Argo was spot on. Two days after we left the tenth floor, news that Jetblack is also heading there start making the rounds in town.
“They were probably getting ready.”
“To go to the tenth floor?”
“Yes. Apparently a lot of adventurers know we want to conquer the tenth floor.”
“I think so too. The tenth floor isn’t a place you just jump into without preparing.”
Rurika agrees with Chris, and Argo and his party nod.
“Well, we’re pushing them into it in a way. I don’t know how that choice will turn out, but it’s their own responsibility. Maybe they were carefully planning, but never really had a reason to start.”
So they stopped, and then hesitated to take that step forward again?
“…So what should we do?”
“We can go as we planned. We’re going in a different direction anyway.”
Argo immediately answers my question.
It’s true, I can check Map and see where they are, so we most likely won’t bump into each other in the dungeon.
But before we go, we get plenty of rest in the inn.
Mia borrows the kitchen again, and Chris meditates in the room by herself. I’m curious about her, but Rurika pushes me out of the room. And they take me to the kitchen to cook with them too.
The innkeeper is looking forward to seeing if we have any new dishes to show.
And eventually, when we’re ready, we leave the inn.
We haven’t heard anything about Jetblack being back, so we assume they’re still hunting.
Once we enter the tenth floor, I check Map, and I see reactions that aren’t from kijin.
There are fifty-four of them. It’s not even enough to make four parties, but it matches what we heard before coming here. That means everyone who entered the dungeon is still here.
The kijin’s eyes are a big threat, but these people are all strong enough to have made it past the ninth floor, so if they can deal with the magic eyes, they should be able to hunt.
Also, keeping a lot of people here will work to their advantage if they’re staying here for a long time.
They can take turns keeping watch and rest properly.
But having a lot of people also has disadvantages.
If multiple parties are fighting, it can be hard to coordinate, and while it’s useful when they’re camping, it makes it harder to move through passages.
“Well, they go around the upper floors in large numbers, so they should have plenty of practice coordinating.”
Says Argo, and I agree.
“So Sora, which way should we go?”
“There aren’t that many of them, but maybe southwest? There are the same number of kijin closer to the staircase to the northwest, but they are closer to each other.”
“Okay, southwest it is then. Let’s think about how far we’ll go as we hunt.”
“Hum, there is something I want to test. Is that okay?”
Says Chris as we’re about to move out.
She’s gripping her staff, and has a serious expression.
“Hum, test what?”
“Magic that uses the power of spirits. I don’t know if it will work, but…”
She’s not confident, and her voice gradually gets lower.
“Sure, you can do it. No, you should.”
Says Rurika.
Chris looks at everyone, and after a small nod and taking a deep breath, she holds up her staff.
I can see her mouth moving a little, and hear her voice.
At the same time, magic energy gathers around her. It’s not normal magic energy, it’s magic energy from spirits.
If focuses on the tip of her staff… And the moment her voice stops, it spreads.
“Chris, what is this?”
“I’m filling this space with magic energy to detect abnormalities. Hum, I was thinking that this way we can tell where kijin are even if we can’t see them…”
I think she’s been thinking about how to help since she can’t do much in battle. But this is still in the experimental stage, and we don’t know how well it will work.
Also, the magic energy gets weaker as time passes, and needs to be refreshed. And since it can’t cover the whole floor anyway, she needs to use it as we advance.
“Still, detecting monsters we can’t see makes a big difference.
Says Argo, and I nod. Guilford and the others do too.
“H-hum, I don’t know if it really will detect them clearly. We don’t know how those magic eyes work.”
True. Presence Detection and Magic Energy Detection don’t pick them up, so my Map surveillance network isn’t a match for them.
“Then let’s keep that in mind and stay cautious.”
Says Argo, and we start exploring the dungeon again.
Thanks for the treat. 👍