Lefiya and the others complied with the captain’s orders without a second thought.
Grabbing the legs and arms of their fellow familia members who’d fallen prey to the poison, they took off at a full sprint. Meanwhile, Aiz and the other top-tiers positioned themselves to the rear, center, and front of the disorganized formation, doing their best to support their companions on the march.
Giant maggots—easily more than thirty celches—oozed their deadly discharge as they dropped on the fleeing party from the ceiling like purple rain. Even the accompanying Hephaistos Familia smiths were screaming now.
“This is borderin’ on madness! Even the other beasties are gettin’ caught up in it!” Tsubaki bisected a whole swath of incoming poison vermis as she watched a nearby monster writhe in poison-induced pain.
The screams of humans and monsters alike filled the passageway as Loki Familia carried and dragged their wounded toward the stairs, charging their way onto the eighteenth floor.
“Didn’t wanna let us go quietly, I see.” Finn sighed in spite of himself.
They had set up within the forest at the southern corner of the eighteenth floor—the safety zone—quite near to the tunnel that would take them up to the seventeenth. Finn and the others had quickly set the rest of the familia to work establishing a new base camp.
The injured adventurers and smiths were splayed out in the grass beneath the trees or inside their tents with the flaps pulled back so the breeze could pass through. Men, women, humans, demi-humans—every victim was covered in a cold sweat, purple lesions dotting their skin.
Guttural moans of agony permeated the air.
Finn, Riveria, and Gareth looked out over the sordid scene from their spot beside the main tent.
“Everyone with lower than a G in resistance has been immobilized…Even the high smiths have been downed—everyone besides Tsubaki, that is. As expected, that poison is no joke.”
“The Dungeon is an unforgivin’ mistress, after all…Hoped she’d go easy on us this time.”
Riveria’s and Gareth’s words were heavy as they conversed, no doubt the decisive battle in the unexplored frontier still weighing on their minds.
This poison-vermis attack had further rubbed salt in their wounds.
Nearly all the lower-level members, supporters included, had succumbed to vermis poisoning. With more than a third of the entire expedition affected, they wouldn’t be leaving there anytime soon.
Finn and the others had no choice but to settle everyone in for a large-scale rest.
“Riveria, how goes the healing?” Finn asked.
“We’re prioritizing those with the heaviest injuries, but…I do hope you’re not expecting too much. Detoxification magic is rare, and we have only a few mages and healers capable of casting it—myself included.” Riveria lowered her eyes to her Mind-fatigued body. She could feel her power returning bit by bit thanks to her Regen ability, but it was still far from adequate, and she closed her eyes with regret. “What’s more, even with antidotal magic, poison-vermis venom is difficult to treat. I can’t promise full recoveries.”
The toxin of the poison vermis required a very particular treatment—made from its own secretions—and without it, complete recovery was impossible.
Normal detox magic simply wouldn’t cut it. Even those with the highest levels of magic power couldn’t hope to do more than weaken the effects of the poison. The only person Finn knew with healing magic advanced enough to completely cure the affliction was Amid Tessanare, “Dea Saint,” of Dian Cecht Familia.
“We’ll need the antidote if we’re to have any hope of healing everyone.”
“Yes. We’ll have to wait for Bete, after all.”
While everyone had rushed to set up camp and care for the injured the night before—or at least during what passed for “night” within the Dungeon—Finn had instructed Bete to continue on to the surface and purchase the antivenin from one of the stores in Orario.
Bete was easily the fastest runner in the familia. Skill effects included, his speed surpassed even that of Finn and every other higher-level adventurer in Loki Familia (though just barely). While he still couldn’t compare to Aiz when she activated Airiel, what with the distance involved and the battle-weary condition of the party as a whole, someone with reliable swiftness and endurance was necessary, making Bete the perfect one for the task.
“You always give me the grunt work!” the werewolf had grumbled before taking off into the night.
No doubt, he had already reached the surface, hurriedly collecting enough doses of the rare, expensive antidote to cure the whole party. Finn estimated Bete would be back in two days’ time.
Though the afflicted would have to suffer for those two days, so long as Riveria and the other mages continued their detox treatments, it wasn’t likely anyone’s condition would deteriorate further.
“First the Durandal from Tsubaki, then the thirty-some magic swords, and now a mother lode of antivenin…Gotta give all the drops to those smiths, too! We’re really gonna be in the red this time!”
“I ask that you not think of that now, Gareth,” Finn pleaded with a wry smile. “You’ll give me a headache.”
On top of their unforeseen expenditures, they still had to relinquish most of the drop items from the Dungeon’s depths to Hephaistos Familia as per their initial agreement. This included the valgang-dragon fangs and scales they’d risked their lives for, as well as everything they’d picked up from the fifty-second floor on down.
Though their efforts had rewarded them with an increased floor count, all they’d earned toward paying off the massive costs of their expedition was a few magic stones—to say they were in a bind was an understatement. If it weren’t for the reward Aiz had received from her quest in the twenty-fourth floor’s pantry, their outlook would have been even bleaker.
“Perhaps profits should be top priority on our next expedition…whenever that is,” Finn muttered to himself. “…I wanted to inform Loki of the events on the fifty-ninth floor as quickly as possible, but it seems circumstances aren’t on my side. For now, I’ve simply written everything in a letter. I’ll have to trust that Bete will deliver it.” Raising his head toward the ceiling, he narrowed his eyes against the speckled light peeking in from among the forest’s branches. “I suppose fretting will lead us nowhere. If we take the optimistic view, it has given us an excuse to spend some time on the eighteenth floor, right?” His voice was airy, tinged with mirth, as he turned around and let his eyes wander.
Finn’s words elicited mildly chagrined smiles from Riveria and Gareth, and as he continued to survey the camp, he noticed Raul and some other men of the familia, currently the only ones at work guarding the perimeter and caring for the sick. Finn had sent Aiz and the rest of the female squadron to the forest pool for a soak in hopes of relieving the pent-up exhaustion and gloom. He had plans to send the men there, too, once the ladies returned.
“Ye sure ye didn’t want to go with Aiz and the others, Riveria? Coulda left it to us to watch over things for a spell.”
“My presence would only make the other elves hypersensitive. I wouldn’t be able to properly relax,” the high elf responded, and it was true—the other elves would turn instantly into courtesans guarding their queen if Riveria were to join them, making it difficult for her to really indulge in the bath’s pleasures. “I’m fine being the last one,” she finished with a small smile.
“While we mustn’t throw caution to the wind, we are well past the climax of our expedition. Perhaps we should try to get some rest, too?” Finn posed.
Riveria and Gareth had no objections to the tiny captain’s suggestion, nodding in agreement as fatigue tugged at their bodies.
“Fall baaaaack! It’s the men’s turn!”
“All right! Finally our time to wash up…”
“Once again, not a single opportunity for a peep or two of the girls…”
“You idiot! That place is like a holy sanctuary, divine protection and
all. And even if it wasn’t, there are still plenty of reasons to keep our distance.”
“Yeah, like an appreciation for our lives.”
“Stop it already, guys. Let’s just go!…If Aki and the others hear any of this, I’ll be in huge trouble…” Raul urged his companions, attempting to keep the other Loki Familia men in line as he led them toward the forest pool for their own round of bathing and accompanying guard duty.
Moans and groans continued to pervade the base camp. While color had started returning to many of the victims’ faces, most were still bedridden and far from total recovery. Aiz and Lefiya were tasked with lookout duty while support healers like Leene earnestly tended to the sick adventurers and smiths.
“Pretty much what we expected, I guess. Rivira’s nothin’ but a massive rip-off!”
“Taking advantage of people in need. It’s enough to make me livid.”
“Welcome back, Miss Tiona, Miss Tione,” Lefiya greeted the two Amazons upon their return to camp. The twins were on their way back from a short shopping trip in the town of Rivira on the western edge of the floor.
The Dungeon town had actually been their first stop when they’d arrived on the eighteenth floor. What with the lower-level adventurers in critical condition, they’d needed to buy up every vial of poison-vermis antivenin they could find, even if it meant paying the astronomical prices charged by vendors in the aptly named “Rogue Town.” Managed by upper-class adventurers, the shops of Rivira charged an arm and a leg for their goods, well over what those same items would cost on the surface. Tiona and Tione had gone to visit the town again in an attempt to barter for some basic foodstuffs, but as they described in some detail upon their arrival back at camp, they had found nothing but exorbitant prices. Those prices were the very reason Loki Familia set up a camp of their own rather than take advantage of the relay town’s services.
The merchants there, in striking contrast to the beautiful crystalline landscape surrounding the settlement, had been just as ill-mannered and overbearing as always.
“We managed to scrape together enough magic stones and drops on the way there to trade for a bit of bread, but…it ain’t gonna last. Not when our supplies are practically gone already,” Tiona commented.
“It’ll still be a while before Bete comes back…Guess we don’t have a choice but to gather supplies on this floor after all,” Tione responded.
“Ah! Do you mean fruit from the forest?” Lefiya made a guess, and Tione confirmed it while her sister rubbed her exposed belly next to her.
“We need to watch our expenses right now, but we can’t expect everyone to just go hungry,” she added, shoulders drooping.
Which meant they’d need to be self-sufficient—exactly how adventurers were originally.
“Let’s get word to Aki and the others to put together some small teams. We can collect water, then head to the forest and gather whatever food we can find,” Tione suggested, to which Aiz, Lefiya, and Tiona nodded in agreement.
“Got it.”
“Understood!”
“Let’s do it!”
The bathing pool wasn’t the only source of water in the forest on the eighteenth floor—there were also small freshwater creeks running across the landscape—and produce from the fruit trees scattered among the vegetation was edible to both monsters and people alike.
Tione ended up organizing the women into groups of twos and threes, making sure each group had at least one Level 3 or higher. While no monsters spawned within the boundaries of the safety point itself, there would still be numerous beasts that had traveled there from different floors to contend with, and the large forest or the wetlands to the north were sure to be home to at least a few monsters.
Tione strongly encouraged the groups to be cautious during their search.
“Shall we get going, then?”
“Yes! Let’s do our best, Miss Aiz!” Lefiya answered.
The two of them had been tasked with collecting food. As the different groups set off from the camp, they, too, made their way into the dense thicket of trees.
The dim light of the crystals growing from the Dungeon’s ceiling peeked between the gaps in the canopy overhead, tingeing the world around them in hazy, piebald patterns as bluish crystal stalagmites rose from the bases of the trees.
They split up the duties as they went, Lefiya gathering fruits to add to her pouch as Aiz surveyed the perimeter for signs of danger.
A lone bugbear monster decided to attack them at one point, but Aiz finished it off with a single swing of her Durandal weapon, Desperate. Even after the long expedition, the silver sword remained in pristine condition. The honing Tsubaki had given it didn’t hurt, either. The sword’s blade now boasted a healthy, razor-like sharpness.
As Aiz watched the monster turn to ash beneath her sword, Lefiya’s hand roamed from tree to tree in search of fruit. Her fingers curled around a tuft of Honey Cloud—a cotton-like fruit seemingly infused in honey. The sickly sweet smell of the juices dripping from its skin made her mouth water, but she forced herself to pack it away in her pouch with a determined shake of her head.
Just like the self-repairing labyrinth walls, these trees were also a component of the Dungeon and would bear new fruit after a certain period of time. In addition to the Honey Cloud, Lefiya was able to gather some squash-shaped gourd berries, among other things. The abundance of fruit made it feel like an orchard, and she told herself to commit the area to memory as she glanced around at the rich harvest.
Aiz continued to monitor their surroundings near the elf, but after a long while without any incident, she, too, began packing fruits away in her pouch.
“Ah…a crystal drop.”
“Oh my! Those are so rare, Miss Aiz! That’s truly amazing!”
They were on their way back to the base camp with considerably heavier pouches, when Aiz discovered a pale-blue sparkle in the grasses at her feet. The tear-shaped, candy-like fruit was hidden among the tiny clumps of crystal that could be found covering the ground in every direction.
The rare item—or perhaps “rare fruit” would be more accurate—was none other than a crystal drop, and to find one was quite exceptional, even here on the eighteenth floor.
“If you tried to buy this on the surface, it would be very expensive! It’s often known as the ‘Nobleman’s Candy’…I have only tried it once, myself, but I couldn’t agree more with the name. Pleasantly crisp with a wonderfully refined flavor. Quite delicious, really!”
Exactly as Lefiya excitedly described, the hard-candy-like crystal drop was not only delicious but a rare delicacy. Its jewel-like beauty had made it popular among the city’s elite as a high-class confection, and a jar of them could go for well over ten thousand on the surface.
Though they had found only two, the sight of the drops atop Aiz’s palm made Lefiya’s eyes glimmer.
As Aiz watched her sweets-craving junior eye the two candies, a sudden idea popped into her mind, and her lips curled into an ever-so-discreet smile.
Without hesitation, she placed the crystal drops in the elf’s hand.
“Miss Aiz, what are you…?”
“I’m giving them…to you.”
“B-but you were the one to find them, Miss Aiz! And they’re quite valuable!”
Aiz’s smile returned as she watched Lefiya frantically sputtering, her staff in her left hand and the candies in her right.
“It’s…a thank-you.”
“Thank-you?”
Aiz responded with a nod. “For saving me…on the fifty-ninth floor.”
Lefiya’s azure eyes popped open in surprise.
On the fifty-ninth floor, they’d faced off against that demi-spirit. Aiz had leaped toward that mighty creature only to fall straight into a trap, with mere moments before she would be shot out of the sky.
It was then that Lefiya’s magic had saved her.
The spell of the elf, who’d refused to give up despite countless injuries, had flown straight and true, protecting A
iz from the enemy’s attack.
“What with everything that’s happened, I haven’t really had a chance to say it yet, so…thank you, Lefiya. Thank you for saving me.”
The faintest of blushes tingeing her cheeks, Aiz’s face broke into a smile.
And as Lefiya looked into the eyes of the golden-haired, golden-eyed swordswoman, as she heard her pure, unadulterated gratitude, her own eyes became unexpectedly wet.
She brought an arm up instantly to wipe at her face, growing more and more flushed as her actions grew more and more questionable.
“It’s—Y-you mustn’t say things like that, Miss Aiz! It is I who should be grateful! You and the others have saved me so, so many times, and…and this was merely my chance to return the favor…!”
“No…it’s fine that way. I said it before, too…right?”
They would protect her as many times as they had to.
And Lefiya would use her magic to save them.
That was what Aiz had told her many days ago. And as the words drifted back into her memory, Lefiya felt her movements come to a halt. Then the smallest yet most triumphant sort of smile spread across her face.
Abashment still coloring her features, she turned her eyes downward to stare at the two crystal drops in her hand.
“Thank you…” she finally uttered as she carefully placed the two bluish-white sparkles, her medal for saving Aiz, into the inner breast pocket of her battle clothes.
“Even Tiona and Tione said you were amazing. If you weren’t there, who knows what could’ve happened.”
“It—it was all thanks to Miss Filvis…! Oh, but of course your and Lady Riveria’s tutelage, as well, I…I, erm…”
“Finn was happy, too. That we…that you had grown so strong.” Aiz’s deluge of praise continued.
“Th-the captain?! I-I mean…that’s…o-oh my…” The excessive compliments from the girl she’d admired for so long finally became too much, and Lefiya’s face turned a brilliant shade of red. Unable to bear it any further, she lowered her eyes, both hands tightly gripped around her staff, radiating heat up to the tips of her pointed ears.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 5 Page 2
