Chapter 6 – Battle with the Monsters
When we descended to the second floor, a horde of monsters was already waiting for us.
“Those are goblins,”
“Goblins. Small humanoid monsters, huh”
“Be careful. Goblins aren’t very dangerous, but they are very cunning. They set traps, and they are highly organized,”
“Understood,”
I drew my sword. Slowly, I unsheathed Amajiki from its scabbard.
There’s no need to activate my ability right now.
Besides, I don’t want to reveal this ability at this stage.
That suspicious gaze is still watching me.
With the sword’s blade gleaming pitch black, I rushed toward the goblin horde.
“Ge?”
“Giiiii!”
“Guaaaaa!”
The goblins raised their voices and all charged at me, but I passed right through their ranks.
“Hmm. Is this all?
With a sharp click, I sheathed my sword.
The disemboweled goblins immediately fell into scattered chunks of flesh on the spot.
I had wondered how powerful these monsters were, but it seems they can’t keep up with my speed.
Unlike animals from my previous world, they definitely seem to feel tough—this isn’t just their skin, flesh, or bones being hard.
It’s more than that.
“──Body Enhancement!”
“Eh……”
Luna cast a magic spell on me.
It wasn’t harmful; it boosted my physical abilities.
Magic really is a useful tool.
“Ayame-san! I will cast a weakening spell on the goblins!”
“Ah!”
Luna shouted “Weakening!” and a black mist-like substance covered the goblins’ bodies. Their movements slowed, and with my increased speed, there was no way they could catch me. Within less than five seconds, I destroyed the goblins.
“Is that all?”
I said, quickly swinging my sword and brushing the blood off.
When I sheathed my sword, Luna rushed over to me.
“Ayame-san, that was excellent!”
“Yes. But they did seem a bit tough,”
“That’s because monsters are always defending themselves with magic.”
A Magic defenseMagic, huh? Certainly, most swordsmen would find it difficult to break through that.
It’s not only magic but also the monsters themselves are a swordsman’s natural enemies. With something like this, no wonder swordsmen have been declining.
“Somehow, Ayame-san, even though you look around my age, you seem very mature,”
Luna said, gazing at me with shining, innocent eyes. There was a sense of admiration in her expression.
“Uh… well, I’ve grown up in quite adult environments,”
“? I see”
I mumbled, unable to quite hide my awkwardness.
Certainly, I probably look like I’m in my late teens now. But inside, I’ve survived over seventy years as a Samurai.
“Huh?”
“What is it, Luna?”
“I thought there would be more monsters around, but it’s extremely quiet, or rather, oddly peaceful,”
“Yeah. I don’t really sense any presence,”
As Luna said, the moment we thought that, we suddenly couldn’t sense any monster auras. This quiet space felt a little eerie.
“Enemy Detection.”
Luna placed her hand on the ground, and I could feel her magic flowing from her hand.
“Eh……?”
“What’s wrong, Luna?”
“There’s a large monster… that one……”
Luna said, her eyes wide as she pointed into the darkness.
Something was stomping on the ground at a steady interval, producing a rhythmic thumping sound.
And in front of us appeared—
“Griffin!?”
“That’s what it’s called—Griffin. It looks like a ferocious monster, no doubt.”
“That is a high-ranked, top-tier monster—S-rank!—which only appears after the twentieth floor!”
“Oh?”
The Griffin’s appearance resembled that of a giant eagle.
Its muscles were well-developed, and if those sharp claws on its forelegs tore through something, it wouldn’t stand a chance.
Also, unlike the goblin from earlier, it was covered in thick magical defense. It seems it has not only attack power but also strong defense.
Even I could tell that it was an individual with battle experience.
“Ayame-san!?”
“Luna. Stay back, this is dangerous.”
“But still… that thing…!”
“Leave it to me.”
I drew my sword and faced the Griffin. Our intense gazes locked, each of us carefully gauging the other’s movements.
But what’s concerning are the sharply cut scars in various places. They don’t look like wounds from a sword… It seems to be something else entirely.
“Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”
The first move came from Griffin. I’ll save dealing with those scars for later.
The Griffin spread its wings wide and slightly took flight, then directed its sharp claws at me.
When I quickly dodged, a deep gouge was left where I had just been.
The cutting power was extraordinary, capable of scraping the hard ground. I can’t afford to let my guard down.
“Haah!”
I accelerated directly and took flight, charging straight at the Griffin to strike from the front.
“Guuuuuu!”
In an astonishing move, the Griffin responded with its beak against my Amajiki. Its beak and my sword clashed, and I managed to cut off a part of it.
“I intended to cut it completely, but it’s tough,”
I pulled back and observed Griffin’s condition. It’s partly because its beak is so hard, but more than that, its magical defense is making things difficult.
“In that case—”
I gently placed my left index and middle fingers on the blade. Slipping my fingers quickly, the blade transformed into something entirely white.
I partially unleashed the ability of my demon sword, Amajiki. I infused my energy into the blade.
“Now, let’s push forward—!”
“Giiiiiiaaaa!”
The sword and claws clashed again. Sparks flew fiercely, and we fought as if performing a dance.
It’s definitely a formidable foe. Its intelligence is high, and it’s skillfully evading my sword.
But I am surpassing it.
“Now’s the moment.”
I feigned a miss, deliberately swinging my sword wide.
Taking advantage of that opening, the Griffin leapt forward and swung its claws down, but I timed it perfectly to dodge and drove my sword into its neck.
And with one swift stroke—
I completely cut through its neck, and a large amount of blood erupted.
However, the Griffin’s eyes were still not dead. It lunged at me regardless, but I evaded again and cut the other side of its neck.
With its head fully severed, the enormous body collapsed with a resounding thud, hitting the ground.
“Stand Proud. You were strong,”
When I sheathed my sword, Luna had an expression of disbelief.
“…Amazing. You really defeated it.”
“I told you. When you win.”
“Y-yes. But… to think you’d defeat an S-rank monster so easily.”
“…”
More than Luna’s words, I was now preoccupied with that cut.
“As I thought, it’s not a sword of any kind.”
Gently, I touched the scar. An extremely sharp wound remained on this griffin.
However, that wound was there before I even fought it. The fact that I could defeat it so easily was simply because it was already injured.
Who is this? Also, it’s deliberately avoiding a fatal wound. Is it just playing around? To be able to wound such a powerful monster as a mere game is quite the formidable opponent.
As I calmly analyzed, I heard a clapping sound.
“Wow, you’re even stronger than I imagined! This is great. Now I’m even more eager to hunt you.”
The one who appeared from behind was Eric. As expected, he’s here. I quickly moved to take a stance in front of Luna.
“Hey, hey. Don’t be so cautious.”
“That’s an impossible request.”
“I have a proper proposal this time.”
“Hmph. Well then, I’ll listen to what you have to say.”
Eric grinned mischievously and looked down on me.
“This is a duel between you and me. If I win, I get Luna. What will you do?”
“Disband the unjust contract with Luna’s father.”
“Very well. Then, the duel is decided.”
Eric lightly waved his hand, and something that looked like a seal or crest was engraved on each of our right hands.
“This is a Magic Crest. With mutual consent, the duel is officially agreed upon. This contract will be absolutely fulfilled. With this, you have no complaints later, right? It’s a hassle to deal with complaints afterward.”
“Yeah.”
“Heh heh heh… Now then, I wonder how I should hunt down this trash?”