Chapter 36 – Ashley's First Battle

“Sleep Cloud!”

As Ashley activated her chantless magic, smoke billowed from her hands, causing the group of Goblins that had appeared from the depths of the corridor to lose consciousness and collapse to their knees.

Grace stepped forward and kicked them aside with brute force. Like rubber balls stuck to the wall, the Goblins ceased moving.

Pale magical arrows—the elementary magic Magic Bolts—flew from the corridor’s end, but we blocked them with Magic Shields while countering with Lightning Strikes. A Goblin Shaman in a robe let out a short scream before falling.

Hmm. Well, the combat itself seems fine.

What Ashley used was Sleep Cloud—a magic that generates sleep-inducing gas. While classified as elementary magic, it’s positioned as a hidden aspect of Healing Magic.

It’s not a spell normally taught since it can be easily misused, but Rosetta doesn’t seem particularly restrained in that regard. Or perhaps she considered Ashley’s character and social standing.

“When did you learn to cast without chanting?”

Since we’ll be taking Ashley into the labyrinth from now on, we need to position her as a combat asset and structure our battles accordingly. When I asked what she could do, she mentioned being able to use Sleep Cloud, so I planned to have her cast it first before engaging… but I was a bit surprised she’d already mastered chantless casting.

“When I heard I might be accompanying Theodore-sama into the labyrinth, I spent almost all my free time training in magic to quickly master a few useful spells without chanting. I’d also grasped the basics of chantless casting through Life Magic.”

…So that’s why Rosetta said it would be “fine.”

“Are you not afraid, Ashley-sama?”

“I’m alright. As a lord who can use magic, I believe this is unavoidable. I’m also using Brave Wind to ensure I don’t freeze up in a crisis.”

Elementary magic Brave Wind—said to be a spell that stirs courage.

She seems to be making quite practical preparations, likely with Rosetta’s advice.

Both Grace and I are careful to avoid making our defeated enemies too splattered, and since Grace is in her released form, we have Caduceus guarding to prevent attacks from reaching Ashley.

“Besides, with both of you here, I feel reassured.”

I detect no instability in Ashley’s expression or tone. Perhaps her core is stronger than my initial impression. Physical issues can be resolved since she’s a user of Healing Magic.

We also have Red Transfer Stones just in case… Let’s proceed like this.

Now. We’re currently on the 12th floor of the labyrinth. It’s best to wait until the situation outside settles down. We’ll lay low to avoid trouble while gathering information.

The 12th floor… is a level where magic-using Goblin Shamans and Huge Spiders that build webs to wait for prey appear.

Though it’s reality, one might question if it’s appropriate to call it leveling, but I think it’s a suitable floor to get accustomed to monster subjugation while maintaining a safety margin.

“Enemies.”

Five Wood Puppets appeared. The number of previously encountered monsters appearing simultaneously is gradually increasing.

“Light Bind!”

After confirming no other enemies were present, I restrained them all at once. This time, Ashley stepped forward, raising the Long Mace in her hands.

Since she needs to get used to close combat, we’ve decided that when only Wood Puppets are present, she’ll engage in melee after they’re restrained. Against Puppets, no method of defeat will cause trauma.

“Hah!”

Ashley’s swung mace splendidly blew off the Wood Puppet’s head.

Her Long Mace is hardly exceptional as a magic catalyst… but it seems to be quite the masterwork. Apparently, it’s enchanted with weight reduction and acceleration.

It’s designed to improve handling through weight reduction while increasing power by canceling the effect upon impact. Even Ashley, who lacks superior physical strength, can wield it easily and deliver powerful blows.

Regardless, as someone who excels at close quarters, it’s no loss to have options for a magician’s melee combat. But the choice of a mace… seems influenced by me and Grace, making me feel somewhat responsible.

Grace is as usual. She casually slices the Wood Puppets apart with her axe. In her hands, Wood Puppets are no different from firewood. While Ashley took down one, Grace swung her dual axes horizontally and vertically, clearing the remaining Puppets.

“Well done.”

“As are you, Ashley-sama.”

The two exchange smiles. For a labyrinth exploration, it’s strangely peaceful… Well, the enemies are weak.

After quickly finishing the looting and proceeding down the corridor, we spotted a door to the side. Peeking inside after opening it, we saw a wooden chest in the room’s center.

Well, well. This exploration has gained another pleasure besides looting.

Namely, since the new moon has passed, treasure chests have revived. We probably won’t find anything significant on these floors, but since we’re also leveling Ashley and sharing basic exploration information between the two, I think we should stick to fundamentals and take our time.

Treasure chests are usually placed in small or large rooms… but since monsters might be present, we need to be cautious when entering.

Neither the room nor the treasure chest seem to have traps. The box contained low-grade Healing Potions.

Potions are undoubtedly reassuring to have since they can easily heal external wounds, but they’re quite bulky to carry. Their decent sale price makes them items I somewhat debate whether to keep or transfer.

“There aren’t any here yet, but when we go a bit lower, traps are sometimes set on entrances and treasure chests, so be careful.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

The two nod in agreement.

“Well, I’ll handle disarming them.”

“Shouldn’t we learn too?”

“No. It’s fine with me.”

Identifying trap types and disarming methods—there’s a lot to learn, and it’s not something that can be mastered overnight. Learning through getting injured in the field… isn’t necessary.

Moreover, it’s better for Ashley to remain completely untouched. We should avoid situations where the party’s healer gets injured. If I get injured, well, Ashley’s Healing Magic is more potent, so it’s fine.

Continuing to explore small rooms, we found stairs leading to the 13th floor.

The Transference Stone hasn’t charged yet, but we can proceed without delay here.

“From the 13th floor onward, Cutter Mantises appear.”

Giant mantises with sharp scythes. Their scythes, being looting parts, can also undergo Magic Stone Extraction, and since they’re sturdy, they can be processed into tools as-is.

Descending and continuing our exploration, we spotted a door with a slightly different color along the corridor.

“That door? The pattern is different from previous ones.”

“It’s a large room. They’re made easily distinguishable on shallower floors. Since large numbers of monsters can be inside, be careful when entering.”

“I see… What will you do?”

“Of course, we’ll charge in. If we can encounter a monster room, seeing what they’re like—it’s better to experience it here for future reference.”

Whether it’s appropriate to call it experience points or leveling is unclear… but conquering a monster room should contribute to strengthening our combat capabilities.

“…Shall we go then? Ashley, stay near the entrance and don’t go too deep. Caduceus will defend you, so if you need to chant, you can do so calmly.”

“—Understood.”

Ashley nodded and resoundingly chanted throughout the labyrinth.

“Round Guardian!”

Spheres of light began orbiting around Grace and me.

Light Magic, 4th tier. A type of defensive magic.

It revolves around the target, acting as a shield against attacks from the back or blind spots. Apparently, it’s the most advanced magic Ashley can currently use.

Simultaneously with the spell’s completion, we opened the door and rushed into the room with Grace.

Indeed, it was—a splendid monster room. A composition of spiders and mantises. Ants are similar too… I’m not too fond of insect-type monsters. Well, spiders aren’t insects, though.

“Blizzard!”

6th tier. An intermediate composite magic of water and wind. As a vortex of cold air swept through the room, their movements visibly worsened.

Entrusting our backs to the defensive magic from Grace and Ashley, I leaped at the nearest mantis.

Spinning my Magic Staff like a windmill, I severed both its arms at the joints and crushed its head. The mantis, caught in the staff’s rotation, scattered into pieces mid-air.

“Air Bullet.”

A Huge Spider blew thread at me, but I repelled it with wind magic.

Doused in its own thread, the giant spider flailed its legs.

Spiders avoid getting caught in their own webs by using non-adhesive vertical threads as footholds. So, if you repel their adhesive thread back at them, this happens. I drove an Icicle Lance into it for a clean Finishing Blow, then moved to the next enemy.

Ducking under a large scythe, I closed in. From my circulating state, I unleashed the Combat Skill, Heavenly Impact Kick. Delivering a kick infused with magical power sent the mantis flying vertically upward from directly below. As it fell, I bisected it from the torso.

Glancing briefly at the two.

What caught my eye was a mantis being crushed along with its scythe by Grace.

Grace alternately threw and retrieved the axes in her left and right hands, swinging them at a ridiculous speed that shredded the monsters to pieces.

As for Ashley, she seemed focused on chanting.

Naturally, she was defenseless herself, but a mantis carelessly approached only to be skewered from the feet up by Caduceus. The same went for any spider thread flung at her—precisely blocked by Caduceus. Caduceus’s defense is perfect. No opponent on these floors is likely to break through.

“Aqua Jail!”

Water Magic, 3rd tier. A magic that traps targets in a water cube, suffocating them. Naturally, it’s fully effective against insects too.

The Cutter Mantis struggled, imprisoned within the cubic water.

—They seem fine over there. Then, I’ll focus on my own tasks.

“Thunder Cloud!”

Lightning Magic, 6th tier. Dark clouds wreathed in purple electricity spread radially.

It lacks the original lightning strike’s projectile speed, but anything touching that cloud gets shocked. In a densely packed monster room—there’s no space to avoid it.

The monsters within sight were collectively charred black.

It didn’t take much time to annihilate them all.

Cutter Mantises and Huge Spiders. About thirty in total, perhaps? The spiders’ looting part is their abdomen.

We fought quite unrestrainedly, but there are still a fair number of lootable individuals. If the damage is severe, we apply Magic Stone Extraction Magic to avoid waste. Fighting while being careful is just troublesome.

While individual unit prices aren’t much… the quantity is decent, so we can expect a reasonable harvest.