Chapter 16: Third Layer Treasure Chest│Read translated stories and daily updates at: Awebstories.com

Lysette and Leonhardt descend the stairs.

They proceed to the third layer from the water area on the second layer.

The water’s odor has faded, and the landscape has transformed into a stone labyrinth. Fortunately, the glowing moss remained, and no additional lighting was required.

They made their way through the square corridors, searching and fighting their way.

Lysette sighs as she uses her flame arrow to burn down the zombie she encounters along the way.

This was the third time she’d run into a monster since reaching the third layer. It was, once again, not a monster that could be eaten.

“It’s been nothing but wraiths, zombies, and stone golems for quite some time.”

Wraiths are ghost monsters that don’t have a physical form. Wraiths, as you might expect, cannot be eaten.

Zombies are human corpses that have rotted. She’d refuse to eat them.

The stone golem is an automaton made of stone. Stone is out of the question.

“Yes, the third layer is. There are numerous inorganic and undead monsters. I’m sorry your preemptive magic made everything so much easier for me, and I’m ashamed of it…”

“That’s perfectly fine. This is something I’ve been doing for a long time.”

When she comes into contact with an enemy, her magic attack is activated before the enemy can do anything. She’s been doing it since she first entered the dungeon. What Lysette does remains the same.

“But there is one issue that bothers me. I feel like my 【Preemptive-Action】 doesn’t always work… like the Kraken.”

“Because… perhaps the opponent has a skill that can negate the preemptive action.”

“Do monsters have abilities?”

“Of course they do.”

He said it as if it were normal. It appears that it is not just a privilege for adventurers.

“Also, it may not be activated if the other party spots us first and ambushes us.”

“Ah, I see…”

—Monsters and dungeons are not easy to deal with…

“Don’t worry. If you’re caught off guard, I’ll protect you.”

“Thank you very much.”

Leonhardt’s defense is formidable. His abilities are impressive.

She was not too worried about the fighting. There are other things to worry about.

“It’s the food that has me concerned. We currently have a supply, but if things continue as they are, we will be malnourished…”

All they come across are monsters that they can’t seem to eat. Even if you bite into a rock, it will not provide you with any nourishment.

Lysette was about to despair when she remembered Leonhardt’s ability to use revival magic.

“Leon-san, is it possible to resurrect someone who has died of starvation?”

Leonhardt appeared distressed.

“Don’t put too much faith in my revival magic, I’m telling you. It could fail.”

“What happens if it doesn’t work?”

“If you fail too many times, you will be reduced to ashes and will not be resurrected.”

“Ashes…”

The state in which the body has been burned, to put it another way, total death.

In that case, [Heart-Substitution], in which you resurrect at the moment of death and are transferred to the outside world, is far safer and more secure.

“I see. So you think you can revive starvation?”

“I haven’t attempted it, but it would most likely be difficult for me—starvation is a state in which the body’s energy is depleted, necessitating the use of other, magical or otherwise, sources of energy.”

Leonhardt spoke as if it were obvious, but it was beyond Lysette’s comprehension—If you die from starvation, you can resurrect by drawing energy from other sources.

—By what logic does this [Heart-Substitution] resurrect?

—Is it a goddess’s miracle?

As they were walking and thinking, they hit a dead end.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s go back the way we came.”

Leonhardt scribbles something on the handwritten map in his hand and attempts to return the way they came.

“Wait a minute, Leon-san, there’s a treasure chest here.”

A treasure chest with a very typical appearance sat at the end of the corridor, in a corner.

“There is, in fact, a treasure chest in the dungeon. Now I’m really impressed.”

“It’s a mimic, a monster that looks like a treasure chest.”

“Mimic? Is that some kind of monster? Obviously, it’s just a treasure chest.”

“When you see a treasure chest, think of a mimic; that’s the dungeon’s common sense.”

Lysette stares at the wooden and iron treasure chest that sits in the corridor.

It’s just a treasure chest, no matter how you look at it: the aged appearance, the slight immobility, or the massive size.

“…From a common sense standpoint, it is certainly strange for a treasure chest to be in the dungeon…”

Even though it’s pointless to discuss common sense in the dungeon, the question is who put it there and why.

The typical response would be some kind of trap. A trap of the worst kind, in which a life-destroying trap is placed in a treasure chest to kill the adventurers who fall for it.

Who in the world would bother putting something like that there, and for what purpose? Whether they are real or not, it is best to avoid them.

“Mimics are fairly powerful monsters, but they won’t attack you if you don’t approach them, so it’s best to ignore them.”

“So the dungeon has no pure treasure chests?”

She asks Leonhardt, who seems to have been an adventurer for a lot longer than Lysette.

A dungeon devoid of treasure chests is unromantic.

“Rarely. But the treasure has already been taken. But… Mimic is essentially a treasure.”

“How does that work? —Yes, I see! The trapped adventurer’s belongings?!”

Leonhardt’s face suddenly turns a horrifying shade of blue.

“They deliberately leave the adventurer’s jewels, gold coins, and weapons uneaten, right?!”

“No, it’s just that they have a habit of incorporating glittering objects into their bodies in order to entice humans—No, it could just be leftovers…”

He shakes his head, as if trying to calm down.

“…That’s why countless adventurers are killed while attempting to take the treasure, even if they know it’s a mimic. As a result, it’s not worth it. Even if you win the hard way, the prize is usually insignificant.”

“Why don’t we just kill them with long-range attacks instead of approaching them?”

“You risk destroying the treasure inside if you do so—that would be a complete 180-degree turn, wouldn’t it? If it is the treasure we seek, we must approach it and force its mouth to open.”

You have no choice if you want the treasure hidden within.

However, mimics, according to Leonhardt, are vicious monsters. It’s not worth it to fight. But only if you’re looking for the treasure hidden within the Mimic.

“…”

“…Are you thinking of something strange?”

“No, I’m not—I’m only thinking about whether mimics are edible or not.”

“That’s having strange thoughts…”

The most valuable commodity in the dungeon is food.

If Mimic is a tasty monster, then Mimic itself is the most valuable treasure.

—There it is, right in front of us!

“Okay. I’m not interested in the treasure inside, so I’ll simply use magic to bring it down from afar. Flame-Lance!”

“Seriously, why are you so adamant…”

A powerful blow is required for a powerful monster.

She pierces the treasure chest, which appears to be a mimic, with the full force of her fire magic.

The magical flames were so precise in piercing the still-standing treasure chest that the prey was completely obliterated.

Only a molten metal, presumably the Mimic’s treasure was carrying, and the smell of burning and black charcoal remain in the passage’s corner.

“…”

“…I’ll be more cautious next time.”

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