The First Dungeon 2
After I reached the underground part of this dungeon, I used [Detection] and [Search] to look around. I don’t know the structure of this basement, but the enemies were quite far. It seems the area is quite large.
There’s a decent number of enemies, but there aren’t any traps.
I tell Sara that she should use her [Detection] as much as possible to increase its level further, and afterward, we all fall in line and advance.
After we had gone further in, we manage to spot an enemy.
It’s a Venomous Bat. It looks like a small, normal bat, and it seems weak at first glance, but its fangs have enough venom to kill a human in one bite.
Indeed, this might not be an enemy I can leave to the girls. Since they don’t have [Abnormal State Immunity], I’ll slice it in two with my sword…
I put the corpse in the item box, and as we keep advancing I get a reaction from the [Search] skill.
When I place my hand on the wall that the skill has reacted to, I find out that there is a hidden door.
After I walk in, I can see a treasure chest sitting in the middle of the room.
There doesn’t seem to be any traps around it, so I casually open it.
– Sword of exorcism rank4
Durability 350/350
STR+32
Deals major damage to creatures of undead origins.
I didn’t even put it in the item box, and yet I can see all its information.
[Appraisial] leveled dramatically without me noticing.
Is this the benefit of the [Growth] skill?
“Sara, this is for you.”
“Eh, is that alright?”
“You’re the only one who uses a sword.”
“Thank you very much!”
I pass the sword to Sara and we all leave the room.
Along with Celica, who is equipped with the orc’s greatsword, Sara can also become a vanguard.
There’s a golem ahead.
Good, let’s make him our practice partner.
“Everyone listen.”
There’s only one golem ahead, so I tell the girls to defeat it on their own.
Because they’ve defeated a golem before, there doesn’t seem to be any anxiety.
I tell the girls a strategy they could use to defeat the golem.
Umm, I know I proposed this plan myself, but I’m still a little nervous.
“Wait, why are you going to the front!”
“Eei, annoying! Because you can’t restrict its movement, I can’t hit it!”
“Don’t quarrel you tw- Kya!”
“Celica-san are you okay!?”
As I had expected, this is a chaotic battle.
After the fighting had started, Celica and Sara became the vanguards. They were a well-balanced party with Mira and Charlotte in the back.
The strategy was supposed to go like this: while Celica and Sara confined the golem, Charlotte and Mira were going to break the golem’s core.
However, it was impossible for Sara to damage the golem with her physical strength, so as a result, the golem completely ignored Sara and focused entirely on Celica.
Celica can’t attack while she’s under attack, so because she was avoiding and parrying the attacks from the golem, she was left without a chance to attack. Since the golem hadn’t had its moves restricted, it easily deflected Charlotte’s magic.
The same happens for Mira. When she shoots an arrow at the golem, because its movements haven’t been stopped, it can easily avoid the arrow.
Because the golem managed to avoid the arrow and magic another two times, Charlotte decides to run to the front. Celica was distracted by this, and was blown away. That’s the current situation.
Celica, who was blown away, is safe and is being healed by Mira’s magic.
At this level, they should be able to easily defeat the golem in front of them.
The problem is…
“You’re in the way, move it!”
“You’re the one that’s in the way!”
These two are avoiding the golem’s attacks while shouting at each other.
To use magic you need to be able to focus, and since Charlotte and Sara are desperately avoiding the attacks, they aren’t able to concentrate properly.
Even if they sometimes manage to attack with their fists and sword, the golem takes very little damage. The little bit of damage it takes from Charlotte’s fists is instantly healed, and the damage taken is 0. The attacks from Sara’s sword don’t even leave a scratch.
“It’s over, huh?”
At this rate, they won’t be able to beat the golem.
It seems some special training is necessary after we leave the dungeon.
I step between the golem and the two girls and gouge out the core from its forehead.
“Don’t fight.”
“”This guy is in the wrong.””
Haa, these two…
Afterward, I left those two quarreling and head over to Celica and Mira.
“Are you okay, Celica?”
“Yes, I’m fine after Mira-chan’s healing. Thank you, Mira-chan.”
Mira seemed happy when Celica stroked her hair.
I confirmed that Celica wasn’t injured, and then I drag the two quarreling girls over and gather everyone in one place.
“From now on, I will defeat the enemies by myself.”
From the fight with the golem, I saw that the girls are still lacking in power. Even though they all had sad looks, everyone nodded.
It would be alright for everyone to fight if I was the vanguard, but their combat skills and experience won’t rise if they rely on me.
Everyone… especially Mira and Sara need to get stronger. Otherwise, their dream of world peace will stay as just a dream.
“After we leave the dungeon, you’ll all have a mock battle against me.”
After I said that, everyone’s face somehow turned to despair.
“No, that’s impossible!”
“If I receive Maika-san’s attack my body will be split in two.”
“Ugh, I decided to give my life to Maika-san. To be killed by Maika-san…”
“Even a lady like myself will get hurt in a fight with a monster like yo- Ouch!?”
So rude, watch your mouth.
I look back, and except for one falling person, everyone has an expression of relief.
Muu, am I really that scary?
I was gentle until now, so from now on let’s try to be even more gentle.
Anyway, let’s return to exploring this dungeon.
The enemies we’ve encountered so far were the Venomous Bat, Golems, and an Orc. We’ve only seen these 3 so far. Combat is easier than I though.
We found another set of stairs, but we still haven’t explored the whole underground area, so we resume our search.
As a result,
– Poison Grass rank3
You will be poisoned if you eat it.
10 bundles
– Bracelet of power rank4
STR+11
I obtained these items from treasure chests. I gave the bracelet to Celica, and I’ll use the Poison Grass for alchemy later.
Perhaps I can use this to make an Antidote Potion. The girls don’t have the [Abnormal State Immunity] skill, so the sooner the better. When we leave the dungeon, I’ll ask Maria about alchemy.
However, why hasn’t this dungeon been cleared yet?
Honestly, the level of the enemies is low, so if a party of moderate rank adventurers came here and they were careful of the traps, they could easily clear this dungeon.
While I’m thinking about such things, we descend the stairs and head further underground. Eventually, we arrive near a door.
The door opens and closes.
… I discovered something amazing.
The moment I saw it, I understood why this dungeon hasn’t been cleared yet.
Until now I had thought that the guild must have been crazy to rank this dungeon as a 6.
I understand why now though. Probably, adventurers of rank 6 barely managed to get to this place. The dungeon’s rank is determined by the rank of the weakest party that can return alive. When you say rank 6, that means a rank 6 adventurer made it to this place. Everyone returns after getting to this point. As a result, this dungeon still has yet to be cleared.
“Aren’t we going to enter?”
“No, it’s better if you wait here.”
This is bad. I can’t take the girls there.
I don’t have the confidence to protect everyone while I’m fighting that.
In a more serious way than usual, I’ll tell them not to go in without my permission.
“Sorry, you guys should all leave first.”
I wonder if I conveyed my seriousness. Either way, the always moody Charlotte silently nodded.
The girls leave, so I open the door and take a look at him.
It’s a black troll.
However, it’s not the kind you often see in games.
Its height is approximately 10 meters, and it’s 5 meters in width.
I’ve never seen such a huge troll in games before. (Ed: for those of you, like me, that use the Imperial System, 10 meters is about 33 feet. This thing is huge)
I understood its strength just by watching it, and I shiver with excitement.
“Fuu…”
I take a deep breath to calm my excitement.
The enemy seems to be quite dull. It still has yet to notice me.
If it’s like this, I’ll be able to finish this in one blow.
A sword in one hand.
I concentrate power to my feet.
And jump.
Aim at the neck.
The enemy is still unaware.
I swing my sword at its neck.
I feel its flesh on my sword.
It died.
I was convinced so.
“Ah?”
In the place that I had cut, a response was suddenly gone.
Soon, I found out what happened.
The sword broke.
That’s when the troll noticed me.
The troll turned its head and looked me in the eyes.
Its ugly face is distorted.
At that moment, I jump back to distance myself from it.
However, the troll’s attack did not end with just that.
The troll’s club is swung at the wall, shattering it.
There aren’t any more places to hide.
I have no choice other than to attack.
Before the shattered wall falls to the ground, I run at the troll with full speed.
The troll turned around.
I kick the ground and jump above the troll’s head —
“Ha!”
— I use the high-speed, to rotate and gain momentum to turn and dive at the troll’s head.
“Gwa!?”
The troll screams and falls to the ground.
“Yes, I won!”
I didn’t suffer much, but since having come to this world, this was, without a doubt, the hardest fight.
From now on we will fight such enemies. I only joined <<IDO>> because of its combat system. So, this was pretty fun.
I was careless.
Until now I had only been kicking my enemies, and because of that, something terrible has occurred.
“Eh?”
The troll’s club approaches me from the left side.
I receive it with my left arm and am sent flying into a wall.
Pain runs through my left arm.
My left arm is definitely broken.
However, at that moment [Automatic Recovery] activates. It heals my left arm completely. To heal an injury like that instantly… this skill is certainly a cheat as well.
However, the pain hasn’t gone away.
While enduring severe pain in my left arm, I manage to grasp what happened.
The troll swung its club while it was face down.
At this rate, the troll is going to be getting up at any moment.
“—!”
I run.
I kick the trolls face before it gets up.
I go behind the troll and kick it in the back of its head.
It rolls and crashes into a wall at the back of the room —
“This is troublesome.”
— It stood up like nothing happened.
My kicks aren’t having any effect.
Perhaps blunt attacks don’t work against that troll?
Probably even the slash from the sword hadn’t affected it at all… is it resistant to physical attacks?
Even if I happen to cut it with my sword, before I can deal with a fatal wound, the sword will break.
Ever since I entered this room, the entrance has disappeared.
There’s no exit.
“This is really bad.”
There’s only one skill that I can use to defeat the troll.
It’s a skill that needs to use all of my STR and MP. It’s a sword skill that affects all enemies within my line of sight and ignores their resistances and defenses.
I am confident in this skill since it ignores defenses.
However, there’s a problem.
I have to maintain a pose for 10 seconds without moving.
Moreover, if I move, the skill fails and the MP will still be used. Because the HP of monsters in “IDO” is high while their defense is low, this skill isn’t ever used.
However, this game has no concept of HP. If I can ignore the resistances, I should be able to kill it.
Hopefully, it will still die if I cut it into pieces.
Since the wound of its neck hasn’t healed, I know that the troll doesn’t have [Automatic Recovery].
The problem is how I’ll endure for 10 seconds.
I try to use [Coercion] to the max, but it doesn’t seem to have worked.
There’s only one way I can do this.
“Endure it.”
I slap my cheeks and take a posture.
10, 9, the troll takes a swing.
8, the club breaks my left arm again. I grit my teeth and ignore the pain.
7, my left arm is healed.
6, the troll kicks me from the front.
5, my right arm, which is holding the sword, is broken. Some ribs also break in the process.
4, 3, my wounds are healed. The troll swings its club again.
2, the club arrives. It’s aimed at my head this time. My head might be a slightly bad place to hit. My consciousness flies.
1, consciousness is back. I probably died at that moment. My head hurts like crazy. It would be bad if I really died, so let’s say I just got dizzy. However … it’s finished.
0 —
“Mukage Issen.”
— It flashes. However, that flash is actually a countless number of shadows, which destroys the enemy regardless of its defense.
Lines are inscribed into the troll’s body. On its arm, foot, chest, head… there’s a line inscribed everywhere on the troll’s body, and… without a sound, without knowing what had happened, the troll’s body separates into pieces and collapses.
After I saw this sight, I fell on my back.
I almost died. I mean, I certainly died once.
My whole body is painful. My consciousness is dim. My MP is empty, and my strength doesn’t return. I can’t move anymore.
Why was it here? To fight something like that in my first dungeon, is this because of that [Hero] skill as well?
It was fun though. To be able to fight such a powerful enemy, I should be thanking the [Hero] skill.
While I’m thinking about such things, the boss room is slowly filled with light.
When I open my eyes, a sky comes into view.
In the end, I wasn’t able to get any seasonings, huh.
Are, that being said, I heard a dungeon has a core, did I take it?
“Maika-san!?”
“What happened!?”
“You’re covered in blood!?”
“Nuoo, what the hell is this big monster!?”
When I told everyone I was okay “Where are you okay!” I got scolded. I don’t understand.
I have no wounds on my body, but because of the pain and fatigue, I can’t move. Celica and Sara lend me their shoulders, and I touch the troll’s corpse to put it in the item box.
That was my limit. My awareness is gradually fading.
Once we’re finally in the carriage, I tell everyone my orders, and we head to the next town. My consciousness fades into darkness along the way.