Seeker 306

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Chapter 306. Boss Room

[Those seeking true treasure, show your strength. Those without power, depart.]

Exiting the room with the Sphinx and moving through the passage, we arrived at the next room where we saw a stone slab inscribed with those words.

There was a door directly ahead, with this stone slab on the wall beside the door upon entering the room.

Furthermore, in front of the stone slab was a pedestal, on top of which was a blue orb.

There was also another passage-like exit on the right-hand side wall of the room.

A shimmer indicating teleportation magic is visible at the far end of that passage.

At the entrance of the passage was a door left open.

I couldn't help but think the door would close automatically, trapping us inside once we went through.

"It's thoughtful for a dungeon to provide an escape route before the boss fight." 

Kazane remarked, looking towards the right-hand passage.

Then she turned to Queen Lulu, seeking confirmation.

"There may be a formidable enemy waiting beyond the door in front, a threat. But there's no reason for us to flee here, right, Queen Lulu?"

"Of course not. Leaving without obtaining the Mirror of Truth would make coming here meaningless. I believe I'll have to rely on everyone's strength, so please help us."

Queen Lulu bowed deeply towards us.

I nodded firmly in response.

"Understood. We'll do our best within our capabilities."

"We've already received our rewards, so we'll work hard for sure. Right, Gri-chan?"

"Kwaa, kwaah!"

With a spin, Yuzuki pointed to her own robe, and Griffin chirped in agreement.

Nasser-san also nodded towards Queen Lulu.

"With these heroes around, I'm hardly of much use. But I'll do my best to protect Queen Lulu, at the very least."

"Please, Nasser. Your assistance is greatly appreciated." 

Queen Lulu smiled and grasped Nasser's hand.

"In that case, I shall be Queen Lulu's knight. I will protect you without fail, Your Highness." 

Nasser-san kneeled, kissing Queen Lulu's hand.

Queen Lulu's eyes widened as her cheeks reddened, and Kazane, seeing this, whistled lightly.

With everyone mentally prepared, I represented us by placing my hand on the orb.

The grand door in front began to open with a solemn sound.

The five of us and our companion stepped through the door with determined steps.

We found ourselves in what seemed like a vast stone hall.

While the far end remained dark, as expected of a boss room, the space was much larger than a typical gymnasium.

As we proceeded, blue flames lit up on torches hung on the walls, one by one, from left to right.

"Huh...! S-Senpai, what's that...!? S-skulls on the walls!?" 

Yuzuki, visibly frightened, clung to my arm.

Her gaze got fixed on the wall to the right.

"Wow, that's morbid." 

Kazane commented, looking at the left-hand wall, not showing fear but distaste.

Indeed, skulls were embedded here and there on both walls.

It was certainly in poor taste for interior decor.

"Since it's in the dungeon, they're probably not real, but Yuzuki, you were fine with undead-like skeletons, right?"

"W-Well, that's different! It's the atmosphere that's scary!"

"I see. Just don't let it affect your combat."

"Ugh... you say that so easily... Hii!"

As the door closed behind us, Yumitsuki let out another scream.

Our cute underclassman seemed on the verge of tears already.

Half-dragging the frightened Yuzuki, we made our way towards the center of the room.

By then, the torches on both walls had flames reaching the farthest point.

At the far end of the hall's wall was a closed door, and in front of it were four coffins arranged on the floor.

Three looked like the wooden ones from the first room, while one resembled the impressive stone coffin we saw before the teleportation.

Those coffins then began to glow faintly.

Subsequently, their lids opened on their own, revealing monsters inside.

From the wooden-looking coffins emerged mummies, similar to those we encountered in the first room.

However, the one coming out of the stone-like coffin had a slightly different vibe, exuding a much greater pressure.

"Huh...!?"

"Darn it, what's that thing...!? A mon-monster!?"

Feeling the pressure, Queen Lulu showed fear, nearly faltering.

Nasser-san supported her, but even his warrior's hands seemed to tremble.

"[Monster Appraisal], it passed! The monster's name is Mummy Lord! It's like an upgraded version of a mummy, ranking as strong as or even higher than a dragon!"

Conversely, Yuzuki regained her usual composure in the face of a strong enemy.

Though her voice trembled slightly, she appeared mostly as usual.

But even with the comparison to a dragon, it didn't seem as threatening as it once might have.

Would the rest be manageable if we could quickly deal with the three mummies alongside it?

Of course, the quality of strength was likely different, so we couldn't afford to be careless.

As usual, during boss monster encounters, we had been casting support magic diligently at this time.

Magic flames imbued our weapons, and magical energy enhanced our agility and defense.

"Here it comes, Daichi!"

"The invincibility state has ended!"

Kazane's and Yuzuki's voices echoed.

The eyes of the three mummies and the Mummy Lord began to glow red, infusing us with cursed magic.

"Let's do it, [Stone Shower]!"

"Storm of Blades, slash through! [Windstorm]!"

"Sweep them away, explosive flames! [Explosion]!"

Almost simultaneously, we unleashed the attack magic we had prepared.