Chapter 27
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: 1st Floor (6)
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I brought Roy and Robin over and taught them one by one how to handle their weapons and make effective use of their shields.
For Roy, who seemed like he couldn't handle the club properly, I showed him how to swing the shield to both attack and defend, overwhelming the enemy. Robin, on the other hand, started quickly picking up plausible sword stances from my explanations and demonstrations—probably thanks to some blessing related to swordsmanship.
"Phew... You two get dinner ready and rest up."
"Yes... bro."
"..."
"Cain~ Me too~"
After sending them off, I saw Tanya approaching and handed her Roy's club.
"The club's got longer reach than a dagger, and you can just swing it wildly, so use this instead."
"Okay..! Got it!!!"
Tanya, who had ignored all my explanations during our first team-up and wouldn't even glance at the parchment, was now eagerly mimicking me, swinging the club around with surprising enthusiasm.
Once her form started looking decent, I called her to a stop.
"Don't push yourself too hard. Rest up and do your best in the real fight."
"Okay... But can I really do well?"
"You don't have to kill monsters yourself during exploration for your stats to go up. Sometimes they rise just from contributing in other ways."
"Really?"
"So don't force yourself to kill them. Got it?"
"Yes!!"
We ate, then I spent another four hours reviewing their forms and giving them crash training. The remaining four hours, I let them rest fully.
"Roy, you got it?"
"Yeah, bro!"
"...Got it."
While we rested, Tanya and Robin stuck close to Roy, relentlessly reassuring him—not quite brainwashing, but close enough.
By the time the goblins were due to fall asleep, Roy's complexion had improved a lot from earlier. It felt a bit strange seeing that.
"Alright. Time's about right, so I'll head out first to scout. Sis, kill the lantern."
"Be careful, Cain..."
"Don't worry."
I flipped the 8-hour and 4-hour hourglasses, grabbed my dagger along with Roy's club and Robin's sword, and stood up.
Anyone seeing this would think I was a husband heading off to war. Leaving behind Tanya with teary eyes, and Roy and Robin tense with anxiety, I slowly advanced forward.
"Grrr..."
As I neared the gap and peered in, I saw three goblins heading out on patrol after a shift change, while the rest were starting to doze off.
Waiting for Sia to adjust, I scanned the clearing once more.
Swish—
About ten minutes later by my sense of time, I cautiously entered the clearing and gently set down the club and sword on the ground nearby.
The ones who had just left on patrol were one with a large shield and two with one-handed swords.
Of the ones left behind, four had shields, and including the leader, sixteen had weapons.
Next to the leader in the center of the clearing was a scimitar; the rest had crude weapons. Starting by taking the leader's head seemed like a solid plan.
I crept closer to check for floor traps or anything unusual, but found nothing off, so I returned to the group.
"Everyone, get ready."
"Y-Yes...!"
"Robin, focus on slashes, not thrusts. Got it?"
"Y-Yes! Bro."
"Roy, stand in front of Sis Tanya and shove incoming goblins back with your shield. Sis, bash the heads of any that fall."
"...Yes..."
"O-Okay!!! Got it!!"
"If it gets too bad, say so ahead of time and light the lantern. Got it?"
"Yes!!"
We reviewed the plan one more time, then moved out together.
"We'll all enter the clearing, and start once we confirm they've grabbed their weapons. Got it?"
Nod—
We reached the narrowing part of the passage, whispered briefly, and I entered the clearing first.
Swish—
During yesterday's 12-hour scouting, I hadn't just watched—I'd been running simulations in my head nonstop.
Before awakening to my past life, my combat skills came from hearsay, old man Hawk's advice, mimicking Claude's moves, and pure instinct in fights against monsters.
In the city, you could learn from teaming up with other parties or attending training halls.
But when we left home, we weren't well-off, so we started from scratch with basic guild gear and no spare cash. Later, Claude's explosive growth and our trio's synergy made Labyrinth runs manageable, bringing in decent income—but by then, I figured I didn't really need formal training.
Sia's aversion to other men made partying with outsiders tough, so we stuck to just us three. My fighting style was amateur at best.
Now?
After two years of grinding exploits and real combat honing, my dagger skills were solid. Recalling moves from my past life—like the beatings from a few stronger husbands after fooling around with married women—I felt confident I could fight even more efficiently.
Clink—
Swoosh—
Twitch!
"Kek...!"
As I got as close as possible to the goblins without alerting them, I glanced back at the gap and heard Tanya and Robin carefully picking up their weapons.
A few goblins twitched their ears at the faint noise. Seeing that, the three who were quietly forming up in the clearing froze.
After a bit, with no further reaction from the goblins, the trio slowly emerged even more cautiously.
Roy stood at the front with his shield forward, Tanya right behind him, and Robin offset slightly to the side—solid formation. I gave a light nod and turned my eyes to the leader.
"Grrr—"
Bigger than the others, coming up to my solar plexus, but still just a goblin.
About ten meters away, I gripped my dagger in reverse and leaped with all my strength.
Thud!!
"Kek?"
Splurt!!!
"Grrrggggh!!"
I landed flawlessly right by the leader and slit its throat in one clean stroke.
Instead of a scream, it gurgled like boiling phlegm and dropped dead instantly. The noise jolted the surrounding sleepers awake in a panic.
"Keeek!!!"
"Kyaaak!!"
I glanced back at Tanya and the others—Roy had hunched his shoulders, hiding behind his shield.
Grabbing the scimitar by the leader with my left hand, dagger in my right, I dove into the goblin pack.
Clang—
Slashhhh!!!
"Kyaaaak!!!"
Slashhh!!!
No need to muffle sounds now. Using my agility and strength stats, I kickboxed my way through, kicking their weapons far away with my feet before carving into them with the scimitar wherever I saw flesh.
Thwack!!
Crunch!!
In the chaos, I low-kicked the solar plexus of goblins still struggling to rise, selectively kicking their weapons away. A few turned their backs to retrieve them.
Splurt!!
"Kieeeek!!!"
I drove the scimitar into one such goblin's back, then charged the others dagger in hand.
Squelch!!!
"Keeeek!!!"
Crack!!
"Kyaaaaak!!!"
I trampled any hesitating in the confusion, moving swiftly wherever my eyes landed.
Whoosh!
Crack!
"Shit..!"
Then I heard a club whistling toward my back from behind. I spun quickly, raising my left leg to block with my shin guard.
"Kie?"
The power difference meant my shin guard just dented slightly, while the goblin reeled from the recoil.
Seizing the gap, I twisted my left leg to 11 o'clock, planted my step, and snapped my hips open for a straight hip thrust with my right leg... like this?
Splaaat!!
Smaaaash!!!!
Squelch!
Crash!!
My middle kick turned into a high kick on the short goblin, its head spinning a full turn as it flew meters away, twitching before dying.
"Kiik...!"
The others hesitated in shock. Looking around, I saw at least ten dead or out of the fight.
"What? Why are these fuckers so weak?"
I'd thought solo rampage might be a stretch, but it was easier than expected.
"Die!!!"
Slash!! Stab!!! Slash!!!
"Kieeeek!!"
"Ugh... uwaaaah!!!"
Thud!!
"Kiik!!!"
"Kyaaak!!"
Crack!! Thud!! Thud!!
Turning at the noises, I saw Robin stabbing one goblin while Tanya bashed the head of another that Roy had shield-smashed to the ground.
Then I spotted a goblin charging at Robin, who was frantically stabbing away.
"Kyaaak!!"
"Robin!!! Behind!!!"
Clanggg!!!
"Hah!! Th-thanks, bro!!"
Reacting to my shout just in time, a faint glow from Robin's sword blocked the goblin's dagger thrust.
"Grgh...! Bro, help!!"
"Uh.... uwaaaah!!!"
His awkward stance from using the blessing left him struggling against the goblin. As Robin yelled desperately, Roy charged from the side, shield first.
Boom!!!!
"Keeek!!!"
"Urk!"
Clatter!
His footing slipped—maybe legs tangled—and Roy tumbled with the goblin. The goblin dropped its dagger, wriggling under Roy and the shield.
Crack! Crack!! Crack!!
"Die!! Hnnggg!!"
Tanya hammered its skull with cries that were half-scream, half-sob. She looked a bit rough, but luckily no more goblins had broken through their side except those three.
The remaining ones, rattled by the goblin whose head spun from my middle kick, were now warily approaching me with weapons raised.
"If it ends like this, it's too easy..?"
"Keeek!!!!"
From the leader's throat-slice leap to middle kicks and kickboxing steps—everything in this fight benefited from the technique stat bonus. Cleaner power distribution, joint range control, impact points... way smoother than my past life. Fucking fun.
"Once we're back in the city from the Labyrinth, I gotta spar Claude."
My other stats were on the verge of leveling too. Should make for a good scrap.