Chapter 160: Heroic Spirit Summoning! Golden Light Tears Through the Dungeon (Patreon)

"When I leveled up, I picked Magic Conducting."

"These small fry aren't any fun anymore."

"Find me something stronger. I want to blow it up."

Natsuka sucked in a breath of cold air. A mana base of 1800.

Stack that with the skill's doubling effect, then add the power boost from Magic Conducting on top. If Shadow actually let that off, he'd probably glitch the whole Dungeon out of existence.

All Natsuka could do was try to give him some relatively safe advice.

"Why don't you go blow up a Tree Dragon instead."

"If that doesn't work, head to the deep floors and find something big."

"Or you could just go to the Water City instead."

"That place's structure is too unusual."

"Even a small explosion there could set off a chain reaction."

"If you actually summon a [Destroyer], there'll be no cleaning up the mess."

Shadow nodded. Destroyer. Sounded like a fitting opponent. Noted.

Natsuka added one more reminder.

"This trip, we're mainly headed to the Large Tree Labyrinth."

"Don't slack off the whole way there."

"If you actually mess things up, no one's covering for you."

Shadow's expression turned serious, his tone flat. "I'm strictly fried-potato-balls now." "Not going down into the Labyrinth."

Natsuka went completely numb. "Then what good are you to me?!"

The twelfth floor.

Natsuka bent his head over the map he'd borrowed from Blank, threading his way through a maze as tangled as a ball of yarn.

Lefiya walked alongside him, her expression growing stranger by the minute.

"You still haven't found the proper route?"

Natsuka held the map, brow furrowed, walking as he read it—giving off the exact air of someone driving an elevated highway for the first time without navigation.

"This isn't really my fault." "This is my first time in this part of the Dungeon too."

Lefiya's mouth twitched, and she finally couldn't hold it in. "Then what was that just now about taking the Great Falls being faster?" "Aren't you just plain lost?"

This floor of the Cave Labyrinth was notorious for leaving rookie adventurers hopelessly turned around.

According to Hedin Selland, the place even had a ridiculous nickname—the 'Designated Damsel-Rescue Site.'

Kuroneko stood off to the side, her face full of resignation.

Normally she just followed Blank around and never had to rack her own brain over it.

Natsuka grabbed Shadow, frowning, and lowered his voice. "Hey, don't you usually run back and forth through here alone? You must know this place well, right?"

Shadow whistled through his teeth, looking utterly unbothered, as if none of this concerned him at all. "I just sell fried potato balls for a living. This is actually my first time in the Dungeon too."

A vein nearly popped on Natsuka's forehead. "Even at a time like this, you're still spouting nonsense at me?!"

He grabbed Shadow by the collar and shook him hard, back and forth.

Shadow's head lolled from the shaking, but he kept the same punchable look on his face. Natsuka shot him a venomous glare and simply shoved the map into his arms.

"Enough talk. You're leading the way."

Shadow took the map, glanced over it carelessly, his expression as lazy as ever.

The next second, he set off in one direction as if he already had it all figured out. The others, half-doubting, had no choice but to follow.

Ahead lay a fork in the path.

A few adventurers came rushing over from that direction, panic on their faces, footsteps as chaotic as if a ghost were chasing them. "What is with that—why has that pink [Demon] come running over here again!"

"Hurry up! If we don't get out of here, she'll drag us down with her too!"

Natsuka's ears were sharp; even from a distance, he caught every word clearly.

He froze for a moment. "Pink [Demon]?"

Before he could puzzle out what those four words even meant, a screeching guitar sound suddenly blasted out from the distance, sharp enough to numb the eardrums.

The sound was loud and grating, its pitch almost deliberately obnoxious, as if daring someone to pick a fight.

Right after that, a laugh so familiar it couldn't have been more familiar drifted over as well.

"Hahahaha, I'm out of here first!"

Yui ran while strumming her guitar, exaggerated, ear-splitting chords rippling out one after another.

The mockery in it was cranked up to the max—every monster nearby had been thoroughly pissed off.

Every hair on Mamenosuke's body stood on end at once, and he bared his teeth, hissing low.

Natsuka followed the sound with his eyes, and his eyelid twitched on the spot. "Yui?"

The group hurried after the sound, and the moment they burst out of a cavern chamber, they spotted Yui sprinting along, dragging a long trail of monsters behind her.

Behind her trailed at least thirty-odd Dappled Tigers and Horned Rabbits.

The monsters were packed into a churning mass, kicking up dust, their thundering footsteps echoing back and forth through the cavern.

Natsuka shouted at the top of his lungs. "Hey! You need a hand?!"

Hearing him, Yui actually slowed down for a moment, waving cheerfully at him. "Huh, Natsu-kun!"

Natsuka's face went green. "You idiot! Don't stop! Do you want to die again?!"

"Oh, right." Yui replied, then a second later giggled and sped back up.

The problem was, the direction she sped up in was exactly where Natsuka stood.

Natsuka's scalp went numb instantly. "You're charging straight at us too, aaaaahhh!"

He grabbed Kuroneko and spun around to run, moving as fast as if his life depended on it.

Behind him, Yui laughed with pure delight. "Hehe."

Unlike melee combat, mages needed time to cast their spells.

If the monsters surrounded them from every direction, dealing with it would turn into a real headache.

Not to mention this cursed place called the Dungeon always loved throwing out something to catch people off guard.

This was his first proper—no, his first genuinely serious dungeon run. Better to keep a low profile and stay safe.

Yui ran on, glancing back and shouting. "Ahead, ahead—turn left!"

The group wound through the passages, dragging along a sprawling, thunderous procession of monsters behind them.

Fortunately, the routes Yui chose were all fairly out of the way, so they barely ran into other passersby.

Before long, they rushed toward a cavern chamber that had clearly been set up in advance.

Inside the chamber, Yuuki stood guard at the entrance, one hand braced on her sword.

She wasn't tall, but standing there, she was as steady as a nail driven into the ground.

Tachibana Kanade stood quietly further back, her eyes calm to the point of being almost expressionless.

The surrounding walls showed clear signs of deliberate damage, evidence that preparations had been made in advance.

Miyazono Kaori stood even further back, gently drawing her bow across a violin.

The music was soft, spreading through the cavern like a thin trickle of water, slowly restoring everyone's mana and mental fortitude.

The moment Yui charged past the chamber's entrance in one breath, Tachibana Kanade's eyes snapped open.

She crossed her hands, and Sonic Hand Blade unfolded instantly.

The next moment, sonic cannon blasts fired one after another, streaming in a line straight down the cavern's mouth.

Deafening explosions burst through the narrow passage.

In the blink of an eye, the middle section of the long monster procession behind them was carved clean away.

A small portion of the monsters, drawn by the cannon fire, immediately turned and lunged toward the chamber.

But most of the monsters still clung stubbornly to Yui's trail, chasing her as if they'd gone mad.

Once the scattered monsters on the perimeter had been swiftly cleared away, Yuuki resealed the entrance.

She held her position tight, giving the monsters no chance to break into the chamber.

Yui circled the route for another lap.

Once Tachibana Kanade's mental strength had recovered enough, another round of cannon fire would follow.

Watching this whole routine unfold, the corner of Natsuka's eye couldn't help but twitch.

Well, look at that. They'd actually managed to build a whole monster-farming assembly line?

Partway through, Natsuka had already broken off from Yui's monster-luring route and ducked into the chamber ahead of the others.

Seeing Yuuki and the others' teamwork with his own eyes now, he couldn't help giving them a thumbs-up on the spot.

"Now that's some real skill."

Yuuki grinned, a hint of pride on her face.

"This is one of the leveling spots Mister Sora scouted out for us."

"They've been scouting the routes these past few days, and the map's been filled in bit by bit as they went."

Only then did Natsuka fully understand.

No wonder the map in her hands was so absurdly detailed.

Even the safest spot to jump down the Great Falls had been clearly marked.

During the final round, Natsuka and Lefiya joined in the monster-clearing as well.

Flame and magic slammed down almost simultaneously.

The once-terrifying convoy of monsters was wiped out in an instant, leaving barely even ash behind.

After the fight ended, Yui plopped straight down onto the ground, gasping for breath. "I... I really can't anymore..."

The corner of Natsuka's eye twitched at that.

She clearly had a skill like Boundless Energy; by rights, she shouldn't be tired out this fast.

But thinking it over, Yui really had been running for her life the entire time.

She'd sprinted flat-out for nearly an hour straight; it was no wonder she'd worn herself out like this.

Yui sprawled on the ground and waved a hand. "Let's just call it a day."

She looked up at Natsuka and asked casually. "Natsu-kun, did you come to see Yuuki?"

Natsuka nodded. "Yeah, we're planning to head down toward the middle-lower floors."

Tachibana Kanade, who had been standing quietly off to the side the whole time, suddenly spoke up.

"If you're headed to the middle-lower floors..." "Naaza mentioned she wants some medicinal herbs from the Large Tree Labyrinth."

The so-called Large Tree Labyrinth held more than just the omnipresent bark and moss—it was also thick with flowers and grasses.

Looking up, you could see clusters of white flowers hanging down through cracks in the ceiling.

Plants crowded every crack in the walls too, as if the whole place had been swallowed whole by a forest.

In some corners, you could even spot entire sprawling clusters of giant mushrooms.

Once brought back to the surface, those plants could almost all be made into recovery potions or used as materials for various items.

Tachibana Kanade continued. "Naaza especially wants White Tree Leaves." "She'd asked before whether she could get Gale to help gather some."

Natsuka rubbed his chin, and a plan quickly formed in his mind.

Since they were already down here anyway, going back empty-handed just felt like a waste.

"Sure. If it's on the way, I'll help gather some."

Tachibana Kanade's eyes lit up for a moment, clearly itching to go along.

But before she could speak, Natsuka cut her thought off first. "But you can't come."

He said it seriously, his expression turning solemn at once. "That place is still too early for you."

Floors twenty through twenty-three—by the Guild's own standards, you basically needed a top-tier Lv2 party just to qualify to set foot there.

As for the nineteenth floor, even with Natsuka—a Lv3 at his peak, already faintly brushing a pseudo-Lv4 threshold—leading the party,

plus help from Shadow and Lefiya, they barely scraped together enough to meet the clearing standard.

But Natsuka also planned to bring Miyazono Kaori along.

Her battlefield mana-recovery ability was simply too crucial.

Under these circumstances, having to split attention to protect Tachibana Kanade on top of everything else would just be too much pressure.

Tachibana Kanade lowered her head, the spark in her eyes visibly dimming.

The state she was in right now actually resembled Ais's a little. Too impatient. Too desperate to catch up to those ahead of her.

That kind of drive was a good thing, but once it went too far, it was easy to push oneself too hard.

Natsuka reached out and ruffled her head. "For now, keep following Yui and polishing your fundamentals on the upper floors."

"I have a feeling you'll catch up soon enough."

Tachibana Kanade pressed her lips together, and in the end, gave a small, quiet nod.

The party quickly reorganized.

Yui, her stamina spent, and Tachibana Kanade, not yet suited for the middle floors, were escorted back up to the upper levels.

Miyazono Kaori and Yuuki joined Natsuka's group instead.

In the end, they formed a six-person clearing party and set off again.

Once they reached the middle-floor region, the party's roles fell into a clear pattern immediately.

Yuuki and Shadow charged out front as vanguard.

Rapier and frying pan, one after the other, kept tearing open gaps in the monsters' formation.

Kuroneko held the middle position on support, healing allies and weakening enemies as she went.

Lefiya, growing bolder, flung spell after spell outward without holding back.

Miyazono Kaori played her violin the whole while, keeping a steady stream of recovery going.

As for Natsuka—

he listened to the shifting styles of the violin melody, watched the magical effects bursting up ahead now and then, hands tucked in his pockets, lazily bringing up the rear.

The whole scene made him look like he was on a sightseeing trip.

He watched with his own eyes as Shadow's frying pan smacked its way from Goblins straight through to Al-Miraj,

then from Al-Miraj on to Dappled Tigers.

In the end, he even beat a Minotaur to death alive with that same pan.

Then, the frying pan—having endured far too much—finally reached its limit. With a crack, it met its end right there on the spot.

The group pushed forward along their route and successfully made it to the eighteenth floor.

After entering Rivira, Natsuka pulled out some of his private stash and started asking around the nearby shops for word on [Perseus].

As for Ryuu, her identity was too sensitive, so it wasn't convenient to ask about her directly.

The weapon shop owner, Bors, took the valis, weighed them in his palm for a moment, then stroked his chin, thinking back.

"[Perseus], huh..." "Seems like she headed to the twentieth floor a while back."

"Should've been this morning."

Having said that, he added one more thing. "But finding her won't be that easy."

"As long as she's still wearing that mask, whatever information gets out is pitifully scarce."

Natsuka nodded in thanks. "Alright, thanks."

Since they'd already made it to Rivira, the group naturally split up to gather information.

After questioning Bors, Rivira's nominal boss, Natsuka didn't linger any longer among the crowds.

Instead, he headed off alone toward a more remote, quieter stretch of forest.

Drawing on the hazy memories in his mind and piecing them together with the information Miko had brought back before, Natsuka finally found the burial ground of the former Astraea Familia in a desolate corner.

Calling it a burial ground was generous—it was really more like a row of crude cenotaphs.

Some of the graves didn't even hold bones—only the weapons they'd left behind in life, standing quietly planted in the dirt.

The air carried a damp, chilly scent.

Whenever the wind blew past, the grass rustled softly, and the whole place fell into a silence heavy enough to stifle.

Natsuka stood before the graves for a long, silent while.

He lowered his eyes, and once he seemed to have finally gathered his feelings, he spoke slowly.

"I'm sorry." "It took me this long to come see you all."

Having said that, he let out a soft breath, a flicker of complicated emotion passing through his eyes.

"Still, coming now, I suppose it's not too late."

"At least I'm not standing here empty-handed anymore."

He knelt to search through the old weapons scattered near the graves.

Before long, he found that particularly distinctive claw blade.

Natsuka bent down, gripped it, and applied a bit of force.

The weapon slowly pulled free from the earth.

The rust-mottled blade lay exposed to the air, cold, hard, and heavy—like old times that had been buried for years without ever fully fading away.

He reached out and detached a throwing knife from the claw blade, his voice dropping low. "I hope Ryuu won't be too mad at me over this."

"For now, I'll just have to borrow the wisdom of my predecessors—and that face too."

As the words fell, Natsuka closed his eyes.

Fine, scattered starlight began rising bit by bit around him.

The emblem of justice lit up as if ignited, casting a great swath of brilliant golden light behind him.

He chanted in a low voice.

[Shine, O heroic spirits of every world and heaven—heed the Descender's call! Constellation of Stars, gather here!]

A pillar of golden light shot violently skyward.

The light was so blindingly bright it seemed to tear straight through the seam between yin and yang.

This was the first time this technique had truly shown its power in the Lower World.