episode_0084

During the remaining time, we carefully re-examined the situation. We mainly reviewed our knowledge about the dungeon.

“Ugh… a zone people can pass through? What does that even mean?”

“It means an accessible zone.”

Within the dungeon, it wasn’t just magic beasts that hindered human movement.

There were various natural formations and obstacles naturally created within the dungeon, as well as peculiar phenomena they caused. Stepping in the wrong place could result in being drenched in hundreds of degrees of boiling metal vapor or falling into pits containing dangerous substances.

“Scouting will be important, after all.”

“Let’s split up and send out a vanguard.”

In such cases, I thought it best to deploy the clones. Then, there would be no need for hardship. The time spent searching for a safe path would also be reduced.

“Did you finish explaining everything?”

“They were convinced when I told them it was an incredibly rare artifact. Let’s bring it quickly.”

For now, I decided to quickly put my thoughts into action.

I’m giving the inventory to my friend!

***

A few days before the field trip, an armed Violet unit advanced through the gray ruins.

“One, two. One, two!”

Scouts armed with crossbows, shotguns, and short swords navigated through the ruins, searching for dangers.

A little further from the scouts, the main Violet force, dressed in black, was waiting.

Among the heavily armed troops with shields and rifles, there was a beautiful silver-haired girl.

Daphne checked the dungeon’s internal situation by looking at the display attached to her mechanical-looking staff.

“Current dungeon temperature is 15 degrees Celsius, Aether concentration is at average levels, and no other anomalies are visible in other readings. Shall we depart then?”

“This is a beginner area, though? I don’t think there’s any need to check such things…”

“No! Safety is paramount. Didn’t you know you must always confirm relevant details before searching a dungeon? It’s all done now. Let’s go.”

The Violet unit walked down through the gray, inorganic terrain.

“Violet, no… Violet Number 12, was it?”

“Number 12 is that kid holding the shield up front. I’m Number 54!”

“I’m Number 31!”

“This is Number 198. Nice to meet you!”

“Number 76! Just trust me!”

Seeing us swarming, Daphne closed her eyes and shook her head, as if her head was throbbing.

“Ah…! Stop! There are too many! Can you please give me a moment to think?”

The sight of identically-looking people reacting, speaking, and moving simultaneously seemed completely unfamiliar to her. But I understand!

Even Irene and Kalia had looked at us moving in perfect unison like robots with a somewhat uneasy gaze. When I asked them later, they said it felt a bit creepy and scary.

Moreover, look at the appearance of the Violets currently escorting her in the dungeon. They are wearing combat suits, balaclavas, masks, and goggles. It’s truly an inhuman sight.

Yurik Teacher-nim’s words from once upon a time came to mind: a clone army created by an evil secret society. It was an apt analogy, hard to deny.

“Next time, instead of all talking at once, could just one person speak when we converse? Please.”

“Understood!”

“I get it!”

“We will!”

“…Oh, my head…”

The Violets became glum.

We were currently taking Daphne to the deep layers of the Novastia Dungeon, to the location of the multi-dimensional storage bag.

This was because I felt it was better to give this precious bag to my friends rather than leaving it abandoned.

It would be even better to give it to someone with excellent support abilities.

Except for the occasional sounds of combat and the screams of magic beasts echoing through the alleys, this place was disturbingly quiet.

“Squad 1, what’s the current situation?”

“We encountered a pack of Skraxs. We annihilated them. Three minor injuries, no fatalities yet.”

“This is Squad 2, can you hear us? I don’t know which clan dispatched them, but they’re hunting noisily. Some of the packs that heard the noise are scattering and moving, and their path overlaps with the main force. Be careful.”

As we passed a split road, the problematic creatures that Squad 2 Violet had warned about appeared.

-Guaaaaaal!

A pack of over a hundred Skraxs rushed towards us. To make matters worse, there was a significant number of Skraxs Casters mixed within the pack. Daphne, who had been at the back, approached the front line holding shields.

“It’s dangerous. Stay back…”

“No, I can’t do that. Did you think I would just stand by and watch Violets get hurt?”

She calmly, yet with a powerful motion, lightly tapped the tip of her staff on the ground. A small, pale green protective barrier appeared around each of us standing with shields at the front.

-Whoosh!

The light bullets fired by the Skraxs Casters flew towards the front line. The light bullets struck the barriers, lost their power, and vanished.

“Wow! I thought you could only create one barrier at a time?”

“That’s when I’m not using my staff. When I utilize the staff, the range of my unique ability is amplified!”

Daphne shrugged, seemingly proud. While the creatures recharged their light bullets, our counterattack began.

“Kuaoooooook!”

The Violets holding shields immediately pulled out their riot shotguns and squeezed the triggers. The immense lead shots, obtained at the cost of violent explosions and recoil, shredded the leading Skraxs.

“Wow, the performance is amazing, isn’t it?”

As the pump was pulled, smoke-billowing brass casings clattered and rolled across the floor. Immediately, the Violets in the second row also pulled out their automatic rifles and crossbows and began firing indiscriminately.

-Tatata-bang!

“Haha! Die!”

The Skraxs pack was turned into pulp before they could even approach us. Bullets and bolts pierced the heads of those fleeing, causing them to collapse.

“Woohoo!”

“It’s a victory for human civilization!”

The Violets were thrilled.

Afterward, with Daphne’s support and overwhelming firepower, we proceeded smoothly to the deep layers.

“Groooooh…!” “Magic beast detected! Five Growlers!”

Muscular magic beasts in giant humanoid forms stomped across the rooftops of buildings and charged toward us. They hurled large chunks of concrete.

“Be careful!”

In a normal situation, we would have scattered, but now there was no need. Daphne had immediately deployed the protective barrier.

-Thud!

While the concrete rocks struck the barrier and shattered uselessly, the Violets fired their shotguns and crossbows. Our automatic rifles lacked sufficient firepower.

Bolts pierced and burst in their bodies, and shotgun pellets covered their skin in blood. But the Growlers still moved vigorously. Indeed, tenacious life force.

“Command instructions! Use combat rifles! Don’t forget to conserve ammo!”

The Violets immediately pulled out their federal combat rifles and sniped the Growlers. A large hole was torn through the chest of one of them.

The Growlers, realizing their comrade had died, flinched as they tried to leap forward in fury. Magical chains restrained their limbs.

“Two o’clock! Fire!”

“Concentrated fire!”

While Daphne sealed the Growlers’ movements with magic, a crossfire turned them into smashed tomatoes.

In the midst of the battle, buildings crumbled in the distance as a colossal magic beast approached.

The most powerful intermediate magic beast in the Novastia Dungeon. The Crawler. This caterpillar-shaped beast that eats rocks and iron crushes anything that stands in its way.

“Let’s run!”

Daphne made a hand seal with her fingers and once again tapped the ground with her staff. Pale green magic swept over the Violets’ bodies, making them feel lighter. An even more powerful auxiliary effect was added to their enhanced physiques.

“I feel like I’m moving faster!”

“It’s a simple application of my abilities and magic! No time to explain, so run! Huh?”

“This will be faster, let’s go!”

The Violets carried Daphne and ran desperately down the alley. However, the Crawler continued to pursue us.

“Aaaargh! It’s coming!”

“What?! Why does it keep coming?!”

“Crawlers aren’t usually that aggressive! We’re just in its path!”

And of all things, both sides of the path we were running on were filled with buildings too high to leap over, even with enhanced physiques!

“Aargh! I’m gonna die!”

Violet Number 198, who was running in the back, ended up being crushed by the Crawler. Daphne, who was being carried away at the front, heard the scream and looked back. Her face turned as pale as a corpse.

“Kyaaaah! Violet! No! That! That’s Number 198, right? What do we do?!”

“Don’t worry! Number 198 lives on in our hearts!”

“Are you! Seriously! Saying that right now?!”

If we kept going like this, it felt like we’d have to run forever. After sending Daphne ahead, 20 members of the main force charged at the Crawler.

“Everyone, climb aboard!”

We rapidly circulated magic throughout our bodies and leaped onto the creature. Five were crushed, and fifteen managed to cling onto its body and climb up. I summoned five more.

“Die!”

One Violet pulled out a combat rifle and fired rapidly. However, the Crawler’s carapace deflected the bullets. They said its durability was comparable to tank armor, and that proved to be true.

The Violets switched to melee weapons and began frantically hacking at the Crawler. Let’s add five more here.

-Woooooah!

Red sword energy sliced through its carapace like a hot knife through butter. The creature, feeling pain, thrashed about. As Number 31 roughly carved away the carapace near its head, a green glowing inner flesh became visible.

“Eat this bomb!”

We shoved the homemade bomb into its head and leaped off simultaneously.

-Boom!

The Crawler lost its balance and toppled sideways.

“We won!”

However, the battle wasn’t over. The ruined buildings collapsed one after another due to the Crawler’s fall.

“I’m crushed! Get me out!”

The bodies of the Violets who emerged from the rubble were covered in injuries, big and small. Once their safety was confirmed, Daphne returned and chastised us fiercely.

“Are you insane?! Even if you feel less pain and revive, this is madness!”

“Hehehe… But we won, right? This is the Violet way.”

Daphne made a tearful face. She reluctantly struck her staff on the ground.

“Oooh..!”

“Power surges!”

A healing light enveloped the bodies of the Violets present. We felt refreshed and stood up.

Fighting like this, Daphne and our combination was beyond imagination. Healing, support, protection! And the effects were applied to the entire Violet unit over a wide area.

Less than an hour later, we arrived at the deep layers, the area where the inventory was, without any issues.

So fast, so fast.