Chapter 42

Part 17: Dungeon Strategy (2)

What appeared was a large monster resembling a mouse.

With red eyes, a long beard, and sharp teeth, its face looked like that of an enlarged mouse.

However, below its head, it had a completely unexpected appearance.

The monster's shaggy body had four pairs of legs.

Three pairs of legs resembled those of an insect, while the top pair was much larger and longer than the others.

The furry head and body, along with the legs, made the monster look like a mouse that had been transformed into an insect and then enlarged.

"Why is a Red Mouse here...?"

Hearing the mutter from beside me, it seemed this monster was called a Red Mouse.

However, despite its name, its skin was not red but rather closer to gray.

The Red Mice slowly approached.

I raised my sword and asked the Phoenix Hunter, "What should we do?"

She looked at me and counted the number of approaching monsters.

There were three in total.

"We can't avoid the Red Mice underground, so we have to fight."

After confirming the numbers, she drew her sword from her waist.

The blade, engraved with a flying bird, glowed brightly.

"Is there any weakness?"

"It's a monster that hasn't been seen much since the Great War. I only heard that it's fast and annoying to deal with."

The book in the mansion didn't mention a monster called a Red Mouse.

In the end, we had to fight it head-on.

The approaching monsters growled at us.

Grrrr.

The growl sounded like a dirty wind rising from hell.

The monsters growled at us from a distance, and the mercenary and I glared at them with our swords raised.

I also released all the mana I had been hiding.

As I channeled the mana, the sword I had been dragging became easy to wield with both hands, and a faint light shone on the large blade.

Seeing my glowing sword, she looked surprised.

"I thought you might be stronger than expected, but this amount of mana is unrealistic for your age. Could the House of Dukes have left behind 'mana sensitivity'?"

Mana sensitivity? Isn't that a hereditary ability passed down from the royal family? What does my mana have to do with the royal family's ability? And how do you know about it?

Looking at her with a questioning gaze, she avoided my eyes.

"In any case, you're a good partner to fight with."

With that, she charged forward.

She seemed to have made a slip of the tongue. But now wasn't the time to question it, so I prepared to fight the approaching monster.

Fortunately, two of the three monsters focused on her.

The remaining one charged at me, and I swung my sword at it.

Whoosh.

The angle and timing were perfect.

But I didn't feel any resistance.

'Could it have dodged?'

Damn, it's fast, and not just fast!

I couldn't even see where it dodged to, so I quickly pulled my sword back and jumped backward.

Thud!

A heavy impact hit my sword, and my body was pushed back.

But this time, I was grounded.

Thanks to the mana I had embedded in the ground, I could withstand the push without being moved much.

Only then did I see what had hit my sword.

Four claws from the monster's front paws were pushing against my sword.

Screech.

As the sword and claws struggled, a grinding sound was heard.

Fortunately, the sword was intact.

Then.

Snap.

Two of the claws broke, and the mouse-like face pulled back with a grimace.

The two front legs of the retreating monster were raised, each with four long claws.

It looked familiar from somewhere in my past life, but I focused on the monster.

Fortunately, the first attack failed, so the monster didn't immediately charge.

Its speed was too fast to miss, and its attacks were stronger than expected.

Moreover, it quickly retreated after attacking, indicating a higher intelligence than expected.

It felt like fighting a fast knight.

I had underestimated the monster.

During my journey to the Duke's house, the monsters I encountered, except for the first one, were easy to deal with, and the first one was taken down by the previous owner of this sword in one hit.

This led to a deep-seated underestimation of monsters.

"Sorry. I was too overconfident."

I lowered my sword and apologized to the monster in front of me.

Grrrr.

Unfortunately, the monster didn't accept my apology.

Verbal apologies lacked sincerity. Actions speak louder.

I started moving my sword.

I exhaled, inhaled, and gradually slowed down.

The sword moved in front of my body and down to the left.

As my body, hidden by the sword, became visible, the monster flinched.

It didn't charge. Indeed, it was a smart monster.

But it didn't matter. This was just the preparatory stance for the next sword technique.

During actual combat, I hadn't been able to use the sword techniques I learned properly.

I engaged in close combat, similar to dagger fighting, and often decided the battle with one strike.

After using this sword, I had also relied on brute force.

It was difficult to use proper sword techniques.

However, the sword techniques I learned in the past had been very helpful, and I had heard that this was how it worked in actual combat, so I wasn't disappointed.

But as this kind of fighting continued, I found myself instinctively swinging my sword whenever an enemy appeared.

This time, I couldn't fight like that. The skill difference wasn't significant, and the enemy wasn't using any tricks.

The sword techniques I learned had been passed down since the Great War.

They were designed for fighting humans but originally created for battling monsters.

I focused my breathing and gathered my spirit, and the monster's image filled my vision.

Its slightly trembling eyes, twitching claws, and fur moving with its breath.

I synchronized my breathing with the monster's and aligned my movements with my mana.

Whoosh.

I could feel the mana moving.

This was the first time I could properly sense the movement of my mana in combat.

The mana swirled inside my body and extended through the sword, aiming at the monster.

The mana trying to escape my body.

Ah, so this is how it's used?

I saw a clue to the assassin's method of controlling space with mana from the previous day.

Unfortunately, the mana was bound to the sword and couldn't escape.

Grrrr.

However, the monster was intimidated by the momentum of the mana, even though it couldn't escape.

It was my turn to charge.

I reversed the mana that was binding me to the ground, creating a counterforce.

Thud.

I kicked the ground simultaneously.

The rapidly approaching monster.

The monster, which had been flinching, suddenly moved so fast that it left an afterimage.

It was a speed that would have made me lose sight of it a moment ago.

But now, I could follow its movements, albeit vaguely!

A speed that would be hard to catch if it ran away. But it was charging at me.

Thud!

I planted my advancing foot into the ground and used mana to counter the forward momentum.

It looked like a horse suddenly stopping in mid-run.

I used the remaining momentum to move my arm.

Whoosh.

A large swing of the sword aimed at the side-charging monster. My strength and momentum combined, making the sword move at an incredible speed.

The third chapter of the 'Knight Carlos' sword technique, one of the basic sword techniques of the royal family and the Duke's house.

'Large Swing!'

The name was too cheesy, and the royal family had tried to change it several times, but they couldn't bring themselves to change the name given by their ancestors.

In any case, the surprised monster raised its front paws to block the incoming sword.

Crack!

The sword shattered all the monster's claws and severed its front paw.

Grrrr!

A strange sound came from the mouse-like mouth, but I wasn't going to miss this opportunity.

I took a step forward and continued swinging my sword.

Using the power of mana, it was still difficult to move such a heavy sword freely.

I only controlled the direction of the sword according to the techniques I learned.

I couldn't generate strong explosive power or unexpected attacks, but the flowing sword began to tear the monster's body.

At first, the monster only received small wounds and dodged the sword, but after losing two or three legs, its explosive movements stopped.

After that, it was easy. The monster's claws couldn't block my sword.

The opposite front paw and its claws were also severed, followed by the mouse-like neck being cut off by my sword.

Thud.

The decapitated monster fell to the ground.

I didn't know its weakness, but it seemed to die when its neck was cut.

I confirmed the monster's death by stabbing it with my sword and then remembered my partner.

I had been so focused that I hadn't noticed my surroundings.

I was still lacking.

Fortunately, the Phoenix Hunter was fighting well.

One monster was dying with most of its legs severed, and the remaining monster was fighting with two legs cut off.

The Phoenix Hunter was drenched in sweat but showed no signs of injury.

With her skill level, I could talk to her without hindering her.

"Need help?"

Only the monster reacted to my words.

The monster flinched at my voice and received another large wound.

"Wow, you're already done? No need to help!"

Her voice was much more relaxed than her appearance.

She wasn't using her full strength?

At that moment, her sword moved even faster.

And blood spurted from the monster's body.

Huh? Did the sword hit? The length doesn't match?

Her sword moved very fast, but not so fast that I couldn't follow it.

Clearly, the sword wasn't touching the monster's body.

As I watched her sword in surprise, the monster fell to the ground.

The monster was bleeding from numerous wounds and dying from excessive blood loss.

"Hmm, there doesn't seem to be any specific weakness. Cutting off the legs to restrict movement might be the best option."

She wasn't using her full strength. She was buying time to find a weakness.

"Wow, your combat skills are impressive. You've learned the kingdom's sword techniques well. In a one-on-one, you could probably defeat a decent knight."

No, you're the impressive one. You saw me fighting while you were fighting.

Moreover, how does the mercenary know my sword techniques?

There was no need to ask about her identity. If we stayed together, I would surely find out soon.

"Let's go, then. We don't know if there are more of these monsters, so let's escape quickly."

She moved toward the largest cave, excluding the one the monsters came from.

I followed her.

Despite the intense battle, my body condition was good, thanks to the training.

Fortunately, the cave we entered was open at the top.

We had been walking for less than 10 minutes when we stopped.

I turned to look at the Phoenix Hunter.

She was pale, staring at the front.

"Actions speak louder than words..."

"What do you mean?"

Sigh, this proverb doesn't work in this world.

In any case, because of her words, we were surrounded by monsters.

In the middle of the cave, over ten mouse-like monsters were waiting, and the cave we had walked through was now blocked by other monsters.

Trapped from all sides.

The Phoenix Hunter, pale, opened her mouth.

"In a situation like this, hiding your strength is foolish."

Her sword glowed brightly, and the tip of the sword shimmered.

'Is that her hereditary ability?'

As I thought this, I also infused my sword with mana.

Unfortunately, these monsters didn't hesitate.

Grrrr!

Numerous monsters charged at us, and we swung our swords wildly.

I could see the legs and bodies of the monsters flying in all directions from her shimmering sword, but they were quickly obscured by other monsters.

The cave was filled with monsters.

Even when I swung my sword to cut them, they didn't fall.

When I cut off their legs to stop their movement, they attacked me with their claws, and other monsters swung their legs at me from behind.

I blocked the attacks with my sword, but it was difficult to block dozens of claws with one sword.

Claws pierced my body one by one, and my hand was severed, causing me to drop my sword.

"Damn!"

I screamed in pain, but the monsters showed no interest.

More claws pressed into my body, and the mouth of the mouse-like monster opened wide, biting my head.

The smell was terrible.

Just as I thought this.

Crack.

The world went dark.