Water Magician

Chapter 329: Conquering the Dungeon..!

Holy City Marlomar West Dungeon. The 11th floor.

“It’s true... there’s no one here.”

“Yeah... the difference is too stark from the 10th floor, it’s eerie.”

Amon commented and Niels nodded in reply.

Up to the 10th floor of the West Dungeon, it was like a cave or a rock tunnel...

Although the previous floors had exposed bedrock, the 11th floor was like a ‘corridor’ with marble embedded in the floor, ceiling, and walls.

“Well, they definitely can’t mine ore here.”

Zeke muttered.

Etho nodded after hearing that.

According to the ‘Dungeon Map’, the West Dungeon changes completely every ten floors.

Much deeper down there are even floors with blue sky.

“Amazing!”

In stark contrast to yesterday’s depressed, trudging appearance, Ryo’s face was full of joy and he looked happy.

“This is it! This is what I was looking for!”

He exclaimed, but no one answered him.

Everyone was just watching with wry smiles...

“Four Lesser Wolves are coming from the front.”

Ryo announced the approach of monsters caught in his <Passive Sonar>.

The party had already formed a dungeon exploration formation.

First row, Niels in the center, Harold on the right, and Gowan on the left.

Second row, Etho and Zeke.

Third row, Amon and Ryo.

At the front, on top of having offensive power, it is desirable to have a vanguard swordsman who can respond to the enemy’s first attack.

Or position a Shield-user there.

For that reason, the swordsmen Niels and Harold and the twin swordsman Gowan were positioned there.

Naturally, Etho, the priest whose defensive power and endurance were in no way great, was in the center, and Zeke was also in the center.

The reason being, that position makes it easier for them to heal anyone’s injuries.

And the reason why Amon, whose talent as a swordsman is blooming, was placed at the rear was that it is extremely difficult to respond to the first attack from the rear, and that response is the most important.

Unlike a plain with an open sky, in a dungeon with a ceiling, with the additional consideration that there can be sudden attacks from directly above, it can be said that the rear guard is the most difficult position.

That is because you will need to cover not only yourself but also the heads of the priests in the second row...

Ryo is a jack of all trades, so he took the most troublesome last position too...

Even from the tail end, he could spot enemies coming from quite a distance, so he didn’t have any issue with that aspect.

Then, they engaged the four Lesser Wolves.

Niels, Harold, and Gowan each defeated their foes in one hit.

The one that slipped past the three...

“<Icicle Lance>”

An ice spear was shot into its mouth and it died.

“Since they are ‘Lesser’, there’s no point in harvesting their magic stones. Slimes will dispose of the corpses, so let’s move on.”

Niels said and everyone nodded in response.

The magic stones that can be obtained from ‘Lesser’ monsters are very small and have almost no value.

The time taken to harvest them is generally wasted.

And more importantly, slimes are the true mvp.

“It’s a straight road, but it’s considerably wider than the 10th floor.”

After a moment, he made a decision.

It would be useless to do such a thing against this opponent.

If that’s the case, it’s better not to take hostile action until the last moment.

“......Who are you?”

Niels asked without pulling out his sword, even though he put his hand on it.

Harold and Gowan next to him saw that Niels had not drawn his sword, so they stopped drawing them.

“That’s my line. Who are you?”

His voice was soft.

But peeking from under the hat were two eyes... sharp, and shone with a golden light.

(Golden eyes...? I remember seeing them somewhere... but where did I...)

Ryo was curious about the red old man’s golden eyes.

No one answered for a while.

Niels was deciding whether or not to answer.

And he eventually decided to.

He let go of his sword.

They weren’t sure if he was an enemy or an ally, but at least he was someone they could converse with.

“Excuse us. We are a mission from the Kingdom of Knightley in the Central Countries. The reason we dived into this dungeon was to meet Merlin and ask about the whereabouts of the Demon Lord.”

Niels spoke the truth.

Ryo was surprised by that, but he quickly agreed.

In their current situation, it is better to speak honestly.

Because there is no point in lying.

“Hoh. That’s interesting.”

After saying that, the old man in red fell silent.

When Niels judged that the old man would not continue, he asked.

“Sorry but who are you?”

It felt like the red old man was grinning.

“Me? I’m the... manager of this dungeon, or I’m becoming one. I heard that some interesting people have come, so I came out to say hello. You lot are certainly... surprisingly interesting.”

Saying that, he turned those golden eyes toward Harold.

“You’re cursed by ‘Rupture’, aren’t you... you’ve been tagged by something troublesome.”

Harold was surprised when he said that.

At least from the outside, no one could tell that he was under the ‘Rupture Spirit Curse’.

Sometimes even Harold himself forgot about it.

However, the old man in front of them pointed it out naturally.

“And there are two priests of the Goddess of Light... You lot certainly seem to hail from the Central Countries...”

Glancing at Etho and Zeke, he commented... but he quickly paused.

His golden eyes were now clearly directed at Ryo.

And he said.

“The problem lies with you.”

There was no doubt that he was looking at Ryo.

Ryo was aware of it, and so were the others.

So Ryo introduced himself.

“My name is Ryo Mihara, Duke of Rondo. Revered Fiend.”

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-fi and Patreon and unlock early chapter releases!