Chapter 136 - Volume 7 (1/2)
Volume 7, Chapter 16: In the North, Part 5, Part 2
There are monsters in the dungeon.
Wild beasts may come to mind at first at the term, which tend to live in ordinary caves and ruins,
Monsters, though… what makes a true monster?
There are some theories around, but the lead theory is the influence of mana.
Mages can capture animals and turn them into monsters, and dead bodies filled with magic become undead.
Other than that, there are things that are possessed by lower demons or other spirits, and even things like unicorns and dragons, but generally, the term monster includes those too,
It is believed that dungeons contain so many monsters because the levels are magically created by the dungeon master, but in fact, with the amount of ambient mana, animals would not become monsters in a short period.
Dungeons have “Something” which draws in monsters. However, nobody knows exactly what.
“Dowaaaaaaaaa!”
A long boy is running through such a dungeon.
Daichi was running at full power, sweat, tears, and snot dripping from him as he ran down the passage while holding the sword bought for him by their blonde haired “guardian” in this different world.
“[Urgh]”
A few goblin zombies appeared in front of Daichi.
He had never seen a live goblin before now, but these were definitely zombies, from the smell of rotting skin and glowing eyes.
Apparently, this dungeon is a prime hang-out for undead monsters.
Since Daichi had heard from Yurushia that this dungeon was the cause of the zombie plague, he wasn’t surprised to find zombies here, but even so, scary things are scary.
No matter how much strangeness he’d experienced in the last few months since being a high schooler, it’s natural to fear moving corpses and deadly monsters.
A common story like a summoned hero defeating a monster, when Daichi thought of that, he would picture someone far from ordinary.
However…
“Hyaaa!”
*Zuba~*
“[Uoooo]]”
With his nose running, and tears falling, Daichi quickly strikes out at the goblin zombies.
The blade falls accurately, and his muscles don’t fail him.
The [Battle Skills] and “Terror” engraved into his body and soul over the past few months gave Daichi the power to fight, even if he believed he’d lose.
No… Rather than that, Daichi is demonstrating his resolve.
What happened to him, you asked?
“Kyaaaaaa!”
Daichi screamed like a maiden before a speeding shadow defeated the zombies in moments.
Standing in front of him now, Nea, holding an evil-feeling golden sword, turned to Daichi with a surprisingly lovely smile.
When they fell into this dungeon they were separated from the others, and Nea, now alone with him, all of a sudden acted like a shy little girl.
“[I’ll follow you, alright? If I catch up again, please prepare your neck, Daichi.]”
He wasn’t sure what she meant by that.
It sounded cute, but that doesn’t matter.
Even though it sounded like a joke, the words make Daichi feel instantly more serious, rather, what she said sounded Serious.
Even if her manner was like asking him to keep his second button closed, he can’t trust that tone.
After all, in past trainings, Nea would often slice at Daichi with practice swords without remorse.
It was only because of their “Guardian,” Yurushia that they hadn’t died until now, with her staying close by and healing all their injuries.
However, now there’s no safeguard.
Nobody is here to scold Nea when she goes for overkill, by taking her attention back.
Even then, every now and then, after being scolded, Nea would shout out the word “Repent” before beating up Daichi the next day.
Daichi acknowledges Nea as a master swordswoman but there is a problem.
He has to admit that there is a wide difference between Nea and Daichi’s combat capabilities.
However, although his teacher is so far beyond him, and mysterious besides, a boy’s heart yearns to prove his strength, simply because Nea’s appearance is that of a beautiful girl around his age.
Adolescent libido takes priority every time.
Back to the subject at hand.
Currently, in order for Daichi to survive, the only option is to survive and make it to Yurushia.
If Nea catches up to him before then, death is waiting. Although she said “Neck” in such a sweet tone, that can’t be interpreted as anything other than hell training.
In the depths of his heart, he hoped that this training would stop if he were about to die, but picturing Nea’s pleasant smile, his hopes died a swift death.
“Owaaaaaaa!”
Suddenly, a gigantic Orc Zombie appeared, Daichi screamed before he slid under its legs.
“[Bumo!?]”
The moment Daichi saw the Orc Zombie, with it’s fighting power, he calculated the time it would take to defeat it and the time for Nea to catch up with him, and, mustering up his instincts, took that action.
Somewhere along the line, he had forgotten his fear of monsters.
Even though more enemies awaited him, it was better than Nea, who was approaching behind him.
Beyond the battle training, the “Treatment” that Yurushia had performed without Daichi’s knowledge was starting to take effect.
It’s best for ordinary people not to know what exactly was done.
*[Nyaaa]*
Looking behind him at the strange slashing sound, the orc zombie had been reduced to rotten chunks in a single blow by Nea
“Aha~”
“Kyaaaaaaaaa!”
Seeing Nea’s pretty smile while surrounded by rotting gore, Daichi screamed and ran as fast as he could once more.
“What’s that!”
“It’s the intruder!”
The next obstacle to appear were a few men wearing knight-like plate.
Why would humans be in this kind of place? Were they originally humans? What did they mean by ‘Intruder’?