Ayane and Aira were left waiting in the hall for about an hour, but don’t seem to mind one bit when they’re let back in.
“Are you done discussing secrets?”
“Yes. Sorry Ayane, for calling you back so late.”
“It’s all right. Darling’s lover’s talk must be respected above anything else!”
She’s not just positive, she’s open minded too.
Yes, she’s a nice girl. But…
Well, I understand that I wouldn’t have to worry about her revealing my gacha, and since I’m going to be walking around with her, I wouldn’t have to be sneaky. And still, even though I know she’s a nice girl, and that it will be helpful, I still don’t want her to see my stats.
What is it about her that leaves me so wary…?
“Hm…”
“Shouta? Here’s your lunch.”
“A-ah…”
As before, I’m sitting with Aki on one side and Maki on the other, and we have fun feeding each other here and there. Ayane and Aira have their own lunches too, so we all eat together.
She also wants to feed me, but that’s a girlfriend privilege, so the other two say no.
Still, anything can go in Aira’s bag, uh… I didn’t expect a three tiered bento box. Did Aira cook that too? I’m a little curious about how good she is, but Maki’s food is the best in the world, so whatever.
After we’re done eating, I have the stuff I got in the morning checked out. Apparently this magic iron doesn’t come around too often, so it’s pretty expensive, despite just looking like iron equipment.
In fact…
“This might have more defensive power than your fourth generation lightweight hybrid armor Mk.2.”
“But it doesn’t just look like iron armor, it weighs as much as iron armor too. It hasn’t been made light weight, so it’s pretty heavy.”
Say Maki and Aki.
“But I wore iron equipment for a long time, so I don’t have a problem with it… Let’s try it.”
They help me put on just the upper body part.
As Aki said, this has the weight of pure metal armor, but… It’s not really a problem.
“I’ll try wearing this for now. Maki, can you keep the upper body part of Mk2?”
“Yes. Stay safe, Shouta.”
“Later.”
“See you later!”
“We will be back shortly.”
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Something happens right after we enter the first floor.
“I see you as team members now, so is the Command skill reflecting that?”
“No problem.”
“Yes. I really appreciate your feelings, darling.”
“Haha, let’s keep going to the second floor then.”
“Understood.”
Ayane then starts looking around, seemingly picking up on something.
“…Darling, do you feel a disturbance?”
“Hn? Yes… Everyone seems restless.”
Ayane and Aira attract a lot of attention around the association, but not many adventurers turn their eyes to us near the entrance to the dungeon.
It’s like there are more important things on their minds.
“What is…”
Then I hear a voice I recognize.
“Guooooh!!”
“Eek!”
“Kyah!”
“Uwah!”
I heard it up close, but this is what it sounds like when it’s echoing in the cave. It’s a low sound that feels like it shakes my stomach. I’m sure a more faint-hearted person would tremble if they heard this.
This is really the sort of stuff that could break the heart of a beginner that just worked up the courage to enter the dungeon.
I’m pretty sure the association calls these things problem children.
“I see, did it spawn?”
Whether by luck or because they were unlucky, it seems someone hunted a hundred goblins and just happened to make it spawn despite the low odds.
I’ve heard this multiple times, but there’s a light panic forming around me.
Also, if it’s howling, there’s a good chance it’s chasing someone. It could be whoever made it spawn, or even an innocent bystander.
“Master, that way.”
“I’ve checked the map too. Let’s go help.”
“Of course, darling!”
“Swift II.”
We follow the shortest route on the map, and cut down goblins along the way. And this time, Aira is ignoring the dropped items too.
“Guooh!”
“U-uwaaaah!!”
“Found you!”
Clink!
We arrive just as the Hobgoblin is swinging its sword down at a young man. I block it just in time, and after an intense metallic sound, push it back.
“Guooh!?”
“Shut up.”
Slash!
I finish it off as it tries to get up, and smoke emerges from its body.
【Level up】
【Leveled up from one to fifteen】
I remember that this Hobgoblin’s level is low, and its smoke doesn’t last long. Five minutes, I think, and the next one might spawn.
We need to get him out of here quickly.
“Are you all right?”
“Y-yes! Thank you, uguh…”
He stumbles and winces.
There are cuts here and there on his body, and his right arm is very swollen. Is it broken?
“You’re hurt. Ayane, can you treat him?”
“Leave it to me… Heal!”
A bright light comes out of Ayane’s hand, and envelops his body. And once the light settles, the cuts and swelling are gone.
“Hou… Amazing…”
“This is Healing Magic…! H-hum, thank you! How much…”
“That’s fine. My darling instructed me, but I wouldn’t leave behind a seriously injured person anyway.”
“But…”
I get that he wants to thank her, but this back-and-forth is just a bother right now.
“You need to get out of here. This is deep in the dungeon, not a safe area. And be careful about dead ends from now on.”
“Y-yes!”
“Ayane, Aira, escort him just to be safe.”
I say while pointing to the smoke, and they understand what I mean, and rush the young man out of here.
Oh, I need to say this too.
“Hey, you! Can I take the drops?”
“Yes, no problem. You’re the one who took it down!”
He says, and a minute after he leaves… The smoke disperses.
So it’s not coming. I don’t know if that’s lucky or not… But I think it’s for the best. It’s not a good idea to fight a rare monster where people might show up.
…But wait, since I took down a Hobgoblin on the first floor, does that reset the conditions to conquer them on the Second floor?
Maybe… But saving someone is more important. But that’s a good opportunity to test it too. Should I go the opposite way compared to this morning as I take them down?
As I thought, it dropped all items, and I go back to the center route while thinking.
That young man fought it, but since I dealt the killing blow, my Luck took precedence. Is that what happened? Will monsters my teammates take down count towards the hundred monster challenge? Let’s find out.
If it doesn’t matter, and drops and odds of spawning a rare monster are directly related to who dealt the killing blow, they can take the experience too.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
I really wonder what’d happen if he took down 100 rare monsters in a row… That’d require someone else to be spawning them though, so it’s gonna be a long time before he does that if at all