Guided by Kazane-san, we both headed toward the staircase leading to the second floor.
Although traversing the entire first floor of this vast dungeon would take a whole day, the stairs are surprisingly close by.
However, before reaching the staircase, we encountered some monsters.
Well, Kazane-san was the first to notice the enemy presence.
“Rokuyari-san, I sense the presence of two monsters ahead of us.”
“Kobolds?”
“I can’t distinguish the monster species through [Presence Detection], but since we are on the first floor, it is most likely. We won’t be taken by surprise. Here they come.”
Just as I heard those words, two kobolds appeared from the end of the gently curving cave hallway.
Both raised their daggers and ran towards us.
Kazane-san held a dagger in each hand and crouched, ready to face them.
The cave hallway was wide enough for two people to fight side by side.
I also readied myself with my spear and shield, waiting for the kobolds to come close enough.
Just before I thought ‘here it is,’ Kazane-san moved swiftly.
Kazane-san gave a powerful push from the ground and closed in on one of the kobolds at an incredible speed.
“Haaah!”
The daggers gleamed in her hands.
The kobold, cut twice in a blink, dissipated into a black mist.
With a single motion, she took down a kobold in the blink of an eye.
Of course, I didn’t just stand there idly.
Being slightly slower than Kazane-san, I lunged towards another kobold and hurled my spear toward it.
The attack hit the kobold’s chest, but unlike Kazane-san, it was not a single deadly blow.
The one not entirely defeated lunged at me.
I deflected the dagger the kobold threw at me with the shield I had just purchased.
A second strike with the spear at the stumbling canine-faced monster.
That kobold also disappeared.
Only the magic stones remained.
Kazane-san picked up the magic stone from the one she defeated, and I picked up the other.
Then, Kazane-san smiled at me.
“Rokuyari-san, you have great stability for your level. I’m not sure I was that good when I was at level 3.”
“Kazanei-san, you are incredibly strong. Using two daggers at once is very skillful. I don’t think I can easily imitate that.”
“Ehehe. But, to reveal the secret, it’s the effect of an ability called [Dual Wield]. Once you master an ability, your body seems to know how to move.”
Is there really an ability like that?
Furthermore, Kazane-san, who shyly smiled, is really cute.
“It’s okay to split the magic stones in half, right? It doesn’t matter who collects them, then we split them evenly.”
I nodded in agreement with Kazane-san’s suggestion.
I don’t want to argue about who defeated whom.
When disputes start within a party, relationships become quite bothersome.
It’s more relaxing to be alone and not have silly problems.
After that small encounter, everything went smoothly on the first floor.
Finally, just as Kazane-san had said, we reached the staircase leading to the second floor in less than an hour.
The staircase’s shape was as if there was a large rectangular hole in the ground in front of the cave dead-end, from where a diagonal cave had been excavated downwards, and stone steps had been built.
I start to wonder who might have built this dungeon.
The very existence of a dungeon is a conglomeration of inexplicable phenomena, so it is really late to ponder that question.
Kazane-san, familiar with the staircase, descended first, and I followed her.
Well, now we are heading to the second floor.
As a characteristic of this dungeon, it is said that monsters become stronger as you descend through the floors.
Although I have an experienced treasure hunter as a companion, I must keep my guard up.
