CH 21

I ran out of the tent and what came into view was a number of red dots floating in the darkness.

Goblins do not have eyes that float in the dark. This distinctive light was—

「A 〈Skeleton Knight〉! «Light»!」

It is said that the undead can sense the magic power emitted from living creatures to understand their movements. If it stays in the dark, only I will be at a disadvantage.

First of all, I tried to brighten the surroundings and improve the situation. There are ten 〈Skeleton Knights〉!

It’s rare for them to act in such a large group outside, let alone inside a dungeon. No, is it reasonable to think that it was a hangout because of its strong magical power?

As I was thinking about this, a 〈Skeleton Knight〉 slowly approached me.

It would be tough if we were surrounded by this many. First, we need to cut down their numbers!

「«Iceball».」

I used a beginner level ice magic to save magic power.

A distorted lump of ice, about the size of a human head floating in the air, collided with the head of the leading skeleton knight and shattered.

Like a puppet with a broken string, it crumbled away with a crunching sound.

Unless you’ve studied magic in a church, like the healers, you can’t use «Turn Undead». This is how they are usually defeated, either by destroying the head completely or by destroying most of the body.

「«Ice Ball»」

Once again, a lump of ice floats up and shoots it at the Skeleton Knight. They don’t rest, they just keep coming.

I was able to reduce it to half by the time it got close to me.

From now on, it will be a close battle. I covered my body and sword with magic power to strengthen it. I put all my strength into the hand holding the longsword.

「Let’s go!」

I shouted and put my energy into it. A horizontal line from left to right. The skeleton knight’s cervical vertebrae were severed and his head fell in a heap.

「The first one!」

I dodged the swords swinging at me from both sides with a backstep, and used an «Air Ball» to lightly blow them both away at the same time. The skeleton knight’s stab that sneaks up from behind is deflected by the middle of the blade, and a counterattacking kick is performed.

If you think and act, you won’t be in time. In that moment, make an accurate judgment in a moment, survive the attack and fight back.

As I moved around, trying not to get surrounded or have my escape route blocked, I realized that I had defeated all the skeleton knights.

「Huff, huff, huh. ………」

It was my first real fight since I was kicked out of the party.

My body doesn’t seem to be slowing down, but I’m too tired. I don’t want to move another step.

「Let’s collect the magic stone tomorrow.」

The reason that there was no sign of life in this precious watering place was probably because the Skeleton Knight had killed all the animals and goblins that came near it.

Now that I’ve wiped them out, this is a safe place. The Skeleton Knight’s intelligence is low, so there’s no need to worry about ambushes. It’s safe to rest now.

Dragging my heavy body, I entered the tent and lay down. I closed my eyes, praying that the alarm would not go off again, and soon fell into a deep sleep.