Wizard World Irregular

Lady Johanna nodded her head in appreciation after Nicole’s skillful display of fighting ability.

‘A candidate for the Heir Wars should have at least this level of competence,’ Lady Johanna thought. ‘But then again, this is just the beginning of the trial. I’ll only be able to see her true powers after we go deeper into the lower floors.’

After defeating the boss, a wooden chest appeared at the center of the arena.

“Me! Me! Me!” Samantha raised her hand excitedly as she ran towards the treasure chest. “I’m a very lucky person. I’m sure we will be able to get something good if I’m the one to open it!”

Ethan and Nicole glanced at each other before shrugging at the same time.

“Sure, go ahead,” Nicole said.

“I want to see this luck of yours,” Ethan commented.

Samantha smiled sweetly as she opened the chest.

Inside of it were three items.

A black bracelet, a silver necklace, and a Monster Core that was half the size of an adult’s head.

Before Ethan could even ask if there was anything special about the bracelet and the necklace, Nicole took a Black Crystal Ball from her storage ring and said the word.

“Aestimatio!”

A small beam of light flew towards the black bracelet, and several rows of text appeared on the crystal ball.

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< Bracelet of Goblin Warding >

— This bracelet will start to shine blue if there are Goblins within five hundred meters of you.

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Nicole nodded before setting her sights on the silver necklace in Samantha’s hand, and cast the Appraisal Skill, Aestimatio, on it.

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< Blinking Necklace >

— Once a day, the wearer of this Necklace can teleport a hundred meters away from their current location with just a thought.

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“Not bad,” Nicole commented. “You got us some useful items.”

“See?” Samantha puffed up her chest as if proving that she was indeed a lucky person.

Ethan also found the two artifacts quite interesting. In the heat of battle, the Blinking Necklace could be used to unleash a killing blow at the enemy’s blind spot. The only downside was that it could only be used once a day.

Even so, its effect was already quite good because the wearer could activate it with just a thought.

As for the Bracelet of Goblin Warding, it would be very helpful when actively looking for Goblins in the wild or actively avoiding them.

It was a situational artifact, but if used in the right situations, it would be a very invaluable tool for any Wizard, Witch, or Adventurer.

The Monster Core was, of course, the Core of the Goblin King. It was of a higher rarity and would fetch a good price in the market.

Nicole stored the Monster Core but gave Ethan the Black Bracelet.

She also gave the silver necklace to Samantha, making the latter very happy.

With the Silver Necklace, she now had a life-saving artifact that she could use if her life was in danger.

“Be careful. We will be facing Orcs next,” Nicole. “They are stronger than Hobgoblins, so always be on your guard.”

Ethan and Samantha nodded as they followed Nicole toward the other side of the Boss Room, where a magic circle had appeared.

This would take them to the Sixth Floor, which was the Second Stage of their adventure.

The Orcs were pig-like Demi-human Creatures that were two meters tall.

They wielded Iron Axes, Spiked Maces, and, although rare, Broadswords.

Not only were they stronger than Goblins, but they were stronger than Humans as well. If one weren’t careful in dealing with them, a single exchange could either break their arm or send their whole body flying.

The Orcs on the Sixth Floor usually traveled solo.

But there were also times when they saw two Orcs together.

If the Orc was alone, it was Nicole who dealt with it. If there were two of them, Ethan and Nicole would take one each.

Just like the Goblins earlier, Ethan had plenty of experience fighting against Orcs.

He knew how strong they were, but the thing was… Ethan was way stronger than them in terms of raw strength.

As someone who had absorbed the blood of a Deity, as well as his powers being amplified by two stacks of Magna Amplifico, Ethan was a very strong person.

Although he wasn’t as physically strong as Henry, who had Titan’s Blood and a Legacy purely catered for strength, he was still very strong in terms of Human standards.

As for Lily’s Brother, Conall, he was a Beastkin, so he wasn’t really a Human to begin with.

Nicole’s battle style was to dodge the Orc’s attacks before unleashing a deadly thrust into its vitals, ending the battle as fast as she could.

Ethan, on the other hand, fought the Orc head-on, clashing weapons with the latter before unleashing a faster and more powerful thrust with his trident to pierce its head or chest in order to kill it.

The two were so relaxed in fighting the Orcs that Samantha was also able to feel relieved.

She thought that since Orcs were stronger, her teammates would struggle more. Fortunately, her fears were unfounded, and they progressed rather well on the Sixth Floor without encountering any difficulties.

They occasionally saw a few Adventurer Teams here and there, but they minded their own business and didn’t try to steal a kill from any of them.

Their target was to simply reach the 20th Floor, so getting there as fast as possible was their priority.

After nearly eight hours, they finally arrived at the staircase that would lead them to the Seventh Floor.

The Sixth Floor was quite wide and, even with a map, it still took a while for them to reach their destination.

After arriving at the Seventh Floor, Nicole led their team to one of the “Safe Zones,” a place where Monsters did not visit.

This was also the place where Adventurers rested after coming to the Seventh Floor.

When they arrived at the safe zone, there were already three teams of people resting there.

Fortunately, it was big enough to accommodate at least six groups of people, so Ethan and his team went to one of the corners of the space to rest.

This time, Ethan didn’t bring out the beds because he thought that it would be a bad idea to do so.

He only did it earlier because he felt that he could get away with it. But now, things were different.

They were sharing a space with three groups of people, and it would be very unwise to act high profile in these situations.

Because of this, he only took out a sleeping bag, which made Lady Johanna sigh in relief.

She didn’t know what she would have done if Ethan had really taken out the two beds in this situation.

Of course, he didn’t sleep right away. Instead, he brought out a basket filled to the brim with sandwiches.

Nicole and Samantha helped themselves to Ethan’s food and ate happily.

The young man also offered Lady Johanna his food, which the latter gratefully accepted.

After everyone had their fill, they chatted for an hour before sleeping.

“The two of you sleep,” Ethan said through telepathy. “I will stand guard.”

“Are you sure?” Nicole asked. “We can take turns, you know?”

“It’s fine,” Ethan stated. “Just get some rest. Tomorrow will be another long day.”

Nicole held Ethan’s gaze for a few seconds before nodding her head. Since the young man decided to keep watch, it meant that he was taking their situation seriously.

Although this place was a “Safe Zone,” a place safe from Monsters, there were still Monsters hiding inside people’s hearts, which would rise to the surface the moment an opportunity showed up.

Ethan leaned against the wall of the dungeon with his Sea God’s Trident resting on his lap.

His eyes were closed, but his senses were very much awake. This earned him another nod of approval from Lady Johanna, who decided to do the same.

The other Adventurers would glance in Ethan’s direction from time to time, as well as at the two ladies who were sleeping in their sleeping bags.

Sensing that it wasn’t worth it to seek trouble, they decided to rest and prepare for another day of venturing deeper into the Dungeon.

Luca, who had gone ahead of Nicole, decided to backtrack and also arrived in the Safe Zone to rest.

Seeing that his stepsister was also there, he decided to set camp near Ethan and the others because there was safety in numbers.

Although they were both candidates, they weren’t exactly competing to kill each other.

The trial only stated that they should clear the 20th Floor, so there was no need to eliminate any of the candidates in the Heir Wars.

At least, that was the unwritten rule between him and the sleeping beauty, who was peacefully dozing off without a care in the world.