The straight water beam pierced the porter-supporter’s backpack. Inside was Safi.
“Waaah!”
From the torn backpack, a head with green hair popped out. Her limbs spread open, and with her tools scattered the dwarf blacksmith rolled onto the floor.
The adventurers’ were left dumbfounded.
“W-Waaah!”
Another water strike followed immediately. Safi scrambled around, her eyes and feet spinning as she ran.
She dashed toward the rogue adventurers, and both parties let out screams.
“Kyaaah!”
“Uooh!? What is this thing!”
“Giii!”
Screams from Safi, the adventurers, and the cries of monsters mixed together.
Nils-san and Mia-san froze, while Felix-san pressed his temples, looking pained.
From the gold coin came a reverberant laughter. It’s Loki for sure.
…I mean, there’s no time to daze around, right!?
“Help!”
I kicked off the ground and leapt toward Safi. Rolling forward, I scooped her up into my arms. Behind us, bursts of water struck the floor, each impact echoing like thunder.
“R-Rion…!”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to put you in danger.”
Her dark eyes were glistening. Perhaps from fear, the skin around her eyes and her cheeks were flushed.
“God… the golden—”
Before she could finish, a golden light enveloped her body. Strangely, it felt warmer than usual.
“Thank you.”
『Y-Yeah…!』
I positioned myself to shield Safi from behind, facing the three dragon-kind before us.
The enemies were called “Lesser Water Dragons”. Dragons typically appear around the boss layers of dungeons. But in the Flocia Dungeon, the smaller ones start appearing from the mid-layers onward.
They were slightly larger than wolves. Their hind legs were powerful, claws gouging the floor as they advanced. Their forelegs were wings, which allowed them to swim through waterfalls and waterways as if flying through water. Their blue scales glistened like jewels when wet. Yet their yellow eyes were narrowed in a sinister glare. There was no mistaking it—they saw us as prey.
“Kaaah!”
One of them lifted its head and bellowed.
Let’s get this straight. Right now, there were eleven sahagin in the room—and three Lesser Water Dragons.
“Leave the small fry to us!”
The adventurers stepped forward, forming a wall in front of the sahagin. Two parties—equal in number to the sahagin, but far stronger in skill and power.
I activated Blessing of the God of Hunting to sense their positions.
“Watch your rear!”
I shouted the warning and focused on the dragons.
Mia-san and her group, along with another adventurer party, were coming to support us.
Our enemies had wings—and on top of that, they wielded dangerous water magic. Even if we surrounded them in numbers, I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.
The lesser water dragons let spheres of water drift around them, ready to launch attacks at any moment. We adjusted our formation as well.
Whoever struck first would risk a punishing counterattack.
So we waited—waiting for the precise moment to strike with a single, decisive blow, while the dragons held their ground. Time stretched unbearably. Each second felt like dozens.
Then my eyes met one of the Lesser Water Dragons.
“….Fuu”
I exhaled sharply and shifted my stance. Lowering my hips, it looked as if I were about to charge, ready to slash. In exchange, my torso was left completely exposed.
But I remembered Nils-san showing me the “stance change as a lure.”
“Kaa!”
The enemy took the bait.
One of them unleashed a water strike—but I had anticipated it.
I knew it would hit my torso!
“Wake up!”
I deflected the blast with the blade of my short sword. The water spirit Undine, residing in my right-arm gauntlet, twisted the flow of water, helping to reinforce my defense.
The Golden Flame flared brighter, overpowering the force of the water.
“Ha!”
I sliced through the water blast. Stepping forward in a single motion, I cut one of them down as I passed.
“Not bad!”
One of the adventurers praised me, but two enemies still remained.
“Kaaah!”
With a roar, the remaining two unleashed their water attacks.
Both aimed straight at me.
“Ha!”
Mia-san stepped in to cover me.
Smiling, she positioned herself between me and the lesser dragons, bracing her axe to intercept the strikes. The Crimson Axe, which I had acquired in Alvis, could absorb magical attacks into its blade and reflect them back.
“Not bad at all. Leaving the return strike to me—!”
When Mia-san swung her axe, magical energy surged like a whirlwind.
One of the lesser dragons leapt into the air to evade, while the other tried to shield itself with a wall of water—but the pressure of the magic pushed it back.
“Kaaah!”
The lesser dragon lost its balance.
An adventurer rushed in. It was Nils-san. His raised sword glowed with a pale blue light.
“Dragon Cleaver!”
He activated his Swordsman skill. The blade severed the dragon’s neck.
Now only one remained. The one that had leapt into the air. It conjured a sphere of water, aiming at the adventurers, but a greatsword-wielding warrior formed a wall, blocking the attack. One by one, they deflected the water blasts with ease.
This person was skilled, too.
The Lesser Water Dragon let out a frustrated cry and circled the ceiling.
Safi gasped.
“W-Water! It’s trying to escape into the water!”
Felix-san traced magical runes with his fingers.
“Ice Blade—Ibarak!”
The base of the waterfall, where the dragon was about to dive, froze solid. The Lesser Water Dragon, caught mid-leap, found its feet trapped in ice.
“Kaaahhh!”
Before the thrashing dragon could retaliate with magic, I called upon the power of the gods.
“Thor… Sigris…!”
Here I go.
The coin in my pocket burned with heat.
| Skill,『Divine Protection of the God of Medicine』was activated. 【Sigris’ Spear】⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅a ranged support. The magical effect is channeled into the spear, delivering it to the target. |
| Skill,『God of Thunder’s Divine Protection』was activated. 【Hammer of the God of Thunder】⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅Shoots a powerful lightning attack. |
Pale blue magic swirled around my hand, shaping into a spear wreathed in lightning. Perhaps sensing the move, the adventurers swiftly stepped aside to either side.
“Thunder Spear!”
I threw it, and a flash of light cut through the air.
Lightning danced across the waterfall’s spray. The spear struck the dragon, sparks scattering before it faded into nothing. Silence returned to the dungeon, broken only by the echo of the waterfall.
I let out a long, relieved breath.
“…That was an incredible display of power.”
The watching adventurers were dumbfounded.
Their gaze eventually shifted to Safi, who had plopped down onto her backside.
“Wait… what is this?”
“A child…?”
Felix-san exchanged a glance with me.
Everything about the dungeon, from the loosening of its seals by the ashes of a titan to the hidden areas, it had all been communicated to the adventurers. Otherwise, the dangers of the quest couldn’t be properly understood.
There had been other dungeon in the royal capital and Alvis where monsters had suddenly grown stronger. Those adventurers who had heard the rumors seemed to understand immediately.
But Safi—her existence as a dwarf, and anything about the gods—had not been shared. If I went so far as to say, “There are lies in the myths”, it would throw everything into chaos. The strategy wouldn’t matter at all if that happened—it would be completely pointless.
Many held deep reverence for the god, Odis-sama. Not everyone would accept it as my mother once did. But still… at the very least, I had to properly explain about Safi.
“Let me explain, Felix-san.”
“But…”
Our eyes met in a silent standoff, and eventually Felix-san closed his eyes.
“It can’t be helped, then.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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