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

"──"

The monster raised its hammer and spear and swung them down.

I jumped across the current with my left foot and moved to the next bank.

Miss Daphne finally noticed the silently approaching figure.

My right foot shattered the crystal cluster that served as my foothold.

It's too late. We'll miss it. Miss Daphne, certain of this, froze.

My lips trembled as I gasped for breath.

Looking back, Lily and the others froze in place as the "enhanced species" was about to swing its death hammer.

Then, my left foot, about to step out again—ring, ring.

It produces the sound of bells and emits a white light.

Two seconds of charging.

My raised foot slammed down, shattering the ground, and I transformed into a bullet.

"call!!"

I transformed the force of my kick, which slammed into the ground, into a propellant called reaction force, propelling me through the air.

I accelerated abruptly, closing the distance between myself and the enemy to zero in an instant, and drew the Goddess Blade.

"Go to hell with you!!"

I roared with all my might, delivering a swift and deadly slash to my opponent.

The dark blade flashed, slicing the blunt crystal weapon that was being swung at Lily and the others in two.

*

He was stunned.

The trap set using "bait" and "substitute" should have been successful.

He should have also secured a position behind the Mother Humans.

However, the white-haired boy, who arrived at an exaggeratedly fast pace, stopped him.

The crystal weapon was cut in half and flew into the air.

He was furious. The predetermined outcome of the "hunt" was disrupted, and the opportunity to devour the "magic stone" was also taken away.

Driven by anger, he confronted the boy who was scrambling down the ground, intending to deal with him first.

"──"

But at that moment, he saw the look in the boy's eyes as he looked up and had an intuition.

This human is indeed very dangerous.

His deep red eyes were as steady as a mountain, cold and piercing, and carried a single-minded fighting spirit.

Having not seen someone's eyes for a long time, I felt a tremor of near-fear.

The fire that blazed in those crimson eyes was the flame of anger.

This person was agitated because his fellow humans had been harmed and his people were in crisis.

"Aa ...

The human race charged forward wielding twin swords.

So fast, so fast, so fast.

Black and white slashes flew in, aiming to cut him into pieces.

However—he is still slightly stronger at the moment.

「!?」

Ignoring the blade piercing his body, he raised his fist and swung it down.

The boy narrowly escaped, rolling on the ground. The moss blown off him quickly grew back.

His body is regenerative; the more "magic stones" he consumes, the more cells in his body will proliferate.

The human got up, looking at him with astonishment. The human immediately launched an attack, but its speed and momentum were less like a "rabbit" and more like a wild horse. At least that's how it seemed to him, based on his many past hunting experiences with humans. His opponent was flustered and confused, but its speed didn't faze him.

Bring on the sharp but weak slashes; just block them all.

"Lord Bell!?"

Seeing the boy's face contorted in bitterness, the small female human let out a scream. She emitted the scent of "magic stones." After beating the human to a pulp, it would be the female's turn.

“Wu!?”

When the man swung his arms, the boy couldn't defend himself and pulled away, extending his left hand straight out.

He knew very well that it was a common technique used by humans, known as "magic".

When he was still very vulnerable, he and his kin were nearly burned to ashes countless times by that attack. The thing they needed to be most wary of was the artillery fire from the humans.

However, he knew that to unleash "magic," he needed to sing, which took time. No matter how short the lyrics were, he could now attack much faster.

"Idiot." He scoffed.

He swiftly closed the distance, and just as he was about to smash the boy into a pulp—an unexpected turn of events occurred.

"[Flame Lightning]!"

For an instant.

A burst of fire erupted in an instant.

He stood frozen in place, helplessly allowing this "magic" he had never experienced before to strike him directly.

A scream burst from his throat.

*

"Gahh ...

The monster's screams echoed.

The "Quick Attack Magic" that was activated before the monster could get close struck the center of its body hard, and the moss giant swung its arms and struggled in pain.

(This monster is trying to defeat me before I can begin my incantation...!)

This can be seen from the opponent's actions.

This is a terrifying fact. Monsters that are not "heretics" can understand the adventurers' attack methods and the structure of "magic," and respond accordingly.

This is also an "abnormal situation" spawned by the dungeon, and it is extremely strange and dangerous.

We absolutely must resolve this here.

I made my decision and pounced on it.

"Haaah!"

"Roar...!?"

With my right hand, I sliced ​​off my enemy's shoulder with a black dagger, then with my left hand, I slashed at his body with a gleaming blade. Faced with my continuous attacks from both hands, the moss giant was in agony, twisting its burning body repeatedly, trying to escape the fierce power of the flames and the slashes.

It recklessly thrashed its body backward, with a rushing torrent of water behind it.

—Don't even think about it!

Seeing the monster attempt to retreat by throwing itself into the water, I glared fiercely and pushed off the ground with both feet. I leaned forward, ready to deliver the fatal blow.

"──"

at this time……

The monster, which had previously only been running away in panic and agitation, now had its yellow eyes flashing with a lewd and eerie murderous intent, becoming as sharp as a hawk's. Even in its predicament, the monster did not miss the enemy's desperate intentions.

The wooden whip shot out suddenly from beneath my floating feet.

"What!?"

Tree roots tangled around his boots, tightly binding his knees.

The tree root that caught my foot came from the moss giant's calf, burrowing underground from a dark corner of my vision. It was an indirect weapon launched by the wooden skeleton that covered the monster's entire body, extending and retracting.

I fell for their trap—no, I lost because of psychological warfare.

The intelligent "enhanced species" unleashed its hidden trump card; at that moment, its "tactics" truly surpassed those of the adventurer (me).

"Roar! Ro ...

With a roar that burned with pain and rage, the "enhanced species" threw itself backward, dragging me and itself into the water.

"Lord Bell!?"

The tree roots shattered the crystal ground, and Lily's scream echoed all around.

My posture was suspended in the air, and my feet were entangled, leaving me unable to resist. I was pulled towards my opponent by the taut tree roots and fell into the rushing water.

"Ugh—!?"

First came the impact and the splash, then the sensation of the river water engulfing my entire body.

My vision turned into a vast expanse of azure water, and sounds seemed distant, as if veiled by a membrane. I was surrounded by a cold, underwater world where all information from the land was blocked. I experienced a floating sensation for only a few seconds before my body was swept away in water more than five meters above the surface.

"I've been infected." This sentence flashed through my mind, which was being invaded by water.

In the blink of an eye, a disgusting figure, connected to me by thin tree roots, rapidly approached while swinging its fist.

"Gaa ...

Accompanied by a large number of bubbles, a roaring vibration surged forth as it propagated through the water.

The moss giant's clenched fist slammed into my throat.

"Crack!?"

The air in his lungs turned into huge bubbles and was vomited out.

The body, sent flying by the blow, ignored the mere water pressure and traversed the underwater surface like an arrow. The approaching "enhanced species" did the same.

As my back slammed violently against the crystal wall, the monster approached again, punching my cheekbone.

"~ ...

I was thrown back by the blast, carried away by the flowing river. The enemy did not let me go, turning the tree roots that connected my legs into life-severing chains. The "enhanced species," with its eyes blazing with fury, resolutely launched a tsunami-like pursuit.

I struggled to my feet after the shock and managed to fight back with a dagger held in both hands.

Even when I managed to unleash the "Goddess's Blade" at the right moment of engagement, it was too late. Too slow. While the dagger swept across from me, the monster's fist pierced deep into my stomach. Bubbles escaped its mouth once more.

Compared to land, the timing and feel of the attack are vastly different.

My hands and feet were bound by water, making me constantly lag behind the "enhanced species." Although my azure robes emitted a ghostly glow, I couldn't move my body freely. Even with the "water sprite cloth" that granted me favor in the water, I was still in this predicament. Unaccustomed to moving in water, I was no different from a drowning child to the monsters. I was forced to make movements completely different from those on land, and in this unprepared state, I was shamefully and embarrassingly toyed with by my enemies. The shape of the surrounding waterways changed completely, making me instinctively realize that I had been swept out of the cave's current.

The beautiful, azure world of flowing water is beautiful, yet cruel and merciless.

The inability to breathe brought fear, and the more panicked I became, the more my life was indeed being cut short. At the edge of my vision, where I had been knocked away, the skeleton and arm of an adventurer submerged in the water beckoned to me, saying, "Come to us too."

The body rotates, head down, feet up, and this situation repeats itself over and over.

My sense of balance gradually crumbled; I could no longer tell which side was the bottom and which was the surface. Could simply not having my feet on the ground really make someone so unsteady?

The ability (stats) that should have reached Lv.4 is facing an "overwhelming terrain disadvantage" and is simply at a loss.

It was only then that I truly understood the terror of the underground city in the water, the true essence of the "Mysterious City of Water".

This is—naval warfare!

"Roar!!"

"Guh! Waa ...

The moss giant is clearly not an aquatic monster, yet it is far more skilled than me.

It used a wooden frame to strike me with its tentacles. Moreover, its shape seemed to be designed to reduce water resistance; sometimes it would use its tentacles to pound on the walls or entangle crystals to accelerate or change direction. My opponent had already expanded its territory into this "water city," and its technology was slightly superior to mine.

All my counterattacks ended in failure.

I barely managed to fend off attacks from all directions using the gauntlets and armor I was wearing. If it weren't for the "Water Sprite Protector," I wouldn't have had time to react and would have been killed long ago. Perhaps thanks to the upgrade, my superhuman lung capacity still had some strength left, but who knows how long I could hold out? I repeatedly tried to reach the shore, but the restraints binding my feet wouldn't allow me to do so.

Blood kept seeping from his mouth, which had been split open by the beating, and from the wounds caused by sharp tree roots piercing the gaps in his armor.