The Forest Guardian, Luna (1)

What would happen if an intruder appeared while I was away from the dungeon? The gargoyle I had temporarily placed to block the entrance had become a gar-goyle. It was a fatal blow to lose a gargoyle that was slated for 4-star evolution, but the loss of the gargoyle wasn't the real problem.

"Ryun, any traces?"

"...There's nothing."

The intruder hadn't left a single trace of having entered the dungeon. If not for the system's notification, I wouldn't even have known they were here.

"Hoo."

My head was pounding. And more than anything, the information about the intruder was a massive headache.

'I don't really need any more Monster Summoning Tickets.' It was absurd that I was more focused on the rewards than the difficulty level, but the intruder's rank was high enough to make my erection subside instantly. 'But then again, it’s great if I can catch them.'

Based on my experience so far, the maximum level for a 4-star was 90. Even Eila, who was currently a weakling at level 25, was a being capable of growing up to level 90. 'And Eila is currently in the prisoner's cell.'

I had to save her. This place was my nest, and I couldn't just lead these monsters and move somewhere else.

"Master...?"

"Ryun."

I snatched the staff from Meari and stood at the entrance of the dungeon.

"If I don't come out after three hours, take Meari and run. Assume I'm dead."

"What? Master!"

I punched the ceiling. It was a punch fueled by all my strength, and the entrance I had painstakingly repaired collapsed once again.

"Hoo."

I was left alone in the dungeon. I had nothing but my staff and my own body. 'If you touched even one thing, I'm going to crack your skull open.'

You won't die easily. And fortunately, the enemy was 'as expected' hiding somewhere inside the dungeon, unable to escape. 'Except for the barracks, it's a one-way path.'

Assuming I could use the slimes to clear any blocked paths, I had sealed off various corridors with earthen doors before heading out for the night raid. 'I even collapsed the ceiling.'

I had blocked the path to the common area, and I had sealed the only exit myself. Perhaps they had already scoured the dungeon once and left, but the system doesn't lie. Intruder: 1 person.

"Hoo."

Even if they really were level 90, I had to fight. 'Still, please be a low-level scrub!' I didn't want to die with the path to evolution right in front of me. But I had no intention of losing this nest. 'Besides, Eila is laying an egg today!'

Even if I were to die, I would see what kind of egg Eila lays before I go. I gripped my staff like a baseball bat and took a deep breath. 'If I assume the intruder is stronger than me...' That would only shatter my composure. It would be better if I struck first, but the enemy might have already grasped the dungeon's layout and could ambush me instead. 'There are two places they could be hiding. Inside the barracks, or at a dead end.'

Thump, thump. I deliberately made footfalls, and with a "Squeeeeeeeal!!" that sounded like a pig being slaughtered, I sprinted through the dungeon.

* * *

Along with the sound of the cave collapsing, someone's footsteps could be heard.

"......."

Luna, the Forest Guardian, held her breath and raised her bow. She aimed past the wooden plank entrance. 'An orc.'

The foul stench wafting into the cave was unmistakably that of an orc. Luna waited with her bowstring drawn until the orc arrived. Thump, thump. The orc's footsteps rang out in her sensitive ears. The orc began to walk through the dungeon very cautiously.

'I'll turn you into a honeycomb the moment you step inside.'

She didn't get impatient just because she had been waiting for a long time. Luna took a very short breath. And at that moment.

ROOOOOOOAR——!!

The orc's unique war cry echoed. Luna quickly protected her ears with mana, but her magical focus wavered for a moment due to the sudden ambush of sound.

'What on earth?'

Why would it suddenly scream? Could it be that the intruder knew she was an elf and was trying to commit auditory terrorism? 'Either way, just try stepping inside...!'

The distance from the end of the room to the entrance was less than ten paces. The moment the tightly shut door opened, her arrow would sever the enemy's windpipe.

Boom, boom, boom! The sound of running that seemed to shake the earth echoed from beyond the door. Luna gulped.

'It's coming!'

And when the sound reached the front of the door.

Thump. Thump.

"......?"

Suddenly, the orc began to walk. And it stopped right in front of the door. Click. The orc turned the doorknob. The wooden handle moved, the latch was released, and the door opened.

"......."

Creeeeeak.

The door opened very slowly. Strength flowed into the fingers of Luna, who had her bowstring drawn. Just a little more, and she would fire—

Clack.

The door closed.

Luna's beautiful brows furrowed slightly. 'What? Does it know what's inside just by opening the door? I should have erased my presence. Or does it not know I'm here?'

The moment Luna's mind became complicated.

CRACK!!

With the sound of wood splintering, the door was smashed. Luna reflexively fired her arrow. The arrow of wind, woven from mana, cut across the center of the barracks—Thwack! It pierced the upper part of what used to be the door.

There was nothing in the wind hole where the arrow had been fired.

'What.'

Luna calmly gripped her bow. She didn't know who the opponent was, but if she dealt with them leisurely—

"!!"

A wooden plank was rushing toward her at an incredible speed, held perfectly upright. Luna hurriedly threw her body onto the wooden platform. CRASH! The wide door slammed into the wall. Luna, rolling to cushion her fall, saw with her own eyes the green orc crouching and charging beneath the plank.

Grin.

The orc bared its teeth and laughed savagely.

* * *

"What do we do? If something happens to Master...?"

"Calm down. It hasn't even been 10 minutes since he went in."

Ryun was pacing anxiously at the entrance, while Meari stood with her arms crossed, examining the broken gargoyle.

"Hmm...."

"What is it?"

"I feel a faint magical power. Oh, is it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not mana?"

Meari traced the severed cross-section of the gargoyle with her finger. There was a tiny, invisible current flowing through it. "......A spirit?"

Ryun felt a sense of déjà vu, and soon realized its identity. Meari licked her finger and chewed on it.

"So this is spirit power. I didn't know that."

"W-wait a minute. A spirit, what do you mean?"

"Don't all elves use spirits?"

When Meari asked back, Ryun grabbed the hem of her robe and lowered her head. "...I can't use them."

"Why?"

"I'm telling you I can't! No matter how much I beg, it's useless, so what do you want me to do?!"

"The spirits won't listen to an elf's request?"

Meari tilted her head, tracing the memories of Mei that had been passed on to her. "There are only two reasons they wouldn't listen to a request...."

Meari scanned Ryun up and down. Her skin wasn't tanned brown at all, so the other possibility was that Ryun was that legendary.... 'That can't be.' There was no way an obscene, perverted elf who was already so in love with an orc that she couldn't escape would be such a being. Meari folded the knowledge that had popped into her head and gave instructions to the surrounding monsters.

"Uh... Dad's gone, so can I give orders?"

Krrr. Harsus nodded, and Lime nodded her chest, looking displeased but resigned.

"First, gather the prisoners in one place, and half the slimes wait here. Harpies, I'm sorry, but take Lime and cross the cliff."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have to clear a path."

"What? Master ordered us to run away."

"So, are you going to run?"

Meari asked with a provocation, and Ryun gulped and shook her head. "Right. And that order wasn't given to me."

"...What should I do?"

Ryun was passive, and Meari was active. But the two moved with one heart and one mind. Even if it meant death, they would die in the dungeon.

20 minutes since Pahou Kumcheoku entered the dungeon. 160 minutes left until the dungeon excavation standby.

* * *

CRASH! The door shattered against the wall. I grabbed my staff and swung it horizontally toward the intruder—the elf. CLANG! The elf blocked my staff by swinging her ebony bow. I had swung with pure strength, and the elf had infused her bow with mana to reinforce it. A draw.

Although I hadn't used all my strength perfectly, the elf had blocked my attack quite easily. Her expression had stiffened for a moment, but we both realized each other's strength. It was doable. I felt that way, and paradoxically, the elf seemed to feel the same. So, I actually felt more relaxed.

"What's your purpose in someone else's house?"

"It seems one of our forest elves was kidnapped."

The sharp-featured elf scattered her pale golden hair and twisted the corners of her mouth. "I came here thinking it might be this place, and the whole cave is full of elf traces."

"Well, of course it would be."

I had been drinking Ryun while walking around, so there was no way there wouldn't be traces. "......You bastard, what did you do to Ryun?"

"I ate her."

I said it honestly. The elf's expression began to distort more and more. "She begged me to spare her from the start. Hehe, she was so scared when I pointed my spear at her that she shed tears."

I deliberately licked my lips with my tongue and frowned. "She was so scared she even peed herself. Hehehe. My spear was digging into that tiny thing's inside—"

"You monster!"

"Hahaha!"

The elf bounced her bow up. She must have been planning to create distance and run away, but she couldn't escape in this narrow space.

"Tsk!"

The elf clicked her tongue and fired an arrow while performing a backflip. If I hadn't ducked my waist in advance when I pierced the door, my flesh would have definitely been torn. Avoiding it was enough. I stepped on the wooden platform and jumped toward the entrance.

"Wha—?!"

The elf was surprised by my movement, not attacking her but running toward the entrance. She hurriedly drew her bow, but I rolled on the floor and escaped outside the barracks.

WHOOSH!!

A sharp sound of air being cut rang out, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and a burning sensation grazed my calf. The wind arrow sliced my skin, and my blood splattered in the cave.

"Tsk."

It hurt. It wasn't just painful; it felt like my flesh had been sliced off. But thanks to that, I was able to escape outside the barracks.

"Hehehe."

Now the elf was a rat in a trap. "...Are you an idiot?"

The elf mocked me from inside with a voice full of pity. "Your strength is definitely greater than mine, but you are weaker than me. Yet, instead of running away, you're standing outside the door? Are you mocking me?"

"Well, of course. You stupidly came in alone. Not even knowing it was a death trap."

"......Pfft. I came in because I was confident even alone."

"Really? We match so well. I came in because I was confident, too. I wonder if our sexual compatibility is also good? Hehehe."

The elf couldn't say anything. Was she weak to dirty jokes?

"......Sh, shut up, you bastard!"

It seemed she understood, albeit a little late. In the meantime, I stabbed my staff into the ceiling.

"But I'm a bit busy right now. I'm tired from being outside, so I don't have time to deal with you."

Entering the dungeon and hiding in the first place was a mistake. "So, I'll deal with you later."

"Hmph, arrogant bastard."

The elf mocked me, but she couldn't rashly come outside. Both she and I were convinced that whoever moved first would suffer greatly.

"Hey. But did you kill the gargoyle?"

"Hmph, of course. That stone golem is useless even if a hundred come."

The elf was showing off the composure of a strong person. The very fact that she was engaging in conversation with me, who had eaten a young elf, was a sign of her leisure and carelessness.

"Then I'll ask you this. How did you guess where I was?"

"Ah, that?"

It seemed the elf was most curious about that. I let out a dry laugh because it was funny. "No, I came in because it smelled like melons, and I found two melons. Ah, it's over."

"......?"

I pulled my staff out of the ceiling. Thud, thud. Dirt fell from the ceiling. The elf still hadn't noticed.

"Then, one last question. Aren't elves sensitive to smells or the flow of wind? Can't you feel things like that?"

"......A foul stench was wafting through the entire cave."

"If it's like that, it can't be helped. But you're going to join the ranks of those who smell, too. Because."

I clenched my fist tightly.

"This barracks is going to be a special prison for you."

BOOOOM!!

I thrust my fist toward the ceiling. "Our slime is a bit smart, so I had all these devices prepared on the ceiling?"

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠entire dungeon shook as if there were an earthquake, and the elf seemed to realize what my intention was only then.

"How's the bulkhead gimmick?"

"You crazy—"

WHACK!

The one who moves first is the loser. I thrust the staff I had retrieved in advance forward, and the tip of the staff hit the elf's two melons.

"Ah."

This works?

"Ugh...!"

Luna, who had been rolling on the floor, stopped while clutching her chest. I waved at Luna.

"See you in a bit."

Rumble.

The ventilation shaft leading above the barracks collapsed. Now, the passage collapsing from above became a kind of barrier, a wall blocking the entrance to the barracks....

"......."

"......."

It was only half-blocked. The ventilation shaft passage had stopped collapsing halfway.

"Pfft."

The elf mocked me. My face turned bright red for no reason. 'Lime, you bastard...!' To think she did shoddy construction work because I couldn't check it. I'll make sure to beat her up later.

"It's fine. You can cover about 5 levels with technique."

I brainwashed myself and climbed over the collapsed dirt wall. The elf didn't fire an arrow, perhaps intending to face me directly.

"Are you confident in close-quarters combat?"

"It would be a shame to avenge Ryun with just a single arrow."

The elf, Luna, snapped the string of her bow. The curved ebony became a long, straight rod.

"Now, raise your spear!"

"I'm already holding it, aren't I?"

I wiped my spear, which was standing stiffly toward the sky, once with my hand. Luna's expression properly stiffened.

"Then.... Bon appétit."

"You crazy, perverted monster bastard—!"

The highest compliment. I spread my arms wide toward Luna, who was about to swing her rod.

"Breakfast today is two melons!"

It seemed I would have to sweat a little to eat them. I leaped toward Luna.