Dungeon Escape (2)
Dungeon Escape (2)
I suggested a 'back-to-the-water' last-stand formation, with the reservoir behind us as we faced the monsters, on the assumption that they couldn't swim.
But she flatly rejected the idea.
"If we blindly enter the cave, we might get surrounded and attacked."
I subtly brought up what had happened when we died in the cave just moments ago, but she remained unconvinced.
"Putting water at our backs only reduces the directions we can be surrounded from by one. It might make it even easier for them to corner us, and even if we escape into the water, they'll eventually catch up."
At her words, I looked at the reservoir again.
The reservoir in the center of the underground plaza didn't seem to connect to anywhere else, nor was it close to the walls in any direction.
Just as she said, it seemed unlikely that we could escape the monsters by swimming.
I scratched my head.
The military tactics I'd heard about in my past life weren't much use in actual combat like this.
No, it wasn't the tactics' fault. It was my own for not understanding them properly.
They were just military strategies I'd vaguely picked up from novels and internet posts in my past life.
There was no way an opinion from someone who'd never been in a real fight or studied the subject properly would be of any use.
"Still, the possibility of being surrounded in the cave, and the chance that the monsters can't swim, are both worth considering."
After hearing my opinion, she came up with a new plan.
It was far more plausible than the 'back-to-the-water' formation I'd suggested.
'Just who is she, really? This isn't something a mere mercenary would come up with.'
With that thought in mind, I followed behind her.
Amusingly enough, she entered the exact same cave we'd been in before we died.
I could have suggested taking a different cave, but I silently followed her.
There was no reason to invite unexpected trouble, like getting blocked, by needlessly changing caves.
In the end, after killing the monsters, we entered the same cave...
The situation from before we died repeated itself exactly.
But our movements were different this time.
We moved at only half our previous speed, stopping at regular intervals to listen in every direction.
Both of us were being several times more cautious.
Before long, we heard a sound.
It was barely audible, and only if you pressed an ear, focused with mana, against the wall. It was the sound of the monsters' footsteps.
The monsters' footsteps didn't seem to get any closer. Once they reached a certain distance, even the footsteps stopped.
"Are the monsters really following us stealthily?"
Having heard the footsteps, she looked at me.
"It seems so. There must be other monsters waiting for us up ahead."
At my words, she stared into the darkness ahead.
"I suppose so. My goodness. In the end, we're being herded and hunted, aren't we? Were these bastards always this smart?"
After a quiet grumble, she looked at me.
"It's truly amazing. How did you know? To be honest, I found it hard to believe until just a moment ago..."
I knew because I'd experienced it, but I couldn't tell her that.
"I just have good intuition."
"Intuition... You're not just smart."
Judging by her expression, I had a feeling that once we got out of here, rumors about me being a genius wouldn't be the only ones spreading.
"Now, shall we proceed as planned?"
"Yes."
She and I turned around and began running back down the path we'd come up.
We ran with mana coursing through our legs.
The cave rapidly receded behind us, and from behind—no, from ahead, in the direction we were running—we heard hurried footsteps.
Thud, thud.
Before long, we came face-to-face with the monsters that had been tailing us.
Being surrounded from the front and back in a straight cave like this was extremely dangerous—but only once the encirclement was complete.
An incomplete encirclement was nothing more than prey to be defeated one by one.
"We have to finish them off quickly!"
"Don't worry!"
The tip of her sword shimmered as she dashed forward, and the sword in my hand began to glow faintly as well.
Ahead of us were monsters filling the cave as they approached.
There were four of them in total.
Although there was one more than the number of monsters we'd killed earlier, there were actually fewer for us to face at once.
Because of their size, barely two monsters could stand side by side.
The cave ceiling wasn't high, either, so the monsters in the back couldn't leap over them.
We only needed to deal with one each.
I channeled mana into my legs and hands, then thrust my sword forward with all my might.
"Avoid this if you can!"
The narrow cave made it difficult to swing a large sword freely, but it was even harder for the monsters to dodge.
Blocked by the monsters beside and behind them, as well as by the walls and ceiling, they couldn't even move easily, let alone show off their signature speed.
I thrust my sword forward and slammed into the monster with all my strength.
Thunk.
The sword pierced the front leg blocking my way and drove into the head of the rat-like monster.
"Growl."
As expected, flashy swordsmanship wasn't necessary in a cave like this.
I kicked the monster to pull out my sword, then dashed forward again.
I dispatched the next monster quickly, too.
As expected, the Firebird Hunter defeated her monsters faster than I did.
She marveled as she watched me defeat the monsters.
"Are you really ten years old? How can you be this skilled at your age?"
"It's thanks to my ability."
"An inherited ability that gives you the power of a knight or higher at ten years old?"
Tsk, had I shown too much of my skill? But it was hard to survive if I hid my abilities.
Fortunately, she didn't ask any more questions.
Growl.
The sounds of monsters echoed from deep within the cave we'd intended to enter.
Those were the monsters waiting for us.
"Now, what shall we do?"
Perhaps because things had turned out exactly as I'd said, she asked for my opinion.
Unlike before, she seemed ready to listen to almost any suggestion I made.
But the plan was already set, and I didn't have any better ideas, either.
"Let's retreat as planned. Let's reduce their numbers as much as possible."
"Alright!"
She and I quickly retreated to the underground plaza with the reservoir where we'd started.
As we ran through the cave, we discovered a hole we hadn't seen before.
"That hole wasn't there earlier, was it?"
"Yes. It must have been made by the monsters chasing us."
"I knew they could dig tunnels, but could they really dig them this easily?"
No, if you don't know, how on earth would I know?
At any rate, I felt like I understood why she and I had been surrounded so easily.
And the monsters' sharp claws weren't meant for striking down enemies, but for digging into the earth.
No wonder their claws were so incredibly tough; that was why.
We continued running through the cave, passing the hole in the wall.
Fortunately, despite their fast movements, the monsters didn't have much endurance.
The monsters' footsteps no longer drew closer, and we were able to reach the underground plaza with the reservoir.
Then we entered a different cave.
We moved in and out of the caves, dealing with the monsters while staying as close to the underground plaza with the reservoir as possible.
Listening as closely as we could, we took out smaller groups of monsters first when they approached. If there were too many, we retreated to the underground plaza and entered a different cave.
There were times when we misjudged their numbers and found ourselves in danger, and times when we went too deep and nearly got surrounded.
But in the end, we managed to eliminate most of the monsters.
"In the end, we're finishing things up here."
I said to her as I sat on the ground and scooped up water from the reservoir to drink.
We were in the underground plaza where we'd first fallen. Dead monsters lay scattered all around us.
Once they realized we were moving around this underground plaza, the monsters eventually gathered here.
We were surrounded, and in the end, we formed a 'back-to-the-water' last-stand formation, just as I'd first suggested.
But unlike when I'd first brought it up, there were very few monsters surrounding us.
That was because we'd drastically reduced their numbers by defeating them one by one in the meantime.
Six in total.
After the battles we'd fought, the two of us had grown accustomed to their hunting methods. Six was a number we could easily handle.
And then came the final clash.
She and I brought down every single monster.
After drinking some water, I looked around.
"By the way, they really seemed reluctant to approach the reservoir, didn't they?"
"It certainly seems that way. I don't think it's because they can't swim, though..."
Tilting her head, she knelt on one knee, scooped up water with both hands, and drank carefully.
I stared blankly at her as she drank, then turned my gaze back to the reservoir.
It was an ordinary underground reservoir with a hole in the ceiling.
Then again, perhaps an underground reservoir with drinkable water wasn't all that ordinary.
"There must be a reason, but now isn't the time to study the underground ecology of monsters."
Once my strength returned, I stood up.
Even after we waited for a long time, no more monsters appeared. It seemed safe to relax now.
She seemed to think so, too. After putting back on the cloak she'd taken off, she asked me,
"Shall we head out, then?"
"Yes. Let's go back."
We headed toward the cave once more.
"Wouldn't those monsters be worth some money?"
"That's true, but we don't have a proper way to carry them out, and taking them out would be problematic anyway."
With no guarantee that the treasure warehouse was intact, it seemed like a good idea to make money by selling even the monsters. Unfortunately, we couldn't let anyone else know what had happened in this underground area.
It would be difficult for me to explain things to the people at the mansion, and she didn't want to reveal this tomb to anyone else, either.
'Since we've cleared out all the monsters, there shouldn't be any problems in the domain.'
I wasn't the Lord or the heir, so there was no need to bring unnecessary trouble back with me.
Suppressing my slight regret and worry, I kept walking.
From what we'd confirmed while fighting the monsters, all these caves sloped upward and connected to one another at various points.
The plaza where I'd died before was the junction where the caves met, and the number of caves converging there decreased the higher we went.
After climbing for quite a while, we realized the cave had changed.
The cave we were walking through wasn't one dug by monsters, but one with stone walls and pillars supporting the ceiling—in other words, a man-made underground passage.
"Could it be... is it still intact?"
At the thought that the secret warehouse might still be there, a spark flashed once more in her eyes, which had looked so listless before.
She lifted the lantern hanging from her waist and bounded forward as if she might leap for joy.
I dragged my sword along and did my best to keep up with her.
As we proceeded down the passage, small rooms came into view on either side.
Regrettably, the rooms were so old that only broken tables and chairs remained.
We walked on, giving the rooms a cursory glance, and finally reached the end of the passage.
An iron door stood at the end of the passage.
The door was engraved with the exact same crest as the one on her blade.
It was undoubtedly the door to the secret warehouse she'd been searching for.
With trembling hands, she pushed the door.
Click.
Fortunately, it wasn't locked.
The door opened bit by bit, letting out a harsh, grating sound.