Chapter 166

"This way . "

I followed the kid's lead and it soon became three days of wandering around in the middle floor . . .

Right about now, I was able to make a inference regarding the role of these so called guides .

They can lead you to the right path without depending on their sense of direction, their mana, or magic lamps in this middle floor .

I had thought it was just their top-notch senses and physical abilities, but they had a much more peculiar kind of ability .

When you seek a guide for the middle floor, they'll probably be a strong individual that the client wouldn't easily meet .

It wasn't just this kid; the old lady that I had met in town was also at a level where you couldn't deal with her easily .

That's why these guys are generally of a lower social class .

It's a bit awkward for them to refuse a request outright, and their workplace is extremely dangerous .

In addition, they may be abused in some way once they get inside the dungeon .

Therefore, I thought that this job as a guide was the most dangerous, difficult and dirty; the most extreme of the 3Ds job .

However .

The kid who had been silently walking through the passage stopped .

There was a new forked road in front of him .

Once they had departed the town, passed the entrance of the dungeon, gotten through the upper floor and the upper-middle floor, and reached this middle floor, they gained a greater social status .

The kid took out a small clock from his chest and checked the time, saying, "It's taken exactly three days . "

It's been three days since we’ve entered the middle floor .

"Yeah . "

"There are thousands of people who unfortunately suffer an accident in the dungeons; no, it may actually be tens of thousands . It could also be even more than that . "

The kid started talking .

If it were possible, I wish he'd speed up the conversation a bit more .

"However, even amongst them, there's a famous story . Do you know of it? Of the story of the swordmaster Eheram?"

"No . "

"I'm talking about the story regarding Eheram, considered the strongest swordmaster of the continent, starving and dying in this dungeon's middle floor . Eheram and a guide had entered this dungeon together, but three days after entering, he argued with his guide . "

That was obvious .

I'd really like to skip this conversation, though .

"After their argument, the furious guide left Eheram and exited the dungeon first . They say that when Eheram saw his guide do so, he screamed at him . That he could get out on his own . Eheram was left alone like that in the middle floor and they say that they found his skeleton two years later . "

[It's finally time to kill him! Yoo-hoo! Warrior, have you killed a lot of children before?]

[Warrior . My mood is worsening to the point that it's slowly becoming unbearable . If it's at all possible, could you please put that magic sword on the other side of your waist? I want to be as far as possible from that thing . ]

. . . I got it .

I moved the holy sword, which had been attached to the left side of my waist with the soul sword, to the right side of my waist .

It seemed as if the child thought my actions were dangerous .

"Why don't you go ahead and try to kill me? You won't be able to get out of here without me!" he desperately lashed out .

"It doesn't really matter much if I die here . After all, my life is in the gutters, so dying here isn't very different from dying outside . However, it's different for someone with a lot to lose like you, right, Swordsman?"

I wonder what that kid wants?

More money? The holy sword and the soul sword? If not those, then an apology for the violence from before?

I had already directly and indirectly conveyed my intent to the kid several times .

That if he had something he wanted to just say it .

That if it's proper, I'll just give it to him .

However, that kid's the one who ignored my intent .

"If you're by chance planning to steal my wand, you should just give up . This wand can only be used by my kin . If you're not a person with our kin's blood, this wand won't activate . "

Yeah, I'm sure that's how it is .

Since it would only activate by blood offerings, he would prick his finger with the awl at the end of the wand .

I had thought that it would have that kind of condition .

And I could easily guess that the wand had that kind of limitation when I saw the kid use that wand so confidently in front of me .

[Hoo . Hoo . Hoo . Hoo . My blade is crying out!]

[Warrior, please just shove it into the subspace . ]

Just as Seregia suggested, I shoved the holy sword into my inventory .

And I raised my hand, spreading my mana .

I briefly observed the dissipating mana .

There were three forked roads in front of my eyes .

The mana that flowed from my fingertips chaotically roamed the air and dissipated .

Before it dissipated, the mana's movement was extremely erratic .

However, after spreading my mana for three days and frequently observing it, I figured out that there was a pattern there .

This middle floor's maze is special .

It had several special points, but the most unique aspect was the mana obstruction magic .

And that this wasn't a spontaneous phenomenon .

Someone was deliberately casting this large-scale magic .

Semi-permanently at that .

The magic's purpose was clear-cut: to make it difficult to find the right path .

However, the right path certainly exists here .

The path that leads to the lowest floor .

Using the few clues I had, I made a deduction about the caster of the magic .

Two speculations were possible .

If it was a spell used in order to imprison someone, then the caster is in the upper floor; in other words, they must've used their magic from the exit of the dungeon .

In this case, the goal of the magic would be to make it impossible to find the path that leads to the exit .

If so, I just need to spread mana in the direction we came from .

Because we came from the exit .

Since I knew the correct answer, I should be able to figure out the pattern with a few tries .

However, that wasn't it .

The next possible assumption is this:

This magic was being cast from the dungeon's lowest floor in order to prevent you from recklessly entering the dungeon's lowest floor .

When I think about this stage's mission about the Earth Dragon and the Earth Dragon's treasure, the second assumption is much more plausible .

It was a large-scale magic that obstructed the path towards the dragon's lair .

It's entirely possible .

If, based on my second assumption, this obstruction magic’s goal is to block my way to the lowest floor…

Then I had to add an additional assumption here .

In what manner did the caster of the magic cast it?

It wasn't easy to disperse the mana within a specific area with magic .

No, it's impossible .

In casting magic, the most important things are the conditions and the medium .

When the kid was walking, he had suddenly said that starting here was the middle floor .

He had also said that the middle floor's terrain consisted of narrow passageways and clearings .

The passageway's ceiling, walls, floor, and from the front… The fact that there was a mana obstruction effect…

And the limitation on the technique known as magic…

If I substitute in those few conditions, I could easily tell what the caster of the magic is using as a medium .

It's the passageway .

And even amongst all those forked roads, the right path .

In the deepest depths of the dungeon, he was using the passageway leading straight to the exit of the dungeon as a medium .

The passageway that acts as the medium spreads throughout the middle floor and exerts its influence .

I spread my mana once again .

Due to the force that was pulling at my mana from all directions, my mana loomed in the air here and there and disappeared .

However, the pulling force was coming from a strange place .

But it was impossible to grasp the direction it was in .

Because the mana dissipated instantaneously .

However, this second dissipating mana was different .

I memorized the pattern of the dissipating mana and I willed my mana into that shape .

The pulling force pulled, but I added my strength and pulled back harder .

The mana thread was pulled on both ends and easily snapped .

However, if only one side pulled, it would simply move to one side .

I pulled the mana that was facing the first passageway, but it dissipated .

The first passageway is the correct answer .

[I have absolutely no idea . ]

This way of manipulating mana with your hands would be impossible for Seregia .

The holy sword that I had shoved and discarded into my inventory also wouldn't be able to do it .

In a short time, I had observed the pattern, and I had to memorize that pattern .

And you'd have to subtly manipulate your mana according to that erratic-looking pattern .

Finally, you'd have to grasp where the mana is going in that split second before your mana dissipates .

If you weren't an extremely exceptional magician, it would be difficult to do .

Though I could do it .

"About this wand . Our ancestors invented this wand…"

The kid was still describing the wand .

He was explaining its value and it seemed like he wanted to seize the initiative .

Just like before, he still didn't tell me what he wanted .

"You spread your mana, and you read the pattern in the split second of your mana dissipating . It's probably like some kind of calculator . "

It wasn't hard to guess the wand's function .

Just by looking at the exterior, I could tell that wand had only two abilities .

It just spreads mana into the air .

And then it would film the sight of that mana dissipating .

That was all .

The mana would randomly roam in the air and dissipate; the sight was extremely erratic and chaotic .

It would change that irregularity into a pattern .

And it would compare it to all of the patterns that were built into the wand and tell you the right answer .

I wasn't completely sure, but the likelihood of it was over 70% .

It was an efficient magic tool .

Honestly, the abilities in and of itself aren't bad .

Because filming the volatile movement of mana was difficult .

I don't know who it was, but whoever invented that was probably at the level of an Archmage .

"Get out of the way . And don't block my path . "

I shoved aside the kid who seemed flustered and went inside the first passageway .

"W-Without me, you won't be able to find the right path!" the kid yelled, following behind me .

"I found it, didn't I?"

* * * * * *

"That's impossible . . . "

The kid followed behind me and mumbled .

The kid had followed me, confident that I would never be able to find the right path .

However, I had repeatedly chosen the right path five times; his face paled about half way through .

[Are you just going to leave him like that?]

Yeah .

[Wouldn't it be better to dispose of him?]

It's fine . There's no need .

I don’t think I need to kill him just because he became useless .

In any case, that kid wouldn't be able to leave here alive, so I didn't need to get blood on my hands .

The kid continued to follow behind me .

The kid probably couldn't help it as well .

The kid couldn’t deal with the monsters in this middle floor that hid their bodies and lived in the darkness .

There were also dangerous individuals who lived in the upper-middle floor and wanted sacrifices .

If he didn't have someone to protect him, they would take everything he had and capture him .

Therefore, the kid had no choice other than to follow me .

Even now, when he is seized by the fear that I could turn around at any time and kill him because he had threatened me .

The kid couldn't separate himself from me .

It was quite unfortunate .

"Just a moment . . . Swordsman . Please just wait a moment . "

Even while panting because he couldn't keep up with me .

The kid couldn't afford to lag behind .

"Please . . . Please . Please let me live, Swordsman . "

They're words that I had heard some time ago .

Just a little while ago .

" . . . Swordsman . Swordsman . "

His voice sounded as if it was echoing, so he must've been quite far behind me .

"The gems . I'll return the gems as well as the bag! I'll give you everything that I have!"

The kid stopped walking and started shouting after me .

Rather than following me and convincing me, he stayed in place to catch his breath and yelled at me . He might've been trying to get me to stop walking .

"I-If I'm capable of doing it, I'll do anything! Swordsman! Please!"

[How unfortunate . ]

What is?

[Humans . ]

That's not what I think .

Behind my back, the kid’s cries shifted from anger to desperation .

He was so far away that he couldn't even see my back and it seemed like he had sunk into a panic; he was just spitting out any words he could muster .

He was cursing me, and he was also cursing the world too .

As I listened to those words, I could understand why the kid was so obsessed with money and why he was so greedy .

He was considerably unfortunate to the point of being interesting and had a long story, but he wasn't able to stop me from walking .

"Swordsman, I'm actually a girl!"

This time, I had no choice but to stop my stride .

Because it was so absurd .

What exactly do you want me to do?

"I know!"

I yelled behind me and started walking again .

I knew that she wore a bandana, cut her hair short, wore male attire, deliberately changed her voice to sound like a man, used her dirtiness and her smelliness in order to hide her pretty face; I knew she was afraid of revealing that she was a woman .

From the day that I first met her .

However, does that really matter?

I asked myself .

It didn't matter at all .

The only thing that mattered right now was that there was an Earth Dragon waiting for me in the lowest floor .

The word “earth worm” wasn't another name for a worm .

There's no such worm in any novel that can use this kind of high-rank magic .

The one occupying the bottom of this dungeon was a dragon .

I continued to walk forward as my heart fluttered .