Chapter 62
“It’s boring right?”
“It’s because Mistress overdid it . ”
“You’re the one who finished them off . ”
Ellis and Reeve had been banned from entering either the Workshop Guild or the Adventurer’s Guild until the restructuring of the city had been completed .
The reason for this was due to all the money that had been taken from guild members due to them being challenged at Warren Numbers .
“I guess we should be aiming at tourists and countryside aristocrats after all . ”
“Mistress, please, endure those feelings . ”
Frau hadn’t taken to the game herself, and Claire was more than content to steadily gain wealth from the proceeds of the Flint-Claire brand steamers, meaning she was living a more frugal lifestyle . Katie had always been living a carefree life doing whatever she wanted, so the thought of getting rich quick had never even crossed her mind .
Honestly, until the new male-only street Cross Town was finished, there was nothing to do . Cross Town had already begun construction in the city’s center while a shopping mall was being moved to the area between Lily Garden and the city .
“How about visiting the Demon Labyrinth?”
Frau licked her lips while wiping down her Flying Phoenix and Exorcism Minotaur maul with a soft cloth .
The Demon Labyrinth was the highest level dungeon around Warren . The monsters that spawn there have a number of resistances . Magic and physical attacks do little to them while they hit hard and are able to produce powerful magic . It’s a dungeon that is left almost completely unattended .
Ellis thought about it for a moment .
Frau has already become pretty much a heavy tank . She had also been wanting to fully test out Flying Phoenix and Exorcism, so challenging this upper level dungeon would seem to be the right choice .
The trouble was that none of the new abilities had benefited Claire, so she had not been strengthened at all . For Ellis as well, even though she had acquired the Mad God estoc, her defense had not improved at all . She should be able to kill most enemies with a single attack, but they should be able to do the same to her as well .
Mimetic, Sacrifice, Shadow: these were the three abilities she could use to increase her defense .
“Frau, if things get dangerous, can we still use the Ring of Return to retreat?”
Frau gave a thumbs up . Although, Katie and Reeve had already started getting dressed since the moment Frau had first proposed the idea .
“Muscle brains . ”
Ellis and Claire shared a look and sighed before slowly putting on their own equipment .
“Really?” Helen asked surprised .
“Really,” Frau smiled .
“Okay…but if things start to go bad, please return here right away . ” The Adventurer’s Guild receptionist was naturally showing some concern for the daughter of the Adventurer’s Guild master .
“We’ll be using Magical Horses, so a guide is unnecessary . ”
Helen reluctantly nodded her head before handing over a ring and map over to Ellis .
“Right . We’ll do our best . ”
And so, they were off to the best Warren had to offer .
“After all, I have the most painful role . ”
Eliminating traps, unlocking doors, and holding her breath, all of the work Ellis had to do was starting to stress her out .
Unlike Wight Labyrinth, Demon Labyrinth is more orthodox . It is a long labyrinth with 50 rooms .
And from the very beginning, six Zangel class demons stepped forward .
The formation started with Claire loading a {Lightning Shower} into her Guidancedress and Ellis unlocking the door . Frau and Katie would take positions in front of them while Reeve would be the one to open the door .
At the instant that Reeve would open the door, Claire would release {Lightning Shower} in the center of the room . Ellis would take the opportunity to dive into the room and hide in the shadows .
Katie and Frau would then rush in .
If there are a small number of enemies, Katie would pass through them to apply status effects to hamper their movement while Frau would charge from the front and crush them .
Finally, Reeve would dispose of any small fry that that survived and were trying to surround Frau and Katie .
For the six normal demons of Zangel class, Ellis did not plan on changing their usual strategy .
On the other hand, if there was only one opponent, Ellis would not hesitate to mercilessly dispose of them .
One room contained a rotten giant that had been a mid-boss back when Wight Labyrinth had been a unique labyrinth .
It was completely immune to Claire’ {Lightning Shower} .
It resisted the Stupor from Katie’s claws .
But when Frau hit his leg with her maul, the rotten giant fell to his knee .
That was when Ellis shoved her estoc into its back .
“That feels good……”
Treasure chests in each room averaged to be about 20 thousand ril . A total of 1 million ril for 50 rooms . Not bad, but no magic tools had appeared either .
“We’ve been kind of unlucky so far huh?”
Frau let out an unusual complaint as the fights so far had been disappointingly easy . Is this just the case for the early stages of the labyrinth?
Either way, the fully equipped girls continued on through the demons .
As they advanced further, Zabinas grade high demons also appeared .
Frau was able to counter the high demon’s {Ice Fog} before striking his left knee . Reeve aimed for the right one while Katie aimed for its back .
Things were different this time . Their attacks went through, crushing the high demon’s knees and gouging out his back .
Although Claire took this opportunity to blast his head with an {Explosion}, it did very little damage .
In the end, Ellis stabbed it with her Mad God estoc to finish it .
Claire gave Ellis a displeased look, looking not satisfied in the least .
“This looks like the last room . ”
Four girls had their fighting spirits raised at Ellis’s words .
“Frau, the boss her is unknown isn’t it?”
“Yes, I have no idea what will come out . ”
Hmm .
“Trap cancellation is complete . Claire, use {Explosion} this time instead of {Lightning Shower} .
“Yes, Ellis . ”
“Well then, I’ll open it . ”
At Reeve’s signal, five people rushed into the room . This time Ellis ran straight into the room, measuring the distance away from the boss and using Silence . But, there was no response . It was resistant .
When Ellis moved her body to the left, Claire released her {Explosion} .
The central figure was enveloped in a large ball of light .
Using that light as cover, Katie ran in, circling around to the boss’s right while Frau stood squarely in front of it .
In the center of the room, a Rotten Demon wearing luxurious clothes stood before them .
“{Bind}”
The demon started off by trying to restrict Frau’s movement .
“{Flare Burst}”
And then with a single spell, the demon had blown away the double that Ellis had created along with shattering Ellis and Claire’s Sacrificial dolls . The other three were able to survive but had been burned .
“Now, you’re first . ”
The demon drew out its claws and approached Frau .
“Dangerous!”
Ellis realized she wasn’t going to have enough time to use Full Recovery .
However, the truth was that {Bind} hadn’t worked on Frau . She saw the demon coming, scoffed, and charged forward as well .
That’s the way it is .
A woman who had already become a human heavy tank that is immune to bondage, poison, 20 physical damage and 15 magical damage along with a percent chance of completely nullifying the enemy’s attack .
“Yaaugh!”
Frau released a battle cry as her thin, crimson maul pounded into the side of the demon’s head .
“Gah… . . ”
Nevertheless, the demon remained standing .
Until Katie’s Brave Ripper, Reeve’s saber, and Ellis’s estoc all found their way into its flesh as well .
The demon fell with a frown on its face .
“This is actually a little frustrating . ”
Ellis’s weapon was truly ridiculous having most likely been the reason that the demon had fallen when it did .
But things could have gotten rough there .
Ellis and Claire would have both met their ends if the demon had decided to cast another spell instead of charging forward with its claws .
Something would have to be done about this .
“For now, let’s open the treasure chest and rejoice . ”
Ellis confirmed the trap . It was a corrosion trap that would destroy everything inside the treasure chest .
It was an obnoxious trap that did no physical damage to a person, but the mental damage might be unbearable .
This trap was carefully canceled .
When the chest was opened, a pile of gold coins, a ring, and a scroll were sitting there .
Claire immediately jumped at the scroll .
Ellis appreciated the ring .
Grand Magical ring – When the wearer uses magic, the required MP is reduced by 5 . However, it cannot become less than 1 . Magical tools are excluded . Required MP: 0 . Autonomous type .
The title of the scroll was Spell Encyclopedia Part 1 . Ellis wasn’t sure what the contents would be .
“I’ll take this . I will not allow anyone to have a dissenting opinion!”
Ellis sensed an awkward feeling with the other three girls who were unaware of why Claire was being so forceful here . Of course, Ellis had never seen Claire this unusually excited before either .
“Then shall we head home?”
“Wait just a second, little girls . ”
A cold shiver ran down the five’s spines .
They had been careless .
……… . .
“Little missies, are you a Hero or a Demon king?”
Ellis struggled to answer before being finally able to choke out, “We’re neither . ”
And then Ellis turned around .
A resurrected demon was standing there .
Dangerous!
DangerousDangerousDangerous!!!
Seeing the desperation and anxiety in Ellis’s expression, the demon puffed out his chest and released a fit of rattling laughter .
“Relax, it’s you missies victory this time . If you challenge this labyrinth again, after a certain point you should receive a lot of rewards . ”
Ellis didn’t know what to say .
The demon was making a strange face, saying strange things .
And then the demon realized their circumstances .
“Ah, nobody from the back of a labyrinth has ever told you why labyrinth’s exist . I suppose time serves as the best piece of evidence . ”
???????
Katie, who has little time to dwell on absurdities or shyness, spoke up .
“Mr . Demon, why do labyrinths exist?”
The demon answered while still releasing his rattling laughter .
“It’s to purify the remnants from the last divine war . ”
???????
“The purpose of labyrinths is for them to act as devices to cleanse the chaos born between the Demon Lord and Hero the last time they appeared in this world . They gather up the dark energy soaked into the ground, and adventurers slowly disperse it every time they clear one . ”
Ellis was starting to understand .
“Then, does that mean that a labyrinth will stop working after it’s served its purpose?”
“Yeah . If the treasure is gone, then the labyrinth will disappear . It’s only about ten clears for mine, but it’ll take hundreds or even thousands of times for beginner or intermediate labyrinths . ”
“Treasure?”
“They’re magic tools we used back during Demon/God war . We put them in as further incentive to permanently clear labyrinths for those too lazy or selfish to do it otherwise . ”
“By the way, who are you?”
“Nobody really . I’m just another demon who served the Demon Lord during the Demon/God war . ”
That’s a little more than just a nobody .
“Why do the Demon Lord and Hero fight?”
“Dunno . They just show up every once in awhile and start killing each other . It’s a physiological phenomena . ”
“What will happen to you now?”
“After you missies have here 10 times, I’ll die and become a Buddha . Ah, I suppose I’d be a Devil instead of a Buddha . Though that’s a bit of unpleasant talk . You missies should head home already . But even if you missies remember me, all my memories will disappear once you leave . Just because I’m the same demon you’ll meet next time doesn’t mean you should hold back . ”
And then Ellis’s group was forced to activate the Ring of Return and returned to the Adventurer’s Guild .
“There are a few things we will have to plan out . ”
Ellis went about organizing all the new information that had just been unloaded on them .
But in the back of her mind, one thought continued to nag at her .
If the Wight Labyrinth were to be permanently cleared and disappear, what kind of faces would the Brave party end up making?
Ellis broke out into an ecstatic grin .
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