Chapter 272

I caught Manager moving out of the shadows on the other side. But my relief was premature. I hadn’t thought that this snake woman would be capable of much. Surely that long body wouldn’t be capable of slithering too fast. And yet, the Lamia shot towards me in a flash.

“W-woah!?”

I somehow managed to dodge the spear thrust, but also lost my balance in the process. There wasn’t much foot room to begin with, and I ended up stepping on part of the tail. This only threw me off balance even further. The result? A-Ranker Asagi Kamiyashiro, also known as ‘Silvergreen,’ fell.

“Damn it…”

Daniela muttered. Her ears looked red. I tried to recover from it by stabbing my sword into the snake tail. It was unsurprisingly tough, but the tip of the sword still sunk into the flesh. Blood sprayed as a pained shriek echoed throughout the tunnel. Now it was my turn to be showered in blood.

The snake’s tail flailed around violently. But I would not let go. I continued to stab and stab with my sword. When the torrents of blood started to weaken, so did the Lamia’s strength. By the time I started to feel like I would burst into tears after being slammed against the floor and walls so many times, the Lamia collapsed on the ground.

“Ouch…”

“I don’t know how you ever received an alias.”

“I’ve never been in a dungeon before… So I’m dungeon G-Ranker.”

I retorted as Manager looked at me with exasperation. Still, that wouldn’t do anything for the situation. It was pointless. I wiped the sticky blood off of my face and flicked my wrist towards the ground. After that, I made spheres of water to wash my face and hair. Once I had done this about three times, I turned to face the others.

“Alright, I messed up. I’m sorry.”

“It is your first time, and I was not able to give you much advice on how to approach things. Well, I did not expect that thing to give much trouble either, so it is also my fault.”

“I’ve been in dungeons multiple times, so I can teach you some things. But really, seeing you in such an embarrassing state was an interesting surprise.”

“Oh, but you still killed it in the end! That is very impressive!”

Daniela apologized. Manager was annoyed. Lemon took pity. I didn’t think I was special or anything. I wasn’t the best. But I did see myself as being better than your average Adventurer…so it was embarrassing… Perhaps more so, because they expected more from me. Yes, I hadn’t been so embarrassed since that time those forest wolves chased me into the gates Fhiraldo.

After that, we found a small room and Manager and Daniela gave me some advice on how to fight. It was for Lemon’s benefit as well.

“…In other words, you move too dynamically when you fight. That is no good when in a dungeon.”

“However, there are many kinds of dungeons. Some are tall towers while others are a single rooms that are incredibly vast. Though it is true that most dungeons are made of narrow passages.”

Indeed….I usually fought by using Legs of the God Wolf, which allowed me to move freely.

But they were saying all my experience fighting like that was getting in the way. That was ironic. That meant I might have done better down here had I not had such a good grasp on the skill.

“Besides, the monsters down here are different from the ones on the surface.”

“How so?”

“The ones on the surface are mostly animals that have been affected my mana. Like forest wolves and blood apes.”

“What about goblins?”

“They are monsters that originally lived in dungeons. As you know, they multiply quickly. They left the dungeons and spread out. It is a similar story with orcs.”

Huh, interesting.

“Unlike animals, the dungeon monsters are more primitive. Their appearance and abilities cannot be explained. So, their attacks are not always as direct or simple. Sometimes they use weapons skillfully or employ strategies. Of course, they are still not at the same level as us, but you can never be too careful.”

So these monsters were completely different from the animals on the surface. Yes. When facing the Lamia, I had considered that the tunnel was a straight line and assumed that it would move slowly through it. But that was just too convenient. I hadn’t had much trouble using my old style with the Minotaur, but we weren’t near the forest anymore. I needed a better strategy and to move in a way that fitted the narrow spaces.

“Well, the thing to do is to fight and gain experience. Besides, you can always just use magic, if nothing else is working out for you.”

“Yes, as a last resort.”

This would be important if I wanted to go dungeon crawling again in the future. Training against monsters. I would gain new experience to supplement Jack of all Trades, Master of None.

And so we set out once again. It was the same formation as before. While there were windows along the way that let in a little light, it was still quite dark. The walls sometimes shifted from stone to wood, perhaps because of the town being swallowed up and the dungeon reconstructing itself. Sometimes, there’d be a hole in the middle of a passage that led to a different passage. Or there’d be doors that obviously belonged to someone’s house at one point. Whether or not they led to a house or not seemed to be random.

“I’ve never been in a dungeon that was so strange and easy to get lost in.”

Manager said. Daniela nodded.

“Yes, this one is different. Well, this is my first time being in one during a labyrinth disaster, but it is more than I had imagined.”

Hearing that from a veteran like Daniela suggested just how startling it all was. Yes, someone as cautious as her would not usually want to come here…I would never have come if I was alone. It was only because I had someone I could rely on.

“Hmm… Monsters coming from behind.”

Daniela was the first to catch the movements through Presence Detection. Moments later, the monsters entered my detection range as well. Just as I turned around, Manager disappeared from the front and reappeared in front of Lemon. I was so jealous of her cheat skill.

Eventually, they showed themselves on the other side of the passage. They seemed to be about as tall as us. Emerald green skin. While they were muscular, they weren’t quite as bulky as orcs.

“They look like goblins…”

“Hobgoblins. They are an advanced type of goblin.”

“I see…I’ve never seen them before.”

I had only ever seen the small goblins. But here, in this closed in dungeon, the weak were killed and the strong survived. It was different in the outside world. Well, only a little.

“I suppose I will go first.”

Daniela unleashed her first arrow. It went straight between the eyes of the first hobgoblin. Then the six blades that Manager held in her hands tore the following hobgoblin apart. A third hobgoblin sprang out from behind it, but Lemon thrust out her spear, stopping it in its tracks. At the same time, I flew in the air, barely touching the ceiling and then slammed the black emperor sword into the last goblin’s head. Yes, things went well this time. I hung upside down from the ceiling and gave them a thumbs up.

“See, you can do it. That was completely different.”

“I’m capable of learning too, Daniela.”

“Haha. Now get down here and help us collect the ears.”

“Right.”

We had to get the proof of the hunt. Hobgoblins were like normal goblins, you took the left ear. However, the ears looked slightly different and it was possible to tell them apart. As for Minotaurs, it was the horns. And for Lamias it was the scales. We had forgotten to take anything from the Minotaur, but we did get the scales from the Lamia.

I used the Ashikirimaru to cut off the ears. I couldn’t remember if I’d ever cut any legs with it yet…