Chapter 141

When I Was Reincarnated into the World of an Ultra-Difficult Game, I Ended Up As the Sole Subordinate of the Ridiculously Strong yet Incompetent Demon Lord, Tasked with Creating a Dungeon

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Escape.

“Don’t bother with the Soul Eater! If you don’t run, you’ll be swallowed whole!”

Desperately fleeing from the grotesque monster closing in from behind.

Escape.

“You idiot! That’s the way to the undead! If we’re found… damn it!”

Abandoning an ally who mistakenly went towards the graveyard, and escaping down a different path.

This place is no good.

Neither the Soul Eater nor the undead are enemies we should fight.

How had the dark elves explored this place?

There’s no way those guys could handle these monsters.

If they could, they wouldn’t have tolerated being persecuted while flaunting their military power.

“That path over there is beyond saving now. There’s no way we can deal with an army of undead like that.”

“Yeah, I’ve already reported to the High Council, so we should investigate this path instead.”

Given the sheer number of undead gathered there, proceeding down the visible path ahead would undoubtedly be suicide.

Conversely, since there isn’t a single undead in sight on this path, it seems like the correct choice to take.

Of course. If that many undead are over there, this side must definitely be safe.

“Good… Finally, we can explore properly.”

“Yeah. It’s a dirty, unpleasant place, but at least it’s better without any monsters around.”

Indeed, the place is saturated with magic power, and the fact that it remains untouched by nature is commendable.

However, those hideous monsters ruin everything.

“And I wish this moldy smell would go away.”

The complaints that went unnoticed while desperately fleeing begin to surface.

Even if we were to establish a base here, the unpleasant odor is something we’d want to address.

We proceed down the path.

As expected of what was once a dungeon, the path twists and turns considerably, and we’ve discovered several rooms.

Most of them, however, are not suitable for establishing a base—walls have collapsed, holes have opened up.

There were some treasure chests too, but their contents were nothing special—just mediocre healing potions.

“There’s no doubt this was once a dungeon site, but it’s so old that there’s probably nothing worthwhile left.”

“I was hoping to find a treasure chest imbued with the dungeon’s magic power.”

“That would be difficult. Most likely, the Soul Eaters and the undead have siphoned off the magic power. There probably isn’t enough left to reach the treasure chests.”

I agree with that opinion.

Which means those Soul Eaters and undead are truly troublesome.

Even if we wanted to utilize the magic power of this place, having it continuously leeched by them drastically reduces efficiency.

“Is there no slightly more decent place?”

We continue down the path, entering room after room.

Then, something large comes into view ahead.

Could it be another Soul Eater? Bracing ourselves, it notices us and begins to move.

“That is…?”

With a heavy sound, it shifts its body—it’s not a Soul Eater.

However, it’s still a troublesome opponent.

“A Rush Guardian… how bothersome.”

Its massive form rivals that of the Soul Eater, and its sturdy defenses surpass even those of the Soul Eater.

Yet, there isn’t the same level of tension as when facing a Soul Eater.

That’s because the Rush Guardian doesn’t harm us.

Rather, we won’t get hurt.

It tries to push us away from a certain spot like a nuisance, but there’s no danger of losing our lives, making it much better than the Soul Eaters or undead.

And if it’s here, there’s probably something worth protecting in that location.

“Shall we handle it like we did with the Soul Eater?”

“While someone is attacked, we’ll slip past.”

“Well, since we won’t die or even get injured, I suppose we can act as bait.”

The problem is the narrowness of this passageway.

As it is, we can’t even squeeze past it.

We’d all just end up being carried off by that golem.

“For now, let’s retreat to a slightly wider area.”

My companions, agreeing with my suggestion, immediately fled from the Rush Guardian.

From behind, we hear the sound of it chasing us.

There’s no tension whatsoever. I wish the Soul Eater encounters were like this.

“Alright, from here we can scatter, allowing those who aren’t targeted to move forward.”

“In that case, we’d better be careful not to be targeted.”

Though they say this, everyone feels that being targeted wouldn’t be a problem.

We don’t know how far we’ll be pushed, but it certainly won’t be all the way back to where the Soul Eater was at the entrance.

“Damn it, it’s me?”

“In that case, try to hold it off for as long as possible.”

The Rush Guardian locks onto one of our companions, deploys a barrier, and charges at them.

It would be dangerous if we took damage from that charge, but knowing that we won’t makes it easy to watch calmly.

Even the targeted companion shows no signs of tension.

“Well then, while we have the chance, let’s check out the room that golem was guarding.”

It would be troublesome if it came back.

Hurrying into the room, we find it relatively intact—no collapsed walls or holes. A fairly decent room.

Maybe we could use this as a base…

No, first things first—the multiple treasure chests in the room.

“It’s pointless to get our hopes up, but with this many, surely at least one will have something good.”

“Shall we open them all together?”

There are exactly as many chests as there are of us.

Though ownership doesn’t depend on who opens them, why not give it a try?

“Well then, what’s inside?”

Just a little.

Just a tiny bit, I’m expecting something.

After all, the exteriors of these chests differ from those we’ve found before.

It’s the first time we’ve seen such ornate-looking treasure chests.

Perhaps… there might be some rare items inside…

“……!!”

I can’t make a sound.

Not only that, I can’t move a muscle.

Yet, my consciousness remains clear, so I distinctly hear myself collapse.

Are my companions experiencing the same? The sounds of them falling to the floor echo one after another.

…I can’t move. Not at all.

Damn it… I’ve lost control of my body. Is it paralysis poison?

Having let my guard down, it’ll take some time to detoxify this.

Damn you, Demon King… Leaving behind such unnecessary traps.

But as elves, given enough time, we can heal this.

Still, to end up with our faces pressed against such a filthy floor…

Wait, was this floor always this cold…?

Once I notice, the abnormality becomes increasingly clear.

Cold… Ridiculous. Such intense cold air… It’s like… ice attribute magic.

My consciousness… is fading… …

◇

“Haa… Enough already. How far are you taking me?”

Separated from my companions, I’m being transported by the Rush Guardian.

To avoid being forced forward and tripping, I sit down and deploy a defensive spell.

At this point, it’s utterly useless, just pushing me along.

Even so… it’s been transporting me for quite a while.

It feels like we’re not heading back to the entrance, but somewhere else entirely.

Sure enough, I’m brought to a large hall.

“Ah, was there a room like this? We haven’t explored this area yet.”

Making such a carefree comment, I look towards the back of the room and notice it.

Oh no… Could it be?

“You’re not thinking of throwing me in there, are you?”

Before me stretches a large lake.

I don’t want to be thrown in there and get soaked.

Moreover, there’s no guarantee that aquatic monsters aren’t lurking within.

“Hey! Stop pushing!”

This is bad.

If there’s a giant man-eating monster in there, it’ll be just like our comrade who got eaten by the Soul Eater at the entrance.

I try to resist the Rush Guardian pushing me from behind, but it’s futile—I can’t fight its strength anymore.

“Damn it!!”

This is the worst. I’ve been thrown into the lake.

Being drenched is the least of my worries now.

I need to somehow escape from this lake.

The Rush Guardian won’t follow me here, at least.

Which means, this lake is the final destination.

…Regaining my composure, I realize.

This lake… There’s nothing in it.

What… All that worry for nothing.

In that case, all that’s left is to calmly get out of here…

Just get out… But…

You’ve got to be kidding me… My body… The entire lake… is freezing… I can’t move…

◇

“No one was left behind?”

“They either got swallowed by the Soul Eater, attacked by the undead, or frozen.”

Since we set up the traps this time, it’s a relief that the Rush Guardian could be put to good use.

Apparently, it has no offensive abilities, so having it transport enemies to our prepared traps worked perfectly.

“By the way, what’s with that floor?”

“The Freezing Floor. Apparently.”

The name says it all. It consumes 20 magic points to set up, but at first glance, it looks like an ordinary floor.

However, the moment an intruder touches it, it freezes them along with the floor itself—an interesting mechanism.

The system probably determines whether someone is an intruder through some kind of heat-sensing chamber or similar.

For example, when Epiclesi’s undead touched it, nothing happened.

“Freezing, huh… Personally, I think setting it on fire would’ve been more entertaining?”

“The beastmen are handling that side. Well, this works too.”

“But I’m fire?”

“I know that, but…?”

“Does Rey prefer ice over fire?”

“Not particularly…?”

Please don’t corner me.

Pilkaya’s golden eyes within her black pupils are staring intently at me.

Ah… Since she’s of the fire element, she must be feeling competitive about the ice element.

“I like both, but I wasn’t comparing the trap to Pilkaya.”

“…Then it’s fine.”

She seems satisfied.

Come to think of it, she’s the type who’s overly concerned with achievements.

Seeing an opposing element succeed must’ve sparked some jealousy.