CH 15

Before my eyes tumble two goblins with their heads severed.

This is the “Demon’s Fortress,” a dungeon that has cropped up in the capital of this country. And I am Hisano Ichiko, a Kirijin. At present, I am under the command of that damn Kurokiri, which is to slay demons and humans in someone else’s dungeon for the purpose of raising my level.

It may sound as though I am effortlessly leveling up, but that’s not the case.

After all, this is not a dungeon where I belong, meaning that my status, which has been heightened by the conversion to a kin, has declined to that of a conventional human being, while there are only enemies around me.

When recollecting, infiltrating the “Demon’s Fortress” was a daunting challenge…

“Still, those goblins, they just keep popping up one after another…”

“You are right. I wonder how on earth such a multitude of goblins manage to reside in that place.”

It was during the night. As I approached the dungeon, the two soldiers in front of me were conversing and monitoring the dungeon with vigilance.

Their proficiency appeared to be well-developed, as one would expect from soldiers currently stationed on the front lines of my country.

Incidentally, if I may answer their question, I reckon that each time the goblins are eliminated, their Demon King summons a fresh batch. And the child demons in this dungeon are likely the fogs from the “White Fog and Black Swamp Forest”.

And I had to intrude into this dungeon at the earliest opportunity since I can hardly gain any experience outside of the dungeon.

Activating ≪Fog Cloak≫ at its maximum output.

As the fog enveloped my surroundings, coupled with the darkness of the night, I was scarcely detectable by those around me.

Then I approached the dungeon by weaving my way through the blind spots of the soldiers, and when I inevitably could not evade their detection, I misled them with the clothes I borrowed from Kurokiri.

Thus, I successfully infiltrated the dungeon.

After infiltrating the labyrinth, I first checked my equipment under the cover of a shady spot close at hand.

The attire and helmet were borrowed from Kurokiri for this mission and were identical to the official military gear. I dared to not dwell on the source of the equipment, since it was likely as I had speculated how it came to Kurokiri’s hand.

The weapon was also created by Kurokiri, a dagger made from the jaw of the Disarray Dragonfly. This one is accompanied by a description all the way to the top.

・Fang Blade of the Disarray Dragonfly

This small dagger was constructed from the fangs of Kurokiri’s handmade dragonfly. In principle, it is designed for piercing, and its force can penetrate ordinary sheet metal armor like a piece of paper. Even when used in the form of cutting, it possesses a sharpness unrivaled by knives commonly found all over the world.

It can occasionally deprive the target of their sense of equilibrium.

The next step I took was to ascertain my surroundings. There was a mass of goblins nearby that had assembled to mobilize at dawn. However, they did not seem to be aware of me.

Or rather, they lacked the motivation and training level to the extent that even a bystander can evidently distinguish it. The goblins were most likely not that motivated unless the leader, the ogre, was in the vicinity.

With this… shall I have a go?

Then I fixed my sights on the two goblins who had broken away from the rest of the pack, and when there were no other demons in sight, I drew near them silently with ≪Short-range Teleportation≫ and decapitated them from behind.

And now back to the present time.

According to what Kurokiri shared with me, when the level rises, a fanfare rings in my head, so I suppose I’m not quite there yet.

Well, although I don’t have a clue how many goblins I need to defeat, I should keep bringing them down to the point where they don’t upset the war front.

And that little goblin looks like it would be an excellent candidate for retiring next.

Something is off. The number of goblins alive is lesser than what I noticed earlier.

However, there is not a trace that the military has invaded. To begin with, the military would not have broken in but would have launched an attack on the goblins the moment they stepped outside.

“What the hell is going on? Damn. I don’t have sufficient manpower to conduct a patrol inside the fortress.”

I involuntarily let out a snide remark. Yet, this did not remedy the situation. I’ve been reminded of such things for the past few weeks.

It all kicked off a year ago. The woman with that infuriating voice transformed me into the Demon King, “The Demon King of Dominating Herculean Strength”.

Until that point, I was a mere junior high school student, attending inconsequential classes daily. But on that day, I was empowered, and I utilized that power to create this labyrinth, “Demon’s Fortress.”

And a few weeks ago, after the dungeon was released, I decided to launch forth into the outside world. I would crush this wretched world and claim it for my own.

But this is what it came down to! The military forces were mightier than I had anticipated. Furthermore, when I tried to lure them into the labyrinth, they wouldn’t go along. To make matters worse, I was suddenly informed that I personally was not authorized to leave the labyrinth! It’s a real goddamn crisis of a situation.

And now, another goblin count drops off before me without warning.

“Dammit. Whoever the hell this guy is, I’m going to find out and finish them off…”