Fran cheerfully hummed as she worked her tools into the groove along the edge of a pressure plate trap in front of her as she worked to disarm it.
It was the first bit of fun she had all day.
After seeing what she was capable of, some of the examiners asked her to kindly refrain from joining in on the fighting for the first few floors. While this wasn't really a big deal, as the monsters there were only basic insects that were only rank G, not worth enough EXP or Magic Stone Points to matter, it did leave the girls more than a little bore. To make it up to her, Fran was permitted to try her hand at disarming traps, something she found rather fun. She was also not bad at it, since she had a basic idea of how to use [Structural Analysis] in order to get a good grasp of the traps mechanics, and because she could walk straight out on top of a magic based trap without triggering it.
It might have been faster to simply activate them all and deal with the consequences, but they weren't exactly in a rush, and Fran was enjoying herself. Like that, they continued through the first four layers of the dungeon, and despite the Demonic Beasts, it was rather peaceful.
Chad and his group had been shocked into silence after the previous night and now just did their job without making any fuss or picking any fights. Indeed, now the only ones harassing Fran were Amanda, in her usual fashion which no longer bothered the girl, and Cruz.
After the previous night, Cruz's attitude towards Fran had changed from simple acknowledgement to complete worship. Even though the man was supposed to be the leader of the expedition, he deferred to Fran completely. This became more and more ridiculous, as while asking her her opinion on how to approach a group of monsters or where to take breaks was one thing, asking her which way they should go at an intersection when Fran wasn't even the person with the map was just plan stupid. It was reaching the point were his teammates were starting to get embarrassed.
Amanda and Art both found it funny, and Fran hardly seemed to notice it at all, but Archer… he didn't like it. He knew that things like this would happen, that Fran would become such an outstanding individual that everyone would either see her as an idol or fear her as a villain. He just didn't expect it to happen so soon.
He figured it would be another two or three years before a noble in his late twenties would be coming to her on hands and knees, looking to her for guidance in his life. She was too young for this kind of treatment. How long would it be before countries start looking to make her a noblewoman in order to form connections with her, or even try to make her their Queen? How long until they see her the same way that they see Amanda, as a general purpose tool for dealing with threats? There was little doubt in Archer's mind that it would happen eventually.
At the rate they were going, so long as they didn't start seeing large diminishing returns on their training, even if she never evolved and was stuck at level 45, Fran would reach the same STR as the Mother of Demon Children in just a year's time. A second year to match her AGL. After that, it will only be experience that separates them. Hell, if Archer was willing to purchase STR ↑ High for around 35 Self-evolution Points, he could boost Fran's STR by 100 and she would surpass Amanda's physical strength right away.
When they were having their lunch break at the end of the fourth floor, Cruz bombarded Fran with questions about how to better train himself. The response he got was Fran telling him that "Hunger: Enemy. A good warrior doesn't waste an opportunity to eat." She had just meant to tell him to shut up and eat, but the man took as dogma, perhaps thinking that eating was the true secret to the girls' powers… which in Art's case it kind of was. Ignoring the pain, Cruz ate far more than his stomach could handle, trying to imitate the girls, and had to be healed of his crippling stomach ache.
After the fifth floor started, Trap Spiders started to appear, and the number and complexity of the traps started to increase. Fran continued to ignore the monsters as she puzzled away on her traps, with Art shooting down the ones that tried to sneak up on the girl, if Fran didn't catch them first. Things were slowly getting more difficult, with the Trap Spiders being on the stronger end of F-rank Demonic Beasts and appearing in small groups, but the E-rankers still had things under control, with the help of Cruz and his party. That lasted all the way until the sixth and final floor of the dungeon.
Right as the girls were wondering if there weren't any evolved enemies after all, the first Trick Spiders showed up.
(You think we should tell them that those are Trick Spiders over there?) Art asked as the nine E-rankers suddenly found themselves being pushed back by just five of the giant spiders. Art had instantly spotted them, but only because she was expecting them. They didn't really look any different than your normal Trap Spiders, though their stats were a little less than three times higher and they had several stronger poisons to work with.
[I won't worry too much yet. For their group, this should only be a challenge, not a sure defeat. The Guild Master wanted them to experience this anyways.] Archer replied with a mental shrug. It wasn't like the Spiders were strong enough to instantly kill the men. Even if they were seriously injured, so long as their heads weren't the things damaged, they could be healed up with [Greater Heal], so there was no rush.
"Gennell, what's wrong!?" One of the Dragon's Roar members shouted as his friend backed away and fell to the ground, his injured leg spasming.
"I… The Anti-venom. It isn't working." The man replied as his face contorted with pain. The first speaker rushed over to give his friend, opening another Anti-venom, only for it to have no effect.
[It seems that they all only packed the lowest grade of anti-venom.] Archer commented as the man started to scream from the pain. [Fran, I know you're having fun, but you might want to help him before his insides turn to soap.]
"Nn?" Fran said, looking up from the magic trap she was bending over. While it resembled the other teleportation traps she had already deactivated, it had an added layer of complexity to it and Fran was finding it to be a welcome challenge. She had spent the entirety of the fight looking over the thing, trying to puzzle it out. But once called out of her work, she noticed the man twitching on the ground and she cast a [Antidote] spell on him before restoring his health with a [Medium Heal].
"I'm saved." The man said as he was cured of the poison.
"Be more careful. Trick Spiders have [Deadly Poison Fang]." Fran said disinterestedly, as she returned to puzzling out the magical trap.
"Trick Spiders!? They have evolved!?" The man screamed in panic, alerting everyone else. Things started to devolve as the rookies realized they were in a fight that could very well cost them their lives, with the C-rank party trying to regain control over the group.
"...Should we be helping?" Art asked as she and Amanda just watched them.
"It should be fine. Cruz's party is C-rank, so they should be able to handle as many as twenty Trick Spiders by themselves." Amanda replied.
[Oh look, there are twenty more Trick Spiders right now.] Archer said as a second and third group of the spiders started to come down side passages towards them, perhaps lured there by all of the noise.
Things still might have been under control if it won't for the people already beginning to panic. But as things were, Cruz folded. "Miss Fran, I think this is where your group takes over!"
"It's about time." Art grinned and cracked her knuckles before forming a finger gun and aiming at the nearest targets. "[Dark Arrow]. [Dark Arrow]. [Dark Arrow]. [Dark Arrow]." The Demoness shot blast after blast, each one blowing a fist sized hole in the target's head. Within thirty seconds, all of the giant spiders were dead, leaving the Adventurers to move away from the corpses in dumb shock.
"What the hell? There wasn't supposed to be anythin' like this here." Chad said as he looked over the monstrous spiders.
"You made assumptions about your enemy's strength and lowered your guards. Then when taken by surprise, you weren't able to regroup." Amanda said, her voice clear. "Most Adventurers don't get to survive those kinds of mistakes."
Some of the Adventurers looked dejected, almost like children as Art started to do her warm up stretches. "It's finally time for us to take over. You ready Fran?"
"Nn…" Fran said, though she was still working on the trap.
"Ah!" "Spiders! There are more Spiders!" Two of the Dragon Roar members shouted, pointing down an empty passageway.
Art did look but ended up scratching her head. "What are you idiots shouting about? Nothing's there."
"It seems they've been hit by the Trick Spider's [Confusion Poison]. They are starting to see things." Amanda said with a shrug. "We should make sure to harvest it. It sells well to pharmacies, as they use it to make a powerful painkiller."
"We've got to get out of here!" "Don't just stand there!" The pair shouted before turning and running.
"Stop you idiots! Don't run that way!" Chad shouted in panic, but it was too late. The pair had ran away from the empty hallway and straight towards where Fran was standing, hovering over the magical trap.
[Fran move!] Archer shouted. But the girl hadn't been paying attention to her party members and only blinked in surprise as the teleportation trap began to glow. [Fran, be ready for a fight as soon as we are teleported.] Archer said in a hurry.
The sword growled with annoyance, as escorting the two idiots back to the group was going to be a pain in the ass. But it didn't really matter. The teleporter sending him and Fran directly into the monsters' nest could even make things easier on them. He and Fran could deal with thousands of these Trick Spiders without a problem, and it would save them the hassle of hunting them all down.
Only, when the magic circle went off and the light faded, Archer found himself falling to the floor along with the two idiot's weapons and the back up weapons. Fran had been teleported, but Archer had been left behind.
(Nameless has been forcibly unequipped.)
"Fran! Fran!" Art screamed as she jumped onto the fading circle, smashing her hands against it, trying to make it activate. [Mom, I can't feel Fran! I can't feel her anywhere!]
With Fran's connection to Archer severed, it also severed her connection to Art. Neither one of them could feel the connection that had once gone between them and the catgirl.
"Forced cancellation of equipped weapons…? Even the spare weapons were left behind…" Cruz said in shock.
"Ridiculous! I've ne'er heard a' such a brutal trap existin' in this Dungeon!" Chad shouted.
"This has to be the work of a Trickster Spider. They have the [Trap Remodeling] skill." Amanda said, only slightly more collected than Art as she placed a hand on the demon girl's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find her soon."
[Art, we need to check the map. Maybe the destination is still the same.] Archer said, keeping his own voice calm as to not set the girl off.
(Right.) Art said as she grabbed onto Archer's handle.
(Registered Wielder: Art)
"The map, give it to me!" Art shouted at the C-rank Adventurer who had been keeping it. The man jumped in freight as Art's worries had caused her to activate her [Dread] skill, causing the girl to practically glow with malevolence in their eyes.
"Wh… what?"
Art bared her teeth as she reached out her hand waiting for the map. "Give me that goddamn map and then get your worthless asses back down to the five floor before you screw things up even more than you already have!"
The moment the man started to pull out the map, Art grabbed it from him and opened it up. (Mom, you know how to read it, right?)
[Take the passage on the left and go for three interactions before turning right.] Archer said, before he was even finished speaking the girl was rushing off as fast as she could, boosted along by Archer's support magic. None of the other Adventurers, save for Amanda, having the speed necessary to follow her. Even if they did, they wouldn't have been able to dodge the network of traps that were scattered across the ground the way Art did.
While before she lacked the [Skills] required to identify them quickly, she could know spot them with ease, thanks to Archer's shared skills. Still, all those shared skills weren't helping her sense Fran.
Spiders came pouring out all around them, hundreds of them filling the tunnel, but all they did was piss the Demoness off. "Get the hell out of my way!" Using her own [Chantless Magic] and Archer's massive mana pool, she fired off an overcharged [Winds of Chaos]. The chaotic spell rushed further blasting all of the Spiders into pieces and moving down the passageways, killing more and more of them.
(Title Unlocked: Spider Tyrant | Awarded to one who kills more than 300 spiders in a single attack.)
[Art, you need to calm down. What if Fran was somewhere in that attack?] Archer said, trying to advise the girl to use caution.
"She's going to be alright. Isn't she mom?"
[...She isn't one to go down easy. We will get to her in time.] Archer replied.
If Fran had even a basic sword in hand, Archer would say she could take down anything that dungeon had to throw at her. But with nothing but her bare hands and without Archer's stat bonus and mana pool, she was only a little stronger than those C-rankers who had been overwhelmed by just Trick Spiders. Could Fran beat a Trickster Spider, as well as whatever else was on the other side of that teleportation circle, under those kinds of conditions?
Archer wanted her to be fine, but he wasn't going to bet on it. They needed to reach her as fast as possible.
[The room should be on the other side of that wall right in front of you.]
"[Power Slash]!" Art gave a little roar as she swung Archer with all her enhanced strength, Archer boosting his own cutting power as much as he could without destroying himself.
The Dungeon walls were hard, but they weren't as stubborn as Archer himself. Cracks formed in his blade as the wall shattered from the assault, large chunks of it flying into the room on the other side, crushing the spiders within under them.
"Fran!? Fran, where are you!?" Art shouted as she stood in the room's newest entrance, turning her head back and forth, trying to stop the girl, but she wasn't there. "No… Fran." Art started to tear up as the spiders ran away in terror from the "Spider Tyrant".
[Keep it together. The destination must have been changed, that doesn't mean we won't reach her in time.] Archer said, trying to keep the girl going.
As Art was trying to recover, Amanda caught up and started to try to comfort her. "Don't worry, Fran is a strong girl, she will manage just fine until we reach her." The woman said as she patted Art's head. "Besides, she has Archer. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to her."
"She doesn't have Archer with her. Archer is right here." Art cried, holding Archer up.
"W...what?" Amanda said, looking at the sword with surprise.
[My soul is bound to this sword. When she was disconnected from it, she became disconnected from me as well.] Archer said, since Art had already spilled the beans.
"...We need to find her right now!" Amanda said, biting her lip.
Archer triggered his [Parallel Processing] skill, trying to figure out a solution. The dungeon was large. Even rushing around as fast as they could, it could be hours before they found where Fran was. It might even be a hidden room that they wouldn't be able to find without just running around demolishing the place. But he didn't have the mana or durability to just go smashing every wall they came across.
Perhaps detection skills were the answer. Maybe he could find her if he maxed out some of them.
{That plan's odds of success are estimated at 2.8%.}
[Rani?]
{This system has a suggestion for overcoming the current problem. With unit name "Nameless"'s help, estimated odds of success are 96.4%.}
[What do we need to do?]
{Head towards the Dungeon Core, this system will explain on the way.}
(Archer?) Fran said, trying to feel her connection with the sword, but it wasn't there. Loneliness started to set in. She didn't want to be without him. But as she got to her feet her [Vigor Control] amplifying her Perception Skills allowed her to see in the dark chamber around her.
There were spiders. Hundreds upon hundreds of spiders, both of the Trap and Trick variety, and in the center of it all was a behemoth of a spider, easily double the size of the already bull sized spiders around it.
A Trickster Spider.
Behind Fran, still on the ground were the two members of Dragon's Roar, still being affected by the Confusion Poison.
"~[Gust of Wind]." Fran cast the lower level wind spell, causing the men to be shunted into the corner of the room as Fran herself took up position between them and the army of monsters.
Her mana flow quickened as she strengthened her body and raised her fists. There was only one option, so she didn't feel any fear.
She was simply going to have to beat them all.
Fran doesn't trigger magic traps herself, so she is free to just walk right out on top of them. But if someone else triggers it and she is in the area, she is still effected.