Chapter 196: Vol 4 Chapter 16: The Fiftieth Floor

With the strategy I had developed, we climbed the first 49 floors at breakneck speed. Honestly, I started to feel bad for the dungeon. It worked so hard to make all these labyrinths yet we just kept destroying them.

Reaching the 50th floor, though, we couldn't use the same tactic. Why? Because it was a Convergence Floor. Other adventurers would appear here. Unless I wanted their blood in my hands, I couldn't just nuke the glass forest with my magic.

And so, we were forced to take the slow, classic route.

Haah, let's just hope this won't take long.

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"Ssssss…."

Aah, it doesn’t take long at all until we get our first random encounter.

It was a snake, a giant one to be exact. Its body was mostly yellow as its skin was layered with amber. It towered over us, being around 3m in height if I had to estimate.

Ah, this is an Amber Snake, isn't it? A B-rank monster. Should be easy to take out.

...Oh, I have an idea.

"Hey, Victoria. You handle this guy."

"W-what? Me? But I can't possibly—"

"You want to be a knight of justice, don't you? You have to train for that. And I was thinking, I could mentor you a little as we go through this dungeon."

"Milord! You can't just—"

"It's alright, Felicia. If anything happens, I'll take down the monster before it can do anything."

The poor knightess was now shaking from head to toe as she deliberately made her way forward towards the snake. Felicia shook her head, no doubt thinking this whole thing was just a giant waste of time.

Sorry, Felicia, but I see a bit of myself in her. A weak, useless coward with a genius sibling that dwarfed my meager accomplishments at every turn.

Why not toughen her up a little? Even if I can't make her be as strong as me, knowing to face adversity without hiding behind a false persona is a really good skill for her to have.

The snake leapt forward, baring its fangs straight towards her head. Instead of dodging or defending herself, however, she just froze as if she already accepted her fate.

I cut its head before it could snap its jaw, saving the elf from a certain and bloody death.

I didn’t save her from the green goo shower she received afterwards though.

“O-Oh, thank you Sir Hugo for saving me—e-eewww! What is this?! It’s all sticky and itchy and gross!"

"It's called snake blood. It's actually a useful material for alchemy, so, if you don't mind, I'll go scoop some of that up."

Like an expert doctor who had seen too many revolting bodily fluids to care, Felicia walked to the snake's corpse and began her work.

"I-I have to clean myself up at once!”

The knightess sheathed her rapier before reaching to her back to unclasp her armor.

"Are you mad?! No undressing in the middle of a dungeon!"

"H-huh?"

"If you feel dirty, then you should've dodged its attack! Why did you just freeze like that, huh? Slacking off because I'm there to bail you out?!"

"B-but…"

"Tell you what. If you can win against the next monster, I'll cast some water spell on you to clean all that gunk off."

I flashed her a reassuring smile. This is for her own good after all.

-------

"Awooo!"

The next encounter we had to fight off was a pack of wolves—the same kind we had been slaughtering all this time.

Thinking that fighting all of them at once would be too much for the elf, I killed them all first except one. To my surprise, and convenience, it still wanted to stay and fight.

"Alright, Victoria, you fight this guy. It's just a C-rank so it should be a piece of cake."

"E-eh? But it looks really angry… I-I don't think it likes me at all…"

"Of course it doesn't! It's a monster! It's here for your blood and flesh!"

Urgh. Maybe this is a bad idea after all.

Taking a few steps back, I let Victoria face the wolf head on.

"Hyaah!"

This time, she actually took the initiative, thrusting her rapier towards the wolf's abdomen. Too bad it was so slow that the wolf could easily dodge it.

And now, she's open to a counter attack.

As the wolf leaped forward to sink its teeth on her arm, I cut it down in an instant.

"Better. But still nowhere near adequate. You hesitated, didn't you? You used to be able to move faster than that."

"W-well, now that I'm no longer Lady Ashleen, I'm just… I'm just a weak—"

"Don't say that! Don't you dare say that!"

All of a sudden, I raised my voice.

I didn't know then, but I did it out of disgust—disgust at her self-pity—disgust at how much she resembled my old self.

"No one in this world is useless! You might never reach my level but that doesn't mean you can just give up! Weakness is not just the lack of strength! Weakness is also the lack of resolve! Aren't you angry?! That your family sees you as nothing but garbage? Don't you want to prove them wrong?!"

"I… But I…"

Her eyes were watering themselves as she stood there looking completely shaken. I guessed no one had ever spoken to her like this before.

Sorry, Victoria, but this was how Fiora brought me to my senses all those years ago. Sometimes, you need to be harsh to help someone. I won't do the punching and kicking as well though.

All those years? It's only been two—three years, isn't it? God, how time flies.

As annoying as she can be sometimes—no, a lot of times—I can't deny I owe a lot to her.

Heh, I guess I can't deny that I miss her. Somewhat.

I pointed my wand at her, conjuring a miniature rain to clean her armor from the gunk before. She gasped, no doubt taken by surprise by the wetness that now soaked her from top to bottom.

"There. I think you deserve it."

"T-thank you!"

I heard a huff escaping Felicia's lips, before she asked me to resume our walk.

Sheesh, can't even show a little bit of kindness before she gets all jealous.

-------

This routine continued on multiple times, with me giving the stage to Victoria only for her to blunder. I now knew just how amateurish her swordsmanship was. I ended up having to step in, instructing her on how to thrust properly with her rapier (even though I never used one myself). I went out of my way to hold her hand through the process, literally, just like Fiora did.

Naturally, I could feel Felicia's burning glare through the entire process.

The labyrinth continued on and on, with glass trees that looked too similar to each other. To mark our way, Felicia took the initiative and drew a rudimentary map, making sure we weren't walking in a loop.

After what felt like two hours or so, we finally had something different.

As at last, we met other adventurers.

"Hiya! You're a new one! Never seen your faces before!"

We saw each other on a long corridor, with them seemingly noticing us first. They were a party of a catgirl, two elves, and a demon with bat wings and face. The catgirl was the first to greet us.

Hmm? Her tail? There are two of them?

She’s not a catgirl then. She’s a nekomata. A demon, not a beastkin.

Though, using the name of this world, her race is called “Nyala” instead.

Heh, Nya-la. How creative.

"Well met." I gave a light bow with a smile. First impressions are important after all. "You guessed correctly, miss. This is our first time here. But do not worry. We are S-rank adventurers. We can take care of ourselves just fine."

"Whoa, an S-rank? Seriously? A kid like you?"

I sighed at her understandable disbelief. A kid my age being an S-rank is rare indeed, but it's still annoying, being doubted over and over like this.

"That's rude, Kir. What did I tell you on not judging adventurers over their appearance?"

The one who spoke next was the serious-looking elf standing beside her. Seemed to be their mage, judging by his staff and attire.

"Please, forgive the rudeness of my compatriot. She rarely thinks before she opens her mouth, a flaw that, sadly to say, I am yet unable to correct."

Well, he's one smooth talker.

We then exchanged our names, both individual names and our party's name.

"Oh, by the way, you might want to check out the outpost back there."

"The outpost?"

"That's right! A bunch of adventurers had made a base of sorts. They even have a shop there, selling a map that can take you to the floor teleporter!"

Ah, that's right. Since this is a Convergence Floor, the layout won't change for a whole month. Enough time to set up a semi-permanent camp.

"Thanks for the advice. Though, if I may ask, why haven't you bought the map? There's no teleporter this way, you know. Unless we missed a turn or two, though Felicia here should have noticed if it was the case."

"It's too expensive! Ten gold coins! Can you believe that?! It's robbery, I tell you, robbery!"

Ten gold coins?! That's a robbery, alright!

Not really a problem with the amount of cash we have though. Ah, the joys of being (moderately) rich.

“The teleporter really isn’t in this direction? My hunch is wrong then?”

“I was right, as always. We should’ve taken that turn instead.”

“Tch! Would you stop being a condescending ass for a minute?!”

As the nyala and the elf got into their own happy little argument, the other two members of their party smiled sheepishly as they told us to go on our way. We obeyed, though not before thanking them for the info once again.

“Well, those are some nice people. Would be nice if all adventurers were like that.”

“Sadly, Milord, they’re the minority. Most adventurers would have asked us for money for that information.”

“It can’t be helped, can it? An ordinary adventurer is always strapped for cash. They won’t do anything valuable for free since it encourages people to expect that of them. They’re mercenaries with a fancier name, not heroes.”

Isn’t that right, Anton? You and your common sense taught me that.

I just hope, wherever you are, you, Anne, and Amelie are all doing well.

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It didn't take long until we found the outpost they mentioned. Situated inside a large clearing, consisting of twenty or so tents, and a stone pillar I suspected they were using as a lookout tower (easy enough to make with Earth magic), it certainly could be called one.

"Ah! A visitor! Welcome! Welcome! Please! Make yourselves at home!"

Three men greeted us at the entrance. Two of them wore leather armor and had swords sheathed on their belts. The other wore plate mail and a cape, his weapon of choice being the spear he held in his right hand.

"If you're tired, we have a tent you could use. If your supplies are low, we have a shop you can visit."

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"As representatives of the Fafnir Clan, we are always happy to help out our fellow adventurers."

The three men finished their speech with a bow.

Uuh, well, this is unexpected…

Still, politeness should be replied by another politeness.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. We are The Worthless Wanderers, a newcomer to the World Dungeon. We are in your care." I gave them a bow as well.

"Ooh? A newcomer? What rank are you guys?"

"S-rank."

"S-S rank?! But you said you're a newcomer!"

"Yes, we're a newcomer here but we're already experienced adventurers back at the Human Continent."

The trio looked at each other with disbelief. Yet another group of folks who think I'm not an S-rank just because of my age.

"So, what rank are you guys?"

"W-we're B rank. But as a whole, our clan is an A-rank."

"I see. Then, I pray for your clan's advancement."

I patted the spear guy’s shoulder as I walked past him. Felicia and Victoria promptly followed, with the trio quickly making way for them.

Finally! Some respect to your superiors!

We made our way to the shop tent first, which was quite the easy task as there was a tall SHOP sign right above it. Must have brought that from the outside as well. The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man that looked more like a merchant than an adventurer, with a beer belly and a simple pants and tunic combo, and no weapon in sight. He was sitting cross-legged on top of a tarp, with a short table filled with goods in front of him.

“Welcome! Welcome! Everything on this table is for sale!"

I knelt down to get a better look while Victoria only leaned forward, bending lightly with her hands on her knees. Felicia, on the other hand, played bodyguard, watching our backs as her eyes scanned the camp.

As cautious as ever.

Still, she probably doesn't want to stand in front of this guy since the low angle might give a view of her underwear.

I could ask her to wear a more modest skirt that doesn’t have that giant slit in the middle, but why bother? I enjoy all the panty-flashing she’s giving.

Aah, it'd be nice if Sherry would wear something similar. She flashed her panties a lot back then with that dress, whenever we got into a spar. But I guess now that she has her training, her swordsmanship would be a lot more refined, like Fiora's. No more pantyshots for me…

We ended up buying only the map as none of the other objects he had for sale (potions, salves, smoke bombs, ropes, etc.) really interested us. Don't get me wrong. Those items are all very useful in their own right. But only to the average adventurer, not us.

Opening the map, which was really well-made by the way, it didn't take long until I located the teleporter to the next floor and the path we'd have to take to get there.

Moving to the "inn" section of the outpost, we took a short walk through the middle of the encampment, where I noticed that most of the tents were unoccupied. Hmm, how strange. Why erect so many tents when you're not going to use them?

Another pair of adventurers waited for us there. I decided to ask them about the matter, where one of them, a bird demon, readily answered.

"Where did everyone go? I thought this place would be more populated, with how many tents there are."

"Ah, you see, most of the men have gone ahead to the next floor. Our goal is actually to reach the second stratum. What we're doing here, this is just to raise money for our exhibition."

"Raise money?"

"Correct. Our clan is one of the largest in the region, consisting of more than a hundred members. To survive in the Demon Continent, it is necessary to always possess the best equipment and tools an adventurer can buy. And so, the boss decides strengthening our coffer is one of the main goals we have to aspire to."

"Over a hundred people? Isn't that too much? You sound more like a mercenary company."

The birdman chuckled. "We've heard that a lot. Our boss just wants to help weaker adventurers though. To join our clan, you can be as low as an F-rank, as long as you're willing to obey his rules."

I see. So there are adventurer clans like this… I guess it can give a sense of security to those who just started in the field.

"Oh, by the way, you guys want to rent these tents?" He gestured his wings at their direction. "I know we don't have night or day in this place but I won't recommend going on for more than twelve hours without a rest. And if you camp out there, you'll have to do night watch and all that stuff, right? If you sleep here, rest assured that we will keep you safe. There are twenty of us in total, C and B-rank adventurers. And we already erected a warding spell around the outpost as well. And if anything happens, we'll make sure to wake you up as well."

Hmm… we have been going at it for some time. Maybe a rest is in order.

Not to mention my mana is at its limits. Super Boom Cannon takes a lot out of my pool.

Just in time to answer my suspicion, Victoria stretched her arms upwards as she let out a yawn.

"Felicia, what do you think?"

"Sure. We can rest here, Milord. Two tents, if you would."

"Of course."

He told his friend to prepare the tents before turning his attention back to me, grinning in the process.

"Now, if you would, the money upfront. Two tents mean one gold coin."

Oh great that grin makes me feel I've been scammed. One gold coin for two tents is definitely a big rip-off.

I walked closer to him as I summoned my coin pouch. Here. One gold coin, you greedy bird.

"Thank you very much. Heh, you lucky brat. She's your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, she is."

"Tch, how did a guy your age get a chick that hot? How about the elf? She yours too?"

"No. That's why she gets her own tent."

"Can I speak with her then?"

"Absolutely not."

"Oh come on. I really want an elf girlfriend, you know. And that chick is the hottest elf I've ever laid my eyes on. Those boobs, man… How can they pop out from her armor like that?!"

I would praise him for being a man (bird) of culture, but for some reason, I don't want this sleazy bastard to even lay his perverted gaze at her.

Heh, I guess I've grown protective over her.

"She might look like that but she dislikes men. She's prone to go into a violent fit if any man even looks at her for too long. See that rapier on her hip? She'll thrust that straight to your crotch. You want that?"

"W-what? Seriously? Damn it, what an awful, awful shame!"

Sorry, birdman. But Victoria is too pure for the likes of you.

His friend soon returned, taking us to the tents we would be sleeping in. They were nothing fancy, just a normal-sized tent where four people could sleep together if they could bear being cramped together in one tiny space.

After making sure Victoria entered her tent (she should go to sleep right away, judging by that yawn), Felicia and I entered ours. I summoned pillows and mattresses from my Dimensional Storage, another example why being a mage was so much more convenient than being a swordsman. We sat down, with Felicia's dress draping in such a way that it gave me a nice view of her thighs and panties.

"Milord, I think we shouldn't let our guard down too much."

"Hmm? You don't trust these guys?"

"I see no reason why I should."

"...You have a point. After all, it was only yesterday when we had to deal with a bunch of them." Sure hope they learned their lesson. I wouldn't hold my breath though.

"I admit, I want to play with you, Milord. You gave too much attention to Victoria. How many times did you hold her hands back then? It isn't fair to your future wife, you know."

Ah, once again, the jealous lady pouted. Normally, I would've leaped forward and grabbed those boobs to calm her down, but like she said, we shouldn't be doing that in an unsecure place like this.

"But, I'll be patient. I know you're doing it for her own good. You don't want her to stay the helpless girl that she is now. You're a good person after all."

"Yeah. She… reminds me of myself in a way."

"Hmm? In what way?"

...Oh crap! I can't tell her about my old life!

"W-well, she's helpless. And I used to be helpless as well."

"You're nothing like her, Milord. Even without your strength, you're still far smarter than her."

"Y-you got a point." I certainly never went full chuuni like her.

"But, I still hope you'd stare at her breasts a little less. I know my breasts are smaller, but I don't wear a bra for a reason, you know."

The jealous lady pouted again as she pulled her top to the side, revealing her cherry red nipples. You know, you shouldn't be rewarding me like this if you really want to stop my eyes wandering to other girls.

In the end, we decided to keep watch after all, with her taking the first turn and me taking the second.

When it was my turn, however…

“Hyaah! Hyaah! Hyaaaah!”

As I went outside the tent, with Felicia returning back inside, I saw Victoria standing in front of her own tent.

And she was thrusting her rapier around.

“Hyaaahh!”

Not to any opponent mind you, but to the air in front of her.

She was practicing her swordplay.

What’s this? The princess is training on her own?

Not noticing my presence, she continued her movements—movements that I had taught her when we got here. Still nowhere near the speed and precision I wanted, but she's improving nonetheless.

I'm impressed. She really wants to get stronger.

Let's not disturb her, shall we?

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The next morning, or, at least I think it's morning, we left the outpost. Thanking the birdman and the other adventurer-guards we met on the way outside for the hospitality, we exited the encampment through the north entrance. According to the map, it was the direction to go if we wanted to get to the teleporter.

I continued Victoria's training in the meantime as the elf clearly had a lot of determination bubbling inside of her. Even though she still couldn't defeat a C-rank monster, at the very least, her efforts were slowly giving fruit. Her footing became more precise as her thrusts grew in speed. In fact, I was starting to doubt if she should be wearing that heavy armor at all. A rapier was better suited for a swordsman focusing on evasion, not defense. If she wanted to go that route, at least she should have a shield with her.

When I asked her about it though, she just said that a shield was too heavy for her to carry around. And she wanted to be more like her Lady Ashleen, who fought with a rapier.

Damn it, I don't know how to use a shield so I can't judge if she'll be good at it or now.

But for now, there's no harm in her training like this. She needs the boost in confidence.

“Graaarrrrr!”

What? What was that? A roar?

My eyes scanned our surroundings. There weren’t any monsters around. Which meant…

“Milord, I believe it came from that direction. Should we check it out?”

Felicia pointed at a path branching to the side. Looking at the map, it led to a dead end. In a dungeon like this, that meant you'd either find a chest or a trap. Most likely both.

"Hmm, probably not. It's probably an adventurer triggering a monster trap. We shouldn't get involved." Sorry, but it's on you if you mess up. That's how an adventurer lives, isn't it?

"Help! Someone! Please help!"

...Oh, goddamnit.

I bolted in a flash, using Graceful Step to augment my running speed.

Now that I've heard the scream, I can't turn a blind eye or else I'll get more nightmares. And I just got over the ones with Leila.

Especially not when the scream comes from a young girl.

Arriving at the dead end, which was a small circular clearing, I saw a giant dinosaur monster facing off against two figures I was all too familiar with.

It's them! The catgirl and the weakest adventurer!

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