Chapter 6

――The innate skill [Embrace of the Goddess] has been activated.

The right arm that had been torn off immediately fully recovered.

"Wait, you! My arm! What!? Is it okay!?"

The young male swordsman called out in a panic. Despite his rough words and actions, it seemed he was concerned for Rio.

This was the sixth floor of the underground labyrinth Dalitros. It resembled a vast cave, with the uneven walls emitting a faint light.

"I'm fine. More importantly, one is coming from the right. Please avoid it."

Following the calm words, he turned to the right, where a circular mouth was approaching. Sharp teeth lined the circumference without a gap. The swordsman was surprised by the momentum that could swallow him whole and leaped to the side.

A viscous liquid was spat out from the large mouth. The ground where the swordsman had been standing just moments ago began to dissolve with a squelching sound.

"Damn it, did it just get stronger all of a sudden? It was easy just a moment ago!"

Staring ahead, a giant earthworm, about three meters long, was there. It had a large mouth at the head, and its skin was a dull silver, smooth and metallic. This was a creature known as the Silver Worm.

There were three of them. The one that had torn off Rio's right arm was being dealt with by a female knight in full armor. She responded.

"Indeed, compared to the upper floors, they are significantly stronger. This is... tough."

Another young man in a robe cast a fireball, but it was deflected by the creature's tough body.

"My magic is ineffective. Essentially, it's three against two. We're being cornered!"

Rio negated the pessimistic cry.

"Please calm down. Although their bodies are hard, if you cast magic into their mouths, you can defeat them. Don't try to stab them with your swords because of the dissolving liquid attack."

"So, we, the frontliners, are just supposed to hold them off while the mage finishes them off?" the female knight asked.

"But there's one extra!" the male swordsman retorted.

"I'll draw it to me."

"Huh!? What can you do, a Level 1? Hey, wait! Don't move on your own!"

Rio thought for a moment, then, still carrying a large load as tall as himself, ran to the nearest giant earthworm.

He was worried that if he left the load behind in the midst of the chaos, it might be accidentally destroyed. Thanks to the [Carry] skill, carrying the load gave him a stat bonus, and the Silver Worm's dissolving liquid would not affect the load if he used his body as a shield.

"I told you, there's no need to worry about me."

The large mouth was aimed at him.

He immediately moved to the side.

However, the slow-moving Rio was easily caught by the giant earthworm,

"Ugh!"

and was hit directly by the dissolving liquid.

---

The crisis passed.

While Rio was drawing one of the creatures, the swordsman and the knight each held down the remaining two, and the mage, following Rio's instructions, defeated them with magic. It was a rather anticlimactic end.

They decided to take a break and gathered at the edge of a wide three-way intersection.

"I cast a barrier to repel monsters as you suggested. Is this okay?"

"Yes, the possibility of monsters appearing from all three paths at once is quite low, and with this much space, there are plenty of gaps for them to pass through."

Rio put down the large load and sat down.

"However, you should really take better care of yourself!"

The swordsman was still angry even after the battle ended.

"Don't yell at him. But, you are quite reckless, aren't you? And for a 14-year-old, you have quite the—ah, is that why? Your [Fear Resistance] is at Level 10, which is quite impressive."

The female knight slumped.

Rio took a small vial of healing potion from his load and handed it to her.

"I have a proposal. Let's turn back."

The swordsman, who seemed to want to say something, was stopped by a hand, and the female knight asked.

"...Can you tell us why?"

"The Silver Worms we just fought are among the weakest creatures on this sixth floor."

The three of them gasped.

Such explanations are usually given at the adventurer's guild, but it seems their handler was negligent.

"You can probably handle one easily. But these creatures move in groups. On this floor, there are usually three to four, so it might be manageable, but if we have to fight multiple times, there's a risk."

"Of course, we intend to take breaks before we get too tired. We can take turns sleeping with the monster-repelling barrier—"

"That's not all."

Rio interrupted firmly.

"There are troublesome creatures on this floor. Your attacks probably won't even phase them."

"Such powerful creatures...?"

"They are said to be rare, with only two or three on this vast floor, so we won't encounter them often..."

Rio stared intently at the female knight.

"Huh? Is there something wrong with me?"

"...Your innate skill is [Mischievous Luck], right?"

"Yes, it's described as 'luck comes whether you want it or not.' I don't understand the meaning of 'unwanted luck,' but I think it's a pretty good skill."

The female knight puffed out her chest proudly.

The swordsman, whose innate skill is [Flee], looked envious.

"Yes, we haven't encountered any monsters abnormally often until we got here."

"Yeah, it's been the same since we descended. It's been about thirty minutes, and that was our first battle."

"Oh, it really works, then."

"Yes, having someone like that in the party is reassuring."

The swordsman and the mage looked relieved.

"Is that really what everyone wants?"

When Rio asked sincerely, the three of them looked at each other, and the female knight spoke.

"Of course. Our goal is to obtain a certain treasure in this dungeon. If we can avoid unnecessary battles, that's even better."

With such a cowardly attitude, they wouldn't even be able to reach the floor below.

Despite their lack of awareness of the current situation, it seemed that this was indeed the situation they 'wanted.'

In that case, it was still—

"Let's turn back. I have a bad feeling."

"Hey, you can't turn back for such a vague reason."

Rio didn't really want to turn back either.

Just a little more.

If he could fully recover from 'death' two or three more times, he might finally level up.

However, he didn't want to put them in danger for his own sake. After all, these three had no way to avoid 'death.'

"No, it's not baseless. It's about time for 'unwanted luck' to—!"

A chill ran down Rio's spine.

"Something is coming. Please prepare to move immediately."

"What's going on all of a sudden? Ah, could it be... your regular skill [Danger Sense]?"

Before Rio could answer, a thud echoed, slightly shaking the cave.

Thud, thud. The sound grew louder and closer.

(What? What is it...?)

When he picked up the load, he felt an odd sensation. The cave's vibrations were not at regular intervals.

"It's not just one. It's bad. We're going to be surrounded. And this one is—"

"O-oi, that...?"

The swordsman pointed with a trembling finger.

A giant, about three meters tall, appeared. It had rock-like skin and a large single eye. In its hand, it gripped a thick club that matched its build.

"Low Cyclops. These are the troublesome creatures I mentioned earlier."

There were two of them.

Their simultaneous appearance was not just bad luck. Moreover, they were coming from both the left and right passages, completely surrounding them.

"What the hell is this!?"

"Quiet. We haven't been noticed yet because of the monster-repelling barrier. If we run towards the remaining passage, we can escape."

This plan was not just dashed but cruelly trampled.

Thud, thud, thud.

"Are you kidding me...? Why are they coming from there too...?"

From each of the three passages, three giants were approaching at roughly the same distance. If they were noticed, it would be impossible for everyone to escape safely, and the three adventurers were terrified.

The female knight grabbed the swordsman's shoulder firmly.

"You go. With your innate skill, you can—"

"What!? Wait, are you telling me to leave my comrades behind!?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, it seems we won't be able to complete the king's order. But someone needs to report. It seems my innate skill has caused trouble. I don't understand why... And I don't want to cause you trouble either. I'm sorry."

The female knight bowed, and the mage, trembling, responded with tears, "It's fine!"

The swordsman's tough face was wet with tears and snot.

"The reason is simple. The creatures that give the most experience on this floor are those. If they gather at once, it's efficient. Even though you didn't 'want' it, this can be seen as 'luck' from a certain perspective."

"That kind of logic—"

"That it works is both the annoying and useful aspect of that innate skill."

"Hey, why are you demoralizing the leader? Read the room, will you?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not good at that."

While saying this, Rio put down the load again.

"Since I'm apologizing, I'll say this: I don't intend to let anyone die."

"Huh?" the three of them said in unison.

"I have a plan. A plan to get everyone to safety from those creatures."

He rummaged through the load and pulled out two sticks. Torches—

.

Next time, the true power of the innate skill [Flee] will be revealed! (Not exactly, but something like that)

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