Episode 7.15
Right as Lecan struck the Wrinkle Man's head for the fourth time by leaping on its hand as a foothold, the group of six arrived at an adjacent room. And then they began to clamor about from outside the hole.
"Well well hi there, for we are the heir of Golbul Earldom, Tomaj Douga and his retainers. O warrior enduring an arduous struggle against giant Wrinkle Man over there, leave your back to us! O god, may you bear witness to our gallantries!"
Lecan is not having a hard time, and he can't exactly stop them from intervening when he's busy dealing with the magic beast. This kind of conducts were extremely reviled upon in his former world, but is that not the case in this world.
Lecan kept a close eye on the group of six while striking the Wrinkle Man.
Four knights. And two mages.
Despite declaring that they would participate in the battle, they're not showing any sign of entering this room.
Right as Lecan thought that, one of the mages readied his cane and began to knead his mana.
"O Witgem our god. We beseech you to accept our offerings and reverences. Hear our prayers and brandish your blade upon the wicked..."
He's chanting some sort of long winded spell but since Lecan is occupied himself, he's not listening to the end.
Evading Wrinkle Man's swung arms, sometimes kicks and headbutts, and right after he struck the magic beast for the umpteenth time, the mage finally finished his chant.
"Gwinbar!"
From his cane, a blade of light shot out and tore the air, hitting the Wrinkle Man straight in the chest, scattering sparks around.
Since the Wrinkle Man is focusing fully on Lecan, it's not clear whether the magic attack has any effect or not.
However, the people around the mage seemed content.
"Oooh! Nothing less to expect from Kimsill-dono!"
"What a wonderful incantation! What a brilliant strike!"
"Surely even a Wrinkle Man cannot possibly stand up against that!"
They crowded around the entrance, surrounding the mage while chatting without a care in the world.
--What are these lots even here for?
Lecan continued his assault while thinking that, ending the Wrinkle Man's life.
Even after it had crumbled and been shrunk into a gigantic corpse, the six dared not to enter the room still.
Lecan was prepared to engage them were they demanded the Wrinkle Man's magic gem using their help as a pretext.
However, those six kept their silent even when Lecan slowly went to pick up the magic gem on purpose.
One of the knights called out to him when he was done putting the magic gem into his <Storage>.
"Well done, well done! Your service at supporting knight Tomaj Douga-sama truly begs an admiration!"
Lecan somehow ended up being the one in a supporting role instead.
<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka.com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>
"This be a fitting reward for your effort!"
Another knight threw a bag to a spot near Lecan's feet.
Judging from the drop sounds, Lecan hazards a guess that it has big silver coins inside. Totaling at five, six or even ten pieces at that.
What would happen if he took this big silver coins bag.
Tomaj Douga would probably take the credit for defeating the magic beast if he took this reward.
Or perhaps, Lecan would be treated as Tomaj Douga's underling, and his deed would be considered as done under this Tomaj's command.
Either way, the other party would surely make more demands were he took the bag.
Lecan hates human bonds. He hates troublesome things.
And he absolutely loathes noblemen and knights.
This knight Tomaj Douga said that he was a heir to the lord here. Lecan would rather not associate with these kinds.
"I only fought my battle."
Lecan turned around and walked away toward the descending stairway.
Afterward, Lecan's exploration progressed well.
Floor 22 magic beasts were second rank Wonder Wood magic beasts, Creeping Ivy (Yenteluan).
Floor 23 magic beasts were second rank Demon Bear, White Throat (Kegisli).
Floor 24 magic beasts were second rank Demon Ape, Fang Apes (Egidug).
Floor 25 magic beasts were third rank Wicked Insect, Spotted Spiders (Hadrin).
Floor 26 magic beasts were first rank Demon Wolf, Silver Wolves (Saraje).
He had reached this far in his last exploration.
What surprised him most was how Shira's pills kept working in restoring his mana while he was practicing <Flame Spear> magic, consuming mana all the way down. The effect continued for almost half a day. These pills are extremely helpful.
He's suffered wounds all over his body. He tried to drink a red potion, but his body just wouldn't accept it. Apparently, one can only take so many potions within a certain period of time, regardless of the kind.
Lecan took Shira's wound salve, diluted it with water and smeared it. His wounds didn't instantly disappear, but the pain was going away, and he could feel his body rejoicing.
This medicine is specifically made by Shira by boiling herbs in Pure Magic Water while simultaneously casting <Recovery> on it. It's most likely far more effective than any wound salve made by other apothecary.
It would have been even more effective if he used Pure Magic Water to dilute it instead of just water, and cast <Recovery> as he smeared it, but Lecan can't make Pure Magic Water nor can he use <Recovery>.
He took some meal and a nap and went down floor 27 after a nice long break.
Floor 27 magic beasts are the greater variant of third rank Demon Boar, Bent Nose (Bamboo). On this floor, he no longer detects any other explorer within his range.
Floor 28 magic beasts are first rank Bizarre Mud magic beasts, Landslides (Graviel).
Floor 29 magic beasts are second rank Evil Snakes, Hammerhead Snakes (Dorgozwin).
It took him a whole day to conquer these three floors. His injuries were not minor and he was dead tired. Especially the Hammerhead Snakes, the second and last encounter was against a giant variant, it was tough. At first he planned to fight another giant variant on this floor to enable warps, but he had already gotten the warp's <Sign> of floor 26 when he beat two giant variants there. Since it's possible to completely avoid fighting magic beasts on these floors if he picks his routes well, Lecan decided not to engage in an unnecessary battle.
Lecan wholly savored the convenience of <Move (Trimul)>.
Taking magic gems out of big-sized magic beats is a hard work.
But this has been made really simple with <Move> magic.
By cutting with his sword after confirming locations of magic gems and use <Move> to take them out, there's no need for Lecan to bathe himself in blood.
Like say, Landslides, they boast a body so huge it fills a room, it would have required Lecan to go inside its disgusting muddy dead body if he wanted to fetch its magic gem.
But with <Move>, he doesn't even need to make a cut to fetch the magic gem.
Still, this time he's got worst luck with treasure chests.
They rarely appeared and even when one did spawn, every one of them had a potion inside.
Lecan took a break in front of the stairway leading to floor 30.
Shira's wound slave he smeared yesterday had definitely taken effect. Big wounds have healed down to the deep part, and only faint scars remain from small wounds.
He smeared more wound salve on new wounds.
Then had a meal nice and slow before going to sleep.
He took another meal and a nice long nap after.
His wounds have healed. Mana fully recovered.
He took his Overking Bear overcoat off and dusted it off. Then specks of blood of his opponents and his owns fell off as small lumps.
When the <Self-Restoration> of this overcoat takes effect, blood seeped within and stuck outside will coagulate and get driven out. Afterward, he simply shakes it off easily like he just did. Once blood has fallen off, the overcoat turns back to its flawless and spotless state. However, it still discolors with times, bringing about a false impression of a well-used yet well-maintained coat.
Bwosh, Lecan wears the coat and takes one step toward the stairway.
It's finally the last floor next.