I returned to the break room on thirteen and grudgingly cleared out the monster corpses.
“Will you watch my back while I’m asleep?”
“Squee!”
I’m lucky to have Piggymaru to keep guard. In the Ruins of Disposal , I was so anxious I could barely sleep…
I settled back against the wall and let my eyes close.
When I woke up, I checked my watch.
“I’ve been asleep for almost three hours…”
“Squee!”
Out came Piggymaru’s tentacle, snapping to attention to inform me that nothing had happened while I was sleeping.
“Thanks. Um, don’t you need to sleep yourself, Piggymaru?”
“Squee!”
“Okay, but if you want to sleep, just say the word, okay? We don’t need to race to get this Dragon-Eye Cup or whatever. We’re in no rush, okay?”
“Squee. ♪”
I’ve never seen Piggymaru sleep… I wonder if slimes sleep at all?
When I asked earlier, Piggymaru responded with a “squee?” Not exactly a yes or a no… I puzzled over it as we ate a meal of dried meat together.
There’s still so much I don’t know about slimes.
“Squee~! ♪ Squeesquee~! ♪ Munch munch! ♪”
It’s eating that meat happily enough, though… I guess slimes have appetites just like everybody else.
My hunger satisfied, I left the break room and headed back down to floor fourteen.
As soon as I reached that floor, a man approached me from the gloom with a band of mercenaries trailing behind. I reached for my weapons—they don’t look hostile, but you never know.
“Hey, you!”
That voice… He’s one of the guys I heard in the break room earlier.
Humble and polite mode: activate.
“Hello! What can I do for you?”
“There’s something happening down here.”
“Happening how? What’s wrong?”
The Sabre-Toothed Tigers assembled themselves in front of me. They look scared—what could’ve happened?
“Tch—we were so close to that new floor, too!” said a red-haired girl resentfully.
“There’s something terrible going on… Even the guys from the upper floors have noticed it,” said a deeply tanned man, looking back over his shoulder.
I only slept for three hours…something must’ve happened in that time. It doesn’t look like they’re lying. They seem genuinely freaked out.
“Can you be a little more specific?” I asked hesitantly. “This is my first time down here.”
“The monsters are all dead.”
“Dead…?”
“Yeah. It’s weird… They’re just— We have no idea why. The corpses look untouched, not a scratch on them. Some are a little discolored, but no wounds…”
Oh.
The red-haired girl picked up the story.
“It’s not just the weak ones! The strong ones, too. We were the first ones down here, and the floor’s full of them. What could’ve done that?!”
I…actually have a pretty good idea...
“We met a guy from the upper floors who found similar corpses upstairs, but we didn’t find any on our way down,” the red-haired girl continued. “So whatever it is, it happened in the past few hours.”
The mercenaries began to talk among themselves.
“Some kinda poison fog from deep in the ruins, you think? Climbing slowly up the floors.”
“No human victims so far, though…but maybe it takes longer to kill us? It’s gotta be some kind of death fog, I think.”
“You think that story about the king’s curse on the Dragon-Eye Cup was true?”
“Nobody told me there’d be poison fog down here.” The red-haired girl crossed her arms and glared at her fellow mercenaries.
“My Sabre-Toothed Tiger family is more important to me than any of this. I’m not going to risk leading my group to their deaths. It sucks, but we’re turning back… We need to figure out what’s going on down here.”
The tanned man nodded slowly.
“If you happen to meet any other mercenaries, can you let them know what’s happening? They can make their own decisions about whether to keep going, but…they really need to know about this.”
“I will, thank you,” I replied.
“I know it’s not my place to order you around, but you should head back, too. Let’s leave this to the Baron’s guys, huh? He wants that cup so badly, he can come down and get it for himself.”
I smiled politely.
“Thank you for your concern, really.”
“So, what, you’re alone down here? Not much armor on you.”
Oh. He’s suspicious that I’m down here alone with just my shortsword and hammer.
“I’ve got friends nearby.”
I held up my backpack for him to see.
“I’m just here to skin the monsters, collect ingredients, that kind of thing. I was running away from some monsters and got separated from my group… I never expected to make it all the way down here.”
I guess if push comes to shove, I can give them Mist’s name.
“You ended up down here by accident? We’ll take you back up to the surface with us if you want.”
“Thanks, but I think I’m good. I can’t leave without my friends.”
The mercenary who’d offered looked concerned.
“All right. But be careful, okay?”
“I will.”
“We really need to get out of here. Sorry we can’t help you find your friends.”
“It’s fine. Thanks so much for giving me a heads-up.”
They headed back toward the higher levels, and I made my way across floor fourteen.
“Squee?” came Piggymaru’s voice.
“Yeah, I heard. They’re talking about the monsters I killed.”
I didn’t have time to hide the corpses or make them look normal—there were just too many of them. Well, this could all work to my advantage anyway. Once this news spreads, I won’t have to deal with so many mercs down here. I don’t want anybody seeing me use my skills.
“This might be a blessing in disguise…”
I started searching for floor fifteen.
There aren’t many glowing crystals in the walls this far down… Well, that’s not a problem for me, at least. Compared to the Ruins of Disposal, this place is heaven.
“I’ve got this thing with me, after all.”
I took out my leather pouch and poured mana into it. Now that I had a backpack, I could keep my pouch empty, making it much easier to carry around.
This floor seems empty in both directions…
This level was quiet and seemed empty. I poked around, searching for a way down, but didn’t find anything—it must have been hidden somehow. Taking advantage of the solitude, I pulled out the paper and started to sketch out a simple map—things that would be useful to me, but I didn’t have time to be the Baron’s cartographer. When I got to filling in information about the monsters I’d found, I paused. I didn’t know the actual names of any of the creatures I’d come across, and also, they were all dead now. I put my pen away—this would have to be good enough.
Suddenly, Piggymaru snapped to attention.
“Squee!”
A small tentacle directed me to turn around just as a horde of reverse-centaur monsters—horse heads, human bodies—rushed around the corner.
“Neeeeiiiighhh!”
I fired off the same old combo.
Paralysis.
Poison.
Nothing in here to challenge me yet.
I turned and walked away from the heap of dying monsters.
“Hmph. Boring. This is a waste of time.”
“Squee!”
Finally, we found the dark, narrow passage to the new floor and ventured into uncharted territory.
Floor fifteen was all ruined buildings that looked like they had once made up a residential area. There were large room
s filled with great metal shelves, and I helped myself to small objects and jewels as I went.
I want to leave enough space in my bag for ingredients.
I left the residential area and headed onward. I came out into a high-ceilinged hallway with a large, ornate door on the far side.
There’s definitely something behind that door…no point waiting around.
“Okay, Piggymaru. Let’s do this.”
I approached the grand door and pushed it, hard, with both hands. It stuck for a moment, then gave way and swung open violently. I dashed into the room and flattened myself against the wall.
I can’t let the enemy see me yet—it’s too dangerous. I need to watch and wait. I remember the Soul Eater’s laser attack…
I carefully inspected my surroundings.
It appeared to be a temple of some kind. There were light crystals at regular intervals along the walls, and the air was thick with dust. The contrast between the black walls and clear white light was beautiful to behold. A lot of work must have gone into this place.
In the far corner of the room there was a statue of what I could only describe as a humanoid dragon.
A big stone statue? Wait a minute…a dragon-person statue? There’s an altar in front of it, too. I wonder…
I looked at the altar more closely.
There’s a cup enshrined in a place of honor on the altar, glittering with gemstones. It drew my attention like a magnet.
“So that’s the Dragon-Eye Cup…?”
So, I’ve found what everybody’s looking for. No sign of any monsters, either. Even Piggymaru seems relaxed—for now.
I walked slowly toward the altar, looking up at the towering stone statue.
“That thing’s going to come alive, isn’t it?”
Anybody who’s ever read a book or seen a movie would have the same feeling about this statue—touch the treasure, and the trap comes to life. It’s too obvious.
I should strike first.
I reached an arm out toward the statue.
“Paralyze!”
The statue began to change color as life kindled beneath the stone scales of the dragon-man. Piggymaru reacted immediately.
“Squee? Squee!”
“Guaaaaaaarrrr! Shaaaa!”
I felt the monster’s desire to attack heavy in the air, its presence looming over me, but…
You’re too late.
“Gr—?!”
The monster was paralyzed, only half awake from its stone sleep.
Poison.
The great dragon-man turned purple.
“Grr, Ghh…?! Gh… Grra—!”
It tried to thrash around but only managed a few twitches of its head. It was desperately trying to shoot something out of its mouth, but…
Try to move when you’re paralyzed, and you’re only making my job easier.
Thick, inky blood came spurting out of the monster’s ears and mouth.
“Gr— Gh—”
A gruesome sound filled the air as the dragon-man’s head twisted clean off its body and came crashing down to the floor, its tongue lolling out of its mouth as it landed. I jumped back as the rest of the statue crumbled, falling to the temple floor in great chunks of stone.
“The Soul Eater disguised itself as a stone statue, too… At least this one wasn’t so fast that I couldn’t react.”
I picked up the Dragon-Eye Cup.
“So this silver cup is the grand prize, huh?”
The cup was shaped like a great dragon’s claw standing upright. It seemed to change color based on your perspective—sometimes silver, then the light would hit it differently and it would look purple. The gold gemstones set into it gleamed like a dragon’s eyes. I wiped the dirt from its surface, and even in the dim underground light, it practically glowed.
“Beautiful.”
All right, what’s next…hm?
“Squee!”
I sensed someone behind me. I rushed to shelter behind the altar and raised my hand toward the threat.
“It’s you!”
A familiar face stood in the doorway. Perhaps she hadn’t heard from the other mercenaries what was happening in the ruins—or maybe, like me, she saw it as a good opportunity and continued her descent. Her expression softened when she recognized me.
“Oh, it’s you, then.”
Mist Balukas.
The visor that was usually on her forehead was pulled down and projected a beam of light in front of her. As she entered the room, the beam faded away.
I don’t see any armor—did she leave it behind? She doesn’t look right, somehow, wandering underground ruins with all these terrible monsters. She should be wearing a dress in some royal palace.
Mist looked down at the floor, squeezing her left arm like she was holding something in.
“All the other mercenaries were turning back… I assumed I would be the first one here.”
So I was right—she heard what was happening and took the risk anyway.
Mist raised her eyebrows and forced a smile.
“I took a break after encountering a horde of monsters, and that delayed my progress through the ruins,” she said, sounding uncomfortable and angry with herself.
Self-discipline, I suppose? She seems really hard on herself.
“I’ll give you this cup if you want it.”
“Eh?” she raised her head, dumbfounded. “Wh-what did you just say…?”
“I’ll give you the cup if you want it.”
“Wh-what would you ask in return?”
“In return?”
“For three hundred gold pieces, all I could give you would be…” Mist looked down at her waist, where her hand was resting on the sword in its scabbard. “I could offer this sword, but it wouldn’t be a fair trade. Is there anything I could do for you that would be worth three hundred gold pieces, Sir Hati?”
Mist laid a hand across her chest like a knight swearing allegiance.
“If it’s in my power, I swear I will do my best to fulfill your request.”
I moved closer to her.
“You’ll do anything I ask of you?”
Mist swallowed, looking to the side a little uncomfortably.
“F-first…might I hear your request? I cannot give my word without knowing whether or not it I’ll be able to keep it.”
“Here.”
I held out the cup toward her.
“What? Oh, b-but…” Mist looked puzzled.
“Just take it.”
I tossed the cup toward her, and she fumbled to catch it.
“B-but… Sir Hati, I haven’t heard what you want of me in return for—”
“I don’t want anything,” I interrupted.
“I-I have my own code to consider! I’ll carry your bags, prepare food, serve as your personal guard…I beg of you, name your price!”
Well, if you’re going to beg… Nobody actually takes their pride that seriously, do they? I’m sure she doesn’t mean it.
“You’re in a hurry, aren’t you? You should get going.” I turned my back on her. “See you.”
“Wait! I can’t allow you to just give me the cup like this!”
“What can I say? I’m a nice guy—especially to beautiful girls.”
“Y-you’re lying!”
“What?!”
“I’m sorry, but…”
Oh, right. She can see through lies.
I took a deep breath.
“I’m not actually here for the Dragon-Eye Cup. There’s a monster down here somewhere, and that’s what I’m after.”
“We were told that this new floor only contains the Dragon-Eye Cup.”
“I found an old document that says different. There’s a monster down here, and it has something I need. The ruins clearing was a lucky coincidence.”
Mist looked surprised.
“Well, that explains some things. Even so, I—”
“I don’t need the money right now. I don’t particularly want the Dragon-Eye Cup, either.”
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But I had another reason for wanting to offload it.
The Baron’s been searching like crazy for this thing for years, hasn’t he? If I show up, the hero of the ruins who brought him this treasure, I’ll draw way too much attention. Mist seems to need the money—convenient for both of us.
I thought back to what the Great Sage had scribbled in the margins of Forbidden Arts: The Complete Works.
In the room with the altar and the stone statue…yeah. There should be a hidden staircase in here somewhere.
I knelt down to inspect the altar and felt around the edges until…
Oh, a button! I’ll push this, and…
“Excuse me.”
Hm? Why is she still here?
I stood back up. “What’s wrong?”
“Are you going further down? Are there more floors to this place?” she asked.
“Yeah…don’t tell the Baron, okay? I don’t want to have to explain all this to him. That can be how you pay me back for the Dragon-Eye Cup.”
“Understood.”
“But didn’t you hear about the mysterious danger on the upper floors?”
“Word did reach me, but…I thought it might be a good opportunity to get ahead.”
As I expected.
“Most of the mercenaries retreated once they learned that even the Sabre-Toothed Tigers had given up,” she said. Those guys must’ve had quite the reputation.
“Sir Hati, will you at least allow me to accompany you as your bodyguard?” Mist asked.
“What…?”
“I can carry your bags if that’s all you require. But you’re entering an unexplored floor, and many dangers will await you down there. From what I gather, you’re a mage of some sort, and you must be tired from casting so much. I have some confidence in my abilities with a sword. I can surely make your job a little easier and help carry the load. I swear I will not become a burden to you.”
Mist drew closer and looked up at me, her face serious.
“Will you accept?”
Tired from casting? Oh, she must assume I’m getting low on MP. That won’t be a problem for me any time soon, though.
“Ugh… Look, I’m sorry, okay?”
Mist pulled away, dejected.
“Then I’m afraid I can’t take this cup—certainly not for nothing.” She eyed the head of the dragon monster where it lay crumbling on the floor. “After all, you were the one who defeated this monster.”
“If you need something from the corpse, go ahead and take it,” I offered.
Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells (Light Novel) Vol. 2 Page 5