Chapter 231
"A dungeon where gates appear? I've never seen that before."
"It's implemented like a hidden gimmick, so it's no surprise you haven't, Lady Claudia."
Normally, a warp gate shouldn't appear unless the boss is defeated. But what I defeated was just a regular monster.
"This dungeon has a gimmick where if you trigger the appearance of monsters from the next floor, a gate to that floor will appear. There are other dungeons with similar mechanics, so we'll tackle them too."
"There are more like this?"
After defeating the Lise Cocoon, we got one drop of Stardust Thread. Hitting the 30% drop rate felt oddly satisfying, though one thread was nowhere near enough to craft an outfit.
I eagerly picked up the drop and tossed it into my magic bag before standing up.
"This next part will be a speedrun, so I'll take the lead. Take down every monster you see on sight."
"A speedrun?"
"The moment someone enters this gate, a timer starts, and the Lise Cocoons in the area begin their countdown to hatching. If even one hatches, the next gate appears, locking us into a boss fight—so we need to wipe out every monster in the area at once."
The next floor only spawns non-aggressive Lise Cocoons that don't attack at all. That might sound easy, but if we take it slow, we'll end up swarmed by Class 5 Starry Butterflies.
Lady Esmeralda's confusion was understandable—why the rush? Since we hadn't entered the gate yet, the timer hadn't started, so I explained while I could.
"Monster spawns follow five fixed patterns, but we can tell from the first Lise Cocoon's position, so it's fine. There are 33 Lise Cocoons on the next floor, and we have to clear them all within an hour."
The time limit before hatching was one hour. The dungeon's size? Roughly four Tokyo Domes.
If we followed the optimal route, my estimate put the full clear at about fifty minutes.
"Amina."
"Yeah?"
"I need you to ride on one of the spirit-controlled golems and keep Tailwind Song active. Flying is too risky, and we can't afford to let the buff drop."
"Got it! Leave it to me!!"
"Lady Esmeralda, you should ride a golem too. It'll be more stable for combat than running."
"Understood."
In this floor's strategy, movement speed was everything. Amina's Tailwind Song was arguably the most crucial skill for this dungeon.
Since the enemies didn't move, we didn't have to worry about aggro.
I nodded at Amina, who thumped her chest confidently, then gave instructions to Lady Esmeralda—the lowest stamina stat in the group.
In this dungeon, uneven movement speed would be fatal. For a speedrun, keeping a steady pace and predictable positioning was key.
"Nell and Claudia, stick together as a pair. I can ignore enemy defenses, so I'll manage, but you two—Claudia lowers their defense, then Nell finishes them off."
"Got it."
"Understood."
The enemies weren't hard to kill, but they took time. Level-wise, we outclassed them, but specialized stats could still bite us if underestimated.
Lise Cocoons were defense-specialized, built to endure until their evolution.
The spirits couldn't handle this alone—they'd struggle to memorize spawns and might not break through the durability.
But with my defense-ignoring instant kills, Claudia's debuffs, and Nell's firepower, we had the perfect setup.
"Some areas require simultaneous clears, so I'll solo the ones I can one-shot. Ingrid, focus on loot collection and counting our kills."
"Understood."
In dungeons like this, Ingrid's role seemed limited—but speedruns made loot-gathering crucial. A kill counter also prevented misses.
Ingrid's attention to detail made her perfect for the job.
"Finally, Lady Esmeralda—there's a cluster of about ten Cocoons in one spot. Your job is to wipe them out."
"Leave it to me. I'll fulfill my role flawlessly."
"We're doing multiple runs today, so manage your MP strictly. For each cluster, you can use Blizzard Wave and Lightning Rain up to four times total."
"Understood."
The time-consuming clusters went to Esmeralda, our AoE specialist. Lise Cocoons had high magic resistance, but Blizzard Wave could force a weakness, then Lightning Rain would clean up. With her current stats and gear, two volleys would do it.
Any stragglers outside her range would be handled by me, Nell, and Claudia.
"Any questions before we start?"
Speedruns thrived on pre-planned patterns. Assigning roles and adapting on the fly saved stamina and maximized efficiency.
After confirming everyone's understanding, Amina piped up.
"Yes!"
"What is it, Amina?"
"Should I sing before we enter the gate?"
"Good point—your song persists across floors. Go ahead. Lady Esmeralda, board your golem now too."
"Understood."
"Ride?"
"Yes, Foo, please take care of me."
"Leave it to me!!"
"Amina, with me?"
"Yep! Mii, you're up. What about Pii?"
With that settled, I assigned the third golem.
"Pii, you'll be our attacker and pathfinder—clear shortcuts for us."
"Got it!"
A critical role for the speedrun. I equipped Pii's golem with dual axes.
"Any other questions?"
One last check for oversights—then we began.
"Alright, Amina, start us off."
"Okay!"
With her song as our BGM, our bodies lightened, and we stepped through the gate.
"Sunset..."
The forest beyond was the same, but the sky had shifted from blue to crimson.
While Nell stared up at the change, I scanned our surroundings for Lise Cocoons.
"Nell and Claudia, take the left! I'll handle the front! Ingrid, stick with me!"
Near the entrance, two Cocoons clung to trees. Their positions told me everything.
"Understood!"
"Got it!"
"Then I'll take the first strike."
They reacted instantly. Claudia closed the gap with Lightning Step, then activated her defense-lowering skill.
Nell followed as I targeted the front Cocoon.
"Heart Strike!"
A technique honed through hundreds of repetitions—death delivered straight to its core.
"One down. Moving on."
Ingrid confirmed no drops from the blackened remains, then sprinted toward Nell and Claudia.
I followed, glancing back at the others.
"This way! Everyone, follow!"
Amina nodded mid-song, and the spirits urged the golems forward. Pii's golem took the lead as all three followed.
From here on, it was non-stop running.
By the time I caught up, Nell had shattered a debuffed Cocoon, killing the pre-evolved Stardust Caterpillar inside.
A Stardust Thread rolled from the ashes—Ingrid snatched it and kept pace with me.
Nell and Claudia overtook her, falling in behind me.
"The path splits ahead! Nell, take the left! It's a dead end with a small clearing—two Cocoons: one upfront, one hidden in the trees. Ingrid, go with them and regroup after!"
"Got it!"
"Then I'll lead."
"Understood."
The dungeon's map unfolded in my mind as I charted the fastest route.
"Everyone else, right! Pii, it's your time to shine!"
"Yay! I'll do my best!!"
The right path seemed like the main route, but it was actually another dead end—unless you knew the trick.
Pii, buoyed by Amina's singing and a thumbs-up, gleefully charged ahead.
"I'll handle the Cocoons! Pii, cut down that tree!"
"Dungeon trees can't be cut, can they?"
"Normally, no!"
Dungeon objects were indestructible—rocks that could withstand dragon breath, impossibly durable terrain.
But exceptions existed.
Pii barreled toward the tree, axes raised, and brought them down with full force.
"The tree fell!?"
"Keep pushing forward!"
"Okay!"
Lady Esmeralda gaped as the "unbreakable" tree toppled.
While she processed it, I engaged the Cocoons and directed Pii.
The golem's arms became a blur, felling trees one after another—creating a new path.
"Heart Strike!"
Meanwhile, I dealt with three Cocoons in the clearing.
One fell instantly, dropping a thread. As I collected it, I spotted another hidden Cocoon and drove my magic-enhanced blade into it.
A hard resistance—but the tip bit in.
Now, just repeat on the same spot.
Calculating our time, I enjoyed the thrill of a long-awaited speedrun.