My Reincarnation Skills Are “Playing With Dolls” and “Playing With Clay”, but What Am I Supposed to Do With These? C89

Chapter 89: Elaine and the Handsome Squad

Finally, in a place where we could see the edge of the first layer, a party that had challenged the master of the layer returned from within the barrier, their members badly injured.

Although it was still too far to see clearly, upon closer examination:

<Male, 34 years old, Knight, Level 20>

<Male, 30 years old, Warrior, Level 14>

<Female, 21 years old, Warrior, Level 12>

<Female, 20 years old, Adventurer, Level 11>

<Male, 19 years old, Scout, Level 9>

<Male, 22 years old, Priest, Level 11>

It was a mixed-gender party of six.

They were quite high-level. Could it be that even with their levels, they couldn't defeat the layer's master?

The leader, a knight named Demos, the female warrior at Level 12, and the priest were all badly injured and lying down. Since the healer was incapacitated, they couldn't heal the others. The priest had probably pushed through their injuries, chanted "dispelling magic," and returned from within the barrier, but they must have exhausted their strength.

"Hey, are you guys okay?"

The party members who were waiting their turn rushed over.

The mazes in this world are the remnants of enormous magical beasts called "Maze Worms." These worms shed their skin once a year, gradually digging deeper underground and expanding the labyrinth. Their shed skin acts as a magical barrier, allowing only one party to enter at a time. So, parties wait in order of arrival.

As we watched, we considered this while hurrying over.

Around the fallen male and female adventurers, six men in priestly attire knelt down, chanting healing spells. Although the previous group had said, "It's your own responsibility," sometimes, there was a need to provide healing. In times of trouble, it was a mutual arrangement.

Trying to identify the men healing them, their levels ranged from 10 to 15, and they all had the job "Monk."

"Lina, what's the Monk job like?"

"It's basically similar to a Paladin. It's a high-level job for priests with strong combat abilities. Unlike Paladins, who are reserved for nobles of knightly rank, anyone can become a Monk, even commoners."

I see. The distinction between the job as a knight and the social rank of a knight can be confusing, but I understand the essence of it. It might be unfair that the job available changes based on social status, but if you rephrase it as "occupation," it might not be that surprising.

Among those surrounding them, Iriane was also there.

"Iriane-san, what was the situation like?"

"Oh, Shirou, you guys caught up too. The second Demos party challenged the layer's master, but it seems they were quite troublesome."

The healers were talking to the recovered knight.

Normally, rival parties wouldn't share information about the layer's master they had fought against, but they had broken that unwritten rule by receiving treatment.

It seemed that the knight and warriors' physical attacks had no effect at all. This party had levels equivalent to Iriane's group, but it appeared they lacked members capable of magic attacks.

The healers who were treating them seemed to be in the same situation.

"Bosco, what are you going to do?"

Iriane asked the highest-level male monk among them.

"Hmm, it seems to have physical damage immunity or extremely high defense. It's likely that we won't be effective, but this might be part of our training, a test from the gods."

"I still don't quite get it. So, are we going?"

"Yes, we'll do our best and return. The rest is up to you."

"Alright, do your best!"

As the second Demos party made their way to the exit, another party arrived in a hurry. It seemed to be the group that had dropped to "11th place" because of us. I see, the retired party left the labyrinth, making way for a new one.

"Are you going to challenge the layer's master now?"

The leader, Pezos, a Level 12 adventurer, asked as he approached.

"Yeah, the first group retreated, so now it's the second group..."

I answered, and he seemed relieved.

"After all, there weren't any monsters left from the entrance to here, so it wouldn't make sense not to challenge further ahead."

I see, we cleaned up the remaining monsters...

At that moment, six monks lined up in two rows, chanted a dispelling spell, and entered the barrier.

Huh? I wondered who was organizing the parties. When I checked their skills, I found that one of them had the party formation skill. So, there was a monk who had experience as an adventurer among them. Adventurer → Monk → Monk is the progression, or perhaps they leveled their adventurer job to 22, saved up 10 skill points, and directly changed their job. Either way, it seemed like a long process.

According to Iriane, this third group was a party of temple guards known among adventurers in the royal capital. As part of their training, they undertook challenging quests as adventurers, and they also helped injured adventurers. Since they were all monks, it was likely that physical combat was their only option, even though they had no attack magic. They would push themselves as far as they could in hand-to-hand combat and return, as it was part of their training.

There were various kinds of people here. Since it's part of their training, they probably don't worry about everyone having the same job.

After waiting for about five minutes, the six returned, gasping for breath and bearing numerous injuries.

"It was a Demon Armored Crab. Physically immune."

I relayed this information to Iriane.

"Thank you. You guys are really amazing."

I agreed. Fighting against an opponent that was impervious to physical attacks, taking attacks continuously without being able to retaliate – I couldn't do that.

The monks cast "Greater Healing" on each other, and when they were done, they sat in a meditative posture in front of the barrier and began "meditating."

"We are giving up our challenge rights to the layer's master, so we will move to the back of the line. Are you folks the last ones?"

The leader, Bosco, a Level 15 monk, asked Pezos and the others who were now at the back.

They were tough.

"Well then, it's our turn. Benz, Gaspar, Arkosh, Ferlep, Aradar, okay?"

"For the Lady!"

Wow, the handsome guys struck a pose and chanted in unison. Is this like a Super Sentai thing?

<Benz, 27 years old, Warrior, Level 18>

<Gaspar, 26 years old, Monk, Level 16>

<Arkosh, 22 years old, Adventurer, Level 17>

<Ferlep, 21 years old, Scout, Level 16>

<Aradar, 17 years old, Warrior, Level 16>

Looking at them again, each of the five had their own unique charm, from a wild appearance to a more intellectual one and a cute style. It felt like a variety pack.

I can't be jealous, right?

A priest with an intellectual appearance named Gaspard chanted an exorcism, and Eliane, protected by handsome men, disappeared beyond the barrier.

However, when facing someone with "physical immunity," the only attacks that work are Eliane's magic. The men might serve as shields, but whether they can defeat the opponent depends on Eliane. I hope they don't get injured.

Despite my worries, the barrier, watched by seven parties, began to vibrate violently in just about three minutes.

I see, so this is what it looks like when the barrier is broken from the outside.

As I watched, the party that was next in line after Eliane's rushed in as soon as the barrier dissipated, surrounded by a faint white light. They weren't particularly high-level.

But isn't that dangerous?

As soon as the barrier completely dissipated, the ground in front of us began to collapse violently.

Yes, that's how it goes.

Perhaps the fifth party had no experience with layer breakthroughs. Even though they should prioritize avoiding earthquakes and collapses, they rushed ahead too quickly. They seem to be engulfed by the collapsing ground, and their figures are no longer visible.

In exchange, Eliane and her group were about to rush back from the collapsing ground.

"Who are you? What just happened?"

Eliane seems anxious.

"Oh, Shiro! Weren't you with them... right, you've completed the labyrinth conquest, you know?"

Maybe she was worried about us.

"The party that was next in line after you guys jumped in the moment the barrier was lifted..."

"Gersaliu, that idiot. I told him it's still too early for the labyrinth..."

The collapse finally stopped.

According to my map skill, I can faintly see four white lights beneath the collapsed debris.

"Let's try to rescue as many as we can."

"Agreed."

In addition to the handsome adventurers from Eliane's group and scouts, there are those we identified with our skills. Each team works together to search. When the location is found, those who can use earth and wind magic, like Eliane and Lina, dig them out, and Bosco and the others provide medical care.

The four we managed to rescue have recovered enough to walk on their own.

The remaining two, we were able to locate them with Camilla's sense of smell, but they were already deceased. In this world, as far as I know, we cannot revive the dead.

As everyone was downcast about the first casualties of the day, a strong presence of monsters emanated from the cave visible beyond the collapse.

Camilla growls, "Orcs' scent!"

It seems that the second layer is an orc's nest.

Honestly, everyone is quite exhausted from rescue operations and treatment. However, with seven active parties and many capable individuals, we should be fine.

"Shall we cooperate and fight here?"

"Agreed. How about we seal them after exterminating them all today?"

"No objections!"

Voices rise from each party.

"Sorry, but we'll have to step back. We wish you all good luck."

A man named Gersaliu, who led the fifth party, apologizes with regret. They suffered casualties and received treatment, but some of their members are still injured. They carry two bodies and head for the exit.

Before we can witness that, a high-level party deploys in front of the cave, so we take positions in the shadow of the furthest cave.

"Camilla, make sure to use concealment in a position where you won't be hit by stray shots from other parties, okay?"

While we can identify each other's positions within the party formation, there is still a risk of being hit by arrows or magic from other parties.

The wolf girl nods, and as soon as she does, a horde of orcs approaches.

We only have two bows, entrusted to Norde and Lina in priest mode. I use my Ceramic Large Shield as cover and focus on creating Ceramic Spears in mid-air, targeting orc leaders. Our role is mainly defense, as we leave the offensive power to the other parties. Plus, I want to let Lina, the priest, gain experience points.

I create Ceramic Spears and drop them on the orc leaders' heads, tactically.

The orcs charging at us are drawn away from the allies' line of fire and are directed towards Camilla to attack her.

The battle continues for about ten minutes, I think. Probably facing around 70-80 orcs. We only defeated about ten of them, but I think we fulfilled our role of diverting 1/7 of them.

After repelling the first wave, the orcs in the cave's depths still have a strong presence, but they seem to be cautious and observing. 

"What should we do?"

Leisure, the level 24 knight who appears to be the highest level among us, asks Eliane and Bosco.

"My MP is running low."

"We think we've had enough for today. Excessive battles may not be a good thing."

It seems the other parties have no objections either. Pezos' group, the eleventh party to join, had some achievements as well, and it seems they have injured members, so they didn't disagree.

"Is anyone capable of sealing?"

When Leisure asks, Eliane looks at us and replies.

"We can do it if we try, but if someone else could, we'd appreciate it."

"I'll do it."

One of Pezos' party members, who still seems to have some MP left, says so and sets up the barrier. Thus, the labyrinth battle for that day came to an end.

People with the priest job turn the scattered orc remains into magic stones. It seems like an unwritten rule to use the number of enemies you defeated as a guideline.

And then, the party that defeated the layer's master obtains the boss's remaining treasure chest and magic stones. That seems to be a rule among adventurers.

The scouts from Eliane's handsome corps find the treasure chest and disarm the traps. From it, they retrieve some gold sand and what appears to be a shield. Perhaps it's a shield because the enemy had high defense?

After exiting the labyrinth, the first thing we do is report our departure at the assembly point. If the number of people who entered and left doesn't match, it means there are missing persons. Then we sell the magic stones at the neighboring shop.

Most of the magic stones we obtained today were small, but with about 30 of them from Oni Rabbits, Magic Boars, and Orcs, we earned a total of 90 silver coins, equivalent to 4.5 gold coins. It's quite a profit.

Eliane and her group are also receiving a reward for defeating the layer's master, in addition to the sand gold. They seem to be in high spirits, saying, "Tonight we're going to have a drinking party." Apparently, they can really enjoy themselves...

On the first day, while the layer was conquered, there were casualties in front of our eyes. However, that's why adventurers quickly come to terms with it. They savor the present because tomorrow could be their turn.

When I ask where they're staying, they say they've rented a residence in a city just 2-3 km from the outskirts of the capital. They fly there using return magic.

"The inns are full, and this village is a bit too rural."

Certainly, both the Hands

omes and Eliane seem stylish, and they probably feel more comfortable in a slightly larger city.

"Well, see you tomorrow."

With those words, they chant a spell and disappear in an instant.