CH 110

"Because you can't. You can't go to the dungeon!"

"Yes, yes, I'm going to ask Donovan-san if someone else can take my place. Look, if you don't go now, you'll be late for school."

"Ugh ... It's no good!"

"Yes, yes, I understand ..."

Even after I woke up, Meisa-chan was clinging to me and watching me to see if I would go to the dungeon, but she reluctantly headed for school.

"I'm sorry ... Kent."

"No, I'm so grateful to have her worry about me like that."

"After going to the guild to see the Salamanders, it seems like she's bragging at school."

"Eh, is it about me?"

"Ah, Kent, who lives in our house is amazing. He protects the city of Volzard with his powerful genus ... something like that."

"Is that so ..."

"Look, Manon's brother was at the dinner party last time, right."

"Yes, it's Hamill-kun."

"That's right, she was boasting about Kent to Hamill-kun the whole time."

"Ah, that was ... that's what it was."

I didn't think that Meisa-chan thought of me that way, so I was a little taken aback.

"So, Kent, are you going to the dungeon after all?"

"Yes, the situation seems a little urgent, and I feel that it's rather dangerous if it's someone else, so I'm thinking of going over and cleaning it up."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yes, I can move in the shadows, so I'm going to investigate from the shadows instead of just foolishly diving into the dungeon, so there's no danger."

"I see ... that's fine, but please be careful."

"Yes, I plan to come back for dinner so as not to worry Meisa-chan."

"It would be helpful if you could do that. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"No, this is normal."

The Dungeon of Volzard is located in a place where you can reach after walking about half a day with adult legs, deviating to the right from the middle of the road leading to the center of the Landshelt Republic.

There is a large pond on the way to the dungeon, and it seems to be crowded with people who enjoy fishing on holidays.

If I had time to spare, I would have enjoyed the scenery as I went, but this time I wanted to finish things up quickly, so I used Reinhardt and the others as a landmark and used shadow movement to move directly to the entrance of the dungeon.

The dungeon opens wide at the foot of a rocky mountain, with a sturdy iron gate attached to the entrance.

On both sides of the road leading to the entrance, one-story buildings were lined up, making it look like a small village.

[ Kent-sama, that gate is not meant to prohibit entry, but to stop monsters from overflowing from within. If you look closely, you'll understand, but the bolts on the gate are supposed to come down from this side. ]

"I see ... are monsters overflowing from the dungeon?"

[ I don't know about Volzard, but in the past, monsters overflowed from other dungeons, causing great damage. ]

"I see ..."

[ Normally, the front of the dungeon gate should be more crowded, but I guess it can't be helped if it's forbidden to go in and out. ]

As Reinhardt says, although there are several people on the road, everyone is staring blankly at the entrance to the dungeon.

[ Kent-sama, the buildings in this village are like decorations. ]

"Eh, decorations ... what do you mean? They look pretty sturdy, but ..."

[ This place may be attacked by a horde of monsters that have circumnavigated Volzard, just like during the maximum outbreak the other day. That's why the main body of the buildings are all underground. ]

"Eh, is there an underground?"

[ The large building seems to have been dug down to about three floors underground, and the entrance to the basement seems to hvae two or three sturdy doors. ]

It seems to be common sense to hide underground and survive even if attacked by a horde of monsters.

As I walk through the village towards the entrance to the dungeon, I will naturally be met with suspicious eyes.

I guess it's because it's necessary to complete the guild's combat course to dive into the dungeon alone, and they don't think a child like me has finished the course.

"Yo, boy ... this is not a place for a kid like you ..."

Yeah, I failed. It would have been better to have moved directly to the entrance of the dungeon.

Even though it's still early in the morning, I got tangled up with a visibly drunk adventurer.

With unkempt reddish-brown hair and a curly beard, he has a stout body that seems to be a mining specialist, and he is about forty years old.

"Umm ... I came here on an errand for the guild ..."

"Hey, you're a guild errand boy ... Tell them to investigate quickly so I can dive in!"

"Haa ... I understand."

The middle-aged adventurer spat on the street and walked into the building.

He's frustrated because he can't dive into the dungeon and earn anything, but it's no good to take out your anger on me.

Nevertheless, as I started walking, thinking that it was a huge hassle, I noticed someone in front of the dungeon gate looking at me with his arms crossed.

He is about 180 centimeters tall, has a thick beard on his skinhead, and has a black eyepatch on his right eye.

He looks younger than Donovan-san, but from his forehead to the right half of his face, four claw marks that look like those of a monster are carved into his face.

He taped his shoulder with an iron bar that was slightly longer than his height, and seemed to stare at me as if he could not let anyone through.

"Good morning."

"Hmm? Boy, what do you need?"

"Yes, Donovan-san told me to come here, but yo'ure from the guild, aren't you?"

"Oh, a message from Donovan-san?"

"No, I was told to go investigate the dungeon ..."

"Huh? A boy like you ... I see, are you the 'Monster User'?"

"Haa ... that's what they call me, I'm Kent."

"I'm Rodrigo, who manages the entrance to the dungeon. I've heard the story, but just in case, show me your guild card."

"Yes, here ..."

Rodrigo-san lowered his gaze to the card I handed him, returned his gaze to stare at me, and after returning his gaze to the card to check it again, he nodded once and returned the card.

"Fumu, I was surprised ... according to rumors, it was said that you were a black-haired black-eyed rugged fellow."

"Eeehhh ... Do you think that I'm a fake?"

"No, rumors are only half the story. Rumors about a guy who is said to be a 'Monster User' or a 'Maou' are extremely embellished."

"Is that so?"

"That's right ..."

Rodrigo-san, who floats a terrible grin on his face, is definitely the same kind of person as Donovan-san.

"So, Kent, are you going to dive by yourself?"

"No, I don't have the courage to go head-on into a place where I don't know what's lurking."

"Oh, then what are you going to do?"

"Yes, I will use a decoy and watch over it from the shadows."

"I see, a decoy ... where is it?"

"It should be close now, so I'll call it in a minute. Mart, call everyone who is preparing."

"Wafu, I understand, Goshujin-sama."

Mart replied by sticking its head out of the shadows and hid again in the shadows to call out the Kobold Corps waiting nearby.

"That monster just now, is that the monster you are using?"

"That's one of my genus, or rather it feels like family ..."

"Family ... Anyway, it looked like a Kobold, but what's going on with talking and hiding in the shadows?"

"Well ... it's a trade secret ..."

"Hmm ... can't you tell me what's going on ... well, that's fine."

Rodrigo-san had a cheerful smile on his face, but it had a force that would make a small child nervous.

A while after Mart ran to deliver the message, the Kobold Corps appeared around the rocky mountain.

"Hmm? What is that ... Goblins?"

The Kobold Corps came carrying three Goblins wrapped in ropes.

"Goshujin-sama, we brought them as instructed."

"Thank you, everyone."

When I stroked the Kobold Corps carrying the Goblins in turn, they all narrowed their eyes and snuggled up to me.

On the other hand, the Goblins were trembling as Rodrigo-san glared at them.

"So you're going to throw these guys into the dungeon as decoys and see what happens?"

"Yes, that's how it is, so is it okay if I ask you to open the entrance?"

"It's okay ..."

Using the large key that Rodrigo-san had on his waist, he unlocked and opened the gate.

When I entered the gate with the Kobold Corps carrying the Goblins and signaled to Rodrigo-san, the gate closed with a heavy sound.

"Then, I'll go into the shadows, untie the Goblins' ropes and drive them into the depths of the dungeon."

"Wafu, I understand, Goshujin-sama!"

When I waved at Rodrigo-san, who was watching me through the lattice in the gate, and dived into the shadows, his eyes widened in surprise.

As I watched from the shadows, the Goblins, who had been untied from their ropes, were furiously barked at by the Kobold Corps and fled into the depths of the dungeon.

We plan to guide the Goblins deeper and deeper while observing them from the shadows.

"Then, Fred, please guide the Goblins."

[Roger ... Leave it to me ... ]

When I entered the dungeon for the first time, I thought it was pitch black, but there was a vague brightness.

"Reinhardt, is something glowing?"

[ Indeed, since the luminous moss is growing, there is enough light to walk without using magic to enhance your eyesight. However, adventurers who dive into the dungeon will proceed while illuminating it with light magic tools in order to confirm the situation. ]

The interior of the dungeon felt like a rocky cave, with a ceiling about 5 meters high, and if it were low, you would have to bend down or hit your head.

The width of the passageway is about 7-8 meters at wide places, but there are also narrow places where people can barely pass.

It seems that the passage has many branches, and at the end of each branch there are many spaces called halls.

The small hall is about 3 tatami mats in size, and the large hall is said to be large enough to fit a two-story house.

The Goblins were driven by Fred's throwing of stones and were forced to walk down the route to the lower floors.

"It's quiet ... nothing is coming out."

[ That's right, if it's normal, it wouldn't be strange for an Imp or a Goblin to appear at this level ... ]

Even after passing the first floor and descending to the second floor, there are no signs of monsters appearing.

The dungeon was silent with only the occasional noises of the decoy Goblins.

"Reinhardt, what's shining over there?"

[ It's probably an ore of some kind, but I'm not an expert, so I can't tell what kind of ore it is. ]

The wall near the ceiling seemed to be shining, so I asked Reinhardt to help me dig it out, and I found a large stone with a dull glow.

[ A fairly large lump has appeared. ]

"Is this a big one?"

[ I hear that most of the items dug up in dungeons are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. This was near the ceiling so it must have been overlooked. ]

The dungeon's ore is said to be mined by visually searching for what appears on the surface like this, or by using magic to detect it with earth-attribute magicians.

I threw the excavated ore into the shadow storage and continued chasing the goblins, but nothing happened even after passing the second floor.

[ It's still strange. No matter how straight the main route is, it's strange not to encounter even a single monster. ]

"Are they hiding somewhere under the command of a superior species of Goblins?"

[ Even if there is a superior species, it can't be the reason why even small monsters other than Goblins don't appear. ]

"The dungeon itself turned into a monster and ate all the people who entered?"

[ As expected, I have never heard of such a situation. ]

As I continued to chase the Goblins, Fred noticed something strange.

[ Kent-sama ... above ... ]

"Eh, what ...? Ugeeeeeee ... 'G'?"(TN:'G' = Gokiburi = Cockroach.)

The passage was narrow, but the ceiling was high.

The ceiling and the walls near the ceiling where the light from the luminous moss underfoot doesn't reach are covered with black, glowing objects.

If you look closely, it seems that its wings have degenerated, and it has ten legs, but no matter how you look at it, its form looks like nothing more than a cockroach.

Also, its size appears to be over 30 centimeters.

[ It's a Scavenger. ]

"Scavenger ...?"

[ Yes, it's like a dungeon cleaner that scavenges for carrion ... but something is strange. ]

The Goblins proceeded unnoticed below the Scavengers that are stuck to the ceiling.

However, the Scavengers don't show signs of attacking even when the Goblins go directly under them.

"Huh? Aren't these guys the cause?"

[ Kent-sama, Scavengers only scavenge for carrion, the living ones are ... ]

Perhaps Reinhardt tried to say that they would not attack, but when the Goblins had advanced about 20 meters under the ceiling where the Scavengers were, the Scavengers started falling in order from the very end like an avalanche.

Gyaaa, gyagyagyagyaaaaa ...

Some of the Scavengers began to bite, and the Goblins were surprised and started running further into the dungeon.

The Scavengers attack the Goblins while filling the passage.

Gasagasa, gasagasa, gasagasa, gasagasa, gasagasagasa ...

The footsteps of the Scavengers echoing through the passageway will attack you with physiological disgust.

[ I've never heard of Scavengers attacking living things. ]

"I don't know the reason, but this is the reason why people who enter the dungeon don't return, right?"

[ There is no doubt about it. After all, I don't see anything moving in the dungeon other than these guys. ]

The Goblins that were being chased by the Scavengers jumped into a hall in the middle of the passage.

The area is about the size of a basketball court, and when I look at the map, it appears to be a branching point, with three entrances and exits drawn.

[ Kent-sama ... The entrance is blocked ... ]

[ Kent-sama, above! ]

There were no other entrances or exits to the hall, and there was a swarm of Scavengers filling the ceiling.

Not only that, but the walls are also covered with Scavengers.

As the Goblins were standing still at the overwhelming sight, the passage they had just entered had disappeared.

"Geeehhh ... The Scavengers are blocking the passage."

[ They're coming, Kent-sama. ]

Losing a place to escape, the Scavengers from the ceiling rained down on the Goblins who were desperately looking for an escape route, looking around at the walls filled with Scavengers.

Gigiyaaaaaaa ...

In an instant, Scavengers gathered all over the Goblins' bodies, turning them into black masses and collapsing to the floor.

Gyiigyaaaaaa ...

Baribari, nichanicha, guchuguchu ...

The Goblins were swinging their arms and legs, desperately struggling, but they had no way to counter the overwhelming number of violent enemies, and their flesh was cut to pieces.

Then, when the Goblins stopped moving, they appeared.

Suddenly the Scavengers who had been swarming the Goblins retreated to the wall, and three shadows fell from the ceiling.

Two shadows are about 70 centimeters long, adn the other is a Scavenger about 1 meter long.

[ Kent-sama, it seems to be a high-ranknig species of Scavenger. ]

"Ugeeehhh, disgusting ..."

The Scavenger superior species ripped through the Goblin's breastplate, poked its head inside, and began to rattle and eat.

"Could it be that it's chewing on the magic stone?"

[ It seems so ... What should we do? Kent-sama. ]

There is almost no doubt that these guys are the main culprits of this uproar.

However, it is certain that there are more than 1,000 at a glance, adn it is possible that there are close to 2,000.

Even if it's my genus, if they fight normally, I feel like they'll be bitten before wiping them all out.

"Okay, I'll block the three passages with a shield of darkness, so I'll have everyone attack, but only attack from the shadows. We're not fighting these guys, we're exterminating them. Let's end it calmly!"

[ Roger! ]

As I told everyone, the three passages were blocked with shields of darkness.

Then, the extermination work by my genus began.

Scavengers have hard shells on their backs, and F-rank and E-rank adventurers are said to have their swords repelled.

Of course, if it is my genus, they would tear through like paper, but this time, it's easier.

The soft part of the abdomen was cut by Zae-tachi and Art-tachi from the shadows, and the Scavengers died one after another.

The superior species also had their heads blown off by Reinhardt, their heads pierced by Basten, and their heads cut off without a sound by Fred before dying.

It only took about ten minutes to kill all the Scavengers.

The inside of the hall had a terrible smell of Scavenger's bodily fluids mixed with Goblin's blood.

"Then, if you take out only the high-ranked magic stones, can you stack the rest in the center of the hall?"

[ What are you going to do with them? ]

"Yeah, just in case, Donovan-san will take a look at them as proof that we did the job, and then throw them away."

[ But ... I've never heard of a high-ranking Scavenger being born. ]

"Then, it would be better to report that as well."

Just looking at the huge mountain of 'G's corpses gave me chills.

Let's throw them into the shadow storage, quickly finish the report, and go home.

"Then, the ten of you from Sart to Tort should go to the 15th floor to check if there are any strange monsters, and if you think you're in danger, immediately hide in the shadows and report. Everyone else go about it as normal. Fred scout Barshania, and Basten scout the Second Prince's faction, I'm counting on you."

[ Roger! ]

Let's report to Rodrigo-san before we return to Volzard.

I'm sorry to have him open the gate, so I stepped out of the shadows outside the gate.

"I'm back."

"Whoa! Don't suddenly come out, you surprised me ..."

"Ah, I'm sorry. For the time being, it's over, so I came to report."

"What, is it over already?"

"Yes, it seems that a high-ranking species was born among the Scavengers, and it led the rest to attack."

"Huh? A high-ranking species of Scavenger? I've never heard of such a thing."

"Um, there's a corpse, would you like to see it?"

"Oh, let me take a look."

The largest Scavenger had its head blown off by Reinhardt, so I revealed the second largest corpse Fred had killed.

"Wow, this guy is double the normal size ..."

"This is the second largest one, the largest one was about 50% larger."

"In all, how many did you exterminate?"

"That's right ... it's about 2,000 or so ..."

Before I knew it, a circle of onlookers had formed, and when I talked about how the Goblins were attacked and eaten, until the end of the subjugation, everyone was trembling.

Around the time we finished talking, Sart suddenly popped its head out.

"Wafu, Goshujin-sama, there weren't any weird monsters down there. However, the humans Master warned before is on the 14th floor."

"Is it the Flamehounds?"

"Yeah, those guys."

"Could you tell the three of them that the group of Scavengers has been subjugated?"

"Wafu, I understand, I'm going."

It was thought that they had already been eaten, but it seems that it is quite difficult to take down an A-rank party.

The onlookers who were surrounding the corpse of the superior species of Scavengers turned their gazes to me and Sart all at once and whispered to each other.

"Is that the 'Monster User' ..."

"The story is that Beatrice-chan was violated by him ..."

"Even Klaus-sama can't handle him ..."

"He killed nine Gigawolves by himself ..."

"He's a horrible philanderer ..."

No, no, Klaus-san works me hard with no hesitancy, a horrible philander ... I don't think so.

When I looked up, the middle-aged adventurer who got involved with me before entering the dungeon was trembling in the shadow of the onlookers.

Our eyes met, so I showed my teeth and gave him a smile.

"I, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, oh, I'm ... Uwaaaaa ..."

Just when I thought he was apologizing, he screamed and ran away.

Yeah, if Donovan-san saw me, I'm sure he'd grab me by the collar again and take me away.

"Then, Rodrigo-san, I will return to Volzard and report to Donovan-san."

"Well, the dungeon will probably be opened after receiving the guild's instructions, but for the time being, we have a prospect. Thank you."

"No, I just fulfilled the request ... well then."

I put out a shield of darkness, but away the corpse of the Scavenger, and then hid in the shadows to show off to the onlookers.

Now, I have to go home early and reassure Meisa-chan.