"The side passage!"
Shouting that, Liliana turned around and ran. I was yanked back, and before I knew what was happening, we were back at the first side passage we found after entering the third level.
I realized that the blonde swordswoman had pulled me by the arm only after she let go of it. At the entrance of the passage, Daphne slashed with her odachi, slicing a monster in half. Rosalia's mace came down like a judge's gavel, crushing another toad while it was still in the air.
No sooner were they done than a translucent white shield manifested in front of them, blocking the path. Some of the monsters slammed into it, but the rest of the hoard continued running up the main path.
I didn't bother to count, but watching it pass, I could tell that the stampede had more than a couple dozen of those giant toads. I even spotted some Shroombacks among them.
"What is… happening…" Rosalia asked, her voice trembling.
"The monsters from the lower levels…" Liliana said. "It seems like… they're running from something…"
Bad news. Watching the girls fight, I had forgotten entirely about the strange feeling I got once we arrived at the dungeon. What happened just now brought it back stronger than before, and I didn't need to check its source to know it was bad news.
"This… doesn't look good…" Liliana said. "Maybe we should-"
"Milady." Daphne interrupter then shook her head.
Rosalia pursed her lips and shook her head.
The interaction felt a bit odd. I looked between the three, trying to figure out what was happening, but no one said anything. My confusion was more than apparent, and picking up on it, Rosalia explained.
"When there is an anomaly in one of the dungeons, students are supposed to immediately report it to the academy, but…"
"We… can't afford that scandal." Daphne said. "If it gets out that we were forced to retreat from the lowest ranked dungeon, our reputation…"
Silence fell on the party as the girls cast their gazes down. I kept my mouth shut and watched them. My understanding of the situation felt lacking, making me hesitant to say anything.
"Anomaly or not, this is still a low rank dungeon." Daphne said, her eyes on Liliana. "Milady, we must handle this on our own."
"I know, but…"
'Oh…'
Liliana's eyes turned in my direction, making me realize I was the source of their trouble, not the anomaly.
"Maybe we can return to the surface first…"
Daphne shook her head at Rosalia's suggestion.
"That many monsters in such narrow tunnels would make it difficult to pass through. We might be forced to fight, which would leave our back open to attacks from whatever caused that rush."
In other words, our only choice would be to continue forward. Liliana gave me the same concerned look as before.
'Don't tell me… Is she waiting for my input? Hey now, you shouldn't be putting such important decisions in my hand. I said I would only be watching today…'
I might be the game's developer, but I didn't put anything like this event in it. I don't know what we might encounter down there, so I can't in good conscious tell them to just go down there and deal with it.
That said, what kind of Great spirit would I be if I didn't offer some wise words in this situation?
'Hm…'
I gave the matter more thought. Surely I can say something to help here.
"Could it be something the three of you can't handle?" I asked.
To my surprise, the answer once again came from Rosalia.
"No," She shook her head. "The mana in this dungeon is very thin, hardly the the kind of place that would attract powerful monsters."
"Then what is there to fear? Are you afraid of breaking the academy rules?"
"But… Great Spirit…" Liliana gave me a troubled look. "If all three of us are fighting, there won't be anyone to guard you."
Sighing in my head, I fought the part of me that told me it was a bad idea.
"Let's not worry about me." I said after a moment of silence. "I never intended to be a hindrance, so you shouldn't make your plans around my safety."
This is like a newbie tagging along with a bunch of higher level players to farm some exp. I don't really need to be here to get the exp, so if I end up caught in a sudden boss battle and get my ass kicked, I would be a goner. That said, it should be okay so long as I don't pass through the foggy barrier.
"Great Spirit…" Liliana gazed at me then cast her eyes to the floor. Soon after, her troubled expression was replaced with that of determination as she turned to her friends. "Alright. Daphne and I will handle whatever is the causing the anomaly. Rosalia, you will guard the Great Spirit and support us with your Shield of Light when possible. Don't join the fight unless it's absolutely necessary."
In the end, my safety remained a concern for the girls. I guess it's my fault for making it their responsibility in the first place.
'Not having any fighting power sucks…'
I only arrived the previous night so my level and stats are still low, and my starting skills are geared toward seducing women, which is to be expected from an incubus. I still had no idea how new Skills and Magic are obtained.
'C'mon, System! Don't you have a skill tree or skill shop or something!?'
To my disappointment, no system screen popped up when I had that thought.
We waited a couple of minutes in the side passage, but the toads that escaped to the higher floors didn't return, and whatever chase them away didn't come. We returned to the previous formation and continued heading down to the lower level. From the looks of it, the remaining frogs on the third, fourth, and fifth levels had all ran away.
The silence made the already eerie tunnels much worse. As if that wasn't bad enough, I started to find clues as to what type of monster we were dealing with. One of those clues was the silk threads hanging from the ceiling near the entrance to the fifth and last level.
"It seems to be an arachnid monster." Said Rosalia. "But… how did it get through the barrier?"
"We can worry about that later." Said Liliana. "Keep your eyes open for attacks fom above."
The ceiling in these tunnels was low enough for it to be in our sight the entire time. If there was a giant spider lurking around somewhere along the way, we would have spotted it by now.
'Don't tell me it's hiding in one of the side passages…'
We hadn't checked every last one, so there is a chance we might have passed our target, leaving ourselves open for attacks from the back.
'I just hope there is no room full of eggs down here…'
None of the three girls knew fire magic, as far as I'm aware, so it would be a nightmare if we ended up in that classic scenario.
"It seems the nest is ahead." Said Liliana.
She glanced at me, then at the others. The three exchanged a nod, and with their weapons in hand, they stepped through the entrance to the boss room.