Chapter 22: One-Man Army

Manager (4)

Using Fenrir to disarm traps while searching the Dungeon, I was able to find the stairs leading down.

"I expected it, being in the mountains, but it's an underground Dungeon."

Dan Ga-yeon looked down beyond the stairs. Comet put Fenrir back into her soul orb and peered down the stairs next to Dan Ga-yeon. A cool air wafted up.

"Good thing I brought emergency rations."

"Let's go down."

The second floor had a similar structure, but the contents were different. Instead of traps, there were monsters. Not just any monster, but monsters.

No matter how you looked at them, these bipedal monsters resembling goblins were charging at us, clad in armor and wielding swords. There were a lot of them. Seemed like hundreds.

Comet lightly dodged a sword strike and swung her knife. A goblin died.

"Why goblins, of all things?"

『Isn't that Earth culture?』

Comet had a lot to say, but she didn't bother to voice it.

She simultaneously slashed down a few more, glancing at Dan Ga-yeon, who was calmly taking down the goblins one by one while protecting the Magic scholar. Even while being attacked by the goblins, she was calmly dealing with them. She felt different from her usual self. If asked which side was better, I'd have to think about it.

Comet roughly slashed at the swarming goblins and approached Dan Ga-yeon.

"Officer Dan, shall I help you?"

"No, I'm fine."

"This is a rare Comet chance, you know? You don't usually get opportunities like this."

Dan Ga-yeon lured the goblins' sword strikes and parried them simultaneously. One goblin caught in the path died. Quite impressive.

"More than that, just hurry up and kill them. Don't slack off."

Comet blinked.

"But why are you using honorifics today?"

Dan Ga-yeon's lips moved, then stopped, and she slashed down another goblin that had left an opening.

"Because I'm the party leader. We need to minimize factors that could cause conflict."

"I see. I thought we were growing apart."

Comet, now understanding, scanned the goblins' positions. It was getting too chaotic; she needed to clean up.

She threw her knife along a suitable path.

Incantation omitted.

Soul Severance.

A dozen or so goblins grazed by the knife bled souls from black wounds and collapsed.

Comet instantly transformed each escaping soul into a knife. She generated Spiritual Power and launched the knives.

Incantation omitted.

Soul Severance.

The knives bounced off the walls and floor, cutting down and severing the goblins. A large amount of souls flowed out.

Comet protected Dan Ga-yeon and the Magic scholar with Spiritual Power. Then, she transformed the newly released souls into knives once more.

Incantation omitted.

Soul Severance.

A massive number of knives scattered.

Dan Ga-yeon lowered her sword and blankly watched the scene. Hundreds of goblins were being butchered and staggered. Soon, the sound of them collapsing echoed in succession. The Dungeon became silent.

Dan Ga-yeon's eyes trembled.

"What is this...?"

Comet, on her way to pick up the knife she had initially thrown, turned to look at Dan Ga-yeon.

"The reason I'm the number one Necromancer."

Comet put her hands behind her back and smiled with her eyes.

Countless knives transformed into Spiritual Power and dissipated.

#

After clearing the area, we moved on. Now that we knew the layout of the second basement floor, there was no need to fight unnecessarily; we just had Fenrir eat the goblins. Fenrir was quite the glutton. He didn't need to eat souls, but he seemed to enjoy it.

After clearing the second floor and finding the stairs to the third floor, Dan Ga-yeon suggested we have a quick meal before going down. It was a good idea.

The menu was instant rice and instant curry. The Magic scholar drew a magic circle to warm it up nicely. The taste was as expected. Midway through, Fenrir kept sticking his snout out, asking for a bite, so I put him back in his soul orb.

『How pitiful.』

"He's in the same situation as the Princess."

『Hearing that makes this body feel even more pitiful.』

"Poor Princess."

『Are you mocking me?!』

We went down to the third floor. The third floor had a different structure from the floors we had experienced so far. Following the only path, we came to a large, wide space.

A monster was sleeping there. It was quadrupedal with horns, resembling a rhinoceros. It was lying down, but it was three times the height of a person. If it stood up, it would probably be four times the size of a person.

"The upper floor had goblins, but why is there a monster here?"

Comet whispered to the Princess.

『They probably started making it haphazardly from here. That can happen when you're pressed for time. Hmph.』

Comet was speechless.

Dan Ga-yeon gestured to retreat for now and slowly backed away. Comet and the Magic scholar also quietly backed away.

It was no use. After about ten steps, the monster opened its eyes. The monster rolled its eyes while lying down. It looked at Dan Ga-yeon, who was closest, then at Comet, who was next, and finally at the Magic scholar, who was farthest away.

The monster raised its body, drooling flames from its mouth. In the brief moment before it fully rose, a fireball suddenly shot out from the monster's mouth and flew towards the Magic scholar. The Magic scholar threw himself to the side, but there was a chance he would be caught in the blast.

Dan Ga-yeon jumped into the path and swung her sword. The blade, imbued with Mana, split the fireball apart. The fireball lost its power, sputtered, and dissipated.

Comet clapped softly. Wow, she saved him. Dan Ga-yeon glanced at her. It was just a brief look, but it was filled with bewilderment.

The monster stomped its feet, causing the ground to shake and dust to fall from the ceiling. The monster, taking advantage of Dan Ga-yeon's momentary loss of balance, aimed its horns at her. The massive monster charged at the mere human. The earth trembled.

Dan Ga-yeon dodged in time and slashed the monster's flank. Instead of blood, lava gushed out from the flank. Dan Ga-yeon quickly threw herself away, avoiding the lava. A few drops of lava must have splattered, as holes were visible in her clothes, but she stood up, seemingly unharmed.

Dan Ga-yeon looked at the melting blade and discarded the hilt. A new sword was drawn. Perhaps the lava had a Mana-melting effect. It wasn't compatible with swordsmen.

Comet twisted a strand of her hair.

The monster turned to look at Dan Ga-yeon and, realizing it had the advantage, aimed its horns at the Magic scholar and charged. The Magic scholar, who was chanting, threw himself to the side, dodging the attack. Lava flowed along the path the monster had taken. The space to move around was shrinking.

Dan Ga-yeon ran towards the monster and glanced back at Comet. Then, seeing Comet still watching, she shouted.

"Hey!"

Comet, who was about to wave, flinched slightly.

"Yes?"

"Do something!"

It was an unhesitating use of informal speech.

Comet blinked and whispered to the Princess.

"If I answer that I'll cheer her on from here, she'll get genuinely angry, right?"

『Why are you asking the obvious?』

"Sometimes I get confused. Princess, you're really helpful."

It's best to end Dan Ga-yeon's growth event here. Even this much should have increased her assimilation rate or Stats. Martial arts types have ridiculously fast growth rates in real combat.

Comet cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone.

"I'll help you!"

"You're really quick to act!"

Dan Ga-yeon's reply came immediately. Even in that short time, Dan Ga-yeon was only holding off the monster while the Magic scholar chanted. She didn't seem to want to engage in a war of attrition, losing one sword per strike against the overwhelmingly large monster.

Comet gripped her knife and walked towards the monster. When the previously still Comet moved, the monster turned and charged, aiming its horns. The ground vibrated.

Comet waited and grabbed the monster's horns. A heavy impact struck her body. She partially deflected the impact, using the recoil to climb onto the monster. She plunged the knife into the monster's head and ran from its head, down its back, to its tail. The monster was severed, and lava shot into the sky.

Comet jumped lightly, like a soul, and landed far away. She swung her knife in the air, shaking off the lava. The knife's blade was slightly damaged; it seemed like it needed more souls.

Lava rain fell. Dan Ga-yeon looked back and forth between the dead monster and Comet, then walked over to the Magic scholar.

"Let's rest for a bit."

"Let's do that."

Comet approached Dan Ga-yeon, who was sitting down to rest. Dan Ga-yeon looked up and sighed.

"Please do it properly next time."

"You would have caught it alone even if I didn't help you, Officer Dan. The sword was already stuck in it."

Comet sat down next to Dan Ga-yeon.

"There's no need to catch it alone."

"But you can catch it alone."

"Still. If one person overexerts themselves, they won't be able to manage their Stamina. Afterwards, other teammates have to take care of them, resulting in a greater loss of combat power than just one person."

Comet blinked.

"Then there shouldn't be any teammates."

Dan Ga-yeon flinched, looked at the Magic scholar, and then looked at Comet.

"Wait a minute, Comet. You're not thinking of something weird, are you?"

Comet silently stared at Dan Ga-yeon. Silence flowed. Dan Ga-yeon avoided her gaze and rolled her eyes. She seemed slightly terrified. As if feeling a chill, Dan Ga-yeon stroked her arm with her hand.

Comet smiled brightly.

"What are you thinking about, Officer Dan?"

"No, um... It's nothing."

"Don't worry. I'm a socially friendly being."

『Heh heh. That's a funny joke.』

"It's not a joke."

Comet whispered to the Princess.

『Heh heh. That's a shameless thing to say.』

"That's a bit unfair. If I had intentionally engaged in antisocial behavior, Seoul would already be in ruins. Honestly, that's more efficient for soul collection, you know? Do you think I'm not doing it because I lack the ability?"

『The moment you say that with pride, you're doomed.』

"That's... true, I guess."

Comet became somewhat dejected.

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