CH 9

Chapter 9: The Strongest Onmyoji Goes to the Cave

Two mornings later.

We were standing at the entrance to an underground dungeon.

“Yes!　Now our adventure is about to begin.”

Amiyu, who put her hand on her waist, stood up and said.

“You didn’t have to point it out.”

“You’re so excited, Amiyu.”

“What?　It’s normal, it’s normal!”

And then she turns her face away, but she doesn’t seem displeased. Even now she is smiling slightly, and she was excited throughout the shopping yesterday and when we were deciding which dungeon to go to.

Thinking that she was looking forward to the dungeon so much ……, I looked at the entrance to the dungeon, a large cave.

This dungeon, located at the foot of a mountain to the east, was called Asaya no Yokonana.

The origin of the name is simple: it is a side cave in a shallow valley. There is no twist to it.

There was nothing special about the monsters that appeared, and it was a very common dungeon for beginners.

It was a boring place for Amiyu, but she was probably happy to be able to dive in a dungeon with the four of us.

Because I’m sure there has never been an opportunity to go on an adventure with people close to her age.

“Okay?　Let’s go over this one more time.”

Amiyu says in a subtly exuberant voice.

“The vanguard will be me and Mabel, and the rear guard will be Ifa and Seika. Don’t leave too much distance between us. If the formation starts to break down, call out.”

“Amiyu, I’ve already figured that out. ……”

“Do you really need to check it out now?”

“It’s important to get these things right!”

I couldn’t help but say something to Amiyu, who was getting impatient.

“You don’t have to be so uptight, you could probably get through a dungeon like this on your own.”

“… that’s not it either”

When I said this, Amiyu looked a little sulky.

“Seika could …… possibly wipe out all the monsters in the dungeon while we’re here.”

“I guess i could.”

I answered honestly.

“Unless you consider the material recovery.”

“It doesn’t make any sense, does it?”

Amiyu said in dismay.

You might be able to work out a formula like that, …… but at least you can’t do that without knowing the actual work well.

“Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to dive!”

“Why do you look so happy?”

“Nothing, I’m fine!”

Amiyu says with a cough.

“Ready?　Today is just an evaluation of the moves. There is no such thing as a party that can move well from the start. Let’s adjust the details as we go through the adventure. Then, let’s go!”

Amiyu, Mabel and Ifa entered the dungeon.

I followed them.

********

The dungeon was much larger than the one in the Academy basement.

So far, the monsters we had encountered were all the usual ones, such as goblins and skeletons.

The level of the monsters was not so high, and we were progressing without any particular problems.

“I was thinking…”

Amiyu chimed in.

“You’re good at killing monsters, Mabel.”

“Yeah.”

Mabel replies as she chops off the head of a hobgoblin whose movements had been blocked by shadow magic.

A sword throw, which was released in a fluid motion, sew the approaching bat-shaped monster to the wall. Another throw follows to the head of the struggling monster, ending it’s life.

“I’ve trained to kill monsters before.”

“That was a lot of fun. We all worked well together.”

“If there are four people just like you, we could get through most dungeons.”

Amiyu says in amazement.

“There aren’t many heavy warriors who can use both magic and projectiles.”

“I’m a heavy warrior?

“You’re an axeman, aren’t you?”

“I’m not sure. I’d rather be an assassin or something like that.”

“Where can you find an assassin who uses such a fancy weapon?”

The two of them casually talk to each other , but they were very skilled, and they were able to handle all the monsters that appeared one after the other. Thanks to this, the rear guard, me and Ifa, were basically out of the game.

As expected, it might have been better to choose a dungeon with a little more challenge… As I was thinking about things like that, we suddenly entered an open space.

I sensed a stream of power, sending light beams all over the room.

In the next moment, a shadow flew in from above.

As expected, Amiyu and Mabel have plenty of time to dodge. The wind pressure from the shadow’s flapping wings reached me.

I looked at it flying around the wide space.

“That was…… a Murderbat, right?”

The huge bat-shaped monster seemed to have circled around and set its sights on us again.

Yes, the job of the rear guard had finally come around.

“All right, I’ll take care of it.”

《Wood Phase――――Stake Driving Technique》

Several white wood stakes were shot out and pierced the flying giant bat.

But the next moment.

A swarm of thick icicles flew in slightly later and stabbed the Murderbat’s body.

Then a blade of flame and wind attacked the dying monster.

Murderbat, which had been crushed in an instant, fell to the ground powerlessly.

The charred, hole-filled body doesn’t even twitch.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Seika-kun! You had it  covered~…”

Ifa said somewhat awkwardly.

It seems that Ifa had also used her spirit magic on the spur of the moment.

However, this girl is also quite merciless. ……

“Oh, you’re overdoing it… Excessive firepower is also a problem, I guess..”

Amiyu said as if she was stunned again.

Certainly, whenever the rearguard’s turn came, they would not be able to collect even the materials that could be collected in this state. I guess I should do something about it…

“Hey, Amiyu, are you hurt?”

Ifa says as if she suddenly noticed.

I looked and sure enough, there was blood on Amiyu’s cheek. I wondered if he had been cut by something when she was dodging the attack earlier.

“Oh, I’ll heal it now!”

“No, it’s not good if it leaves a scar. I’ll do it. Give me a strand of your hair.”

“I can heal this much by myself. …… I mean, what kind of a configuration is it to have three healers in the recovery position?”

Amiyu says while scratching her head.

“Somehow, it’s different from what I expected…”