At the same time.
Lake Kingdom's underground dungeon.
Beyond Sector 4, known as the [Grand Park], lay Sector 5, the [Fountain's Path].
The most perilous place in the dungeon of Sector 5, it was a necessary route to the next depth of the dungeon, the Inner Castle in Sector 6.
During the times when the Lake Kingdom flourished, this area had been a beautiful marble walkway, stretching between enormous ponds where dazzling fountains sprayed.
Now, all that remained was the horrendous stone path, shattered into fragments, lying above the foul-smelling pond that had dried up into darkness.
'...'
Nameless stood on the path, gripping her sword.
She remembered that this place was once beautiful, but the scenery itself was forgotten.
Too much time had passed, and just as the city had eroded, so had her memories. They had worn away, like her faded, lost name.
She only acted in accordance with the duty etched into her body.
Killing the monsters that had occupied this place, killing them again and again, making sure they could not escape to the outside world.
And then-
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Before her, three shadows emitting an evil aura approached.
A massive muscular werewolf with a silvery-red mane.
A succubus whose sensual figure was revealed through torn monk robes.
And something wearing a black coat and a stark white crow mask, leading a swarm of flies and rats.
The three monsters strolled down the destroyed fountain path, stopping ten paces away from Nameless.
A smirk crossed Nameless's face as she looked at the monsters.
"The Wolf King, the Great Seductress, and the Master of Plague. How generous of the Nightmare Legion to send three of you to die. Today will be a feast."
Swoosh-
The old sword in Nameless's hand pointed forward.
"Perfect timing. I just sharpened this blade, and I've been wanting to test how well it cuts."
But the monsters didn't seem particularly inclined to fight Nameless.
The figure with the white crow mask stepped forward. A heavy, cracked voice leaked from behind the mask.
"Step aside, Nameless One. We have no business with you today."
"No business? But we have a duty to kill each other."
"Today, we are after other prey."
Chill anger crept into the voice of the white crow mask.
"The humans of the outside world... Those who will become our cattle, have killed Orlop and Celendion."
'...'
"They even have the audacity to roam the Lake Kingdom now."
They were speaking of Ash and his companions. Nameless's mouth tightened.
"We must capture them and present them to the King. That takes precedence over our pointless but enjoyable fight with you. So step aside, Nameless One."
The werewolf listening to the conversation growled menacingly.
"Those human insects, insignificant as they are, dared to scratch the mighty Nightmare King's army! I'll tear them into pieces with my claws!"
The succubus beside him then covered her mouth and giggled.
"How barbaric. Why not let them fall under my charm instead?"
The succubus's long finger gently traced her soft, curving body.
"I'm intrigued. Even if it's all true, that Celendion was killed! I'm curious, curious, curious! What kind of human is he? What taste does he have? What screams will he make? Ahhh, I'll hold him tight in my embrace and make both his body and heart my slaves."
At that, the white crow mask spoke in a bubbling low voice.
"The mere pain of a wound, the mere pain of a bewitching, cannot suffice to pay for the sins that creature has committed."
The white crow mask whipped its black coat, then lifted its gloved white hand, tightly clenching it.
"He shall be made the host of all the plagues of this world while still alive. Thus, he will taste all the pain that exists in this world."
Observing the monsters proclaiming they would kill Ash in their own way, Nameless chuckled.
"What nonsense have you been spouting all this time, monsters? Who said I'd let you pass?"
Swish-!
As Nameless lightly swung his sword, the dried pond's black droplets were swept up by the sword wind, rising into a circle.
"Even if you suddenly go mad and depart to perform some good deed, I will stop you. Facing you monsters is my duty."
"..."
"Draw your weapons, monsters. Between us, words mean nothing anymore, don't they?"
The white crow mask, who had been watching Nameless closely, tilted its head.
"So... Have you sharpened that sword again today, Nameless One?"
"I've honed the blade well. Smooth enough to cut your necks and still remain sharp."
"Hasn't the frequency of sharpening increased compared to before?"
At the sudden words, Nameless's brows furrowed. The white crow mask was now cackling.
"You used to not care about sharpening the sword, and you fought without a rest for hundreds of nights. Now you cannot, can you?"
"..."
"You, and your sword, are wearing down and decaying."
"There will surely come a day when I'll rust and fall,"
Nameless's voice grew fierce, and a dazzling white light began to emit from her sword.
"But that's not today."
"I agree, Nameless One. Today you still shine brilliantly."
The werewolf stood its silver mane on end, and the witch prepared a bewitching spell with a strong aroma.
Giant white crow wings spread from the white crow mask's back. Behind him, countless swarms of flies and rats gathered.
"But, the time is drawing near. Soon your noble soul will fall into complete corruption, as all great humans have."
"..."
"And on that day, this Lake Kingdom will finally fall into utter darkness, and the outside world will also be swallowed by a nightmare."
The white crow mask laughed grimly in its hoarse, cracked voice.
"I'll happily await that day, counting the plagues and curses that will mar you hideously."
Facing such monsters, Nameless charged forward.
In this endless hellish struggle, there was only one wish.
'Keep the fire burning, Ash.'
A small torch that scoured the darkness here, protecting that thread-like possibility.
'And never extinguish that flame.'
That was all there was to it.
***
Bubbling! Splashing! Sloshing!
With sounds like wet jelly, the monsters rolled forward.
"Ahhhhhh! Noooooo!"
I couldn't help but flinch, retreating backward.
This season's monster was none other than the slime.
That jelly-like creature frequently used as an early-stage monster in many games.
"My lord!"
Lucas, rushing to my side, raised his sword. I quickly cried out.
"Ah, Lucas! Don't do it!"
But Lucas's sword was already falling straight down. Oh no!
Splat-!
With a somewhat adorable noise, the slime split in two.
And then...
Splat! Splat!
It made an even cuter sound as it 'divided' again!
Although it was now exactly half its original size, it had perfectly divided into two identical creatures. Lucas's face fell into shock.
"My sword didn't work?!"
"Move over, old man!"
That's when Evangeline charged in, thrusting her spear.
Splat-
With the same cute sound, the tip of her spear pierced the slime.
But the slime just jiggled like pudding around the spear, and then flowed right down, leaving it unharmed.
Seeing no apparent damage, Evangeline also screamed, "My spear doesn't work?!"
In 'Protect the Empire,' physical attacks were divided into three types: slashing, piercing, and striking.
The effectiveness varied depending on the situation, and in the case of slimes, it was quite a headache.
'Slashing attacks cause them to divide, and piercing attacks hardly do any damage!'
Of course, if you aimed for and hit the core precisely, you could kill it in one shot. But the core of a slime was harder to detect than a vampire's, and above all...
Splash! Splash!
There were so many!
There were too many of these slime bastards! If you cut them wrong, they kept dividing, making them even more annoying to kill!
'There's a limit to how many times each one can divide, but that's meaningless with these numbers...!'
Eventually, I pulled my two vanguard knights back.
"Lucas! Evangeline! Fall back!"
"Grr...!"
"Ah, okay!"
As the two knights hastily retreated, I reached out to Junior.
"Junior! Show them the value of the new equipment!"
Junior, smiling slyly, began to prepare a lightning spell.
"You've made an excellent investment, Your Highness!"
Junior swung his new staff, and
Zap-!
Dozens of lightning bolts struck down on the swarm of slimes.
In an instant, scores of slimes were fried by the lightning, dissolving into nothingness. The few that remained were taken care of by Damien's sniping.
Although Damien's sniping was also a piercing attack, thanks to [Far-Sight], he could aim directly at the enemy's core.
"Phew..."
I sighed in relief as I watched the slimy creatures swept away.
This place was the Lake Kingdom Dungeon's third area [Northern Fortress]. For our party's current level, it was a relatively easy place to clear.
However, our two vanguard knights had become useless. The equipment was too severely affected by the circumstances.
'The vanguard character must receive proper attack support to perform well in defense.'
At this rate, we were lacking the means to fend off the slimes, and the two in the front line wouldn't be able to withstand them.
After a moment's thought, I gathered the party members.
"Fall back!"
To the party members staring at me with surprised eyes, I nodded.
"Our weapons don't have a good affinity against these slime creatures. Let's go back and get the appropriate equipment."
As the slimes would attack again during the next defense, we needed to return to Crossroad and craft suitable weapons for the two knights. Blunt weapons with striking attributes.
'Should I borrow a mace from Kellibey at the base camp?'
But that old man was already immersed in crafting the equipment we had ordered earlier. We wouldn't see his face until he had finished.
"If you need striking power, I can hit them with the flat side of my sword!"
"I have a shield!"
The two knights held up their weapons, making their case, but I dismissed them.
"How long do you think you can fight like that? Instead, let's create one auxiliary weapon each."
Since these were not their main weapons but temporary equipment for this occasion, they could be made quickly at the forge. We could also grab a ready-made item.
In the end, we returned to Crossroad much earlier than planned.
***
Flash!
Upon returning through the teleport gate to the mansion, the first thing that caught my eye was...
"Huh?!"
The scene of the mansion's walls, previously painted in Evangeline's bling-bling style, being restored to their original condition. Workers were diligently applying the new color.
Evangeline opened her mouth and uttered a foolish sound.
"What?! Wha-wha-wha?!"
The interior of the mansion visible through the window was the same. The workers were busily restoring the living room and dining room to their previous design.
I slapped my forehead in surprise. We had returned too early, and the interior restoration work wasn't yet finished.
Realizing the situation, Evangeline grabbed her cheeks with her hands and screamed in shock.
"Aaahhhh! Nooo! My precious, tiny interior design!"
She screamed and ran into the mansion.
I nodded my head contentedly. It was the reaction I wanted to see.
I had hoped to see her face in despair after the interior was completely removed, but her current scream wasn't too bad either.
"We'll head back to the dungeon tomorrow morning. Rest well today..."
After instructing the rest of the party to rest, I looked towards the city, muttering to myself.
"Where is Kuilan?"
We were ahead of schedule, but that couldn't be helped.
'Slimes are the opponents in this stage. Striking attributes are effective.'
A fighter whose very nature was a striking attribute dealer.
It was time to call up the Bandit King Kuilan to the first squad.