Haaa!」
「Gukya–!」
『Fire・Javelin!』
I scatter spells with short chanting times, shaving down the numbers of goblins. Fran cleans up the approaching goblins missed by my barrage. Together, we are cooperating well.
We didn’t end up stowing away all the corpses, either. If we didn’t leave behind a share for the guys coming in later, it would only incur more enmity than necessary. Moreover, the limit of our storing space isn’t yet grasped. If the time came that we couldn’t store any more, it would be quite unpleasant. However, all corpses whose magic stones I absorbed, we made sure to collect.
I use Appraisal during combat, checking our opponent’s statuses and briefly identifying their skills. If I find one with anything useful, then their magic stone is cut through, as to absorb it before its corpse is stowed away. The bodies are stored to destroy the evidence. Once the process is finished, I put Appraisal back to work on those that aren’t cut down yet.
Repeating the above over and over again, I’ve become strangely adept at using Thought Division. Now, casting two spells with large chants at once is possible. Since spell chants need considerable concentration, I had thought that even with Thought Division, 2 simultaneous arias would be impossible, and yet…
As expected, hard-to-use skills need practice to fully master them, or else their true potential can’t be displayed.
『Hahahaha, Fire・Javelin x2!』
Nearly 20 flame lances pour down on the Hobgoblin crowd at my shout.
「Teacher: amazing.」
『Before long, Fran will be able to do this as well!』
「Gives headache. Kiーn[1]…」
『Well, that’s a feeling I don’t know, so~』
Thanks to the fact that I don’t have a brain, I don’t get things like headaches. It’s likely because of that that I have a higher compatibility with Thought Division, too. There’s also the possibility that I’m having an easier time because I have the Sorcery skill.
「While fighting: aiming for lower grade spell arias.」
『My next target is chanting different spells simultaneously.』
「Do your best.」
『Ou. Leave it to me.』
Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about running out of sparring partners here.
Just like that, with Fran continuing to be peerless, we pushed deeper into the dungeon.
Just in case, I had used Echolocation to investigate the topography of the cave, but at Lv.1 no detailed information could be gained. Given that, Presence, Vibration and Heat Perception are being used to head towards areas with a high number of Hobgoblins.
「Teacher, found stairs.」
『So it had a second floor…』
The second floor seems to be just like the first. Maybe it was made simply because the density of Hobgoblins increased?
Well, either way, it’s good for me. I’ll be able to gather even more Skills, after all.
「Teacher, there.」
『Oh, that’s… A treasure chest!』
At a dead end, an enshrined chest stands alone. It’s made out of old looking wood, and is around the size of a microwave. Its metal fittings are covered in rust, giving it a certain charm.
『Hm, hm! This is the ultimate charm of dungeons! Right!』
「Teacher occasionally becomes like this.」
『Hahaha! So, what now? Open it? How do we unlock it?』
「Possibly a trap.」
『Hmm. That’s right』
Well, in my case that’s no problem. If I use Telekinesis, then it can be opened from a remote location.
『Fran, take some distance.』
「Nn.」
『Now, let’s open it!』
*GiGii……*
*Hyun!*
From inside the treasure chest, a single arrow flies out. If someone opened it by hand, the arrow would have passed right through the middle of their head.
『So, it was an arrow trap.』
「Cliché.」
『Now then, shall we see what’s inside?』
「Excited.」
Inside of the chest was… A small black stone.
The result of Appraisal was that it’s a『Pocket Heating Stone』. It’s a body-warmer type magical tool that seems to emit a scarce amount of heat when it’s charged with magical power.
In town, it would probably go for around 1,000 Gorudo. Maybe a freshly made dungeon only has things like this?
「Dull.」
With a flop, Fran’s cat ears hung flat. Truly, a disappointment.
『For gold and silver treasures or strong magic items, it seems that we’ll have to wait until a large dungeon』
「Nn. At least: experience earned.」
『That’s the spirit! Let’s keep going!』
Afterwards, as if to release her disappointment, Fran went into an even more peerless state against the Hobgoblins. Before I noticed it, it reached the point that Hobgoblins started to flee as soon as they saw Fran’s small figure. Maybe information about her spread? Well, even so, Fran chased the fleeing Hobgoblins and finished them with a single strike to their backs.
The King and Queen also ended up being easily hunted down. Even if they’re said to be somewhat strong, in the end they’re only Hobgoblins. With this, is the commission considered complete? The cave keeps on going, though…
『Shouldn’t the end be around here?』
「More ahead.」
『Could the Dungeon Master be ahead…?』
「Going while possible.」
『Alright, let’s keep going!』
Like that, we continued pushing further into