CH 64

Chapter 64

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : In The Beginner's Dungeon, Part 11 — Escape

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

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「Haah, haah…」

「Was these stairs this long?」

「We don’t have time to talk! It’s already on its way up, you know?」

Alfiris and the others run up the stairs at full speed. The slime from Man Eater’s body approaches behind them. The main body, as expected, does not seem to be able to climb quickly from its huge body. However, although slime moves relatively slowly, it is a creature that, unlike humans, probably does not know how to get tired. It was decisive that they would eventually catch up with them. Rhine was also desperately trying to think of a way to deal with the situation, but he had too few cards in his hand, as this was his first encounter with such a monster. He would rather say that he did well just to escape earlier.

「Haah, haah… Miranda.」

「Zaa… What is it? Alfie.」

「If we go above ground and she comes after us… fuu… I’m going to use it!」

「Zaa… I understand…」

Miranda is forced to nod at Alfiris’ suggestion. She knew that they couldn’t run through the forest all day just to escape, so if it were still chasing them when they left the ruins, she thought a confrontation would be unavoidable. But there was no guarantee that they would win. The blade would pass through if they used Fenna’s magic, but they can’t handle it if a slime like that comes out from the edge of the slice. The first time she saw her, she was a novice, but even the magic of the elves who had just been with the mercenaries was not enough. Even the magic of the elf who had just joined the mercenaries, even though she was a beginner, was no good. Perhaps only magic of the sacred type could inflict effective damage. Miranda wondered if Alfiris’ extraordinary magic might be able to help them, but there were no guarantees.

Intuition is important on the battlefield. It was probably a good thing that no one went to finish off Man Eater when it was in the process of blocking their movements earlier. However, because it was so tightly entangled in Fenna’s magic, there was not much room for a weapon to pass through. But if they had approached, they would have been taken in by that slime spewing from the wound.

Moreover, Miranda knew from her many experiences that those who gamble on the battlefield die early. Although there is an element of chance, more careful thought and calculation are important to lead to victory. As in the story, the help of opportunism does not come.

「（Yes, when I was violated at the beginning of my journey, when I was kicked out of the village because of my immortality, and when that man died… No one helped me. So I despaired for my life…）」

Miranda shakes off the thought of the past.

「（This is not the time to be thinking about that! We need to do what little we can now.）」

「Alfie!」

「What?」

「How many magic systems can you use?」

「Uhh, anything but the sacred!」

「I see, If it’s not sacred, then… wait, ehh!?」

「And if I subdivide non-attribute magic into smaller categories and count summoning magic and the like as one of them, it should be more than 10.」

「10, huh…」

Miranda and Fenna are rolling their eyes. That’s probably true, even using more than one type of magic is generally rare. Moreover, the highest number of strains an individual can use, confirmed from historical fact, is six. The number of strains used by Alfiris will rewrite history.

「How is that possible?」

「Th–That’s amazing…」

What kind of nature can you be born with? Miranda’s attention is momentarily diverted, but Rhine’s words immediately pull her back.

「But you can’t do much damage except for the all-important sacred system, can you?」

「Lisa agrees with that opinion. I presume from the words it uttered in search of its true identity, it must be an evil spirit that exists only with a simple『appetite.』Perhaps she don’t even care if we are alive or dead. As you may know, just as even Fenna’s magic did not do much damage, spirits are extremely resistant to physical attacks and non-sacred magic. Instead, sacred offensive magic has a tremendous effect. Also, perhaps because it is an evil spirit, it does not seem to have a body of its own.」

「What does that mean?」

「This is also Lisa’s guess, but perhaps a thorough destruction of the body would stop the movement. However, there is no damage to the spirit part of the body. Perhaps the evil spirit is possessing the creature with such a body. In other words, while possessing a very hard creature, it is also a spirit, which makes it even harder to attack?」

「And that slime comes out of the damaged area… It’s tricky, isn’t it?」

「But doesn’t it still make a difference what we do?」

「That’s true, but…」

「It’s alright, Lisa.」

Alfiris pats Lisa on the head.

「I’ll take care of it.」

「（It’s not whether or not you can defeat the monster that Lisa is worried about, it’s your body, Alfie.）」

Lisa swallowed hard. She had no choice but to leave it to Alfiris. Then it’s best not to say anything unnecessary— Lisa decided to think about it so as not to slow down Alfiris’ resolve in any way. She knew that Alfiris herself would know best. Despite Lisa’s concern, Nia, running at the head of Alfiris and the others, exclaims.

「We’re on Basement 2nd Level!」

「From there, Lisa will lead the way. If we make a wrong turn, it will be the end!」

「Good… wait, huh?」

At the top of the stairs, Kazas and the mercenaries are doing something. They seem to be pulling on a protrusion that came out when they opened the door.

「Sensei, what are you doing? If we don’t get out of here, it’s gonna come after us, you know?」

「I was inspired earlier when I saw the stone door come down.」

Kazas answers Rhine’s question by wiping the sweat from his forehead.

「Dungeons have a lot of traps to prevent intruders. That is, if you don’t want them to enter the dungeon. So, on the other hand, if you want to seal something in a dungeon and don’t want to let it out, what would you plant?」

「I don’t need a riddle, just tell me quickly.」

「Impatient. Some dungeons have things that will collapse the room if something you don’t want taken out moves, or even the whole dungeon if it’s too bad. The fact that this protrusion appeared all the way out here suggests that this is a switch. I hypothesized that this may be the reason why the third basement floor was purposely installed. I have seen in ancient documents that there was a time when this type of contraption was popular, and it is believed that if all of this were pulled out, the third basement floor and below would collapse. Well, it’s just a hypothesis.」

「Understandable. I’m trying to pull it out with, but I can’t, and,」

「Yes, it was. It took three big men to do it. Perhaps there was a device to pull this off, but some people took it out, mistaking it for a treasure. The size of the protrusion is too large and rigid to be held by a single person.」

The protrusion on which Kazas tapped his foot had a part on which something could be hooked. He doesn’t know what it is now. But if three big men can’t scare him off, then it’s impossible anyway, isn’t it? Just as everyone was thinking this, Miranda stepped forward.

「I’ll do it.」

「Ehh?」

「Hey, hey. The weapon I am buzzing around certainly looks more powerful than a normal human, but I’m not sure how much more powerful it could be.」

「I’ll let you know how it turns out. Alfie, if I do this, I might get stuck, so please take care of me then.」

「? I don’t get what you mean, but okay!」

「Good… Can I go with two?」

Miranda takes something out of the leather bag at her waist and puts it in her mouth. Then Miranda’s whole body gradually turned red as if on fire, and steam began to emanate. This was despite the fact that it was currently in pre-summer temperatures, even though the temperature was a little cooler because it was underground.

「Miranda, what was that?」

「When I used to be a mercenary, my nickname was『Red Devil.』I was referring to what it looked like when I fought with these. By forcibly increasing the body’s metabolism and blood flow, and also by forcing the body to secrete adrenaline and other brain stimulants, I activate the power of fire and such dumb strength at all times.

However, the stimulants in the brain are usually poisonous to the body, and if a normal person does it, the muscles may tear, so only I can use it. Well, you probably don’t understand it well, so I’ll leave the details out. Anyway, this is the reason why I am able to show off my stupid strength compared to my physique. To some extent, I’ve learned how to regulate my own body without drugs.」

「Hmmm, I’m not that familiar with pharmacology either.」

「Fufu, I may look like this, but I used to be a researcher. I’m partially an intellectual, too. And this is the result!」

When Miranda put her hand on the stone and pulled, the previously unyielding stone was easily pulled out. When she pulled out the stone, something moves and they heard a click! A sound was heard. Miranda continued to drag out the stones one after another. Then the staircase began to show signs of gradual collapse. It seems that Kazas’ theory was correct.

「This is the last!」

「We’ll be out of here soon. Follow Lisa.」

Alfiris and the others run in case of emergency. They follow Lisa’s instructions to escape.

「Left.」

「Okay.」

「Right.」

「Alright.」

「Up, up, down, down, right, left, right, left.」

「What the hell is that command!?」

「Now I am invincible!」

「Because it might self-destruct!」

「Are you guys going to fool around!?」

At the same time as Nia’s tongue clicking, the sound of the downstairs collapsing can be heard from behind her. But perhaps the dungeon was more solidly built than expected, and although the impact was felt more than on the second basement floor, there were few signs that it might collapse. This would indeed make it impossible for Man Eater to chase after them.

While Lisa’s antics were partly a relief that they had a chance to escape, the tension was too high, and if they’re not relieved once, they would break. In that sense, Lisa’s tongue was partly aimed at them. This was understandable, considering that she played the role of a loving big sister to the little ones and that they were very fond of her. However, she doesn’t deny that she also had the desire to simply bully Alfiris to relieve her melancholy. Perhaps half of it was a desire to spoil a sister, though.

After that, Alfiris and the others returned to the ground without incident. The sun was already setting.