1st Floor of the Secret Archive.
According to my memory, the 1st floor was laid out in a line starting from weak monsters to stronger ones. It was like a relay training ground.
The last monster was a troll, the quintessential fantasy creature, which could be quite tricky, but if my memory serves me right, the very first monster is…
“Johann! That’s a slime, right? I wonder if it’s all squishy if I touch it?”
“Well, it might sting a bit.”
They said the internal structure has a slight acidity, so it’s probably going to sting.
“It’s been ages since I’ve seen a slime…”
Karina muttered in a reminiscent voice. Slimes… here, slimes were still at the bottom of the food chain. Even kids aged six or seven could beat them with a wooden stick.
Despite that, surprisingly, slimes had a lot of uses. In some regions, they even set up slime slaughterhouses to supply materials.
…I might just buy some slime essence or pieces to research a bit.
In any case, no one needed to step forward against the slime.
It was far too weak of a monster to practice tactics against. As soon as Luis’s sword flash shimmered, the slimes split in half and perished. The dead slimes slowly faded away as if they had never existed.
It’s definitely an illusion.
“This is a bit anti-climactic…”
“Don’t let your guard down. A more troublesome monster will show up next.”
First was the slime, and then it was the goblins, right? After about three more minutes of progress, we encountered the next monster.
A dozen goblins. Four with shoddy bows and six wielding clubs and chipped axes. This was too easy again.
They were still too awkward to sync properly as a team. Once more, when I left it to Luis, they couldn’t even scream before their heads were gone.
As expected, the protagonist.
So it’s pure swordsmanship that overwhelms them.
We paused briefly to observe the vanishing goblin corpses before moving forward again. If we kept this up, we would surely encounter a worthy opponent for practicing team synergy.
The first monster that could help us practice teamwork appeared when about twenty or so orcs filled the corridor.
“Johann, that’s a lot!”
“The n-number…”
“There’s way too many!”
“Twenty orcs… what a terrifying sight.”
“Luis! Focus on defense. The mages will cast incantations simultaneously but fire in order. Viola, spray the orcs with paralysis poison.”
“Got it!”
The mages, each expressing their excitement, began to cast spells per my orders. Though it was grade 4 magic and hardly needed an incantation, casting was still casting. A fireball the size of a soccer ball created by Elisa shot toward the orcs.
The fireball sliced through the air and hit an orc that was bringing down its axe on Luis’s head.
With a small explosion, the orc staggered. Other orcs, startled, turned their eyes toward the burning one.
Did they sense which side was more dangerous?
“Shuri. Martina. Hit the orcs on either end in order with your magic.”
Priority for attacks went to the ones in positions hard for Luis to cover.
Both of their spells flew from their hands toward the orcs. Blades of wind and crackling spheres—wind and lightning, huh? Then the next spell was clear.
“Elisa. Drench those guys.”
“Yes, yes… Water!”
A simple grade 4 spell, a sphere the size of a basketball began to hover above Elisa’s head. As the electric sphere cooked one orc, and the blade of wind sliced off another’s arm, the water sphere erupted over an orc’s head.
Instantly soaking wet, the orcs tilted their heads in confusion. But once they realized it didn’t hurt them, they screamed at the top of their lungs and charged back at Luis and Viola. This was a life-or-death situation.
“Shuri. Lightning ball.”
“Four!”
“Luis. Fall back.”
At my command, Luis leaped off the ground and retreated. The orcs charged us, but they were met by magic balls fully charged with lightning even faster than they could reach us.
“…Ugh, the smell.”
Everyone pinched their noses with their fingers. It was the smell of burning flesh from the orcs that had been collectively electrocuted. Why does the illusion have such faithfully rendered smells?
Was it to make the combat feel as real as possible?
“Elisa. Shuri. Martina. Remember, it’s not just about powerful magic; it’s about layering one magic over another to effectively deal with enemies. Keep thinking. Just shooting fireballs is not that efficient, so remember that.”
“Got it!”
Sure, shooting fireballs is the most firepower, but even a sword blow creates an explosion like that. Yet here, the mages loved using firepower above all else.
It was rare to have two mages in the same party, so it couldn’t be helped.
Unless you’re an exceptionally talented mage, it’s tough to use several different types of magic realistically.
“Looks like they finally disappeared.”
We started moving again. From slimes to orcs. We were definitely getting stronger along the way, so the next one had to be more powerful.
What monsters could be stronger than orcs? I didn’t remember every monster that would appear, so I thought about what could possibly be stronger as we moved forward.
“Johann! We have a new enemy up ahead! Werewolves!”
“W-werewolves?!”
At Luis’s report, I shifted slightly to observe the werewolves charging toward us. They were indeed stronger than orcs.
Thirty of them.
Way more than I expected.
Was the difficulty being adjusted according to numbers?
Damn meticulous attention to detail.
“Shuri, douse them with water. Elisa, use ice magic to freeze the water Shuri sprays. Martina, pour more water on top of that. Got it?”
“Four!”
“Yes, yes…”
“Understood.”
“Viola! Throw the paralysis poison! Luis! Engage defensively!”
With a severe lack of frontliners, we couldn’t afford a chaotic melee. Watching my team execute commands while a terrified Millia stood frozen, I placed a hand on her shoulder and said,
“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of them in no time. Crafting.”
Isolating Karina and Millia behind a small wall, I stepped forward without hesitation. That kind of number was too much for Luis to handle alone. Aiming for the slippery creatures on the ice, I immediately used my skill.
“Crafting.”
Five or six blue pillars shot up from the ground. Like spike traps, the protruding pillars pierced the werewolves’ bodies and created obstacles.
Left.
Or was it right?
I immediately scanned my surroundings, glancing at the wall of the secret archive. True to their agile nature, some werewolves were scaling the wall aiming for our backs. Recognizing their target, I shouted,
“Shuri! Defense magic! Elisa! Drench them! Martina, freeze them if their bodies get wet!”
There was no response. However, seasoned Shuri executed my command without hesitation. The scratchy sound of nails driving into the shield came as one werewolf’s attack slid harmlessly off.
The werewolf, realizing its ambush had failed, retreated and growled.
“I-I missed!”
Missed, huh?
Given how fast they were, it seemed Elisa couldn’t land her spell.
“Reinforce the shield! Hold it until we take them down!”
“Understood!”
“Viola. Pass me the paralysis poison.”
“Here you go. I’ll hold them off, so hurry back!”
I evenly coated the mithril shovel blade with Viola’s special paralysis poison.
The faintly yellow liquid spilled over the shovel, a hesitant hue, but during battle, one couldn’t afford to be picky.
I charged toward the werewolves surrounding the trio of mages.
A heavy impact struck my arm. Due to the inherent weight difference, my body was pushed back slightly, but the important part was that the creature didn’t dodge my attack.
“Crafting.”
Like an alligator leaping from the water, a pointy spike shot up from the floor and pierced through the werewolf’s body.
No matter how tough the hide, it wouldn’t come out unscathed. I immediately shoved the shovel into the werewolf, pinned by the spike like an insect on a pin.
Lucky it’s not the real deal.
I quickly tore my gaze away from the wolf with its mouth split like a villain from an old movie and focused on the monster charging toward me.
Was it planning to bite my neck before I could react?
“Crafting.”
A spiky, sea-urchin-like ground rose before me, making countless holes in the werewolf’s body. Even so, seeing it still wriggling, its vitality was impressive.
I took the werewolf’s head off and declared to my party again,
“Luis! Viola! Back off! Mages, douse those monsters with oil!”
Luis and Viola retreated, and in the meantime, the werewolves charged at us. There were still about eighteen left—quite a lot.
But due to the icy ground and their injuries, they couldn’t move as fast as before.
Thus, they couldn’t avoid the oil that the mages had conjured.
The werewolves, now covered in oil, either fell on the ground or struggled to regain balance while flailing their limbs.
In that moment, the flash of swords gleamed and three heads flew into the air. Classic protagonist speed.
“Mages, ignite the oil puddle with fire magic.”
“Wait? What if it ignites the books—”
“Surely the great mage who created this place thought ahead.”
“Ah, got it! Fire!”
“F-fire!”
Fireballs the size of soccer balls soared past me, heating the air. Soon, the quickly flying fireball struck the body of the decapitated werewolf and exploded on another struggling werewolf trying to rise from the ground.
“C-could be hotter.”
It was more than enough fire to warm up the early autumn library.
We took a moment to catch our breath, watching an unwarranted campfire crackle. As expected, the flames didn’t spread to the study and vanished just as quickly.
“Everyone, form up again and let me know if you have any injuries.”
As soon as I finished speaking, my group approached to report their condition.
Luis had a scratch on the back of his hand. A scrape on his arm. Viola had broken her prosthetic arm while fending off a werewolf and needed a replacement. The mages were fine, aside from the fatigue from magical exhaustion.
“Dismantle.”
I dispelled the wall isolating Karina and Millia. Millia rushed over to me with a frightened expression.
“That was scary!”
“I know, so step back for now.”
Unlike usual, Millia quickly distanced herself and looked at me nervously. Seems she wanted a compliment, so I lightly patted her head before approaching Karina.
“Karina. Can you heal the party?”
“Leave it to me.”
The veil swayed gently.
—————
“Everyone’s attention, please. The monster we face this time is likely the last enemy on this floor.”
From slimes to werewolves, and two trolls after that. As I recalled the monsters stronger than my memory, I stared at the conspicuously widened passage.
It was blatantly signaling, “There’s a strong one here.”
“I’m sure it’s going to be a tough monster.”
“First, it was two trolls, so what on earth will come out this time?”
Luis seemed worried about what might pop out. I mean, it made sense given the oddly powerful monsters set up so far. They wouldn’t be impossible to defeat, but it would have been much tougher without Karina.
Perhaps Luis’s worries broke the ice, as everyone began to throw out reasonable guesses.
“Could it be an ogre? The only things stronger than trolls that come to mind are ogres or drakes.”
“W-what if it’s an ogre? Can we even catch it…?”
“If we follow my orders well.”
“Regardless of what monster shows up, there’s one thing to keep in mind. Don’t panic.”
I scanned my party.
The party members who had followed my instructions so far nodded without hesitation at my words.
“Alright. Let’s go in… Millia and Karina, stay hidden in the corner.”
“Okay! I’ll cheer them on hard from the corner! Hehe.”
“May Kalon’s blessing be upon you all.”
What a cute one. I watched the two of them move to the corner with Karina before stepping forward myself.
As we stepped into the battlefield, a phantom began to grow larger at the door leading to the next floor.
“Wow… incredible.”
“I’ve never seen such precise magic before.”
“But isn’t it a bit too big?”
…Indeed. It seems about one and a half times the size of a troll.
I tilted my head at the growing shape of the monster, feeling increasingly uneasy.
“Everyone, form up. The mages prepare grade 3 spells.”
As soon as the incantations began from the mages behind me, the illusion took on a full shape and roared.
“Huh.”
What is that two-headed ogre?
What grudge did it have against us to unleash such a thing? I cursed under my breath at the malice of the founding principal and spat,
“This is getting ridiculous.”
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