Chapter 335.1. Conquering The Hidden Dungeon

Mii-chan and her group entered the inner palace. The members included Yamiya, Tamamo, Sena, Hoku-chan, and the others, Nimue, and Ranko-san.
“It seems Mi-sama’s magic doesn’t reach this far.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem to work here.”
Yamiyo walked on the damp floor, looking at the palace’s construction. The palace was once an elegant and sophisticated building. Even a single pillar had intricate designs, suggesting significant investments in both money and time. 
After all, it had remained beautiful without deteriorating for hundreds of years, a testament to magical preservation.
If it weren’t for the eerie, rotten-looking vines that covered everything, this place could have been a tourist attraction. 
The castle was adorned with gold and silver, with brightly colored on the sliding doors, high ceilings, and grand architecture. However, all of it had been ruined by thick, arm-thick vines that seemed to cover everything.
Flower-shaped faces bloomed, emitting groans, and occasionally, pollen drifted in the air, attempting to induce poison and mental abnormalities.
In some places, tall grasses grew, and insects scuttled around.
Purple vines wriggled like earthworms, crawling slowly along the walls. The cursed dungeon, Taira no Masakado’s Castle, was truly living up to its name.
“Leave this to my powered-up self.”
Sena stepped forward, placed her hand on her chest, and began to pray with her eyes closed.
“May the holy protection shield everyone!”
[Holy Guard]
A pure white magic circle appeared, centered around Seina, creating a barrier. It was a holy sight befitting a Saint, illuminating the cursed space with pure white light.
“With this, the miasma in the palace won’t penetrate the barrier at all.”
“Se-chan, that’s amazing! Truly worthy of a Saint!”
“No, in this dense miasma, my support won’t be much.”
Impressed by the resolute Sena, Mii-chan applauded enthusiastically. That was exactly what a Saint should be like.
“It’s amazing that you can even reduce the damage from the miasma. After all, it was gradually draining our mana.”
“Indeed, that’s true. Although it was weak, our mana was being drained, and it stopped abruptly.”
Tamamo said happily, and Yamiyo nodded in agreement.
“The air has become refreshing.”
“Our bodies were tingling a bit. So we can continue like this.”
Waving their hands, Nan-chan and Hoku-chan felt magic and smiled. Everyone around nodded in agreement, even Nimue. It seems they had a tough time.
“Really, Em-chan… Was it really tough?”
“Even just standing was hard, Se-chan.”
Se-chan continued to watch with a skeptical half-eye, so I showed her my distress by doing somersaults and rolling around.
Mii-chan’s mana was decreasing as well, slowly but surely. It wasn’t indicated in the stat screen, so I thought it might be some hidden stat. Sei-chan was quite perceptive sometimes.
“Enemy alert!”
Yamiyo’s sharp voice interrupted my thoughts of taking out a free accommodation voucher for a leisurely hot spring tour in Kamakura. 
I turned immediately, wielding my Poyopoyo hammer, ready for battle. This wasn’t the time to talk about mana or anything else; it was now or never.
In the direction of Yamiyo’s gaze, in a dim corridor entangled with sinister vines on the walls and floor, figures appeared. Or rather, they didn’t seem like human figures.
“What’s that? Plants are growing out of people! They’re oozing out!”
“Is this the fate of the cursed people? How pitiful.”
Tamamo transformed into a fox girl by merging with Kon-chan and, with a displeased expression, faced the incoming enemies. Sena prepared herself with a compassionate expression.
“Uwwaaaah!”
From the walls, black, humanoid figures, as if covered in tar, emerged one after another. Their dirty footprints left a mess on the floor as they walked silently, lacking eyes, noses, or mouths. But only emitting groaning sounds.
Countless vines protruded from their bodies, wriggling like sea anemones, creating a disturbing and eerie atmosphere that seemed straight out of a nightmare.
“Be careful! They seem pretty strong!”
Mi-chan shifted into serious mode and warned her friends.
Cawing sounds of crows were heard from somewhere, revealing the identity of the enemy.
-Misshapen: Level 85, Resistance: All Element-
These enemies were quite strong and had all resistances, making it difficult to damage them. In the game, they were just common enemies for leveling up, but when faced seriously, they could be troublesome monsters.
The Misshapens, with a melting-like body, slowly extended their hand toward us.
“They’re coming!”
“Understood!”
Yamiyo raised her voice, and everyone got serious.
When the Misshapen’s hand slightly moved, then a faint whooshing sound was heard as its arm extended, sharpening to a spear-like tip, coming to us.
Even though it should have been about 10 meters away, the distance closed instantly.
“Haaaah!”
Yamiyo shouted and unleashed her beloved sword, Yaten. Her strike was just as fast as the enemy’s attack.
However, her blow was met with a resounding clang as it got deflected.