Do you know the ranking order of our party?
Lydia is first, Shadow is second, and Benny is only third.
For reference, I’m excluded from the ranking because I am a man. Should I say I’m not considered a competitor? If I had to say, I would be the winner’s trophy.
So what’s important is bragging rights. After all, gacha and trophies exist for that purpose, right??
With that lighthearted thought, I wrapped my arm around Lydia’s waist. The feel of bare skin on my forearm thanks to the bikini armor.
Soft and warm, Lydia’s slender waist clung to my arm, and I raised one corner of my mouth in a smirk.
As if to show Benny.
“Grrrr!”
Benny, carrying the backpack as the wager, ground her teeth as she rode on top of the shadow monster.
I said with a smug smile towards her.
“Benny’s companion is amazing.”
“Guaaaah!”
Benny, ranked third in the order, almost fell while rolling around on Shadow, but the shadow monster extended a tentacle to grab her waist and lifted her up.
The shadow monster swayed Benny gently as if sighing, then placed her back on its back.
Watching this, I chuckled, but Lydia gave a wry smile and removed my arm.
“Jonah. Don’t tornt Benny too much.”
“Tornt? I was just trying to befriend Benny.”
I shrugged, jesting briefly. Even in the midst of playing around, sothing was sensed at the edge of my sharpened senses.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A faint tallic sound echoed from afar. There’s only one entity on the second floor that could make such a noise.
I tightened the slackened tension and listened carefully. The number of irregularly overlapping tallic sounds was four.
“Front. Four kobolds. I’ll take the lead.”
“…Okay.”
Lydia equips her magical device in the form of glasses that penetrate the darkness in preparation for any unforeseen events.
Benny, who had been suffering at the lowest rank until just a mont ago, also showed a change in deanor.
She puts the backpack down on the ground and stands with her arms crossed. The shadow monster subrged back into the shadows, ready to pounce at any mont.
“This ti, you don’t have to fight with just magic. Fight freely but try mixing in so magic.”
“That’s my specialty.”
Nodding, I activated the Power to silence my footsteps. A thin barrier ford between the world and in an instant.
As I took a few steps forward, the kobolds, now not just one or two but four grouped together, revealed themselves.
A creature that seed like a mix of a wolf and a lizard was engrossed in digging into the wall with a pickaxe, draped in a ragged cloth.
Until now, the kobolds had always discovered our presence first, but this ti, since we found them first, it seed they did not stop what they were doing.
The Underground Labryinth on the second floor is quite different from the Great Forest on the first floor, despite so similarities.
Just as the entire Great Forest is within the domain of the World Tree, the Underground Labryinth is within the domain of the Earth God.
Unlike the Great Forest, which was clearly created for the protection of the elves, the Underground Labryinth is simply a neglected land where various creatures have gathered.
The fallen sun caused rivers and seas to evaporate, and the raging blizzard extinguished even the first fla.
Yet, the land remained steadfast in its place, enduring all the miracles wrought by the gods.
Sotis deeply furrowed, sotis lted away, the earth never goes anywhere. It always stands firm in the sa place.
Enchanted by its reliability, one by one, they dug into the ground.
Once a proud warrior but now reduced to a miner and slave, the kobold did so, as did the Spider Queen, once the mother of the legion, and the earth spirits who simply loved the land.
The steadfast earth accepted everything without discrimination. Even those who devoured its flesh.
How many tis had it beco a refuge during the long war?
Before long, the Underground Labryinth beca a sanctuary symbolizing the God of the Earth, buried with the god’s remains.
And now, I hunt the devotee who once served the Earth God within it.
Puuuk!
The soft entry of the pure white blade of the Unicorn Dagger. A kobold pierced through the cervical spine collapses without a sound.
The surrounding kobolds, startled by the sudden death of their comrade, stop mining and panic.
“K-Kobold?!”
“Kobold, kobold!”
“Kokobold…!”
It would be great if I could handle them one by one like this…but my Power was released the mont I attacked one of them.
Though their vision had degenerated, their other senses had developed keenly. They will soon realize that I am standing behind them.
Indeed, one of the kobolds noticed my direction and swung a pickaxe at .
Whoosh!
I twisted my waist diagonally to avoid the pickaxe. In the process, it grazed my forearm slightly, but it wasn’t enough to penetrate the armor made from the hide of an Iron Wolf.
Enduring a slight stinging sensation, I grabbed the arm of the guy who had just swung the pickaxe and pulled him towards .
Not only did I achieve the feat of defeating the first floor Floor Guardian, but thanks to Basilieus doubling the growth rewards from the Labyrinth, my physical abilities had increased significantly over the past few days.
Of course, it still wasn’t enough to win a strength contest with the weakest kobold on the second floor…but it was enough to pull that body.
At first, he resisted my touch, but as I subtly tripped him, causing him to lose balance, the kobold was helplessly dragged towards .
“Ko, bold?!”
With as much force as I pulled, I thrust my body forward. In an instant, the situation between and the kobold was reversed. And then.
It was struck directly by the pickaxes swung by the kobolds who realized my position too late.
Thud! Thwack!
“Kooook…!”
The kobold had a pickaxe embedded in its forehead and shoulder. The creature, not yet dead, writhes on the ground.
“Kobolbol!”
“Kobolkobol!”
The two kobolds, realizing they’ve killed their comrade, charge in a fury. This ti, side by side to avoid team killing.
Unlike the simple-minded goblins or other monsters on the first floor that are re beasts, kobolds have considerable intelligence. But even they wouldn’t have expected this.
“Basilieus.”
A wooden crown floats above my head. The entity, having absorbed most of my divine power, turns my empty hand green. And then.
Woong-!
The pre-purchased seed rapidly grows and entangles the legs of one charging kobold.
Simultaneously, I fired a wrist crossbow at the other one’s knee.
Swaeak… Thunk!
“Ko, bolkobold?!”
“Kokobold…!”
The one whose foot was caught in the vine fell forward with a thud, and the one hit in the knee with an arrow sat down on the spot with a painful scream.
Though their situations were different, both kobolds ended up on the ground. I took out a handful of seeds I’d prepared from my dinsional ring and scattered them towards the kobolds.
Then, I squeezed out the little divine power I had left.
Wooong!
Plants grew explosively. The tangled vines firmly restrained the kobolds.
The characteristic of this plant, called Oil Vine, is that it secretes a sticky, flammable substance from its surface.
Now, only one thing remained.
I pointed my finger at the wriggling kobold.
“Weak Fla.”
A fla the size of a lighter flickered to life. I flicked my hand lightly.
Sparks scattered widely and fell upon the kobolds. And then.
Whoosh!
Flas flared up wildly.
The blaze was so intense that the kobolds’ screams were drowned out by the crackling noise.
However, high reactivity ans that the fuel burns quickly.
Within less than ten seconds, the flas subsided. Inside, kobolds appeared crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.
Since the burning ti was so short, they were not completely dead, but due to the severe burns that charred their scales black, movent seed impossible.
Just waiting for death, I stuck the kobold’s neck with a dagger.
Thud, roll…
The head rolled on the ground too easily. The appearance was so unrecognizable that I grimaced.
“Inefficient.”
The battles have indeed beco easier. However, the seeds of the Oil Vines are quite expensive. And the consumption of holy power is greater than expected.
“Kobolds themselves aren’t worth much money…”
I let out a deep sigh and walked past the corpses, picking up the pickaxes they had wielded.
Iron from the Labyrinth. In other words, materials that can be used to make equipnt for adventurers are relatively rare.
Even this pickaxe, boasting a purity close to scrap iron, is more expensive than a kobold’s Magic Stone.
…Should I just take the pickaxes and run next ti?
No, given the nature of the maze, there isn’t much space to escape, so I’ll have to fight anyway.
Letting out a deep sigh inwardly, I cut the handle just below the blade of the pickaxe with a dagger.
Ssshhk.
I gathered the separated iron parts and headed to where my party was.
Sohow, Benny wore a tired expression. Smiling brightly, I held out the iron lump in my arms to her.
“This ti, I brought the pickaxe head instead of the kobold head! I did well, right?!”
“Eh. Ah. Yeah.”
Benny took the pickaxe from in a lackluster voice. While she busied herself organizing the spoils into her backpack,I extracted the kobold’s drops and Magic Stones.
“Ah, hold on a second. We’re almost at our destination and about to head up, right? The backpack is full too.”
“Seems like it, right?”
“So this ti, I’ll show you my magic. You need to know what you’ll learn and what you’ll help with.”
“Okay?”
I tilted my head, puzzled at what she ant by helping, even if I understood learning.
Benny snapped her fingers while looking at the scattered kobold corpses.
Snap!
“Disassemble.”
With that one word as a signal, Benny’s shadow stretched out long. The shadow, unnaturally extended, enveloped the corpse.
It smoothly absorbed the corpse as if it were a swamp. And before long, sothing popped out of the shadow.
“…A horn?”
It was a small horn-like protrusion. Among kobold drops, it’s one of the pricier ones.
After that, various parts of the kobold popped out from beyond the shadow, finally even spitting out a Magic Stone.
The shadow that disassembled the kobold like deboning chicken returned to Benny. And a cute burp flowed out from between Benny’s sharp teeth.
“Urp.”
Benny reflexively covered her mouth, then confidently put her hands on her hips.
“How was that? Not bad, right?”
“Benny. Would you debone for life?”
“Huh.”
I heard sowhere that deboning fish for soone is true love.
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