"Ray! I'll leave the mushroom behind me!"

　Elena's voice echoes around her, and Ray also shouts, cutting off the body of an attacking mushroom.

"I'm with Seto, so there's still room here, so it's okay!"
"Roll-rolling.

　Next to Ray's reply, Seto also waves his forefeet and destroys the mushroom's body.
　About an hour after meeting a party in the dungeon, the Elenas were heading for the stairs to the fourth basement, but as soon as they entered the area they were attacked by surrounding mushrooms.
　The body is about 1m long for a small one, and the larger one is about 3m long for a large one meter long.The giant mushroom somehow has something like a tree root that moves it.Fortunately, the only way to attack is by physical means.The spores spread every time the mushroom is cut off, but there seems to be no particular toxicity and no damage is not caused.

`Well, the mushrooms themselves are almost the same as those growing on the third basement... too good to imitate!'

　Cut off the body of the mushroom which attacked again about 2 meters in size, and beat off the upper half of the mushroom falling toward the ray with the handle.
　Looking ahead, Ray sees Elena surrounded by an overwhelming number of mushrooms.

(If things go on like this, I'm not good enough, but Elena and I, let alone Seto, will run out of energy first.d*mn, I could tell you if there were any monsters like this at the party.Are you going to say you didn't know? ... Wait. Didn't you know? Does that mean they've never been attacked here?)

　While he was thinking like that, the mushrooms were attacking him continuously, and he shouted to Seto, cutting down about three mushrooms together with his death size.

"Oh, you're persistent! Save me some time, Set!"
"Roll-rolling.

　Ray's voice is filled with a high set of notes to convey his approval.Hearing the voice, Ray leaps back and spells with magic.

'You are made of fire and you are there.Gather, with the flames.Flap with the wings of the great flame!"

　Each spell brings fire to the blade of the death size, which eventually turns into a bird.
　It gradually increased in size and eventually became about 3 meters in diameter with its wings spread out.

"The immortal bird conquering the sky!"

　As soon as the spell is completed and an immortal bird composed of flames flaps, Seto kicks the mushroom with his hind legs and uses the reaction to land next to Ray.
　Then, as Sett lands next to Ray, the phoenix ploughs into the mushroom.The immortal-shaped flame, manipulated by Ray's magic, flaps like a bird, passes through the mushrooms and burns them one after another.You can understand how much fire the mushroom has when it touches an immortal bird and the flame spreads and turns into burnt coal in seconds.The immortal birds fly freely through the mushrooms and burn them one after another.and it did not take a few minutes and time for all the mushrooms that had gone round behind them to burn out.And...

"Elena, I'll clean up the mushrooms, too! Please step back!"

　You must have heard that voice.After looking back for a moment, Elena immediately makes a decision when she sees the mushrooms in the back are already wiped out.

"Custe, Arra. You heard me? Get rid of me!"

　said Elena to the two avant-garde men, wielding a connected sword.The connecting sword, stretched like a whip, penetrates the body of the mushroom which was about to spring from the side of the arra, and at the same time, when Elena turned her wrist back, halves the body of the mushroom which had been stabbed from the inside.

(Don't these mushrooms feel pain? I heard that some monsters don't feel pain...)

　He muttered inside, and then turned his wrist back and cut off the body of another mushroom next to the one he cut.
　Originally, a weapon called a connecting sword has a blade attached to the blade in a whip state.The range of attack is quite wide, but the force of the blow itself is not as strong as Ray's death size or Custe's magic spear.Usually there is no problem because the connected sword is returned to the state of a long sword when seeking the power of a blow, but it becomes a problem when the sword has to act as a chieftain or a rear guard.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Because ordinary monsters have pain, they naturally feel pain when they get injured.We can also use it to check and keep people.
　While thinking about it, Arra breaks the mushroom in front of her into pieces, and at the same time Custe pushes the spear into the mushroom's body... the next moment, a large amount of water polo is produced from the tip of the spear that sticks into the mushroom and bursts the mushroom's body from the inside.
　and when the two, who had knocked down the mushroom in front of them, once again tried to retreat backward following Elena's instructions, the two mushrooms appeared before them.

"I will!"

　Elena cuts off one of the mushrooms that was about to jump at the other with a connecting sword.

"Do you want me to do it?"

　Then Ver shoots arrows in succession into the other mushroom.
　Even though the mushroom tried to move forward without any signs of being damaged by a single arrow, the impact was sufficiently slow even if the mushroom was not knocked down by the arrow.Then, two, three, or four arrows were shot in succession, which was enough to make time for them to retreat.
　And...

"That's Ray's magic..."

　As Arra retreated backward, she muttered in amazement at the sight of a bird, an immortal bird, made of flames passing by her.
　Even if he had no magical talent, he could feel with his instinct as a warrior how much magical power the immortal bird contained.And the beauty of it's also beautiful.
　Next to Arla, Custe, who had retreated as well, was also looking at the phoenix, as if he had been impressed by it.

"Oh, did Custe finally admit to Ray?"
"Well, I've recognized his skill.The only thing I don't acknowledge is his character."

　he replied with a snort of laughter to Ver, who teased him.
　and only a few mushrooms remained after the phoenix disappeared.
　The remaining mushrooms were also easily stopped by the Elena.
　The reason why I was struggling was because of the number of mushrooms and the eerieness of the mushrooms, which caused some damage, so now that I've come to this point, I'm almost done.
　But...

"...what? Ray, Ver. Say it again."

　Elena's voice echoed around her.Next to him is Custe's eyebrows, and Arla's mysterious gaze is directed at Ray and Ver.
　In spite of that, Ver opens his mouth again.

"I tried to extract the magic stone from those mushrooms, but there was no magic stone in them.In short, those mushrooms are not monsters."
"But, in fact, we were attacked by that mushroom?"

　Custe nods to Elena's words."You are right, Mr. Elena.and now that he has attacked me with a cover-up of the front and back, I am sure he may be considered ain't he?
"I understand what you mean by Custe.It can't be helped that Ray and I have examined every inch of the mushroom's corpse, can we, Custe, see if there are any magical stones in it?"

　Ver returns dissatisfiedly to Custe, who cannot believe what they have investigated.
　I don't think Custe had any idea that he had cut corners and examined it.He usually has a light tone and attitude, but he is serious about his work.Even if they knew it, they would have come out without thinking.

"Well, don't get into any trouble this time.It's called the mantis and the mushroom I met on my journey."

　Elena muttered casually, and when she noticed something, she turned to the corpse of a mushroom that had not yet been charred.
　Surprised by their sudden action, Elena's eyes turn to Ray, but without realizing it, they approach the corpse of a mushroom.

"Hey, what's wrong with that mushroom? There's no magic stone or other material to remove.You looked it up with me, didn't you?"

　and, listening to the strange words of Ver from behind, examined the corpse again.This time, however, we will examine not the mushroom part, but the root part of the tree.
　He picks up the part and cuts off the root of the tree with a misril knife and returns to Elena.

"And you know what it is?"

　Elena calls out to Ray, but Ray just shakes his head.

"No, but I was a little taken up by Mr. Elena's words."
"My words?"
"Yes, about that mantis.As I said back then, that mantis was probably a monster made by alchemy.And the mushrooms that attacked us are the same as the normal ones that grow in this hierarchy.If you cut off your torso, you don't have any internal organs, but you don't even have a magical stone that would have been a monster.The only place that's different from other mushrooms is the root of this tree, which was moving instead of feet."

　That alone must have made her understand what Ray meant.He frowned lightly on those beautiful eyebrows and opened his mouth.

"In other words, the roots of the tree were also made by alchemy?"
"It's only my prediction,"
"As long as there is no magic stone, it seems to me that Ray is correct... do you know what he is saying? If he only encountered a mantis on the way to this dungeon, it might be an experiment by an outlandish alchemist somewhere, but it would not be a coincidence if the existence of the alchemist attacked us again in the dungeon we entered?"

　I wonder what Elena was trying to say.Custe, Arla and Ver frowned slightly, and Ray nodded as well,

"Yes, if my idea is correct..."
"The mantis and the roots of this tree are aimed at us."
"But, Mr. Elena, only a small fraction of the aristocrats knew we were coming to the dungeon here."

　At Arla's words, Ver returned to his usual fluttering expression and opened his mouth with a shrug.

"That is to say, there are some of the aristocrats who should not have us."
"Ver! That's the aristocracy with Mr. Elena!"
"So, don't you mean that there is no need for Mr. Elena, the symbol of the aristocracy?""...there's a traitor?"
"Well, there's only circumstantial evidence.I don't even know if the roots of this tree are really made of alchemy."

　As he turned his eyes to the root of the tree in Ray's hand, Ver said so, turning his eyes to Elena and speaking again.

"And the mantis melted down as if to erase the evidence of its existence.But the roots of this tree remain intact even after it has been knocked down. ... Elena, what do you think about that?"
"If you think about it safely, that mantis was made with the best of technology.On the other hand, if the roots of this tree were really made of alchemy, then perhaps the techniques used would not be so important and would not be a problem to be known."
"So even if the roots of a tree are really alchemy-made monsters, the techniques used are common and don't seem to have been made by the same alchemist as the mantis?"
"Yes, from circumstantial evidence it must have been done by the same person, but circumstantial evidence is only circumstantial evidence.There is no evidence to reverse the coincidence.and I'm sorry that I couldn't secure any material for that mantis."

　muttered Elena, breathing.
　It is a matter of course that she has already had alchemists involved in this case for some reason.

"Anyway, if we are not careful, there should be no problem with what the alchemists are up to.It's almost the stairs to the fourth basement, but be careful."

　Everyone nods to the order, and Ray puts the roots of the tree in a mistling and goes through the dungeon, just in case.
　and after an hour or so he discovered the stairs which led him down to the fourth basement, and proceeded cautiously.
　The altar of succession is located on the seventh basement, the lowest level.We have finally surpassed half of this dungeon, but... Elena's map is up to the third basement.From here on, we have to feel our way literally, without a map.