We’re not stupid enough to get in a sticky situation and get our clothes to dissolve. Big as it is, the location of what we called nucleus of the slime was very visible that Daisy just hacks it in half with her sword. Since I use a short sword, there’ll the risk of it becoming too shallow.

If Daisy somehow fails, we’re at least there to comfort her if her clothes disappear.

“Somehow, our first encounter is kind of anticlimactic.”

“Well, there are lots of magical beasts here so let’s try to gain more experience. If we encounter the same foes, let’s take turns in the battle.”

“The Labyrinth is large so we may encounter a lot is what you are saying but if we keep meeting the same enemy, it will be pointless.”

Daisy whines and Casablanca reason out with her as we walk onward through the dark hall of the labyrinth. As soon as we get into a dark part of the labyrinth, Emby immediately does his purpose as a living torch.

Soon after, we encounter more slime, the same type that we met. Like what we talked about, we took turns in defeating it.

Casablanca immediately kills it by crushing the slime with a black hole. Hibiscus defeats it by conjuring spirit beasts and letting them attack in unison. Mimi had the hardest time among us as her attacks are shallow. I simply slash at the slime many times until I reach the nucleus.

Topaz is…being Topaz.

After about three hours of walking and taking turns killing the slimes, Daisy explodes in anger.

“We just kept walking and walking and walking! All we encounter are just slimes and all the treasures are gone!”

“I got better treasures if you are looking for some.”

“That’s not it! Treasure found in a dungeon or a labyrinth is a different kind of achievement! Also, we’re walking for so long and still no stairs going upstairs can be found! Even though some adventurers gave us a direction and hint, we still couldn’t find it!”

“Well, those are obviously lies. You really think they’ll let anyone get ahead of them?”

“Eh?!”

Daisy gapes her mouth in astonishment as I bluntly said that to her. Even Casablanca, Hibiscus, and Mimi nodded in confirmation.

“Also, we are lucky we can even encounter magical beasts even though it is just slime. With the volume of the adventurers in here, it’s no wonder we can’t find any decent hunt.”

“That’s right! Also, a long walk and patience that can be stretch can also be part of our training. Impatience leads to irritation, leading to a person making irrational decisions.”

Casablanca and Hibiscus explained softly to Daisy. Their words proved to be more effective as Daisy contemplated it.

Now I can’t follow up with Daisy’s complains!

I was getting annoyed and was about to make an irrational decision out of irritation of our misfortune. Even with my intangible barrier stretched to its limit, I can’t find any stairs at all. I’ve been alert for whole three hours for any ambush from either monster or even from adventurers but none of any those are bound to happen.

The last thing, I am looking out for Boss and her companions. The last thing I wanted to happen is another defeat.

The likeliness that they will attack us is low though. Considering that Boss’ companions are all A-rank adventurers, finding a one or two hidden staircase will be a cinch for them.

“At this rate, we will be forced to retreat or worse, to camp here. There are safe rooms in here but the number of adventurers using it will be nauseating.”

“Nauseating?”

“Daisy, for someone with a sensitive sense of smell, how does the smell of sweaty men in one room would smell for you?”

“…That’s a punishment! I’d rather get my clothes melted by the slimes that sleeping in the same room with them!”

Daisy said with a pale countenance.

Call me overprotective but, considering too that all of us are girls and if we are going to sleep in a safe room together with men or even women, I’m pretty sure eyes of lecherous gaze will lick all over our bodies.

It’s an overnight sleep so attempts may also come to us. Even if we are stronger, if we wore ourselves out for the day, then our fighting force will dwindle.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Divine Ascension will always be the last resort and I don’t care if we destroy this place, as long as I can keep all of them away from that kind of danger.

That said…

I don’t want this day to end with any fruitless effort. We may take a big blow in our morale if we stay like this for the rest of the day.

“If we can only find an alternate route…”

“Hmm? There is. Actually, this place has an underground.”

“…What?!”

Topaz casually said with a smile.

I immediately snap a look her with blank eyes. Even the others are surprised that they have the same look as me as they stared at Topaz. The person herself sprouted a smile.

“Ehehehe!~”

“Ehehehe!~ Not! Why didn’t you said earlier?!”

“It’s because no one asked me. Also, I found it quite inspiring that all of you are willing to learn in any environment so I kept quiet about it.”

“When you put it like that with a smile…”

Topaz basically has a complete control over the earth.

I don’t want to do it but we need to utilize Topaz’s power so we can move forward. Her power is just too much that just staying neutral in battle stabilizes any battle. If she starts fighting, the power balance will tip to our side and she’ll be mowing down the battlefield.

Her disposition became saintly to the point that she is against in hurting people even though she is a devil.

However…

“Underground?!”

“Yes, there are three floors below this one.”

“But…well…underground again…”

I hate going under the earth. Even the twins know my sentiment as they also have this lifeless eyes staring off to another dimension as they recall our expedition in a lava-filled underground back at the Dragon Continent.

I look at the twins again and asked timidly.

“Are you two…okay?”

“Hmm…we really can’t do anything about it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Casablanca answers me with a forced smile. It kinds of break my heart when I think about how she really doesn’t want to.

“Asagao, no lava, right?!”

“Umm…I guess none.”

“Okay…”

Sorry, I don’t know.

I look at Topaz for a confirmation.

“…”

“……”

She turned her head away…

This is bad…

“Well then, let’s go forward! Is what I wanted to say but…how do we descend?”

“Easy!”

Topaz taps her foot on the floor and in an instant, the ground equally splits like a trap door and earthen stairs emerge. In precaution, Topaz also sealed the place with an earthen wall. The next thing we know, we are now in a room with descending stairs leading down below.

However, we can only see pitch black below and it made me restless. Actually, it’s so dark that I can see a perfect hue of darkness.

“There are people nearby and I don’t want them to trip.”

“Topaz…about this stair…”

“I made it.”

“Yeah…”

To all dungeons, ruins, and labyrinths out there, I’m very sorry for cheating like this! It’s not like we had other choice and we need to utilize anything we have at disposal!

Pickaxe and shovels, even professional drillers would hang their heads in shame if they knew that a single girl can move the earth as she pleases and made perfectly sculpted earthen stairs with a little to no effort.

However, the darkness…

“Birdbrain, you go first!”

“Pii?!”

“Of course, you are, after all, our living torch!”

“Pii!”

“You don’t want Hibiscus and Casablanca tripping, right?”

“Pii…”

With a little bit of a threat, the bird brain gives in and started hopping step by step on the stairs followed by me so if anyone really trips from behind, I can immediately deploy my barrier to stop our falling momentum and also to say that I am the most resilient among everyone because I have a hyper regeneration.

“Hey, are you sure about this? This definitely screams danger. Didn’t you tell Queen Hinoki that we’ll stay out of trouble?”

“Ah…”

It’s Daisy making a sense out of nowhere.

Everyone looked at her like she has some kind of disease.

“Mother won’t know if we survive somehow.”

“I agree with Hibiscus. If no words got out, Mother won’t be angry.”

What’s there to fear when the two daughters of the said person agreed to this anyway? Shiver struck me when I remember that I am the one responsible for their safety!

“On a second thought, let’s just go back! What’s worth risking our lives in this hole anyway? If possible, let’s just retreat and never return here and think of this whole as a dream!”

“Wait, Asagao! Don’t mov--! Ah!”

As I step backward, I toppled Hibiscus and she lost her balance. Her back hits my head as she falls, she drags Casablanca with her in panic by holding onto her shoulder.

“Hibiscu--! Kya!”

“Ack! At least grab my arms!”

Casablanca, as she was pulled by Hibiscus, also pulled Mimi by grabbing onto her horns and drags her with us, falling over.

“It hur--!”

“Eeek! Why my thighs!?”

Mimi grabs onto Daisy’s thigh and drags her along with us. Actually, Mimi took the opportunity to rub her cheek on Daisy’s thighs as they fall.

Now that it has come to this, I have no choice.

However, as my back hits the earthen stairs, I immediately felt something is amiss. It was smooth…like a slide. Because of our combined weights, we immediately slid off with a fast momentum.

“Topaz?!”

“Weee!”

“TOPAZ?!”

Because of my confusion, I wasn’t able to cast my barrier and we took off really fast. I was grateful that the dumb bird cushioned my head. However, sliding through this darkness makes me really nervous as we don’t know where we might end up.

“AhhhhhhHHH!”

“EEEeeeK!”

“My horns! Ow!”

“Let go of my legs!!”

“Weeeee!”

Various screams reverberate throughout the ride and because I am facing upward, I can’t see forward to look for any sign of lights or danger.

As I tried to contemplate hard on what next move I should make, the slide gradually slows down and our momentum slowly recedes as the slide becomes horizontally inclined. A light suddenly blared at our eyes and warmness like the sunshine spills all over the place.

Light…?

I immediately tried to assess our situation as I tried to get up but because of the pile of little girls toppled on top of me, I did as only as a budge.

However, I can definitely tell that we are outside as blue skies hover above us and clouds drifts lethargically. Even the grass in my back felt real.

As I tried to observe the place, there are lots of flowers spread across, like we are in a flower field. Even the fragrance brought by the flower is too real for my senses.

What in the world is happening?

“Oh my, my first visitors in eons are such lively girls.”

“…Who?”

A man stood in front of us.

The only way I can describe him is mesmerizing as his beautiful glittery platinum silver hair sways with the wind and his countenance is like chiseled to create the word called perfection. He was handsome, and yet, knowingly androgynous.

But what baffles me is that…he have the same magnitude of power as Violetta…

No…he has even greater!

Even though he holds a wooden staff on one hand and a book on the other while wearing a full doused cape with fur on its hem, he looks stunning.

“Oh, my apologies, my name is Me—no, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m just a nameless wizard of the past. It’s my utmost pleasure and happiness to have met you all.”

“A nameless wizard in this underground…? No…What’s happening here?”

“I see why you are confused. I shall lend you some helpful information if you will. You are the first group to have reached this place after all and this will be a special lip service from.”

The nameless wizard smiles upon us.