Chapter 378

Chapter 378

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 378: Paracelsus’s Spirits (3)

As a dungeon kept secret and unnamed, the security surrounding it was strict.

Of course, we were able to enter without incident by showing the order Milone had written.

The building looked like a simple military facility at first glance. Descending into the basement, we saw a familiar blue light.

We stepped into the dungeon entrance, which resembled a burning ring… and in an instant, we found ourselves in a completely different space.

“Oh… it’s a bit chilly.”

“The Great Forest was warm because it’s in the southern part of the continent, right? We’re basically on a northern mountainside with these clothes, so it’s bound to be cold. But if you’re too cold, Master, how about using the human heater, Carla?”

“Hey!”

“Kya!”

While hugging Carla, who was spreading her arms wide and smiling seductively, I looked around.

All I could see was a desolate landscape of rocks. When I looked up, the pointed peaks were covered in snow.

It’s a common sight in the north. Just as the Circulating Life created the World Tree and the Great Forest around it to provide a good place for elves to live.

The Clashing Steel created mountains rich in minerals throughout the north. This place was probably one of those originally.

Dwarves would only care about the minerals buried underground and wouldn’t bother with caves in the mountainside.

That’s probably why Paracelsus settled here.

As I nodded inwardly, I suddenly felt something soft, fluffy, and incredibly heavy on my back.

This feeling, full of dreams and hope…

“Senior Faye?”

Turning around, I saw Faye clinging to my back, shivering.

What’s wrong? She’s not scared, is she? It’s not her first dungeon.

Under my steady gaze, Faye slowly opened her mouth.

“C-cold…! Junior! It’s so cold here! It’s not just a bit chilly!”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, Faye has the least mana among our group.

Having mana provides various advantages. Reduced minor illnesses, less weight gain, slower aging, and better tolerance to cold and heat.

It seems to enhance homeostasis. Naturally, the stronger the mana, the better the effect.

For Faye, who has about the average mana of a lower-level magician, it must feel much colder here.

If I leave her like this, she’ll probably blow her nose on my back, so I quickly pulled a robe out of my inventory.

It’s the invisibility robe Iris made for me a while ago. I haven’t used it lately, but it’ll be useful for Faye.

“Wear this. It has temperature control and basic defense functions besides invisibility, so you’ll feel better.”

“Thank you…”

Faye finally slid off my back, looking limp.

“But didn’t you get one from Iris, too, Senior Faye?”

“Ah.”

Faye jumped in surprise and pulled out an identical robe from her subspace pocket.

Then, she gave me the robe with an awkward smile.

“Do you want to use this instead…?”

“No, it’s fine. Just take it off when we leave the dungeon.”

“Okay!”

Faye nodded vigorously and buried her face in the robe with her signature creepy smile.

“Hehe… hehehe…”

…She knew she had a robe, didn’t she?

I had a reasonable suspicion, but I decided to let it go. We need to start the dungeon raid soon.

“Elisha, Iris. You two are leading this time, right?”

“Yes. We’ll basically fight, but we’d appreciate a little help if it gets dangerous or necessary. Right, Teacher?”

“Hmm? Oh, right. We’re basically joining a large-scale battle, so we don’t know what might happen. Please take care of Faye.”

“…Teacher? We asked you to help us if we’re in danger, though?”

“Ah! R-Right! I mean, there’s no way the two of us could clear this whole thing alone. Having our Master watching our backs would be reassuring!”

“You weren’t listening at all, were you, Teacher? It’s fine to collect your thoughts, but please focus for now. Things are about to get dangerous.”

“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Iris nodded slightly and pulled out her staff with a stern expression. Elisha, watching her, shook her head and pulled out her staff.

“So? Where do we go?”

“It’s simple. Just keep going up.”

In H&A, you could see the golems and monsters fighting in front of the workshop if you just went straight. Now, in reality, we should hear the fighting from the middle.

“Just follow the sound from there.”

“Hmm. Easy enough. Teacher, should I lead?”

“…No. I’ll lead. A teacher can’t hide behind their student, can they?”

Iris said and trotted off with her short legs. Elisha followed closely behind, and we moved a bit further back.

After walking for a while, we heard a faint roar. If I could hear it, the High Elves with their keen senses would hear it more clearly.

Iris, at the front, stopped and raised her staff high.

Whoosh.

Mana waves spread out from the staff. Iris, using a wide-area detection spell, flinched and glared at the air.

“It’s that way. Let’s go, Elisha.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

They flew off quickly using flight magic while preparing other spells with multi-casting.

The faint sound became clearer, and we could distinguish the monsters’ roars and the sound of something breaking.

Shortly after, we arrived at an open space. We saw the battlefield at the end.

“Kieeeeeeeeeeek!”

“Eat… youuuu!”

“Raaaaaaaaa!”

Huge monsters charged at us, each making its own roar. It was a scene reminiscent of the Solaris invasion.

On the other hand, those fighting back were knights with a build of only about 2 meters. Compared to humans, they were quite large, but compared to the large monsters, they were a pathetic size.

But they calmly swung their weapons, as if they felt no fear.

It was natural. They were wearing full-body armor like knights, but those were golems.

Golems have no emotions. There’s no such thing as abandoning a mission due to fear and leaving the battlefield.

They simply maintain their formation as ordered and slaughter the monsters one by one.

The monsters looked like they were half elephant and half boar. They had hard carapaces and incredibly huge bodies. But they were a cursed race that had to eat constantly to maintain all of this.

The Behemoth, trusting in its strength, charged. The golem knights were thrown around like bowling pins, unable to overcome the overwhelming weight difference.

But only for a moment. The golem knights around them moved organically, as if they were one body, and formed a formation.

The chronic weakness of giant quadrupeds. Three golem knights entered under the Behemoth’s belly without hesitation.

The Behemoth’s carapace was so hard that it couldn’t be penetrated by ordinary aura. But golems were beings that couldn’t create aura in the first place.

They had prepared their own countermeasures for this cutting force problem.

Weeeeeeeng!

The shark-tooth-like jagged blades began to rotate at high speed, making a gruesome sound.

And the golem with the chainsaw was no different from a skilled dismantler.

They broke the carapace, tore off the skin, and ground the flesh. The golems made sure to stab the Behemoth’s belly.

“Kkuuhhhhhhh!”

The Behemoth screamed in pain for the first time in its life and sat down, covering its belly.

Thwack!

The impact was enough to shake the ground. There was no need to mention what happened to the golem underneath.

But as if their purpose was to make it sit down, the golem knights rushed towards the Behemoth’s bent joints.

They shoved the saw-blade swords into the open knee joints and even squeezed themselves inside.

No matter how big and strong it is, it can’t move with 2m metal lumps stuck in its joints.

The Behemoth, unable to move, is just helpless prey.

The golem knights on its back chopped up its bones, and the golems far away, transforming their arms into cannons, fired magic cannons.

The Behemoth was wriggling to get out somehow, but if more time passed, it would lose its strength and die.

But not all golems fight this well.

They were helplessly defeated by the Abomination Chimera, which looked like it was made by roughly combining threatening creatures.

Against the Acid Slime, which was as big as a small building, they couldn’t fight in close combat and were eaten after only firing magic cannons.

A battle between golems and monsters that seemed endless, killing and being killed.

Elisha and Iris intervened in the middle.

Blue and white hair fluttering in the enormous mana.

The shadow of the elements floating behind their heads had a considerable amount of light, perhaps because it revealed all four elements.

It looked like a halo was shining.

The attention of the battlefield was focused on their intense presence.

The golems were watching quietly as if gauging something, and the monsters were rushing in.

But the magic was already completed.

“Elemental Burst.”

“Elemental Circle.”

A low-level incantation.

The world briefly went white.