Chapter 685

TENKEN 685 Katley's Doing Her Best

Having been taught the importance of caution by Fran, Katley seemed to have regained her courage and resumed her journey through the dungeon.

She pays more attention to her surroundings now.

However, the threats in the dungeon were not something that could be avoided with a little effort from an amateur. She has been caught in a trap multiple times already.

Still, without any complaints, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and proceeded without a word. But then, a new threat appeared in front of her.

「T-that is!?」

「Nn, a magic beast. The Stealth Rabbit」

「So that's, a magic beast...」

Stealth Rabbit was a small fry magic beast with a threat level of G. And speaking on how much of a small fry it is, it is the weakest magic beast we know.

They're good at digging holes and hiding, but in a dungeon of stones like this, they were just a stupid-looking rabbit that moves like a turtle.

Forget magic beast, it probably would even be defeated by a mere wild dog. But that's why they're suitable for the first floor of the dungeon for newbies.

There should be no adventurer that would lose against it. The sole reason they're here is to get newbies used to defeating magic beasts after all.

「Take it down with your sword」

「Yes!」

She was probably glad that the time she had spent being harassed by traps was over, and that things were now unfolding like what an adventurer is supposed to do. Katley then draw her sword with a cheerful voice and aimed at the Stealth Rabbit.

「Haa!」

「Pikyii―!」

「I-I did it!」

She may be a young lady, but she is still an inhabitant of this world and an aspiring adventurer. She had successfully defeated the magic beast without uttering any naive words such as "I can't attack rabbit-san" or "I'm afraid of blood".

「Nn. Good job」

「Yes!」

Fran nodded in satisfaction.

It was a slash that stuck to the basics, I can't tell if she has talent or not at this stage yet, but I don't think she has no talent at all.

Afterwards, Katley dismantles the rabbit under Fran's direction and puts the meat and magic stones in her backpack. It seems Fran doesn't want to spoil her by using her dimensional storage.

Katley is smiling brightly as she puts her backpack which has gained some weight back on. I guess she feels like she has accomplished something after dismantling the magic beast she killed herself.

But like I said before, this is still at the tutorial level. The main part of an adventure is not as simple as this.

「That's all for the first floor, let's continue」

「Y-yes」

「Let's hurry. I'll give you a piggyback」

「Eh?」

Fran bent down and turned her back to Katley. But Katley froze, unable to move because of her confusion.

「Katley?」

「B-but...」

「Hmm」

Fran seemed to have given up on the idea of carrying her on her back because Katley won't move at all.

「Kyaa!」

「Careful not to bite your tongue」

Fran takes Katley by the arm and runs off without waiting for her to say a thing.

「Kyaaa!」

「It's still safe around here, but you might attract magic beasts once we got to the next floor. You'd better not scream」

「...!」

Ooh, she immediately kept her mouth shut. She listened to Fran's words... or should I say, she doesn't want to make it looks that wanting to be an adventurer is just a half-heartened resolve.

Fran continues to run while teaching Katley about traps.

She sometimes moves three-dimensionally, kicking walls and ceilings to avoid traps, and does not stop at all while finishing off magic beasts with her kicks.

「...E-aeh!」

It seemed that Katley had lost her composure due to the rapidly changing scenery and the constant pressure from all directions.

She shrieked as she looked around with her whirling eyes.

「...Fueh―」

Her mouth eventually dropped open halfway and she had a dumbfounded expression on her face. She didn't seem to have passed out, but she must have lost her train of thought.

And half an hour later.

Fran had stepped through the second and third floors and had reached the entrance to the fourth floor.

The mid-level floor of this dungeon started at the fourth floor. To go any further, it is recommended that everyone be an F ranker or higher, or be accompanied by an E ranker.

Unlike the first three floors, which were like attractions for beginners, this was a true training ground. An amateur could potentially lose their life if they were not careful.

The most common cause of that is the magic beast in front of Fran and Katley now.

「I-Isn't that...」

「Nn. Lesser Ogre」

A reddish-brown skinned beast wearing only a loincloth and carrying a thin wooden stick. It is no taller than 150 centimeters. And as its name implies, it was a subspecies of ogre that looked like a skinnier, smaller version of an ogre.

Rumina had originally wanted to place a goblin that was adjusted to be weaker than the original. However, the Goddess of Chaos seemed to have done something to her, and she needed greater power to create evil people in the dungeon.

It seems that her plan to create a large number of low-level goblins and fast-track the development of the Black Cat kin failed even before it was done.

So instead of goblins, Rumina placed the weakest Lesser Ogre in her dungeon. Still, its combat power is on par with goblins.

It took a position in the middle of the passage and stared at us.

「Gugyah!」

「Hii!」

Katley let out a shriek briefly when she heard the Lesser Ogre's voice.

It certainly must be quite scary for a child. They are not that different in size, but they have a vicious look on their faces. Moreover, they are armed with weapons and have a strong hostility towards us.

Even a Japanese Macaque can inflict serious injuries on people. If it were a larger lethal ogre, the danger would be far greater than that of a monkey.

(TLN: Also known as the snow monkey, the one you'd see bathing in open-air hot springs)

Fran had always been ready to kill magic beasts from the start. As a result, I assumed that it was a normal thing, but it seemed that no matter how harsh this world is, a normal child would probably react the way Katley did.

「That thing is weak」

「I-is that so?」

「Nn. Even beginners should be able to defeat it. So go for it」

「Eh?」

「It's okay, I can always heal you as long as you don't die」

「Eh? Eeh―!?」

「Gugyagyah!」

While they were talking, the Lesser Ogre had identified Fran and Katley as its prey. It seemed that it failed to sense Fran's strength because it was just a small fry.

From its point of view, the two must looked like a delicious easy prey.

「It's coming」

「Gyagyahah!」

「Kyaaa!」