"Thank you for the reminder."
Saeko Busujima expressed her thanks for Hayasaka Ai's friendly advice. She understood this well; this weapon was a double-edged sword. Resurrecting powerful corpses could benefit her and her companions, but resurrecting weak corpses would only bring negative effects and no benefit. But it should be fine to use the Dungeon for a test, shouldn't it? I can just kill the resurrected corpse again.
Soon after entering the first floor of the Dungeon, they encountered the first Goblin in the passage. Seryu, excited at the sight of the monster, was about to rush up and dispatch it but was pulled back by Megumi Katou beside her. This girl, who looks so smart and cute, why does she turn into an idiot who only knows close-quarters combat whenever she sees a monster? And Hayasaka Ai had just said that the newcomer, Saeko Busujima, should go first. What was she trying to do rushing in?
"Saeko, this is a Goblin. It's the simplest and lowest-level monster. With your strength, you should be able to handle it easily."
Hayasaka Ai had seen Saeko Busujima's Status panel and heard her talk about the Corpse (zombie) crisis in her world, where she had killed many Corpses that were once classmates and teachers. Therefore, she spoke with certainty; this Goblin would be simple for her, not an issue.
"Leave it to me!"
Saeko Busujima drew the Imperial Arm Eight Fangs from its sheath, adopting a combat stance against the enemy. She was not the type to wait for the enemy to slowly come to her. Seeing that the Goblin was slowly approaching due to their overwhelming numbers, she quickly ran toward it. While her speed seemed slightly slow to Hayasaka Ai and the others, Saeko Busujima was originally a relatively powerful swordswoman, making her combat ability far superior to both Hayasaka Ai and Megumi Katou.
In a few seconds, Saeko Busujima quickly closed the distance to the Goblin. She could clearly see the Goblin's ugly face—its yellowish eyes bulging, covered in pimples. However, this did not slow her movements in the slightest. Her exquisite face remained extremely calm, showing no signs of disgust. Not wanting to look at the ugly, repulsive face any longer, Saeko Busujima casually swung her sword.
Puff!
The green-skinned Goblin was instantly decapitated, leaving a Magic Stone behind.
"Saeko is so strong! When Megumi and I first came to the Dungeon, we suffered quite a bit at the hands of Goblins, and the most dangerous time was when about ten Goblins surrounded us!"
Hayasaka Ai ran up to her, praising her for the clean and decisive elimination of the Goblin. This was the honest truth, completely unexaggerated.
"This is just my..."
Saeko Busujima's polite words were cut short as three more Goblins successively dropped from cracks in the wall.
"They're yours!" "Understood!"
The brief exchange between Hayasaka Ai and Saeko Busujima was concise and effective.
The previous Goblin hadn't even counted as an appetizer. Now, three Goblins at once were still relatively weak compared to the Corpses that Saeko Busujima had real combat experience with. After all, Saeko Busujima possessed the inherited Busujima-style Sword Art, although she lacked the breathing techniques that Kanae possessed, which drastically increased physical strength and attack power. Otherwise, Saeko Busujima's strength would be boosted even more.
The three Goblins gathered together after landing on the ground. Seeing only one human nearby, they rushed forward without overthinking it. Although the Dungeon endowed these monsters with low-level thinking ability, it also commanded them to eliminate humans on sight. Therefore, monsters sometimes attacked humans even when they were extremely afraid, though this was rare. This did not include the Xenos. Based on the original timeline, Xenos had been appearing in the Dungeon for quite some time, but they had not yet been exposed.
Without further ado, Goblins were short, but their speed was not slow, at least enough to keep up with an ordinary adult. Otherwise, how could Goblins on the surface raid villages, killing all the men and capturing the women? Thus, Goblins are only strong relative to untrained ordinary people. Anyone with even a little training, who can suppress their fear and disgust, can kill a Goblin.
...
In ten seconds, the three Goblins who had dropped from the wall crack arrived near Saeko Busujima. As someone who had seen blood and experienced brutal combat, she faced the situation with cold indifference, watching the Goblins rush toward her. As the successor of the Busujima-style Sword Art, her understanding of swordsmanship and practical combat far exceeded that of most kendo or swordsmanship practitioners. Therefore, Saeko Busujima was also quite accomplished in Iaido (sword drawing).
This time, she did not rush forward as before but stood her ground, her hand resting on the hilt and sheath of her sword. Her deep blue eyes intensely watched the rapidly approaching Goblins.
Swish!
The sword left the sheath. The Goblin running in the lead was instantly decapitated. Then, Saeko Busujima twisted her wrist for a top-down attack, instantly eliminating the Goblin on the right. The last remaining one immediately followed. Saeko Busujima quickly spun around, facing the final Goblin, and with a skillful flick of momentum, swung from bottom to top, turning it into a Magic Stone on the spot.
Saeko Busujima's series of attacks immediately caught Kanae's attention, and her eyes sparkled with admiration. Kanae knew that this new, tall, cool beauty was an inherited swordsman of a famous family, but she had initially suspected her to be one of those infamous individuals who had the title of a samurai but lacked the corresponding skill and technique. At this moment, Kanae realized that Saeko Busujima, standing there radiating brilliance, would grow even faster than Hayasaka Ai and Megumi Katou.
While Hayasaka Ai's physical Status could increase rapidly with the Falna, her skill in attacking with a Katana was worlds apart from Saeko Busujima's. After all, Hayasaka Ai had only studied kendo with Lady Kaguya for a short time, while Saeko Busujima had lived in her family's dojo since childhood, practicing the family sword art until now. Coupled with the Skill Busujima-style Swordplay being solidified, her understanding of the sword art had increased significantly, and her overall strength was boosted as a result.