Chapter 17

Chapter 17 : Mining Resonance Stones #2

“Everyone, retreat to the corner of the cave, shut your mouths, and stay still. You must absolutely not make a sound midway through.”

After declaring this firmly, Doran snatched the torches from the adventurers’ hands and threw them into the center.

With the flames casting eerie shadows along the cave walls at his back, he gripped the hilt of his sword, and the Log Window continued sending warnings.

｢You have unequipped all of your equipment! You have become extremely vulnerable to Monster attacks!｣

｢Your entire body is covered in cold mud. If left like this, there is a high chance you will catch a cold and suffer a status ailment!｣

｢A Monster horde is approaching! Beware of an ambush!｣

As the footsteps drew closer, the shadow of despair fell over the adventurers’ faces. Doran, however, sharpened his gaze instead and stared beyond the darkness.

‘I cannot die miserably in a place like this...!’

He had survived even a Ghost Ship crawling with High-Ranking Undead. He could not die to mere small fry like this.

Experiencing death once was more than enough.

DING─!

｢A swarm of Radgits has appeared!｣

─SKREEEEEEEECH!!!

A Radgit burst out from beyond the darkness and rushed toward him with a shriek.

Yet Doran stood still until the very moment the Monsters closed in right before his eyes, as if his body had frozen in fear.

Razbel’s party, who watched the entire scene from beginning to end, could not hide their shock.

‘W-what on earth is he thinking?!’

Until just a moment ago, he had seemed to be running wild, stripping off his clothes and throwing filth around. Now, he had suddenly calmed down and was preparing for battle.

Even if repelling one Monster had been luck, there was no way a beginner could face that number alone and win.

It was an act no different from a moth throwing itself into a flame.

Just as the forms of the Radgits and the helplessly standing Doran overlapped, soundless screams burst from the adventurers’ mouths.

“Uh...?”

The swarm of Radgits passed straight by Doran.

The creatures crowded around the torches, tilted their heads, and poked at the torch handles with their claws while letting out bizarre cries.

─Grrrrk... Kik?

─Grrk?

Razbel stared in utter bewilderment, but Doran suppressed his pounding heart and smiled faintly.

‘It is fortunate that I learned their habits beforehand.’

Radgits, which dwelled in dark caves, had keen hearing, but their eyesight had degenerated to the point that they could barely distinguish light.

Therefore, when faced with a light that drew their attention as strongly as a torch did, they could not properly perceive the objects around them.

More than anything....

Drip... drip....

The mud gathered at the tips of his hair flowed down without a sound.

As long as his scent was covered with mud, he should be able to deceive their senses for a “short while.”

When he slowly turned his body, he saw the fully exposed backs of the Radgit swarm.

‘I have to make the most of my Agility...!’

Most of the stats increased by [Chaos] had been concentrated in Agility.

SPLASH─!

After moving his feet in an instant and approaching the Radgit from behind, he swung his sword, and nearly half of the creature’s neck was cut away.

The Radgit sagged like a puppet whose strings had been cut and collapsed precariously.

Doran quickly caught its falling body and dragged it down to the floor so it would not make a sound.

‘...I can definitely feel that I have gotten faster!’

｢You have slain a Radgit!｣

Doran immediately shifted his target to the next enemy.

He closed in behind it in the blink of an eye, covered its mouth with his palm, and cut its carotid artery with his blade. The Radgit went limp without even being able to scream.

As he slowly pulled the sword out to avoid making noise, the blood spurting from the corpse soaked his chest, and the sensation of the Cutlass scraping past the neck bone like a stringed instrument traveled chillingly into his grip.

Doran, cold-eyed in the darkness, made certain to finish it off and searched for the next enemy.

‘Next.’

｢You have slain a Radgit!｣

Doran caught the falling corpse on the top of his foot and immediately rushed at the next target.

Relying on the wavering torchlight, he swung his sword in one stroke, and a silent slash split the darkness.

The problem was that his Strength was insufficient, so he could not sever its neck in one blow.

─KIAAAK!!

He swiftly swung his sword again and took its life, but the other Radgits had already turned toward him in alarm.

The creatures tried to attack him in fright, but this was a situation he had already anticipated.

Doran cleared his throat, then shouted loudly enough to make the cave shake.

“Kahahahaha!! Kiik!”

｢All eyes are focused on you!｣

｢The swarm of Radgits has fallen into confusion!｣

｢The adventurers are convinced that you are an insane person!｣

｢Due to [Chaos], Agility increases greatly!｣

‘An insane person....’

I have never been more serious than I am now!

Doran had hunted Radgits to the point of disgust in the past, so imitating their cries was nothing difficult.

The reason he had stripped off his clothes and caused a commotion was not only to draw attention, but also to make his appearance resemble a Radgit’s.

Despite the stinging gazes on him, he brazenly mimicked their cries, and the Radgit swarm tilted their heads foolishly as they examined him.

‘There is... no smell.’

‘His gestures and cries are... the same.’

‘His head is covered in hair, but seeing as he is naked without even a scrap of cloth....’

Was he one of them?

The uncertain Radgit swarm looked at one another in confusion.

─Kiiiiik?

─Kahahah...! Kaaaak!

─Kakakak!

“Urrrrrr... Kaaak!!”

SLASH!

While the creatures hesitated, he quickly swung his Cutlass, and one Radgit collapsed with its neck severed.

Only three enemies remained.

Realizing they had been deceived, the Radgits charged at the same time, but Doran retreated while making use of his enhanced Agility stat.

‘At this level, even a head-on fight is entirely possible...!’

He slipped into the arms of a Radgit that was charging clumsily and thrust his blade upward, sending its severed arm into the air.

Like the aggressive Monster it was, it attacked with its remaining arm, but—

“You are too slow.”

─Kwaak?!!

Doran immediately twisted his trajectory, sliced its waist, and kicked it in the abdomen at the same time.

After smashing it against the cave wall and correcting his posture, another Radgit nimbly swung its claws at him, but—

‘Upper left...!’

Doran, who had seen through the Radgit’s attack pattern, dodged with agility and thrust his Cutlass forward, piercing its shoulder.

The Radgit retreated with a pained scream, but Doran did not stop pursuing it and cut its thigh.

It was a clean, unnecessary-movement-free chain of attacks far beyond his Level.

The creature reached out with its claws while staggering even with its thigh hanging loose, but this, too, was expected.

“Eat this.”

When he kicked up the filth on the ground and scattered it across its face, it flailed helplessly.

While he pierced its neck with the tip of his curved sword and cut off its breath, the final Radgit charged at him fiercely, but the result was no different.

SLASH─!

After dodging as if sliding over the mud, he cut the back of its knee, and the Radgit slammed into the ground with a SPLAT!

When he stepped on the back of its neck and pierced its heart from behind, silence settled over the once-noisy cave.

｢You have successfully repelled the swarm of Radgits!｣

｢It is an astonishing achievement!｣

｢Your Level has increased!｣

｢You have learned how to Disguise yourself as the cave ape, Radgit! Once you grow accustomed to the Radgit’s body, you will be able to operate quite efficiently in enclosed spaces!｣

“Phew....”

Transforming into a Radgit....

‘I do not know where I will use it, but for now, it is good news.’

He could test it later when he was alone.

As he released the breath that had been held in his chest, a stench surged from the blood and filth covering his entire body, and a sharp wave of fatigue and self-loathing rose within him.

On the cave walls and ceiling touched by the dim torchlight, sticky clumps hung in strands.

‘...This is awful.’

He could not see well because it was dark, but his own appearance was surely even more wretched.

The sad part was that even if he went back to the past, he would have made the same choice in order to survive.

When he raised his head and looked over, Razbel’s party flinched and took a step back.

After swallowing his tears over his shattered dignity, wiping himself down, and picking up and putting on his clothes, Razbel’s party finally approached him hesitantly.

“E-excuse me... How on earth... Why did the Monster swarm simply ignore you and pass by, Mr. Doran?”

“This Monster’s eyesight has degenerated. If you erase your body odor and quietly hold your breath, you can hide your presence for a short while.”

“Ah... Then rolling around in the mud was also....”

“Yes, of course it was to hide my smell! You have to blend completely into the surrounding environment to deceive them!”

“T-then what was the meaning of stripping down, shouting at us to look directly at you, and throwing filth...?!”

“Ah, that was....”

Doran looked up at the ceiling, at a loss for words.

The reason had been to secure stats with the [Chaos] skill, but if he confessed that honestly, the power of an Evil God would be exposed in full.

Would he bear the misunderstanding, or would he risk being labeled a minion of an Evil God?

It was not even worth considering.

“I am... an attention seeker.”

“Pardon?”

He wanted to stop talking about this. The more he said, the more painful it felt.

“...More importantly, could you hurry and cut off the Monsters’ ears? We have to take them back to the guild, report them, and receive the reward.”

“Ah... R-right! What am I thinking...!”

The mission was not over yet.

After hurriedly changing the subject, Doran looked around while the adventurers handled the situation.

It should definitely have been around here....

“...Found it.”

In a corner of the cave where one’s gaze did not easily reach, he grunted as he moved a rock aside, and a hidden passage was revealed.

The adventurers who had cut off the Radgits’ ears and approached were shocked when they saw the clearly exposed passage.

“W-what is this? A s-secret passage...?!”

“It is not anything as grand as a secret passage. It is just a side path. If we use this route, we should be able to reach the mining area safely without encountering the Radgits.”

“N-no... You just discovered a new route that is not even on the map, so how can you be so calm about it...?! Besides, monsters have appeared, so we should run away even now...!”

“...Is that a problem?”

“N-no, it is not.”

When he looked back with a puzzled expression, Razbel’s party exchanged glances as if wondering, Are we the strange ones?

Whatever their circumstances were, I absolutely needed Resonance Stones in order to become stronger.

When Doran squeezed into the passage, Razbel’s party followed without another word.