NOVEL NEXT Chapter 132
132. Return
The entire floor is dominated by silence. Watching Laura sheathe her sword and exhale deeply, I stood in stunned silence for a moment.
“Laura… that technique just now…”
“Hm? Now that you mention it, this is the first time you’ve seen it.
“So
“That’s not true. I mastered many techniques during my sword training when I was young.
Just when I thought I was catching up to Laura’s strength… it feels like she’s pulled ahead of me again. I felt a bit disappointed.
…But still, we succeeded in defeating the Behemoth without any major injuries.
――
You’ve reached level 52.
The abilities of
――
Well, after such an intense battle, it’s no surprise that my level increased.
Hearing that my abilities were enhanced, I immediately opened my status screen.
――
Arx Seraint, 17 years old, Male
Level 52
Skills
[Slime Maker]… Allows you to change the class of a slime.
・Higher Appraisal Slime… A slime that possesses the skill
――
“
At the unfamiliar term, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Hey, Raize, do you know what
“You go straight to that right after the battle ends… Oh well.
Oh, that’s great. Up until now, appraisals only revealed the monster’s level, so it was hard to gauge their actual strength.
“If we head to the lower floors, there’ll be plenty of monsters. You can experiment with it on them.”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing how it works!”
Satisfied with this, the three of us headed toward the stairs leading to the next floor. Along the way, Laura stopped in her tracks.
“And one more thing… Thank you. I’ve been relying on you two a lot lately.”
“Save the thanks for later. We’re not done exploring yet, right?”
“Exactly. Besides, if you praise Arx, he’ll get cocky.”
Laura chuckled at Raize’s response, and we all ended up laughing together.
“…True enough. The destination is the 43rd floor. Stay focused!”
““Oh!””
We can do it. At this pace, conquering the 43rd floor is no longer just a dream!!
＊
Around noon, we arrived at the adventurer’s guild and found Gerda lounging in a chair.
“Hm? Who are you guys!?”
Noticing me, Raize, and Laura, Gerda started yelling, as if accusing us of some mischief.
I tossed an item in his direction.
“What is this!? A monster horn…?”
“It’s understandable you don’t recognize it. Because… this is an item we harvested from an Evil Pegasus on the 43rd floor.”
“W-What!? The 43rd floor!?”
Gerda was visibly shaken. Clearly, there’s something about us reaching the 43rd floor that’s inconvenient for him.
Yes. After defeating the Behemoth, we successfully conquered the 43rd floor without any major incidents.
What I just handed Gerda is a genuine item from that floor, irrefutable evidence.
“Impossible! Our highest-reached floor is the 42nd! Stop making things up!”
“No, it’s true. The three of us conquered the 43rd floor.”
With Laura, a member of the raid team, confirming this, Gelda gasped and clutched his head in panic.
“Aaaahhhhh!! Shut up, shut up!! You’re just spouting nonsense!”
“It’s not nonsense. We even have an appraisal certificate. Though you’ll probably nitpick it anyway.”
“Yeah, right! I’ll never believe such a story! Besides, what good is bringing back such junk? It’s just worthless trash—”
Gerda finally realized the gravity of the situation and froze in place.
“Exactly as you understand it. I’m going to submit this evidence to the kingdom and expose how you’ve been stalling the dungeon raid. Your career is over, Gerda.”
Upon hearing Laura’s death sentence, Gerda became even more frantic, his eyes bulging as if they might pop out.
“Don’t be ridiculous!! I won’t believe this fake evidence!”
“You don’t have to. As long as the kingdom does. —Hey, Gerda. You’re no longer in a position to give us orders.”
Hearing this, Gerda finally gave up and collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
“No, this can’t be true—I won’t believe it—aaaahhhh, aaahhhhhhh!!”
Gerda bawled like a child. We turned our backs on him and walked out of the guild.