We all stood before the Boss Room door on the 18th floor.

[8] Thus far, the Boss Rooms we’ve dealt with had so many monsters that they literally piled on top of each other. [6] Therefore, I had half expected to see the Boss Room bursting with hazy Wraiths, rotting Ghouls and clacking Skeletons…

However, the room looked strangely empty.

[8] I peeked in and narrowed my eyes, “Are those… Skeleton Knights?”

“It’s my first time seeing them, but they certainly fit the descriptions,” said Elland-san.

The skeletons clacking about in the middle of the room was clearly bigger and more powerful looking than any other Skeletons I’ve seen thus far. [1] It was clad in scale mail with a fine looking helmet over its skull. It also had a sword and shield that emanated some kind of menacing black aura.

They looked kind of terrifying. [5]

I cannot bring myself to be happy about dealing with much fewer enemies, not when the enemies are so terrifying!

I counted 13 Skeleton Knights.

13!

[4] “Aren’t there supposed to be only 5?” I hissed. “Nadia-san said there should only be 5 of them!” [5]

“Perhaps this is also due to the special monster cycle,” said Elland-san thoughtfully.

“Ugh, Skeletons aren’t even living things, why should they be influenced by the breeding cycle?” I complained.

[6] “Well, most of the things spawned within the dungeon aren’t bred in the normal way,”

[6] “Yes, yes, I know, I’m just… I’m just- you know,”

“It is rather unnerving,” Elland-san agreed.

“Hoh? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Skeleton Knight,” Fer’s head peeked over mine.

““Looks like a tough guy, eh? Bet I could take him!””

““Sui will not lose~!””

“Alright, let’s take them down!” Fer bounded in, followed by Sui and Dora-chan. [5]

Doooommm!!

Six pillars of lightning smashed into six of the Skeleton Knights, incinerating them on the spot. [5]

Dora-chan wreathed himself in flames and plunged into the Skeleton Knight’s chests.

Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!

The flaming Skeleton Knights’ swords and shields were nothing against the tiny and determined dragon. Large holes appeared in their chests and they fell with a clatter-clang of bones and weapons.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

The Skeleton Knights brought their shields up, but these simply melted under Sui’s Acid Bullets. More Acid Bullets flew, striking the Knights on their helmets and armours before they simply melted with their weapons into the ground.

From the moment my familiars stepped into the battlefield until the moment the final body disappeared, less than 5 minutes have passed.

How pitiful.

“Well,” I said a little woodenly. “Looks like it’s all over.”

“As expected, Dora-chan…” Elland-san’s eyes were particularly shiny as he stared at the little dragon.

I sidled away from the slightly crazed Elf and began collecting the Drops. [6] Aside from the usual things, there was a sword. I remembered the ominous black aura around the Knight’s sword and decided to appraise it first.

[Cursed Sword]

A sword that bears a curse. When slashed with this sword, the cut part will decay.

What a dangerous sounding name!

Also, what’s with this description?

The cut part will decay? Isn’t that too disgusting?

Can I even touch this thing?

“Fer, c-could you please Appraise this thing?”

““Umu, don’t you have the [Appraisal] skill?””

““Fer’s [Appraisal] is more detailed, so please? The name of the sword is too scary and I want to know if it’s alright to touch it.””

“Hmm… this sword… hmm, it’s safe to touch the handle.”

“What if I happened to touch the blade?” I asked, morbid curiosity overcoming me.

[8] “Nothing, unless you cut yourself. Then, the cut limb will eventually decay and fall off…”

[6] “Hii!!!” Let’s sell this thing off as quickly as possible, I don’t want it near me! [5]

““Aruji~ there’s a box here~””

“Oh? A box?” I’m super glad for the distraction. I went over to where Sui was and found her bouncing next to an old wooden chest. It’s shaped like a treasure chest but with none of the decorative features. It looked so old and worn out that it blended into the walls.

“Good job, Sui!”

While Sui was bouncing happily from the praise, I used [Appraisal] on it:

[Cursed Treasure Chest]

A curse will befall upon the person who opens this chest.

Eh, a cursed treasure chest…

Obviously only an idiot would knowingly open a cursed chest!

“Hmm, if it’s master, you should be able to open it without issue. You have God’s Blessing and Absolute Defence on you,” said Fer boredly. [5] [8] “… do I have to? I mean, there’s no guarantee, right?”

“Just open it,” Fer was glaring at me now.

[8] “Fine, fine, I’ll open it,” in the end, I did open the chest.

And…

Nothing happened.

I don’t feel particularly cursed either. It was kind of underwhelming…

Never mind, let’s have a look inside.

[8] Nestled within the chest was a black knife, as glossy as the wings of a crow. [1] Since the knife itself was not cursed (I checked), I picked it up.

According to the [Appraisal], it was a

[Vampire Knife]

A knife made from the combination of magic iron and vampire bones. This bloodthirsty knife sucks up blood endlessly.

“Woah,”

W-What a dangerous knife, who wants a bloodthirsty knife like this?!

“Oho, a knife that sucks up blood? Isn’t it useful for blood draining?”

“Ah! That’s a very good suggestion!” I looked at the knife with new eyes. “Yes, though the description is kind of creepy, having a blood-sucking knife means I can drain the blood out of our prey on the spot before bringing them in to be dismantled.”

Hmm, Elland-san and I have agreed to talk about splitting our loot later, but maybe I could talk him into letting me have this knife…

“Eh? Where’s Elland-san?”

[6] “Dora-chan~ Come back~~”

Ergh, that creepy voice…

““Oi! Do something about this guy!”” [5]

“Please let me hug you~ Just a little bit~?”

[6] It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic and creepy. Dora-chan was flapping his wings, keeping just outside of Elland-san’s jumping range.

““Um, surely you could let him hug you a bit?”” I tried.

““No way! It’s too creepy!””

[8] I’m… really glad Elland-san could not hear this complete rejection. Still, I’d better get this situation under control.

“Ah, Elland-san, if you keep doing that, Dora-chan will hate you.”

Elland-san stopped hopping. He looked devastated, “I… I don’t want Dora-chan to hate me… but I really want to hug him…”

“Haah… it might be a little difficult now. However, a relationship of trust can only be build up slowly.”

“Ughhh, a relationship of trust…”

“That’s right, you should wait for Dora-chan to come to you willingly. If you keep chasing him, he’ll just hate you more…”

“Gununununu…” [5]

“Relationship has to be built slowly,” I continued diligently. “One day, I’m sure Dora-chan will let you hug him.”

“Ou, I understand. I’ll do my best!” [5]

Well, at least that situation has been diffused.

““Fuu… I’m saved. Oi! that guy is too creepy, don’t ever let him near me!””

Elland-san would totally cry if he heard this.

[Gumihou: and they proceed to the 19th floor]

[1] Structural Change: Combine 2 paragraphs

[2] Structural Change: Combine 3 paragraphs

[3] Structural Change: Combine paragraph & dialogue

[4] Structural Change: Change passive sentence to dialogue

[5] Delete Repetitive or Pointless Information

[6] Additional Information for Aesthetic Purpose

[7] Add Dialogue Tag

[8] Creative Licence Taken

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