Vol 2 Chapter 6 (1/2)
LEVEL 2: Everything is Precious, Nothing is Replaceable
Chapter 6: Taking the Long Way Around
Huh, were mysterious creatures
After waking up refreshed froht’s sleep, it was like all the annoyance, doubt, and despair froht before never existed Ranta seeed from his usual self
Everyone already knew they planned to return to the Siren Mines today, and that decided, they were also acutely aware of the need to increase their earnings They entered theup any first-stratum lesser and worker kobolds they ran into, and proceeded to descend to the second stratum
They had gotten this far yesterday, so today’s goal was to reach the third stratum Haruhiro wasn’t convinced that everyone was co kobolds yet, but it was obvious they were predicting and following the enemy’s movements better than yesterday
Easy We got this, no probleht But opti
The sink well down to the next stratum appeared in the distance Next to it was…
“Is that a kobold?” Haruhiro wondered out loud
With what appeared to be an eneht, everyone waited while Haruhiro scouted ahead alone When he got up close, he couldn’t believe his eyes It was huge Was that an elder kobold? Normal kobolds were just under five feet, and he had heard that elder kobolds were about a half foot taller
Only five and a half feet tall? No more?
The especially large kobold had three underlings with it The underlings were equipped defensively: plate arer than any of the regular kobolds Haruhiro had seen before, but even so, the large kobold was one or two sizes larger than theh…
“Black and white…” Haruhiro whispered out loud
It had black fur with patches of white mixed in Patches… Haruhiro’s pulse quickened shi+t! It didn’t seem to have noticed him yet, but if it did… Not funny… This was some joke, but it wasn’t funny at all shi+t shi+t shi+t… Its sword What the hell?! Its sas probably around four feet long with an incredibly broad blade… it looked like aknife
That thing could probably split a person in tith a single swing The sword must be enormously heavy, but the kobold carried it like it was feather light It ht that thing?
That’s just insane, Haruhiro couldn’t help thinking We’ll die We’ll all die for sure
The strongest eneoblin and the hobgoblin, but this was on a totally different level It wasn’t even in the sa
Haruhiro returned to the others Even though he couldn’t see his own face, he knew it must be as white as a sheet
“It’s Deathpatch He’s here,” Haruhiro reported
shi+horu gasped and Mogzo exhaled sharply Perhaps Mary had already been expecting soave a slight nod
“Deathbatch…” Yume whispered
“Deathpatch,” Haruhiro corrected auto him a little He looked over at Ranta
“Let’s go! No choice but to take hi to be a badass with that grin on his face, but all he was acco was idiot
Well, Haruhiro expected this from him by now
“Okay Ranta,” Haruhiro replied “You go ahead We’ll wait here Good luck!”
“So that’s how you’re gonna be, huh?” said Ranta “fucking coward”
“Sure,” Haruhiro agreed pleasantly “So You going or not? What’ll it be? Hurry up and decide”
“Looks like there’s no other option—” Ranta brushed his thue of his chin “—but to put it off ’till later Lucky for Deathpatch, he gets to live a few days longer…”
“Yes yes, very lucky for him”
“Go tell hied to escape death at my hands,” Ranta commanded
“Go tell his to do with my time”
No one but Haruhiro made to involve themselves in Ranta’s antics Even Yuhout the exchange Perhaps that just went to show just how tired she was of hi Ranta while everyone else stayed out of it ht thoroughly disgusted him
There were five sink wells that connected the second and third strata, so it didn’t take long to find another There was no sign of any presence, kobold or otherwise, in the vicinity of the sink well, and nothing seemed to be at the bottom when they peered into it Their view froh
“I’ll go down first,” Haruhiro said “If it’s all clear, I’ll let you guys know and you can follow”
“What if you run into trouble?” Yu
“Um, I’ll yell, so come save me”
Yume smiled broadly “Got it”
Feeling his spirits lifted a little, Haruhiro returned the so”
The rope ladders hanging off the lip of the sink well looked worn and well used, but they still held Haruhiro’s weight when he began his descent Being a Thief, keeping his balance on the way doas simple and he reached the bottoh, the kobolds aiting for him
“Er… good afternoon,” he greeted rowled at him “No time for pleasantries, huh?”
Haruhiro ju at hie An elder?So this is an elder… It was equipped with chains accompanied it, armed in a similar manner
“Guys! Down! Enele word phrases
Haruhiro circled around the elder kobold and its underlings, trying to put distance between himself and them However, he couldn’t run too far from the sink well either… not until everyone else had coeneral area, but with three of theed to keep it running in circles, but with three it was proving nearly impossible
When he tried to run straight, in front of him was a kobold When he turned back around, kobold To his side, kobold Kobold, kobold, kobold It was a Goddamn kobold-palooza
Haruhiro dodged an inco as the kobold’s sword nicked his cheek He hardly felt the pain, but getting cut caused him to panic anyway He lost track of the ene at all Panicked and helpless, he simply ran the other henever a kobold appeared in his field of vision
Staying in the area below the sink as not going to happen He didn’t have the luxury; no way there would have been such luxury
He heard Ranta’s shout and wondered if he’d ever thought of Ranta as this dependable before now Nope Never Not even once Ranta scraed the elder kobold, even though it would have been better for him to help Haruhiro first
But Ranta never thought before acting He siht, his actions lacking the motivation of a need to protect his friends or help a teaht too deeply about anything, he did have a sort of ability to attack instantly and without hesitation Maybe it was soood and bad rolled into one
Haruhiro heard Mogzo’s battle cry and then Yu, “Haru!”