Troll Slayer

The party leader was disappointed.

When I hurled myself into the tunnel, the first thing that greeted me was a pitch-black shaft.

Rails ran along the floor, remnants of old cargo carts, and faint lights glowed softly from fixtures along the walls.

Every time I saw something like this I wondered who the hell maintained these places, but as an intruder I was honestly grateful.

“Doesn’t look like anything’s right next to us.”

There were no shadows in my field of vision, and once you awakened mana your detection abilities became exceptionally sharp anyway.

When the knight Kemel spoke while scanning the area, the muscle-brained Jason and the mage siblings all nodded in agreement.

We had braced ourselves to run into goblins the moment we stepped inside a dungeon, so this was practically a luxury.

Was I worried over nothing?

Or maybe all the monsters had been funneled toward the boss.

Either way, the absence of monsters at the entrance was no reason to let our guard down.

We advanced through the dimly lit tunnel in tight formation, keeping our senses on high alert.

Since we were now inside a dungeon, Jason—who had been acting as our guide—fell back to cover the rear while I moved a little toward the front.

I still hadn’t awakened my mana because of the level restriction, but my overwhelming base stats had already shattered any such limits.

While the others grouped up to climb the floors together, I had hunted monsters alone.

The blade drenched in crimson blood had sharpened both my swordsmanship and my senses, and the strides I took while charging at monsters had forged my body.

Where ordinary explorers walked to survive, I ran to hunt.

I had relied on my unparalleled trait rather than any exceptional sword skill, but the result was a set of specs that clearly didn’t belong on the lower floors.

I walked the tunnel with every sense sharpened—listening, smelling, feeling the faintest tremors through the soles of my feet.

Kemel, at the head of the line, was a model knight who never let his vigilance slip, yet I was too much of a perfectionist to leave everything to him alone.

More accurately, I simply hated depending on others.

Unless it was a tank’s job to protect the mages from behind, I preferred to handle anything I could manage myself.

Step. Step.

The footsteps of our large and small party echoed through the narrow tunnel.

Having cleared countless dungeons, I stayed wary of everything—collapsing floor or ceiling traps, ambushes bursting from the side or rear walls, and a myriad of other dangers.

Fortunately, or perhaps strangely, no monsters assaulted us all the way until we finally emerged from the tunnel.

“Whoa…”

What lay before us after leaving the narrow, pitch-dark passage was an entire civilization.

A ceiling studded with countless star-like orbs that glowed like the night sky, and a ruined city still so well-preserved it was clear someone had once lived here.

The underground city was far larger and more vivid than one would expect from a place that had fallen long ago.

Thanks to the beautiful glowing orbs embedded in the ceiling and walls, the half-collapsed or weathered structures were visible at a glance.

A faint scent of blood drifted from somewhere.

“Yuri! Yuri! If we report this to the Magic Tower, do you think they’ll count it as an achievement? I feel like I could suddenly write dozens of papers just on the lower floors!”

“Calm down, Ari.”

“How can I calm down! As a seeker of magic and wisdom, this is a monumental discovery that will go down in history!”

The pink-eyed mage brat was bouncing around in excitement at the sudden appearance of the ruins, while Jason stared at the scene with a dazed, fascinated expression.

Only Kemel, who was frowning as he scanned the surroundings, let out a quiet sigh.

“It seems someone came before us.”

“…Huh?”

He stepped forward cautiously and picked up a metal tag that had fallen on the ground.

The fragment, stained with old blood, had the name “Leo Chamberlain” crudely engraved on it.

At the sight of the tag, the mage siblings frowned and Jason muttered with a grave face.

“He’s the explorer who reported clearing the eighth floor a few days ago. He wasn’t particularly famous or strong on his own, but his party had good balance, so he was known to be able to clear at least up to the ninth floor without much trouble…”

Well, it looked like he had stumbled upon the dungeon, entered, and died.

It was unfortunate, but such things couldn’t be helped.

This tower was brutal enough to kill you hundreds of times over even in a game, and the rare floor-specific dungeons were even worse in proportion to how infrequently they appeared.

The higher the risk, the greater the reward, but they were so difficult that ordinary explorers on that floor had no chance of clearing them.

In that sense, dungeons were pure poison to average explorers.

If you somehow managed to overcome it, the extreme poison would bestow countless blessings.

But because most people simply died, it earned the name of deadly poison.

“Um, Sir Kemel?”

“Yes, what is it, Lord Undertaker?”

Talking with this serious, heavy knight uncle felt subtly uncomfortable, but it couldn’t be avoided if we were going to organize our formation.

Having raised my wariness toward the dungeon to the maximum, I smiled brightly and spoke.

“Would it be all right if I take the lead?”

Even as he said it, Knight Kemel thought there wouldn’t be much difference.

The explorer named Liz was small in stature compared to others her age, like any ordinary girl, yet she possessed unbelievable strength and ferocity.

She had already demonstrated her true ability and slaughtered far more forest monsters than anyone else.

She hadn’t used mana, but her senses were uncannily sharp.

Even after the underground city came into view, she alone never dropped her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guard unlike the others.

There was no doubt she was an overwhelmingly talented and outstanding individual for her age and experience.

Still, no matter how exceptional she was, simply standing at the front wouldn’t change things all that much.

“Four goblins and one orc on the left. At the same time, multiple goblins are approaching from the northeast.”

That was what he had thought, but…

“Jason, intercept the group on the left. Sir Kemel, protect the rear. Ari and Yuri, prepare your spells. I’ll hunt down the stupid goblin pack.”

Her tone was a bit awkward, as if she were imitating a knight, but the content itself was far from clumsy.

He had heard this was her first time exploring the tower with others, yet her words made sense, and above all—

Just how outstanding is her detection?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Normally battle plans were only decided right before combat, but this was far too fast.

Thirty seconds after Liz spoke, the enemies finally entered his own detection range.

Knight Kemel was stunned, but he prepared for the swarm of goblins approaching from the northeast exactly as she had said.

“Kieeeek!”

The subjugation itself wasn’t difficult.

Entering a dungeon didn’t suddenly turn goblins into elite soldiers.

Some of them were clumsily wielding human equipment they had probably looted from the previous explorer, but without exception—

Slash!

Liz, with her jet-black hair and blood-red blade, severed their necks.

Her sword, her long hair, and the sprays of blood from the goblins’ severed necks all danced together.

The explorer who possessed only a girl’s body moved faster than anyone Kemel had ever seen, slaughtering the goblins in the ruins.

Perhaps overwhelmed by her spirit for a moment, her movements looked far more agile than they had outside.

And cruel.

“Hoo, that went well too! It’d honestly be easier if they all rushed us at once so I could wipe them out together!”

Seeing her smile with a face splattered in red blood, Knight Kemel felt a momentary dizziness.

His heart pounded.

Could a married man like himself really be feeling attraction toward a female explorer far younger than him?

The woman before him was certainly beautiful, but that wasn’t the kind of flutter he felt.

Yes. Absolutely not. It wasn’t that.

Though he didn’t want to admit it as a knight, Kemel had felt fear toward her for an instant—as if she were the predator.

He couldn’t even explain why, but the explorer who was supposed to be an ally suddenly felt ominous.

…He was truly glad she was on their side.

As Liz rampaged even deeper into enemy lines and the mages focused all their support on her, the battle ended more violently yet more stably than before. They advanced without taking any damage.

After taking down five or six groups of goblins and orcs and following the main road toward the center of the city, they began to see buildings that looked as if they had been crushed by something.

“…Ugh.”

The remains were even more unpleasant because fragments of what had clearly been human flesh and bloodstains were scattered about.

Something was here.

Just as that ominous thought spread through everyone’s minds, they discovered a huge palace at the end of the avenue.

It had been built on a far grander scale than the other structures and was adorned with luxurious jewels and decorations.

If this underground city was a mere town, this would be the city hall; if it had been a kingdom, this would have been the royal palace.

The party members who had unconsciously stopped in their tracks forced their legs to move again, following the girl who had already begun walking once more.

The party soon entered the palace.

Its exterior was that of a luxurious palace within a ruined city, but its interior was far from beautiful.

Creak?

Goblins were scattered throughout the corridors splattered with human remains—blood and flesh—and they died under Kemel and Jason’s blades before Liz even needed to lift a finger.

They had no intention of leaving monsters that killed humans alone either.

While the native residents grimaced at the horrors inside the palace and slaughtered the monsters, Liz—who had been rampaging wildly until now—simply advanced calmly after entering the palace.

She would occasionally glance at goblins that entered her sight with gleaming eyes, but she didn’t charge them. It was as if she were preparing for something she would soon meet ahead and refused to act rashly.

Kemel wondered what in the world could possibly be waiting ahead that had calmed even this madwoman, but he prayed his suspicions were nothing more than a common delusion.

And in the hall they reached by following the corridor, Knight Kemel gained his answer.

“Damn it.”

A sad premonition is never wrong.

Beyond the open door at the end of the corridor lay an army of monsters composed of orc warriors and goblins.

The total number easily exceeded fifty.

Among the orc warriors was one with particularly fine equipment, and among the goblins was one holding a staff—a shaman.

Special variants made things harder, but even so, they should have been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠able to subjugate this many.

If only it had ended with the goblins and orcs, it would have been perfect.

Knight Kemel looked with dead eyes at the huge monster sitting on the throne in the center.

…Grrrrr.

The monster’s entire body was covered in thick, tough, dark-green hide and muscle. Its size was several times larger than the orc warriors beside it.

In its hand it held a club bigger than most grown men.

Kemel, who had lived his whole life on the lower floors, was seeing the creature in person for the first time, but through books and oral tales he immediately recognized what it was.

“…A troll on the lower floors?”

Its signature monstrous strength was bad enough, but the creature wouldn’t die unless its neck was torn off completely.

Poison didn’t work, and even scratches or light cuts healed instantly.

It was not a monster that explorers on the lower floors should ever have to face.

When the stunned Kemel unconsciously took a step back, the girl who had been waiting for this very moment stepped forward with a bright smile on her face.

In that instant, not only Kemel but the flustered Jason and the mage siblings all stared at her as she took the lead.

“Hmm, a troll, huh.”

The girl currently using the name Liz—formerly known as Undertaker—thought while gripping her sword.

It was true that trolls normally appeared in the middle floors, but from the moment they had entered the dungeon, retreat had never been an option.

If they absolutely had to fight, shouldn’t they at least have the confidence that they could win?

“Sir Kemel, please hold back the orc warriors. Jason, neutralize the goblins rushing in from the main force. Ari, wipe out the goblin pack with your first spell. Yuri, support Sir Kemel so he doesn’t collapse.”

No, in truth she was confident she could win.

Though it was only from the game, she had experienced similar situations several times before.

Besides, if the troll was unreasonably strong for the current floor, the same could be said of her overwhelming power.

At last, in a battle between equals, her body—thrilled by the blood of the strong—began to heat up.

Obtaining the title ‘Troll Slayer’ on the lower floors would be rather romantic, wouldn’t it?

“And.”

Liz smiled as she watched the troll rise from its throne in response to her killing intent.

“I’ll take the boss.”

The long-awaited one-on-one duel.

The moment the girl gripped her sword and took a step forward, the troll also leaped down from the throne and swung its club.

Liz dug even deeper inward while the main party raised their guards against the monsters rushing in from every corner of the hall.

“Uwooooooh!”

The battle had begun.