“The police and military. He seems to understand it well, so why can’t he just explain it to the end without being so pompous? That’s why Yonezaki is disliked by society. Don’t you think, Yuuta?” I said.
“Huh?” Yuuta looked at me with an incredibly puzzled expression, as if to say, ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
“Misuzu, Yonezaki did explain that all the way to the end,” he replied.
“What? No, he didn’t. Right, Evie?” I turned to her for support.
Evie sighed. “Misuzu. If you don’t use your head properly, your brain will rot.”
“…No, no, this is weird. What’s with this recent trend of making me look stupid? Lean and Rai didn’t understand either, right?” I protested.
“I understood,” Lean chimed in.
“Lean. You didn’t understand,” Rai countered.
“…”
This is bad. At this rate, I’ll end up being considered on the same level as Lean. Speaking of which, I hope that little girl is alright. I was quite worried when she went into the building despite being told not to.
I glanced over at Evie, who was standing outside the goblin settlement wall. She looked somewhat flustered but nodded at me, indicating that she had successfully retrieved Lean. Well, if Evie, who’s always overly concerned about her summons, seems okay, it should be fine.
“But it’s frustrating,” I muttered to myself. I was annoyed that I couldn’t properly understand Yonezaki’s explanation. That unhealthy-looking man should really explain things properly. I hate the way he talks as if he’s constantly checking our IQ levels.
“Misuzu, what Yonezaki was trying to say is…” Yuuta began.
“You don’t need to make it easy to understand,” I sulked.
At that moment, I felt incredibly petulant.
“Well then, I’ll explain it in a complicated way,” Yuuta continued. “The reason dungeons dislike the police, military, and public institutions is that they’re saying the order within the dungeon is themselves. They don’t acknowledge the application of any laws inside the dungeon because they’re saying the laws within the dungeon are themselves. There’s no doubt that some will created the dungeon. And that will is saying, ‘I created the dungeon.’ Therefore, it’s saying that I decide everything within the dungeon.”
“No way. Yonezaki definitely didn’t explain it like that,” I retorted.
Evie smirked. “Ah, I see. The intelligence boost from the dungeon must only affect information processing ability. It doesn’t improve your actual intelligence. Well, that makes sense. If it did, it would change your personality.”
“…”
I was incredibly frustrated that I couldn’t come up with a comeback. Damn you, Evie. I’ve been letting you have your way with Yuuta a bit, and this is how you repay me? But those two have been acting strange lately. Before, Evie would be all over Yuuta even if I didn’t back off.
But recently, that hasn’t been happening. Are they getting cozy while I’m asleep, and that’s enough for them? Anyway, I’m anxious about meeting Yonezaki again for a different reason now. It feels like I’m about to attend a class I’m not good at.
It reminds me of those days when I used to keep my head down to avoid being called on by the teacher in classes I struggled with. Yonezaki…
“He’s about as unpleasant as Nagumo,” I muttered.
Even as these thoughts ran through my mind, I focused my aim downward. Lean had disappeared. Evie had said that once she retrieved Lean, she would immediately give her a potion and send her back in if possible.
However, there was no sign of that happening. Yuuta had told me he’d be happy if I could snipe 30 goblins. But it’s probably impossible to kill that many without clearing away the bodies shot with arrows. The goblins would notice their dead comrades at some point.
Besides, I should really tell Yuuta that Lean has returned to Evie. But there’s no way to do that.
“If only we could use smartphones, it would be so much easier,” I sighed.
We’d been told that using explorer smartphones during operations like this would result in significant penalties to leveling up. I don’t know why. But I’m sure Yonezaki understands the reason for that too.
I thought to myself, “Well, he should just explain everything from the beginning to everyone properly. That way, he wouldn’t be called a crazy explorer. I wonder if that man cares about public opinion? I can’t understand what people like him are thinking.”
“Well, if I could understand him, it would be proof that I’m crazy too, so it’s better not to understand. That’s right. I didn’t understand because I’m sane,” I reassured myself. “Anyway, I want to level up in the best way possible, so I can’t use my smartphone.”
“There’s one,” I muttered, spotting an isolated goblin from atop the watchtower. It was behind a building, preparing food for what seemed to be its female animal companion. I drew my bow.
“【Sturdy Bow】 【Precision Double Shot】,” I whispered quietly.
【Precision Double Shot】 isn’t a skill for shooting two arrows simultaneously. When I release one arrow, two bows appear. A strange sensation hits me, as if I’ve shot two bows at once. This skill is quite complex; at the moment of release, I need to adjust the direction of both arrows simultaneously.
That’s why archers without high dexterity become troublesome nuisances who keep missing their targets. There’s nothing less funny than friendly fire from an archer. The primary rule for archers is:
【Don’t hit your allies】
So when taking down enemies near my companions, I stick to 【Precision Single Shot】. If no allies are nearby, I use two arrows to ensure the kill, even for a single enemy. My mind sharpens as I release the arrows.
*Whoosh!*
The arrows cut through the air with a sharp whistle. The target is about 100 meters away. I’m off by about a meter, but at this distance, the arrows respond to the skill. The two arrows curve, as if drawn to the goblin’s head and neck.
“Good. That was probably a Goblin Rider,” I noted to myself. Was it preparing food for its lion partner? I looked around for the lion, just in case, but couldn’t spot it anywhere visible.
“Oh well, can’t be helped,” I sighed. We need to keep killing them quickly; the longer we take, the more likely the goblins are to notice their comrades dying silently.
I searched for my next target. A goblin disappeared into the shadow of a building.
“【Sturdy Bow】 【Precision Double Shot】”
I released the arrows. A faint sound of air being sliced. Once again, they hit the goblin’s head and neck. The goblin collapsed suddenly, as if its batteries had died. Good, another one down. Next, a Goblin Soldier washing a hippopotamus. I aim for the goblin’s head and the hippo’s as well.
“【Sturdy Bow】 【Precision Double Shot】”
Good, both died together. Ugh, it’s taking a toll on my mental state. Goblins are beings that will eventually come to kill humans, but the hippo is innocent. But if it made noise, we’d be discovered immediately and things would get complicated. I decided to move on without dwelling on it too much.
I spotted two Soldiers practicing with great swords. They were moving quite vigorously. But having two targets together was ideal, and there were no other eyes on them.
“【Sturdy Bow】 【Precision Double Shot】”
When targets move so erratically, even the most accurate shot can miss as you can’t predict their future position. However, the guided arrows didn’t fail, piercing both Soldiers’ heads simultaneously. Brain matter splattered.
“Ugh,” I grimaced. It’s cruel, even though I’m the one doing it. What does the dungeon really want from humans? Come to think of it, defeating monsters to level up is quite a nonsensical system. I wonder if Yonezaki understands that too?
“Genius”
I recalled how someone who had called Yonezaki that was heavily criticized and quickly retracted their statement.
“【Sturdy Bow】 【Precision Double Shot】”
It’s still nerve-wracking. I kept checking to make sure the goblins weren’t looking at our watchtower. I’m blending in with my ghillie suit, but the Goblin Mage who should be standing guard in the watchtower is missing. They’re not in the other three watchtowers either.
“【Sturdy Bow】 【Precision Double Shot】”
If they had any sense, they should notice something’s wrong. But it seems no goblin usually pays much attention to the watchtowers. None have looked this way yet. I wonder where Yuuta is?
“【Sturdy Bow】 【Precision Double Shot】”
“【Sturdy Bow】 【Precision Double Shot】”
He should be moving around the settlement, but I couldn’t spot him from my position.
I continued my internal monologue:
“He’s hiding well while doing his job.”
I managed to take out 11 goblins, including the Goblin Mage from the watchtower. That many goblin corpses scattered around increases the chances of being discovered. I’m trying to kill those in less visible positions, but I still have 19 more to go for my target.
“This might be a bit impossible,” I muttered to myself.
From what I’ve seen of the settlement so far, there seem to be about 90 goblins. There should be 150 normally, but the number is significantly lower. It’s the result of hunting a large group of Goblin Riders yesterday.
The number of goblins is lower because we killed the Goblin Riders who were supposed to return to the settlement. A considerable number of Goblin Riders, the most adept at spotting enemies, have already died by our hands.
The goblins should have noticed that many of their comrades didn’t return yesterday, but they don’t seem disturbed.
“Perhaps they have a weak sense of camaraderie?” I pondered.
I think I’ve taken out most of the goblins I can target from here. Any further and the distance becomes too great, with too many blind spots. I looked down, preparing to move to the next watchtower for sniping.
“It’s clear,” I whispered to myself.
The goblins weren’t looking this way. I signaled to Evie that I was coming down from the watchtower. However, Evie wasn’t looking at me. I noticed something blue that seemed to have caught her attention.
“Huh?”
It looked too blue to be Lean.
What is she doing? I’m in a pretty dangerous spot here, so I need her to keep watch. If something dangerous happens to Lean, I’ll cover for her. And if something dangerous happens to me, Evie is supposed to cover for me.
That was our agreement. If I’m about to die, Evie is the one who’s supposed to save me. After hearing about Nagumo’s quest, I didn’t want to use the rifle if possible, but I’ve allowed its use in such emergencies.
“What are you doing?” I wondered, noticing the blue object seemed to be faintly glowing.
“Is that light?”
Is she giving Lean a potion? But the glow seemed different somehow. Fortunately, Rai noticed my movement and nodded at me. Confirming this, I quickly descended from the watchtower.
“Is Lean still not okay?” I worried.
Even if killing the settlement’s goblins is difficult because they’re stronger than Lean, I’d at least like her to handle the corpse disposal. Did she sustain a serious injury after all? Concerned, I exited to the outside of the wall surrounding the goblin settlement and quickly moved to the next watchtower, careful not to catch any goblin’s eye.
Standing outside the wall of the next watchtower, I drank an SP potion to max out my SP and then cast a skill.
“【Search】”
I felt my senses sharpen dramatically. I could hear voices from inside the wall, even the heartbeats of goblins and animals. It’s safe. No one’s nearby. I peeked over the wall. That’s when it happened.
“Oh no!”
There were indeed no goblins nearby. No animals in sight either. But I made eye contact with a distant Goblin Mage. I panicked. Why are you looking outside? I hastily ducked back.
This is bad. I need to kill it before it can shout. But I can’t do anything from here. While a surprise attack would make for an easy kill, they can easily dodge my arrows if they’re prepared.
“…”
But I heard no sound. If it were a goblin, it should have shouted immediately upon seeing us. I’m wearing a ghillie suit. Even if our eyes met, I’m the same color as the wall. Don’t panic.
My 【Search】 skill was active, so I could see the other side quite clearly. But goblins shouldn’t have more than average human eyesight, even at higher levels.
“Just calm down for now. Phew,” I breathed.
With the 【Search】 skill, my hearing was greatly enhanced. I should be able to gauge the situation of that goblin from here. I listened carefully. Where the Mage was supposed to be. Is it okay?
Rustle, rustle.
The sound was moving away. The distance was increasing.
I remembered Yuuta’s words: “Misuzu. If you’re discovered, don’t hesitate to use the gun. At your current level, you can’t handle one-on-one close combat. I have 【Acceleration】, so I can escape any situation. Evie will retrieve Lean as soon as she hears gunshots. So just prioritize your own life.”
But fortunately, it didn’t seem to notice me.
The other goblins didn’t seem to have noticed us either.
“Alright,” I whispered.
I put my hand on the wall again. I made sure no one was looking this way.
I entered the inside of the wall.
And the moment I reached for the watchtower I was supposed to climb…
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
The Goblin Mage screamed so loudly it shook the air.
I recalled Evie’s warning: “Misuzu, there are rumors that Mages are quite intelligent. According to explorers who’ve checked their stats, they have an Intelligence of 10. This apparently means they have human-level intelligence. Unlike Lean, they can’t speak, but they’re apparently capable of deceiving us without hesitation.”
This one had been waiting for me to enter the wall. The Mage was indeed moving away from me. But it was just walking backwards, still staring at me. Staring at me with cloudy eyes. Strangely, I could feel its anger through those eyes.
I understood then. A large number of their comrades didn’t return yesterday. They were properly angry about that. The Mage started running towards me at full speed. It’s fast. This is bad. Will it be close combat? No, the opponent is a Mage.
“【Gya】”
“Wha-“
This is bad. I tried to draw my gun this time. But the other side was already casting 【Fire Ball】. I only heard “Gya”, but a fireball the size of a human head was coming at high speed, and I frantically dodged.
The wall behind me burst into flames.
“T-that was close!”
If I had failed to dodge, I’d have been a human torch in an instant.
I’m used to seeing this magic from Evie, but when used by an enemy, I realized how terrifying it is. And above all, three Soldiers who were nearby appeared. This is bad, bad, bad. I knew at a glance. I can’t win.
But I have to kill the approaching Mage.
“【Gya】”
The second 【Fire Ball】 came flying immediately. At this rate, I’ll be shot from behind while leisurely climbing the wall.
“【Level Down】”
I cast a spell. 【Level Down】 should make it harder to move as the body’s capabilities suddenly change. I released an arrow. The Goblin Mage tried to dodge and stumbled. It lost its balance. I can kill it. Then I’ll escape outside the wall.
Clang!
“Gyaa!”
As if to say ‘What are you doing to our comrade?’, a Soldier interfered. Before I knew it, another Soldier was right in front of me. It swung its great sword. I took a backstep to dodge.
Thud!
“Huh?”
I hit the wall and couldn’t back up fully. Again, I heard the sound of a great sword being swung.
“Ow!”
My stomach was cut. I didn’t have time to check how deep the wound was. The Soldier came at me again. It swung down its large sword once more. I always think about these guys: couldn’t you go a little easier on me?
I threw my bow on the ground, realizing it was useless now. I took out a spear from my magic bag. I tried to block with the spear’s shaft, but it was cut right through. I really liked this spear, even if I didn’t care much for the person who gave it to me. What a thing to do.
My arm was deeply cut.
Hurry up and come help me, Evie!
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