"If we only fight by instinct, when faced with a stronger opponent, we will run away by instinct."
Even if they are not familiar, it is necessary to teach at least the basic combat stance and techniques suitable for the situation.
In the brief conversation, the next dwarf who came out with knuckles was lifted into the air, his fist caught by Heumi.
Heumi, who slammed the dwarf to the ground, laughed loudly, revealing her small fangs.
Then, she grinned at Roon, Ferdigion, and Baekya, making a V sign.
'Excited. Like a fish in water.'
Roon nodded with his arms crossed.
Heumi, who dodged the whip swung by another dwarf as if skipping rope, grabbed his back and punched him in the waist at lightning speed.
It was a sound that made one worry about a herniated disc.
Heumi landed on the ground again. Then, she leaped into the air, accelerated, and kicked her opponent's chest.
The dwarf, almost folded in half, fell to the ground foaming at the mouth.
'Hmm. Six consecutive wins, I guess.'
He was starting to find it tedious to keep count.
The hunched dwarf was carried to the palace medical room by another dwarf.
"I should have told them to be gentle, considering their age."
"No. Your Servant is giving them enough leeway. She's not touching any vital spots that could kill them with one hit. If you want to see her true skills, it might be better to send her to a field where monsters appear."
As Ferdigion said, Heumi, a half-human demon, was born with extraordinary physical abilities.
If she truly wanted to kill, she would have aimed for the neck or heart.
The fact that the injuries were limited to broken limbs or a damaged waist was a clear sign of leniency.
"Give me the snacks all at once!"
Now, Heumi was playing with the dwarves who were called out in turn, taking on two or three at a time.
'Just watching makes my body itchy.'
The thrill of having a combat opponent in front of him!
It was a feeling he hadn't properly experienced since the Imugi days.
Looking to the side, he saw Ferdigion also twitching his fingertips.
Dragons are also excellent apex predators.
Especially being a red dragon, they are a species that enjoys combat with a strong competitive spirit.
In the end, all the dwarves in the training ground were defeated.
Roon gave Heumi a handful of potato chips from the snack bag she had opened.
Heumi exaggeratedly wiped her sweat and looked satisfied.
"Baekya! Did you see me? Wasn't I cool? Did I do well?"
Baekya, spreading her white wings, flew around Heumi, making a whistling sound.
Ferdigion, who had watched everything to the end, came to a conclusion.
"Heumi will handle the combat. As for the veteran dwarves who will go with us... there was one who stood out. Let's see if he can guide the dungeon."
Although he was beaten by Heumi, it wasn't one-sided. He calmly counterattacked.
He was the one who noticed the power difference and endured with the least damage.
Although he fell and lost, he cleverly exaggerated his injuries to minimize the damage.
Thus, the <Dungeon Raid> members were finalized, and the selection of participants for the <Abandoned Mine Dungeon> entry was completed.
Although they were eliminated, Roon selected healing materials and made sandwiches for the dwarves who had struggled against Heumi.
They were indeed tough, being accustomed to combat.
Even with broken and bruised bodies, when they heard that all the dwarves had been defeated, they laughed and teased each other as if it were a fun incident.
"Uncles, are you in a lot of pain?"
"What are you talking about? I'm not in pain at all!"
"Yeah, look. Fake punch!"
Remembering how they had groaned in the training ground, Heumi worriedly asked about their well-being, and they responded heartily, even finding her admirable.
They said she showed the makings of a warrior even at her young age.
Seeing those dwarves, Roon thought,
'Good that they don't hold grudges.'
He checked to see if they might harbor any ill feelings towards Heumi, who had beaten them, but fortunately, it didn't seem like they would.
The warriors who had eaten sandwiches and stayed in the medical room started to return home as the sun set.
Most of the dwarves had content faces.
In their arms were precious bags of potato chips, which smelled sweet and savory.
Jeth pointed at himself, bewildered.
Although he was a combat dwarf, he usually collected monster byproducts rather than fighting on the front lines, and he never expected to be chosen among the fierce warriors.
"Yes. Wait here for a moment."
Berdin left Jeth in the waiting room and went out.
In the empty waiting room, Jeth blinked and thought,
'Could it be that I was found out? I usually don't even come near the castle, but I joined just to get the potato chips as a participation prize.'
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
Relatively young, he was a dwarf interested in new things among the reformist dwarves.
The idea of eating potato chips was something he had never expected.
'Who would have thought I'd be chosen for the <Abandoned Mine Dungeon Raid> team.'
Jeth scratched the back of his head.
Unlike other dwarves, he wasn't particularly interested in the <Dungeon Raid> team.
'It's the day of the market, so I just fought appropriately and lost naturally. Why did it turn out like this?'
When he heard he was chosen for the raid team, Jeth immediately wanted to give up.
But there was a reason he couldn't.
It was the weapon that Ferdigion promised to lend to the raid team.
"Oh, my dear! How could I leave you behind!"
He wanted to take it home right away.
The weapon's name was <Paralium>.
It was a battle axe with a smooth handle and broad blades on both sides.
When swung, actual flames spurted from the flame patterns on the blades, making it an S-grade relic of the dungeon.
The other small pieces of equipment were also precious treasures he didn't want to miss.
'Well, since it's come to this, it would be a waste to give up. It'll work out somehow.'
He hated to worry too much.
Jeth smiled contentedly at the weapon in his hand.
He leaped into the air and made a vertical slash.
The feel of it in his hand was excellent.
Jeth enjoyed the flashy fire show by swinging and spinning the Paralium.
"...Do you want to lose your hand?"
Startled by the unfamiliar voice, Jeth jumped.
Turning around, he saw a boy with black hair standing in the room.
"If you play with fire in the palace, your wrist won't be safe."
"T, that's right! Haha..."
Jeth calmed his racing heart and sized up his opponent.
Clearly, the boy was smaller than him.
But the calmness in his eyes gave off an unapproachable aura that made Jeth stiffen.
'Is this what a dragon is like?'
Jeth unconsciously straightened his back.
"Nice to meet you, Roon. I'm Jeth Musket."
'So this is the hatchling of the Black Clan who is blood brothers with Ferdigion... the representative of the reformists, Quatan's forge?'
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Jeth sneakily glanced at Roon.
He knew that the hatchling of the rumors occasionally visited Quatan's forge.
But as the material procurement officer, Jeth was often out and about.
This was the first time he had properly met him.
'He looks even more unique than I heard.'
Jeth, who had a good sense among dwarves, tilted his head at the unique feeling.
Suddenly, he realized he was inspecting the Black Dragon like an item and cleared his throat.
He then cautiously observed.
"Is there something you need from me...?"
"I have a question. During the evaluation, you didn't fight Heumi properly and avoided her."
Roon pressed further on Jeth, whose neck stiffened.
"Why did you deliberately fall at the end?"
"Of course... because I couldn't win."
"Um, instinct. It's hard to explain in detail."
Surprisingly, Roon nodded and then took out a banquet invitation from his pocket.
"I'm planning a banquet for the entire dungeon raid team. How about it?"
"Yes! That sounds great!"
Recently, the evening banquets in the castle were rumored to be like honey feasts among the dwarves.
Jeth, who was getting hungry, was delighted at Roon's offer.
"You can use this room until we go to the dungeon tomorrow."
"Yeah. Is there a problem?"
Under Roon's persistent gaze, Jeth rolled his eyes.
For some reason, he felt that if he made a slip of the tongue, it would be a