Chapter 9

The sound of rushing water. A cold breeze gently caressed his cheeks, and his chilled body trembled. The sensation on his cheeks was quite hard, and his lower body felt a sharp, icy pain. With a groan, Aichi opened his eyes.

Not just his head, but a pain like being gnawed by insects spread throughout his body. Aichi frowned and used his arms to prop himself up.

"Ouch~ Where am I... I definitely..."

He pressed a hand to his muddled head, searching his memory while looking around. The surroundings were dim, but thanks to the green glow of the stones, it wasn't completely dark. In front of him was an underground river about five meters wide, and his lower body was submerged in it, while his upper body was wedged against the protruding rocks on the riverbank.

"Right... the bridge definitely broke... so..."

Like parting the fog, he began to recall what had happened. After falling into the abyss, Aichi was saved purely by luck. There were caves on the cliff walls, and from them, water jets spouted like water cannons. Small waterfalls. There were countless such small waterfalls, and Aichi was blown away and hit the walls multiple times before being pushed into a horizontal cave and washed up here. It was an unexpected miracle. However, when he was blown into the horizontal cave, Aichi's body suffered a violent impact, and his consciousness was also lost. He couldn't understand the miracle that had happened to him.

"Anyway, I'm saved... Ahchoo! ...It's so cold"

Having been in the cold underground water for a long time, his body was completely chilled. If he stayed like this, he might get hypothermia, so Aichi quickly climbed out of the river. Shivering, he took off his clothes and wrung them out. Then, wearing only his underwear, he used [Alchemy] to draw a magic circle on the hard stone ground.

"Ugh, it's so cold, it's hard to concentrate..."

He wanted to use the [Fire Seed] spell. It's a simple spell that even children can use, with a magic circle diameter of only ten centimeters. However, without any magic stones to enhance the efficiency of magic, and with Aichi's magic adaptability being zero, the only way to create a fire seed was to draw a magic circle with a diameter of over one meter, filled with complex formulas. After about ten minutes, he finally completed the magic circle and activated it by chanting and infusing it with magic power.

"I desire fire, whose power surpasses light, manifest! ...Ugh~ Why does it have to be such an exaggerated chant just to start a fire? It's so embarrassing... Ah~"

Sighing had gradually become a habit. Despite this, while warming himself with a fist-sized flame and drying his clothes, he wondered,

"Where am I... I fell quite deep... Can I get back?"

As he warmed himself by the fire, his heart gradually calmed down, but then it was filled with anxiety. He really wanted to cry, and tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes. If he cried now, his heart would completely break. Suddenly realizing this, Aichi wiped away the tears and slapped his cheeks.

"I can't just sit here. I have to get back to the surface no matter what. It'll be fine, it has to be fine."

Muttering to himself, he lifted his head with a determined expression and stared at the flame.

～～～～～～～～

After twenty minutes of warming up, his clothes were mostly dry, so he put them on and set off. He didn't know which floor he was on, only that he was in the dungeon. Above all, it wouldn't be strange for monsters to be lurking around. Aichi was extremely cautious as he moved forward along the large passage.

The passage felt like a cave. It wasn't a flat, square tunnel but had uneven rock walls, and the passage itself wound in a complex manner. It was like the final room on the twentieth floor. However, in terms of size, it was incomparable. Even with numerous obstacles, the passage was about twenty meters in diameter, and even the narrowest parts were about ten meters wide, making it quite large. There were difficult sections to navigate, but there were also plenty of hiding spots. Aichi moved forward while hiding behind cover.

After walking for an unknown distance, just as Aichi began to feel tired, he finally reached the first fork in the road. A huge crossroads. Aichi hid behind a rock, hesitating about which path to take.

While he was considering, something moved at the far end of his field of vision, and he hastily hid behind the rock. Peeking out slightly, he saw a white ball of fur hopping along the path in front of him. It had long ears and looked like a rabbit. However, it was about the size of a medium-sized dog, with strong, developed hind legs. Most importantly, red-black lines, like veins, wrapped around its body, pulsing like a heartbeat. (Translator's note: That's just surface veins...) It was very frightening.

Clearly a dangerous monster. So he decided to avoid the straight path and take one of the left or right paths. From the rabbit's position, entering the right path should not be noticed. Aichi concealed his presence and waited for the right moment. Then, the rabbit turned its back to Aichi, pressing its nose to the ground and sniffing. This was it! Aichi was about to dash out.

At that moment, the rabbit seemed to react to some sound, straightened its back, and stood alert, ears perked up, looking in Aichi's direction.

"Damn! D-Did it notice me? N-No, it's fine, right?"

Aichi pressed himself against the rock, trying to suppress his rapidly beating heart. He felt like his heartbeat could be heard by those sharp ears, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

However, the rabbit was alert for a different reason.

"Growl!"

With a roar, a white wolf-like monster leaped out from the shadow of the rock and pounced on the rabbit. The white wolf was about the size of a large dog, with two tails, and like the rabbit, red-black lines covered its body and pulsed. Just as it appeared, two more two-tailed wolves leaped out from behind other rocks.

Aichi peeked out from the shadow of the rock again. It looked like the wolves were about to prey on the little rabbit. Aichi tried to take advantage of the chaos and lifted his upper body. But...

"Q!"

With a cute cry, the rabbit jumped into the air, spun around, and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick with its strong hind legs.

Do Bang!

A sound that didn't seem like a kick, the rabbit kicked the neck of one of the two-tailed wolves, and...

Go Gi Ya!

With a not-so-loud sound, the head of the two-tailed wolf bent in an unnatural direction.

Aichi's lifted upper body froze. During this time, the rabbit used the centrifugal force of the roundhouse kick to spin faster in the air, then kicked off the air and dove down, spinning longitudinally just before hitting the ground.

Pak Jik Chi!

The second wolf's head was crushed before it could even cry out. At this moment, two more two-tailed wolves appeared and leaped out as the rabbit landed. Thinking the rabbit was doomed, it performed a backflip, spreading its legs and spinning at high speed like a breakdancer. The two two-tailed wolves were sent flying into the walls by the tornado-like roundhouse kick. With a splattering sound, blood splattered on the walls, and the two-tailed wolves slid to the ground, motionless. (Translator's note: Rabbit, is your name Sanji?)

The last one, groaning, raised its tail, which began to crackle with electricity. Clearly a unique magic of the two-tailed wolf.

"Growl!"

Electricity crackled and flew in all directions with the roar. However, the rabbit skillfully dodged the high-speed lightning by alternating steps and moving left and right. At the moment the lightning stopped, it quickly approached the two-tailed wolf and delivered a high kick to its chin. The two-tailed wolf flipped backward and landed with a crack, its neck clearly broken.

The rabbit

"Q!"

Was it a victory cry? It raised its ears and front paws.

(...This is a joke, right? Oh my god...)

Aichi, with a dry smile, was still frozen. This was bad. Compared to the skeleton soldiers that had given Aichi and his friends a hard time, this rabbit was like a toy. If we only consider attack power, it might even be stronger than Behemoth.

If Aichi was noticed, he would definitely die. In a state of agitation, he unconsciously took a step back, which was a mistake.

Click

This sound echoed in the cave. Aichi kicked a stone as he stepped back. Hating this clumsy mistake, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The rabbit, hearing the sound of the small stone, slowly turned its head like a rusty robot to confirm—smoothly, the rabbit saw Aichi.

Its red, ruby-like eyes narrowed, and Aichi, like a frog caught by a snake, froze. The alarm bells in his soul rang loudly, but his body, as if its nerves were severed, couldn't move.

Soon, the rabbit, which had only turned its head, now turned its entire body toward Aichi, gathering strength in its legs.

(It's coming!)

At the moment Aichi instinctively felt, the rabbit's legs exploded, leaving a trail of afterimages as it rushed forward at high speed.

When Aichi noticed, he was already jumping sideways with all his might.

Then, the spot where Aichi had been a moment ago was struck by a kick like a cannon, and the ground exploded, leaving a large crater. Aichi rolled on the ground, stopping with a thud. He looked at the sunken ground with a pale face and backed away.

The rabbit stood up calmly and, with an explosive force, charged at Aichi again. Aichi immediately used [Alchemy] to construct a stone wall on the ground, but the rabbit's kick easily penetrated it. The wall in front of Aichi exploded, and he instinctively raised his left arm. The impact that should have shattered his face was deflected, and Aichi was blown away, rolling on the ground again. When he stopped, he felt intense pain in his left hand.

"Ah!?"

He saw his left forearm hanging at an unnatural angle, the bone completely shattered. Squatting on the ground in pain, he looked at the rabbit, which was approaching calmly after its fierce charge. Aichi felt that the rabbit's eyes were filled with a mocking, contemptuous look. He was completely toyed with.

Aichi could only look ugly and scoot backward on his buttocks. Soon, the rabbit stopped in front of Aichi, looking down at him as if he were a grub crawling on the ground. Then, it raised one of its legs high, as if to show off.

(...Is this it... Is this the end...)

Despair overwhelmed Aichi as he looked at the rabbit's raised leg with a resigned, blank stare. Then, a fatal kick, accompanied by a strong wind, swung down. Aichi closed his eyes tightly in fear.

...

But no matter how long he waited, the expected impact never came. Aichi cautiously opened his eyes and saw the rabbit's leg stopped a few inches away.

(...Is it toying with me?)

Just as Aichi was hit by even more despair, he noticed something strange. If you looked closely, the rabbit was trembling.

(What...? Why is it trembling... as if it's afraid of something...)

It wasn't "as if," it was a fact. The rabbit was afraid because a new monster had appeared from the right passage Aichi had tried to escape into.

A huge monster. About two meters tall, with a robust build and white fur. As usual, red-black lines almost covered its entire body. If you had to compare it to something, it was a bear, but its long, thick arms, extending to its feet, had three claws about thirty centimeters long.

The clawed bear had approached unnoticed and was looking down at the rabbit and Aichi. The surroundings were enveloped in silence.

Aichi, more so than before, and the rabbit, were frozen in place. No, they couldn't move. Just like Aichi had been earlier. They were frozen by the clawed bear's gaze.

"Grumble..."

Tired of the situation, the clawed bear suddenly growled.

"–!?"

The rabbit, as if waking from a dream, shuddered and, after a moment of trembling, turned and fled like a rabbit. Until just now, it had been using its hind legs to destroy enemies, but now it was using them to run away with all its might. However, it didn't succeed.

The clawed bear approached the rabbit with a speed that didn't match its massive body and swung its long arms, which had sharp claws. The rabbit, being the clever one, dodged the powerful strike, which came with a strong wind, by twisting its body. Aichi confirmed with his eyes that the rabbit wasn't scratched by the clawed bear's claws.

However... the rabbit, upon landing, was split in half longitudinally, and blood gushed out like a fountain, with the two halves falling in opposite directions. (Translator's note: Zoro's slash on Momon?)

Aichi was stunned. The rabbit, with its overwhelming strength, had no countermeasures and was easily killed. Aichi understood why the rabbit had been afraid and had fled. The clawed bear was on a different level, and even with the rabbit's martial arts skills, it was no match for the monster.

The clawed bear calmly approached the rabbit's corpse, pierced it with its sharp claws, and began to eat it.

Aichi couldn't move. Due to the continuous terror, and the fact that the clawed bear was still looking at him with its sharp eyes, Aichi was pierced by its gaze.

The clawed bear swallowed the rabbit in three bites, growled, and turned its body toward Aichi. Its gaze clearly said, "Next, it's your turn."

Aichi panicked, being targeted by the predator.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah