Chapter 42

Chapter 42 . Dungeon Raid (2)

What appeared was a large monster that resembled a rat.

With its red eyes, long whiskers, and sharp teeth, one could have taken it for nothing more than an enormous rat just by looking at its face.

But below the head, it looked nothing like one would expect.

The shaggy-bodied monster had four pairs of legs.

Three pairs of legs that looked like insect limbs, and above them one pair far larger and longer than the others.

Looking at the fur-covered head, the body, and the legs, the monster seemed like a rat that had been transformed into an insect-like form and then magnified to an enormous size.

"Why are Red Mice here...."

Judging by the muttered words beside me, they seemed to be monsters called Red Mice.

But for something called a Red Mouse, its skin was not red at all.

If anything, its color was closer to gray.

The Red Mice approached slowly.

I raised my sword and asked the Firebird Hunter,

"What do we do?"

She looked at me, then counted the number of monsters drawing closer.

There were three in total.

"There’s no way we can shake off Red Mice underground, so we’ll have to fight."

After confirming their number, she drew the sword at her waist.

The soaring bird engraved on the blade shone brightly.

"Do they have any weakness?"

"They’re monsters that have barely been seen since the Great War. I’ve only heard that their movements are so fast they’re troublesome to deal with."

There had been no monster called a Red Mouse in the books at the estate either.

In the end, we would have to find out by facing them directly.

The approaching monsters looked at us and let out low growls.

Grrrrr.

That growling sounded like a filthy wind blowing up from hell itself.

Keeping a slight distance, the monsters bared their teeth and growled at us, while the mercenary and I glared back at them with our swords raised.

I, too, was releasing all the mana I had been keeping hidden.

As my mana rose, the sword I had been dragging around could now be moved properly with both hands, and a faint light shimmered along its broad blade.

Seeing my glowing sword, she made a startled face.

"I thought you might be stronger than you looked, but taking your age into account, that amount of mana is absurd. Don’t tell me the ducal house still had [Mana Sensitivity] left in its bloodline?"

[Mana Sensitivity]? That was supposed to be an inherited ability of the royal family, wasn’t it? What did my mana have to do with a royal ability? And how did she even know that?

When I looked at her with those questions in my eyes, she deliberately avoided my gaze.

"Anyway, you’re a much better comrade in battle than I expected."

With those words, she rushed forward.

It seemed she had let something slip. But this was no time to question her, so I prepared myself to fight the monster charging at me.

Fortunately, two of the three monsters focused on her as she rushed in.

Only one came at me, and I swung my sword toward it.

Whoooom.

The angle was right, and my timing was not off.

But I felt no resistance in my hands.

'Don’t tell me it dodged?'

Damn it, she said it was fast, but it was not merely fast!

I had not even seen where it moved to, but I quickly pulled my sword in close to my body and jumped backward.

Thunk!

A heavy impact struck the sword and shoved my body back hard.

But this time, I had anchored myself to the ground.

Thanks to the mana I had driven into the earth, I was able to withstand the force after sliding only a short distance.

Only then did I see what had hit my sword.

Four claws protruding from the monster’s foreleg were pressing against the blade.

Kiiiiik.

As the sword and claws strained against each other, I heard a grinding sound.

Fortunately, the sword was unharmed.

In that case—

Crack.

Two of the claws clashing with my sword snapped, and the rat-like face twisted as the monster withdrew.

The frontmost pair of its raised legs each held four long claws.

It looked like something I had seen somewhere in my previous life, but I pushed that thought aside and glared at the monster.

Fortunately, perhaps because its first attack had failed, it did not immediately charge again.

Speed so fast that it could slip from sight. And an attack stronger than expected, using that very speed.

On top of that, it attacked and then withdrew at once, which made it look more intelligent than I had expected.

It felt like facing a knight whose greatest strength lay in speed.

It seemed I had underestimated monsters too much.

During the journey to the marquess’s house, every monster I encountered after the first had been fairly easy to deal with, and even the first one had been blown away in a single strike by the previous owner of this sword.

Perhaps because of that, some part of me had begun to look down on monsters.

"I’m sorry. It seems I’d grown too arrogant."

I lowered my sword slightly and apologized to the monster before me.

Grrrrr.

Unfortunately, the monster refused to accept my apology.

Verbal apologies must have lacked sincerity. As expected, apologies had to be shown through actions.

I began to move my sword.

I let out a breath, drew one back in, and gradually slowed my breathing.

The sword passed before my body and lowered toward the lower left.

As the sword that had shielded my body moved aside, my body began to open.

The monster twitched, but it did not lunge.

So it would not take the bait. It truly was an intelligent monster.

Still, that did not matter. What I was doing now was only the opening stance for the sword form that followed.

Until now, I had not been able to properly use the swordsmanship I had learned in actual combat.

Often I had been dragged into close-quarters fighting closer to dagger work, or had ended things in a single blow.

And since taking up this sword, there had also been times when I forced matters through with sheer power because the weapon did not suit my body.

In all of those situations, it had been difficult to use proper swordsmanship.

Even in those fights, the swordsmanship I had learned in the past had shown through and helped me greatly, and I had often heard that real combat was like that anyway, so I had not felt much regret.

But because that sort of fighting continued, I had gradually found myself swinging my sword by instinct each time an enemy appeared.

This opponent could not be fought that way. It was not a foe so much weaker that I could overpower it carelessly, nor was it an enemy using cheap tricks.

And the swordsmanship I had learned was an art that had been passed down since the time of the Great War.

It was swordsmanship meant to fight humans, yes, but when it was first created, it had been forged for battles against monsters.

As I steadied my breathing and focused my mind, the monster’s figure filled my vision.

Its eyes trembling ever so slightly, its twitching claws, the fur shivering under its breath.

I matched the monster’s breathing to my own, and aligned my mana with my movements.

Wooooong.

I could feel the mana moving.

This was the first time I had ever truly felt each movement of mana so clearly in actual combat.

My mana swirled in a great current through my body. Then the mana extending into the sword tried to pass through the blade and reach toward the monster.

Mana trying to move outside my body.

Ah, so this is how it’s done?

It felt as though I had glimpsed the clue to the assassin’s method from the previous day, the one where he had seized control of the surrounding space with mana.

Unfortunately, the mana was still bound to the sword and could not move beyond it.

Grrrrrrrr.

Even so, the monster was already suppressed by the force of the mana that had not yet even escaped, and could not bring itself to charge.

If that was the case, then it was my turn to attack.

I reversed the flow of the mana that had been anchoring me to the ground and turned it into recoil.

Boom.

At the same time, I kicked off the ground.

The monster rushed toward me.

The creature that had been twitching suddenly moved so fast it left an afterimage.

Just moments ago, it had been fast enough that I might have lost sight of it completely.

But now, even if only as a blur, I could follow its movements!

If it fled, its speed would be too great to pursue. But instead, it was coming toward me.

Boom!

I planted my leading foot into the ground, and released the inertia that had been driving me forward through mana.

It was like a galloping horse coming to a dead halt mid-run.

Then, using the remaining inertia, I moved my arms.

Whoooooom.

The sword swept in a wide arc toward the monster lunging at my flank. My own strength and momentum combined, and the blade moved with terrifying speed.

One of the basic sword arts of the royal family and the ducal house, Hero Carlos Swordsmanship, Third Form.

"Wide Sweep!"

The name was so cheap-sounding that the royal family had apparently tried to rename it several times, but in the end they could not bring themselves to change a name given by their royal ancestor.

In any case, startled by the blade that came flashing in from the side, the monster raised its forelegs.

Crack!

The sword smashed all its claws, severed the foreleg, and sent it flying.

Grrrrrraaaah!

A strange scream burst from the rat-like mouth, but I had no intention of missing this opportunity.

Taking another step forward, I kept swinging my sword.

Even when using the power of mana, it was difficult to move such a heavy sword freely at will.

All I could really do was guide its direction according to the swordsmanship I had learned.

It lacked explosive force and the ability to launch unexpected attacks, but the blade moving as fluidly as water began carving into the monster’s body.

At first, the monster only received shallow wounds while dodging the sword, but as the attacks continued and two or three legs were lopped away, even its explosive movements came to a halt.

After that, it was easy. The monster’s claws could no longer stop my sword.

Its other foreleg flew off along with its claws, and then the rat-like neck was severed by my blade.

Thud.

The decapitated monster collapsed to the ground.

I had not found any particular weak point, but it seemed that if its head was cut off, it died all the same.

After driving my sword into the monster’s body to make sure it was dead, I finally remembered the companion who had been fighting beside me.

That meant I had been focused to an incredible degree, but it also meant that I had not been watching my surroundings at all.

I was still far too lacking.

Fortunately, the Firebird Hunter was fighting well.

One monster was already dying with most of its legs severed, and the remaining one was still fighting even after losing two legs.

The Firebird Hunter was soaked in sweat, but I could not see any wounds on her.

At that level of skill, it did not seem as though speaking to her would be a hindrance.

"Do you need help?"

As expected, the only one that reacted to my voice was the monster.

The monster flinched, and another deep wound appeared across its body.

"Wow! You’re already done? No need to help!"

Compared to how things looked, her voice was much more relaxed.

Had she not even been fighting seriously?

That thought had only just crossed my mind when her sword grew faster.

And then I saw blood spurt from the monster’s body.

Huh? Did her sword touch it? The distance didn’t match the length of the blade.

Her sword was moving incredibly fast, but not so fast that my eyes could not follow it.

Her blade definitely was not touching the monster.

While I stared at the sword in astonishment, the monster fell to the ground.

The creature was dying from the blood pouring from countless wounds all over its body.

That was unmistakably death from blood loss.

"Hm, it doesn’t seem to have any real weak point. I suppose the best approach is to cut off its legs and stop it from moving."

So she had not been fighting seriously after all. She had been dragging things out while searching for a weakness.

"Wow, you’re amazing in real combat too. You’ve even properly learned the kingdom’s swordsmanship. One-on-one, you could beat most knights."

No, I think you’re the more amazing one. That means she watched me fight while she was still fighting herself.

And how did a mercenary know my swordsmanship in the first place?

There was no need to ask directly who she was. At this rate, if we stayed together a little longer, I would find out soon enough.

"Well then, shall we move on? There may be more of these things, so let’s get out of here quickly."

She turned toward the largest cave other than the one the monsters had emerged from.

I followed after her.

Though it had been a fierce battle, perhaps thanks to all the training I had done, my condition was not too bad.

Fortunately, the tunnel we entered was sloping upward.

We pressed onward diligently, but less than ten minutes later, we were forced to stop.

I turned to look at the Firebird Hunter.

Her face had gone deathly pale as she stared straight ahead.

"They say words can bring disaster, and I guess they’re right...."

"What do you mean by that?"

Tch. So that proverb didn’t work in this world after all?

In any case, perhaps because of what she had said, we found ourselves surrounded by monsters.

In the open space that had appeared midway through the tunnel, more than ten of those rat-like monsters were waiting for us, and behind us, other monsters had already filled the tunnel we had come through with their bodies.

Blocked in both front and back.

At my side, the Firebird Hunter spoke with a pale face.

"It would be idiotic to keep hiding our strength in a situation like this, wouldn’t it?"

Her sword flared brightly, and I could see its tip wavering.

'Is that her inherited ability?'

Thinking that, I poured mana into my own sword as well.

Unfortunately, these monsters had no intention of testing the waters first.

Grrrrraaaah!

A mass of monsters surged toward us, and we swung our swords like mad.

In the light of her wavering blade, I saw legs and torsos flying in all directions, but the sight was quickly hidden by the monsters swarming in after them.

Monsters were everywhere.

Even when I cut one down, it did not fall.

Even after I severed its legs and took away its movement, it still attacked me with its claws, and another monster lashed out behind me with both forelegs.

I swung my sword desperately to beat back the attacks, but it was impossible to block dozens of claws with a single blade.

One claw after another sank into my body, and at last one of my hands was severed, and I dropped the sword.

"Damn it!"

I screamed in pain, but the monsters did not care in the slightest.

The claws drove in even farther, and then the mouth of one of the rat-like monsters opened wide and bit into my head.

Its breath reeks.

The moment that thought crossed my mind—

Crunch.

The world went dark.

[You have died. Restarting from the autosave point.]