The Subterranean Tower.

It was, quite literally, a shadow.

A thick, black, three-dimensional human-shaped mass was moving exactly like a person. I instinctively stiffened at the sight of its unnatural form gliding toward us. However, a moment later, I remembered what it was.

“Mia, fire! Use it now!”

“Eh? Wh-what? Are you sure!?”

Perhaps the eerily human shape had put her off. The girl stared back and forth between me and the approaching shadow with a bewildered expression, frozen in place. Seeing Yoru and Kuu bristle their fur and prepare to lunge, I hurriedly barked a new command.

“Get back! Don’t touch it!”

The moment the words left my mouth, someone leaped out in front of me. Simultaneously, a series of whip-cracks echoed as a lash streaked through the air faster than the eye could follow.

The black shadow, struck by a sharp three-hit combo, wavered slightly as its outline blurred for a split second. But that was it. Paula, sensing the lack of physical resistance, stopped her advance and remained on guard.

Suddenly, the shadow extended its hand. From a distance of several paces, no ordinary human should have been able to reach her. But the shadow was not bound by such constraints.

The monster-tamer quickly tried to swat away the impossibly elongated hand with her whip. The result was the same as before—the whip struck the floor with a heavy thud, meeting no resistance, while the shadow’s hand gripped Paula’s wrist as if nothing had happened.

Paula tried to shake it off, but her legs seemed to give way, and she collapsed to her knees. Another shadow-hand lunged toward her—

“Yo, !”

Ignoring my heart, which was pounding at an unbelievable speed, I screamed at the fairy. Instantly, a dazzling light burst from her wings, and the shadow flinched back as if startled. Seizing the gap, I called the girl’s name again.

“Mia!”

This time, she was ready. The familiar snap-snap-snap of fingers rang out in the darkness. Red fireballs pierced the gloom in succession, slamming into the humanoid shadow. A swirling vortex of flame erupted, engulfing the monster in a brilliant crimson light. The mass of black darkness vanished like smoke.

Without a moment to catch my breath, I rushed to Paula, who was still slumped on the floor. Unfortunately, the difference in our levels was a cold reality. Mia easily outstripped me and dove into a hug with Paula, her voice thick with apology.

“Pau-sama, I’m sorry! It’s because I messed up!”

“No, Mia, you defeated it. Thank you.”

Paula reached out as she spoke, but for some reason, her hand wandered into empty air instead of toward Mia’s face. Startled by the gesture, the girl peered into Paula’s face and realized her eyes weren’t focusing.

“Pau-sama… can you not see!?”

“…No, nothing at all.”

Mia froze as if struck by lightning. All the color drained from her face.

“So tragic—”

“Koo—”

Yoru and Kuu, worried, clung to Paula with dejected expressions.

“If I had… moved faster… it’s my fault…”

“It’s okay, Mia. This is exactly why I’m here.”

I stroked the trembling girl’s head as gently as possible to calm her down.

“Will… will she be okay? Her eyes?”

“Yeah, it’s only temporary. We just need to give it a little time.”

“Is that… so? Thank goodness…”

With tears welling in her eyes, Mia flashed a smile of genuine relief. Then she shook her head vigorously.

“But I’m so sorry. If I’d just done what you said, Pau-sama wouldn’t have…”

“Listen, it hasn’t even been a week since you started exploring. No one expects you to move like a pro yet.”

“Eh? Well, I guess, but…”

“It’s natural to make mistakes, so don’t worry about it. Just keep being yourself.”

It would be more of a problem if she became too timid or tried to overcompensate. Besides, for a mage, being a little cautious is actually safer.

“He is right, Mia. You only need to get used to it gradually. There is no need for haste.”

Despite her lack of sight, Paula must have sensed my intent, as she added her support in a gentle voice. Wiping her eyes, Mia gave a firm nod.

“Okay, I get it! Business as usual!”

“That’s the spirit. Anyway, staying here is a bad idea. Let’s back up a bit.”

As I spoke, I slid my arms under Paula’s armpits and knees. Straightening my back with effort, I hoisted the temporarily blinded beauty into my arms.

“M-my Lord!”

“I’m carrying you back to the stairs, so just bear with it for a moment.”

While I was panicking internally at the sensation of her soft, ample curves against me, I kept my voice calm so as not to be found out. Yes, I have no ulterior motives. Well, almost none.

“No, well… am I not heavy?”

“I’m actually surprised by how light you are.”

“I see. I am sorry to be such a burden.”

I leaned in and whispered slightly lower into Paula’s ear, so only she could hear.

“You protected me, didn’t you? So we’re even. But don’t be so reckless again. I thought my heart was going to stop.”

Paula’s eyes widened slightly at the words. Then, she wrapped both arms around my neck and whispered back with a sweet breath.

“To be worried over by you… I am truly fortunate.”

“…………Next time, just fall back properly.”

Her only reply was her usual, alluring smile.

Once I had seated Paula on the steps of the staircase, I took the opportunity to explain the monster’s identity.

“That was a Shadow.”

“A Shadow?”

“Shadows are ‘Undead’ monsters. Undead can be roughly divided into three types. First are the Skeletons—the ones we saw on the second floor.”

“Oh, the bone doggies?”

“Exactly. The second type is the Corporeal type—zombies and ghouls where the flesh remains on the moving corpse.”

“Eww, what? That sounds horrible.”

“They’re actually easier to deal with since they still have physical bodies. The last type is the Spectral type. Like the one just now.”

Skeletal types like skeletons are fast and have high attack power, but their defense is low, making our attacks effective. Corporeal types like ghouls are slow but have regenerative abilities and the risk of infection. Then there are Spectrals. Because they have no physical substance, physical attacks simply pass through them. In the game, you could use blessed weapons, but those aren’t easy to come by.

However, if we can’t touch them, they usually can’t touch us either—at least not physically. Even if a spectral punches you, it won’t leave a scratch. But while their physical attack stat is 0, they have a nasty trait: simply touching them inflicts status ailments.

“I see. So that is why I lost my sight.”

“Yeah, it’s a specialty called ‘Hand of Darkness’ .”

“Whoa, isn’t that really dangerous!?”

“There are others like or , too. They’re a pain to deal with.”

Unless you have a Mia, I thought. Spectral types seem invincible at first, but they have a clear weakness: magic. There are exceptions, but they won’t show up in layers this shallow.

“So, Mia, if you see one of those shadow-looking things, just keep burning them.”

“U-understood!”

Yo’s works to stop them, but she can’t deal damage. Kuu’s would work too, but it eats too much mana, so that’s a no-go. As for Gob-tchi… no, I’m keeping his special move sealed.

Once we got into the rhythm, the exploration became easy—our usual pattern. Yo would halt their movement, and Mia would snap her fingers. We progressed without letting a single Shadow get close. The only downside was that they only dropped Black Magic Stones.

After walking through the stone corridors for about thirty minutes, we suddenly arrived at a large, open area. Mapped out, it seemed to be right in the center of the seventh floor.

Standing there, looming from the ground, was a crumbling ancient tower. We all stared up at the massive structure in the subterranean space, momentarily forgetting to breathe. I shifted my gaze back to what appeared to be the tower’s entrance and let out a sigh of relief.

“Good… those aren’t Shadows.”

Standing guard at the door were two skeletons.