As we approached the staircase to descend to the 12th floor, we had only made it partway down the usual twisting stone spirals when we were stopped by a thick, purply fog. Indicating now was an acceptable moment for rest, Raya signaled for the soldiers to “relax” while motioning for Inari and I to join her near the front with the heroes. Once we arrived, she confidently spoke to us.
“Champions, this is the strange miasma from our reports. Please, if you have any ideas on how to progress further, or mitigate it’s effects, I am all ears for your suggestions.”
“Pfft, if we couldn’t figure it out, what makes you think these two can Raya? Honestly, I should just move the toxic fog out of the way with my divine spiral attack.”
“Haru, while I understand your restlessness and desire to progress further, that strategy would pose great risk to the rest of us. What would you do if the poison doesn’t disburse? What if you inhaled some of the toxic fumes? None of our healing experts can handle this level of poison.”
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, the spear hero continued staring at us as we began examining the fog in detail to learn more about it’s characteristics, while the remaining heroes stayed silent. After casting appraisal on the unsuspecting miasma, I was able to see the following information:
---
Object: Toxic Miasma
Properties: Poison – Great(+)
Summary: A toxic miasma which inflects all targets who inhale it’s vapors with Great(+) poison. Treatable with a cleanse spell of sufficient potency. Commonly produced by greater undead such as zombies as a defensive mechanism. Large concentrations can gather in enclosed spaces, creating a powerful fog.
---
...
Did... Did they seriously not even try using appraisal on the miasma?!?!? It... It clearly says in the summary that this is commonly produced by zombies!
Wait a minute...
Zombies...
Bleh, well I guess they were a creature that sometimes appeared in fantasy isekai novels, I didn’t actually want to encounter real zombies!!! Upon learning this unfortunate fact from my appraisal scan, my mind was flooded with images from the various horror movies I’d seen on the zombie genera. While most of the movies had been “cheesy”, they all carried the stereotypical trope of zombie bites being infectious, eventually turning you into one yourself, if their decaying teeth pierced your exposed flesh! I.... I was starting to get slightly nervous under this realization of what our potential foe could be. That’s when I spoke to Raya to confirm some information about this upcoming floor.
“Raya, absolutely no one has been able to determine what creatures appear on the 12th floor, correct?”
While I was waiting for her to respond, I glanced over at Inari, who was now rapidly flipping through the endless pages of her adventurer’s journal.
“Correct, Kotato. None of us have been able to visually observe the creatures on the below floor. In fact, some of my bravest men have even sacrificed themselves in an effort to provide some type of insight as to the floor’s inhabitants. Unfortunately, all of them perished within moments of inhaling the toxic fumes. Not even our most skilled healers were able to stop the rapid spread of the poison.”
“I see... And... Was appraisal ever cast on this miasma?” I said while looking at Raya. For some reason, she was hesitating in her response to me, along with some of the guards looking at me in disbelief at the absurdity of my comment. Eventually, Raya responded, validating the stern looks I received from my seemingly “dumb” question.
“I... Uh... I’m not sure what to say exactly champion... But... The casting of appraisal on something like a miasma isn’t possible, so...”
Well, for whatever reason, it appeared that casting appraisal on something like a toxic mist was unheard of, making my appraisal results an oddity. But... All I did was isolate one of the individual mana particles making up the fog and cast appraisal on that, which Inari had already done as well. Thankfully, she tilted her head at Raya’s comment, indicating to me I wasn’t crazy, and that she had also received the same information from her own appraisal scan. Next, I decided to try and create a simple hypothesis for testing.
“Hmmm, well, perhaps let’s examine it from a different angle then. Raya, are... Are zombies an enemy type known in Terra? Forgive my rudeness, but I don’t have much experience outside the Kingdom of Solara, so I’m curious if they appear in other regions of the world.”
Hesitantly, along with a few of the guardsman shuddering at my comments, Raya responded to my question.
“Ummmm, yes, Kotato, zombies are in fact a monster that existed within the Kingdom of Solara. However, they were thankfully eradicated during the reign of King Luminous, the monarchy from 5 generations ago. Their presence has long since been forgotten, but stories have stayed within the military due to the horrors fighting them created.”
“I see, thank you Raya for the additional information. Next, I would like to review some information we already know, and try to draw a possible conjecture as to what creatures could possibly be on the 12th floor.”
Looking at Inari, I could see her tail excitedly wagging back and forth as she finally landed on the page she was looking for. She was also desperately motioning towards me, indicating she wanted to speak as well. Thus, I did my best to set her up for an Inari styled explanation, by speaking to the group, as a whole.
“Now, while we have a limited observation pool to draw inference from, I believe the 11th floor may have provided us with a valuable clue as to what kind of creatures we could expect from the floors going forward, which will only get confirmed once we delve deeper. Inari, would you care to expand further on this hypothesis?”
Happy that I noticed her eagerness to speak up about our findings, Inari’s ears playfully twitched as I called her name. Then, she excitedly cleared her throat in preparation for the “dramatic reveal” of the upcoming floor’s denizens.
“Ahem, why of course Ko! I would be more than thrilled to continue your theory regarding the potential upcoming and “mysterious” creatures for the 12th floor!
Now, if we recall, on floor 11, we encountered goblins, with some hobgoblins mixed in, a repeat of floor 1, but with stronger enemies. Now, since we are about to descend to the 12th floor, perhaps this floor will also be a repeat of the 2nd floor, containing mostly skeletons, but, with a few zombies sprinkled in to serve as the stronger enemies! According to my adventuring notes and research, the ranks of undead creatures can be roughly categorized as: skeletons, zombies, ghouls, lesser lich, and greater lich, indicating that zombies would be the next logical choice for a stronger variant if the pattern holds!
In addition, literature surrounding the classification and appraisal catalogs of zombies, indicates they can commonly produce a “toxic miasma”, especially if left within an enclosed space overtime. This would perfectly explain the presence of the poisonous gas we are observing!”
While continuing to listen to Inari ramble on about how zombies were known to produce a toxic mist, Raya, along with several of the guards, all seemingly brought their hands to their chins, to contemplate the proposition that the labyrinth appeared to be following a pattern of sorts, for repeating monster spawns every 10th floor multiple, but with stronger variants. However, while Inari was happily continuing to expand on and explain our findings, the spear and magic heroes, annoyingly added their own comments.
“Ugggh, could you please stop talking like that? It’s such a boring and stupid way to convey information. Seriously, just tell us there are zombies down there, and that we need to avoid the toxic gas while killing them. No need for this long-winded explanation crap. Plus, that still doesn’t explain how we can actually get around this toxic fog in the first place!”
“That’s right, I agree with Haru that this isn’t helping us at all. So what if there are “zombies” down there, it doesn’t do us any good if we can’t reach them!”
Slightly annoyed at the magic hero’s response, I decided to be snarky in my reply to him for failing to realize one of his own capabilities.
“Uh huh, the magic hero, right? Aren’t you suppose to have incredible command over magic or something with a title like that? Couldn’t you just... I don’t know... Create a spell to dispel the miasma??? I vaguely recall your “title” ability being something along those lines... Plus, if you couldn’t create a spell, I’m sure if you used your high magic status value, a cleanse spell from you would be more than enough to dispel the miasma, or cure the poison individuals became infected with.
Looking at the magic hero, his face twisted and contorted, having the realization dawn on him, that this miasma could have easily been dealt with, if they had used either their title, or, cast a stronger version of the cleanse spell with their incredible magic power. Apparently, neither of these thoughts came to them, despite being praised as the nation’s greatest user of magic. I guess all of the remarks went straight to their head, leaving them unable to actually think and apply these concepts for themselves. That’s also when I noticed him stuttering in response to my comments regarding his title in an effort to defend his actions.
“But! That’s... I... That’s absurd!!! I couldn’t possibly use my title’s power for such a trivial task like poison removal!!! That’s... That’s also not considering the fact that I... May have already used it this month...”
“Wait... You’ve already used your title power??!?! What kind of magic spell did you create with the limitless possibilities?!?! Please! Won’t you tell me??!?”
Apparently, this caught Inari’s interest, as her eyes became filled with stars, glistening with curiosity, eager to learn what incredible spell the magic hero had chosen to create with their unique title power. Unfortunately, his response was very “lack luster” and surprising...
“I... Uh... I... May have already used it... During our duel... On that really big.... Fireball...”
All of us, stared in silence at Miles, with Raya and I, visibly face palming at the realization the magic hero’s unique title with potential omnipotent power... Was used to create a giant fireball, which was dispelled without issue, by Inari...
*Sigh*
Wanting to get our journey progressing again, I gradually recollected my thoughts from the sheer utter incompetence the magic hero just displayed, and asked Inari if she would be willing to handle the toxic miasma for the group.
“Well, what do you think Inari? Think you can handle this level of poison?”
Happily beaming with confidence, Inari puffed her chest out in response to my question before giving her affirmation to handle the toxic fumes.
“Why of course Ko! This level of poison is nothing before me! Everyone, prepare to be amazed at what a skilled mana weaver can accomplish with only the basic cleanse spell!”
Then, gathering mana all around her, Inari’s paws began to glow a bright, yet calming bluish hue, as power coalesced in them. Next, after weaving the particles into a potent cleanse spell, Inari released the spell’s energy forward, causing the fog to part ways, until is eventually dissipated into the usual clear air we had become accustomed to during our expedition. Raya, along with the rest of the elite guard, stared in disbelief having witnessed the miasma disburse without issue. Then, Inari continued her explanation while casting a barrier spell around the entire party.
“Well, that should take care of that! Also, I’ve placed a minor poison protection barrier spell around each of us. It should be powerful enough to block any stray miasma fumes I couldn’t reach from here. After all, the floor is probably just as big as the previous ones, making it tricky to accurately cleanse such a wide area with the limited mana particles present!”
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Thus, with our impossible obstacle seemingly conquered with ease, we bravely pressed forth to officially enter the 12th floor.
...
Thankfully, our hypothesis appeared to be correct regarding the inhabitants of the 12th floor. After reaching the bottom of the staircase and peering into the large, open room, we were able to observe several skeletons and zombies, mindlessly roaming around, dragging their brittle and exposed limbs across the dirty floor. Furthermore, near the entranceway, a few skeletons appeared to have perished as well, having come in contact with Inari’s cleanse spell. Next, I suggested she try casting a stronger version of the spell, purify, to see if we could effectively eliminate the monsters present.
Fortunately, Inari agreed with my idea to use a stronger purify spell, but I did need to help her with this one. Purify, required a much larger concentration of light mana particles than was present in the staircase from earlier, which is why Inari opted to use the less taxing cleanse spell instead. However, that didn’t mean purify was completely off the table though. In short, to reduce the MP burden to the both of us, I would use some of my mana to convert the near endless supply of typeless particles in the vicinity, into light particles, which Inari would then use to weave into the purify spell. This way, only one of us would suffer an impact to our MP, and mine would naturally regenerate at a faster rate due to my summoned hero powers.
Putting our plan into action, I motioned for Raya and the others to stay back while I raised my hand towards the room filled with undead monstrosities. Focusing on the mana particles within, I gradually started inscribing my will into the typeless particles, forcibly converting them into the light attribute. Once enough of the light particles had been created, I started to feel Inari’s interference, as she began weaving and collecting the particles for the intended purify spell. Once everything was prepared, Inari released the spell, covering the entire room in a bright, shimmering vale of warm and comforting light, blinding some of us in the process. After clearing my eyes to see the impact of her purify spell, I was pleasantly surprised as to the results!
Inari, in an effort to impress everyone, had skillfully calculated the position of each and every skeleton and zombie present on the floor, and made sure to eliminate them with a single cast from purify. Then, using the remainder of the mana from the spell, disbursed and cleansed the harmful effects from the miasma that was still present on the floor. The result, was an entire floor cleared in an instant, with all traces of the harmful poison removed from existence! Satisfied, I, along with several of the other guards present, gave the cheerful fox another fist bump, as the entire expedition was able to effortlessly pass through the 12th floor without any resistance.
As we were walking, it was clear the mood amongst the group had considerably improved as we were now actually making new progress in descending the labyrinth’s depths. It also appeared, that at the very least, the elite guards and Raya, were much more accepting of Inari and I due to the contributions we’ve made during the expedition, despite being “greenhorns” in the labyrinth. The heroes on the other hand, were equally as thrilled, finally being able to see more of the dungeon they were tasked with conquering. Before I knew it, we were already descending the stairs to the 13th floor, where we were already anticipating a stronger variant of the silk grubs from earlier. Low and behold, we were right.
Flying around, all throughout the 13th floor, were some giant moth type monsters, along with the annoying silk grubs spewing sticky thread across the dirty floor in an effort to “renovate” their dull environment. While the grubs were considerably stronger due to their increased level, they were still easily dispatched with simple stabs and fire spells. The real problem, was the moths erratically flying above us, being almost impossible to hit. Thankfully, Inari had the idea to produce a giant kitsunebi flame in the middle of the room to attract their attention. Funnily enough, this idea managed to work, proving the old adage “like a moth to a flame”, accurate. This allowed Kyle to expertly hit the moths with his bow, as they were now flying in a rather predictable circle around the mesmerizing, ghostly fire. While we could have ignored the moths all together, we all figured this was a valuable source of experience, considering the limited risk involved.
Continuing along our journey, I brought up the question of how far we wanted to descend before heading back towards the palace. All things considered, we had made very decent progress in my opinion, but figured it would be important to remember our return trip would be equally as long. It had already been 2 and a half hours since we started the expedition, and, with seemingly no shortcuts or teleports to the earlier labyrinth levels, I was already starting to get anxious thinking about our return journey to the surface. Fortunately, Raya indicated, much to the dismay of the spear hero, that she would like to attempt reaching the 20th floor, if it existed, before we begin the return trip. The monsters we were encountering were still relatively easy to dispatch, at least for Inari, myself, and the heroes, so Raya was confident we could continue without too many issues. For an estimate, this would put our entire journey at roughly 10 hours for the round trip. Realizing the labyrinth probably descended to a very deep level, this meant we would need to potentially reevaluate how the dungeon was tackled, perhaps using those spatial storage bags to bring vast quantities of supplies for extended journeys. Eventually, we entered the 14th floor proper, and were met with the stronger variant of the slime monster, an acid slime.
The acid slime, while a stronger threat than it’s typical blue jelly brethren, wasn’t all that different from an engagement perspective. Despite having a combat level of 14, they still died effortlessly to well aimed attacks at their central core. To protect ourselves, we simply had to maintain a sufficient barrier spell to completely mitigated the risk from the acid attack, which was powerful enough to quickly melt the rocks and boulders on the floor. Once we had eliminated the 30 or so slimes that were in the middle of the floor, we quickly made our way to the next staircase towards the 15th floor. That was, until we saw the ominous warning message just outside the intimidating stone archway.
Just before the staircase to descend to the 15th floor, there was a message clearly etched into the rocky walls in runic writing. The wording glowed in a dull, bluish light, pulsing ever so slightly in a calming, rhythmic fashion, which read:
“DANGER – Upcoming Level Is A Designated Boss Floor – A Powerful Foe Awaits – Warning! Proceed With Caution.”
While the message was clear, I was bothered about the way the sentence was structured. The wording, was eerily similar to how my internal assistant spoke within my head, which as far as I was aware, was potentially only a phenomenon for the summoned heroes. While I was thinking about the potential impacts of this message, the rest of the group started entering the staircase to descend further to the “boss floor”. Thinking something was amiss, I hurriedly called out to the others to share my concerns.
“Wait! Everyone! Aren’t... Aren’t we going to heed the warning message a little more... You know... Carefully?”
My question, along with cause for concern, was met with puzzled looks from everyone, including the heroes, leaving me also confused, as to why no one else was possibly concerned entering a powerful boss floor. That’s when the spear hero arrogantly spoke up towards my remarks about the “warning message”.
“Huuuuuuh? What do you mean “warning message”?!? I didn’t see anything, just the usual stupid blue glowing runes or whatever.”
“Wait a minute, you guys couldn’t read the words etched onto the wall beside the staircase? It clear says: “DANGER! This is an upcoming boss floor!”.”
More blank stares from everyone, followed by an uncomfortable silence, which was eventually broken by Inari.
“You’ve... You’ve been able to read the words this whole time?!?!? Why didn’t you say something sooner Ko! Didn’t you remember from our earlier conversations that no one has ever been able to decipher the runic glyphs left on the walls?!??”
“I... Uh... I’m not sure how to say this... But they just appeared as normal letters to me? They haven’t been anything exceptional, so I guess it slipped my mind that these were the markings being referred to? Actually, all of them have just been the floor level we were about to enter, so I didn’t find it worth mentioning. I only spoke up about this one, because it said to be careful about the upcomin—”
While I was finishing my sentence, I paused, noticing that the spear hero, along with the magic hero, were no longer present amongst the group. Inari, along with Raya, looked to where I was staring, then quickly made the same realization as to their suspicious absence. Quickly, Raya ordered all of us to chase after the two heroes, since they were potentially charging into danger, and it was our job to protect them. All of us, burst into a sprint down the spiraling staircase, oblivious to the warnings from earlier. Damnit! Why did Haru have to be like this?!?! He probably thinks this is a game, and since we’ve had no issues with enemies thus far, probably wanted to kill the boss first for whatever “loot” it may drop.
Running down the stairs, I was roughly in the middle of the group, being careful to watch my footing so as to avoid tripping in comical fashion down the longer than usual staircase in our frantic descent. When we eventually caught up to the spear hero, I was definitely going to give him heck for his rash actions potentially putting all of us in danger! Blindly rushing into any potential boss fight, was only a recipe for disaster, especially since we had such limited information, other than to be “cautious”. Thinking about all of the events, and previous floors patterns, I was left with the single question burning in my mind.
What is the stronger variant, of a dairy cow???
***~~~***
Ughh, it is always such a bore having to attend these pointless meetings over food with his majesty and the heroes. Begrudgingly, I was picking at my “meal” to at least keep up the image of being somewhat invested by his majesty’s words... But alas, steak and eggs, unfortunately, were no replacement for human souls, and I was already beginning to crave their succulent texture once more after close to a month without their satiating essence.
“Champions, today, is a day, for greatness! I have unwavering faith that you will conquer the 12th floor of the labyrinth during this expedition. Once again, I have arranged for the dungeon’s closure for a week, which will ideally be ample time to progress and clear it’s depths.
Now, Commander Raya will review the finer details.”
Finally, now I could formally “excuse” myself from this bore of a breakfast. Informing his majesty that I had some duties to attend to relating to the “heroes”, I calmly left the dining hall to return to my, or should I say, Daemonium’s study. Before I left, I did make sure to give the two champions another examination though... That initial summoned hero, and the beastkin with him. Not even I was expecting them to be the hand-selected champions from the tournament this quickly, yet here we are. Furthermore, I got the unsettling feeling that they “almost” noticed my advanced illusion magic. Perhaps this was essence withdrawal from failing to consume another human soul in a timely manner? My nerves were really starting to get the better of me lately. Surely, it would be impossible for such low-level insects to notice the advanced illusion magic of a demon such as myself!
Regardless as to my surprise at their exceptional growth and perception, it was of no concern to me, or my true lord’s plans. Things were still proceeding as expected, and any progress made by the heroes was well within our calculations, with not a single variable unaccounted for.
Walking through the hallways, I was enjoying the sound of my own footsteps, while cautiously eyeing some of the servants I passed by on the way to my study. Once I arrived at the well secured, wooden doors, I authoritatively pushed them open, entering my room. Inside, I made sure to secure the locks while activating a simple sound nullification barrier for my upcoming meeting with Diablos.
As expected, flying in through one of the open windows after noticing my presence, was the mono-eyed, black bat familiar he was fond of using during our communications. Gracefully landing on the nearby wooden desk, the familiar cocked it’s head to the side, then opened it’s mouth to release a stream of mana particles to establish our communication link. Gradually, a holographic box began to form, with my lord on the other end of the screen holding his usual glass of wine. As a mere demon underling, being able to gaze upon his image was always a pleasure, and an envy.
As the image came into focus, I was once again, reminded of what our glorious race used to be looking at my lord. His horns were of an intimidating and elegant shape, seamless and effortlessly protruding through the perfect darkish hue of skin above his sharp and twisted eyebrows. To accompany his flawless spikes, were charming, blood-red piercing eyes, examining my meager existence in full, as he effortlessly swirled the aged beverage, imprisoned in the finest of crystal chalices. Then, the wings, flawless and mysterious, completing his image as the only true demon lord; no, the true god of Terra! Still awe struck taking in my lord’s perfect visage, my ears were humbly graced by his sinister words.
“Zalthazar, I presume things are progressing well at the Solara palace?”
“Why of course, my lord, everything is accounted for, as you’ve so meticulously planned.”
Taking a sip from his crystal glass, Diablos grinned while continuing to swirl the elegant beverage held loosely in his hand. Then, my ears were once again, charmed by his voice.
“I see... And what of the initial summon? Have they perished from the mind-sealing spell?”
“No sire, as a matter of fact, they have actually managed to become quite powerful, in human terms that is, and were recently selected as the champions to accompany the Solara heroes into the labyrinth.”
“Hmm, that is somewhat unexpected, yet fortunate.
...
Zalthazar, your work in the palace. I am most impressed at what you’ve accomplished, with so little I might add. Perhaps I should bestow upon you a fraction of my power as a reward for your efforts.”
“My lord, such generosity is unbefitting for a lesser demon such as I, your words are more than enough to satisfy my wants and desires.”
A sharp grin grew across my master’s face as I meekly denied his offer to grant me a sliver of his power.
“Good... Now, I am sure you’re aware, but our efforts in Valoria have progressed rather well. So well, in fact, that the entire kingdom is now firmly under demonic rule, unbeknownst to the repulsive, local population.
...
I now desire the same of Solara. I trust you will make this happen? You may use any means you deem necessary, so long as our involvement remains concealed in the shadows.”
“If my lord commands it, I will make such a reality, come to fruition.”
One more devilish grin from Diablos, followed by the utterance of the words “Perfect”, before our meeting came to an abrupt end. But really, Valoria, already firmly under our control? Just how did the demon there accomplish such a task! Even I have struggled to advance our master’s plans, yet the minion in charge of the north-eastern kingdom has already succeeded, while I’ve made paltry progress?!?
I aggressively gritted my teeth. While I was flattered at being graced with lord Diablos’ personal time, clearly, I was not his favourite from a progress perspective. If I wanted to remain in his good graces, I would need to accelerate my carefully laid out plans for succession, and control. Reaching into my suit’s breast pocket, I removed the tarnished, golden locket, housing the frozen image, of Princess Emilia. Her face was flawless, free of any imperfections, along with her soft and subtle, white skin. Long, flowing, silver hair, completed the image trapped in time, as it shimmered and swayed ever so slightly in my meager hand. Everything about her, was the ideal image of what a princess ought to be. Remembering my lord’s words so clearly in my mind, I stared at the locket some more, lightly passing my fingers over her faint, yet charming smile, before calmly returning it to its home, inside my pocket. Then, I spoke the words on my mind, resolved to please and surpass Diablos’ expectations with my upcoming schemes.
“Emilia, it is time for you, to become, a queen.”