The official exploration begins, today
Well... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous at all. After all, I almost died in the maze two weeks ago.
But now... maybe it's because of Rudeus? I can feel an unprecedented sense of security
Before the exploration officially started, Rudeus and I entered the maze together. Rudeus really became more powerful than I imagined.
No matter where the monster appears from, he can deal with it with ease
This kind of confidence also makes me a little worried, because magicians should be more careful... and Rudeus's habits are obviously not like those of magicians.
His confidence makes him more like a swordsman, as if he is not afraid of any surprises, but maybe it is also because of this confidence that Rudeus is so powerful, right?
After gathering, I found that there was a new member in the team
Uh... looks a bit like a monkey?
After everyone arrived, Mr. Paul coughed twice
"Let me introduce to you, this is my former teammate, Geese, his position is scout"
Saying that, Paul looked at Rudeus again
"This way Rudeus doesn't have to turn on the survey magic all the time, and can save some magic power to deal with emergencies."
Rudeus didn't speak or nod, as if he had acquiesced.
Rudeus He had never turned off survey magic when he was exploring before. Theoretically speaking, Rudeus's survey magic should not consume so much magic power.
Hmm... but since we have scouts, it is indeed the right idea to save what we can.
"But Geese, why did you come here suddenly?"
"Hahaha, maybe it's God's guidance? I was originally helping you find your family. When I heard the news here, I came over to take a look. I didn't expect you to be so much faster than me."
"I hope it's really God's guidance. That means Zenith must be here."
"Be optimistic Paul! With someone as lucky as me, Zenith will definitely be here."
"Okay, that's the end of the pleasantries, now we have to enter the maze."
After getting ready, we entered the maze
Elinalise and Geese are at the front
Paul is in the center of the team
Rudeus and I are in charge of the left rear side of the team, while Sylphie and Talhand are in charge of the right rear side of the team.
The exploration progressed very smoothly, and we entered the fourth floor in one breath.
Almost none of the monsters along the way survived for more than two minutes. Rather, Rudeus and Sylphie were really powerful.
The addition of the two chantless magicians has really improved the team a lot...
"Okay, let's take a rest first."
Paul shouted from the front, and everyone found a place to sit.
Rudeus and I were sitting on a rock together, back to back
Just when I wanted to open my mouth to find something to talk about, Sylphie came over
She tilted her head and spoke softly
"Rudeus, do you want to eat? Miss Roxy also has a share."
As she said this, she took out two lunch boxes with food and handed one of them to me.
After thanking me, I opened the lunch box. There was more food than I thought.
It seems like she did it all herself...
"Does everyone have a share?"
Rudeus asked and opened the lunch box
"Of course~ But Miss Rudeus and Miss Roxy's lunch boxes were made by me. It's meal time for the defenders. Mr. Paul and the others are on sentry duty. They will eat after we finish."
"That's it, thank you"
"You're welcome~"
After the old-couple-style conversation ended, Sylphie returned to the back right side of the team to eat.
Well... that's great. Isn't this kind of communication what I imagine ordinary happiness to look like?
I sighed in my heart, picked up the food in the lunch box and put it in my mouth
Delicious!
A standard good wife and mother... the cooking is so delicious... and so gentle...
If I were Rudeus, I would definitely choose a girl like this to be my partner
No, no, no! I can't think about these things anymore, I'm in the maze now! I have to get more serious!
"Papa"
I slapped my cheek twice with my hand
"Teacher? What's wrong?"
"Ah... it's nothing, haha..."
"If you feel any physical discomfort, please report it immediately."
"It's really no problem!"
After the break, we started exploring
Everyone is still in good condition, so we explored to the sixth floor
The monsters on the sixth floor are a bit monotonous and do not even require flexibility.
But we soon encountered our first problem
teleportation magic circle
This is a magic circle in a room with two
Everyone was discussing which one to choose, and Rudeus was sitting in front of the magic circle thinking about something.
Are you thinking...? I can feel a little flow of magic
There is only a little flow of magic power. Is Rudeus using some kind of magic?
Since I know nothing about teleportation magic, I remained silent the whole time.
After more than ten minutes of this, Rudeus stood up
"Both of these teleportation magics have problems."
He said this and walked towards the center of the room
After pacing back and forth in the center of the room for a while, Rudeus suddenly activated his magic
A hole opened in the center of the room, and a hidden staircase could be seen in the hole.
"As expected of my son, I am truly yours!!"
"Father, I'm just a magician, don't use too much force"
Mr. Paul happily took pictures of Rudeus. I just looked up at Rudeus, always feeling a little out of reach.
Suddenly Rudeus turned around and our eyes met
I stretched out my hand and touched the back opening of Rudeus
"Thank you for your hard work"
Rudeus smiled and nodded to me without saying anything.
"Okay, it's time to move on, everyone should stay alert!"
"Oh!"
Paul gave the order and everyone nodded in response.
Under the stairs is the transfer magic circle
It's not a trap, it's a magic circle that really leads to other rooms.
And it is bright red
The bright red magic circle means special danger
The front of this magic circle must be the deepest part of the maze...
The team members looked at each other
"Okay, let's go!"
Without hesitation, we set foot on the magic circle
In front of the magic circle is an amazingly wide space
In a word, solemn and solemn
It is a rectangular palace hall the size of a noble horse farm.
There are several thick pillars standing in the corners of the room
The ceiling is so high that you need to look up
The ground is covered with something like tiles, with intricate reliefs carved on it.
Deep in this gray palace, there is a monster
That's a huge monster
"Hydra... It's the first time I've seen it..."
Such emotion was sent by Geese
This was also the first time I saw... a giant dragon with nine heads, like a creature that came out of legend
Just when I was about to say something, I noticed something was wrong with the atmosphere
Mr. Paul was not shocked. He stared closely behind Hydra, as did Rudeus.
I followed my gaze and found a magic crystal there.
A magic crystal about two meters in size and shaped like crystal.
No... the shape doesn't matter... among the magic crystals, there is a face that I know very well
Zenith
Miss Zenith is inside!
"Zenith!"
Before I could react, Mr. Paul roared and drew his sword and rushed over.
And Rudeus also followed him immediately, not thinking of himself as a magician at all.
"Idiot! You're too impulsive!"
The shout comes from Geese
"Tsk..."
Elinalise was speechless while sprinting towards Paul and Rudeus
Then, Talhand also ran over
"Miss Roxy, let's come to our rescue!"
The voice of Sylphie brought me back to my senses. I raised my staff and pointed it at Hydra.
First of all, I don't know if my magical attack power is enough, but what I need to do is obvious: weaken the monster's mobility.
"The Silent Iceman's Fist, "Frost Strike"!"
The magic I activated exceeded Paul at the fastest speed and hit Hydra directly.
Just when it was about to hit, there was a harsh sound like scratching glass.
"What..."
This is definitely not the effect of magic on monsters. My magic is completely ineffective against it.
Are you resistant to ice magic?
As soon as such doubts arose, Rudeus activated his thunder magic. The thunder seemed to be a product of nature.
But even so, Hydra was unscathed
Sylphie activated the fire magic at almost the same time, but the effect was still not visible
Wrong...
Is there something wrong?...
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Mr. Paul's hoarse shouts even reached my ears
Hydra moves its neck like a snake to welcome the attack of Paul
The next moment, Hydra's head flew into the air
Cut off by Mr. Paul's sword
So strong...
Hydra Another head just came over
The next moment, it was also a severed head
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
Hydra lost two heads in an instant
Rudeus is at the front of the battlefield, observing the battle of Paul
I came to my senses and began to focus all my attention on my teammates
Since magic cannot take effect on Hydra, the next step is to find a way to improve teammates.
"Father! Calm down, Hydra is healing!"
Cure?
Rudeus's words made me observe the head that had just been severed
They are recovering slowly... No, not slow at all, they have already grown a head
Rudeus's words did not calm Mr. Paul, he was still swinging his sword crazily at Hydra
"Geese!"
Talhand shouted
Geese started running
He passed by Talhand and moved behind Paul
Throw something in your hand towards Hydra
I heard something break on the ground
Then, with Hydra as the center, something like smoke billowed up.
It's a smoke screen
"Calm down! If you do this, everyone will die!"
Geese shouted, while restraining Paul's arms from behind
However, Geese cannot control Paul, and will be thrown away in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, Rudeus activated magic to move the ground under the group's feet back a certain distance.
Paul calmed down a lot after being slapped by Miss Elinalise
"Retreat to the previous magic circle!"
"Yes!"
Everyone escaped from the magic circle safely
The most seriously injured person is Elinalise
There was blood dripping near her shoulder.
Just as I was about to step forward and apply healing magic, Miss Sylphie had already treated her one step ahead of me.
Next...
Paul leaned against the wall, breathing heavily
I don't know if it's because he hasn't calmed down yet or something, but Rudeus is sitting in front of the magic circle with his eyes closed as if thinking about something.
"Father"
"... That one is definitely Zenith"
"I know, how could I admit my mistake?"
"Also..."
"Having confirmed the mother's location, we should make plans first, make adjustments first, and look for information about Hydra."
Indeed, Rudeus's statement is very reasonable
But what would such words mean to Mr. Paul?
The atmosphere is a bit heavy
"I have an idea. Let's stop exploring and look for help. I know where Ghislaine is. I can call her over. It will take up to half a year..."
Before Rudeus finished speaking, Paul interrupted Rudeus angrily and grabbed his collar.
"What are you talking about!? Your mother...Zenith is right in front of you, and you actually said you would start taking action in half a year?!"
"Father... you haven't calmed down at all."
"How can you tell me to calm down now?! My beloved wife is right behind that monster, and the son I am most proud of is actually afraid? Huh?!"
Suddenly, Rudeus activated magic
The speed was so fast that no one present could react.
Mr. Paul is frozen
But there were only two seconds. After two seconds, Rudeus lifted the magic
"Father, magic that is several times stronger and faster than this is ineffective against that Hydra. We have four magicians in our team. Do you think your output ability alone can do it?"
Mr. Paul was breathing heavily, as if he had just recovered.
"I can do it. As long as you have a way to suppress Hydra's regeneration ability, I can definitely do it..."
Hydra... Regeneration...
I seem to have seen it in some book
Ah...
"That... I have seen in a book that the devil's dragon was covered with magic stone scales that can absorb magic power. The book said that it was witnessed during the second Demon-Human War, and then became extinct with the destruction of the continent. I always thought it must be a fabricated story... it seems to actually exist."
"What about the regeneration ability? Is it described in the book?" After Rudeus asked, he understood when he saw my helpless expression and didn't say anything more.
The book does not mention the ability to regenerate. Just absorbing magic power is troublesome enough.
"But... if we can shoot at close range, then magic can also be effective."
"Really? That's good news..."
"Rudeus? You're not going to activate magic in front of Hydra, are you? The position in front of you is dangerous enough..."
"It depends on the situation. Since my father can't accept waiting, the next step is to make a plan."
Rudeus's plan is simple and clear
The two magicians stood at the rear, using magic to support at any time. Talhand gave up magic and transformed into the same position as Elinalise. Rudeus stood in a position similar to Paul and output output.
Rudeus said that continuously outputting ice magic or fire magic on the cross-section of the wound should be able to prevent regeneration, because he once hunted an ogre with such healing ability.
If you want to use magic to cause damage, you must be at a close distance. This distance, which is very unfriendly to magicians, is handled by Rudeus
Originally I wanted to say that I could join, but Ms. Sylphie who wanted to stand in the front row with us was rejected. I couldn't shamelessly say that I can activate magic very quickly...
"Rudeus... Be careful. The magician must see clearly before using magic at such a close distance. There is no second chance..."
"Don't worry, teacher, Hydra's actions are not very fast, but he can still react."
"Well..."
When I was about to step into the magic circle again, I saw Paul say something to Rudeus
Both of them smiled. It seemed like the father recognized his son or something?
"Okay, let's go again!"
The battle begins
This time, there was no chaos at the beginning like the last time. Everything was going according to plan.
Cut off the first head, if it can regenerate after covering it with fire magic, then retreat
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
Paul shook for a moment and cut off the first head.
Rudeus, who was not far behind Paul, directly activated fire magic.
After the flames covered it, it really stopped regenerating.
This is very encouraging news
"Oh oh oh oh!! Don't leave my back, Rudeus!"
"Understand"
Hydra roared, and the three heads launched an attack at the same time
Is there no way to control the number of more than three heads?
Elinalise held up a head, Talhand held up a head
Then, Paul quickly cut off a head again, and Rudeus immediately used magic to burn the cross section of the wound.
Huh?
Talhand was injured due to blocking
"The power of God is the mellow food--[Healing]!"
I activated healing magic on Talhand, and Sylphie continued to heal Elinalise
I really don't know how much magic power she has.
"Rudeus, next is the third one!"
Paul shouted and chopped directly over
That's just three heads... If we keep up this momentum, we can do it!
The cooperation between Paul and Rudeus is so perfect. It almost took an instant to cut off the head and add fire magic.
"Miss Elinalise, be careful!"
Sylphie shouted and activated the magic of the earth wall to block a head
Elinalise reacted and parried one head, but the remaining three heads were all heading towards Talhand
"Oh oh oh oh! Come on!!"
Talhand set up a shield and blocked a head. The head that was previously blocked by Sylphie with an earth wall reacted and ran towards Talhand.
After holding up the two heads, Talhand was not strong enough and was knocked away.
On the way, one of the heads bit Talhand's foot and threw it into the air.
"Oh oh oh oh!"
"Talhand!"
Paul rushed over and chopped off the head that bit Talhand's foot
Rudeus immediately activated magic to burn the cross section of the wound
"Thank you, I'm saved."
"The power of God is mellow food - [healing]!"
I activated the healing magic to restore Talhand's combat effectiveness.
At this time, Hydra's actions seemed to have changed again.
He started to stagger back as if he was scared.
"Rudeus, what should we do next?"
Paul asked very calmly
"Wait a minute... I think something is wrong..."
After Rudeus answered, he stared at Hydra closely
Seeing that none of us had any intention of pursuing him, Hydra suddenly raised his head, as if he was looking down at us.
There seems to be something brewing in its mouth... Is this the last trump card?
"The breath is coming! Come behind me!"
Rudeus shouted, and everyone quickly hid behind Rudeus
And before Hydra's flames erupted, Rudeus activated the magic
It's ice magic, ice magic that's so powerful that it scares me.
The ice magic directly froze Hydra's head that was storing fire, and at the same time formed an ice wall in front of Rudeus
"Just blow me up, you beast!"
Rudeus cursed, this is the first time I heard it
But the explosion did not happen. The breath lasted for two minutes and then ended. Even Rudeus's ice magic was almost melted by it.
The space is filled with water vapor, making the heat unbearable. At the same time, the visibility is very low due to the fog.
"Father, now!"
"Okay!"
Hydra seemed to have lost some strength after vomiting, while Paul rushed forward.
Although our formation is almost the same as before, almost everyone is now in front of Hydra
Another head. After Rudeus activated the magic burn, Hydra only had two heads left.
"Don't let your guard down, just follow the tactics before Hydra is completely dead!"
"Oh!"
The remaining two heads glanced left and right.
A bizarre scene occurred
Two heads rushed towards Geese at the same time
"What's going on!!"
Geese was frightened and threw a smoke bomb on the ground and started running away.
The smoke screen spread instantly
Isn't this a bit too much? Did Geese panic and use all the smoke bombs on his body?
"Geese!"
Paul shouted, rushed into the smoke screen, and heard the sound of blood flying everywhere
Then, I heard the sound of fire magic again
There should be only the last head left now.
I'm in a smoke screen and can't see anything
Experience tells me that what I should do now is not to move
I can hear the roar of Hydra, and I can hear the footsteps of three people running
Geese, Paul, Rudeus... that's right!
"Rudeus, use survey magic!"
I shouted, and got an immediate response
But Rudeus, who could respond, was a little unsure.
"I kept it on..."
The voice of Rudeus is very close, but the voice of Hydra is also very close.
So now their position is at...
Just when I was still thinking, a person ran past me
It's Geese...
That means...Hydra...
"Teacher!"
Rudeus's shout is next to me
left...
That's right in front of me...
Ah... the situation seems to be very bad now...
It's not like that, it's very bad!!!!
The smoke screen faded a little, and I saw a faucet with a bloody mouth.
Ah... dying
Such thoughts are echoing in my mind
At this time, I felt a hand push hard on the left side of my body.
My whole body was pushed to the right, and the impact of Hydra was missed... was it?
When he came back to his senses, Hydra's last head had been severed.
It was not done by Paul, but by Rudeus
The ice magic that cut across Hydra didn't look like it could be done by human magic. It almost covered the entire maze room.
The person who just pushed me is Rudeus?
A very scary thought is echoing in my mind
"Rudeus!!"
I shouted loudly and activated wind magic to disperse the smoke screen
The smoke screen cleared, Rudeus was still standing there
"That's great...?"
Looking at Rudeus, I just feel like my eyes have lost focus and are a little blurry.