I was Betrayed then Reincarnated as a Kitsune

Chapter 67: Fifth Floor

[Luna POV]

When we got off of the staircase, I immediately noticed several traps nearby.

Just as unforgiving as I remember. I said with spite.

What do you mean, Luna? (Velvet)

We just got of the stairs, and I already found several traps nearby. (Luna)

Do you know what kinds? (Nia)

I need to be closer for that.  Just follow behind me and do what I say, and well make it through fine. (Luna)

Im fine with that, Luna, but are you doing fine?  Youre really pale. (Velvet)

Im fine, I just need to get used to the atmosphere of this floor.  Nia, you need to be extra careful since you dont have night vision. (Luna)

Ill be fine, my eyes have adjusted to the little light there is by now. (Nia)

I used my space magic and copied down what I saw on the paper I was using to make a map.

Im glad I have so much mana and that this floor isnt particularly big. (Luna)

Why? (Velvet)

Because I was able to make a full floor map just now. (Luna)

I wouldnt be so sure, Luna.  Hidden rooms start showing up from here on as well, and the things we need to find are, more often than not, hidden away in there. (Nia)

Tch.

{Luna calm down, your being impatient.  I understand why you want to get off this floor quickly, but youll start to make mistakes if you dont calm down and focus.}

Youre right.

I then felt a hand on my shoulder.  I looked over to see Velvet looking into my eyes.

Luna, were right here, dont rush. (Velvet)

I closed my eyes for a second to calm down.

Thanks. (Luna)

Anytime. (Velvet)

Since we werent going to accomplish anything just standing in one place, I led us in the direction of the stairs to the next floor.  On the way there we looked for hidden rooms and I disabled traps along the way.  Most of those traps were quite nasty, too.

Luna, what kind of traps have you been disabling so far? (Nia)

Ill tell you, but why do you want to know? (Luna)

Every so often you get a really irritated expression on your face when youre working on the trap, so I got curious. (Nia)

Well, most of the ones in this hallway have been traps that will seal off where we were and fill the room with different kinds of deadly poison.  A little while ago was one that would open a trapdoor under your feet then close it and fill the space with sand until you suffocated.  The most annoying one weve passed though, was a special trap that I think would have teleported us inside a wall.  I really hate space traps, theyre a pain to dismantle. (Luna)

How brutal. (Velvet)

We continued down the hallway we were walking through when I stopped.  I looked around and sniffed the air a few times to confirm the direction that we needed to go.

Were close to some goblins. (Luna)

How far do we need to go? (Nia)

Not sure, the smell is coming from several different directions.  If I had to guess, the place we will find what were looking for is where the most pungent of the smell is coming from, but weve hit a dead end. (Luna)

Then we need to find the hidden door. (Velvet)

Before you go feeling around the walls, Velvet, wait a few minutes, unless you want a face full of spikes, of course. (Luna)

If most of the hidden doors around us have traps, why not just find the places that dont have any? (Nia)

Because there arent any non-trapped doors in here with the exception of the one we came from. (Luna)

If thats the case, then why did you lead us this way? (Velvet)

Because from what I could tell, every other direction would have led to a trap filled monster house and I dont feel like setting those off if I can avoid it. (Luna)

I took a while, but I finally finished dismantling the traps on every door in our current room.  Once I was done doing that, I begrudgingly took several large sniffs of each hallway to find the one that smelled the worst.

I found it, but I think I need a minute. (Luna)

You ok? (Nia)

Not really, Ive never smelled such concentrated goblin before, and I really wish that I was still that me. (Luna)

I guess having a beastkins nose is as much a curse as it is a blessing. (Velvet)

I thought vampires had good noses too. (Luna)

I think Ive said this before, but its still not as good as a beastkins. (Velvet)

After a short break I was finally able to move without my breakfast making a reappearance so we move on to finish our quest.  The hallway we were walking down was shorter than the previous one and I could hear goblin noises ahead of us.

When we reached the end of the hallway, we came upon a large room that held a surprising amount of things.  In one spot was a large pile of things that I assumed came from adventurers that had died to traps or other things.  On the other side of the room were lots of goblins that were doing a weird dance around a small fire.

The worst part about this room, however, was the amount of traps it had.  I wasnt sure about deeper inside, but most of the ones that were near us were the kind I was dreading coming across.

I backed up into the hallway again, cold sweat running like rivers down my back.

Whats wrong Luna? (Nia)

Lot of goblins, even more traps.  Most traps are spear traps. (Luna)

If I use some dark magic, will it set off the traps? (Velvet)

I shook my head in denial.

Nia, help calm Luna down, Ill eradicate the goblins from here. (Velvet)

While I was trying to calm myself, I watched Velvet move to the entrance of the room and stretch out her arms.  I couldnt see into the room from where I was, but I did hear the sounds of goblins dying.  Once the sound stopped, Velvet walked back over to us, her face a little green.

Ugh, goblin blood smell putrid. (Velvet)

Now you get how I felt earlier. (Luna)

You a little better now, Luna? (Nia)

Yeah, just need to make it through this room.  I think if I can do that, Ill be able to move on enough. (Luna)

Just for reference, how many of the traps that you can sense are spear traps? (Velvet)

At least half.  The other ones that I can tell from the entrance are an assortment of dart traps and pitfalls.  And whatever any of you do, avoid the center of the room at all costs. (Luna)

Why? (Nia)

The trap in the center cant be dismantled and would end in all of our deaths if I couldnt teleport out of there. (Luna)

What does it do? (Velvet)

Spikes extend from the roof, and it will slowly descend until we are impaled and crushed, then it will torch the entire room. (Luna)

I could see the two of them shiver at my words.  After a few more minutes, I was ready to challenge my archnemesis in our final battle.  I walked to the edge of the trapless area of the entrance and set to work dismantling the traps.  While I didnt know how long it took me, it felt like I spent days slowly making my way over to the goblins hoard.

When I actually made it there, I found that the entire pile of stuff was also trapped.

You know, I feel like the number of traps Ive gone through today has been more than there should be on such an early floor of a dungeon. (Luna)

I agree, even if it was eight years ago, I dont remember this floor having so many traps. (Nia)

So, this isnt normal? (Velvet)

No.

I finished disarming the goblin hoard and started throwing everything that was there into my inventory.  Now I had a small amount of things to put into my arsenal of disposable projectiles as well as what we came here for.

Im kind of surprised goblins are smart enough to make poisons. (Luna)

I know right. (Velvet)

Dont be fooled because goblins are stupid, they make really potent poisons.  Ive seen people that get hit with some and lets just say that they were lucky our healers were good enough. (Nia)

I should be glad poisons dont work on me and that I can heal anyone affected by it then. (Luna)

How high level is your healing magic anyway? (Nia)

Level 10.  I can heal most things except death I think. (Luna)

Since we got what we came for, do you want to head back now, or continue going for a bit? (Velvet)

That depends, how long have we been down here? (Luna)

I say we head back for the day; you look absolutely exhausted Luna. (Nia)

Look?  I feel absolutely exhausted. (Luna)

Hey, at least you look better than you did when we got to this floor. (Nia)

Yeah, I think Im less afraid of traps now, and more annoyed by them. (Luna)

Well, you have been dismantling them all day, I think anyone would be annoyed by them at this point. (Velvet)

I made sure the area directly around us was safe, then I grabbed onto Nia and Velvets shoulders and teleported us to the first floor.  Once we were there, I was breathing heavily.

That took too much mana. (Luna)

Can you still walk? (Nia)

Yeah, but Im going straight to sleep when we get back to the inn. (Luna)

We waited for a few minutes before exiting the dungeon.  Velvet offered to turn in the quest items, so I handed them over to her and Nia and I went to the inn.  Once there, I laid down on the bed and immediately fell asleep without taking off my armor.

{Ufufufu. Im proud of you, Luna.  You did so well today.}

Author's Note:

There were a stupid number of traps there.

Atmos: Blame Grey, he moved most of the traps from the floors below the fifth one up so Luna could get better.

Luna: I see.  While I'm thankful for that, I'm going to need to give Grey a talking-to.  I mean there is such a thing as too much, and that's coming from me.

At least you can move on from traps now.  Better to be annoyed by something than deathly afraid, after all.

Luna: Fair enough.

Atmos: Thanks Author, Grey can get away with a light scolding now.

No problem, now if the two of you excuse me, I'm going to sleep.