanne was standing in its way.
Between Sherry and me, we could cancel any magic it tried to cast. I hadn't used Status Ailment Resistance Down on the Jelly Slime, so it took a little longer to finish off, but we won without any real scares.
“That didn't even qualify as a struggle, did it?” I remarked.
“Indeed. Since Master used magic as well, it was practically an easy victory,” Roxanne said.
“I still want to try a few more different ways of fighting,” I added.
Regardless of Roxanne’s enthusiasm, I had no intention of proceeding to the twenty-fourth-floor boss today. There were still tactical issues to consider. If I was going to use Status Ailment Resistance Down, I’d prefer to use it on the boss. However, doing so would mean pitting Miria against the boss while Roxanne handled the small fries. It made more sense to pit our greatest defense against the enemy’s greatest offense. Roxanne could shut down a boss's attacks indefinitely, meaning it didn't matter how long the fight dragged on.
Realistically, keeping Roxanne on the boss was the optimal solution.
“When the monsters are spread out, it becomes difficult to monitor their magic and skill activations simultaneously,” Sherry noted. “There’s not much we can do about the boss, but it would be a huge help if Miria could lure her target just one step closer to the center.”
“Understood, desu,” Miria replied.
So even Sherry saw room for improvement. However, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion to her that Roxanne would always be the one facing the boss. I suppose that was just the way things were.
“Is it really that difficult to keep an eye on three monsters?” I asked.
“Yes. My limit for reliably canceling magic is two. I might be able to cover three to some extent, but if one monster starts chanting at one end of the room while I’m busy canceling another at the opposite end, I might not make it in time.”
Sherry could handle the boss and one other. If I kept Durandal out, I could cover the third monster myself. That made switching to a pure magic style difficult. The twenty-third floor was fine for now, since we were still seeing Clamshells and Kettle Mermaids, but the real trouble would start when we reached floors where all three enemies could use all-target magic.
When that happened, if we wanted to fight with magic, we’d have to go in prepared to take a few hits. We’d have to gamble on Miria’s petrification for one target while Sherry managed the other two. Putting away Durandal would be a huge boost for my Bonus Points, but I’d probably need another piece of equipment with the Chant Interruption skill to make it viable.
Still, there was no point in being greedy. If I started listing everything I wanted, there’d be no end to it. I had to find the best way to fight with what we currently had. For now, that meant sticking with the Durandal and magic hybrid style.
This was bad. Despite saying I wanted to try different things, I was already settling back into my comfort zone. Well, on the twenty-third floor, I could still try a pure magic run. If I didn't use it on the boss, I could experiment with dropping the Gambler job and skipping the status debuffs.
I managed to endure the rest of that day. Roxanne didn't push any further, either.
The next morning, however...
“The twenty-fourth-floor boss room is in that direction, so we should head that way,” Roxanne said the moment we woke up.
The day had barely started and she was already at it. I couldn't exactly take the map away from her at this point.
“Only after we fight the Tal Turtles on the twenty-fourth floor a few times,” I insisted.
“Of course. We’ve fought them a few times already, and I don't think Master will have any trouble with them.”
We hadn't been able to avoid every battle on the twenty-fourth floor yesterday. When Roxanne looked at me with those expectant eyes, telling me the monsters were "right there," I inevitably ended up hunting them as a little side-trip. That meant we were already familiar with the floor's inhabitants. We would likely reach the boss room in no time.
“We are not going to the twenty-fifth-floor boss battle today, okay?” I said, trying to get ahead of her.
“I agree. I didn't bring the twenty-fifth-floor map with me today. That boss battle will be something to look forward to tomorrow.”
I didn't even know where to start. First of all, she didn't bring the map? I felt like a fool for worrying she’d try to force the issue today. No, wait—I wouldn't be fooled. Roxanne was exactly the type of person who would casually mention after breakfast that she had "happened" to find the twenty-fifth-floor map after all.
I decided to take her words as a verbal guarantee that we wouldn't go today. But in exchange, she had already scheduled the next boss for tomorrow. One floor a day. Give me a break. And she didn't just say we were going; she called it "something to look forward to."
My stomach was starting to ache.
“W-well, the labyrinth is a dangerous place. We should carefully judge whether to proceed each time,” I said.
“You are right,” Roxanne replied.
I wondered if she actually understood what "carefully" meant. It required caution, diligence, and thoroughness. I was looking for a careful, discreet, and prudent judgment.
“I’m counting on you too, Sherry.”
“Of course. We should always judge the situation carefully.”
“Yes, desu.”
“I think we’ll be fine,” Vesta added.
I really couldn't rely on the latter two for caution. Sherry was my only hope.
In the end, I managed to finish that day after the twenty-fourth-floor boss battle. Tomorrow would likely be the twenty-fifth. Roxanne was clearly in the mood for it, and since Sherry hadn't raised any objections, I was outvoted. Are you guys really being reliable?
After we finished our hunt for the day, we sat down for a dinner of Miria’s special simmered Toro and my homemade tonkatsu. I figured Miria would want to hog most of the tuna, so I had spent the time frying the pork. It was going to get a lot hotter soon, and once the summer heat hit, standing over a deep fryer would be miserable. This was my last chance.
“So this is the Toro. It’s as good as they say.”
The tuna Miria had simmered was so tender it practically dissolved the moment it touched my tongue. It was incredibly soft and rich with fat. The flavor was deep and savory, yet it didn't feel heavy or cloying. The richness was likely enhanced by the seasoning.
I sliced off a piece and immediately passed the plate to Roxanne.
“It’s delicious, isn't it?”
“This is amazing,” Sherry agreed.
Roxanne and Sherry were quick to pass the plate around. Next, I tried the tonkatsu. Since we didn't have any proper sauce, I had planned to eat it refreshingly with just a squeeze of lemon juice.
However, I discovered that the broth from the simmered Toro was a surprisingly perfect match. I’d taken a gamble by dipping a piece in, and it paid off. It tasted a bit like miso-katsu. It wasn't actually miso, but since Miria had used fish sauce, the umami profile was remarkably similar.
“Miria, could I have a bit of that broth?” I asked.
“Yes, desu.”
“May I have some as well?” Roxanne asked, her interest piqued.
It was a bit of a "cheap eats" trick, so I hadn't gone out of my way to recommend it, but it was hard to resist. Sherry seemed content to stick with her lemon juice.
“Heh. May I have some broth too?” Vesta asked.
“Eat some Toro too, desu,” Miria said, holding out the entire plate to Vesta.
She hadn't even offered it to me.
“Yes. Thank you very much,” Vesta said with a smile.