“——【Double Edge】——”
“GWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
The Combat Art I unleashed crushed the Ogre’s eyes, and as it instinctively dropped its weapon and covered its face, I leaped behind it, plunging the Black Dagger from its ear into its brain, delivering the final blow.
An Ogre’s skin is so tough it’s used for high-grade leather armor, making it difficult to wound with my throwing knives, but in a one-on-one fight, it’s not an opponent I can’t defeat.
Leader Dolton, judging that I could fight better than expected, started entrusting me with handling Monsters to some extent, instead of just using me as a scout.
Not only that, but because my fighting style was so out of the ordinary, the knights following behind me became hesitant in their movements. The knights readily acknowledged the strength of “warriors” like Dolton and Feld, but they seemed to view someone like me as an anomaly.
At first, I was only defeating Orcs and Hobgoblins, but after a few days, I gradually began to be assigned enemies closer to Rank 4, like Ogres.
This was because we needed to increase the speed of our Dungeon clearing.
“This side’s finished.”
“Roger.”
“Alright, let’s get back to work.”
As Feld and Dolton, who had defeated two Trolls, returned, Viro and I stepped forward.
Trolls are Rank 4 Monsters of the common variety, but due to their “regeneration ability,” which doesn’t show up in appraisals of their combat strength, the Adventurer’s Guild’s difficulty rating for defeating them was equivalent to the lower end of Rank 5.
With small weapons like the ones Viro and I use, it’s impossible to defeat such enemies through normal means, so we rely on the larger weapons of the two front-liners.
Until now, we hadn’t been collecting Monster materials, only taking Magic Stones from Ogre-class Monsters and above, but now we were even leaving Troll corpses behind.
Naturally, the Ogres I defeated were also left behind, and Viro would grumble quietly, just loud enough for me to hear, while glancing at the Ogres he had defeated.
“Ah, what a waste.”
“Didn’t we get an extra reward for that?”
The reason for increasing the speed of our progress, even at the cost of leaving Rank 4 materials behind, was the group of people we were escorting behind us.
“Let’s call it a day here!!”
After advancing for a while, Dolton called out in a seemingly safe place, and a sigh of relief could be heard from the rear.
We had placed low-level Monster repellent incense as a token gesture, but it wasn’t enough to put them at ease, and the faces of the knights and escorts preparing for camp showed undisguised signs of fatigue.
The Dungeon clearing, which had started from the seventieth floor, had reached the eightieth floor after a week. According to Mira, exploring the deeper parts of a Dungeon could easily take more than two days to clear a single floor, so this clearing speed was astonishing.
But that was also the result of using old documents left behind by generations of royalty to proceed straight ahead without making any detours.
Unable to see the sun for days, with no sense of accomplishment or fulfillment, they were mentally weakening by repeating the same thing in a closed environment, constantly exposed to danger, and losing their sense of time.
Even the knights, who sometimes went to the battlefield, were like that. It wouldn’t be surprising if the royalty, who had lived in the palace, reached their limit at any moment.
“…………”
As we crossed the area to prepare for camp, I met Elena’s slightly tired eyes, and she smiled with a hint of wryness.
Elena’s spirit is strong. If she’s prepared to sacrifice herself for the sake of the country, I think she can overcome this situation. But Amor, who was sitting near her, sipping water handed to him by a servant with dark eyes, was in the most precarious state among the royalty.
He couldn’t complain because he had insisted on participating, and judging from his attitude, he himself didn’t know whether the reason for his participation was to protect the young royalty or to gain Divine Protection and change his situation.
He stopped interfering after seeing me fight, but he started averting his eyes and muttering something whenever he saw me.
Compared to him, the other royal family members were still better off. Still, whether something had changed in her mind, Dandole’s daughter Clara stayed close to the Crown Prince, leaning on him, and the fear in her eyes when she looked at me turned into hostility. The Crown Prince was able to maintain his sanity by taking care of Clara, even though he was confused by her behavior.
Among them, Carla, who had been diving into the Dungeon alone many times, hadn’t changed at all. She was still as “terrible” as ever. Despite having the lowest HP in this group, she seemed to be having the most fun.
In terms of being used to it, we were the same. Dolton and Mira, who had been Adventurers for a hundred years, were completely unchanged, and Viro had the余裕 to complain about the lack of alcohol.
Feld was uncomfortable in the cramped environment because of his large size, and although I didn’t have much Dungeon experience, I wasn’t living a life where I would be bothered by the environment anymore.
Getting back to the point, Dolton had decided to increase the speed of our progress for the sake of those who couldn’t adapt to the Dungeon environment, after consulting with Elena and Sera.
“…Feld.”
“Here it comes again.”
When I called Feld’s name, he understood immediately and stood up, holding his Greatsword.
Viro had already started moving, and seeing that, Dolton and Mira also got up from the floor, and Dolton, holding his war hammer, slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
“Is it ‘meat’ tonight?”
As screams of dismay leaked from the knights who had let their guard down at our movement, the sound of “hooves” running from the direction we were heading drowned them out.
“It’s Minotaurs!!”
As one of the knights shouted, four Minotaurs burst out of the passage.
Minotaurs are Monsters with the bodies of huge humans and the heads and hooves of cows. Their rank is the same as Ogres, at the upper end of Rank 3, but their charging power in an excited state is said to be able to kill even Ogres of the same rank in one blow, making them formidable enemies with a difficulty rank of 4.
“Take them down in one hit!!”
Dolton encouraged us, seeing the knights who hadn’t even gotten into battle formation yet.
The Minotaurs were already in a dangerous state of excitement. Dolton and Feld jumped out with their weapons in front of the Minotaurs charging at horse-like speed, thrusting out their jet-black horns, and Mira began to chant Spirit magic.
“Left end, Aria!”
“Roger.”
Viro and I, whose attacks have low power, aimed for the same enemy.
“Spirits of the Earth! Use your undying power to bind the enemy!!”
Mira’s Spirit magic activated, and the stone floor of the Dungeon swelled up like clay, turning into a giant stake that skewered one of the Minotaurs charging straight at us.
At the same time, Dolton’s war hammer smashed the Minotaur’s head like cheese, creating a deafening roar, and Feld swung his Greatsword horizontally, slicing the Minotaur’s head in half vertically.
I, who had charged straight ahead, kicked the face of the charging Minotaur as if jumping over it, pulled the thread wrapped around its horns with all my weight and momentum to raise its chin, and Viro unleashed his Combat Art there.
“——【Critical Edge】——”
The Level 4 【Combat Art】 that aims for a vital spot and increases the power of a single blow several times over, pierced from under the Minotaur’s chin to its brain.
This is a technique that becomes just a single blow if it deviates from the vital spot, but it becomes a deadly Combat Art that can unleash several times the power if it can be aimed accurately.
“BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
At that moment, a roar echoed, and another Minotaur burst out belatedly.
The knights had only just gotten to their feet, and few of them were ready to fight immediately. We had each defeated a Minotaur, but that was why we weren’t in a position to respond yet.
Ahead of the Minotaur running straight, sounding its hooves, were Elena and the other royals. Sera noticed it and stepped forward to protect them. If she were one-on-one, she should be able to defeat it, but like Viro and I, Sera, who can’t defeat it in one blow, would try to stop it by sacrificing herself.
“Aria! Go all out!!”
Feld shouted at me. He nodded at me, our eyes meeting for a moment. My comrades know my “skill.” So, going all out means that, huh?
Without a moment’s hesitation, I put the Black Knife in my mouth, leaned forward as if digging my claws into the ground, and discarded the impurities from the Mana Particles I was using for Body Enhancement.
As the purity of Mana Particles increased, the rapidly flowing Mana coursed through my entire body, instantly maximizing the precision of Body Enhancement beyond its limit.
“Hah!”
With a thud!, I kicked off the stone floor, leaving even the scenery in my vision behind as I chased after the Minotaur rushing ahead. Just before it could attack the royals, I chopped its head off from directly behind.
The Minotaur’s headless body tumbled to the ground, and its severed head landed in front of Clara, causing her to scream. Having exhausted most of my Mana and HP in an instant, I collapsed, stumbling and rolling onto the floor, finally falling on top of the Minotaur’s torso. Using the technique I had used to defeat the Orc General, I idly wondered if Dolton was planning to eat this, my body too weak to move.
“Aria!”
Elena, who was nearby, rushed over with a scream-like voice. “Aria, you’re being reckless again… Can you move?”
At the same time, Sera rushed over and said that. When I replied, “I’m okay…” a large hand scooped me up like a child, cradling me in its arms.
“Well done, Aria!”
“Feld…”
He must have followed me… I gave Elena, who was worried, a slight smile to show I was fine, and finally exhaled, squinting at the scenery. So, this is how wide the world looks from Feld’s perspective…
“The appearance of the Minotaur confirms that we have reached the deepest area. Only five floors remain! Give it your all!”
Dolton, who had confirmed the safety of the passage, said to everyone. From the eighty-first floor onwards, it would be the Minotaur area. The enemies would be stronger, but the knights raised their spirits as if they didn’t even care about Dolton’s rough tone, now that they could finally see the end.
After resting my body for about half a day, I treated myself while Sera also helped me recover, and I returned to the front lines in about a day, much faster than before. From there, we advanced, clearing one floor per day, and when we arrived at the final, deepest eighty-fifth floor, there were no walls dividing the room, only a massive iron door with intricate reliefs, about 3 meters wide and 5 meters high. Even for a Dungeon said to read the thoughts of the dead, creating a door of this scale suggests the existence of some kind of “will.” I don’t know if it’s the Dungeon’s Spirit, but as we delved deeper, I had begun to feel something like a “gaze.”
“Let’s go!”
Viro and I carefully checked for traps, and Dolton pushed the door as if calling out to everyone. The heavy iron door slowly began to open, and beyond the fully opened door, three gigantic “humanoids” stood waiting for us.
The two, azure and vermillion, flanking the sides were probably higher-ranking species of Minotaurs. And the particularly huge, 3-meter-tall black Minotaur standing in the center was—
“Be careful… It’s a Rank 6 Minotaur Murderer.”
【Black Ox】【Minotaur Murderer】【Monster Species Rank 6】
【Mana Capacity: 250/250】【HP: 800/800】
【Overall Combat Strength: 3240 (Body Enhancement in progress: 3960)】
BumoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
How will they fight the Rank 6 Minotaur that appeared in the deepest part they have reached?
Next update is scheduled for Wednesday.
Only a few more chapters until the end of Part 1.