Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

Cut him down.

My lithe body, moving like wings, darted among the enemies like lightning. Each time I brushed past them, the little devils were sliced ​​and torn apart, falling to the ground instantly.

One sword, one blade. The short sword and the Goddess's Blade, their white and black blades glowing, created a sharp diagonal line from the small body, instantly rendering the little devils powerless.

(So ​​slow...no, that's not right!)

It was a continuous preemptive strike. Faced with my relentless offensive, the little devil never retaliated even once.

It's not that the enemy is slow to react.

The opponent is unable to react to the movement in front of them.

(—I've changed so fast!)

It's different, completely different. It's on a completely different level than before!

Attack speed, reaction speed, and reaction time are all incomparable!

This is the upgrade!

God's grace!

“Aa ...

"Gah!"

Miss Ais's personally taught roundhouse kick landed beautifully on the little devil's chest, sending it flying at an astonishing speed into the distance. After scraping the ground several times, the little devil monster finally collapsed limply on the grassland.

A group of little devils, easily counted to be more than ten, were instantly wiped out.

"Roar! Ro ...

"!"

A new monster roared and charged toward them.

It was the same size as me. It stood on two short legs, with seemingly strong claws on its forelimbs. Its back was like that of an armored figure, covered with several strips of scales that extended all the way to its head. Combined with its angular shape, it looked like it was wearing a helmet.

Shaking all over, the two armadillo monsters charged straight at me.

This is the "Armored Rat" monster that appears starting from the 11th floor.

Facing my first opponent, I began searching through the monster information Miss Eina had crammed for me, much like flipping through a thick dictionary in my mind.

The characteristics of this monster, the armored rat, are similar to those of the killer ant. Although it possesses a hard exoskeleton, its abdomen and thorax, which are not protected by the exoskeleton, are both soft and vulnerable. Compared to the killer ant, whose entire body is protected by a hard exoskeleton, its weaknesses are much easier to attack... However, the hardness of its exoskeleton far surpasses that of those giant ants.

Their defensive capabilities far surpass those of the monsters on the 11th and 12th floors. In other words, they possess the most robust defenses of the upper floors.

Its carapace, capable of easily deflecting dwarf attacks, is truly an impenetrable fortress. It is generally believed that in melee combat, it would be impossible for a level 1 adventurer to defeat this monster alone.

The difficulty of conquering the 11th to 12th floors, where the basic ability standard is B to S, can be attributed to the Armored Rat.

"--call!"

We faced each other head-on and started running the moment our eyes met.

I used my powerful leg strength to accelerate rapidly.

A hard-shelled rat coiled its body and charged forward with a spinning motion.

The carapace on its back is not only a sturdy shield, but can also be used as a weapon. The enemy's rapidly spinning body contains the power to smash an adventurer's party into pieces; brute force will definitely not work.

The massive bullet spun as it hurtled closer. The distance vanished in the blink of an eye, and I narrowly escaped the fatal impact of the attack.

Attack the enemies behind first.

I pointed my toes toward another hard-shelled rat that had not yet transformed into a ball.

"Roar roar roar roar roar!"

The armored rat raised its sharp claws and charged straight at me.

Similarly, I first shortened the distance between myself and the enemy, luring the opponent to a point where I couldn't get any closer—by performing a large jump to the side.

"!"

Right in front of the monster's eyes and nose, I traced a trajectory that was almost perpendicular to the ground.

The armored rat couldn't keep up with my movements as I vanished from sight in an instant, and lost track of me.

I took advantage of the opportunity to enter the opponent's blind spot, which is diagonally behind them.

I allowed the reaction force from the emergency brake to accumulate fully on my knees, then my entire body lunged into the enemy's arms, swinging the Goddess Blade with my backhand to its fullest extent.

"—Gah!"

The powerful slash severed the armored rat's body in two.

—It can be cut!

My attacks can even penetrate the toughest defenses on the top.

Seeing my attack slice through the enemy's armor and cut through their body, I tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword.

"Roar! Ro ...

The remaining armored rat transformed into a ball and charged at me again.

I kept my grounded position, turned my body, and raised my right arm to aim at the monster rolling at high speed.

"[Flame Lightning]!"

Flame and thunder roared.

With an unprecedented explosion, a faster and thicker crimson flame pierced through the spinning sphere.

burst.

In the shockwave of the explosion, a charred lump quickly emerged. The armored ball, having lost a large chunk of its back armor, finally split open beautifully, its body collapsing limply.

The armored rat, paralyzed and emitting black smoke, remained silent.

(The magic has become stronger too...)

Gazing at the sight of countless sparks flying everywhere, I slowly moved my raised right arm to my chest.

Its power was indeed vastly different from before, as was its scale.

Not just magic (fire and lightning), but the power itself doesn't seem to have been fully unleashed yet, however...

(I did try to get closer to her!)

The image that came to mind was that of a female swordsman.

I am chasing after that unattainable dream, that golden silhouette.

I desperately tried to suppress my heart, which was only now beginning to pound violently.

"—Hooohoo!"

Just then, the orc's roar unexpectedly pulled me back to reality.

Remembering what Lily had said, I suddenly looked up. Following the direction of the roar, I saw Mr. Welf and the orc about to start a battle.

●

"So fast..."

Welf muttered to himself.

His gaze inadvertently caught a glimpse of Bell's series of actions.

Whether it was the movement, the first wave of attack, or the speed at which magic was cast, everything was frighteningly fast.

Although he didn't know who gave it to him, Welf now understood where the nickname "Rabbit" came from.

"Hehe, please don't get so distracted that you get flattened by the monster. Lord Bell will be sad."

"Little Lizi, I've figured out your personality completely."

Lily's voice came from behind him, and he nodded gracefully.

He didn't look back at her. Because just seconds before they were about to make contact with the enemy, there stood a huge monster emitting a horrible, grotesque cry.

He noticed Bell's gaze turn to him, smiled, and raised his chin, indicating that he didn't need help.

"Alright, let's deal with the second one."

Behind them lay the corpse of an orc lying beside Lily. Welf had his back to it, with his greatsword, which he used as a weapon, slung over his shoulder.

"Roar! Ro ...

Clang, clang, clang, the orc slowly strode closer.

Welf raised the corners of his mouth and boldly shortened the distance between himself and the enemy.

"Puguwa!"

Once the prey was within attack range, the unarmed orc swung its log-like arm with all its might.

Faced with a casual horizontal punch, Welf quickly dropped to the ground and dodged the attack.

With his right hand holding a large knife on his shoulder, his posture lowered to the lowest point, and his left hand supporting him on the ground, he looked like a wild beast poised to pounce.

As the enemy's massive arm passed completely overhead, Welf leaped upwards, delivering a devastating blow to the enemy with his giant blade.

"—Drink up!"

The sound of flesh being sliced. The orc's fat, sagging belly jiggled as it was cleaved by the upward-swept blade.

Green blood sprayed into the air, and the tremendous impact of the large weapon forced the monster to lean back, its head hitting the ground first.

"Cut it down!"

Without giving the enemy a chance to breathe, Welf stomped his foot on the grassland and landed next to the orc's head.

He raised the weapon he was holding above his head and slashed it hard at the face of his wide-open, injured, blind eyes.

Thud! The sound of something shattering rang out.

"Little Riko, next!"

"They've arrived!"

Leaving the monster whose head had been smashed, he walked in the direction Lily had pointed.

What came into view were orcs wielding natural weapons—clubs made from dead tree trunks. Seeing the monsters charging towards them, Welf maintained his smile, only letting out a click of his tongue.

"That would be troublesome!"

"I know!"

Lily circled around in a large circle until she reached a position perpendicular to the orc's direction of travel.

She lifted the hem of her long robe and used the crossbow mounted on her slender arm.

The fired metal arrow struck the orc in the shoulder.

"!"

The faint pain from the piercing shoulder made the orc stop in his tracks. The pig-headed monster bared its teeth and shifted its target from Welf to Lily.

Instantaneous.

Welf strode aggressively into the distracted orc's arms with his left foot.

Her black kimono swayed like a mirage, while her boots firmly planted their feet on the ground.

"Die."

The large sword slung over his shoulder traced a menacing arc.

With a single swing of his right hand, he unleashed a powerful strike, leaving a diagonal line on the orc's body.

The swordsmanship seemed capable of cleaving the massive, heavy body in two with a single stroke. The orc, his eyes bloodshot, didn't even have time to scream before vomiting blood. His body stiffened, lost its pigment, and finally crumbled into ashes.

Welf's strike landed beautifully on the chest where the "magic stone" was buried.

"Lord Crozo, don't damage the precious magic stone! It will reduce Lord Bell and Lily's income!"

"What can we do? We've already done it. Also, don't call me by that name."

Lily seized the opportunity to lecture Welf, making him look somewhat tired.

"You never intended to share any of my money?" he said, exchanging a few words with the shouting little people.

All that remained on the grass were shimmering blue-purple crystals.