"There must be a reason, right? It's impossible that there's no reason why you can see something that's only visible to the hero."
Her words hung heavy with implication, and I was left to ponder what they might mean."...Hmm."
After continuing through the dungeon for a while, I faced a significant obstacle. All along our journey, I had been hearing the sound of water, and now we encountered a section of the dungeon with a huge river flowing through it. It was more like an underground waterway than a river, and it was blocking our path.
"How about swimming across?" Holly suggested. "Beyond this water is the deepest part of the dungeon. Searching for a walkable path might take us on a lengthy detour."
I'm not exactly a sinking hammer; I can swim. It's not that I don't want to enter the water because I can't swim, but I really don't want to get wet. The idea of walking through the dungeon with soaked shoes and pants is just unbearable.
"Hey, Iris," I called out.
"What is it?"
"Can you make a boat or something?"
Instantly, veins on Iris's temples throbbed visibly, and the ground around her feet froze.
"Whoa! What's wrong? Why are you so mad!?"
Even for someone as dense and incompetent as me, it was clear that Iris was furious.
"Are you seriously asking me to make a boat right now? Out of what? There's no wood or bamboo around here! Or do you expect me to go out of the dungeon right now, cut down some trees, and build a boat from scratch?"
"Huh? Why would I make such an unreasonable request? What are you talking about?"
"Then what do you mean?"
Iris had reached her breaking point.
"No, I mean, can't you use your Ice Sword to create ice and shape it into a boat? Ice floats on water, right?"
"Huh?"
"You can manipulate the shape of ice, can't you? Then why not make it into a boat shape? If that's too hard, just make a block of ice and hollow it out to make something boat-like, right?"
"Wait, what? Is it that difficult to shape ice into a boat?"
"No, I've never done it before, but... I think I can do it."
With her hand on her forehead, Iris slowly drew her Ice Sword.Iris then began to produce a block of ice from the tip of her sword, skillfully shaping it into a boat-like form.
"Wow! That's great! It's of higher quality than I expected. Right, Crow?"
"Yeah... Can you also make some ice oars? They'll be cold to the touch for anyone but you, though."
Saffron and I, merely onlookers, freely voiced our opinions.
Iris silently created both the ice boat and the oars.
We each took turns boarding the ice boat that Iris had crafted and floated it on the water. Even with the three of us on it, the ice boat remained afloat with no issues. Though it was too cold to sit down on, it allowed us to move across the water.
Iris, positioned at the rear of the boat, used the ice oars to row, looking quite strenuous in her efforts. However, this meant that Saffron and I could simply stand on the boat and move through the dungeon.
"Interesting, Crow. Not a bad idea at all. If we can navigate the waterways, traversing this dungeon via the shortest route should be easy," Holly commented.
"That's good to hear."
Standing at the forefront of the boat, I continued to guide Iris based on Holly's directions.
Meanwhile, Saffron said to Iris, "Looks tough, huh? Want me to switch with you?"
"I'm fine... I'm used to handling oars..."
"But you look pale, you know?"
"No... It's just... a bit of a shock realizing that someone else knows how to use my ice sword better than I do..."
"Oh, I get it, I get it... I often felt the same when Crow would use me and Cattleya to his advantage."
That's rather rude. I haven't been using anyone, nor have I been exploiting them.
"Why does Crow seem to handle the Ice Sword better than me?"
"Huh? I'm not really handling it, am I? You're the one using it."
"Is this idea something you got from Holly?"
"Nope, just a spur of the moment thought."
"Thinking about it now, it would've been quicker to just freeze the entire waterway. But then you'd be too exhausted, right?"
Iris, for some reason, continued to row in silence without replying.
Using the ice boat Iris had crafted, we continued to navigate the waterways until we finally reached the deepest part of the dungeon.Before us stood a door that unmistakably gave off an ominous aura, suggesting something formidable awaited us on the other side. Beyond this door resided the master of this dungeon. Defeating it would cause the dungeon, along with its multiplying monsters, to vanish.
"… Saffron…" I called out to her, sensing she was about to impulsively open the door and charge at the dungeon master.
"What? Let’s just get in there already," she replied eagerly.
"Before that, there’s something about Kultana I need to discuss," I said cautiously.
"Huh?"
It was a risky conversation for me. I knew a lot about the twelve saintly swords, more than what Cattleya, who had wielded the Blastflame Sword for over fifteen years, knew. Sharing this knowledge with Iris and Cattleya would benefit me as they would better understand their swords' capabilities. But with Saffron, it was different.
She had initially appeared as an assassin to take my life and still showed signs of surveilling me under someone else's orders. I couldn't fully trust her.
Nevertheless, I couldn't risk one of the only two saintly sword wielders we had dying in combat.
"Using Kultana... you know it can make you invisible, silence footsteps, and extend these effects to someone you're touching, right?"
"Yes. There's nothing more to it than that. But I thought you would have already realized there's another feature I haven't mentioned."
Honestly, I hadn’t told her because I didn’t trust her, but I played ignorant.
"The saintly swords have the abilities of possesshion, which enhances physical abilities; emisshion, which activates special powers; and expanshion, which summons the sword back to the wielder, right?"
"I know that. I've used all three abilities."
"Kultana, to compensate for the lack of offensive magic, has a more enhanced expanshion capability compared to the Ice Sword or Blastflame Sword."
"…But how does a better expanshion capability relate to combat? Isn’t it just for retrieving the sword if it’s lost or stolen?"
Indeed, expanshion is primarily a function to recall a distanced sword, essentially a safeguard against loss or theft.However, the function of retrieving a distanced sword has its applications.
"Kultana lacks a projectile weapon and has a short reach. It's dangerous against strong or large monsters."
"That's where the user's skill and courage come in, right? I'm good at diving into the enemy's reach."
"No, it’s because you're a genius that you can do that. Kultana is actually meant for throwing."
"Throwing?"
"Throw it at your enemy with all your might. After it hits, use the expanshion ability to bring it back to your hand, like a boomerang."
"…Won’t that lack power?"
"It’s a boomerang with a saintly sword’s cutting and piercing power. It's almost a one-hit kill for most opponents."
"…Wait, but wouldn't it be dangerous for me when retrieving it?"
"The expanshion works in a way that the handle comes back towards the user safely. You should try it."
"Hmm…"
Saffron didn't seem particularly intrigued.
"Iris. Don’t leave my side, no matter what."
"Eh!?"
When I spoke to Iris, she seemed strangely nervous.
"Why? What do you mean?"
"If a monster attacks me, I’m dead meat, so you must protect me without leaving my side."
"…"
Iris then half-closed her eyes and slumped her shoulders in resignation.
"How can you say such a cheesy line so boldly..."
"Huh? You should be thankful that I guided you this far. Do you know how scared I am?"
"Enough. Just don’t say anything more. Let’s just quickly defeat the dungeon master…"
And so, we decided to open the door to the deepest part of the dungeon.
"…!"
Beyond the door was a stone room like the rest of the dungeon, but it was strangely spacious and high-ceilinged.