I still feel sluggish. While I rest on Fie's soft fur, we continue towards the 11th floor. According to Tuah, this dungeon has 14 floors in total, and his companion is on the 13th floor. The dungeon boss who made the deal with the Devil King is on the last floor. For now, our goal is to free his companion, who now takes the form of soldier Golems.
According to Princess Siti, it's almost like a typical golem, but smaller and mainly used for fighting. Their armor is stronger, they're more agile, and they're even better defensively. Their downside is the enormous amount of energy required to create and operate them, but
"Since they're Awakened Knights of the past, perhaps their energy requirements will be less? Maybe, I hope the goddess made them that way" [Princess Siti].
"I can also see that they need more than your typical golem would need" [Teliara].
"The only way to find out is to rescue them, I suppose" [JOATMON].
Mapping the dungeon floor with the help of the magical mapping device we brought from Amleth, we key in these floor features. To be honest, it's almost like any other floor. The monster is obviously much stronger, but it has nothing that stands out compared to the floor made of gold.
"Incoming" [Diana]
"Once again... The deeper we go, the higher the frequency and intensity of this petrification wave" [Dana]
"It really is. Even some of my hair has been petrified" [Tiara].
"Fortunately, we are well prepared, and our barrier works wonders, so it's reversible" [Princess Siti].
"If it were any other adventurers or knights, they wouldn't stand a chance" [Tuah]
"True. We mostly have Diana to thank for her barrier" [Merlin].
"You're welcome, although Gaia's blessing is the one that put a lot of work..." [Diana]
"You're still tired, aren't you? Don't push yourself. We will follow your pace" [Dana]
"Right..." [Diana]
The petrification wave is getting stronger and stronger. The monsters here are well adapted to it. Also, more and more golems and armored monsters have appeared on this floor, probably because they're immune to petrification.
We are all well prepared, and we get a barrier that we get beforehand, but I volunteered to set up a powerful barrier as well. I think it's better to save these things when we really need them, let's say in an intense fight where I couldn't maintain the barrier, or when one of us suddenly gets separated and all they have is the barrier to save them. I don't want them to be defenseless when the time comes.
"Hmm?" [Diana].
"It's really strange, isn't it?" [Dana]
"Truly a mystery" [Diana]
"Did you two find anything?" [Princess Siti]
"Remember when we said that our bodies reacted to this surge in the same way as poison?" [Dana]
"I remember. You said that before we even entered the dungeon." [Princess Siti]
"That's the thing. Somehow, we can locate the source even further down" [Dana]
"How?" [Tiara]
"I'm not quite sure, but we just kind of get it? The same way we can detect poison in our food and such" [Diana].
"Aru also have a similar perception. Her descendants are also blessed with similar abilities" [Tuah].
"True. She is as sensitive to poison as you two are" [Merlin].
"That means we are closed to whatever is causing it, stay alert" [Teliara].
I don't want to do this if I don't have to, but my instincts tell me we'll be in big trouble if I don't, so I activate Gaia's Blessing again and try to locate the source of the petrification.
If it's from the earth or the dungeon itself, Dana and I wouldn't even be able to detect it, but somehow our bodies tell us where it's coming from, so there must be a source somewhere.
A pond A core? Or maybe even from within the earth itself. Whatever it is, I tried my best to detect it, and when the next wave of petrification comes...
"From the dungeon boss?" [Diana]
"Something wrong Diana?" [Dana]
"You see... I was curious as to why our bodies reacted like poison to the petrifying surge, and I just activated Gaia's Blessing to find the source, and I think the dungeon boss is the one causing it" [Diana].
"Really!?" [Teliara]
"True. I'm not sure how exactly, but I can detect three things. The giant devilish boss itself, a strong pool of petrifying mana, and something like invisible blood vessels running through the entire dungeon, be it through the floor or the walls" [Diana].
"Aah. I see. No wonder you two are reacting like this. Actually, this petrification surge is more like a substance running through the dungeon than a mana surge or a curse" [Merlin].
Now that we know about it, we can better fornulate a plan against the dungeon boss