Chapter 348 – Feeling something is wrong while going down the stairs

Stairs again… I don’t think it’s some sort of escape route.
The king could have escaped through here on his own, but opened this after hearing my name.
Will I understand what this is all about if we keep going? At least the stairs are leading down.

As I wonder why this castle has to have so many stairs, I turn around and see the door is disappearing.

And just before the door disappears completely, my eyes meet Kalin’s as she swings her sword.
She smiles and winks, and the door is gone.

Be careful, Kalin.
And try not to wreck the castle too much.

“Let us keep going, Master Rust.”

Says Ahri, seeing me look a little anxious.
She’s a few steps down and pulls on my hand that she’s still holding.

’

I guess King Kalzart, Princess Lily, and Roa have already started going down.

“Yes, sorry.”

“Good grief…”

She says quietly as she lets go of my hand and starts trotting down the dim staircase.

I see the spear she’s holding with her other hand glitter for just a second.

’

Oh? Is it just my imagination? It looked to me like that was purifying light, not that deep crimson light.

I blink, and her spear is back to normal.

Did I really just see it wrong? Or is it related to things like the status window or skills too?

Ahri keeps going down the stairs in the meantime, and I hurry to go after her.

“Ahri, does that spear feel different than usual?”

I ask after I finally catch up with her.

’

“Eh? That is a very sudden question, Master Rust.”

“Well, you said you could use a skill, so… I was wondering if the spear itself that you used when you used that skill has changed somehow.”

“Again with the skill…”

“Ah, forget that, sorry.
But what about the spear?”

“The spear?”

Ahri looks at the spear in her hand, as we go down the stairs together.

’

“…Now that you mention it, after I pushed Princess Lily and fell, I felt something was off when the impact made me let go of the spear and I picked it up again.”

“Eh!? Then…”

But then we reach the bottom, and I miss my chance to ask any further questions.

King Kalzart and the others turn around and wait for us near a dead end, and I see something hovering behind them that I recognize.

Yes, a black cube… A box.
The same thing that has the points that make Seilook grow, and it’s the biggest one I’ve seen so far.