Chapter 86 8th Floor Guardian Battle
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Tester Life: Day 35, Afternoon. 8th Floor.
”So, which path are we taking?” I asked.
The map of the eighth floor was nearly eighty percent complete. We stood at a fork in the road with only a final fifth of the floor left to uncover. I came to a halt, weighing our options.
Both directions led into unexplored territory, but I was betting the Guardian’s chamber sat at the end of one of them. If I chose correctly, we’d find the boss today. If I messed up, we’d be stuck here until tomorrow. It took more than three hours just to reach this spot from the teleportation array¹, so I was desperate to get it right the first time. I considered propping up a club and just heading whichever way it fell.
”Rock, what do you think?” I asked.
He was a dog, more or less, so I figured I’d consult him. I wondered if he’d do that ‘dig here’ routine and point us toward the prize.
Rock tilted his head, sniffing the air at the entrance of both tunnels. “Wafun?” he huffed, looking back at me with confusion.
It would have been a cute gesture if he weren’t currently encased in a suit of rugged, matte-black iron plate. The sight was surreal. I’d dropped 80,000 DP² on that gear last night. As usual, the shop only stocked helmets for humans, so his head remained exposed while the rest of him was a tank of black metal. Saizou wasn’t faring poorly either; he gripped a pair of black iron daggers coated in a lethal purple toxin. Those had cost me 10,000 DP a piece.
I’d burned 100,000 DP on equipment for the two of them, bringing my balance down to 750,000. It was a steep price, but I’d put too much work into training Rock to let him die because I was being stingy.
”Sayaka-san, what’s your take?” I asked, turning to the girl behind me.
”Eh? Me? Well…” Tsukigase Sayaka looked surprised, but she quickly pulled the maps of the sixth and seventh floors from her pouch and began comparing them to our current progress.
”Guardian rooms have a strong tendency to be located near the rear-center of the floor,” Sayaka said. “Based on that, I think we should go left.”
”If we’re heading for the center, wouldn’t the right be faster?” I asked. We were currently on the western edge relative to the teleportation array. East seemed like the logical choice.
”If you compare the previous maps, the layout of this section is almost a mirror image of the sixth floor’s eastern wing,” Sayaka explained. “If the dungeon architect is just flipping the blueprints, the path on the right is likely a dead end. If we go left, we’ll hit several more junctions. If we keep taking the right turns from there, we’ll spiral into the heart of the floor.”
”I see. Let’s go left, then,” I said.
Her explanation was more persuasive than I expected, so I chose the left path without hesitation. It made sense-building every floor from scratch would be a nightmare for any architect. Using mirrored modules was just efficient design.
Sayaka was right. We hit a series of junctions exactly where she predicted. We carved our way through a few monster rushes, took the right turns, and eventually spilled out into a long corridor lined with small stone cells. Goblins began pouring out of the rooms like a green tide, but the corridor was narrow. We had a straight shot, meaning no back-attacks or surprises. We were moving faster than the dungeon could respawn reinforcements.
Dealing with six or twelve goblins at a time was easy. Saizou moved ahead to disarm traps, and once he gave the signal, Rock acted as a living battering ram. Sayaka-san and I picked off the archers before they could draw string. We were a well-oiled machine. Two more rushes at the junctions, and then we reached the end of the gauntlet.
We hit the jackpot.
”You called it, Sayaka-san. Nice work,” I said.
”Fufu, thank you very much,” she replied.
I looked up at the massive green door looming over us, a smirk tugging at my lips. Sayaka-san beamed, her hands balling into tiny, triumphant fists at her chest. Beside her, Sheena watched in silence, though the slight softening of her expression told me she was impressed too.
The door stood three meters tall, embossed with the relief of a goblin far larger than the runts we’d been slaying. This one wore leather armor and brandished a broadsword.
”So… a Hobgoblin, then?” I muttered.
Sheena gave a sharp nod. Figures. The 8th-floor Guardian was just a goblin on steroids. Still, big or not, it was just a goblin. We could handle this.
I triggered Physical Reinforcement³, felt the surge of power through my limbs, and heaved the door open. It groaned on its hinges, swinging inward to reveal the shimmering white haze of the boss-room barrier.
”Rock, shield up. Lead the way,” I commanded.
”Wan!” Rock barked.
He raised his heavy shield and stepped into the fog. Saizou followed in his shadow, and the rest of us moved in behind them.
As we crossed the threshold, the room ignited. Torches flared to life in a rhythmic sequence, illuminating a thirty-meter stone square. It was brighter than the seventh floor, which was a relief. At the far end stood a black gate, and guarding it was our target: a bloated, towering Hobgoblin flanked by eight sword-wielders and a pair of archers.
”Rock! Brace! Sayaka-san, Water Wall⁴, full power to the front! Sheena, protect her! Saizou, flank them-keep them busy!” I barked.
The Hobgoblin let out a guttural roar. It raised its longsword, signaling its pack. The archers notched arrows, and the frontline grunts sprinted toward us. We were less than fifteen meters apart.
”Water Wall!” Sayaka-san shouted.
Just as the lead goblins closed to within five meters, the air erupted. A massive, churning sheet of water six meters high slammed down between us. The goblins crashed into it like birds hitting a window, their blades skipping off the pressurized surface. Arrows hissed into the spray, only to be redirected and dropped harmlessly to the floor.
Sayaka-san was pouring triple her usual Mana Capacity⁵ into the spell. It wouldn’t last more than a few minutes, but that was all the time we needed. While the Hobgoblin’s lackeys were busy with the wall, Rock and I split left and right.
”Fire Bullet. Fire Bullet,” I snapped off two shots.
The goblin archers didn’t have time to react before the flames punched through their skulls.
”Vuoooon!” Rock let out a low growl as he slammed into the confused huddle in front of the wall.
The Hobgoblin managed to skip back, but its subordinates were sent flying like bowling pins. Saizou was already there, his daggers dancing as he finished off the dazed survivors. Only five grunts left. And the big guy.
”Fireball!” I ducked behind Rock’s massive shield and unleashed a sphere of flame.
It detonated in the center of the remaining grunts, incinerating three of them.
”Water Ball!” Three high-pressure orbs of water curved around the fading Water Wall, launched by Sayaka-san.
Two found their marks, doubling over the remaining goblins, but the Hobgoblin was faster. It swung its heavy blade in a clean arc, cleaving the magic projectile in two.
”Fire Bullet!” I aimed for the opening.
The bolt of fire caught the Hobgoblin in the chest, but it only hissed in annoyance. The leather armor had soaked up the worst of it. It was tougher than it looked.
”Rock, go!” I ordered.
The Hobgoblin saw the charge coming and realized it couldn’t tank Rock’s momentum. It closed the gap, swinging its sword in a desperate overhead strike. The blade bit into Rock’s black iron shield with the screech of sliding metal, but the impact didn’t move him. Rock countered, thrusting his short spear from the side of his shield.
The Hobgoblin was surprisingly agile, backstepping just enough to let the spear graze its ribs instead of gutting it. It almost got away.
Saizou materialized behind it, his daggers carving deep lines across the beast’s neck.
”Gi!” the Hobgoblin shrieked.
Saizou didn’t have the strength to decapitate it, but he didn’t need to. The purple glint on his blades did the work. Poison.
Rock didn’t give it a second to recover. He slammed his shield into the Hobgoblin’s chest, sending the poisoned leader tumbling across the stone floor. The beast tried to scramble up, but its legs buckled as the toxin shut down its nervous system. Saizou finished the job from a distance, pinning the beast’s arms to the floor with a pair of throwing knives.
”Wan!” Rock barked. He stood over the paralyzed Guardian, looking back at me for the final call.
”Sayaka-san, finish it,” I said.
”Yes!” she replied.
Rock and Saizou pinned the dying beast. Sayaka-san stepped forward, Sheena shadowing her. She gripped her black iron dagger with both hands and drove it deep into the Hobgoblin’s throat.
”Gi…” The beast let out a final, rattling wheeze.
Its body shivered once before dissolving into black particles, leaving nothing but a Magic Stone⁶ behind.
”Good work, Rock, Saizou. That was textbook,” I said.
The two of them had practically won the fight for me. Rock wagged his tail so hard his whole back end shook, while Saizou dropped to one knee and bowed his head. The guy was a bit much.
”Sayaka-san, great follow-up. That Water Wall won us the fight,” I added.
”Thank you! I’m just happy I could help,” she said, beaming.
I walked over to the loot. The Hobgoblin had dropped an E+ rank Magic Stone-same tier as a Goblin Assassin. Given that Saizou was E+ and Rock was a solid D, we’d outclassed this boss from the start. Taking out the minions early was the key.
Numerical superiority-there’s no substitute for it.
I watched as Rock and Saizou scurried around to collect the remaining stones. I gestured for the girls to follow as I headed toward the copper treasure chest that had appeared in front of the black gate.
Onto the ninth floor.
—
Summary:
Yakumo and his party successfully navigate the 8th floor of the dungeon using Sayaka’s analytical mapping skills. They encounter the 8th-floor Guardian, a Hobgoblin, and defeat it through a combination of tactical magic and the overwhelming power of Yakumo’s equipped monsters. The chapter ends with the party securing loot and preparing for the 9th floor.
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Trivia:
- The party is on Day 35 of the ‘Tester’ life.
- It takes 3 hours to travel from the teleportation array to the current location.
- Yakumo spent 100,000 DP on equipment for Rock and Saizou (80k for Rock, 20k for Saizou).
- Sayaka identified that the dungeon floor layout is likely mirrored from previous floors.
- The Hobgoblin Guardian dropped an E+ rank Magic Stone, the same as a Goblin Assassin.
- Rock is currently Rank D, while Saizou is Rank E+
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Character Insight:
Yakumo’s pragmatism is highlighted by his willingness to invest heavily in his ‘monsters’ to ensure survival, showing he views them as critical assets. Sayaka shows growth in utility by providing spatial analysis that speeds up floor progression.
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Behind the Scenes:
The dungeon’s modular construction (mirroring sections) suggests a level of game-design efficiency within the world building, mirroring how developers reuse assets in real-world RPGs.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Rock – A male Kobold summoned from a Magic Sealing Crystal. He has grey fur, round eyes, and a face resembling a Shiba Inu. He wears a leather jacket and a pilot’s cap
• Saizou – A newly summoned Goblin. Intelligent with a small horn on his forehead and jagged teeth. Wears ninja-style clothing (shinobifuku) and uses poison daggers/knives.
• Sayaka – The academy’s premier beauty and a member of the swimming club. Currently classified as a Rank 1 Slave. She is seventeen years old and a virgin. E-cup. She has blue, short, boyish hair. Her best friend is Sanae.
• Sheena – Beastman Soul-less Doll with rabbit ears and a large chest. Flawless face, approx 165cm height, F or G cup, narrow waist, large hips, and a fluffy tail longer than a rabbit’s.
• Yakumo – A 25-year-old human male. He has facial scars, stab wounds, and gunshot scars from his time in a war zone. He works as a school guard.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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