The ability 【Golden Flame】 strengthened my body. Surrounded by a soft light, my hearing, eyesight and other senses were all enhanced. With one step forward, I moved like a wind.
“Gah!”
“Gwah!”
I instantly killed the monsters that I passed by.
The power of the Goddess is really amazing. The fact that my five senses are strengthened means that I can notice them before they notice my presence. That’s also why I can strike first.
『I can sense their presence. 』
“But I can’t find it……!”
No, calm down. There’s no point in being impatient.
Screaming in the dungeon is a big no-no as it will attract other monsters to your location. In other words, they are either a beginner party or, in the worst case, lost herbalist adventurers.
And as I haven’t met them yet, they are probably still running away.
『You’re almost there. I can sense the presence of the undead. 』
Solana’s words made my jaw twitch. I turned to the corner by kicking the wall.
It barely made it.
The undead is a skeleton monster. It is an immortal warrior with pale flames in the hollow eye sockets of human skull. There are 5 of them. The skeletons raised their rusty swords and were chasing someone. Screaming while running in a dungeon was basically telling the others where you are.
“I made it in time!”
I stepped in and pushed forward. The skeleton that was rammed by me was blown away into pieces.
There are only four left.
No. The skeletons can resurrect after a while so basically, there are still five skeletons.
『Rion! Remember, there is a time limit for this skill. 』
That’s right. The time limit for 【Golden Flame】is 3 minutes. By a wake-up caller’s sense of time, I can tell it would run out in a little over a minute.
The skeleton surrounded me while swaying back and forth.
There is no time to wait. I dashed towards the nearest skeleton and swung my short sword with all my might. I blew away the shield it was holding. Then I pierced its torso that was left in the open and cut it off.
“……!”
The skeletons made a wide distance between us. I can’t let my guard down. Just like humans, they can use techniques. That’s why they are a tougher opponent compared to goblins.
Out of the corner of my eye, the first skeleton I had blown away is now starting to regenerate.
“I won’t let you!”
I jump on it and crush its sternum. A skeleton’s weak point is its torso. If this is lost, it can no longer attach its limbs and will collapse.
“How about the guy who’s being chased?”
『They’re fine. I saw them retreating further in.』
As Solana said, the screams had stopped.
『There were two of them. One of them may have panicked so the other had no choice but to flee together. 』
As we talked, the two skeletons threw away their shields.
The right hand holding the sword is raised to the level of their skull, and the tip is pointing downward. I had seen that same stance on the note left by my father.
“……They are aiming for a counter!”
As expected, skeletons are strong. They can use techniques like someone with the Swordsman skill.
We stared at each other. I had the advantage in terms of speed, but they had the longer reach as they use sword. As there are two of them, I couldn’t attack.
I’m playing solo without any aid so there’s only so much I can do. It is normal that I’ll be vulnerable to their teamwork.
As I slowly back away, a third figure cuts through the gap between the two.
“Ha!”
I blocked it with my short sword, catching it on the hilt and deflecting it away. I stabbed it at the chest when it had lost its balance.
All that was left was to aim for a counterattack on the last two.
“It’s now! ……E-eh?”
The light disappeared from my body. The physical enhancement has skill ended.
All the blood drained from my body in an instant.
“Wa, wawa!”
The two skeletons attacked in quick succession.
Dodge, dodge, dodge it no matter what!
I never neglected to train when diving in the dungeon. But all I could do now was to avoid the successive attacks from the two skeletons.
『Rion, unseal me. 』
I need an opening. A chance to re-cast the Golden Flame or unseal Solana.
An opening— just where is it!?
“Ugh!”
I was careless. I didn’t mean to, but normally, I would never have plunged into a group of skeletons alone.
I could feel myself being cornered.
The skeleton’s jaws were clattering as if they were laughing at me.
At that moment, something hit the skeleton’s head.
“This way, you damn skeleton!”
With a sharp voice, stones were thrown at the skeletons attacking me. The person who was running away from the skeletons tries to catch their attention.
『 Rion! 』
“Yes.”
I tried to unseal Solana, but something pulled me instead. One of the stones that were thrown at the skeletons and landed near me seemed to shine. Just like when I unsealed the blue crystal short sword, I felt a heat in my chest.
The rest is intuition.
“Alarm!”
Stone, wake up!
| Skill, 『Alarm』was used. Executing【Unseal】. |
Whoosh.
The wind blew under the feet of the skeletons. The skeleton monsters were launched up to the ceiling and were broken into pieces. The fallen bones dispersed into black ash in the blink of an eye.
It was like magic. A real magic! A magic, completely different from the magic I use in my daily life.
Stunned, I looked back from the ceiling and saw a green light floating in the air. It is about the size of an egg. When I stretch out my left hand, it rests on the back of my hand.
『It’s a spirit. 』
Solana spoke from the gold coin. Perhaps because she wasn’t unsealed, I felt like she was a little sulky.
『There must have been a spirit sleeping on that stone. It was sealed away along with the dungeon. 』
The spirit shines brightly and then it swished into my short sword. The blue crystal part of the short sword slowly emits light and eventually, it returns to its original state.
Tracing the blue crystal, I felt that I could unseal it—I feel an ancient presence in it.
『Hmm, it looks like it has taken a residence in there to thank you for waking it up. 』
“There?”
『It’s your short sword. That crystal isn’t just a decoration, you see. It’s a house for spirits, a place prepared for spirits to lend the holder of the crystal their power. 』
The stones that were thrown had, at some point, transformed into clear crystal. They had been weathered over the years, but they may have originally been quartz crystals.
I was stunned by the destruction caused by that gust of wind.
『Are spirits rare nowadays? They were everywhere in the era of the gods. 』
“……They are super rare. Crystals unearthed in dungeons rarely contain spirits, and such spirit stones are expensive….”
I looked around. There are a lot of stones lying around in this area that could be unsealed in the same way.
They all look like just a stone.
But when I picked one up and “unsealed” it, it glowed jade.
“…… An ordinary stone turned into a spirit stone?”
『The alarm skill must have awakened two things, the crystal itself and the spirit within it. 』
Solana explained.
The newly awakened spirit stone also seems to contain a spirit. It shimmers green from the inside, and when I tilted it, the light flickers.
『Rion, this may have been a place where spirits were allowed to rest in ancient times. It’s just that the crystals have weathered to stone over the years. 』
……Ah? Then…. If I come here every day, I will be able to repay all my debts!
“Plus….…”
I gently traced the blue crystal short sword.
I had vaguely noticed that removing a seal with the 『Alarm』 skill didn’t consume magical power. It only woke up whatever being is in there.
But spirit attacks are offensive magic that are in a different league to life magic. If I wake up spirits in the same way and make them my allies, I could easily perform other magic without consuming magical power.
Actually, now that I think about it, I was able to get out Solana, a Goddess, from the gold coin without even consuming magical power.
“Seals can be lifted…… As long as there is someone who can lend me their power….…”
The future is infinite!
It sends shivers down my spine when that crossed my mind.
“.….”
At that moment, a voice from behind me brought me back to reality.
“That was amazing! You defeated all those skeletons!”
A girl is poking her head out from behind a rock.
I remembered my original purpose.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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