Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 5 (29 page)

With the weapon created from a holy tree in her homeland, the wooden sword Alvs Lumina, in her hand, the beautiful elvish warrior decided to use a distraction tactic to engage the beast, and repeatedly attacked its legs.

“
Urrgh—OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUGGH!!
”

Lyu’s Level 4 attacks were powerful enough to inflict pain on the beast. She was even fast enough to avoid its gaze, nothing more than a small shadow running around the Goliath.

The Goliath roared angrily, swinging its arms around as if trying to swat a particularly annoying fly.

About 100 meders south of where Lyu was fighting against the Goliath, Mord and the other adventurers were engaged in a widespread brawl with large swarms of monsters.

“Scott, Guile, where are you?! Save me, save me, please?!”

Mord was beginning to panic, trapped in the midst of monster roars and adventurers’ screams. He called out to his two closest friends, but there was no response.

Mad beetles, bugbears, gun liberla, Minotaurs…middle-level monsters of all types assailed him with various combinations of claws and horns. He had somehow managed to dodge every blow and even counterattack with his broken longsword up to this point, but the attacks kept coming from all angles.

His mind was at its limit. Forward-backward-left-right, there was something trying to kill him no matter where he looked.

“GAARRRRRRRRR!!”

“Ugho?!”

A bugbear’s swat had caught him in the shoulder. The monster’s claws ripped the armor from his body and knocked the sword out of his hands as he collapsed to the ground.

Flat on his back, he rolled to protect his injured shoulder and looked up in time to see three bugbears converge over him.

Mord’s consciousness started to contort out of terror. Each of the monster’s three boulder-like bodies was just a few celch away.

He caught a glimpse of their hungry mouths opening, sharp fangs glinting in the dim light as all of them went in to take a bite at once.

“S-STOOOOOOOPP!!”

However, a yell reached his ears before the monsters’ teeth sank in.

Something flashed in front of his eyes.

“…Wha?”

A small human had just used Mord’s greatsword to decapitate one of the bugbears—a boy with white hair.

The boy placed himself between Mord and the remaining two monsters. Wasting no time or momentum, he thrust the sword’s long, thick blade deep into the closest beast’s chest. The weapon pierced the magic stone inside the monster and it collapsed into a pile of ash.

The remaining bugbear took a swing at the boy’s head, but he easily dodged it and spun into a counterattack.

“…Why, you of all people…”

The boy was already on to his next target. Mord watched the back of his white head disappear into the chaos as words spilled out of his mouth.

Gashi!
Someone grabbed ahold of the back of his collar.

“You’re in Mr. Bell’s way—let’s fix that.”

“Geh! Owowowow!! Who are—OUCH! DAMMIT! MY ASS!!”

Mord’s view suddenly changed as he was pulled along the ground on his back.

A prum girl, Lilly, carried her large backpack over her shoulders while dragging him with one hand—exactly the same way she would carry the corpse of a monster—over the ground without much concern for his well-being. However, the ground was not smooth due to small crystals that came up naturally from the Dungeon soil. The man yelped in pain every time he hit one.

There was no panic in Lilly’s movements. Part of being a supporter was being able to accurately assess the movements of monsters and adventurers to stay clear of battle while fulfilling her duties. She
weaved in and out of the brawl, dragging Mord closely behind her until they were finally out of danger.

“Please find somewhere to hide if you are unable to fight. Don’t waste the life that Mr. Bell saved.”

Lilly let go of Mord’s collar as soon as they were in a monster-free area of the plain.

The wide-eyed man quickly sat up and asked her a question.

“H-hey?! Why is he…helping us?”

Even now, Mord could see Bell taking on monster after monster to save the adventurers who not too long ago were cheering at his pain. Bolts of scarlet lightning erupted from the boy’s outstretched arm, slaying monsters in their tracks no matter the distance.

Lilly turned to him as he watched the battle from afar and said:

“Be grateful that Mr. Bell isn’t the type of person to hold a grudge.”

Lilly squinted her eyes and stuck her tongue out with a “Bleh!” before turning her back on him and rushing back into the fray.

Tup, tup, tup.
Lilly’s footsteps got quieter, leaving Mord alone with his thoughts.

The man looked dejected and whispered to himself:

“What the hell was that…”

The only answers he received were the fierce sounds of battle.

“Chigusa, are you sure it’s okay for us to leave?”

“Y-yes…First, if we don’t gather enough weapons…”

They were on the west side of the plain, moving away from the battle.

Hestia and Chigusa ran toward the lake as fast as they could, a pouch and a backpack filled with items shaking as they went.

“I’ve never experienced it myself but…weapons and shields break all the time when fighting floor bosses. So if we can’t get enough spares, Captain Ouka and the others…”

Chigusa’s long bangs covered her eyes as she spoke between
breaths. Hestia hit her fist to her palm as if to say
I got it
and nodded back to her. Of course, fighting a monster of that caliber for a long period of time would require a large stock of weaponry.

Chigusa and Hestia were on their way to the town of Rivira. They were hoping to persuade the adventurers there to provide weapons and items for the fight. Chigusa was only Level 1 and Hestia was far below that—the two of them would only be a liability on the front lines. So they entrusted Lilly with the support of Bell and the others and decided that this was the best way to help them.

“Wah…?! Ch-Chigusa?!”

“…!”

A bugbear spotted the girls just as the tree bridge to the island in the middle of the lake came into view. It charged straight at them. They had managed to evade any encounters with monsters up until now, but there was no way to avoid this one.

Chigusa bit her lip as she jumped in front of Hestia to protect her. The monster’s forepaws slammed into the ground with each step, the vibrations in her boots getting stronger and stronger with each passing second. When suddenly—an arrow pierced the monster’s head through its eyes.

“Whoa!”

An elvish archer was the one who brought the bugbear to a screeching halt. He was not alone—the adventurers of Rivira had arrived.

They ran around Hestia and Chigusa toward the floor boss on the other side of the plain.

“Chigusa, reinforcements!”

“The town’s adventurers…!”

The two of them were filled with hope and admiration, blushing as more and more adventurers came into view.

The ones who had already passed them were yelling out signals to one another and pointing in different directions. They split into three groups: one hung back to eliminate the monsters blocking the path to the battlefield; one broke off to assist Bell in the brawl; and the rest made a bead for the floor boss.

All of them had weapons drawn and ready, yelling at the top of their lungs as they charged forward.

“You’re always so reliable in a pinch!”

The first person out of Rivira’s reinforcements to reach the floor boss was none other than Asfi.

She had weaved her way through the surprised yelps of other adventurers all the way to the feet of the Goliath. Reaching into her belt holster, she withdrew two small bottles and hurled them at the beast.

The giant was still trying to follow Lyu’s quick movements when both of the bottles hit it square in the face, exploding on contact.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!”

“Oh come on, at least singe a little…!”

Most monsters in the middle levels would have been incinerated by just one of those Burst Oil grenades—as an item maker, these were her specialty. However, they left no mark on the Goliath’s thick skin.

The giant counterattacked with a howl, but Asfi was able to dodge it easily and meet up with Lyu.

“Lyon! I believe you figured it out already, but our reinforcements are preparing to launch a large magic assault. Please keep the Goliath entertained until they’re ready!”

“Understood. You and I shall take turns drawing its attention.”

“Eh? No, wai—”

“All right, you maggots! Andromeda is going to be the decoy, so get those spells going!”

“—Boris?! You’re going to regret this!”

Being given the most dangerous role in their operation, Asfi silently cried to herself as she and Lyu raced out in opposite directions to surround the giant. It was up to them to buy enough time for the others to prepare, with speed as their only advantage.

“We’ve got more than enough weapons, dammit! If anything breaks, come get a new one!”

A small group had gathered on a hill a little ways from the Goliath. The inhabitants of Rivira had established makeshift bases next
to the crushed Central Tree and a short distance from the rock slide that covered the southern tunnel. Swords, spears, and shields were lined up on the outside of the bases with more spares on the inside. Dwarves and animal people with muscular builds took broadswords, greatswords, and thick shields without hesitation as they headed for battle. Hestia and Chigusa arrived at the supply base just behind them.

“W-we have a shot!”

“A-amazing…”

Hestia and Chigusa watched as hundreds of adventurers from many different
Familias
worked together to trap the giant monster.

“Surround it—! Surround it—!!”

The adventurers moved to set up a perimeter around the Goliath. Even though none of them knew one another very well, much less fought side by side, they stayed close together while maintaining enough space not to bump into anyone.

Elves and other magic users gathered together in small groups and started reciting their spells to cast Magic. Magic circles of various sizes, shapes, and colors appeared at the feet of a select few. These mages had acquired the Advanced Ability “Conjure,” which increased the power and range of all magic. It was proof of their prowess as magic users.

However, their magic required a very long spell to cast. Each magic user was reciting their spells as quickly as possible.

Their clear and rhythmical voices were quite pleasing to the ear. Unfortunately, they were completely defenseless in the middle of casting. Therefore, groups of dwarves wielding thick shields that stood as high as they were tall stepped forward to protect them.

“—AAOO!”

The Goliath had noticed their presence and launched a howl at the closest group, but the wall of dwarves held strong against the attack. Not even the slightest bit of energy made it past their shields to the magic casters.

When compared to a direct hit from the giant’s fist, a howl wasn’t
all that powerful. As long as the monster didn’t get close enough to land a punch or a kick, the dwarves’ shields were more than a match for the Goliath’s ranged attack.

Knowing this, the lines of Level 3 adventurers left the attacking duties to Lyu and Asfi to keep the walls protecting the mages intact.

“We need a front line! Get in there! Cut that thing down and claim your glory!”

Fearless groups of attackers came out from behind the walls and charged toward the beast. Whipping themselves into a rage, the attackers broke off into parties of four to five adventurers as they closed the distance.

The first ones to arrive waited for Lyu or Asfi to distract it long enough for a window of opportunity to attack one of the beast’s two legs. The Goliath looked down in surprise as greatswords, hammers, and axes slammed into its lower body before looking up as a shadow flashed in front of its face. Asfi threw another one of her Burst Oil grenades into its eyes, momentarily blinding the massive creature. It cried out in anger and frustration as six groups of attackers continued their assault on its knees and feet.

“Bell, you all right?!”

“Welf!”

Rivira’s enforcements had rescued Mord’s group from the monster brawl, allowing Bell to join the adventurers at the forward base. He had never seen so many magic users casting at the same time and was a bit overwhelmed by their intensity as Welf came running up to him.

“What about Mikoto and Ouka?!”

“They’re fine; joined up with the guys fighting the normal monsters.”

The Goliath might be taking center stage, but many smaller battles were taking place around the forward base. Considering that the tunnel to the seventeenth floor and the path to the lower levels under the Central Tree was cut off, no new monsters would be appearing on the eighteenth floor. At the same time, there was a considerably large amount of monsters on this floor already. Bell scanned the battle and quickly found Mikoto and Ouka fighting
alongside lower-level magic users and adventurers to protect their stronghold.

“So, what now? Want to join me in the monster cull?”