Chapter 45

After confirming that everyone had gone down the stairs, I also descended.

I had defeated about ten Minotaurs, but I didn't think their numbers had decreased. There were more reinforcements.

Moreover, Minotaurs were coming from the opposite side, and if this continued, we would be caught in a pincer attack.

I hurried down the stairs.

... and the Minotaurs followed me down the stairs!

Seriously, monsters in the dungeon are supposed to not move between floors... No, this must mean that Caro's ability is that powerful.

When we reached the 25th floor, there was a large room, and at the back was the boss room.

"Everyone, get into the boss room! Slash!"

I aimed a slash at the right leg of the Minotaur behind me.

The Minotaur, having lost its right leg, collapsed on the stairs, blocking the others.

With Haru and Sebastian leading, Oregairu and Caro entered the boss room.

Then, the boss room began to close.

—Just in time!

I slipped through the closing door.

Phew, if I had a cloak, it would definitely have been caught in the door, it was that close.

This way, the Minotaurs won't follow—wait, what?

"Is the boss a Minotaur too?"

In the high-ceilinged room, there was a giant Minotaur with golden hair, standing about five meters tall.

It was breathing heavily and looking down at us—no, more specifically, at Caro.

Caro's skill must be affecting it too.

"It's the King Minotaur."

"Is it strong?"

"—Yes."

"—Then I'll defeat it... but even if I do, the boss room won't open, right?"

"Yes, the door can only be opened from the inside, or when the boss reappears. When that happens, everyone inside the boss room will be forced out, the door will close, and the boss will reappear when the door opens again."

It seems the system is designed to prevent anyone from monopolizing the boss.

Anyway, I want to defeat the boss and take a break.

We've been fighting for a long time, and I'm sure I've accumulated a lot of experience.

If I get stronger, I think I can handle a large group of Minotaurs.

... but still, Oregairu has been glaring at me the whole time... Did he figure out that I'm Haru's master?

Even if we escape the dungeon, there's going to be a confrontation.

But for now, I'll take care of the King Minotaur.

First, I'll keep my distance from the others and then attack—when I thought that, Oregairu charged at the King Minotaur alone, raising a golden sword without a blade.

"Be prepared, King Minotaur! I am Oregairu Robotti, the heir of the Arandel Kingdom, Eric Robotti!"

That damn noble! What is he thinking!?

Oregairu's sword hit the King Minotaur's calf—its weak point—but it didn't pierce or cut, just hit.

The King Minotaur glared at Oregairu and raised its massive axe.

"Master Oregairu!"

Sebastian, moving at a speed that didn't seem possible with his injured leg, stood in front of Oregairu and took the axe with his back.

"Sebastian!"

Oregairu called out his butler's name... but Sebastian didn't respond.

He was clearly in critical condition.

The King Minotaur raised its axe again to finish them off.

"Slash!"

My slash hit the King Minotaur's arm, stopping its attack. Blood gushed from the Minotaur's arm.

I had to heal Sebastian quickly—no, I'll decide now!

I jumped from the side and kicked the King Minotaur's temple with all my strength.

The giant body of the King Minotaur collapsed to the side.

Then, I pulled out my sword from my item bag and stabbed it into the King Minotaur's neck.

[Your level has increased]

[Unemployed Skill: Second Job Setting II obtained]

[Swordsman Skill: Sword Mastery (Small) upgraded to Sword Mastery (Medium)]

[Apprentice Swordsman Skill: Sword Degradation Prevention obtained]

[Apprentice Swordsman level cannot increase further]

[Title: Master of Apprentice Swordsman obtained]

[Brawler Skill: Physical Attack Enhancement (Slight) upgraded to Physical Attack Enhancement (Small)]

[Hunter Skill: Aura Detection upgraded to Aura Detection II]

[Job: Demolisher unlocked]

There are many things to be curious about, but right now, healing Sebastian is the priority.

"Sebastian, Sebastian, hold on!"

Oregairu was shaking Sebastian's body, but that would only make things worse!

"Move, I'll heal him! Petit Heal!"

I pushed Oregairu away, switched my job to Unemployed, Apprentice Mage, Mage, Apprentice Alchemist, and Apprentice Spellcaster to increase my magic defense, and started healing.

The wound gradually closed, but Sebastian's face was still pale.

This is a game-like world, but it's not a game. Just closing the wound doesn't mean everything is okay.

He clearly doesn't have enough blood.

"We need to take him to the hospital for a blood transfusion..."

But what can we do?

Who will carry Sebastian?

If I or Haru carry him, we'll lose a combatant. We might not be able to escape.

"Caro will be the decoy. While Caro lures the monsters, everyone else should escape."

That's the only option. With Caro's ability, she won't be attacked.

Then, if we escape separately—

"...No."

But it was Oregairu who said that.

"With the Siren's skill, the Siren won't be attacked—because the monsters see her as an attractive opposite sex. At first, the monsters will surround her, then court her. Finally, they will attack her—on the surface, the sun would rise before that happens, but here in the dungeon, she will be taken to the Minotaur's nest before she can escape to the surface."

"Then, what if Caro and I escape first? That way... huh?"

I looked at the back of the boss room.

There was a door.

"Hey, isn't that the room with the goddess statue?"

I confirmed that and then said,

"There are three auras... Is there someone else here?"

"There can't be. If there were someone in the goddess's room, the boss wouldn't appear."

"...But there are definitely three auras. Maybe there's another entrance? If so, we might be able to escape from there—"

With a glimmer of hope, but also cautious, I opened the door to the room with the goddess statue.

There, I saw—

"...Why are you guys here?"

There, I saw Joffrey, Elise, and the donkey they had bought.

The two of them and the donkey were casually dozing in front of the goddess statue.

There didn't seem to be any other entrance to the goddess statue room—how did they get here?

At the very least, the King Minotaur is not an opponent for you.