Chapter 286
Alright, the imprisoned people who were a headache have been evacuated.
That means the next step is some behind-the-scenes work to make it look like it wasn't an escape. I pull an item from my magic bag.
"Glad I had this ready. The Dungeon Key."
What I pulled out were the dungeon keys I collected in the Spirit World. And along with it, a large cloth. Not Sunlight Silk, just a regular, sturdy furoshiki wrapping cloth.
Sharia is currently still fighting Jakaran. Judging from the initial look, it doesn't seem like things will be decided immediately, but he won't last much longer either. That means I need to act swiftly.
From the key ring, I pull out a single pale blue key. I insert it into the space of this prison cell to form a dungeon.
The dungeon forms successfully.
The moment I step into the dungeon without hesitation, I use Step to leap sideways. What falls down at the entrance is a light blue, slimy substance that was probably stuck to the ceiling. Yes, the creature often depicted as the weakest mob in various works, and in some stories, as a fearsome monster.
A Slime.
In FBO, it falls into the latter category. Even the lowest rank is Class 4, and their level is in the latter half, almost near Class 5. Under certain conditions, they can even slay the lowest ranks of Drakes, Marsh Dragons, or Wyverns.
Right now, one is oozing with high killing intent, undulating its body, trying to leap at me. But I move forward first, covering the slime with the furoshiki I was holding.
"Let me show you outside the dungeon!!"
I drive the slime out of the dungeon.
The monster that went outside seems to have some homing instinct, wriggling its body trying to get back into the dungeon. But before it can, I toss an item I pulled from my magic bag outside to stop its movement.
"Holy Water to block the entrance. Well, it should last about 30 minutes."
Holy Water, a liquid that creates a holy barrier. It has no physical defense, but it has the effect of repelling monsters, making them avoid getting close.
Because I have a large supply of Light Spirit Stones, I can make high-performance Holy Water strong enough to keep a Class 4 monster away. Thinking one slime isn't enough, a dome-shaped cave comes into view.
Its walls are dotted with holes resembling nests, and from them, new slimes ooze out smoothly.
This dungeon is said to be the smallest among Class 4 dungeons.
The holes where slimes appear are too small for a person to pass through, and there are no other passages that seem passable for living creatures.
"Alright then, I'll toss out about two more, then quickly clear the dungeon."
This dungeon is a bit special.
Holding the furoshiki instead of readying my spear, I dash towards the slimes emerging from the nest holes. I pounce, wrap them in the furoshiki, and toss them out.
This dungeon operates on a system where a boss appears after defeating a certain number of monsters.
In this dungeon's case, the boss appears after defeating 100 slimes. Slimes are famous in FBO for being hard to defeat.
They have high physical resistance, regeneration abilities, and possess acidic slime that reduces equipment durability. They aren't particularly strong or weak against magic attacks either.
In a way, they are natural enemies for ultra-close combatants like Claudia or high-defense, slow-moving entities like Golems.
If you punch them, the impact disperses, and they drag your arm into their body. If you swing a sword, they regenerate as you cut and absorb the weapon.
They take damage, but only minor wounds, while dealing heavy damage to their opponent. They are troublesome monsters.
"Hup!"
But even such monsters, with a sufficient stat difference, will vanish instantly if I swing my spear.
Is this what they mean by a 'magnificent spear'? The hard-to-defeat monsters appear one after another and disappear.
Slimes overwhelm and surround intruders with sheer numbers, but if they are processed this indifferently, there's no way to counter it.
One per second. Because I defeat them so quickly, I ignore all the dropped items.
Magic stones that could make a fortune in this world are scattered about, but I ignore even those and proceed to defeat every slime that appears.
"Oh."
Doing that, a change arrives in no time.
Not even five minutes—faster than instant noodles cook—slimes come pouring out of every hole in the dungeon.
A sigh of admiration escapes me at how fast the change was. Just when I thought I'd be buried alive, the slimes merge, a prelude to the appearance of a super-giant slime.
Neck Hunt and Heart Strike are useless against this guy.
But even merged, it's a Class 5 monster.
"Phew, about five minutes total, I'd say."
The stat difference is just too great."Worked up a good sweat," I wipe the sweat from my brow after whittling down the slime with Magic-Edge reinforced normal attacks.
I open the treasure chest, collect the magic stone and the liquid in the bottle inside, then head straight out the exit.
This dungeon doesn't have a magic circle, so escaping is a bit troublesome.
The dungeon gate vanished the moment I stepped out, so it's officially cleared. And I thought the slimes I tossed out should be outside... well, as expected.
Don't leave unconscious people in front of active monsters.
The Holy Water I used for protection was to prevent the slimes I tossed outside from getting back in. Of course, it offers no protection for the people who worked here. The three slimes I tossed out are wriggling inside the prison cell that should have been locked.
Being able to infiltrate through even small gaps is a slime's characteristic, and they eat anything.
They work in an underground arena like this, so of course they must have done one or two shady things.
Their fate is the belly of a slime.
I let Judas and the others escape first precisely because I knew this would happen. And with this, they'll think everyone, including Judas, was eaten by slimes.
As for where they entered from, the fact that several ventilation shafts are broken will lead them to think they came from there.
Since it's a monster that absolutely shouldn't appear in the northern territory, they'll probably think it's the work of some outsider.
One of the slimes twitches, notices me, and tries to come towards me, but I deliberately don't defeat it and just leave the room.
This way, the slimes that finish their 'meal' will ooze slime, leave traces, and exit the room.
By the time they leave the room, they'll have lost sight of me running and will wander the underground passages. What happens after that is none of my concern.
It would be best if they ran into Jakaran or something, but he should be fighting Sharia right now.
Eventually, the slimes will also be drawn by the cheers that start to be heard. I need to get Sharia and escape before they arrive. Just as I reach the arena entrance, a huge cheer erupts.
*"Hah... Hah... Hah..."**"What's wrong? Was all that vigor just for the start?"*
There was Sharia, his body covered in bruises. Jakaran, his blood boiling with anger, was watching Sharia get beaten to a pulp, feeling gratified and enjoying tormenting him.
Yes, this is the reality Sharia doesn't know.
The violence of the Raging God, said to be physically powerful.The cheers from the surroundings further excite Jakaran, and being affirmed probably fills him with a sense of omnipotence.
His expression is so obvious there's no need to sense that he's feeling joy, genuine joy from the bottom of his heart.
Battered and bruised, he stands up and takes a stance, but his right arm is broken.His left leg probably has a crack in it too.
At the stage where the surrounding spectators understand he has no chance of winning, that the match is decided, I take a step, then after a light leap, I slice through the iron bars with the tip of my spear.
*"?"**"Who... are you?"*
I intrude into the ring.
"Dōmo, Jakaran-san. I am a Ninja."
I stand before Jakaran, shielding Sharia.My face is masked, my appearance utterly suspicious.
And my entrance ruins the atmosphere of the space he was enjoying so much.
*"Hey! You! What are you—"*
A guard, looking confused, comes in from the entrance trying to grab me and pulls out his sword to get ready, but I throw a bo shuriken without looking. It passes at high speed right next to the guard's face, leaving a red line on his cheek.
*"......"*
Seeing that move, Jakaran falls silent.This guy is intoxicated with power, finds pleasure in rampaging, but is fundamentally a coward.He only fights battles he can win.
Until now, he's merely been using his own physical specs and animal intuition to identify the weak.I know this well.
A clearly dangerous person has jumped in.
The guard who sensed this slumps down, and the spectators murmur.
Behind me is a confused Sharia, and the atmosphere of the place has become chaotic. To create a flow in this atmosphere, I deliberately thrust my spear into the ground.
It's a masterpiece made by a spirit blacksmith acquaintance of Dark-san. Plain-looking but guaranteed performance.
Leaving the spear, which pierced the hard ground lightly and deeply, right there, I take a step forward and extend my left hand.
I provoke him with my index finger, telling him to bring it on.
*"Tch!"*
I won't kill him here. But to stop this tragedy even a little, he needs to have a painful experience.He shows anger intense enough to make his veins bulge at my provocation.But he doesn't attack.
Instinctively, Jakaran knows he can't run from here.First, the eyes of the people.Specifically, the evaluation from these northern nobles and wealthy merchants who were just cheering loudly. This affects his reputation later.
Because he's a coward, he detests others' evaluations, especially being made a fool of or looked down upon, as if they were venomous snakes or scorpions.
Second, this stage.
It's covered by iron bars, with only two entrances. Now there's a new opening I cut with my spear, so he could escape through there if he wanted, but there are spectators there.
And third, my provocation.
If I give off an aura of strength and provoke him with a sneering gaze, he's bound to get irritated enough for veins to bulge on his forehead.For the above three reasons, Jakaran cannot move, but...
"It seems the Hero prefers to be the one challenged, desu na."
I act exasperated, shrugging my shoulders theatrically, and then I deliberately spread my arms wide and slowly walk towards him.
I walk boldly, as if telling him to hit me, and the moment I reach the optimal position for the impact of Jakaran's fist...
*"GRRAAAAAAAH!!!!"*
With a beast-like roar, Jakaran swings his fist and attacks with all his might.I evade it with minimal movement, barely moving from that spot.
*"Guh!?"*
I strike him in the abdomen, as if pushing away Jakaran, whose body is coming at me with momentum.A counter-like blow to the stomach.
A look of confusion, born from the stimulus called pain, appears on Jakaran's face.With his body enhanced by Raging God, he probably has never felt any significant damage before.
Trying to shake off the faint feeling of fear that arose, he throws punch after punch, but each time I return one blow for his one, relentlessly striking the same spot.I'm holding back. I should finish this quickly, but I keep landing restrained attacks on his abdomen, over and over.
*What exactly are you?* Jakaran can no longer hide his fear.I take another step forward towards him, closing the distance.