Volume 3 Chapter 10 (1/2)

After spending the night camping outside the pyramid, we entered the pyramid the next day. In the pyramid, the pathways were illuminated by torches hung on the world, meaning that our visibility were firmly secure.

[Youya, the torches look weird. How are they continuing to burn?] (Luna)

Luna tilted her neck.

[Now that you mentioned it, it does seem strange. Since it looks convenient let’s take some home with us.] (Youya)

It was natural for torches to be present in the game, so the thought about them being able to burn forever was pushed to the back of my mind. However, a torch which was capable of such a feat is a precious and convenient item. I tried to remove the torch from the wall however, I couldn’t pull it out despite how much I tried. I thought that it would had been a valuable item if I could bring it back however it seems to be stuck to the wall.

[The air feels stagnant.. It’s the smell of dead bodies.] (Til)

Til began to frown.

[The monsters present here are completely different from the monsters in the desert. Undead monsters have the smell of death following them around. Besides undead monsters, other bug-type monsters, poisonous monsters and golems will appear.] (Youya)

The three girls faces turned blue with disgust after mentioning the bug-type and undead monsters. I understand what they are feeling since they hated insects and undead were hated with a strong prejudice.

We continued walking on the stone pavement, with our goal being the top of the pyramids. This pyramid consists of 4 upper floors and the monsters here were annoying to deal with, however the most dangerous part about this place was the traps. In this world as well, pyramids were erected as the tomb for rulers and countless traps were set up to repel grave robbers. The Golden Pyramid wasn’t an exception to this.

[Everyone, as usual be aware of any traps that may be around.] (Youya)

Everyone nodded as I sharpened my senses and relied on my experience to locate any traps present. We aren’t planning to just stop at intermediate dungeons, we are going to conquer the most difficult dungeons in the world. Together with Luna, the two of us continued to walk at the front. I would praise her whenever she located a trap and would teach her how to locate the trap if she were to neglect any.

[Difficult, however Luna has already memorised it. Youya, this type is also ouh~~kay!] (Luna)

It is extremely fun to tutor Luna as her growth rate is ridiculously fast, already becoming an excellent Thief. Just as I was planning on taking a break, Luna’s fox ear began to twitch.

[The ceiling! A demon is crawling!] (Luna)

Right off the bat we’ve encountered the unique monster for the pyramid. It’s an extremely dangerous monster which has placed many adventurers into their graves.

[Phil, Til. I’ll leave it to you.] (Youya)

[Leave it to me.] (Phil)

[That, isn’t this dangerous!!?] (Til)

The two of them released their arrows towards the ceiling, at the Silent-Death Scorpion which was crawling on the ceiling. It was a scorpion the size of Luna’s head. It wasn’t a powerful monster, however it was as troublesome as its name implies. It doesn’t produce a single sound. It silently crawls on the ceiling, approaching oblivious adventurers.

For parties which didn’t possess Presence Detection, they would be unable to notice its approach, and by the time they do, they would be injected with an extremely potent paralysis poison by the scorpion, taking away their consciousness. Many adventurers who survived their encounter often suffered traumas from it.

[It’s pointless! There are too many of them! We aren’t even doing anything to them. What! Why does my lightning spells not work on them! My ranged magic can’t work on them!] (Til)

[Til, stop focusing on your mouth and move your hands.] (Phil)

Silent Death Scorpions had another troublesome feature. They often moved about in swarms. Furthermore, they were small and fast, making them difficult to hit. Til who was a genius in archery even had her accuracy reduced to 70%. Whereas normal adventurers would only be capable of landing about 30% of their shots.

Phil on the other hand…. Could only be described as a monster. She hadn’t missed a single shot until now. Showcasing her ability to fire three arrows at one go, and landing each of them with absolute accuracy. Meanwhile, Til was struggling to land her shots among Phil’s rain of arrows.

[Luna,Selene. It’s about time for them to jump onto the ground. The moment they land, beat them with all of your strength.] (Youya)

[Uhn. Luna will do her best.] (Luna)

[It is difficult to deal with numerous small targets.] (Selene)

Scorpions began falling from the ceiling, holding up their poisonous stingers above their heads one after another as I began to cut them. Individually, they have low vitality and it would be easy to kill them with a single blow. However, it’ll be bad to receive even a single hit from any of them as their poison is lethal to our hearts.

[Stop moving!] (Selene)

[Ugh.. Can’t land a single hit.] (Luna)

Similar to Til, Selene and Luna were beginning to struggle. Looks like it’s time to use that.

[Both of you get behind me! I’m activating my magic!] (Youya)

I managed to gather enough hate and the enemies were attracted to me, entering my range. I began my chant as I swung my sword at the nearby enemies. This time, I’m activating a customized version of the Intermediate Magic Ice Storm. I increased the spell’s range as well as area of effect by lengthening the cast time while dropping the power to near zero. After my long chant was completed, the spell was activated.

[Permafrost] (Youya)

With the low ceiling, cold air begins to fill the narrow passage. Due to the enclosed space, the scorpions had nowhere to run and became enveloped by frost, freezing in place. However, since the spell had almost zero damage, this isn’t enough to defeat them. This spell has a different purpose though, as Ice magic possessed an additional effect despite it’s low power. It inflicts the abnormal status effect, Frozen. Even if the enemy managed to escape the brunt of the spell, their speed would still be decreased within the effective range. Thus, as a Magic Knight with inferior magical abilities, it is possible to raise the effectiveness of Ice magic by decreasing its firepower. I decreased its firepower, aiming to improve it as a magic capable of sealing the enemies movements over a larger range and area. Even if its firepower decreases, the effect of being frozen doesn’t change. Permafrost was an incredibly useful magic.

[Now we can easily defeat all of them! Let’s defeat all of them in one go!] (Youya)

This isn’t even a battle anymore now that all the small insects weren’t capable of moving anymore. And even if they were, they weren’t able to move very quickly. Now then, let’s hunt all of them in one go.

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[It’s finally over~~~~.] (Til)

While picking up her arrows, Til voiced out her exhaustions. The reason she was collecting her used arrows was to replenish her stock of arrows. Especially for arrows created by someone with Phil’s status.

[Youya, Youya! We leveled up!] (Luna)

[Ah. Me too.] (Til

[Now that you mentioned it, so did I.] (Selene)

[Since my level was lower, my level increased by three.] (Phil)

[Silent Death Scorpions are small and brittle, however each of them gave experience that was appropriate for their level. Since we managed to defeat all of them, our levels would definitely rise in one go. With this high of an efficiency, we may even come back once they respawn.] (Youya)

Silent Death Scorpions were things nightmares are made of for normal adventurers, however it may even be the best option to raise our levels. Thanks to that one battle, Phil’s level rose to 15. However, the girls began giving me sharp looks after listening to my comment. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand their troubles, since it was difficult to transverse the desert and walking in the pyramid.

[Be sure to pick up all the items dropped by them. The Death Scorpion Poison is an item we need for the quest.] (Youya)

I picked up a vial containing purple liquid on the ground. It is an item that has a low drop rate, however thanks to Luna’s Increased Drop Rate, we were able to secure several of them at once.

[Youya-ojisan, wouldn’t the poison be dangerous if it was spread around the city?] (Selene)

[Of course it isn’t meant for that sort of thing. Poisons and medicines come hand in hand. Poisons dropped by scorpions in dungeons can be turned into materials used for intermediate recovery potions and antidotes. I’ve also heard that it can be used to make perfumes.] (Youya)

[I see.. Then what would happen if you ingested the liquid just as it is?] (Selene)

[Depending on the amount.. It’ll cause instant death if you aren’t strong enough and most likely a severe poison status effect onto intermediate level adventurers.] (Youya)

[Poisons from monsters are that dangerous.. We’ll have to be careful with the vials then.] (Selene)

After our conversation, we continued to collect the items dropped by the monsters and arrows before continuing forward.

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After wandering in the pyramid, we were about to arrive at the top layer of the structure, after breaking through three floors of the pyramid. Aside from me and Phil, the other girls looked tattered with empty eyes, their spirits seemingly broken by the immense number of monsters and traps we encountered within the Golden Pyramid. In the pyramid, the traps aren’t just targeted at adventurers, but were also utilized in combination with the monsters in the dungeon. Many of the traps were designed to kill adventurers and at the same time, they served as a signal for monsters to convene at the location in order to neutralize any intruders. Thanks to this, the three girls were completely worned out. It was important for them to hone their instincts and mind towards a sudden crisis, however when they were too focused on their surroundings, their physical strength and mental concentration would be exhausted as time passes.

[Drink this and relax your mind.] (Youya)

I handed everyone some coconut juice which we collected back at the oasis as their minds seemed to recover slightly with the sweet liquid.

[Youya.. This place.. Never again.] (Luna)