“Thank you, Daniela . I’m fine now . ”

So saying, I slowly draw away from her long embrace .

“I wanted to hold you a little longer…”

“We can save that for when we get out of here . ”

I patted her on the head as she pouted with annoyance . I had found a single path inside of me . Fighting to protect people . That was what we were currently doing . It was not possible to mourn the death of every life that was snuffed out, and I would not blame myself for that anymore . I wasn’t a Hero or a saint . I didn’t want to kill to save lives, but it was not possible to save everyone either . I could not be a pacifist here . The only thing I could do was fully dedicate myself to what stood in front of us in the present .

For now, we would kill these monsters and prevent a stampede .

That was all . That was all that I could do .

“d.a.m.n, I think we rested for too long, when there is no time to lose . ”

“No, it was necessary . Do not worry . We will just move at twice the speed . ”

Daniela says with a laugh . I nod and take off my bag . The hollow bag . I open it and take hold of the supreme weapon, the ancient elven sword, and attach it to my belt . The elven shortsword quickly follows .

“So you are quite serious this time?”

I smile mischievously and nod . I was above serious now . We would trample them . I was prepared for this fight more than ever now . There was no hesitation, and I had the most reliable partner by my side .

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while . About what I can accomplish with these weapons . And I’ve now found the answer . ”

“Hehe . I see . That is good . ”

For an instant, we seem to be wrapped in a warm and calm air . But that quickly dissipates and we find ourselves on a battlefield . It was because Presence Detection caught something . It wasn’t the dragon vein, but something big .

“Daniela, this…”

“Hmm, something that was hiding in the depths, it has started to move… Up ahead . ”

I stare hard into the shadows . We were prepared for this, there was no problem . I glance over to Daniela who stood next to me, and she nodded with a smile that showed she was ready to fight . She really was reliable . She always helped me . I needed to become stronger to be able to support her equally . But first, we would kill what was up ahead . I would not allow the beautiful plains to be trodden over and destroyed . Never .

We walk down the tunnel . Presence Detection picks up several forms, but they disappear whenever my sword is swung in their direction . And then everything becomes quiet .

Once we were out of the tunnel, the scenery changed . The cave ceiling had been little more than two meters high, but now it was altogether gone . But it was still too dark to see how high it went . But it must be quite high if the lantern’s light could not reach it . We could also not see the walls . This was a wide area . What could be down here? So deep underground?

“Be careful, Asagi . The large presence should be somewhere around here . ”

“Yeah, I can sense it . If only we knew the direction it would come, I could attack it . ”

There was something huge in this wide area that was still far from us . And as it didn’t move, we had no choice but to go forward . But, since it had appeared so suddenly, does that mean it came to us? Why wasn’t it moving now?

There were a lot of questions that wouldn’t be answered unless we moved . We just needed to be cautious and we could get through this . Daniela knocked an arrow to her bowstring . I unsheathed my one-handed sword and short sword . The pale, silvery green glow gave me a kind of strength . I created a small ball of fire above our heads to replace the lantern .

According to Daniela’s findings, I was not very good with fire magic . And even when I did use it, I could tell that the magic consumption was higher than with ice magic, and yet the ball of fire was still only the size of a tennis ball . There wasn’t much to say about its inefficiency, but I wondered if it could be more than just a power used as a bridge between ice and water magic . However, our hands were full now, so this was the only thing we could use to light our way . Thankfully, all the monster slaying had helped me increase my MP…I think . I haven’t actually checked my status recently, but I was confident that it had gone up after so much hunting .

My MP had been going up gradually since I started using magic, so I was hopeful . I felt like I hadn’t reached my limits yet . Who knew how many ‘ice swords’ I could make in succession? Of course, the new equipment also helped . ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ even showed me that I could create a light rain .

We were slowly making our way forward and should be within shooting range soon . Even fire magic should reach it . I put on the hood of my poncho and take in deep breaths . Once I felt calm again, the only thing left to do was kill it .

We were slowly making our way forward and should be within shooting range soon . Even fire magic should reach it . I put on the hood of my poncho and take in deep breaths . Once I felt calm again, the only thing left to do was kill it .

“I’ll shoot at it with fire magic . Unleash your arrows as soon as you catch sight of it . ”

“Understood . ”

She nods, I launch the ball of fire forward and slightly at an upwards angle . All it took was to concentrate on the magic like ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ showed, and the fireball launched like a flare and slowly descended . What appeared beneath it was a large, large mole . It must be an elite type of hole mole . The thing was densely covered in hair as its head raised towards the ball of fire above its head .

“It is a mega mole! Let us go, Asagi!”

“Yeah, I can do this!!”

Daniela shoots . And at the same time, I sprint forward . Her arrow reaches its target first, piercing into the mega mole’s body and causing a shriek that echoed in the chamber . It used its long nails to carefully grab the arrow and pull it out . I did not miss this opportunity .

“HAHH!”

My foot digs into the dirt as my one-handed sword swings down . And then the ground beneath me disappeared .

“Wha…!?”

The b.a.s.t.a.r.d…! He made a pitfall!! That’s why it didn’t move!”

“KGIIIII!!!

I had let my guard down . And just as I looked up in surprise, the mega mole’s claws came swiping down . I frantically blocked them with my sword . As I gritted my teeth against the weight of it pressing down, another arrow shot into the mega mole’s body . It let out another piercing cry . Now that it was weakened, I use ‘Legs of the Forest Wolf’ to kick the air and jump out from the hole . As I launched myself up high, I send out b.a.l.l.s of fire in all four directions . The chamber was now illuminated, and I could see for a moment that the place was in the shape of a dome . The ceiling was likely around ten meters high . This guy must have dug it up…he had even made a pitfall .

“Daniela, there are pitfalls around it!”

“Then I will only use ranged attacks!”

With great skill, she continued to successively let loose her arrows . Indeed, if close-range combat was too dangerous, you just needed to attack with some distance .

I put the swords back in my sheaths and thrust my hands in front of me . I would visualize an ‘arrow’ much like the arrows Daniela was using . ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ made this easier, and I quickly generated a whole row of over a dozen arrows . They were all pointing at the mega mole . I would call this spell, ‘ice arrows . ’ I never claimed to be good at naming things . But it’s good to keep these things simple!

“Hah!”

With a shout, I launch the arrows towards their target . They start firing from the right side and savagely break into the mega mole’s skin . The echoing cries make me cringe, but I send every last arrow at it .

Now the mega mole was still . I control the wind around my feet and slowly descend while unsheathing my sword . I can hear the sound of a string being pulled behind me . My backup was perfect . Making sure to not fall into the hole again, I try to confirm if the mega mole is dead .

I move between the holes and finally reach striking distance . And then I stab the sword right into its body . …There is no reaction . I try again, and again, but there is no sound, no movement .

It had gone completely silent . We had won .

“Pheww…”

“Good job, Asagi . ”

“Ah, you too . ”

As always, we made fists and b.u.mped…and at the same instant, Presence Detection caught something large .

“What, what is this all of a sudden!”

“I don’t know…but, doesn’t this…’

“What, what is this all of a sudden!”

“I don’t know…but, doesn’t this…’

Yes, this size was reminiscent of something . It reminded me of the time when we met Beowulf . It was the same feeling I had when we fought him in the ruins .

“But then again, Presence Detection didn’t react during his ambush…”

“It is likely that…he had a high skill level for blocking detection . And the ambush was during the night . This monster clearly doesn’t have the same skills with blocking detection . But where could it have come from…”

“Indeed…perhaps it is a mutated elite monster from some magical pool…”

I recalled Macbel’s words, ‘As a monster, he is one level above the rest . ’ He hadn’t evolved like this mega mole right here . He was something much more abnormal . Thinking about those words, I scan through our surroundings . I can sense the thin presence of kobolds on the outskirts .

“I think that it’s some kind of abnormally evolved kobold . ”

“Aye, kobolds usually evolve into kobold warriors or kobold mages, specializing in attacking and magic . But this one is clearly different . ”

“Has that happened before?”

“Aye . They are called a.s.sault kobolds . They are said to be very shrewd and aggressive . ”

Shrewd, eh?… And there was something awe-inspiring about the speed at which it was approaching us . It would reach this hall within a dozen or more seconds . This would be the second abnormally evolved monster we have met after Beowulf .

Now, which of us would be the faster? …I could hardly wait .

“Thank you, Daniela . I’m fine now . ”.

 .

So saying, I slowly draw away from her long embrace

 .

“I wanted to hold you a little longer…”.

“We can save that for when we get out of here . ”.

 .

I patted her on the head as she pouted with annoyance . I had found a single path inside of me . Fighting to protect people . That was what we were currently doing . It was not possible to mourn the death of every life that was snuffed out, and I would not blame myself for that anymore . I wasn’t a Hero or a saint . I didn’t want to kill to save lives, but it was not possible to save everyone either . I could not be a pacifist here . The only thing I could do was fully dedicate myself to what stood in front of us in the present

 .

For now, we would kill these monsters and prevent a stampede

 .

That was all . That was all that I could do

 .

“d.a.m.n, I think we rested for too long, when there is no time to lose . ”.

“No, it was necessary . Do not worry . We will just move at twice the speed . ”.

 .

Daniela says with a laugh . I nod and take off my bag . The hollow bag . I open it and take hold of the supreme weapon, the ancient elven sword, and attach it to my belt . The elven shortsword quickly follows

 .

“So you are quite serious this time?”.

 .

I smile mischievously and nod . I was above serious now . We would trample them . I was prepared for this fight more than ever now . There was no hesitation, and I had the most reliable partner by my side

 .

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while . About what I can accomplish with these weapons . And I’ve now found the answer . ”.

“Hehe . I see . That is good . ”.

 .

For an instant, we seem to be wrapped in a warm and calm air . But that quickly dissipates and we find ourselves on a battlefield . It was because Presence Detection caught something . It wasn’t the dragon vein, but something big

 .

“Daniela, this…”.

“Hmm, something that was hiding in the depths, it has started to move… Up ahead . ”.

 .

I stare hard into the shadows . We were prepared for this, there was no problem . I glance over to Daniela who stood next to me, and she nodded with a smile that showed she was ready to fight . She really was reliable . She always helped me . I needed to become stronger to be able to support her equally . But first, we would kill what was up ahead . I would not allow the beautiful plains to be trodden over and destroyed . Never

 .

We walk down the tunnel . Presence Detection picks up several forms, but they disappear whenever my sword is swung in their direction . And then everything becomes quiet

 .

Once we were out of the tunnel, the scenery changed . The cave ceiling had been little more than two meters high, but now it was altogether gone . But it was still too dark to see how high it went . But it must be quite high if the lantern’s light could not reach it . We could also not see the walls . This was a wide area . What could be down here? So deep underground?.

 .

“Be careful, Asagi . The large presence should be somewhere around here . ”.

“Yeah, I can sense it . If only we knew the direction it would come, I could attack it . ”.

 .

There was something huge in this wide area that was still far from us . And as it didn’t move, we had no choice but to go forward . But, since it had appeared so suddenly, does that mean it came to us? Why wasn’t it moving now?.

 .

There were a lot of questions that wouldn’t be answered unless we moved . We just needed to be cautious and we could get through this . Daniela knocked an arrow to her bowstring . I unsheathed my one-handed sword and short sword . The pale, silvery green glow gave me a kind of strength . I created a small ball of fire above our heads to replace the lantern

According to Daniela’s findings, I was not very good with fire magic . And even when I did use it, I could tell that the magic consumption was higher than with ice magic, and yet the ball of fire was still only the size of a tennis ball . There wasn’t much to say about its inefficiency, but I wondered if it could be more than just a power used as a bridge between ice and water magic . However, our hands were full now, so this was the only thing we could use to light our way . Thankfully, all the monster slaying had helped me increase my MP…I think . I haven’t actually checked my status recently, but I was confident that it had gone up after so much hunting

My MP had been going up gradually since I started using magic, so I was hopeful . I felt like I hadn’t reached my limits yet . Who knew how many ‘ice swords’ I could make in succession? Of course, the new equipment also helped . ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ even showed me that I could create a light rain

 .

We were slowly making our way forward and should be within shooting range soon . Even fire magic should reach it . I put on the hood of my poncho and take in deep breaths . Once I felt calm again, the only thing left to do was kill it

 .

“I’ll shoot at it with fire magic . Unleash your arrows as soon as you catch sight of it . ”.

“Understood . ”.

 .

She nods, I launch the ball of fire forward and slightly at an upwards angle . All it took was to concentrate on the magic like ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ showed, and the fireball launched like a flare and slowly descended . What appeared beneath it was a large, large mole . It must be an elite type of hole mole . The thing was densely covered in hair as its head raised towards the ball of fire above its head

 .

“It is a mega mole! Let us go, Asagi!”.

“Yeah, I can do this!!”.

 .

Daniela shoots . And at the same time, I sprint forward . Her arrow reaches its target first, piercing into the mega mole’s body and causing a shriek that echoed in the chamber . It used its long nails to carefully grab the arrow and pull it out . I did not miss this opportunity

 .

“HAHH!”.

 .

My foot digs into the dirt as my one-handed sword swings down . And then the ground beneath me disappeared

 .

“Wha…!?”.

 .

The b.a.s.t.a.r.d…! He made a pitfall!! That’s why it didn’t move!”.

 .

“KGIIIII!!!.

 .

I had let my guard down . And just as I looked up in surprise, the mega mole’s claws came swiping down . I frantically blocked them with my sword . As I gritted my teeth against the weight of it pressing down, another arrow shot into the mega mole’s body . It let out another piercing cry . Now that it was weakened, I use ‘Legs of the Forest Wolf’ to kick the air and jump out from the hole . As I launched myself up high, I send out b.a.l.l.s of fire in all four directions . The chamber was now illuminated, and I could see for a moment that the place was in the shape of a dome . The ceiling was likely around ten meters high . This guy must have dug it up…he had even made a pitfall

 .

“Daniela, there are pitfalls around it!”.

“Then I will only use ranged attacks!”.

 .

With great skill, she continued to successively let loose her arrows . Indeed, if close-range combat was too dangerous, you just needed to attack with some distance

I put the swords back in my sheaths and thrust my hands in front of me . I would visualize an ‘arrow’ much like the arrows Daniela was using . ‘Jack of all Trades, Master of None’ made this easier, and I quickly generated a whole row of over a dozen arrows . They were all pointing at the mega mole . I would call this spell, ‘ice arrows . ’ I never claimed to be good at naming things . But it’s good to keep these things simple!.

 .

“Hah!”.

 .

With a shout, I launch the arrows towards their target . They start firing from the right side and savagely break into the mega mole’s skin . The echoing cries make me cringe, but I send every last arrow at it

Now the mega mole was still . I control the wind around my feet and slowly descend while unsheathing my sword . I can hear the sound of a string being pulled behind me . My backup was perfect . Making sure to not fall into the hole again, I try to confirm if the mega mole is dead

 .

I move between the holes and finally reach striking distance . And then I stab the sword right into its body . …There is no reaction . I try again, and again, but there is no sound, no movement

 .

It had gone completely silent . We had won

 .

“Pheww…”.

“Good job, Asagi . ”.

“Ah, you too . ”.

 .

As always, we made fists and b.u.mped…and at the same instant, Presence Detection caught something large

 .

“What, what is this all of a sudden!”.

“I don’t know…but, doesn’t this…’.

 .

Yes, this size was reminiscent of something . It reminded me of the time when we met Beowulf . It was the same feeling I had when we fought him in the ruins

 .

“But then again, Presence Detection didn’t react during his ambush…”.

“It is likely that…he had a high skill level for blocking detection . And the ambush was during the night . This monster clearly doesn’t have the same skills with blocking detection . But where could it have come from…”.

“Indeed…perhaps it is a mutated elite monster from some magical pool…”.

 .

I recalled Macbel’s words, ‘As a monster, he is one level above the rest . ’ He hadn’t evolved like this mega mole right here . He was something much more abnormal . Thinking about those words, I scan through our surroundings . I can sense the thin presence of kobolds on the outskirts

 .

“I think that it’s some kind of abnormally evolved kobold . ”.

“Aye, kobolds usually evolve into kobold warriors or kobold mages, specializing in attacking and magic . But this one is clearly different . ”.

“Has that happened before?”.

“Aye . They are called a.s.sault kobolds . They are said to be very shrewd and aggressive . ”.

 .

Shrewd, eh?… And there was something awe-inspiring about the speed at which it was approaching us . It would reach this hall within a dozen or more seconds . This would be the second abnormally evolved monster we have met after Beowulf

 .

Now, which of us would be the faster? …I could hardly wait

 . This is my favorite chapter t.i.tle . Sorry about the chapter mixup earlier .