chapter_0061

61 – Dungeon Strategy (1)

61 – Dungeon Strategy (1)

Around the dungeon gate, a tent for bards was set up, where bards had gathered.

The reason they had come together was to sneak a peek at the dungeon raid.

“Hey, are we connected?”

“Just a moment… Yes! It’s coming! It’s coming!!”

As one of the bards fiddled with the crystal ball, Calix’s perspective began to appear within it.

The Third Eye transmits visual information through magical waves, much like a radio signal.

In other words, if one could detect those magical waves using the crystal ball nearby, it was possible to spy.

The reason the bards went to such lengths was simple.

They wanted to see the exploits of the current hot topic faster than anyone else.

“But even if it’s Lord Calix, isn’t a dungeon raid difficult?”

“Well, this is an A-rank dungeon, after all.”

None of the bards present had seen an A-rank dungeon firsthand, but they had heard rumors about how difficult dungeon raids could be.

As the anticipation grew about what results would unfold, it was only natural that it began.

“I bet 100 silver that Lord Calix fails the raid in the fifth room.”

“I bet 200 silver that he fails in the third room.”

“I bet 50 silver that he fails in the first room.”

The bards each placed their bets based on their predictions, and in the meantime, the video from the crystal ball began in earnest.

The video started with Calix’s viewpoint as he landed in the dungeon.

As soon as Calix touched down, he immediately checked on his companion, Sharen, and surveyed the dungeon.

After spotting a group of goblin monsters, he moved towards Sharen and, while assisting her, shot an arrow that precisely pierced the head of the goblin chief.

“Wow…”

“Oh my…”

Watching him clear the first room of the dungeon in an instant left the bards speechless with astonishment.

The bard who had quietly bet on a failure in the first room was the only one who had to pay up.

The dungeon raid was going smoothly.

No matter what room appeared, Calix, having surveyed it once, understood all the traps in the dungeon and issued precise commands.

When entering a room filled with monsters, he accurately identified the type of monsters present.

“Sharen, in this room, the rose monster ‘Rosemarine’ appears. Quickly burn them all before they spread their pollen.”

“Yes! My Lord! Ignis Pluvia!”

When entering a puzzle room, he rushed to the puzzle and gave Sharen the most appropriate instructions.

“Sharen, while I solve the puzzle, keep those slimes immobilized with wind magic. Be careful not to use any other magic, or they’ll split.”

“Yes! Understood, My Lord. Venti!”

When entering a room with traps, he provided appropriate responses to those traps.

“In this room, if you step on the floor, arrows will shoot out from the walls and carry me away.”

“Yes! Volatus!”

Calix issued suitable commands, and Sharen executed them.

Calix himself also performed perfectly as a ranger, dismantling traps and supporting the raid.

Their flawless synergy was reminiscent of a scene from a monster movie, causing those watching from outside to be misled.

“Isn’t this a B-rank dungeon? Or maybe even a C-rank dungeon?”

“Seriously, how is an A-rank dungeon being cleared so easily?”

Hamm, the dungeon investigator, wanted to throw the soldiers who made those remarks into the dungeon.

They probably underestimated the goblins in the first room and were ambushed by poisoned spears coated in excrement, leading to their demise.

From Hamm’s perspective, this dungeon was not easy; it was Calix and Sharen’s incredible skills that made it seem so.

While Red Mage Sharen was famous, he never imagined that a young lord in his twenties, with no prior dungeon-clearing experience, would display the expertise of a dungeon master who had cleared hundreds of dungeons.

What kind of self-study could lead to such proficiency?

To use Calix’s dungeon raid as material for future reference, Hamm thought about recording the scenes.

He wanted to learn from Calix once he completed the dungeon.

Sharen, who was raiding the dungeon alongside Calix, was equally astonished.

From Sharen’s perspective, Calix was not the absolute best lord in terms of abilities.

Magic was her forte, martial arts belonged to Lana, administration to Hart, commerce to Noah, and strength was needless to mention.

However, the two aspects in which Calix surpassed any lord she had seen were ‘kindness’ and ‘understanding.’

Calix loved and cherished the common folk more than any lord she had encountered, and he recognized his shortcomings, seeking help from everyone.

Thanks to that, his vassals could showcase their abilities, and the common folk could trust the lord and vassals, focusing on their own tasks.

She had never met anyone with such a kind heart and understanding since her father until she met Calix.

Every time she saw him working so hard, she wanted to be his strength.

She had viewed Calix with the feelings of an older sister watching over her younger brother, and even when entering the dungeon, she thought she would protect him.

But to her surprise, once inside the dungeon, Calix transformed into an excellent commander.

With a confident voice, he issued commands that were the closest to the correct answers even in his own mind.

At the same time, he performed his role as a ranger, supporting himself with his bow and actions, and together they perfectly navigated the dungeon.

Seeing this charismatic new side of Calix, Sharen’s heart raced.

“My Lord… you’re amazing.”

No one around had likely seen Calix like this before.

Sharen felt fortunate to be among the first to witness Calix’s new side.

As Calix and Sharen raided each room of the dungeon, screams echoed around the dungeon.

Gwooooh—

“Another goblin has popped out!”

“Archers, fire!!”

The monsters summoned by the dungeon’s screams were weak and lacked any poison.

So, they could be easily handled by the stationed soldiers and magicians.

However, there was something concerning.

Gwooooh—

“Another one!?”

“Is this really the dungeon’s scream? Isn’t it just a dungeon wave!?”

Calix’s raid speed was too fast.

The soldiers and magicians were overwhelmed dealing with the monsters that were summoned without pause.

Watching this, Magic Tower Lord Laer and his disciple Zeke commented.

“It’s going smoothly.”

“It really is.”

From their perspective, having experienced dungeon waves, this was child’s play.

In fact, it was evidence that the dungeon raid was progressing very smoothly.

But…

“Master, you seem worried.”

Zeke said, looking at Laer, who was watching Calix and Sharen’s dungeon raid.

She appeared to have some concerns.

“It’s too smooth.”

“Pardon?”

Calix and Sharen’s dungeon raid was proceeding too smoothly.

It was so perfect that it seemed to provoke the dungeon’s deity.

That aspect made Laer uneasy.

At that moment, Calix and Sharen arrived at the final room.

“Is it just this room we need to clear?”

“Yes, if we clear this room, the dungeon will be completed.”

After breaking through the penultimate room and taking a short break, Calix explained the strategy for the final room to Sharen.

Until now, Sharen had not questioned Calix’s strategies.

“Then… I’m going in.”

“Yes! My Lord.”

As Calix placed his hand on the stone door, a magic circle appeared on the stone, and the door opened.

As soon as the door opened, Sharen flew with Calix to the stone hill located in the center.

“Alright, Sharen! I’m counting on you.”

“Yes! Serpens Ignis!”

At Calix’s signal, Sharen used the Flame Serpent magic.

Simultaneously, large black spiders began to appear in the room.

However, the summoned spiders were immediately engulfed in flames from the Flame Serpent that Sharen had summoned in advance.

As the spiders, which could be considered Phase 1, burned to death, golems were summoned in exactly three directions from the stone tower.

Unlike regular golems, these golems appeared to be crafted by the gods, adorned in splendid blue armor and wielding bows.

As soon as Sharen saw the golems, she began her incantation, and Calix stepped forward.

“Exuro corde deorum.”

Kiiiiiing— Pishoot—

“One down.”

Calix shot an arrow at the eye of the golem directly in front of him.

The arrow struck the golem’s eye perfectly, causing the blue light to fade from its body, and it fell silent.

Kiiiiiing— Pishoot—

“Two down.”

Kiiiiiing— Pishoot—

“Three down.”

Without stopping, Calix continued to shoot arrows.

The three summoned golems fell silent without even having the chance to touch a bow.

As the golems, which could be considered Phase 2, were summoned and subsequently annihilated, a large magic circle began to glow in front of the stone tower.

It was evident that the final boss of the dungeon was being summoned, and at that moment, Sharen…

“Ignis sacer fiat hasta iudicii!”

Was nearly finishing her incantation.

From the magic circle, a massive monster was summoned.

That monster was a gigantic wolf with a green light akin to emerald.

The monster’s name was ‘Toshikal,’ the boss monster of this dungeon, which would typically require dozens of A-rank adventurers to tackle with great difficulty.

However, the unfortunate aspect was that someone who knew its weakness all too well was present here.

Toshikal’s weakness was the core on its head, which was particularly vulnerable to fire magic.

“Lancea Ignis Divina, perfura inimicum!”

Kuaaaang—

“Grrr…?”

The moment Toshikal was summoned, Sharen completed her incantation.

The magic she used was the ‘Spear of the Flame God.’

One of Sharen’s best offensive spells, following the flames of Lanix, it was a fire magic that could pierce even a mountain concentrated with flames that burned the world.

The ‘Spear of the Flame God’ launched from Sharen shot forth like a laser and pierced the forehead of Toshikal, who was now searching for its enemy.

Kwahk—

“Gwaaaah!”

In just 5.4 seconds after its summoning, Toshikal was defeated.

With its forehead pierced, Toshikal could no longer maintain its massive body and collapsed.

Thud—

“…Is it over?”

Sharen looked at the fallen gigantic green wolf, still unable to comprehend whether they had succeeded in the raid.

Approaching her with a joyful smile, Calix confirmed their success in the dungeon raid.

“Good job, Sharen.”

“Not at all. It was all thanks to your precise commands, My Lord.”

For Calix, the final stage of the dungeon ended here.

Now, all that remained was to collect the rewards from the dungeon raid event and exit.

As he thought this, however… nothing happened.

“But, My Lord. Is it always this quiet when a dungeon is cleared?”

“It shouldn’t be… What’s going on?”

In Calix’s memory, when a dungeon was cleared, fireworks would burst, and messages would appear in the air.

But there was no change, and the silence felt unsettling.

At that moment, words began to appear in the air.

『You have obtained the qualification of a hero.』

Qualification of a hero?

What does that mean?

Calix was taken aback by the unfamiliar message.

And he became even more flustered upon seeing the next message.

『You are invited to the ‘Chamber of Trials’ to test your qualifications.』

With that message, a white light enveloped Calix and Sharen.

As the dazzling light faded and he regained his senses, Calix looked around.

Then…

“What is that…”

“The Ice Dragon Lucila…”

In the summoned room, a massive ice dragon named ‘Lucila’ was staring at Calix and Sharen.

The bonus stage had begun.

A word from the author (Author’s Note)

Thank you for reading today as well!!

(๑ᵔᗜᵔ๑)