NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68: Begone? I guess?
Day 29? – The Faraway Labyrinth, 92F
We took a short rest while gathering magic stones on 92F. I asked Skelly Pres, and apparently, she needs neither sleep nor rest. She just was freed from exploitative working conditions, yet she can't relax…… Is that an after effect of being a corporate slave?
Munching on a fried mushroom I lie down for a bit. After all that, we are only at 92F…… The road ahead is still long. Good grief, if you are going to drop me through a pitfall, at least prepare a pitrise as well? To be honest, I have no idea what a pitrise might even be, but well, something like a lift? An elevator? A cage on a rope? Call it whatever you want, the concept doesn't change.
As I rest, lying on the ground, I open some holes in the ceiling. It of course goes without saying, but this is another unfamiliar ceiling. I just had to say this since I'm lying, staring at the ceiling. But well, since it's a dungeon, I don't think this ceiling will ever become a familiar one.
Hmm? 『Anti-Magic Golem Lv91』, seems like a golem-san on whom magic doesn't work. Might be a bit of cliché at this point, but let's drop it as well.
*Dum*
Breaking floors of one level after another it went all the way to the lowest floor. If I keep opening holes then not only 92F will suffer, but the floors on every level below it might crumble as well. I'd like to avoid the collapse, and losing the floor to walk on also would mean that we wouldn't be able to go up? As for the magic stones… Well, I don't really care. I wonder if I can lure them here?
After knocking on the edge of the hole with a stick, golems began gathering near and dropping through it. It seems like they react either to sound or vibrations. Well, they are made of stone, it makes sense that they can't see a thing. However, this world has skeletons capable of giving flat gaze despite having no eyes. So I should be careful. By the way, right now she seems to be rolling her eyes?
I decided to take a break for about 30 minutes, leaving the Skelly Pres to knock on the hole in the meantime. A short nap.
「*Yawn~* Any presence…… Yup, looks like there is no one there now. Let's go up?」
By the way, while I was resting, Skelly Press kept knocking on the hole until all signs of golems completely disappeared, and then went down to the lowest floor to pick up magic stones. Unsure if I should be pleased or apologetic, I tried patting her on the head, and it seems she is happy about that? Even though I patted her on the helmet? Well, she probably had no one to pat her on the head in the underground depths, so it's fine, I guess?
Since I recovered a bit, we head to 91F. Above it is 90F. I can't help but notice a pattern here. A boss every five levels?
「Oooh, a treasure chest! This time it has to be my affection rating. Finally, my affection that ran away all the way to the other world?!」
On 91F I found another hidden room. 「Space Perception Lv 1」is really useful.
Beside the treasure chest a boulder just stood there, which I promptly dropped to the lower floors by opening another hole. ……I mean, it's certainly wasn't『Just standing』there at all? Why is there a boulder in the middle of the room? Right next to the treasure chest? I would be more surprised if it was just a normal boulder and not some kind of a golem! If it actually wasn't a trap and just a decoration, then I demand to talk with the interior coordinator of this place! If you are going that far, then go all the way and make a rock garden! Though I'd drop that as well.
A ring!!!……… But? It seems…… It is not… The pheromone ring…… 「Ring of Royal Procession – LuK Up (Greater), Brings good fortune, Wards away bad fortune」……A very good item, this ward away bad luck might ward away scoldings! And it might bring me to the doors of shady night-time establishments! And it also might prevent that nonsense of falling into pitfalls despite having the luck stat over the limit?!…… But the one who actually needs it is not me. Even without buffs, my Luk is not only at MaX, but it even went over the limit. Though it doesn't seem like it brought me any good fortune…… The one who really needs it…
「Want it? Or actually, I'll give it to you, I guess? 」
Skelly Pres shook her head. She is refusing, but she is the one who needs this ring. After all, she spent so many years swallowed by darkness, all alone on the gloomy lowest floor, but managed to endure it all. As the proof of that, she still retains her humanity. For eons, she persevered…… Although she seems to insist that she is only 17 years old. And I'm not going to touch on that subject since it's too scary.
When I forced her to accept the ring despite her protests she happily put it on. Is it going to be okay? Wouldn't it fall off since there is nothing but bones?
Now, 90F has only one presence on it. A boss? Floor master? A loner? A comrade!
It is, that? A ghost? A spectre? An evil spirit? 『Elemental Wraith Lv 100』, huh, another level 100? So all of the bosses and comrades in loneliness have level 100? Wait, no, they aren't my comrades. However, even though I have several people tamed, the loner in my status won't disappear? Is it telling me to make real human friends? Leave me alone! I didn't ask for this! Wait, does it mean that the bitches don't count as humans after all? Well, usually you also wouldn't be taming your friends.
『Elemental Wraith Lv 100』, huh. I think wraith is supposed to be a spirit of the dead. And it does indeed look like some kind of a ghost. But what about the elemental part? Going by the meaning it should be pointing to its attribute, but the word also could be pointing to being a part of something or embodying the power of nature? As far as I remember, in the Latin language, it originally meant a principle, a fundamental proposition. So just elemental isn't telling me anything. What is the context? What is this unhelpful explanation? Well, though it is obviously a ghost with some kind of additional attribute…
Since it keeps attacking with fire, ice, and wind magic, that elemental probably should represent either forces of nature or four main elements. Damn, just 『Elemental』is too vague. Is it on purpose?
Well, what do we do now? An exorcism?
「The power of Christ compels you? Begone??」
Doesn't seem to work? Well, I kind of suspected that it wouldn't? But who wouldn't want to try at least once? You don't encounter an evil spirit that often. Speaking of working, why am I getting treated as a NEET right after I got into the second year of high school? I was properly attending the school, so why give me 『NEET』? And I was summoned right from the class, so why am I getting 『Hikikomori』? It doesn't make sense?
Whoa! That was close! It charged at me! Looks like Elemental Wraith isn't interested in talking about my problems.
「Hmmm? …… It's dead?」
Just as a test I threw salt at it at the moment of charge. A lot of salt.
Skelly Press is just standing there. Battle-ready, combat stance, sword in hands. And looking at me. With a flat gaze.
「No? I mean? It's an evil spirit? And they say salt has a purifying effect? So I thought maybe it will disappear? Kind of? I guess?」
She is staring at me really hard! Aah~. Throwing salt is a Shinto thing, so the denizens of this world probably won't get it. Buddhism goes for purification through fire, but this thing had 『Four Main Elements Resistance』? I heard somewhere that holy water is actually water with salt, so throwing salt at it might agree even with Western teachings? Could it be that most people here are Buddhists? But I'm pretty sure that fire wouldn't have worked on Wraith-san?