章 40: Goliat
~VOSSSH~
The sound of a sword cutting echoed through the 16th floor of the dungeon.
~AARGH~
Every time the sword moved, agonizing screams of monsters echoed through the dungeon.
"These things are quite tough..." A girl with fiery red hair remarked as she looked at the Minotaur that had been cut in half.
"Tough?" A petite girl with blue hair murmured with a strange look, observing the Minotaurs that didn't even have a chance to defend themselves.
"These are mid-level floors, don't expect much from this place. According to the information we received from Alfia, it won't start getting difficult until after floor 40," a girl with white hair and crimson eyes said as she picked up a monster crystal and examined it.
"Oh? Did you read the dungeon information, Sylphie?" The fiery-haired girl curiously asked the red-eyed girl.
"We were supposed to have all read it, Eris..." Sylphie replied, looking at Eris with a hint of exasperation.
"It was a really big book..." Eris complained, with a sheepish look on her face.
Shaking her head, Sylphie just gave a wry smile. It's well known in the family that Eris hates reading, or studying, or being in long meetings - she hates anything that isn't sword-related.
~BAM~
"And you, Roxy, did you read it?" Sylphie asked while dodging a Minotaur and striking it with her small staff on its head.
The immense level 5 strength caused its skull to shatter immediately.
Although in terms of physical strength, Sylphie can't shine, she still has the physical strength of a level 5. Thanks to her melee combat classes with her teacher, she can defend herself without magic.
"Yeah, I think I read it about 4 times before coming," Roxy nodded to Sylphie.
"Hehe, as expected of you," Sylphie chuckled, thinking about Roxy's love for books.
As the girls chatted, constantly dispatching any Minotaurs that appeared, with Eris at the forefront cutting down the Minotaurs before they even had a chance to attack, the number of Minotaurs gradually diminished.
"Is it clean enough now? Shouldn't the rest of the team be close by?" Finishing off the last Minotaurs, Sylphie asked.
"They should be close since we split up. They were on the 15th floor," Roxy, cleaning her beloved staff, told Sylphie.
"Is that so? Then we'll wait," Sylphie said, finding a rock to sit on and resting her staff on her shoulder in case she needed to cast spells quickly.
"Can't we just keep going down?" Eris, who no longer saw any monsters to cut, asked anxiously.
"The next floor is the boss floor, Goliat. We need to wait for Riveria-sama to organize the raid," Roxy replied to the impatient Eris, also sitting down carefully.
Time passed, and after a few minutes, the sound of a carriage approaching could be heard.
"It seems they're coming," Roxy commented, looking towards the floor entrance.
Soon, carriages surrounded by family members came into view, with Riveria and Elinalise leading the team.
"It seems you've done a good job," Riveria smiled upon seeing the monster-free path.
"It wasn't hard, they're just slightly tougher meat," Eris said disdainfully, hands on her hips.
Although Minotaurs can be considered the bane of adventurers in Orario, whether for their strength or fighting style, to first-level adventurers, they're just slightly tougher meat.
"That's fine, now comes Goliat," Riveria said, looking towards the entrance of the 17th floor, deep in thought.
The best option would clearly be to send Eris, Elinalise, and Ghislaine, as the battle would end much faster. However, Riveria thought they might make better use of this floor boss.
With this in mind, Riveria glanced at three people, then nodded firmly, convinced, and said, "Rudeus, Roxy, and Sylphie, you three will face Goliat. We'll wait here until you're done."
Rudeus, Roxy, and Sylphie were surprised by the order. According to the guild information, Goliat has level 5 overall strength, but his defense can be classified as level 6. Of course, they weren't afraid; it was just surprising to receive the order so suddenly.
"Understood, Riveria-sama, we'll do it soon," Rudeus nodded firmly and headed to the 17th floor.
Roxy and Sylphie followed suit without making any excuses.
Watching the three depart, a small expression of concern appeared on Riveria's beautiful face.
Although she believed that with the skills and stats of the three, dealing with Goliat would be easy, there could always be unforeseen circumstances. Thinking of this, Riveria signaled to Ghislaine, who was guarding one of the carriages.
Ghislaine, seeing the signal, quickly approached Riveria.
"Ghislaine, go to the entrance of the 17th floor and observe the battle. If there are any problems, don't hesitate to lend your aid," Riveria said to Ghislaine seriously.
"Understood, Riveria-sama," Ghislaine nodded without hesitation and headed towards the 17th floor.
Feeling much relieved, Riveria could now focus on the rest of the family. However, as she turned around, she soon found herself met with Elinalise's mocking smile.
"Hehe, Riveria-chan, it seems Kami-sama was right; you have the character of a mother," remembering the words of her God, Elinalise couldn't help but laugh.
In Elinalise's eyes, sending three level 5s against Goliat is completely safe.
Not to mention that Rudeus is a maximum level 5, with his stats, even a level 6 should be careful. However, even so, Riveria sent Ghislaine out of concern.
Now Elinalise understood why Kami-sama said that Riveria had a motherly character.
"Should I start calling you Mama Riveria from now on?" With a mocking smile, Elinalise wanted to continue teasing, but before she finished, she felt a strong blow to her head.
~PAM~
"Ouch!! My brain!" Holding her head in pain, Elinalise groaned in agony.
"Hmph," with a snort, Riveria walked away to continue her work.
"So you're talking behind my back, huh, Kami-sama..." Murmuring with a somber expression, a small evil smile appeared on Riveria's face. She won't let this slide without proper revenge.
...
"Why do I suddenly feel chills?" Kaylon, who was sitting on a chair by the edge of the pool, suddenly felt chills running down his body out of nowhere.
...
Roxy Migurdia's POV
"Rudy, how should we organize ourselves?" Looking at her disciple moving swiftly in front of her, she asked.
"I don't know much about strategies. Can you take the lead this time, Roxy sensei?" Turning his face towards her, Rudeus gave her an apologetic look.
"Sigh... Alright, I'll do it this time. But remember, learn how to organize teams. You're an executive of the family; that should be your basic knowledge," Roxy sighed and had to give her disciple a little admonishment.
Rudeus is a family executive, having earned that position due to his strength and knowledge. However, her disciple still has many shortcomings; he lacks commanding experience and strong leadership abilities. If he were just a family member, it wouldn't matter much, but Rudeus is an executive, and leadership skills are crucial.
"Understood, sensei. I'll study more!" With a sheepish look, Rudeus replied.
Nodding, she said no more. Within the group, she is the only one with adventurer experience, so she has to do her part.
And what about Sylphie? Although she has experience as a bodyguard, she lacks experience as an adventurer. As the only capable person, she has to take the leadership role.
After thinking for a while about a good strategy, Roxy simulated some encounters in her mind. Goliat is a huge enemy, making it an easy target, so casting magic wouldn't be too difficult. However, Goliat's fighting style is close combat, something her team lacks. All three are mages; in terms of melee combat, the only one with the qualifications is Rudeus, who masters intermediate swordsmanship.
Still, Rudeus's strength and skills aren't enough to face Goliat head-on.
Considering this, Roxy soon came up with a plan. "Rudy, with your earth and water magic, you'll be in charge of defense. Sylphie, you and I will be in charge of attacking Goliat."
Rudeus masters earth and water magic at a higher level than her, and many of Rudeus's spells are defensive, so he can restrain Goliat with his repertoire of spells. On the other hand, both she and Sylphie are purely offensive mages. Although Sylphie has stealth capabilities, for such a destructive enemy like Goliat, it won't be of much use.
"Understood," Sylphie and Rudeus nodded, quickly taking their positions.
Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the 17th floor. Entering without problems, the trio saw the scene on the 17th floor.
"The Great Wall of Laments," looking at the huge wall on the 17th floor, Roxy pronounced the name imposed by adventurers.
"The Wall of Laments?" Rudeus turned to look, with doubt.
"According to what I read, it's called that because of the number of adventurers who died here," Roxy recalled from the book she had read.
Thanks to her Sage skill, she has something akin to photographic memory, not forgetting a single word of the books she has read; her mind is like a library.
"For any adventurer below level 5, this place must be a nightmare," Sylphie, who had studied about this floor, said.
Agreeing, Roxy nodded. Whether it's the size of Goliat, his defense, or his strength, Goliat is the perfect adventurer killer.
"Get ready, here it comes!" Feeling the vibrations coming from the wall, Roxy warned.
CRASH!
ROOOOAAAARRR!
The enormous wall quickly began to crumble, and soon, with a massive kick, Goliat broke through the wall.
The furious roar of Goliat could soon be heard, echoing from floor 16 to 18.
"Rudeus!" With a shout, Roxy signaled to start the attack.
Without a second thought, Rudeus, without the need for any incantation, cast his first spell. Soon, the ground beneath their feet turned into a vast amount of mud, and without any resistance, Goliat sank almost up to his knees.
ROOOOAAAARRR!
As Goliat struggled and saw that the mud didn't budge, he yelled in anger.
"Now!" Seeing Goliat unable to move, Roxy didn't hesitate.
"Water Spear!" Shortening the incantation, Roxy quickly cast a spell at Goliat. A massive water spear materialized in front of Roxy and shot towards Goliat.
BAM!
ROOOOAAAARRR!
The spear pierced Goliat's abdomen, making him scream in anger and pain.
"Accelerated Gale!" Soon, Sylphie's cry was heard on the battlefield. Then a huge gust of wind headed towards Goliat's face.
WHOOSH!
Great gusts of wind crashed against Goliat's face, tearing the flesh from his face.
ROOAARRGGHHH!
Agonizing screams came from Goliat as he felt much of his face being cut.
Then, in a burst of fury, Goliat used all his strength to break free from the mud swamp.
"He won't hold much longer!" Rudeus, who was reinforcing the swamp, shouted upon seeing Goliat emerging.
"Sylphie!" Seeing Rudeus near Goliat and Goliat about to emerge from the mud, Roxy urgently shouted to Sylphie.
Frowning, Sylphie gathered much of her mana for the next blow.
"Hurricane!" Casting the spell with a significant portion of her mana, Sylphie's face turned somewhat pale.
Huge waves of wind headed towards Goliat, causing him to fly away.
BOOOM!
Crashing into one of the walls, a huge roar sounded throughout the 17th floor.
"Rudy, are you okay!?" Roxy, who had seen Rudeus near the spell's location, shouted with concern.
*Cough* *Cough* "I'm fine, don't worry, sensei!" Rudeus, emerging from the smoke and dust, coughed violently as he spoke.
Seeing her disciple was okay, Roxy calmed down. Setting her gaze back on Goliat, Roxy saw his condition. A huge hole was in his lower abdomen, his face was almost hanging off, and Goliat was staggering, indicating he likely lost his sight. There were also many cuts on his body, from deep to superficial.
However, soon Roxy noticed something that caught her attention. After observing carefully, Roxy soon realized what it was.
With an excited smile, she quickly shouted, "I see the crystal! It's in his chest; I can see it thanks to the hole in his abdomen!"
From the hole in his abdomen, a small part of the crystal could be seen. Now knowing where it was and having an opening to attack, Roxy didn't hesitate and said, "Rudy!! Prepare a stone cannon, Sylphie, focus your spells on the opening towards the crystal!" Giving instructions, Roxy quickly prepared a spell.
Without hesitation, Sylphie began preparing the spell, while Rudeus gathered mana for his stone cannon. As for Goliat, who had his vision reduced by almost 80%, he stood up confused, unable to see clearly the little bugs bothering him. Goliat roared with rage.
~ROOOOAAAARRR~
Then, trying to hit something, Goliat started punching and kicking the dungeon floor.
~ BANG~ ~BANG~
"Careful!" Dodging the debris that flew from Goliat's destruction, Roxy shouted cautiously while still preparing the spell.
After dodging for a while and running across the floor, Roxy and Sylphie's spell was ready.
Immediately, both unleashed their spells on Goliat.
"Wind Blades!"
"Thunder Punishment!"
A massive amount of wind blades and several lightning bolts headed towards Goliat's abdomen.
~BAMM~
~ROOAARRGGHHH~
Both spells struck the distracted Goliat, causing destruction.
With Goliat's already injured abdomen nearly destroyed, the crystal that was previously barely visible was now completely exposed.
An agonizing scream escaped from Goliat, and then he fell to the ground, struggling to stand as his abdomen was practically open.
"Rudeus, it's your turn now!" Seeing Goliat unable to get up and the crystal exposed, Roxy shouted.
Rudeus, who had gathered an immense amount of mana, forming stones nearly two meters in diameter, didn't hesitate and launched it.
"Stone Cannon!" With the final shout, the massive cannon shot towards Goliat.
Sensing the threat, Goliat raised one of his arms trying to defend himself from the blow.
To his dismay, the stone cannon pierced through his arm and directly hit his crystal.
~BOOOM~
~ROOAARRGGHHH~
Goliat's last roar echoed before he exploded, turning into dust.
Meanwhile, the crystal that was struck shattered into two, lying on the ground.
"We won?" Lying on the ground, exhausted Sylphie weakly asked.
Rudeus, seeing Goliat's disappearance, exclaimed with a joy-tinged voice, "We won!"
Roxy also smiled happily at their victory. However, soon that smile vanished upon seeing the crystal shattered into two pieces.
"The crystal, it broke!" With a horrified expression, Roxy ran towards the crystal, shouting.
"Eh? The crystal broke??" Raising her head in confusion, Sylphie looked towards the crystal.
"Damn it!" Seeing the broken crystal, Rudeus cursed.
After the three approached the crystal and saw it shattered, bitter smiles formed on their faces.
"You can't sell it in halves, right?" Making a dumb question, Rudeus looked at the crystal with regret.
Giving Rudeus a bored look, Sylphie and Roxy remained speechless.
"Ah, perfect, we messed up," holding her head in stress, Roxy sighed sadly.
After all, she knows that crystals are important, even though this expedition is mainly for adventure purposes and not for profit.
But still, the expedition has a cost, and it needs to be paid off. If there are no profits from the expedition, they'll be losing money.
Therefore, Riveria's minimal goal was for the expedition to produce enough money to cover the costs of organizing it. In other words, her family doesn't lack money, and they're not interested in making a profit from this trip. But still, it's expected that enough profit will be obtained to pay for everything they spent.
"But how did it break?" That's the question that popped into Roxy's head.
It's not that she was stupid and didn't consider that the spell would break the crystal; it's just that until now, it had never happened.
Even when using powerful magic against weaker monsters, the crystal still remained intact.
So she thought the crystal was unbreakable.
"Perhaps Rudeus's spell exceeded the stone's resistance..." Sylphie, who had been silent, added a possible option.
At least that was the only way that occurred to her in which the crystal could have broken.
Arriving at a conclusion, Roxy and Sylphie looked at Rudeus resentfully.
"How was I supposed to know that the crystal had a limit?" With an aggrieved expression, Rudeus said.
Shaking her head, Roxy didn't continue with the matter. Anyway, now she'll have to inform Riveria and take responsibility as the group's leader.
"Let's go, we have to inform Riveria-sama." Leaving behind the broken crystal, Roxy walked away with a bitter smile.
Sylphie and Rudeus also followed with complicated thoughts.
On one hand, they were happy for their victory, and on the other hand, they were bitter for not getting anything in return.
...
"Did the stone break?" Confused by the information, Riveria didn't really know how to respond to Roxy's words.
"Yes, Riveria-sama, the crystal broke," with an apologetic smile, Roxy told Riveria.
"Oh..." Thinking about the 50 million Valis that the stone is worth, Riveria felt a pang in her pocket for a moment.
At least Goliat's stone would cover a quarter of the expedition's cost.
However, quickly setting aside that thought, Riveria knew it wasn't anyone's fault, so with a bitter smile, she said, "Well, there's nothing to be done about it. Anyway, there will be more (monstruos rex) ahead."
Although the loss was somewhat annoying, it didn't really affect the expedition. There would be more (monstruos rex) and also more materials.
"Understood, Riveria-sama," with some embarrassment, Roxy was about to leave, promising internally to work twice as hard to pay for the crystal.
"Wait, Roxy!" Stopping Roxy before she left, Riveria told Roxy with a smile, "Don't let a little setback overshadow your achievements. Along with Rudeus and Sylphie, you defeated a floor boss, which is incredible. Congratulations."
"Well... Haha, thank you, Riveria-sama," Looking at her sweet captain, Roxy could only smile sincerely.
When it comes to caring for the family's feelings, Riveria is undoubtedly the best in the family.
After a few more words, Roxy went to rest.
And Riveria, who stayed behind thinking, took out a small notebook and wrote down the knowledge learned: "There is a certain resistance limit in the crystals of the (monstruos)... Investigate."
Putting away the notebook, Riveria fixed her gaze on floor 17.
Now with the path clear and the floor boss defeated, they can physically advance to floor 18.
Looking at the group resting, at the family's blacksmiths sharpening some weapons, Riveria said aloud.
"We can continue! We're heading to floor 18, and we'll immediately proceed to floor 19."
Receiving the signal, the whole group got ready to move.
Soon everyone was ready and began to walk towards floor 18. After passing through floor 18, they would soon enter floor 19, where the real difficulty would begin.
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That's it for today's chapter!!
I've decided to extend the dungeon chapters a bit more, to make it more dynamic and because I don't see the need to rush.
So there will probably be about 4 or 5 chapters.
According to the vote, we'll go to Fate, it'll be a short arc and I don't plan on recruiting many people.
Thanks for the support!!
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