The Blond Nun and the Promotion Battle #5
The Blond Nun and the Promotion Battle #5
The abandoned mine was a long, straight cave. An old iron rail, once used to haul carts, ran inward along the tunnel.
According to the map, a few chambers branched off like limbs, but the mine's layout wasn't complex. All we had to do was keep walking forward.
"You said Miss Wendy warned us to watch out for traps, right?"
I nodded at Kate's question.
"Yeah. The mine was a dungeon ages ago. You've probably heard the stories—dungeons are like wombs that spawn monsters and traps. There's a good chance the traps have started reactivating in here."
We moved along the iron rail, scanning our surroundings as carefully as possible. We avoided touching the walls and watched every step. Slowing our pace was unavoidable. Better to move slowly than to trigger a trap and die a senseless death.
"Do you notice anything suspicious inside the mine?"
Just in case, I asked Ally.
With her sharp halfling senses, couldn't she detect nearby traps like some kind of Newtype? Honestly, expecting excellent scouting in a pitch-dark cave like this was a stretch.
"Suspicious? I can see a few traps!"
"You can see them?"
I hadn't expected her to, but Ally answered with a nonchalant expression. Why was she only telling us about the traps now? Was this more of her show-off attitude? Selfishness—planning to survive alone if a trap went off?
"Why are you telling us this now?"
"Because they've all been smashed to pieces."
Ally pointed a finger into the darkness. When I aimed the lantern where she pointed, I spotted a rusty spear shaft mounted on the cave wall. It jutted from a large hole, extending horizontally—perfectly positioned to skewer an adult man's head.
"See, Luke? The spear shaft's snapped."
"Ah, right."
I nodded with an intrigued expression. The spear shaft on the wall was broken. A metal blade lay crumpled beneath it. Someone had already trashed the traps set up inside the mine.
Ally tapped a finger against her chin.
"You said orcs have been hiding out in here. Those bastards probably cleared out the traps themselves. When a dungeon starts generating traps, it makes a pretty serious racket. I've been on a few low-tier dungeon raids, so I know."
"Ah, you've conquered dungeons before."
"I'm a halfling. My race is the most useful thing for dungeons."
Ally's words earned my trust.
Tracking skills that could discern objects even in the dark!
In exchange for weaker muscles, she'd been blessed with sharp senses. As long as she didn't go charging off alone like before, she'd make a genuinely great party member.
"Miss Ally. You'll hold back on that... tempo thing, right?"
"Of course. I'll match your tempo!"
"Just stick with us."
I let out a sigh of relief and moved forward. True to Ally's word, the traps in the mine had already been destroyed by the orcs. We continued exploring the mine without taking any damage.
Ahead of us, there was nothing but the iron rail and the tunnel.
I was shining the lantern deeper into the tunnel when I saw it. A suspicious shape on the rail. I signaled to my party members.
"Hold up. Something's on the rail. Ally, can you see what it is?"
"Looks like someone's lying on the tracks. Need to get closer for details."
Someone lying on the tracks?
Puzzled, I closed in on the suspicious shape. But the moment I got close enough to identify it with my own eyes, I couldn't help but reel back in shock.
"Huh?"
Not just me—everyone else was stunned too. Lying on the iron rail was an orc with a boar's head. Greenish skin, thick tusks jutting over its lips. A body built of solid muscle.
"M-Mongma-nim, that's an orc!"
"Yeah."
The orc that had murdered villagers in Kuntil-la and fled.
This one was probably part of that group. But even though we'd encountered an orc, we didn't need to jump into battle.
Because the one lying on the rail was already a cold corpse.
"Let's examine the body."
Under the cover of Brut and Ally, I approached the orc corpse. It had bled out heavily, covered in bite marks. Dozens of gouges had mangled the body into a gruesome mess.
Even I, who'd seen my fill of monster corpses, felt my stomach turn. The creatures that hunted this orc clearly had no concept of corpse etiquette.
"Any idea what happened, Ally?"
"I have a hunch!"
Ally and I exchanged a look. Honestly, I'd already caught on to what had attacked the orc. The bite marks showed the imprint of gear-like teeth.
"Kobolds, right?"
"Most likely."
Ally nodded at my question. She looked around at the party.
"Looks like a huge swarm of kobolds showed up in this mine. This orc was attacked by them. The body's fresh. Judging by the decay, it's been less than a day."
So this orc had been alive until at least yesterday?
Listening to Ally rattle off information like a shaman with divine sight, I felt a sense of reassurance. Even to my untrained eye, the orc's body hadn't rotted much. It had been attacked by kobolds relatively recently.
No matter how physically strong an orc is...
If kobolds swarm them with sheer numbers, they'll go down. The moment I realized a massive horde of kobolds had infested this place, I clicked my tongue—my grim prediction had hit the mark.
"Seems the kobolds have nested inside the mine."
Kate looked at me with a puzzled face.
"A nest? But we don't see any kobolds nearby."
I looked at Kate and let out a sigh.
"What's with that sigh?!"
"Kobold nests are usually underground. Digging tunnels is their instinct. That means they're living beneath the mine's floor."
I pointed at the mine's floor. Kobolds had likely burrowed out a whole network underground and were living there. They probably only came to the surface when hunting for food.
Ally nodded as if confirming my point.
She suddenly dropped flat on the cave floor and pressed her ear to it.
"Luke's right. The ground's pretty weakened. Looks like the kobolds have been digging underneath. I can hear faint footsteps down there, I think."
The mine's floor was weakened?
Was she firing some kind of sonar into the ground? I wasn't sure how she could be so certain, but it couldn't hurt to stay on guard. I nodded and looked forward again—
Kyarrrk!!
Kyarrrrrk!!
Kyarrrk!! Kyarrrrrk!!
From further down the tunnel, small creatures surged out like a flood. I shone the lantern ahead and realized: kobolds.
Their jaws clattered as they charged through the tunnel.
"Kobolds!"
Individually, they were monsters even weaker than goblins. But the moment I saw the incoming swarm, I let out a grim murmur. The number of kobolds crawling from the depths was anything but normal. Dozens upon dozens were advancing straight for us.
"Everyone, battle stations."
In this straight, narrow tunnel, there was no room to hide. To push through the kobold swarm and hunt the orcs, we had no choice but to force our way through.
"Got it!"
"Let's kill some kobolds!"
Brut and Ally drew their weapons.
I unfurled my Water Whip from a position where I could shield Kate.
The whip bubbled and churned in my grip.
Krrrrrk.
Soon enough, Brut and Ally clashed with the kobold swarm. While they held the front line, I swung my Water Whip through the gaps.
"HAAAP—!!"
I lashed the Water Whip horizontally, sweeping away the kobolds that lunged at me.
Just a glancing touch ripped flesh apart—a devastating strike!
The kobolds caught in the whip's arc dropped dead in an instant.
They couldn't survive the tearing wounds on top of the whip's impact.
"Mongma-nim!"
The sheer numbers meant some broke through Brut and Ally's defensive line. I shouted quickly to Kate.
"The lantern! Shine the light on them!"
Kate, still holding the lantern, adjusted the angle of the flame. Scattered light hit the kobolds' faces. They clutched their eyes and shrieked in pain.
"KYAAAAAAHK!!"
A flashlight stun with a lantern!
Kobolds living in the pitch-black underground had no choice but to be sensitive to light! I gleefully swung my Water Whip at the blind, stumbling monsters.
Three or four kobolds burst apart with every crack of the whip! Watching them drop dead in a single hit, a surge of exhilaration spread across my face.
'This is the fruit of all that magic training!'
I could feel it through my whole body—the Water Whip had grown stronger. Watching the kobolds pop cleanly was enough to flood my brain with adrenaline! Lost in the excitement, I mercilessly slaughtered the creatures.
A long while later, we finally managed to exterminate the kobold swarm. The floor was so carpeted in kobold corpses there was barely room to step.
"Let me heal you, Mongma-nim!"
"Please."
Kate cast her healing spell and looked at me with awe in her eyes. After all, I'd taken down nearly half the surging kobold horde. Given the wide-area nature of the Water Whip, my kill count was naturally high.
"So this is the power of a mage!"
"Only because the front line held firm."
"E-Even so! The kobolds were popping in one hit."
Bright light flowed from Kate's hands and touched my wounds. I'd swung the Water Whip like crazy, but I couldn't completely block every kobold's approach. A few had slipped through the suppression and bit my thigh.
Still, even with the bites, I felt a small sense of satisfaction. At least I'd kept Kate safe behind me. I'd even physically shoved kobolds away to keep their aggro off her.
"Thank you for protecting me."
"Only because you're a nun. If you'd just been some party member, forget it."
"I know that already. Do you really have to say it?"
As the healing light washed over me, my chewed-up leg slowly recovered. After treating me, Kate healed the other two party members. Ally, who'd been on the front line, was naturally a tattered mess. She'd faced the flood of kobolds head-on.
As for Brut, well, his tough hide had held up fine.
"Heal! It's a heal!"
"Stop moving! It reduces the healing spell's effectiveness."
"Yes, Sister."
While Kate treated the party, I rested. I took the chance to restore my Water Whip—its temperature had cooled and its shape had eroded. Staring down the tunnel the kobolds had poured from, I fell deep into thought.
'They said orcs were hiding in this mine, right?'
The quest objective was to eliminate the orcs!
But right now, the mine was under occupation by a nesting colony of kobolds. The fact that a swarm had surged out of the tunnel made that clear enough.
Could orcs really still be alive inside a mine this dangerous?
'One of the orcs was already dead. So wouldn't the rest be dead too?'
Maybe they'd fled before the attack.
But according to the villager who'd guided us here, the militia in Kuntil-la's watchtower had been monitoring the mine entrance. I'd heard there were no signs of orcs escaping.
There was a high probability the orcs were still inside the mine.
Along with the kobolds flooding out of their nest.
Which meant—
"Hadn't the orc bastards all just croaked already?"
How could they possibly have survived in a hellhole like this?