Chapter 42

When we entered the dungeon, the scenery changed in an instant.

Until just a moment ago, it was a mountain at night, with trees growing thickly and rocks scattered around, and we were illuminating the surroundings with torches. Inside the dungeon, however, it was as bright as daytime, and various sizes of mushrooms were growing.

"Big..."

"Yeah."

There were mushrooms taller than twice my height. In the back, there were even mushrooms that were over ten meters tall, densely blocking the path... It was as if the forest was made of mushrooms rather than trees.

"Look, look. This isn't the time to be saying that. Three rock golems are here to greet us."

"...Three? Granos, rock golems move slowly. Keep your distance and attack. Naga, focus on defense and attract one of them. Crane, fall back. Be careful with three of them."

I turned around in surprise and saw golems, about twice my height, pushing through the wall of mushrooms and heading towards us.

"Alright! Let's go... Water Arrow!"

One golem emerged from the mushrooms and I cast a single-target water magic to restrain it, which was in a combat stance. Since Lord Raz is on Leonis's side, it's fine even if the golem heads that way. Fol is positioned between Leonis and Lord Raz.

"Naga, follow up. Crane, that's a good stance. If you receive an attack, always be ready to defend."

"Y-Yes. I'm fine, I can do it!"

Because I cast a magic attack, the golem heading towards me received some advice.

Leonis seems to be dealing with the later-emerging golems and is ignoring the one coming towards us.

I've never used my shield skill properly, but my intuition tells me it's dangerous not to use it here. I confirm that Naga is coming towards me and tell him it's fine. If the golem he's dealing with comes over, it would be more dangerous. If it's just one, it should be manageable... I hope.

"Here they come."

"Guard... Guard again! Then, Wind Cutter... Trip!"

I extended my shield to block a punch from the right hand with Guard. Then, the golem followed up with a punch from the left hand, which I also blocked with Guard and cast a magic attack. The golem hesitated and tried to step back, so I used a martial arts move, Trip, to bring it down.

"Good job. Keep your distance."

"Here... Light Healing... Ugh... Even with Guard, I took more than half damage..."

"Let's go, Crushing Blade!"

While I was taking a distance, my brother defeated the downed golem. It must be a sword technique. He used a powerful skill repeatedly to defeat it. It seems to have a special attack for hard opponents.

"Ugh!!"

When I was healing myself and checking the remaining two golems, I heard Naga's voice. It seems he couldn't guard in time and was thrown into the wall.

My brother attacked the golem's legs to make it lose balance as it tried to follow up.

"Naga! Light Healing!!"

"I'm fine..."

"Wind Cutter"

While casting a healing spell, I slipped between Naga and the golem and aimed for its feet.

The golem didn't flinch, so it maintained its defense, but additional magic attacks came from the side.

"Wind Storm! Look, there's one more, so try your best. Leo is holding it back, so you can attack from behind."

Leonis is holding back the other one, but he seems quite relaxed. He used a large-area magic to defeat one and dealt significant damage to the other. Leonis's HP hasn't decreased at all, so he doesn't need healing. I call out to Naga.

"Naga, brother, can you do it?"

"Yeah... Slash!"

"One Slash!"

"Light Strike! ...Is it over?"

Naga attacked from behind, my brother from the side, and I followed up with a magic attack. The golem broke apart and stopped moving.

"Good job, all three of you. Naga, focus more on your opponent."

"...The damage was worse than I thought..."

"...Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Naga, are you okay? Any injuries?"

"You healed me."

"Good..."

In this battle, I leveled up three times. It was indeed a strong monster. I now understand the danger of being complacent...

My level instantly reached 18. I learned the skills Small Shield Technique, Magic Shield, and Enveloping Technique. I think the reason is that my Shield Technique and Martial Arts both reached level 5. My Light Magic also reached level 5, but I didn't learn any new skills. Maybe I already know all the holy magic, so I didn't learn anything new.

Naga and my brother also leveled up. When I asked Naga in a small voice if he got stronger, he nodded.

However... This was the first time I saw my brother use his skills seriously. I've seen him use them casually before, but when he uses them seriously, he can even penetrate higher-level opponents... His attack power as an attacker is more than sufficient.

When I asked Leonis a bit, he said that when abilities reach level 5, there's a chance to learn higher-level abilities. However, it's not guaranteed that you'll learn them just by reaching level 5. It depends on your stats and other skills, so there's no information on it.

My brother looked skeptical, but Leonis didn't seem to want to respond by just waving his hand lightly...

My master said that when Observation reaches level 5, you learn Appraisal, but apparently, there's a chance you won't learn it. It seems that my master and I learning it easily doesn't mean it's guaranteed.

"Crane, how was the battle compared to your abilities?"

"...The magic worked better than expected?"

"Rock golems have low magic resistance, so even weak magic attacks can get through. Also, the higher your INT, the stronger your magic attacks."

"Yeah. Naga did a good job holding one of them. At first, if one wasn't held back, the other could have attacked from behind, which would have been dangerous. You did well. Crane, your defense was good... Well, the attacks are heavy, so the damage is big, but that's to be expected... If possible, when there are many enemies, Granos should step in. Having three was unexpected, so it couldn't be helped this time."

"Got it."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Three was unexpected?

In other words, you knew rock golems would appear?

"Rock golems are highly likely to appear at the entrance of this dungeon. If you can't defeat them, you can't enter the dungeon, so it's the first major challenge. They're as strong as the bosses on the 10th floor. Usually, there's only one."

As strong as a boss, and you have to fight at the entrance... So, it's a boss!

If there's a test boss at the entrance of the dungeon, you should have said so from the beginning. And usually, there's only one. This time, there were three... Bad luck!

"Huh... So, it's bad luck, right?"

"But, it's a good thing we confirmed we can fight. It seems Crane can handle it with Guard."

"Okay... Can I dismantle them now?"

"Yeah. Well, you only need the golem's core and magic stone, so there's no need to dismantle them..."

I see?

Indeed, the defeated golems have turned to stone, and only the core and magic stone are left... The stones are easy to find because the core and magic stone are glowing among the pebbles.

I approached to confirm... Yeah, there are a few large stones... Just stones that were moving like that. When I used the Appraisal I just learned, it said golem stone...

It seems different from ordinary stones.

...It has hardness but is easy to shape and process... I see? I'll take a little back with me.

"Did you get it? Then, let's go. We don't know the way either, so we can't take our time. We'll guide the way..."

"I'll leave it to you two. If we encounter traps, I'll let you know."

"That's right, I'll leave it to you. There will be battles, so I'll take the lead, but you decide the direction."

Leonis glanced at Fol, who shook his head and took a step back, making a polite bow. When I met his eyes, he just smiled and didn't intend to go first.

It's fine to leave it to us. My brother and I made eye contact and nodded.

This is near the entrance of the dungeon. Behind us is the exit of the dungeon.

In front of us is a path the golems forced through the mushrooms. The right path continues straight ahead, with a misty appearance. The left path continues but has a corner, so the end isn't visible.

My brother and Naga seem to be leaving it to me... Why?

Why me?

Fol is on guard around Lord Raz.

Even if our eyes meet, he just smiles and doesn't intend to go first.

"It's fine. You can do it. There are no traps, and even if a strong enemy comes, you can handle it. If the old man is nearby, it's completely fine."

I was wondering what to do, but my brother came over and patted my shoulder.

Indeed... From the battle I just saw, I think I'm the only one who's in trouble... If you let me decide the direction, that might be good. I'll go in the direction with fewer monsters.

"Let's go left, please."

"Okay. By the way, why?"

"Well, the path the golems made is dangerous and can't be used. Between the left and right, the path without mist is better for spotting enemies and ensuring safety."

My Intuition doesn't say the left is better. Well, I think the mist in this dungeon is dangerous... I don't think it's caused by mushroom spores... It just feels bad...

"Good judgment. By the way, if you go the way the rock golems came, you're likely to reach the Monster House. The dungeon's mist is not natural but is likely a trap or a monster."

"...You should have told us from the beginning. Not very kind to newbies!"

"Remember it well. You too."

As we continued down the left path, we reached another fork. When we reach a fork, I decide the direction, and everyone follows.

Leonis is in the lead.

Originally, Naga was supposed to be next, but Naga is walking beside me, and Lord Raz and Fol are in front. My brother is at the back. Is this okay?

Well, it's a wide, enemy-free path, so it might be fine.

The parts other than the path are covered with mushrooms, so enemies can only come from the front or back, which is fine.

"So, right or left?"

"Right, before... They're coming from behind."

"Excellent, 200 meters away, 20 seconds to arrive, I'd say."

"Be careful in the corridor. It's narrow."

The enemy I detected with my perception is coming at an incredible speed.

I wish my brother and Fol would say something if they noticed.

I glared at my brother, but he said, "No, I didn't think they'd notice us from that distance..." ...He could see them. If he had said something, I could have been more careful...

"Two gray wolves. Get ready for battle, okay?"

"Is there anyone else nearby?"

"No, there isn't."

While there was still distance, Leonis and