Chapter 8

8

Before diving into battle, I confirmed the positions of the monsters I had summoned. Dozens of spiders were already near the entrance, waiting for my command to rush out and ravage my enemies.

However, since there were witnesses, I should avoid using the monsters as much as possible.

After all, my confidence didn't solely lie in the monsters. The Dungeon Master trait granted me a 300% stat boost.

My stats had already increased to nearly three times those of my opponents.

“Haaah!”

The cowards who had been slowly surrounding me suddenly charged at once.

This was a fight between an ordinary person and trained soldiers, something I had never properly experienced.

Even if there was a significant difference in strength, the numerical disadvantage of 3:1 would still lead to my certain defeat.

But the gap between their physical abilities and mine was like that between an adult and a child, or even greater.

With such a disparity, it was difficult to bridge the gap with mere numerical superiority.

Thud!

A soldier who had raised his sword was hit in the nose by my fist.

It was a clumsy punch, but the impact, accompanied by a savage sound, was enough to completely collapse his nose.

The force and speed with which the soldier fell were so dynamic that even I, who had struck him, was surprised.

It was hard to adapt to the sudden changes in my body.

“What the—!”

The soldiers, who had expected a sure victory with their encirclement, were taken aback.

Without thorough training, a coordinated attack often becomes worse than doing nothing once it starts to unravel.

When the soldier responsible for one side of the encirclement had his face nearly caved in, the other two panicked.

These soldiers, after all, were only capable of bullying those much weaker than themselves.

“What are you going to do?”

As I quietly asked the remaining two, they shrank back, intimidated by my presence.

“Hey, Holo, that Holo is weak. Don’t be scared!”

I knew his friend's name was Holo, but the way he said it felt like a strange rhyme.

I considered picking up Holo’s sword, which was lying on the ground with blood streaming from his nose, but decided against it.

Crack!

I suddenly lunged at the remaining two without warning.

The tense soldiers tried to slash at me clumsily, but they were no threat to me in the vicinity of the dungeon.

Thud, thud!

I punched their exposed abdomens.

“Cough.”

They stumbled backward but didn’t fall.

I had enough strength to cause internal injuries with a proper hit, but my stance was unstable, and my aim wasn’t accurate, so I didn’t land a solid blow.

“Ugh...”

Hmm, seeing the guy who got hit vomit up his guts, it seems I hit him harder than I thought.

“Damn, get up, you pathetic bastard. If we get caught by that guy here, we’re finished. We have to kill him and shut him up.”

The relatively unharmed soldier urged his vomiting comrade.

He was smart in some ways but also stupid.

He was smart enough to realize they were in a dire situation, but stupid enough to believe there was still a chance to turn things around.

I ran to the guy who was still clutching his stomach and kicked him in the jaw.

I wasn’t good at punching, but I had kicked balls often as a kid, so I could kick with a satisfying force.

The sound of his jaw breaking was accompanied by his eyes rolling back.

“Eek!”

The remaining soldier tried to kill me desperately but ended up being caught and disarmed.

Slap, slap, slap, slap.

I grabbed the guy by the collar and started slapping him, carefully controlling my strength.

At first, he screamed, “Oof, oof, oof, cough,” but eventually, he just lay there, twitching.

Hmm, this is my first time hitting someone properly, and it feels like I might develop a dangerous taste for it.

Especially since this guy had kicked the girl’s stomach, it felt particularly satisfying.

“Hey.”

“Cough, cough.”

I paused my slapping to let the dazed soldier regain his senses.

“Aren’t you going to beg for mercy? I might feel sorry for you.”

“P-please...”

Smack.

As soon as he said “please,” I slapped him again. He looked at me with a pained expression.

“Did you listen to the girl when she begged for mercy?”

I wanted to beat him more, but I let him go.

Beating him until he passed out wasn’t a good choice.

I have no interest in stripping men.

“Get up.”

The soldier, who had fallen like a broken doll, got up quickly, fearing I might hit him again.

“Take off your clothes.”

“W-what?”

The dazed soldier started to take off his clothes when I raised my hand.

“Don’t take off your underwear. You’re crazy.”

I barely prevented the worst-case scenario of my eyes being attacked.

I gave the stolen clothes to the fallen girl.

“It might feel uncomfortable, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.”

She took the clothes, unable to speak, and lay on the cold floor, crying and thanking me.

I looked at the trembling soldier and the one lying on the ground.

Should I just feed them to the spiders? After a moment’s thought, I shook my head.

If they were ordinary civilians, it wouldn’t matter.

Even if someone reported it, with attempted rape and murder, and the fact that one of the intended victims was a noble like me, I could execute them on the spot without much trouble.

But if they were guards of the King’s Forest, things would be different.

I looked in the direction where the hunter was hiding.

“You can come out now.”

The hunter walked out from his hiding spot, his face a mix of surprise and discomfort.

“Were you a knight...?”

“No, if I were a knight, I would have been carrying a sword.”

Knights always carry a sword unless it’s absolutely necessary not to, as it’s part of their code of chivalry.

But to a commoner, anyone with this level of combat ability would be seen as either an adventurer or a knight.

“Can you tie these guys up? I don’t have anything to use.”

“Sure, I’ll do it.”

The hunter, perhaps embarrassed at having been hiding alone, awkwardly tied up the fallen soldiers and the one in his underwear.

“Sir, it’s unlikely they’ll wake up soon. I can carry one of them...”

The hunter checked the unconscious soldiers and shook his head.

This makes it more troublesome to move them, but I don’t want to carry the male soldiers.

I might as well feed them to the spiders.

Then I noticed the soldier who was still standing.

“I can have this one carry the others.”

That settled the transportation method.

“Can you stand?”

“Yes...! Ah...!”

The girl, who was trying to stand, let out a small scream.

She clearly had an injury, as she couldn’t stand properly and was limping.

“Hmm...”

On closer inspection, her ankle was swollen, and she had a small but deep cut on her calf.

“I have no choice.”

“Eek...! S-Sir...?”

I picked her up. She looked startled, her eyes wide like a rabbit’s, as our faces were suddenly close.

I considered carrying her on my back, but since I now had strength far beyond my previous life, I decided to try something new.

Before leaving, I opened the dungeon window and sent the summoned monsters back inside.

...

...

...

“...”

Looking at the message, I felt the unease I had been vaguely sensing all along, more strongly than ever.

I had saved this girl, even accepting the risk of penalties.

If this were Earth, it would be a heroic act worthy of a civic bravery award.

Is the violence I used to save her considered a crime?

I felt that the condition for earning negative points was not “evil deeds” as I had initially thought.

When Lucifer told me to collect negative points, I might have misunderstood, thinking he was the Lord of Hell.

For demons, evil deeds might be a means, not an end.

And if negative points are the “goal,” the means might not be limited to evil deeds.

Killing adventurers is certainly an evil act by human standards.

But what about from the monsters’ perspective?

Are adventurers who come to kill monsters and earn money considered good?

Conversely, are monsters who attack villages for food considered evil?

Of course, this is all relative, and I have no right to judge.

I’m just trying to understand the structural system of the abilities I possess.

So, was subduing the soldiers to save the girl an evil act?

I didn’t kill them.

Negative points are not accumulated by my evil deeds.

They are earned based on the negative emotions caused by my actions.

This is my conclusion based on the information I have gathered.

I looked at the girl in my arms.

Her eyes were still filled with tears.

“Sir...?”

I gently put her down.

“Phew, you’re heavy. Now, get on my back.”

Damn, with the dungeon stat boost gone, she feels like a lead weight.

The girl blushed, and the hunter and the soldier in his underwear gave me a resentful look.

They were carrying a large, muscular man each.

What? If you’re annoyed, become a noble.