SSS-Ranked Trash Hero: I Was Scammed Into Being Summoned-Chapter 20: Floor 3 — Water Rising

The stairs to Floor 3 descended into chest-deep water.

Hiroshi stopped at the bottom step, the cold water pressing against his ribs. He could barely move his legs through the resistance. Fighting in this would be almost impossible.

"This is worse than the last floor," Kenji said, wading in behind him. His hand rested on his sword hilt, but drawing it would be awkward at this depth.

Marcus entered last, his mace already submerged. "My swings will have no force behind them. The water kills all momentum."

"Magic still works," Aria said. Ice crystals formed around her staff, unaffected by the depth. "I can function normally."

"Good. Because the rest of us are useless." Kenji scanned the darkness ahead. "Hiroshi, what do you see?"

Hiroshi activated his detection skill, pushing it forward through the flooded chamber. Enemy signatures appeared in his mind like distant lights. Five cold spots clustered together in the main passage. The pattern was unmistakable.

"Five Wraiths," he said. "Grouped together about fifty meters ahead. They’re blocking the direct route."

Marcus went very still. "Five."

"Yes."

"I have twelve Holy Smites left total. For this floor, Floor 4, and the boss."

If Marcus used five charges here, they’d have nothing left for the remaining floors. If they tried to fight through physical means alone, the incorporeal Wraiths would kill them.

"We turn back," Kenji said immediately. "Find another route."

Kenji turned and started back toward the stairs. "Hiroshi, scan the side passages. Find us a path with no Wraiths."

They backtracked to the previous junction. Hiroshi sent his detection forward down each corridor in turn. Left passage: three Risen, two Skeletons, no Wraiths. Right passage: six Skeletons, one Risen, no Wraiths.

"Left is clearer," he said.

"Then we go left."

They moved through the chest-deep water in single file. Hiroshi’s Undead Stride helped, but even that was restricted by the depth. His legs moved mechanically, but the water still dragged at every step.

The first Risen lunged from the darkness, its waterlogged body surprisingly fast. Kenji’s sword cut into its shoulder, but the water robbed the strike of power. The blade barely penetrated.

Hiroshi grabbed the Risen’s arm and activated Cold Grip. Ice spread from his palm across the corpse’s limb, freezing the joint solid. The creature’s swing stopped mid-motion.

Marcus crushed its skull with his mace, using gravity more than momentum.

"That worked," Aria said, watching ice flake off the destroyed corpse. "The cold locks their joints even underwater."

They fought their way through three more Risen and a cluster of Skeletons. Each fight was slow and exhausting, but manageable. No Holy Smites required.

Hiroshi felt the familiar warmth of a level increase.

[Level 8 Achieved]

He ignored the notification for now. They needed to reach safety first.

At the next junction, Hiroshi detected two more Wraiths ahead on the main path. They detoured around them, adding another hundred meters to their route through smaller corridors. More Risen. More Skeletons. All physical enemies that could be handled without holy magic.

"This is taking forever," Marcus muttered, crushing another Skeleton.

"But we’re not dying," Kenji said. "And we’re not burning resources we can’t replace."

They navigated by elimination. Every time Hiroshi detected Wraiths, they chose a different path. The floor became a maze of avoidance rather than conquest. Progress was slow but steady.

Then the ambush hit.

Three Wraiths materialized simultaneously from different directions. One ahead, two from side passages. The formation was deliberate, coordinated. These things were thinking.

"Fuck!" Marcus raised his mace. Golden light gathered around it. "Holy Smite!"

The first Wraith dissolved. Marcus turned toward the second, but his face was pale. Casting in quick succession was draining him faster than normal.

"Holy Smite!"

The second Wraith collapsed into nothing.

The third Wraith glided toward Hiroshi. He had seconds before it reached him.

He thrust his hand forward and activated Cold Grip without making contact. Ice crystals formed in the water between them, creating a field of cold that extended from his palm. The Wraith hit the field and slowed, its translucent form flickering.

"Marcus!" Kenji shouted.

"I need time!" Marcus leaned heavily on his mace, breathing hard.

The Wraith assessed them with eyeless perception. It looked at Marcus, empty and drained. Then at Hiroshi, hand still extended with cold radiating from his palm. Finally at Aria, staff glowing with frost magic.

The Wraith retreated. It simply turned and glided back into the darkness, moving away from them.

"It ran," Aria said quietly. "What Just happened?"

"I don’t know." Kenji said.

They moved quickly after that, putting distance between themselves and the retreated Wraith. Hiroshi’s detection swept constantly, giving them advance warning of every enemy. They avoided two more Wraith encounters before finally reaching the safe room.

The door opened onto dry stone floor. Hiroshi had almost forgotten what it felt like to stand on solid ground without water pressing against his body.

Marcus collapsed against the wall the moment they were inside. His face was gray. His hands shook.

"Status," Kenji said, shutting the door behind them.

"I’m dead tried" Marcus said. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Kenji was quiet for a long moment. "Then we don’t fight Wraiths anymore. We avoid every single one. If we’re forced into combat, we test whether Hiroshi’s Cold Grip can do more than slow them."

"And if it can’t?" Marcus asked.

"Then we die."

"We killed dozens of enemies today," Aria said, staring at the floor. "Avoided maybe a dozen Wraiths. Zero casualties. By dungeon standards, that’s a successful floor."

"Except we have no holy magic left," Marcus said.

"We need to talk about Floor 4," Aria said, breaking the silence. She was wringing water from her robes. " Holy Smite won’t be enough to clear it."

"I know," Marcus said.

"And if we use it on Floor 4, we have nothing for the boss."

"I know that too."

Kenji leaned forward. "So we test Hiroshi’s Cold Grip. If it can slow a Wraith, maybe it can do more with practice."

Hiroshi looked at his hand. The cold still lingered in his palm from when he’d projected the field. "It only delayed it."

"But it interacted with it," Aria said. "That’s more than physical attacks can do. Maybe with refinement, or more power behind it..."

"Or maybe it’s useless and we’re just hoping," Marcus said.

"Hope is what we have left," Kenji said. "And we test the Cold Grip theory on the first Wraith we can’t avoid. See if it does anything beyond slowing."

"What if it doesn’t work?" Hiroshi asked.

"Then we find out how long we can survive without holy magic," Kenji said. "But we survive. Just surviving long enough to reach the boss and kill it."

"The Wraith retreated," he said. "That means they can be intimidated. Or at least convinced to leave."

"Good observation," Kenji said. "If they can evaluate threats, we can bluff. Make them think we’re more dangerous than we are."

"With what?" Marcus asked. "I’m empty. You’re a swordsman in chest-deep water. We have nothing to bluff with."

"We have Aria’s magic. And Hiroshi’s new skill. And the fact that we’re still alive when we shouldn’t be." Kenji’s voice was steady.

They settled into uneasy rest. Hiroshi lay on the cold stone, feeling the accumulated chill from three floors of water exposure. His body wanted to shiver, but Undead Stride suppressed the reflex. The skill was active even now, keeping his breathing steady and his heartbeat measured.

He wondered how much of him was still fully alive.

The Wraiths had shown intelligence. Coordination. Tactical retreat. Floor 4 would push that further.

"Tomorrow we move fast," Kenji repeated, his voice cutting through the darkness. "No delays. We save everything for what matters."

Hiroshi closed his eyes. The dungeon had taken everything it could from them except their lives. Now they’d see how far that would carry them.