"Haa!"
『Gyooh!!』
Fatima swung the silver sword in her hand, and another goblin collapsed to the dungeon floor.
『Gigigiii!!』
The remaining goblins charged at her all at once, but she evaded their attacks as if she had foreseen every move, efficiently cutting them down one after another.
It was hard to believe she had picked up a sword for the first time today. The movements were that polished.
This must be the effect of the [Sword Saint] skill.
Even hearing "extraordinary talent" made perfect sense now.
""Death""
『Gi!?』
The last goblin fell to my Instant Death Magic.
"Phew… That's the last of them."
Fatima sheathed her sword and exhaled.
To avoid the forest, we had taken a wide detour and entered the eastern dungeon.
For leveling, the dungeon was far more efficient than wandering the woods.
According to the shopkeeper, strangely, no one had encountered that monster since it attacked Fatima's village. No reports had come in either.
It had vanished as suddenly as it appeared.
No one knew where it went, but the fact that such a dangerous monster could not be tracked was far more alarming. Currently, Cretia's soldiers and the Adventurers' Guild were jointly searching for it.
"Still, Ark-sama, you really can take down monsters in one hit."
Fatima was no longer in her everyday clothes from town. She now wore thick garments layered with silver gauntlets and a breastplate.
I had worried the equipment might be too heavy at level 1, but the shopkeeper said her level would rise quickly, so it was fine.
"There are conditions—some enemies resist it, and other factors apply—but if it succeeds, it's one hit for now."
On the way here, I had explained my skill to Fatima without holding anything back.
That the skill itself levels up.
That I gain points to acquire new abilities.
Since we were partying together, I felt she should know.
Fatima had not seemed particularly surprised, only saying, "What an unusual ability!"
(Maybe I was overthinking it when I thought I shouldn't tell anyone.)
"Oh—by the way, partway through, my body suddenly felt lighter and full of energy. What was that?"
"That was probably a level-up. The same thing happens to me when my skill level rises."
"So if we keep this up, I'll get stronger!"
Today's goal was purely Fatima's leveling.
Monsters only grant experience to the one who defeats them, so I would stick strictly to a support role.
Even so, I never imagined Fatima would possess such outstanding abilities.
At this rate, upper-layer monsters would soon be no match for her.
Should we aim for the mid-layers next?
"Still, there are so many monsters in this dungeon!"
Fatima brushed dust off her clothes as she spoke.
I had noticed the same thing.
(This is strange. There are clearly too many monsters.)
Right after entering, we had encountered twenty goblins.
Twice as many as my first visit.
We were not the only ones in the dungeon—many other adventurer parties should be here too.
So where were all these monsters coming from?
"…Hm? Something's off."
"Ark-sama, is something wrong?"
"No—the goblin count doesn't add up."
Only about seven corpses remained on the ground.
I had not used Coffin of the Dead, and Fatima had done nothing to them.
That meant the rest had simply vanished.
(What's going on…?)
"Ark-sama, I hear someone shouting ahead—sounds like fighting too."
Fatima pointed deeper into the dungeon, her white-furred ears twitching.
"I don't hear anything."
"Wolfkin have sharp hearing. There it is again."
From here, the path led almost straight to the safe zone we had visited before.
Perhaps another party was in combat.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
We ran deeper into the dungeon.
Soon, voices and the sounds of clashing weapons reached us.
The first thing we saw was orcs.
Not just a few.
At least thirty, maybe more.
Their collective gaze focused on the center, where a four-person adventurer party stood armed and ready.
『Why are there so many!?』
『Damn it! This never ends!』
『Tight formation—pick them off one by one! Don't scatter!』
One of them drew a broadsword from his waist and charged into the orc swarm.
It was a secondary weapon the shopkeeper had given me.
""Death""
『Gubooh!!』
I fired Instant Death Magic while slashing another orc with the broadsword.
『Guaaa!!』
I lacked a skill to wield swords like Fatima, but against orcs, my stat advantage let me deal solid damage with simple swings.
Soul Collection did not activate when I killed with the broadsword.
But spamming Instant Death Magic on each one would take too long, so cutting through while running was faster.
"Haa!"
Fatima dove into the orc swarm without hesitation. With each kill, her movements grew sharper.
Together, we carved through the group.
Eventually, with the other adventurers' help, we wiped out every orc.
"You okay?"
When I called out, the four dropped their weapons and sank to the ground, exhausted.
"Th-thanks… Wait—you're the one from the guild…!"
They must have seen me during Fatima's registration.
It had only been a few days, yet it already felt like the distant past.
"U-ugh… Sorry! Back then I laughed at you, calling you the weakest adventurer…!"
The man burst into tears as he apologized.
"I don't care anymore. So don't worry about it."
"Ugh… I'm really sorry!"
"By the way—why were there so many orcs?"
"I don't know… They just started pouring out of the dungeon walls all of a sudden."
Another armored adventurer answered.
Pouring out of the walls?
I looked at the ground again. Fewer corpses remained than expected—just like with the earlier goblins.
Did that mean the dungeon itself was spawning monsters?
But nothing like this had happened before.
"Something's wrong here. We should get out for now. Can you walk?"
"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks. Let's go, everyone."
The adventurers hurried toward the exit with their injured.
"There might be others still inside. There's a safe zone farther ahead—let's head there."
"Understood!"
We descended the stairs and entered the safe-zone cavern forest.
『Run! Get out!』
『Why the hell is an ogre here!?』
Red, muscular giants with short horns—ogres, monsters that should not appear in the upper layers—were present, along with fleeing adventurers.
So mid-layer monsters could enter the upper safe zone after all.
『Gaaaah!!』
The ogre swung its fist toward the adventurers.
They dodged desperately while running.
"I'll handle it!"
Fatima drew her sword and charged the ogre.
She slashed its ankle while running past.
『Guooooh!!』
The ogre dropped to one knee in pain.
Using its body as a foothold, Fatima leaped upward and drove her silver sword straight between its brows.
The ogre collapsed without a sound and lay still.
To think she had just become an adventurer and was already capable of killing a C-rank ogre—her growth speed was astonishing.
It had to be the combination of [Sword Saint] and the boosted stat gains from [Growth Bonus].
"Th-thank you! You saved us!"
"This dungeon is dangerous right now. Get out immediately."
"Y-yeah! Thank you so much!"
The adventurers left with their wounded companions.
"Ark-sama, what should we do?"
"We should head back too. Leveling isn't possible like this."
Something was happening in this dungeon—in Boltana itself.
With an uneasy feeling, we decided to return to town for the time being.