Chapter 34: Ashley's First Battle
"Sleeper Cloud!"
Ashley activated magic without incantation, and smoke blew from her hand, causing a group of goblins that had appeared from the depths of the corridor to lose consciousness and collapse to their knees.
Grace stepped forward and kicked them forcefully, causing the goblins to stick to the wall like rubber balls and remain motionless.
A pale blue magic arrow—Magic Bolt, a beginner-level spell—flew from the depths of the corridor, but we blocked it with a Magic Shield and retaliated with a lightning strike. The goblin shaman wearing a robe let out a short scream and fell.
Hmm, well, there doesn't seem to be any problem with the battle itself.
Ashley used Sleep Cloud. It was a magic that generated sleep gas. Although it fell under the category of beginner-level magic, it was a genuine healing magic. Normally, it wouldn't be taught because it could easily be misused, but Rosetta seemed relatively unconcerned about that. Perhaps it was considering Ashley's character and social standing.
"When did you learn magic without incantation?"
From now on, as we continue to explore the labyrinth with Ashley, we have to position her as a combat force and plan our battles accordingly. When I asked what she could do, she said she could use Sleep Cloud, so I had planned to use it as a first move before engaging in combat... I was a bit surprised to find out that she had already mastered magic without incantation.
"I heard that I might accompany Lord Theodore into the labyrinth. In preparation for that, I spent most of my free time practicing magic so that I could perform several useful spells without incantation. I also learned the knack of performing incantation-free spells with everyday magic."
...I guess that's why Rosetta said "It'll be fine."
"Aren't you scared, Lady Ashley?"
"I'm fine. As a lord who can use magic, I don't think I can avoid things like this. And in case of emergency, I also use Brave Wind so that my legs don't give out."
Brave Wind, a beginner-level magic. It is said to be a magic that stirs up courage.
Perhaps due to Rosetta's advice, she seems to be considering practical combat scenarios.
Both Grace and I are careful not to let the defeated enemies splatter too much, and since Grace is in a liberated state, I'm making sure that the freed Caduceus doesn't attack Ashley.
"Moreover, having you two with me is reassuring."
There is no hint of vulnerability in Ashley's expression or tone. Maybe her core is stronger than the impression I initially had. And if there are any physical issues, they can be resolved by a healing magic user.
I have also prepared a Red Transformation Stone just in case... Let's continue like this.
Now then. The current location is the 12th floor of the labyrinth's underground. For the time being, it's better to wait until the situation outside settles. Let's stay hidden to avoid trouble and gather information.
The 12th floor underground... It has become a level where goblin shamans who use magic and huge spiders that lay their nests and wait for prey to fall appear.
Although it remains questionable to call it "leveling" when it is reality, I think it's a suitable level to get used to subjugating monsters while maintaining a safety margin.
"Enemies incoming."
There appeared five wooden puppets. The number of familiar monsters appearing simultaneously seems to be increasing gradually.
"Light Bind!"
Confirming that there are no other enemies, I restrain them all at once. This time, Ashley steps forward and swings the long mace she is holding.
As we get accustomed to close-quarters combat, the plan is for Ashley to engage in close combat after restraining only the wooden puppets. It's not traumatizing to defeat puppets in any way.
"Ha!"
Ashley's swung mace successfully sent the wooden puppet's head flying.
When viewed as a magic activation tool, her long mace can't be considered outstanding... but it seems to be quite a well-crafted weapon. It appears to be enchanted with lightweight and acceleration enhancements.
With the lightweight enhancement, it becomes easy to handle, and by releasing it upon impact, its power is increased. It's a weapon that even Ashley, who doesn't excel in strength, can use easily and effectively.
As for me, who excels at close combat, having a trump card for a magician's close-quarters combat is never a disadvantage. However, the choice of a mace... I can't help but feel that it's influenced by me and Grace to some extent, which is somewhat irresponsible.
Grace is as usual. She effortlessly slices the wooden puppets with her axe. To her, wooden puppets are nothing more than firewood. While Ashley takes down one of them, Grace swings her dual axes vertically and horizontally, finishing off the remaining puppets.
"Well done."
"And you too, Ashley-sama."
The two exchange smiles and look at each other. It's strangely harmonious for a labyrinth exploration... Well, the enemies are weak, after all.
They quickly finish skinning the monsters and continue down the corridor, where they spot a door to the side. Opening the door and peeking inside, they see a wooden box in the middle of the room.
Now, now. This time's exploration has become more exciting with the addition of looting.
In other words, the treasure chests have reappeared since the new moon. Although there won't be any significant treasures on this floor, considering Ashley's leveling and the opportunity for the two of them to share basic information about exploration, I plan to adhere to the basics and take it slow.
Usually, treasure chests are placed in small or large rooms... but since there's no guarantee that there are no monsters, caution is necessary when entering a room.
There don't seem to be any traps in this room or in the treasure chest. The contents of the box were low-grade healing potions.
Potions are reassuring to have because they can easily treat injuries, but they can be quite bulky to carry around. Moreover, considering their relatively high selling price, it's a bit of a dilemma whether to keep them or transfer them.
"We don't have any around here yet. But if you go a little further down to the lower floors, be careful of traps set on the entrances and treasure chests."
"Yes."
"Understood."
The two nodded at each other.
"Well, I'll take care of disarming them."
"Shouldn't we learn how to do it too?"
"No, I'll handle it."
Differentiating trap types and learning how to disarm them require memorization of various things, and it's not something that can be accomplished overnight. It's unnecessary to learn it while getting injured in the field... No need for that.
Besides, it's better for Ashley to stay completely untouched. It's best to avoid situations where the party's healer gets injured. If I get injured, well, Ashley's healing magic is more potent, so there's no problem.
As they continued to explore the small room, they found a staircase leading to the 13th basement floor.
"We'll encounter Cutter Mantises from the 13th basement floor."
They were giant praying mantises armed with sharp sickles. The sickles, which are their valuable body parts, can be used for extracting magic stones, and they are sturdy enough to be processed into tools as they are.
While descending and continuing their exploration, they noticed a slightly different door along the corridor.
"What about that door? It looks different from the previous ones."
"It's a large room. They made it distinct in the shallower floors. There might be a large number of monsters inside, so be careful when entering."
"I see... What will you do?"
"Of course, we'll rush in. It's good to see a monster room for ourselves, and it'll be a learning experience for future reference."
I don't know if it can be called experience points or levels... but conquering monster rooms will surely contribute to strengthening our forces.
"...Then let's go. Ashley, stay near the entrance and don't go too deep. Caduceus will provide defense, so you can calmly cast spells."
"Understood."
Ashley nodded and began chanting, her voice resonating throughout the labyrinth.
"Round Guardian!"
A sphere of light revolved around me and Grace.
It was a fourth-level light magic. A type of defensive magic.
It circled around the target, acting as a shield against attacks from the back and blind spots. Among Ashley's currently usable magic, it's the most advanced one.
As soon as the spell was completed, we opened the door and jumped into the room together with Grace.
And there it was—a perfectly arranged monster room. Spiders and mantises. Ants too, but... I'm not particularly fond of insect-like monsters. Well, spiders aren't insects, though.
"Blizzard!"
Rank 6 magic. A mid-level combination of water and wind magic. As the vortex of cold air raged in the room, the movements of the enemies visibly worsened.
Leaving the defense magic to Grace and Ashley, I leaped onto the nearby mantis.
I swung my magic staff like a windmill, severing the mantis's arms at the joints and crushing its head. The mantis was torn apart by the rotation of the staff, dancing in the air.
"Air Bullet."
The Huge Spider sprayed its silk, but I repelled it with wind magic.
Bathing in its own silk, the giant spider flailed its legs.
The reason the spider doesn't get caught in its own web is because it chooses non-sticky vertical threads as footholds. In other words, if I push back the adhesive silk and shower it with wind, this is what happens. I drove an Icicle Lance into it, stopping it firmly, and moved on to the next enemy.
I slipped through the scythe and jumped into its guard. From a circular position, I unleashed martial arts techniques, Heavenly Impact Kick. With a kick infused with magical power, the mantis was blown vertically from below. As it fell, I severed it into two from its torso.
I glanced at the two.
What caught my eye was a mantis that had been crushed to pieces along with Grace's scythe.
Grace threw the axes she held in her hands alternately, pulling them back each time, swinging them at a speed that seemed like a joke, and dismembering the monsters.
As for Ashley, it seemed like she was concentrating on chanting.
Naturally, she herself was defenseless, but a mantis had carelessly approached and impaled her from below with Caduceus. The same went for the spider's silk that was thrown. It was accurately blocked by Caduceus. Caduceus' defense was flawless. There seemed to be no opponent who could break through in this area of the dungeon.
"Aqua Jail!"
Rank 3 water magic. A spell that traps and suffocates in a cage of water. Of course, it has ample effect on insects as well.
The mantis struggled inside the cubic water prison.
――It seems there are no problems over there either. Then, let's focus on this side.
"Thunder Cloud!"
Rank 6 lightning magic. A dark cloud enveloped in purple lightning spreads radially.
It's not a magic with the speed of a lightning bolt, but if you touch that cloud, you get electrocuted. In the tightly packed monster room――there's no space to dodge.
The monsters in sight all turned into blackened corpses.
It didn't take much time to annihilate them all.
Around 30 Cutter Mantises and Huge Spiders combined. The part to be harvested from the spiders is their abdomen.
I caused quite a commotion, but there are still a decent number of individuals that can be harvested. If the damage is severe, I'll cast a magic to extract magic stones collectively, so there won't be any waste. It's troublesome to fight while being considerate.
The individual value is not that great... but there's a good amount of them, so I can expect a fairly decent harvest.