Chapter 179 New Dungeon Exploration (Part 6️⃣)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Hiroya’s POV)
Kazumi and Rena woke me up, and somehow I managed to open my eyes. Even though we switched watch duty, I feel like I slept pretty well.
I put on my leather armor and hurried over to where everyone was preparing breakfast.
* * *
”Hey everyone, can you gather around and take a look at this?”
Liz spread out a piece of paper in front of everyone.
”A map? Did Martina draw this?”
”Yep!”
Martina puffed out her chest at Kazumi’s question.
”Anyway, I draw the areas we’ve explored so far.”
”There are still some branches we haven’t checked out yet.”
”That’s true, but for now, we’re prioritizing finding the route to the lower floors──.”
Martina pointed to the bottom right of the map in response to my thoughts.
”I think this area here leads to the ‘lower floors’.”
”Hmm. This first floor doesn’t seem as big as I thought. ──Well, compared to other dungeons, it is big.”
”Really? How does it compare to the Welnia Labyrinth?”
Liz asked Asuka.
”About a quarter of its size, I’d say. But──.”
Liz nodded as she thought about it.
”Yeah. If we assume it connects to the Raetia Mountains, it’s likely to have ‘a considerable number of floors’.”
”I thought so. The Welnia Labyrinth hasn’t been fully explored beyond the 16th floor, but… this place seems to have at least 20 floors.”
Thinking about a dungeon with at least 20 floors makes my body feel all fired up.
”W-w-wait, the deeper we go down, the stronger the monsters get, right?”
”Of course! So we have to get stronger quickly, okay?”
Rena pats Sister Karina’s shoulder encouragingly.
”Next, we have to attack this floor just the two of us, and do it over and over again!”
Lotta clenches her fist, and Noriss nods strongly while watching her.
”Once we get back, we need to discuss splitting into the shallow and deep floor groups.”
”I prefer the deep floor. I can’t wait to see what kind of ores are underground in the Raetia Mountains.”
”I’d be so happy if we find Hihi’irokane. Meluda wants to try forging a katana like ‘Yamikirimaru’!”
The 3 sisters, Aluda and the others, get excited.
”Everyone’s so positive.”
I whisper to Liz.
”Yeah. They’re really reliable.”
Liz looks around at everyone and smiles widely.
* * *
Leaving the hall where we camped for the night, we hurried ahead. We want to reach the third floor and finish this exploration by tomorrow.
In the unexplored areas of the first floor, instead of the giant ants, kobolds (dog-headed humanoid monsters) started appearing, but there were only about 3 to 5 of them, so they didn’t really pose much of a problem as we moved forward.
In the halls along the way, there were about 5 humanoid monsters like goblins and orcs. All of them were taken care of by Gièze and the rookie group.
The loot was mostly ores. I thought it might increase the burden on our porter, Suu, but,
”Since our food is running low, it’s not a problem at all!”
she packed everything into her backpack and carried it. Seriously, the role of the porter is crucial in this dungeon exploration.
* * *
”Probably, there’s a route to the second floor in the hall ahead.”
Martina, who is leading, turns back to report to Liz.
”I guess we can use ‘Detection’… Noriss, can you scout for us?”
Liz called out to Noriss, who was leading the way with Martina. He nodded and quietly walked towards the hall a few meters ahead.
* * *
”Five goblins. One of them was large, so it’s probably a high goblin.”
Noriss reported back to Liz.
”A high goblin, huh? They might use some simple magic.”
Liz crossed her arms and closed her eyes. She was probably debating whether to let the rookies handle it.
”I’m going. Leave it to me!”
Gièze declared confidently, and his sister Karina nodded beside him.
”Uh, um… I can use ‘Anti-Magic’!”
”I’ll definitely take down the first goblin with an attack magic!”
Sister Karina and Lotta were full of enthusiasm.
”If Karina can hold back the magic, I’ll take down the high goblin myself.”
Liz nodded at Gièze’s words.
”Alright, I trust you. But don’t push yourselves too hard. We’ll always be here to back you up.”
Gièze, Sister Karina, Lotta, and Noriss nodded strongly and headed towards the hall.
”If things get dicey, Asuka and I will jump in. We won’t bother Master.”
Gorge, who probably looked worried, called out to me.
”That said, Gièze’s sword skills are looking pretty good. Master’s teachings must be working.”
Gorge waved lightly and headed towards the entrance of the hall with Asuka.
* * *
(Gieze’s POV)
”Lotta, you can use fire ‘Enchant’, right?”
Since we were going up against a high goblin this time, I asked Lotta to cast fire ‘Enchant’ for more attack power.
”I’m going to have Ms. Karina cast wind ‘Enchant’ on me.”
Noriss focuses on attack speed. Yeah, that’s good.
”Leave the Goblins to us… Gièze, focus on the High Goblin…”
”I’ll use attack magic. Ms. Karina, keep an eye on the High Goblin’s movements, and if it looks like it’s about to use magic, use ‘Anti-Magic.’.”
”I’ll take the back as usual and make sure to finish it off.”
”Got it. ──Let’s go!”
At my signal, everyone jumped into the hall.
”Ice Arrow!”
Lotta’s ice arrow hit a nearby Goblin and sent it flying.
I charged at a High Goblin, about the size of a big adult man.
The High Goblin turned around and raised one hand.
”Anti-Magic!”
The moment that hand shone, thanks to Karina’s magic, the glow quickly faded.
”Alright!”
The High Goblin, trying to use magic, left an opening. I dove in and drew my curved sword.
The flames wrapped around it, slicing through the High Goblin’s torso in a flash.
──Whoosh!
As I passed by, the smell of burning flesh hit my nose.
──Gyaaaah!
Noriss beheaded a Goblin behind me.
──Thud!
The High Goblin, split in half, fell to the ground. I sheathed my sword immediately and moved on to the next target.
”Ice Arrow!”
Lotta activated her magic again, taking down a Goblin behind me.
Another Goblin swung a club at me, but I ducked low and slashed upward, cutting it in half.
* * *
”Instant kill, huh… you guys have floored up, haven’t you?”
”Fire ‘Enchant.’ That’s right. If we get stuck with the High Goblin, it’ll be tough.”
Probably, they were waiting near the entrance for support, but Mr. Gorge and Ms. Asuka entered the hall and started picking up the magic stones of the monsters that had vanished into black mist.
(If it were the old me, I wouldn’t have been able to take down a High Goblin in one hit…)
I couldn’t help but stare at my hands.
I’ve been training in swordsmanship since I was a kid. I thought I kept up my training even after joining the knight order. But…
(‘Obu Muso Style’… so this is how powerful practical swordsmanship can be.)
’Sword speed’ and ‘accuracy.’ I need to… sharpen my skills even more.
When I looked up, Mr. Hiroya was smiling at me.
My body moved on its own, rushing towards him, and before I knew it, I was hugging the boy.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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